Grabbed this to take to our semi-regular Thursday night *Shit That Needs to be Dranken* bottle-share tonight and it fizzled out so what to do… what to do… Guess I’ll just open it meself. Pretty sure it’s my last one and from a vintage I have been drinking a LOT of lately–for obvious reasons to those in the back rows. Barely bricking, still bright, deep ruby with just a glance of amber at the rim. Funky in the nose: a distillation of smoky, sultry ripeness headed south but nowhere near *fatigued*. Plump–and I mean REALLY plump cherry reduction from a blend glorious on release and showing more 10YO ‘merlot’ than its stated 75% cab underpinnings. I love these flagships from a once-stellar brand destined for oblivion except in the minds and memories of those of us who care.
The funk never really blows off, and influences the palate a bit. But it’s clear and clairvoyant on the tongue, still-grippy with acid where the chubby fruit has thinned. Tertiary melds perfectly with Vit-C grit, offering a yin-yang balance at once thin and spicy–and at the same time thick with deliciousness. The pith of structure still overwhelms late-middle, where fruit-fade could be arguable. Still–in perfect provenance–I feel this could be a timeless wine and who knows what this would taste like in 20 years, but I dare say it wouldn’t be horrible. If you can find them, BUY THEM, because this is Alexander Valley history-in-a-bottle. A sad demise for a proud brand us poor geeks gravitated to as Napa’s prices climbed.
2012 CLOS DU BOIS ‘Marlstone’ Cab/ME/PV/Bec/CF 75/21/5/1/1 Alexander Valley Sonoma Co. 14.5
Stephen McConnell 