People have commented that wine is a living thing. It changes and evolves in a wine bottle. It is easy to understand how it evolves while in French oak for twenty months. But it also changes in the bottle? Early last August we bottled our 2009 Illuminatus Cabernet Sauvignon we crafted at Vint Hill Craft Winery. At first we noticed the fruit, some oak influences and the tannins that were silky. By January 2012, the fruit on the aroma was very noticeable much more than around bottling time. There was a hint of licorice on the taste. The tannins were still silky. While in Italy, two Italian winemakers tasted the wine. The liked the dark purple to black color, the fruit and tannins; however, both thought the wine needed four to six more months in the bottle. Six months has elapsed and wow!
We recently had a bottle of the wine as did my brother in Michigan. The dark purple to black colored wine has dark fruits on the aroma. Meghan commented that she could smell the wine three feet away from it. There are more than black fruits on the aroma, there is also the influence of the oak, something that was lacking earlier. Although blackberries were on the taste, what was really amazing were the different layers of other tastes that were picked up. We also tasted licorice, anise, cocoa and a hint of cedar. The wine also offered a touch of earthiness. The tannins were silky and integrated in the wine. Right now I enjoy the wine as a walk around wine without food. Tim had it with a steak and liked the pairing.
The wine should age well over the years. A drawback is the limited number of cases that I have. I’ll have to reserve some bottles for ten years and twenty years just to see how it is doing then. We’ll try it again at Meghan’s wedding next month. If the aroma and taste are like the bottle we had this week, the wine will be well received.
Cheers,
Terry
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