August 21, 2008

Hillebrand 2002 Trius Cabernet Franc


(Re-Tasted August 2008) ... Monday August 18, 2008 … come home from a hard day of grunt work, been looking forward to opening that bottle of ’02 Trius Cabernet Franc all day … hot dog, the end of the day is here. Remove capsule. Plunge corkscrew into cork and extracted it with a resounding “pop” … smile. Breathe in as I reach for the glass … no way … pour wine into glass … sniff … pour glass of wine down drain … pour more wine … sniff … could it be? … Yes way – touch of taint (from the cork) – tough to tell, but a few more sniffs, swirls and swigs decides it. Not happy. Luckily I have back up on this one within arms reach.

Pull out second bottle, cross fingers. Repeat capsule and cork operation, pop is decidedly less resounding. No funny smell is in the air though. Swirl, better … Sniff, better … Swig, now that’s what I expected. A little woodsy, a little spicy on the nose, with hints of cedar. Palate shows that cedar a place to rest, on a bed of dried black fruits and tobacco leaves. The taste is dry and pleasant … ready for food and drinking on its own. Not too long left, another year or two – but well made and still enjoyable. Glad I bought a few when I did, but now it’s time to drink it up.


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