My L-M shipment arrived, so decided to Pobega:
1. Lagier-Meredith Mondeuse MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.3%; www.LagierMeredith.com) Napa 2014: Very dark color; very intense herbal/rosemary/thyme/pungent very strong blackberry/Mondeuse/spicy slight toasty/oak very perfumed nose w/ lots of bass notes; some tart/tangy very strong herbal/rosemary/pungent/thyme/Mondeuse some toasty/oak/smokey very spicy complex flavor w/ ample hard/structured tannins; very long/lingering very strong herbal/rosemary/thyme/musky/pungent light toasty/oak very spicy/blackberry finish w/ ample firm tannins; this is world-class Mondeuse that should go out at least 10-15 yrs. $41.25
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. If I make it to Savoie next Fall, one of these is going along to show them yockels what world-class Mondeuse is about. This does not show the earthy/loamy side of Mondeuse you typically get in those wines and is certainly bigger than those of Savoie. In previous yrs, the L-M Mondeuse seemed to be a slight tweak on their Syrah w/ a bit more herbal notes. This '14 version seems much stronger in the herbal/rosemary/thyme character, which I find a character of Mondeuse, than I recall from previous editions. It bears a strong resemblance to the CortiReserve Mondeuse w/ the last Mondeuse (Refosco) crop off Antinori's AtlasPeak (and made by Trinchero), which was fiercely tannic. I need to revisit that wine.
Tom