A 20 minute decant, then drank a small glass over about 2 hours. Quite a lot of earth, leather, and a bit of tar. The palate is more fruit-forward and simple. I like the nose.
A small tasting pour. There was leather, gunpowder, tar and slightly funk earth. I liked this quite a bit, it drinks young, and I would imagine this to turn into something special in the years to come.
A 1 hour decant, drank a small pour over about 1.5 hours. Brownish red color. Quite mature on the nose and palate. Dust, black cherry, raisin, complex secondary and tertiary qualities. As I finished my small pour, it seemed to be on the decline in glass. Others that kept it longer had mixed opinions, a couple people thought it completely turned to barnyard while one person still liked the palate. If I had any of this, I would drink it now, no decant.
Decanted 2.5 hours and followed a small pour over about 2 hours. This wine earned its points on the nose, which is a wonderful complex assortment of tar, leather, earth, bramble, some spice and red fruit. The palate, especially mid-palate, is rather thin and dry, but the finish is halfway decent. I wonder if this wine is in an in-between phase at the moment.
A 3 hour decant and followed a small glass over about 1.5 hours. Big, rich, and very forward. The wine is full of fruit, but there is also earth. Blueberry and red fruit - lots of fruit in general. We discussed this wine at length, and some considered it over the top while others liked the style. Regardless, it is not horribly out of balance, just big. It wears its alcohol well.
A 3 hour decant, and followed a small glass over about 1.5 hours. Fruit all over - blueberry, boysenberry, wild raspberry. There is also earth and loam. I thought the flavor profile was more balanced than the 2003, but it was also a bit more alcoholic. I would like to try one of these in 5-10 years.
The color from a 750 was curiously light. Pop and pour, the initial nose had promise and lovely complexity, petrol, acid, honey and golden fruit. Unfortunately, that faded quickly and became much more simple. The palate was nice enough, but also incredibly simple. There was fruit, some spice, some acid, some sugar, there was just not enough of any of them. While not displaying any obvious flaws or negatives, there was not much going for this wine either. The finish did linger with a nice burnt sugar flavor.
I have no doubt that this wine will improve with time, but this bottle did not exhibit any of the stuffing to suggest that it will one day be a great wine.
Day 2 with cheeses and pate, not that different. Slightly thicker mouthfeel than I recall, and again I cannot detect anything wrong with it, it's just so smooth and slightly flavorless that it's almost boring.
2004 Bodegas Casado Morales Rioja Gran Reserva 89 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja
A 20 minute decant, then drank a small glass over about 2 hours. Quite a lot of earth, leather, and a bit of tar. The palate is more fruit-forward and simple. I like the nose.
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2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Gran Reserva Prado Enea 91 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
A small tasting pour. There was leather, gunpowder, tar and slightly funk earth. I liked this quite a bit, it drinks young, and I would imagine this to turn into something special in the years to come.
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1994 Bodegas Muga Rioja Torre Muga 92 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
A 1 hour decant, drank a small pour over about 1.5 hours. Brownish red color. Quite mature on the nose and palate. Dust, black cherry, raisin, complex secondary and tertiary qualities. As I finished my small pour, it seemed to be on the decline in glass. Others that kept it longer had mixed opinions, a couple people thought it completely turned to barnyard while one person still liked the palate. If I had any of this, I would drink it now, no decant.
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2001 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia 89 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Decanted 2.5 hours and followed a small pour over about 2 hours. This wine earned its points on the nose, which is a wonderful complex assortment of tar, leather, earth, bramble, some spice and red fruit. The palate, especially mid-palate, is rather thin and dry, but the finish is halfway decent. I wonder if this wine is in an in-between phase at the moment.
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2003 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla El Nido 90 Points
Spain, Murcia, Jumilla
A 3 hour decant and followed a small glass over about 1.5 hours. Big, rich, and very forward. The wine is full of fruit, but there is also earth. Blueberry and red fruit - lots of fruit in general. We discussed this wine at length, and some considered it over the top while others liked the style. Regardless, it is not horribly out of balance, just big. It wears its alcohol well.
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2005 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla El Nido 90 Points
Spain, Murcia, Jumilla
A 3 hour decant, and followed a small glass over about 1.5 hours. Fruit all over - blueberry, boysenberry, wild raspberry. There is also earth and loam. I thought the flavor profile was more balanced than the 2003, but it was also a bit more alcoholic. I would like to try one of these in 5-10 years.
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2005 Château Doisy-Daëne 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
The color from a 750 was curiously light. Pop and pour, the initial nose had promise and lovely complexity, petrol, acid, honey and golden fruit. Unfortunately, that faded quickly and became much more simple. The palate was nice enough, but also incredibly simple. There was fruit, some spice, some acid, some sugar, there was just not enough of any of them. While not displaying any obvious flaws or negatives, there was not much going for this wine either. The finish did linger with a nice burnt sugar flavor.
I have no doubt that this wine will improve with time, but this bottle did not exhibit any of the stuffing to suggest that it will one day be a great wine.
Day 2 with cheeses and pate, not that different. Slightly thicker mouthfeel than I recall, and again I cannot detect anything wrong with it, it's just so smooth and slightly flavorless that it's almost boring.
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