Well, this is pretty gorgeous, NGL. But I will say again–as more and more of these show up on the shelf heavily discounted all over–be cautious about buying gobs anything pre-2000, especially not-straight cab. They’re good, sure, but need to be drank and enjoyed, as most are feeling tired. With that said, I have not ran into the 97’s rumored to be out there, and that could be an outlier. Here we have a cab not even 15, and if you can find these, you’ve got plenty of years left to play with them.

Absolutely perfect cork, heavy sediment, and barely bricking. Still bright garnet with a ruby core. A little bottle-funk gives way to tar and asphalt in the nose, wrapped firmly around delicious black cherry taffy with a nice vegetal edge. Peat a far-away ghost, playing with the light mint and sweaty saddle with a still-bright tingle on the bouquet icing the tertiary.

Tasting it confirms this is far-and-away the healthiest of these finds I have found. How’d you like that for sentence construction? Gritty and thick on entry–ridiculous concentration–black grainy chewiness begging for floss afterwards. Elegant and sweet, the fruit sitting on your face in I-can’t-breathe, don’t-stop, gushing perfection. Green and vibrant, the sticky briar oozing piquant sap down your throat as you gasp for clarity in completion. Sticky blackberry grinds savory acid into every orifice, a bitter black sandpaper glistened with goose-bump-producing tannin. The finish is a lapping contradiction of syrupy bitter, considerably polished, but taken raw, a throbbing stew of weedy pomegranate, shrill pie-cherry and gunpowder tea.

I will say again: buy the pre-2000 wines for now-time enjoyment and education; swoop up anything post-2000 for the cellar. The hard part will be keeping your tongue off them.

2006 YORK CREEK Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Track’ Spring Mountain Napa Valley 14.5

http://www.yorkcreek.com/
https://wine1percent.com/?s=york+creek