| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.9 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 34 notes) - hiding notes with no text |
| | Tasted by Mr T on 5/1/2022: aged well and nicely balanced...a little herbal but in the way I enjoy a little bit of the green (320 views) |
| | Tasted by SMagowan on 10/29/2020 & rated 92 points: Tasted better than the bottle we had a couple of months ago. Purple in color with a fragrance of black berries and wet cigar. On the palate there was a nice balance of light tannins in the background and dark fruits in the foreground, but not too heavily fruity. Drank with lamb burgers and it was a perfect pairing. (682 views) |
| | Tasted by SMagowan on 8/8/2020 & rated 91 points: Started on this with a coravin tasting on 7/22/20. Had another around 7/31 and finished on 8/08/20. Consistent with my bottle in 2018. I had been concerned that this might downshift, but my experience was positive. Good QPR; nice flavors of charcoal, soil and cigar leaf. A very good food wine, but not so bad on its own either. (701 views) |
| | Tasted by SMagowan on 4/24/2018 & rated 91 points: Nicely evolved and continuing to grow in stature. Very high QPR compared to Bordeaux and California. 91+ (1528 views) |
| | Tasted by Mr T on 9/11/2017: PNP the first night and a bit simple and grapey, much as I hate that descriptor it kind of hits it on the nose. On second night, more interesting, filled out and more interesting in flavors. Drinks pretty young and likely has many years ahead of it (1686 views) |
| | Tasted by golfwine on 2/2/2017 & rated 90 points: Patience is not one of my strong points...I opened this perhaps earlier than ideal but it was because the last bottle was so good, I couldn't wait to revisit it. Unfortunate that it is my last bottle. My impatience is further revealed by my laziness in decanting this bottle. Great wine! (1684 views) |
| | Tasted by davidspieker on 12/12/2016 & rated 90 points: Has evolved nicely. Dusty dark fruit aromas. Blackberry and dark cherry fruit with earth and tar flavors. Dusty tannin with mid-length finish. (1332 views) |
| | Tasted by golfwine on 12/2/2016 & rated 91 points: Just short of three years later and as written in Jan. '14, time is exactly what this wine needed. It was deftly balanced with a level of intrigue that erased most of my early impression and has me excited to open my final bottle. Although aromatics are not the hallmark of these Super Tuscan styled wines, the intrigue is in the unique and compelling flavor profile; replete with dusty fruit that carried right through the rich mid-palate and into a finish of pleasant, dusty tannins. What was telling was my concurrent drinking of a 2012, Merlot based offering that had much promise but for the firm and distracting tannin. (1374 views) |
| | Tasted by SMagowan on 12/11/2015 & rated 91 points: Decanted for about 30 minutes. It is very deep purple in color with a strong nose of wet earth and jam. It is rich tasting and a bit explosive in the Napa style. The first glass was better than the second which has me concerned about the future of the bottles I have left. I would have scored this higher on the first glass alone. Overall it was very good. (1134 views) |
| | Tasted by gordoyflaca on 10/13/2015 & rated 89 points: black cherry and green bell pepper (833 views) |
| | Tasted by travelin.mikeyt on 5/14/2015 & rated 90 points: I decanted for two to three hours before drinking and highly recommend giving it some time before drinking. The nose is herbs, vegetables and tobacco. Almost no scent of fruit initially but, through drinking the nose became more currant although just a hint of currant. The body is smoothlt textured and pleasant but has very little tail. It trails off quickly. It paired well with steak and brussel sprouts. (893 views) |
| | Tasted by SMagowan on 2/21/2015: No point rating on this because I did not drink enough of it to score it. Others in the party finished it quickly and enjoyed it. (931 views) |
| | Tasted by Snoski62 on 1/3/2015 & rated 90 points: Liked this. Drank alongside a number of other Italian blends and felt it showed nicely. I do think it will probably improve with some additional age... (931 views) |
| | Tasted by davidspieker on 9/4/2014 & rated 85 points: Funky dark fruit aromas that blew off after a few minutes. Blackberry and dark cherry fruit with earth and tar flavors. Tar dominates on a short, watery finish. (922 views) |
| | Tasted by Italiana on 6/30/2014: Opaque-ish purple. Fresh aromas. Hot finish. Not much in between. (939 views) |
| | Tasted by Francophile on 6/21/2014 & rated 86 points: Drunk alongside the same vineyards Merlot from 2000 the Merlow was the winner. I did not expect that and would have said previously this wine would have been better. I think this was not the best bottle example and pity it was the last of my stock and used for tasting with an Italian Chef. (816 views) |
| | Tasted by Francophile on 3/15/2014 & rated 90 points: Deep, very tasty (890 views) |
| | Tasted by mdefreitas on 2/18/2014 & rated 91 points: Evidently this wine needs quite a bit of air. When first opened, it did seem a bit modern and oaky, but with air, the fruit blossomed and the oak faded to a more of a graphite quality. Very good. (945 views) |
| | Tasted by mdefreitas on 2/16/2014: Whoa... what happened here? This is nothing like my bottle from 12/11/2013. This is much more modern in style, more oak, more coconut and riper fruit. Not horrible, but not really my style. Judgement deferred until I taste my third and last bottle. (760 views) |
| | Tasted by golfwine on 1/30/2014: Hmmm?..I must reserve my opinion until I can give this more time. What's clear is that this is a modern styled, hugely structured wine. Going forward, I think I should pay closer attention to my preference for Merlot-based Super Tuscans, particularly since it's the Cab component that seems to be kicking me in the teeth. As anticipated, it requires considerable air time...and a richly flavored meal, to offset the huge body and tannic backbone. The aromatics are tight though intriguing. Surprisingly, with the additional air time, the alcohol becomes more prevalent. Again, I've returned the cork and will revisit in the next day or two. TBD.
Returned 2 days later and the wine had not lost a thing. As expected, it clicked with some heavily seasoned tri-tip that effectively tamed its tannic grip. This wine's got years of life left. (659 views) |
| | Tasted by tonysmith72 on 12/27/2013 & rated 91 points: The review from 12/11/13 is spot on. This is not a pop and pour wine. It needs time to express itself. As it begins to show what it is made of you forget that this is an Italian wine. (780 views) |
| | Tasted by mdefreitas on 12/11/2013 & rated 93 points: While a bit more expensive than some of the other Sant'Elena wines offered through Garagiste, this was definitely worth the extra cost. This still has the secondary flavors of earth, wet leaves and graphite, but the fruit is a bit more prominent here, still juicy and fresh. Above all, a great, lengthy finish; more substantial than the 98/99 Ros di Rol. Bordeaux-like and classy. (652 views) |
| | Tasted by mmurry on 11/27/2013 & rated 87 points: Cherry and black current on the nose, with hints of spice, leather, and smoke. Lots of dirt and leather on the palate, with some cherry and pepper. (819 views) |
| | Tasted by Francophile on 10/11/2013 & rated 89 points: Good, full bodied CabSav/Merlot mix that did not lose the taste of Italy (602 views) |
| | Tasted by Francophile on 8/28/2013 & rated 89 points: Nice rounded wine with a good amount of tannin, even better on the 2nd day (549 views) |
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