Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Tuesday, November 23, 2021 - 100% Ruchè. Fermented spontaneously, bottled unfined and unfiltered. 13,5% alcohol. Tasted in a Rinaldi Rosae 2019-2011 vertical.

Quite deep, dense and moderately opaque black cherry color. Surprisingly wild and volatile nose with lifted aromas of glue and ethery VA followed by rather sweetish aromas of cherry marmalade, some strawberry, light lifted nuances of nail polish, a little bit of raspberry jam, a hint of pruney dark fruit and a perfumed touch of wild flowers. The wine is ripe, juicy and quite full-bodied on the palate, but fortunately not as lifted and sauvage as the nose suggested. Lush and rather sweet-toned flavors of ripe dark plums and juicy raspberries, some bretty notes of leather, a little bit of peppery phenolic spice, light lifted notes of nail polish, a ferrous hint of blood and a touch of alcohol warmth. The acidity feels very modest and soft here, so most of the structure relies on the tannic firmness and moderate grip. The finish is quite dry, moderately grippy and somewhat warm with medium-long flavors of astringent chokeberries and sour cherry bitterness, some sweeter notes of wizened red plums and prunes, a little bit of bretty leather, light smoky phenolic notes, a hint of raspberry jam and a lifted touch of ethery VA. The high-ish alcohol makes the wine end on a somewhat warm note.

A vintage quite similar to the rather soft and solar 2018, but noticeably different from all the other vintages we tasted. This lacks the freshness, playfulness and precision that are hallmarks of Rinaldi's Rosae and comes across as both quite volatile and rather clumsy, thanks to its sweetish fruit, pretty low acidity and somewhat noticeable alcohol. While a quite good wine in its own right, this really doesn't do justice to the Rosae label - the wine bears the mark of the hot 2015 and doesn't really carry it gracefully. While drinkable, this is just too soft and volatile for my preference. While the issues with VA might be due to bottle variation, the low acidity and prominent alcohol most certainly aren't. This wine is nowhere near the superb quality of the surrounding Rosae vintages 2016 and 2014.

Post a Comment / View forceberry's profile
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue (1,232 views)