1/8/2024 - alanmspieg Likes this wine:

My last bottle. Decanted it on 1/8/24 for two hours. Went to try before dinner and it had lost all of its fruit, no tannin or structure left. Too bad, because it was a great wine in its prime.

12/30/2023 - Jsw@jswright.com wrote:

Rotten Cork like seven previous bottles.

1/25/2021 - CondorKhan wrote:

Pours shockingly light but beautiful ruby.

The first day, it displayed a powerful, exuberant nose of cherries, forest floor and earth, but the palate was completely shut down, giving only faint cherry, and feeling thin, hollow and acidic. I thought it was entering a dumb phase.

However, over the next three days it gradually opened up to the point that the last two glasses were pretty much Premier Cru level... the intense nose never faded, but the palate filled up with dried cherries, cranberry, a tiny hint of stemmy herbiness, and big earth and forest floor, leading into high toned, fresh acidity and velvety tannins. At this point, it paired brilliantly with monkfish with miso broth (recipe courtesy of Eric Ripert, search for it), with the ginger flavors working wonders with the earthiness of the wine. An absolutely stellar pairing.

The last glass was the best, and the last sip was like saying goodbye to a good friend.

6/20/2020 - bhouk wrote:

Delivers a lot for not that much money. Medium weight, ripe pear, mineral salts, glycerin mouthfeel. Really sorry I didn’t buy more of this. Three bottles was not nearly enough. If I had known how this would be drinking at this point it would be a no-brained case purchase.

5/22/2020 - shaferguy91 wrote:

Used to cook with.

4/19/2020 - Alexander Smith Likes this wine:

Another solid wine from Terre Nere who grows grapes at between 2100-2900 ft. A blend of Nerello Mascalese 98 %, Nerello Capuccio 2 % aged in oak for 11 months, The nose is full of red berries, dried red fruit, iron crust, and quite floral. The palate is medium-bodied with bright acidity, freshly crushed cherries, raspberries, and cranberries along with fine tannins, a little iron texture, crushed gravel and crushed rose petals. The finish was fresh yet grippy. This will drink well over the next 3-4 years.

11/1/2019 - isaacjamesbaker wrote:

Delicious stuff, rich and honeyed and waxy, but showing moderate acidity as well. Complex ginger, clover, honey, candle wax, marmalade and floral tones. Could definitely use more time to develop, as it seems still quite dense.

5/13/2019 - Stampeder Likes this wine:

For this point, this is great find. Very drinkable with nice fruit and balance. Find it, buy it and give it a try.

1/24/2019 - Kentw Likes this wine:

Very nice. More balanced and smooth compared to a few years back. Recent value has jumped, but for original price a very good buy.

2/1/2018 - B Paul wrote:

Light red fruit and earth. A little wood or something too. My only bottle, but probably time to drink these if you have any.

12/13/2017 - Krasaki Likes this wine:

Wow delicious. Cork was very soft and moldy around the edge, came out in one piece with the ah so. The nose was there at opening and the taste on the palate woke up after two hours. Way better than the first bottle consumed earlier this year, mellow dark sweet red fruit, Brie, a little blue fruit, sweet mushroom, and a wood note I couldn’t place. Wow.

9/10/2017 - Millennial Drinkers wrote:

The cruise continues! Night eight aboard the Allure of the Seas and since the Special Selection has already been finished and the Opus is too young we ran downstairs to grab this beauty out of the suitcase.

Deep and dark ruby red. Deep and layered nose with tobacco, spices, vanilla, dark floral notes, black currants, cassis and a touch of scorched earth. Heavy tannins (7.5/10) with a full body. Smooth attack on the palate but very powerful with solid acidity and strong backbone. Layered with vanilla, cinnamon and dark spices with a strong dark black cherry undertone throughout. Long finish. Big powerful wine with a decade or more left in it and will only get even better with time. Drink till 2030. (95+)

We decided we needed to celebrate this vacation with my parents so we brought along the first high-end bottle of wine we purchased back in 2014 when we went into Total Wine and met Victoria. So glad we did!

6/7/2017 - bestdamncab Likes this wine:

Tasting Corton Grancey and Clos de Tart from the 1985 vintage with Mike at Yans with Alex Yan cooking the duck for our Red Burgundy lunch.
Very floral nose of red cherry with hints of black cherry, roasted meat, and bacon, more of the same on the palate, big body, beefier and richer fruit than the Clos de Tart, elegant tasting, great wine during the two hour lunch, well paired with the roasted duck, showing its age, time to drink up, and long, long finish.

4/9/2017 - WineGuyX wrote:

This smells and tastes like Barolo, but is a very poor example. "dull" and "flat" are two words that continue to crop up. Lacks the freshness and high-toned character I love in Barolo. 88

11/22/2016 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine:

The score reflects the first half of the bottle, which was drank a week ago, and then sealed with Coravin. I had forgotten to expend residual air from the device before I re-sealed, so take the second TN with a pinch of salt.

First half: Very powerful dark stewed strawberry and earthy iodine notes, was initially quite acidic then by the second glass it settled down a bit to become more voluptuous if still a strong acidic spline. Drank very well and pleased both my wife and I.

Second half: Bearing in mind the possibility that I may not have sealed it properly, this was a bit thin with the fruit nearly gone with some nice earthy woodland notes.

I cannot figure this wine...I first drank it this summer in Barcelona where I thought it really showed well. But the two bottles I purchased subsequently were not quite as stellar. Bottle variation?

6/20/2016 - LLakritz wrote:

Nice well rounded Merlot definitely in the Bordeaux style. Enjoyed with cold pasta and tomato salad on a very warm night.

2/4/2015 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Look at the size of that cork!
Funny... and for all its size and girth, its corked.
Great mid palate though. Finishes on cardboard.

1/20/2015 - daver852 Likes this wine:

Seems like it's getting more difficult to find wines that out perform their price-point, but this one certainly does. Dark color, solid nose that accurately reflects the palate of oak, dark fruit, and fairly soft tannins that make this wine quite approachable at a very young age. Just a touch of heat on the finish. Very California in style - something that doesn't often appeal to me - but this wine manages to be very appealing. It had me at the first sip. Not serious wine, but tasty and delicious. Would not hold long, as the fruitiness is the mainstay of its charm, and will likely fade within a few years, but it is certainly a winner now, A steal at $11. Highly recommend.