More Martini.

So what was in Vinogirl's six-pack?  Well, amongst other wines, there was this bottle of 1984 Louis M. Martini, Monte Rosso, Sonoma Cabernet sauvignon.  Not nearly as attractive a label as on the 1979, this bottle had a decidedly 80s style to it and was, quite frankly, rather ugly.  But how about the wine inside? 

At 13.8% the alcohol was a bit higher than the 1979 (written as a decimal this time around), but it mattered little.  This was a fabulous wine; deep garnet-red, gentle mouth-watering acidity, soft and silky tannins (as can only be acquired by bottle aging a wine for 28 years), luscious brambly hedge-warm-off-the-bush blackberries, a hint of spice (the mustiness of white pepper, perhaps?) and a still persistent tannic finish.  To be expected, as ethanol becomes oxidised with age, there was a whiff of acetaldehyde, but really not enough to be a flaw:  the level of acetaldehyde I detected was just enough to be salutary to the wine's overall complexity.  Paired with a rare New York strip, piled high with sautéed mushrooms and onions, this wine was simply delightful.  I had to stop myself from finishing the whole bottle.

A thank you to my employers at TWWIAGE for cellaring this wine perfectly, just for me.