Community Tasting Note

sfwinelover1 Likes this wine:

Saturday, December 12, 2020 - My first Abreu, and it was fascinating, unique and exquisite, served by the ever gracious A_M and T_K. I understand it was opened about 4 hours before we began drinking (3 planned + 45 minutes we spend downing the open Aubert). Huge nose of powerful black and other dark berries, earth, graphite and spice, with similar notes on the palate with some subtle dark chocolate and tobacco. Midnight blackish purple, medium to full bodied, thick legs. Massive but smooth tannins, moderate acidity, no heat. Moderately complex, intense, and as persistent as I've ever experienced in any wine. Super concentrated, dense beyond compare yet with surprisingly delicacy, a slight bit of savoriness but not a dab of heat or sweetness, this wine is, in my wine tasting experience (which I hasten to add, does not include Colgin, Screagles, Promonotory, Tusk, etc.) a thing unto itself: something I couldn't have placed between Napa, Bordeaux, Tuscany, Chile or anywhere else where fine Bordeaux varietals are made. This wine has none of the extraction nor sweetness of the "cult" cabs and a sheerer texture, yet its power separates it from the more classic Napa cabs and Bordeaux I've had (I hasten to add that my Bordeaux education is woefully incomplete). The "iron fist in the velvet glove" is overused, but seems dead on here. We had with snacks, with which it was tremendous, but no doubt this would honor the best lamb or beef. This deepened over the 90 minutes or so during which we drained it, and I'm reluctant to rate it higher primarily because I think it will be an even better wine in 5 years; it seems unlikely, in any case, if it's stored decently, that it will be worse in less than 20, and maybe 40 will be more accurate. I don't know how David Abreu did it, but it almost seems like twice as many grapes were used to make this bottle of wine as any other I've tasted. 98++, with upside.

This was an extraordinary treat, and also a slightly bittersweet one. For reasons I'm not going to go into here (but which have nothing to do with wine overconsumption!), I'm going to be off of the grape for a while, although, as always, I reserve the right to kibbitz on others' notes. How fitting that my last bottle before this break was likely my most persistent, and will continue to resonate during my downtime. I hope that when I return, I can find some worthy competitors, hopefully shared with A_M, T_K and other CT friends. Until then . . .

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