You decant young wines early to add air so they open up and show off their fruits. An hour never hurts. Decant older wines to clear them from tannic sediments and decant just prior to drinking them. I was shocked to see how much time this wine took to open .
The wine has 5% Petit Verdot for color, and 4% Merlot in it to maybe soften it some. It comes from one of the best Sonoma County areas.
The wine got 14.5 points on its first tasting after being decanted and served with dinner. It took one and a half hours to open, and then scored 17+ Points on the Dionysian scale of 20. Winemaker David Ready, Jr. said that it was exactly what he expected from its home area. It was still a very dark inky red and even had a thin garnet edge like it was a baby.
A very basic beef stew with crusty bread and a salad helped enhance the blackberry fruits and smoky leather in the wine. Yes, wine is food; it’s the liquid part of every meal.
The seventeen year-old 2001 Murphy-Goode Cabernet Sauvignon from the Alexander Valley, famous for its herbal quality, has 13.5% alcohol. cost under $15 back then, and was a remarkable surprise! In Vino Veritas.
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