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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.4 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 138 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by prospero on 6/7/2021 & rated 91 points: Surprisingly fresh. I might have guessed merlot if tasted blind, but never 21 years old. (1531 views) | | | Tasted by iceaxe on 6/23/2019 flawed bottle: Nasty (2101 views) | | | Tasted by Martaven on 10/28/2017 & rated 93 points: These two bottles were amazing! These were really lucky bottles however as their is lots of variety between the bottles, as this wine is overdue for drinking, so if you have any left do not wait even a day, drink it right now. I had first bottle of my stash about 6minths ago and I fell in love, now some of the bottles were already spoilt, but these two I had today were awesome! (3320 views) | | | Tasted by Martaven on 10/5/2017 flawed bottle: Unfortunately both bottles I opened from 2 different boxes, but from the same seller tasted flawed, one Of them was as a touch better than the other. The drinking period has definitely passed unless somebody stored it very properly... it is also unfortunate as I got 2 cases of it and now need to return the remaining 20 bottles I have.
Only few months ago this was my favorite top secret great value wine... very sad that it is gone forever. (3358 views) | | | Tasted by David Paris (dbp) on 9/11/2017: I've found a lot of bottle variation in the couple dozen bottles of Sant'Elena I've gone through and this one errs on the worse side... see my two notes close together in 2012, and this bottle is more like the earliest note. It's fine but it certainly feels long in the tooth, but again, may just be bottle variation. (3512 views) | | | Tasted by wormfarmer on 1/7/2016: Deep garnet, mild bricking. Opaque. Smoky notes over baked plums to start; hours in, though, the pyrazines suddenly began to come through in spades. (Not sure I've ever noticed them in such a pronounced way in a non-Loire cab franc, though here they occur closer to the finish.)
Still in great shape, speaking generally. (3919 views) | | | Tasted by SkyCellar on 12/31/2015: Quite nice if you let it breath for a while. At least 90 points. (3395 views) | | | Tasted by yadgrad on 5/22/2015 & rated 90 points: Drinking very well. Smooth, berries and bell pepper (3250 views) | | | Tasted by Cycledoc on 1/10/2015 & rated 90 points: Incredible
Dark fruit on the nose
Black berry on the palate
Incredibly smooth and balanced
Unfortunately the last bottle in my cellar.
If you have any in your cellar drink now - this bottle was better than any of the previous bottles (3458 views) | | | Tasted by mtaczak on 11/17/2014 & rated 91 points: Best of the three I purchased, this one had none of the mustiness of the first or the muddiness of the second, but all of the earth, leather, mushroom, and dust. Best of both worlds. Huge bottle to bottle variation. (3619 views) | | | Tasted by mtaczak on 11/7/2014 & rated 87 points: eh. muddy and indistinct. (2303 views) | | | Tasted by quaffnov on 11/6/2014 & rated 87 points: Short decant, heavy with sediment (not surprising in a 14 year old bottle) the nose began with a barnyard presentation and bell peppers, black cherries, funky. This changed quickly with air time and simmered down to a standard merlot bouquet. The palate was a little thin but still has berry flavors, soft acidity and chocolate tannins. The finish was medium in length and dragged out the tannins a little too long. Paired with food too spicy for what this could handle, turned into much too harsh of a tannic experience, match this with something mellow. (2368 views) | | | Tasted by mtaczak on 10/30/2014: eh. interesting at first, dies rapidly. drink within 1-1.5 hours of opening. (1890 views) | | | Tasted by tward on 10/17/2014: OK. Gave it some plastic wrap to remove a bit of damp basement. It was kind of interesting in its age. It shows vegetal notes, some campfire, and forest floor. IMO the wine is struggling to hold on. Have this with food, perhaps a dish with green peppers. (1563 views) | | | Tasted by Matsutake on 9/5/2014 & rated 88 points: We opened our first bottle within a month of arrival from Garagiste and universally hated it. The better half refused it after a single sip. It was muted and dull, cloudy and short. I hoped for post-travel settling, but after a year of going through 3 more of the six pack, we were just happy our mistake had not been a very expensive one.
The last couple bottles have been sitting.
Some you have written that you forgot about them.
No such luck, I knew they were there, lurking.
We gave in last night and opened the second to last bottle. And, surprise, it really wasn't that bad. We drank it over the course of 2 days, and it stayed, pretty decent. Nice earthy tones, with a bare little bit of fruit peeking underneath.
Actually, on second thought, this was pretty good for sub-$14. The better half gave it thumbs up, and asked for more. Huh.
Some folks are saying drink up. I say, given how well it held up on day 2 (in fridge, no cork overnight), it can hold for another year, maybe. (1856 views) | | | Tasted by Francophile on 6/21/2014 & rated 88 points: A light red but still mellow (1984 views) | | | Tasted by guchl on 5/22/2014 & rated 91 points: Vastly better than my other bottle. Cork in perfect condition. Honestly, had forgotten about this bottle and expected a very tired wine, if drinkable at all. Pleasant on opening, started to rock after about midway through dinner. reminds me of some rolling stones records. (2018 views) | | | Tasted by Francophile on 5/15/2014 & rated 88 points: Drinking window is closing this is starting to show its age (2016 views) | | | Tasted by Cycledoc on 3/7/2014 flawed bottle: Corked - but the next bottle was ok (2259 views) | | | Tasted by Cycledoc on 3/7/2014 & rated 89 points: Color: deep red
Aroma: dark fruit
Taste: cherry, oak
Complex, the more I drink it the more I like it
A bit bold with earthy flavors up front, then complex fruit, then back to earthy on the finish.
The finish is a bit stronger than I usually like but the complexity makes this wine very enjoyable (2045 views) | | | Tasted by Jmarrazzo on 2/17/2014 & rated 75 points: Agree with others--this wine is over the hill. (691 views) | | | Tasted by mattdev on 2/2/2014 flawed bottle: 2 Bottles, both corked. Worried the 3rd will be the same. (2346 views) | | | Tasted by Redguy on 1/20/2014: This has moved in the wrong direction. Astringent, high VA, low pleasure, bretty funk taking over... basically DOA. (1970 views) | | | Tasted by thebonnydooner on 1/5/2014 & rated 89 points: Delicious pop and pour with some roast chicken. showing nice complexity, some vegetal hints but also some nice black plum and black cherry fruit. Soft tannins, but still juicy acidity. Medium long finish with interesting sweet/vegetal notes. (1639 views) | | | Tasted by ptconroy on 12/19/2013 flawed bottle: Corked. Second corked bottle out of the case. Plastic wrap trick helped a little, but I'm afraid that the whole case is bad. (1889 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (5/5/2012)
(Sant'Elena Merlot) Nearly opaque purple red violet color; tobacco, weedy nose; matture, tobacco, iodine, weedy palate; medium-plus finish 87 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Sant'Elena Producer website2000 Sant'Elena Merlot
If you are a fan of the 2000 vintage in Bordeaux (who isn’t?), this “Right Bank meets Left Bank meets the Merlot magic of Friuli (think Miani)” will have your head spinning even more so than the descriptor you just read. I kept sniffing and tasting this over and over with the same thoughts in my mind – this wine is a dead-ringer for a terrific St. Emilion (minus the Cabernet Franc, although, it seems you still sniff and taste traces of Franc in this as well).
The 2000 vintage is one of those growing seasons that spread fairy dust far and wide. The same climactic conditons that gave Bordeaux it’s first “vintage of the century” (yes, that was a pun), moved from west to east over the Southern Rhone, Piedmont (the infamous 100pt vintage), Northern Italy and through Slovenia. In each case, the growing season left its stamp of approval on the wine of the region and it did so with an exclamation point.
To find current-release Bordeaux for $13+ would not be that big of a deal but, to find a $13+ example from 2000 would be a very big deal (a decade down the road, there are very few examples of significance from this vintage that remain under $25, let alone $13). To keep this line of reasoning moving along, most Bordeaux estates produce thousands of cases (even tens of thousands of cases) - in artisinal Friuli? That may be closer to a few hundred.
Which brings us to this scintillating little Bordeaux-inspired example that contains all the Peter Pan magic of the 2000 campaign, all the complexity and wonderfully aged nuance that a decade in the cellar brings...and it does so for $13.72.
I’ve had other vintages of this wine (and all are good) but there was something about 2000 that opened new doors (which is why the vintage is so hard to find in Italy). Immersed in the 2000, you will find damson plum, tobacco, soil, charcoal and highly aromatic and flavorful red fruit that is a delight to ponder and enjoy. The wine is still youthful but it is also well on its way to that special place of elegance and breed that only cellar time can bring. Low alcohol (13.0%), a charged impact plus a lingering hint of Friulian licorice and fresh fruit complete what is arguably the finest $13+ aged value of “Bordeaux” any of you will ever have the pleasure of passing before your lips.MerlotMerlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.Italy Italian Wines (ItalianMade.com, The Italian Trade Commission) | Italian Wine Guide on the WineDoctorFriuli-Venezia GiuliaBrazzano di Cormons (GO)
Friuli Isonzo Friuli Isonzo on Wine Searcher |
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