Q
uickly: A deep, complex prestige red with almost 10 years of age on it, drinking at its peak and nearly half its original price!
There's not a lot wine people agree on universally, but if there's one opinion they're all likely to share it's that Americans drink their wine too young. If you've ever had the experience of opening a $20, $50, or (save us!) $100 bottle of wine and found yourself thinking, "Well, it's good, but... uh..." you've probably fallen victim to this phenomenon. And that's why I always keep an eye out for good, old wine to feature from time to time; I like old wine, true, but I also want to make sure those interested understand the difference firsthand. With that in mind, let me introduce this week's Eno-Files feature, the 2010 Darcie Kent Crown Block red!
As wine ages, a few things happen to it. What we call 'primary characteristics', mostly fresh-fruit aromas, develop into first a jammy, then dried or raisined character, while 'secondary characteristics', the spicy notes from barrel aging, become more subtle. Tannin begins to fall out of the wine, giving it a paler color and throwing a light sediment at the bottom of the bottle, which softens the mouthfeel and gives the wine a silky texture. And, as the tannin breaks down, 'tertiary characteristics' emerge, the flavors of earth and herbs and rocks that really reveal where a wine comes from. In the case of Darcie Kent, this means a taste of their Crown Block vineyard from the Livermore Valley, due east of San Francisco and planted to the classic, long-lived Bordeaux varietals that made old wine famous in the first place.
The 2010 Darcie Kent Crown Block red pours a clear, deep garnet hue with brick tones as it thins out toward the rim. The nose is clean and leaps from the glass, with notes of blackberry jam, cocoa powder, tilled soil, and flint. On the palate the wine is dry and full-bodied, with fresh acidity and fine-grained, grippy tannin structuring flavors of black cherry preserves, craisin, crushed gravel, and a hint of mint leaf throughout the long finish. This wine is enjoyable on its own, but is most at home with tender cuts of red meat... think filets and London broil! This wine is drinking fabulously now but will easily last another five years or so, growing in earthy complexity as it goes!
