Community Tasting Note

jeff nowak wrote:

Thursday, July 16, 2009 - 15.5% alcohol. decanted. #9 for those into that junk. i've become a modestly vocal critic of the atlantis and raven series, so much so, that i emailed manfred to talk about it. per usual, his replies were candid and interesting, talking about vintage challenges, and whole stem inclusion. i've read thru current reviews in the wine blogosphere, and i seem to run against the grain, e.g. i prefer the grenaches over the syrahs in 05/06. the critical difference for me is that the grenache swallows the alcohol and heat more effectively; the tannins are present, but not dominant, and the oak is more effectively ameliorated. that being said, oak, tannin, alcohol still are racheted up too high for me in this wine, but, boy, is there a ton of beautiful red fruit, and a long, chewy finish. nevertheless, i just don't see this wine ever hitting the heights of the grenache run of 2000-2003

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