by Andrew Chalk
The preamble to part one read…
“More people are coming round to the idea that Texas can make good wine as they sample more of it. But the ultimate test of gravitas in, at least red wines, is how they age. How does Texas do in that regard?
To find out, I am doing a series of tastings of Texas wines, all 10+ years old, and assessing how they are doing. I am choosing them based on how their peers in other parts of the world do at the end of their first decade.”
And later added
“Since this vintage is no longer available in the retail market I have helpfully indicated the price as ‘infinity’ in the title, above. ”
One canoodle into the galss says it all about the condition of this wine. Brown rim, deep garnet tones verging on brown in the body. This is a wine nearing the end of its tastable life. How close? Well, from that observation everything improves. The nose is as powerful as its prepubescent self. Just built from different things. Prunes, leather, mushrooms, tobacco. and forest floor. In the mouth these tones spring from its medium body and build into a long finish. Tannin is almost completely denuded.
We served it with a leg of lamb (Costco pre-prepared), air fryer asparagus topped with cheddar, and sauteéd king oyster mushrooms with onions. Its flavors comingled sublimely, uplifting the meal. It had thrown a lot of debris with age but, as Sherlock Holmes said, the reasons were "sedimentary my dear Watson".
If you have any bottles of this wine, buy a time machine and drink it four years ago. Otherwise, a mouthfilling red meat (like lamb or steak) works for pleasant drinking now.
Sample.
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