1997 Beringer Alluvium

[winoweenie]

A serious meritage with all 5 flavors of Bordeaux varietals in the mix. Ed, as usual the consummate wine-maker, kept the blend used in his head. Smooth, suave, silky are descriptive adjectives. Hope this keeps improving as well as it has in the last 18 months. 14.1% alc. Will take another 2-4 to completely evolve. Serious bottling. 91/94 25 by the box. WW

[Stealthman]

I don't like this as much as you WW, but it is substantially better than it was a couple years ago where it was a huge ball of oak. Pretty good drinking now, had one about a month ago and was very pleasantly surprised.

[winoweenie]

Wines that are built to age always show a lot of wood in their youth. That's the reason I very seldom start drinking wines until they start gettinmg some whiskers on 'em. WW

[winoweenie]

KC thot I'd posted on this wine. Have you had this in your cellar since release? Lots of contrast in our notes,? WW

[Kcwhippet]

I got it in December 2003 as a holiday gift from the owner of the shop I worked at then. I have no idea where he had the bottle for all the time before I got it, which may account for the big difference between our TNs. We thought it was a nice, soft Meritage, but not one that would have lasted much longer. I suspect it may have been stored in a warm, but not hot, place and may have aged much quicker than yours as a result.

[winoweenie]

1st thing that came to my mind. Lots of difference in the rapidity whenced going from 52 to 70. WW

[hotwine]

That's a good data point for anyone looking for info on the benefits of a good cellar to wine preservation.