Critically Tasting the 2023 Reds

Taste is subjective. Individual preferences along with environment and context can make objective evaluation difficult. This is especially true when it comes to one’s own wine. Tasting your wine in a vacuum leads to what is known in the trade as “cellar palate”.  It is important to get out of the cellar and taste your wine with others.

Yesterday Shari Avenius, Jonathan Weber and I tasted samples of the 2023 red wines with Rutger de Vink and Joshua Grainer at RdV Vineyards. This overview tasting of the new vintage occurred a bit earlier than usual (we get together to taste regularly). But we were all anxious to share and learn as these 2023 wines are special.

This is a rare opportunity to get frank and honest feedback from good, experienced tasters. The five of us have been tasting together for years. We are well acquainted with individual palate preferences and sensitivities. We also have the courage to be honest. Evaluating a friend’s wines face to face is akin to evaluating a friend’s children.

We taste in flights. Yesterday we tasted by variety, pouring several samples of Merlot, then Cabernet Franc followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and finally Petit Verdot. We first taste quietly and take notes. Discussion of each individual wine starts with the impressions of the other side: those who did not make the wine. We try to not to prejudice the other tasters. Usually we are in general agreement. But sometimes there is an aspect or insight that can be especially instructive.

So what about the wines? This will be addressed in the next installment.  Or even better, get a first-hand account at Linden’s Barrel Tasting this weekend.

December Barrel Tasting and Vintage 2020 Release

Taste the difference this December. We’ll be tasting the classic 2020 single vineyard wines from the bottle and the hedonistic 2023 vintage from the barrel.

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Linden Vineyards / Learn More / Latest at Linden | Hardscrabble Journal: November 30, 2023