Drank - Tor - Napa Valley - Cabernet Sauvignon - Heritage - 2002 - at a BBQ - with braised - glazed beef -
The wine was "tall" - very tight - when I got the bottle about 5 years ago - told the gentleman who brought the gift - I was immediately going to lay it down - he looked at me as being a bit crazy -
Last night he was back for dinner - we opened the Tor - after cooling the bottle in the refrig for about an hour - I have taken to cooling reds to bring out cleaner definable characteristics - (go figure - it works) - then decanted decanted -
You immediately got a sense of strength - power - the tannins were in their glory - and I immediately realized that 5 more years would not have been a bad decision - you could feel the fruit in back - but it never really surfaced -
Comments from the winemaker - Tor Kenward - indicated more fruit emerging than my experience - he also remarked that sweet sauces (ours was bourbon - honey - Pepsi syrup) tended to flatten fruit - regardless of the wine -
For the record - his tasting notes were - super ripe aromas of berry - plume - bitter chocolate - hints of pepper and fresh herbs - flavors that are - dense and tangy - hints of black raspberry and shaved chocolate - also noted - a mystery taste - hard to discern - shades of mint - a eureka moment - like tall soldiers protecting the vines were the eucalyptus trees, whose oils, ever so slightly had influenced the flavor of the wine -
Bottom line - if I see another bottle of 2002 - anytime before 2012 - I'll buy it on the spot -
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