Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Tuesday, June 13, 2017 - Grapes sourced from three, almost centenarian vineyards. Fermented in stainless steel, MLF and aging in barriques, of which 1/3 are new. 13,5% alcohol, annual production 22,000 bottles. Served blind.

Opaque black cherry color. Very rich and sweet nose with aromas of crushed ripe blackcurrants, some blackberry jam, a little bit of blueberry-flavored chocolate, a hint of licorice, nuances of dark grapey fruit and a touch of plum jam. Judging by the sweet nose with a distinct blackcurrant aroma, I was quite certain that this was a new world Cabernet. The wine is quite full-bodied on the palate with very extracted, almost chewy mouthfeel and remarkably high acidity. There are lively flavors of blackcurrants, sweet chocolatey oak, some woody bitterness, a little bit of sour plums and a hint of blackberry jam. The wine feels quite structured, but mainly to the bright acidity; the tannins feel rather sleek, polished and mellow with only very little bite to them. The very long finish is bright with high aciditybut also quite sweet with flavors of sweet oak spices, fresh and tangy blackcurrants, some chocolate and a hint of toffee.

When the blind wines were revealed, I was really surprised to see that this was a wine by Cantina Terlan. I honestly thought that this was a well-made new world Cab, not a wine from a respected old world winery, even less a wine made from an indigenous Italian variety. The new world part came from the rather liberal oak character, Cab part from the rather prominent blackcurrant notes and well-made part from the bright acidity and overall balance of the wine, suggesting earlier picking and emphasis on freshness and balance over excessive ripeness. Stylistically this wine is very atypical for an Italian red and I really can't say this wine won me over, because I'm not that big fan of new world Cabs. However, one should note that this wine felt very young and lively at 9 years of age (I honestly thought this was not older than 3-4 years), so perhaps even longer cellaring might integrate the oak better with the fruit and tone down that sweetness a bit? Based on how the wine is drinking now, it has still a lot of life ahead.

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