2002 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon

The food cupboard and the refrigerator possessed only the remnants of this week's shopping excursions, leaving Marita and I scratching our heads for ideas on what to cook for dinner. I used up the litte leftover produce in this morning's omelet (leeks, brocoli hearts, garlic, tomatoes, some fresh herbs, cheddar cheese, etc), which we ate while drinking last night's unfinished bottle of Maurice Charleaux's 2005 Maranges 1er Cru "Le Clos des Rois." I am use to lighter styled Pinots from this most southerly of the Cote d'Or's communes, but this wine was big in flavor, extract and nose, with some surprisingly noticeable tannins (not harsh, but definitely present). Weighing in at a hefty 13.5% a.b.v this could nearly have been Oregonian Pinot. Very assertive, ripe and round. Bright too, with good definition, but like I said, I would have more likely guessed a regional wine from the Cotes de Nuits before I would have picked Maranges. Very full with good richness and mouthfeel. This bottle costs around $25 and seems like it has a good 3-5 years ahead of it. Perhaps it will exhibit more terroir with time in bottle...

Back to the dinner situation: we decided on vegetarian sloppy joes as we had the reqisite items available (TVP, barbeque sauce, and bread) and to make up for the paucity of our dinner (and because I asked Stacy to drop in) I popped the cork on the 2002 Concha y Toro 2002 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon. Paul gave me this bottle recently for helping him in the shop. And because we rarely eat Cab conducive meals I thought I would try it out on our version of Mamwich and Stacy simultaneously.

I decanted this into what everyone who sees it calls my "duck" decanter. Let it sit for about five minutes then poured three glasses and waited another fifteen minutes until we sat down to table to take a big whiff of this...this...rather unpleasant smelling liquid. It reminded me of a litter box and damp black potting soil. Really dirty and sort of ammoniated nose. My initial impression was that this wine had some flaw, but it didn't come across as being corked really, and not Brett either, not horsy enough for Brett, and the mere 4% Cab Franc couldn't give it this much of a foul smell. But really: like a gardening expedition. Not to be unfair, a lot like gardening while eating the strawberries and blueberries growing alongside the earth you are tilling. Sweet fruit, vanilla, plums, and red cherries. But then, the ever present cat litter box odor. Much better on the palate, very supple and silky with a nice dry chocolatey finish. Only a hint of the cat on the palate. A little cedar box on the nose. Quite complex if you can get around the dirty aspect. Hot on the palate. Strong finish. There were periods during which I really enjoyed this wine and then others when I found it quite off-putting. An almost Bordeaux like quality to it: elegant, (nearly) balanced, good acidity.

Frustrating. I wish I had had another bottle that I could have opened in order to compare. Was this a flawed bottle?

Later: I poured the wine remaining in my glass into my usual tasting glass, swirled it, then threw it out and repoured from the decanter (perhaps it was only a soap residue problem?). Still the potting soil component present...

While blogging: the scent now not as off-putting though still present (perhaps I discern less two and a half glasses of wine later?)

Overall, my feeling is that this wine, ordinarily, must be good. All the components are in place. I think that there may have been a problem with this bottle, or else it needs a little more time. Upstairs, one third of the bottle awaits for a follow-up tasting...