Features

Tasting Notes

I enjoyed this wine in its first 20-25 years of life, but it has always been a rustic-styled La Mission, and as it has aged (this was the first bottle I have had in many a year), the volatile acidity and aggressiveness of the tannins are apparent as well as off-putting. A distinctive aroma of volatile acidity along with ashtray, smoke, camphor, faded fruit and damp earth notes emerge from the glass of this garnet/amber/orange-colored, medium-bodied wine that is clearly near the end of its life. Given the tart acids, it will probably hold together for another decade, but the rustic exuberance it revealed in its youth is long gone. Nevertheless, some interesting things are still going on, especially in the aromatics, and if you don’t mind some rather dramatic volatile acidity you may rate it higher than I.