3/18/2024 - wine&roses wrote:

Sweet and characterless.

12/29/2023 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

This is very beautiful classic claret, rich and opulent, with some complexity. But note: it requires at least four hours airing in the decanter. Six is even better. Drunk too soon, it is overwhelmingly tannic. I expect it will be long lived.

12/5/2023 - wine&roses wrote:

The 93 WS score is doubtless based on a cost/benefit calculation. Here is a $15 wine that is dependably consistent, with its nice note of boysenberry and nothing offensive about it. But that is all that can be said. It is a mass produced product, tasting more of the factory than the vineyard. There is no terroir here, not much indication that this is made from tempranillo. A naive wine.

10/13/2023 - wine&roses wrote:

Tremendous bottle variation, from classic sangiovese to corked. Perhaps it's because the corks are so bad, but perhaps something else went wrong as well. I would never buy this wine again.

10/3/2023 - wine&roses wrote:

There's a lot going on here, and maybe it will all come together with time. But for now, this is disjointed and seems overoaked. I know Magrez is a wizard, but will this prove magic or illusion?

9/20/2023 - wine&roses wrote:

Nice, classic Sangiovese, a little on the lean side. I think it will decline with more age. Needs 2+ hours to breathe.

11/9/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

Too sweet, even for Merlot, and insufficiently tannic. Not to my taste.

11/9/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

This bottle was nice, if unspectacular, classic claret, but most of these two cases have been very disappointing, seeming degraded rather than developed by time. I wouldn't buy this again.

9/23/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

Perfectly serviceable claret--though pretty generic claret. Drinkable but not worth buying ever again.

7/28/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

Very nice classic claret, mature but not terribly complex.

7/13/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

Nice enough, but a little too sweet. Oddly, it loses character as it breathes.

6/15/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

Very nice traditional Riserva, lacking only a tang of barnyard and terroir. But lovely.

5/20/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

Completely primary, so it's a shame to drink it this young. Its rich fruit augurs well, and there's a hint of complexity on the nose. In a year or two, this will be a very nice claret.

5/3/2022 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

Wonderfully rich, unctuous, mouth-filling claret, packed with fruit and with some secondary notes registering both on the nose and on the palate. The richness comes at the expense of a certain finesse, but it is amazing that the winemakers got so much out of merlot.

4/24/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

Trying--and failing--to be good claret. They have the right idea but can't make it a reality.

4/21/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

This will be a mature, classic, 92-point claret in two years. Wish I had had time to wait.

4/17/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

Two out of seven bottles from Saratoga Wine corked. I'm not buying from them any more. And I am dubious about the contention that a TCA taint--or something like it--can come only from the cork itself. Can any CTer shed light on the question of how wine spoils? I know that entire cellars get tainted, but can anyone explain "the science?" Would much appreciate.

4/17/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

Rich, luscious, fruit laden, if a little one-dimensional. Still, there is nothing not to like about this wine.

3/28/2022 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

Wonderfully fruit-rich, with a fine nose of cedar and black pepper, this is a lovely claret, about a year or two short of maturity. Well done.

3/17/2022 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

Gorgeous, classic claret. With none of the feminine softness you'd expect from a St. Estephe, this is an assertively masculine wine, as if each grape had two little grapes hanging off it. Rich, complex, viscous--I love this wine.

3/9/2022 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

Beautiful, classic claret, earthy, honest, and old-fashioned. It's not grand cru, sure; but I could drink this every day.

2/26/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

Opulent strawberry fruit without a lot of added complexity makes a very nice but unspectacular claret. I'm not sure what time will do with this. Certainly the fruit will endure, but whether there is some hidden magic in the oak that I can't perceive, who knows?

2/13/2022 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

Lovely wine, more characteristic of what this winery can do than Bordeaux as a whole. Succulent fruit, a nice degree of complexity, mature at 8 years. Delicious. Smack more of the winemaker than the terroir, I'd say.

2/2/2022 - wine&roses wrote:

Hard to comment on this case bought from Vintry. Stored with the rest of the 2014 clarets I've been drinking, this one was off. Three bottles went straight down the sink, one leaving a faint whiff of TCA behind, but I'm not sure that's the main problem here. The other nine bottles varied from drinkable to pretty good old-style claret, but none of it was nearly as good as the excellent Capbern and very good Lilian Ladouys I've been drinking from this vintage. Bottom line: I'll never buy from Vintry again, and I hope to try a bottle of this wine from another merchant, just to see.

1/24/2022 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

A classic St. Estephe, feminine, delicate, pure, and precise, with a lovely crystalline nose and palate.

12/27/2021 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

The purest classic claret, with fruit, terroir, and oak in harmonious balance to yield old-library, saddle-leather perfection. Sure, there are plenty of more complex and noble clarets for a lot more money, but I could drink this every day and be a happy gourmand.

12/24/2021 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

Lovely, refined, fully mature margaux, if not terribly complex.

11/13/2021 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

A lovely, fully mature Barolo. Not a world-beater, but classic and good.

11/1/2021 - wine&roses Does not like this wine:

What an odd case I had from Zachy's--bad enough to make me take my name off their mailing list, after many decades as a customer. One bottle was corked, as can happen in any case. But seven had nothing left but oak, refined by time into cedar, though as raw as a cedar closet, rather than mellowed like a cigar box. They were drinkable, but only just, out of thrifty duty rather than pleasure. And then four were nice, well integrated and rich, but still lacking the characteristic high note of cherry and the complexity of Tuscan barnyard that we expect from a good old chianti. So I can guess that other CTers had 90+ bottles of this stuff, but I got a case that was past it.

10/23/2021 - wine&roses wrote:

This is real, if simple, claret, fully mature. I enjoyed this case. Honest wine.

10/14/2021 - wine&roses wrote:

Perfectly okay, correct claret, especially for the modest price.

10/11/2021 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

Almost perfect.

10/4/2021 - wine&roses wrote:

This very ambitious wine falls short of its goal. It wants to be big, rich, and complex. But it doesn't have enough fruit--and particularly cabernet sauvignon--to balance its massive oak presence. So it is perfectly acceptable real claret, but it never really comes together, even after 11 years in the bottle. In any event, it needs a 3-hour decant to soften the oak.

9/24/2021 - wine&roses wrote:

Very nice though simple mature claret. Needs a good aeration or longish decant.

9/2/2021 - wine&roses wrote:

Remarkably nice for the price. Fresh, fruity, and a little simple, but with an underpinning of real Bordeaux terroir.

8/19/2021 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

Lovely, classic claret. A couple of bottles still somewhat primary, but the rest mature, ready to drink, and certain to develop more complexity over the next five years.

8/5/2021 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

Lovely, mature wine--plenty of fruit, some terroir & complexity. Downsides are a little one-dimensionality and over-ripeness. But very nicely made & has matured well.

7/25/2021 - wine&roses wrote:

Lovely, powerful wine, with plenty of Sangiovese and oak on the nose and palate. All that's missing is the tang of terroir.

7/19/2021 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

I drank case of this in the spring and summer of 2019 & found it deeply unimpressive, all gooey fruit, like a southern Rhone. Oh, if I had my life to live over again, how I'd lay down Cabernet based clarets and watch them come of age over a decade and more. Two years later, this case is delicious--perfect, complex, old-school claret, like its big brother, Ch, Cantemerle, which I drank so much of in decades gone by. Plenty of fruit, saddle leather, barnyard, and complexity on the nose and the palate. Do let it breathe in the decanter for a couple of hours.

7/14/2021 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

Lovel wine, with the citrus tang of Sauvignon Blanc but the salinity and caramel unctuousness of chardonnay.

7/11/2021 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

Many cases later I can say this is a lovely, classic , mature claret of no great pretensions. Plenty of fruit left on the nose and palate, and some complexity of the terroir as well. Sorry to see this easy drinking wine go.

7/8/2021 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

This is textbook, mature claret, on the modest end of the scale for sure, but classic. Austere, without a lot of fruit, it has depth and some complexity, with its notes of saddle leather, old library, and barnyard. I discovered it some time ago, and now, 21 or 22 cases later, I am grateful for it during the pandemic.

8/12/2020 - wine&roses wrote:

Real Chianti for $14? Can't complain that it's not particularly distinguished.

8/6/2020 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

This is very nearly perfect--a classic, perfectly aged, terroir-driven wine that is complex and pure at the same time. I am sorry to say goodbye to my case.

7/28/2020 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

A beautifully pure, clear, classic chianti. Cherries, berries, sunshine, a little terroir. When I wish for a little more complexity and farmyard, I remind myself that purity is the keynote.

7/24/2020 - wine&roses wrote:

Lovely, feminine, delicate, mouth-filling--but not very complex and therefore not really special. Enjoyed this case but don't need another.

7/23/2020 - wine&roses wrote:

Perfectly fine claret, mouth filling, fruity, and substantial. But without much complexity or finesse. Nice but undistinguished. Is this mostly merlot?

7/19/2020 - wine&roses Does not like this wine:

President Trump suggested drinking disinfectant. This is as close as I have come. Smells and tastes like liquid soap, with some Pine-Sol mixed in. Gross.

7/2/2020 - wine&roses wrote:

Suave, smooth, correct, Italian, and slightly dull.

6/16/2020 - wine&roses Likes this wine:

Perfectly mature, old-world, textbook Chianti. Another year or two could soften the oak further and integrate everything more perfectly, so if you want to wait, go ahead. But I'm finishing off my case this summer, with kudos to the makers.