Community Tasting Note

JRDillon Likes this wine:

Saturday, March 5, 2016 - This is the bomb. Decanted for two hours before serving. I let the bottle sit upright for about an hour before opening, then poured it very gently into the decanter, but the last 25 percent or so had a huge amount of sediment that covered the neck of the decanter, and there was still a large amount of sediment left in the bottle.

I am writing this note a couple of days later and did not take notes while tasting, so this is going to be short on specifics. The nose was not overpowering, but wafted from the decanter, deliciously hedonistic, with rich floral and fruit components – so tempting. The first sip confirmed this wine is a monster. The term "hefty" doesn't do it justice. It had so much body that rolled over the tongue with a luxurious touch, so smooth, round and weighty. Despite a two-hour decant the first sip was still super tight, with powerful tannins and even a hint of alcohol which I had never before detected in other vintages of Materium. But no worries as it was just a bit high-strung having just escaped the bottle a couple of hours prior. In short time all of the components began to integrate, and when it all came together, Wow! Three of us drank the bottle over the course of a two-hour dinner (yes, we drank it slowly), and by the end of the meal the wine was a very different beast.

To me, one indicator of a great wine is how it evolves in the glass over time – not just changing for change's sake, but changing for the better so that each taste gets better and better and the last swallow leaves you yearning for more. This Materium was no exception and kept improving sip after sip until the three of us who shared the bottle all were overwhelmed with just how tremendous it was by the end. Layers and layers of dark, velvety fruit, with an undercurrent of loamy terroir and a profound structure holding it all together. I have enjoyed several vintages of the Materium, but this was my first 2008 and probably the most powerful Materium I've had. If I were to do anything differently I would recommend decanting for at least four or five hours before drinking to give it the time it needs to truly evolve. I still have two of these left, and don't plan to open another for several years. For anyone who has the time, I could see this wine aging gracefully for decades.

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