2004 Karl Lawrence Napa Valley. Knowing Joe and Donna are big fans of Sequoia Grove, I thought this would be an interesting experiment for them to try with their herb crusted tri tip, roasted potatos, and corn. The experiment was a success! There is certainly plenty of oaken sheen here, but more as a texture than anything else...the dread vanilla flavor does not dominate in any way. Very rich anise and currant fruit, quite spicy, with the tannins melding with the meat in a very pleasant way. I may be a Francophile sometimes, but a big rich Napa cab can still definitely hit the spot. Even if, as I understand, this was drinking the KL way too young. I have one 2005 bottle left. 93 points!
2002 Rubicon. Meh. Nothing wrong here, just nothing exciting. Pretty much muted fruit, with some herbal notes. Thinnish texture. Compared to the Peter Franus earlier this season from the same vintage, not very impressive. (The Franus is half the price, too
) I suppose this is "elegant" and it may be better with food, but for the price point there was not a lot of "there, there." 85 points Much better bottle four years ago.
...(Humans) are unique in our capacity to construct realities at utter odds with reality. Dogs dream and dolphins imagine, but only humans are deluded. –Jacob Bacharach
