Bernardus Winery
Marinus
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec
Carmel Valley, California, USA
2004
14.5%
$23.99 -- Costco, Austin, TX
Color: Dark garnet
Nose: Cherry, vanilla, stewed plum, thyme
Body: Full
Front: Ripe cherry
Middle: Cassis, sage, oaky creaminess
Back: Orange, cigar wrapper, very soft tannins
Burns clean?: Almost; a little headache
Cap: Cork
This is a super wine. Really delightful, mature, balanced, focused, and rich; good with food (roasted chicken and romaine and roma tomato salad tonight); and interesting. A wine from Napa Valley that tasted like this would cost you $50 easy. Guessing from the stewed fruitiness of it, I'd say that it's at its peak, but I could be wrong, and at this price, it's worth putting one away for a year to see if it gets even more mellow and rich.
{Note, 2014: $50 indeed--Spec's raised their prices on the Marinus to $45 sometime last year--damnation. Costco must have run out.}
