WTN: I need a stout ax

Clos Triguedina Cahors "Prince Probus" 2000 (label) 13% abv; c.33€

This is a beautiful wine. It is a meaty, wild wine with some Provençal herbs. It has a lovely, tannic structure, too, and quite a wonderful purity of fruit.

But can anyone lend me an ax or perhaps a chainsaw? Most annoyingly there is a stout oak door between the wine and I, and I would like to knock it down.

Wine Tasting Note of the Month!

Wine Tasting Note of the Month!

Seconded.

As to oak....a wine was recently released in Israel (I will not mention the wine or the winery as the winemaker is suing me and my newspaper for my negative note), the wine aged for 24 months in new oak and then transfered for another 24 months to even newer oak. I was tempted to write that at the price it is being released (over $100 per bottle) the winemaker should have provided each bottle with a tweezers for removing the oak splinters from the tongue and throat. Fortunately, good taste did not allow me to write that. Otherwise he might be suing me twice.

Best
Rogov

[David M. Bueker]

I once owned a wine that had seen "200% new oak." It had spent 12 months in new French oak then 12 more in new American oak. It tasted like someone had marinated a desk in dill weed.

I once owned a wine that had seen "200% new oak." It had spent 12 months in new French oak then 12 more in new American oak. It tasted like someone had marinated a desk in dill weed.

A mid-'90s Laurent Burg, David? Or were other winemakers pursuing that paradigm?

Mark Lipton

I know the Numanthia 'Termanthia' cuvee also goes through 200% new oak. That said, I had the 00 and 05 some time ago and while I'm normally not that fond of big oaky wines, I enjoyed those (and the rest of the Numanthia lineup) much more than I'd expected I would - the Termanthias were very well made wines and the '00 in particular was really stunning with the oak integrating really well among all the fruit and richness of the wine and serious structure underneath keeping it in check.

[David M. Bueker]

I once owned a wine that had seen "200% new oak." It had spent 12 months in new French oak then 12 more in new American oak. It tasted like someone had marinated a desk in dill weed.

A mid-'90s Laurent Burg, David? Or were other winemakers pursuing that paradigm?

Mark Lipton

1998 Matthews Cellars Syrah

My favorite still was the foothills cabernet the winemaker proudly announced had spent 48 months in new American oak. Urp. It tasted like a dill-based salad dressing.