La Turque Côte-Rôtie Syrah

Valentine dinner in Carmel. Great looking bottle, and right from the get go this wine was showing its stuff. Killer nose. Reddish tawny color. Notes of red and black fruit, cola, smoked meat and dried meat sticks, some wood, some spice and a hint of menthol. Silky and velvet glove texture in the mouth, this was awesome immediately and was at its best over the first 2-3 hours, then it slowly tired after that. Still in a great drinking zone but aging these too much longer may cause the bottles to lose some of what’s making it show so very well today. Great juice!

Bright scarlet center with tawny rims. Huge nose. Notes of black cherries, smoked meats, spice, menthol and cool slate stone. Silky in the mouth. Velvet glove. Got better and better with air. Long finish. In a perfect spot right now at age 30.

Tasted blind... we're served three glasses from three brown bagged bottles. They all are similar in color: dark reddish tawny. This is more exotic in the nose than the other two, with notes of black fruit, plums, smoked meat and bacon fat, some licorice and a little cherry kirsch, some Asian spice and pepper, and some old desk wood. The wine is rich and velvet glove in the mouth, with a lasting finish you can taste for minutes later. Outstanding wine. Standing blind against its 1990 La La siblings, before the three bottle reveal I pegged this as the 90 La Turque which it is. Killer juice.

Reddish ruby core, opaque, not showing much age in the rims. Big bold bouquet in the nose. Notes of earth, bright cherry fruit, menthol, kirsch, gravel and bacon. Forever finish. A wow wine. Still in its youth.

Dark ruby. Still youthful color. Exotic nose of black ripe cherry, menthol, and Asian spice. Velvet glove, palate-coating fruit and structure in the mouth. More fruit than acidity. Medium plus finish... initially a little thin right after open, but after 3-4 hours of air the body of the wine came on in a big way and the finish became more impactful. While I think the best attribute of this wine is the nose, there is no denying it scores well across all the pleasure zones. Not as good as the 88. But still one of the top, memorable La La's.

Slight bricking but vibrant in the glass with great weight. Ethereal nose. Menthol. Dark red berries. Palate staining in the mouth. Incredibly long finish. Still young and will benefit from more age but such an experience already today.

Smoked pork chop with raspberry sauce

This does not suck.

Rugged and beautiful

1990 vintage. Decanted and tasted after one hour. Light-medium body. Great color still. Smoke and earth in the nose. Cedar, spiciness and rusticity on a long finish. Still relevant and kicking. Can hold tight for another 6-7 years. Must be a revelation out of a larger format bottle currently...3.15.24.