Comments on: 2004 Carmel Kayoumi Cabernet Sauvignon

By: kurt

kurt — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:42:33 +0000

@RichP. Thanks for the tasting notes man. I have 3 in my wine fridge. Enjoy reading peoples tasting notes from wines purchased off this site. thanks all

By: awm

awm — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:49:24 +0000

I would never pay more than $100 for an older vintage without knowing the history of the bottle or without full trust that the seller will take back tainted bottles. One can do a lot of damage in storing a wine improperly for a few years.

By: RitchP

RitchP — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:47:15 +0000

A brief tasting note: Just had the Solaria 123 2001 with homemade lamb ragu and pasta. On opening, a strong taste of sour cherry; after an hour decant, still cherry/black fruit, but also leather and tobacco, a bit of menthol, some nice sweet tannins; continuing to evolve. On the whole, this gets a nice golf clap from me — not the best ever Brunello, but excellent QPR given the Cinderella price, and I am glad I bought in.

People, if you look at Wine Searcher, Yquem splits of various vintages are selling for $125 and up. The ’01 and ’05 are out of sight, but some less notable vintages are well within reach if you are willing to go a bit over a C-note.

By: Brad B.

Brad B. — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:32:24 +0000

@R-Dawg: read you loud and clear. I like good QPR as much as the next guy. But I also want to drink wines from as many of the great producers before I die. Tasted blind, maybe it won’t rock the world, but I don’t usually taste my wines blind (though it can be fun). Believe me, when I drink my Petrus, my Margaux, my Ausone, my Yquem, I damn well know which wine I am drinking! Cheers.

By: R-Dawg

R-Dawg — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:22:31 +0000

@Brad B.–I absolutely agree…an average vintage for a top producer can be a whole lot better than a good vintage for most other producers.

Maybe it’s just my quest for QPR, but I don’t get excited about a $500 bottle of Petrus that I’m pretty sure if I tasted blind against a good wine costing much less, I would certainly pick the cheaper bottle. But I see your point…how many chances do you get to taste a D’Yquem for $200 or a Petrus for $500.

By: Brad B.

Brad B. — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:59:48 +0000

@R-Dawg: not selling at what price? My local wine shop has various vintages (some very good ones) of Petrus and Yquem in their fine wine room, and they aren’t selling either. Probably because they are asking thousands per bottle and the guys who got rich during the dot com era don’t live here and already have theirs.

Everything has its price. Even off vintages of the great chateaus will sell like hotcakes if the price is low enough as we just saw today.

A “bad” vintage of Yquem is still better than many, many Sauternes of good vintages just because of the great care they take in grape selection at harvest. The other thing about Sauternes is their drinking window is often 30 or 40 years, sometimes longer. Who’s to say which vintage will be better in 40 years? Many of us won’t even be around then. There are numerous examples of “off” vintages eclipsing good vintages after some aging time.

Mainly, though, this was an opportunity to buy a bottle from a great chateau at a very good price. An opportunity many would otherwise never get.

By: R-Dawg

R-Dawg — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:38:47 +0000

Yeah, I’m not at all bummed about missing a 2000 Sauternes…very poor vintage.
Same goes for some of the Petrus offers…you have to look closely at the vintage. There’s a reason why those wines weren’t selling. Not all D’Yquem’s and Petrus’ are created equal!

By: parkers beyatch

parkers beyatch — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:06:15 +0000

@Phred. It is expensive no question, I managed to snag a case at 412per which is a great deal relatively speaking. The 2001 is a very special Yquem.

By: Phredd

Phredd — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:01:42 +0000

@parkers beyatch: 2001 Yquem is more than $500 for a full-size bottle. My cellar doesn’t need Yquem in it quite THAT badly. I was feeling the pinch at $200.

By: WineLou

WineLou — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:00:02 +0000

The Jermann Capo Martino is wonderful wine, and the price is half the best price on the web. If you miss out, however, the 2005 may be better wine and is available on the web at one site for $50 as well.