| Community Tasting Notes (average 87.4 pts. and median of 88 pts. in 31 notes) - hiding notes with no text |
| | Tasted by Screameagle on 6/7/2010 & rated 90 points: This wine has evolved into a really nice bottle. I was somewhat apprehensive about drinking this bottle but it was really quite nice. Happy to have a couple left. Should hold for at least another year. (1817 views) |
| | Tasted by davidandrose on 7/30/2009 & rated 89 points: Pop and pour from a .375. Much better tasting than several other reviewers here; Sampled out of both cab and pinot glasses, with different but equally enjoyable profiles. A little flat on the nose, with faint cherry and tobacco. Fine grained tanins, ripe mature red fruits. Good wine, great 1/2 bottle for all of $11 (1911 views) |
| | Tasted by jeff nowak on 3/11/2009 & rated 83 points: lots of oak, bitter finish, reddish fruit, not a fan. (1967 views) |
| | Tasted by windypinot on 2/21/2009 & rated 88 points: half-bottle, opened at end of dinner so not time to breathe; agreed with the description that this just does not show the varietal characteristics you would expect; nose is excellent with raspberry and licorice, but on the mouth, it lost a lot of the fruit from the nose and is a little too hot; just missing the fruit you would expect from a grenache; finish is non-distinct (1920 views) |
| | Tasted by Tejano on 1/26/2009: Still that firm purple, but with a rich ruby backing...on opening a wiff of that animal nuance that I remember from last time, but that blew off rather quick leaving tart berries with an accent on dark berries...not red...with alot more emphasis on fruit this time around. A rather nice and approachable personality with an emphasis on the red berry taste profile, with just enough framework to hold it together...just a tad of acidity and a very light tannic edge. Actually quite nice ...but drink now...ready to go. (1935 views) |
| | Tasted by thomaskeil on 6/11/2008 & rated 86 points: Not decanted. Has settled down since 2 years ago. Color seems brighter and the fruit has moved from dark berries to distinctly red with a floral component and maybe more grenache-like. Palate is not thick and waxy (as I desribed in '06) but is bright, light medium in weight and with a slight charge of acid. Pleasant but a pretty simple wine that doesn't excite much (1332 views) |
| | Tasted by Tejano on 9/19/2007 & rated 90 points: Dark purple color and having an aroma of ripe red berries, just a tad of firm animal musk and some heat on the backend. Firm entry and a full fruit grip with a nice tannic edge, that helped frame it all...I liked this alot, and enjoyed it as it settled down over several hours, eventually showing a few more layers of personality. Not for everyone, and it paired well with NY strip steaks. (1505 views) |
| | Tasted by Rangstrom on 8/19/2007 & rated 90 points: From a .375, opened but not decanted an hour before a dinner featuring rosemary-garlic chops. Very shy nose to start; it took time and a lot of coaxing to bring out the resulting red fruit bouquet. The red fruits--mostly cherry and raspberry--were, however, on the tongue from the start. An uplifting wine with a lot of play in the mouth. Cleansing and lively; an excellent food wine. Initially somewhat ragged on the finish, but it smoothed out nicely with time in the glass. Good QPR. (1519 views) |
| | Tasted by RJonesUSC on 8/15/2007 & rated 89 points: Splash decanted. At first this wine wasn't showing a whole lot. After about an hour or so the fruit started to come out and it really started showing well. (1719 views) |
| | Tasted by ruddy on 7/2/2007 & rated 88 points: Nose is somewhat unyielding, but eventually reveals some pineapple-tinged blueberry and a nose-tickling hint of alcohol. The first taste is lovely, clean fruit--cherry and more blueberry, with a bit of pucker from the tannins. As it goes on, the fruit gives way to a bit of heat, but this is still nice stuff. Wish it were a little cheaper, though.. (1596 views) |
| | Tasted by dfeiner on 6/26/2007 & rated 85 points: This didn't work for me. No distinct varietal characteristic. Insubstantial mouth feel. Somewhat of a flowery, violet flavor but where ever the bar was set, this didn't get over it. Left the remainder sitting out to see what it tastes like tomorrow. (1638 views) |
| | Tasted by SacredCow on 6/15/2007 & rated 86 points: On the nose, flowers, blueberry, raspberry and alcohol. On the palate, medium to full-bodied with more of the same in a jammy texture, with the heat rather prominent on the medium length finish. (1615 views) |
| | Tasted by bpj87 on 5/18/2007 & rated 89 points: Nice! (1771 views) |
| | Tasted by pjhr on 2/7/2007 & rated 89 points: Quite enjoyable! Nice bright cherry and cranberry aromas and flavors with a bit of heat on the finish. (1803 views) |
| | Tasted by rjoyer on 1/21/2007 & rated 89 points: Shows a lot better after opening up for about 2 hours. sheds the lighter flavors, and puts on mass with dark blue berries on the palate. still a little thin for my liking, but a good wine none-the-less. (1829 views) |
| | Tasted by rjoyer on 12/21/2006 & rated 89 points: 2004 Novy Judge Grenache - Popped, decanted, and immediately poured a splash into the glass. Translucent, purplish-rosey hue. I could smell the floral notes as I poured the wine into the decanter, which were persistent in the glass for the first 10 minutes. You can definitely smell some of the oak on the nose as the floral notes soften and allow some blue fruit, sweet cherry and cranberry-laden tar/olive aromas to show themselves. Medium bodied, and definitely gains some weight in the glass. I can't say the texture is seemless, or that the finish lasts for long, but there is bright acidity and sweetness throughout. On the palate, the wine opens with bright and acidic cran/cherry high notes followed by rose petals and blue fruits; blueberry and maybe even boysenberry (but by no means in a rich, jammy pie way) that are harmoneously shorter in the finish than desired. Not incredibly complex, but by no means simple or uninteresting. Another year should let this wine integrate a bit more. (1892 views) |
| | Tasted by dmatley on 12/17/2006 & rated 88 points: Drank with pizza. After reading the tasting notes on this wine I fully expected it to throw flames upon uncorking. The heat is definately apparent but eased with time. Red fruit is somewhat muted but plenty of acid. This wine is clearly disjointed. Will revisit in a couple of years. (1952 views) |
| | Tasted by shaneajohnson on 12/15/2006 & rated 85 points: Good enough as a pizza wine. Agree with comments below about lacking fruit and heat/alcohol masking any flavors. My first really disappointing Novy. (1978 views) |
| | Tasted by SMG on 12/11/2006 & rated 84 points: Did not decant. The fruit was lacking but showed a nice spice profile. The finish was dominated by heat/alcohol which really masked any flavor of the wine. (2098 views) |
| | Tasted by thomaskeil on 8/12/2006 & rated 86 points: Dark violet/red. Nice nose of red and dark berries and a little spice. Comes into the palate as thick and almost waxy, stays full and fruity through mid-palate as heat builds. Finishes with nice acidity and a slight overabundance of heat. I enjoyed this with a Chicago pan pizza, but at this point its repertoire is limitted. (1987 views) |
| | Tasted by SMG on 4/21/2006 & rated 84 points: Did not decant. Had some nice red fruit on the nose along with some kirsch, but there was very noticeable alcohol on the palate that overwhelmed everything else. This was very different than the first bottle of this I had just a few weeks ago. This may have been a bad bottle - It was not fun or easy to drink. (2273 views) |
| | Tasted by SMG on 3/30/2006 & rated 86 points: Did not decant. Nice aroma of red fruit with plenty of red fruit and kirsch on the palate. Medium to full-bodied wine that opened up a bit after about an hour in the glass. The wine has some tannins that will allow it to develop a bit over the next six months or so. (2325 views) |
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