Very smooth, not over powering to the food of a season porkchop and cauliflower rice, but still "boldness and brightness in the fruit. A terrific drinking experience.
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Remarkable. Still drinking beautifully. Drank over three days, better each day. A great value. Will enjoy my remaining case as it declines, oh so very gradually, over the next 10 years.
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This was my last one and my only regret is I didn't buy more. It just has a nice balance of fruit, oak and acid. Excellent wine with food or on it's own. And for $20 it was a steal.
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PnP through Nuance Wine Finer. Deep dark purple color. Dark fruit, leather, dirt on the nose. Leather and blackberry on the palate, still some decent tannins and nice finish. 90pts. Aloha!
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This has held up remarkably well. 15 year old Rioja. Still has fruit, but is very smooth and flavorful. Have one more bottle. Looking forward to seeing how it ages. Watch out for the sediment, tho!
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Love this wine. Acquired several cases to serve at my birthday party which was COVID cancelled. Still have 4 cases. 2005 was drinking well five years ago and is still excellent today though I think it’s reached its peak at this point. Toned down a bit. Creamy on the palate and fully integrated. Dark Rioja fruits and fine tannins leading to a long finish. The kind of wine that will evolve in the glass and then be something else again the next day. Could give it a 93. Give it some time to breathe after opening or decant. It’s been sleeping for 15 years and need a very gentle wake up.
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Beautiful middle aged modern rioja. Deep hues of red, lush fruits and hints of pepper and oak. Way above the price point. The only thing many of the ‘05s needed was time. Well done!
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30 min decant. Really nice mature Rioja in it's prime. Perfumed nose, nicely integrated, rich fruit with nice secondary elements. Long smooth finish. This bottle was much better than the last one tasted almost 4 years ago. I'm guessing bottle variation is responsible for some of the unfavorable reviews rather than excessive age.
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Agree with "studleytrey" that this is begining to wane. Nicely ripe, but losing some vibrancy and picking up almost musty rather than vanilla oaky note on the nose. Palate is pretty clean initially but has some musty, overirpe notes that mar the finish. Thinking this might be past it or slightly flawed.
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A few years since the last, and it's drinking well for my palate, which is to say aged nicely, and a lighter touch overall. I'd probably not hold these too much longer though. Dense, opaque coloring here with ruby to garnet edges. Aromas of dark and dark red fruits, cinnamon, cedar, mushrooms, some fresh herbs, and graphite minerality. Medium body, acid, and finish, with fully integrated tannins, and flavors of dark and dark red fruits, lemon, dry spices, and minerals. Worked perfectly with our ropa vieja tonight. 90+
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Wonderful grilled meat wine...stands up to spicy rubs and sauces well. Only complaint is that it started to fall flat after 3 hours of air time and become a bit more acidic.
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Initially vanilla and charred oak are preeminant; secondarily, there are spice and tobacco flavors. After breathing, the oak characteristics settle down, the wine integrates and the cherry fruit becomes much more apparent. The moderate length finish shows some tension and ample fine tannins.
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I liked this wine. Drank first in 2012. No notes. Drank with Patatas a La Riojana and of course, any Rioja wine is amazing with this dish. Very, very deep dark color, deep fruit, integrated wood and tannis. Tons of sediment and nearly black cork. Delicious, but I won't be saving the other bottle, I will drink the other one soon as I felt this bottle was just on long side of peak, or I misinterpreted some overipe flab as getting old. Color did not indicate age. A Garagiste buy. I will report on bottle #3 and we will see if there is bottle variation as reported by others.
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Pepper, spice, pine forest and Kirsch on the nose. Fully integrated, superbly balanced, blackberry, mint, cherry, tea with milk flavor. Ample acidity helps keeps it interesting. Finishes with plenty of fine tannins.
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Dense ruby coloring. Tons of dried spice character on the nose, along with dark and dark red fruits, earth, tobacco, mushroom, and floral. Very enticing nose. Medium body, acid, and finish, with flavors of dark and dark red fruits, dried spices, and leather. This was quite nice.
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Great wine! I was expecting far less given a lot of the recent notes. In agreement with a lot of the characteristics described by recent reviewers...tobacco, leather, earthiness, with very little fruit at this point. Also has a touch of sweet, but integrated oak and plenty of acidity to keep it lively. The running theme in a lot of the notes seems to be bottle variation...I guess I got a good one! I don't believe it's in decline but I don't see any reason to hold either. Drinking very well now.
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Unique Rioja. A level of earthy/truffle/forest floor that wasn't expected. Under that you could sense the aged layers of dark fruit but coupled with the flabby/dead mouthfeel, the bottle was offputting enough to make me set it down. Decanted but it still held true to initial impressions. Granted the bottle is well aged, I don't feel the bottle was flawed but perhaps in a level of decline.
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This wine drank well, hints of tobacco on the pallet. Full body, peaking now, maybe turning. Don't wait too long The wine looks violet colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, gooseberry, red currant and black currant (cassis). It tastes like tobacco, black currant (cassis) and red currant. The body is medium/full. The wine has linear texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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Hmmm, this bottle drank so young; blind, I would swear it was Bordeaux. Loads of dark fruit, leather and oak. Young tannin and a pronounced earthy note on both the nose and palate. Short-med finish. While I have had tons of bottle variation, this example showed like it just left the winery. As before, a perfect cork and no signs at all of age in the color. 91+ On day three, this still showed very young, but was delicious.
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This spent two hours in the decanter and on first pour the nose presents a deep, rich, dark raspberry with a strong smoky element clearly present. The palate is well integrated, with dark fruit, anise and a hint of earth couched in very mild acidity and chocolate tannins. Full bodied, the only downside is that the finish is shorter than I thought it would be based on the palate. A fine example of the classic Rioja style.
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The third bottle from a case, all of which have shown completely different than my prior experience with this item, which came from two different sources. Muted fruit with minimal complexity and a short finish. The cork looked perfect and the wine showed no flaws, just seemed like a vastly different product. This came from a lot that was "just uncovered" and was implied that it was recently discovered at the winery.
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Best bottle yet, and best an hour in. Classic rioja. Fruit mostly in absentia. Some spicebox on the nose. Thickened a bit on the palate as things progressed, and revealed slight hints of licorice and menthol. I still think it's time to drink up, but this was in great shape.
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My last bottle of this and without doubt, this showed the best of the three. Similar notes to past bottles but this one just seemed fuller and smoother.
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Fruit starting to go on this bottle. Solids,but light black fruits,sold minerality, good acid,and fading tannins, medium body. A huge amount of sediment. If this bottle is any indication, drink up in the next 1-3 years.
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Decanted for an hour prior to drinking. Overall impression is of a wine at peak, or barely beginning the descent -- but for now it is smooth, and drinking great. Soft tannins. Tons of sediment. No bricking. Notable oak, but not overdone. Initially there's raspberry and some tertiary prune notes; as the thing opens up and settles in for the evening it turns into Fig Newtons. Had with sous-vide'd ribeye and some lemon-y, olive-y cauliflower "couscous" and it was damn-near perfect.
Revisited after 6-7 hours, and it was falling apart a bit.
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Was a bit concerned initially that this wine was done, but after one hour had tons of character. What I thought were signs of being done turned into hints of vanilla and raspberry. The tannins dissipated quickly and the finish is smooth. Really love this wine, but have 10 more and will make drinking them a priority as I suspect this wine is approaching its prime.
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First of my three bottles. PnP: Visibly not many signs of age. Still dark and garnet colored, no bricking. Shows beautiful and huge nose very typical Rioja black raspberries, toasted vanilla. Its a shame the nose faded rather quickly after sitting in the glass for several minuets. On the palate shows a slightly redder fruit character. Mid palate a bit hollow and a bit of alcohol on the finish as well. Somewhat disappointing considering some of the prior notes posted. Perhaps slightly past its prime? Still a fun wine and solid QPR.
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Awesome bottle. Loads of tobacco, black cherry and earth. Excellent structure and medium-long finish. I just purchased 24 more after this bottle. 93+, which may be a bit low.
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PnV. Very dark crimson. Started off very tight...like a hollow Chianti that's all leather. After sitting in the glass for about an hour, the wine completely opened up and put on some weight. Nice nose of blueberries, cedar, and leather. Multi-layered and dense, with oak framing the berry nicely on the palate. Nice texture also.
Enjoyed in a Riedel Vinum Tempranillo glass at 65F. I'd give this a mid 80s in the first several minutes, but low 90s after an hour or so.
Edit: After Vacuvin and fridge overnight, this was still great the next day. Certainly don't judge this book by the cover or the first few chapters. Stay with it all evening and enjoy the story that unfolds.
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Dark ruby color. Aromas of cherry, currant, vanilla bean and hint of tar. Full-bodied, with flavors of cherries, cocoa powder and oak. A touch of sweetness on entry with a little bit of air with soft tannins that are starting to integrate well. Decanting will help now or wait at least one more year.
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Pop and pour. This comes across as all vanilla at first, but opens up after half an hour. Menthol on the nose; once the vanilla blows off, on the palate, black cherry, plum, raspberry, and a touch of dill, with some peppery and smoky notes on the surprisingly long finish. This is much better than a bottle I had about a year ago. Although I couldn't pick up a defect in that bottle, I have to conclude that it was flawed. I have edited the previous note to reflect that.
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This is in a nice spot after a one hr decant. Just after popping the tannins are very much present, acidity is high and tons of vanilla/oak on the nose. This balances out beautifully after an hour, with dark fruits, mellowed tannins and a smoky charred wood finish that give this complexity. Acidity remains which makes this a great food wine. This is an excellent value for $25.
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Fruit burst leading to superb taste. Tannins hardy when first opened. Recommend to decant for two hours. Excellent food wine - tonight with grilled lamb shoulder chops and thin Italian sausage.
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Deep red. Nose initially muted, but opens up after a few hours to one of age, kiwi, leather, and mesmerizing heat. Initially tight, but after a few hours expresses some fantastic Rioja characteristics. Tannins are perfectly timed right after midway through the bottle. I recommend decanting because only the second half was really great.
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This wine must be decanted for massive sediments. As other tasters noted this developed more character on day 2, and the last glass is still very deep and interesting on day 4. Not spectacular but worth an Andrew Jackson.
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A solid wine, with big fruit flavors. If you like new-model cabs, you'll like it. Lots of pie fruits, oak sweetness (without too much vanilla), but after that, it's reasonable simple. I think it went as far as it can go. Funny thing is, for such a cutting edge kind of guy, Rimmerman sells a ton of this kind of wine that won't push anyone out of his or her comfort zone. Ah, marketing.
Solid wine drink very nicely for two days. Very rich and colorful. Taste of apricots dried mangoes and dried cranberries. Bits of hickory smoke and dark wood.
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Nice bouquet of raspberry / blueberry with a hint of smoke. Tasted A bit hot mid-palate/caught a note of citrus as well. Has more new world style than one would think. The bottle is only open 15 minutes, I'm gonna let it sit a while but I see it evolving further. All in all I'm pleased with this wine, nice value. I'm gonna try another bottle in 6 months
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Possibly a bit of VA. I will refrain from scoring, but this wasn't completely a loss. Seemed to have significant structure, but the VA got in the way of anything else.
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need to get a 6+ of these as it's a steal. I'd let age a few more years as it's pretty concentrated and needs air at this stage (age 9). after 2 hours open…deep blueberries, kiwi, cassis, strawberries, tons of tannins and dust. well made wine that is age worthy.
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Very good . Earthy and a bit funky with red fruit and nice structure. This is very nice and continued to evolve positively for 2 hours. Killer QPR. 92+
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Decanted about 30 minutes and drank over 2 hours. Rustic, old world style that had subtle nuances of smoke, bacon and tobacco. Clean finish framed by dry, dusty tannins. Paired wonderfully with Spanish style slow roasted pork. This is definitely a wine more appreciated with food. Softened over the evening, but not that much. I think this has a long life ahead of it still. Would buy again.
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- Ruby color and aromas of raspberry and black pepper. It's balanced and has flavours of cedar, dusty and cloves with a light/medium body. Silky texture with a short finish - Weak the first hour, then improved. Poor again the next night, but quite good the night following. Surprisingly low tannins and acids. Send of fruit and pepper.
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I bit more pruney than I remember. Leather, sour cherry. I will re-visit tomorrow. 87-88. EDIT: DAY 2 -As before, this really developed with a decant. Full bodied with nice tannin and acid structure. The pruney flavors have mellowed and turned into dark fruit. This is very nice for the price. 91-92.
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Definitely funk on nose and early palate that got worse as it opened up. My husband described it as "nam pla" (aka fishy Chinese market smell). Buried plum fruit, devolves to cured meat and a long finish. Definitely hope remaining bottle has more fruit and roundness, but perhaps I kept it in the wine fridge too long?
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The fruit seemed more subdued than before, but the tertiary flavors were coming around. Earthy, leather and spice with black fruit. Definitely a high quality Rioja and a good value at $20.
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aroma - just a tiny bit of funk on the nose, tobacco; tastes - really round and smooth, little alcohol bite, little bit of pencil lead, lots of black pepper; needs a fatty/rich meal; dry finish
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Fifth bottle I consume of this, and it's still fantastic. Aroma of a musty, oak paneled basement. A lot less fruit this time around and a lot more toasty oak is showing. Some hits of cherry and blackberry give way to a long, intense earthy, spicy finish. Concentration and texture are to die for.
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Clove and barnyard on the nose. On the palate, plum and red and black berries, with white pepper and a touch of citrus on the medium to short finish. No flaws, but nothing special to recommend it either. Based on other notes, there may be significant bottle variation on this. I have one more bottle, and I will hope it is better. Edit: A subsequent bottle was much better. I suspect this one may have been slightly corked.
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Good color. The nose is dominated by new oak, with red fruits, tobacco, flowers, and cedar joining in. This is medium full bodied on the palate, with good concentration and decent finesse. The finish is medium length, with good acidity and integrated tannins. My problem with this wine is the oak treatment; it detracts from the texture and finish.
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Outstanding bottle! Raisin, stewed fruit ( in a good way) with great balanced acidity and integrated tannins. This continued to evolve in the glass and was very impressive for the money. This is a case buy, for me. 92-93
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A bit too thin and one dimensional. Sour cherry, acid, berries. No tannins (a plus). Good but not great. At $25, there are better buys from Spain. Had it with flank steak. Decanted, peaked at 2h, not much improved by 3h. Three and half stars out of five.
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Rich and creamy on the nose, with dark fruit and leather, some spice in the middle, and vanilla at the end. Black fruit and leather on the palate, with spice on the mid-palate, and a very creamy finish.
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Decanted for over an hour. Liked it more toward the beginning than toward the end of the evening. Still, a good-value Rioja from a great vintage. Very modern in style and possibly a little too reduced for my palate. Tasty though.
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The Iberian Peninsula (My apartment): Boy oh boy do I love this wine. I tasted this a few months ago but I had forgotten how amazing it was until today's tasting. Caveat: this is *extremely* oaky and most certainly not a "traditional" Rioja. I'm not talking super blockbuster punch-your-teeth-out oak, it's certainly not that, but this is all about the soft, creamy, sweet, almost powdery (in the perfumery sense) oak. The leathery, slightly meaty dark cherry is smooth, silky and supple. Everything is functioning perfectly now - tannin, acid, fruit and oak. Drink drink drink! Can't believe this only cost me $20.
Wow, this was super modern on day one, and I was far from crazy about it: smooth lush vanilla-infused French-oaky (not the American oak more traditional to this region) purple-black fruit. Silly though it may be, I'd' be happier with this if the label read "Ribera del Duero"; for some reason I seem to want my Rioja more old-worldly traditional. After a couple days in the wine fridge, the second half was similar but a bit subdued, with drying tannins taking the place of half the fruity perfume. It was as if the wine were trying to become more "serious" and to woo me while still appealing to my wife; instead, it was more of a "worst of both worlds" and we both disliked it. Well, I've got another bottle, and perhaps it'll be more interesting to me in 202x.
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Deep garnet color with purple overtones and a lighter rim; muted nose dominated by the odd combination of vanilla oak and the odor of I-95 driving through the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia ( which is not good); complex flavors of dark fruits plus a touch of raspberry, clove, pepper, olive oil and several more flavors in addition to enough oak to be more than I wanted. Very good acid balance, moderate tannins and a medium finish. I-95 never appeared on the palate thank goodness. The excess of oak and the odd nose kept this from being a 90 or 91 point wine for me.
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Popped and poured. Lots of oak and red fruit on the nose, mixing with dried herbs and dusty soil. Full tannin on the palate, creating very nice structure and enclosing ripe red and black fruit, sun dried tomato, dried herb, and peppercorn flavors. Need more time in bottle I think.
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Deep, saturated color. On the nose, this flaunts oak, ripe red berries, flowers, tobacco, and spice. This is medium full bodied on the palate, with a lot of concentrated fruit. The finish is well balanced and long, with enough acidity and integrated tannins. Very modern Rioja, but delicious.
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Fairly dark red color. Noe is substantially muted, but there is a fine floral component. Bright red cherry and raspberry fruit. Medium to full bodied flavor, some oak. Finish is fairly long.
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On first opening the nose is showing candle wax and earthy bright cherries. The palate is full of mouth puckering cherry, tart spices and coffee bean with the coffee bean and spice notes carrying over to the finish.
One day later the nose is showing earthy notes of dark cherry, currant and cracked pepper. The palate has also bulked up with dark currant, cola, clove and cracked pepper with a tart menthol spicy finish.
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This is *really* hitting the spot tonight.. Sweet dark cherry nose. Earth, prunes, dark cherries. Wonderful, balanced acidity and silky tannins in the finish. Memories of a special bottle of Vosnee-Romanee float in my head. Unbelievable steal at 20 bucks.
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This bottle was much better than the last one 3 weeks ago. Right out of the gate, the aroma was beautifully perfumed and full of life. After a couple hours open, the palate settled in and gave a weighty performance. Rich, opulent fruit, framed with an earthen base and tannins of velvet. Fully redeemed itself. 91
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A bottle you want to open at a dinner party as it will appeal to various tastes. Beautiful nose of cassis and chestnuts. Smooth round palate which is rich on fruit but nicely balanced. It really shone on the 1st night and was not quite as good on the 2nd night when it got a little oakier and flatter. Solid for the $20 paid.
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This bottle was a big dropoff from priors. Weak bouquet and semi-flat on the palate. Aeration no help. Just the wrong phase of the moon, I suppose. Hopefully, my last one will still have some life and I'll give it try in a few weeks.
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We had a great experience. The nose was well rounded, with cassis and licorice. The mouth feel was balanced, with a hint of sweetness from caramel. It has light tannins and a smooth lingering finish for about 20 seconds. For $20, this is a steal, I only have three left, and surely will enjoy them in a year or so.
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Earthy and rustic nose of plums, figs, licorice, spice, and hints of tobacco. Tastes are almost identical to the nose with incredibly integrated silky tannins and a hint of coffee on the finish. Just a wonderfully balanced, silky, and extremely complex wine for the price of $20. Will buy more and look forward to seeing future vintages with this winery.
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- Garnet color and aromas of cloves and licorice anise. It's balanced and has flavours of blackberry, raspberry, black currant and black pepper with a medium/full body. Silky texture with a medium finish - Really nice and smooth. Great body and aroma
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(B-) Bit of chemical funk in the nose that blows off over 2 hours. COmes around to a nice musty and pruney nose. Dried cherries and soil come to mind. The fruit is nice, with more prunes, cherries, and a very delicate spice. A bit one dimensional on the palate, without offering much for the side and top palate. Finishes smooth. Sipping wine. Drink now.
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Typical old world style. Very earthy and musky. Whatever fruit is in there is all candied(figs, prunes and raisins.) It opened up a bit but it will probably benefit from a few more years of bottle age.
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C: Dark ruby. N: Candied red fruit, soil, slightly prunish. P: Dried red fruit, light prune, soft earth and spice. F: Medium length with lingering prune, dried cherry and light spice. Light acidity and medium, integrated tannins. Medium body. 88-89 EDIT: This just needed a decant. Much bigger in body with more earthiness and complexity to the fruit. Very good. 91+
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Rand says that it's good but, "Outstanding? I don't think this tastes Outstanding." So, it gets an 89. Nose of molasses or maybe a little tar. As for taste it is rich, new worldy, modern, plummy or even pruney, a bit of smoke (according to Rand, again). It's definitely good, and definitelly good for the price, but too fruit forward for me.
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91-93: this wine is just getting better and better -- intense, smoky nose, rich fruit in the palate, and a very long finish that tops many bottles 3X the price. It is a modern style of Rioja, with the cedary notes taking the forefront, but if you like it, it's exceptional.
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Slighty rougher bottle than the last notes. So it may have some slight to moderate bottle variation. Still a stupidly wonderful bottle for $20. This is better than alot of $100+ bottles I have had. If you can find some, get em.
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deep reddish brown. Fabulous nose of leather, raspberry blackberry, and dirt. This wine is much better that the tasting notes below lead me to believe. It explodes with blackberry, raspberry, a strong gushing salinity, with a complex earthiness that is shocking in a $20 wine. And the finish.... It goes on and on and on for at least 45 seconds, with a ghost of a finish that lasts minutes. I found none of the drying tannins or light fruit others found. I suspect they were bad bottles. This is a great wine, at a 95, i may be underrating it, knowing its a $20 wine. This wine should be drunk within the next 4 years.
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Excellent wine, with nose of cherry, earth, brier, touch of menthol. I found the palate a bit tannic but I think the slightly rough edge will smooth over a couple more years.
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A lovely wine, displaying the depth and elegance of the excellent 2005 vintage. Taste is an expanse of blackfruit, tobacco, dark minerals, hints of smoke yet with a delicate chime of tangerine (somehow) on the attack and mid-palate. Acidity is medium-firm, but matched by tannin which suggests a nice long future for this bottling. Excellent length echoes the fruit, the minerals, and hints of citrus. It has all the stuffing to be versatile with a vast array of cuisine.
Stylistically, this effort from Valsacro leans towards the international, but there's enough traditional Rioja characteristics in there to firmly stand its ground. At $19.99, it's an easy case-lot purchase, especially if you're fond of throwing good sized dinner parties. Impressive.
Side-note: This wine does not show well at lower temps. If it comes out of your cellar at 55 degrees, put it on the counter for half an hour to bump it into the 60s.
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Ripe blakberries, cherries,damp earth, cedar, dill, Asian spices. Lacking a bit in tannic structure and fimish, but very good Rioja at the price! Drink over next couple years.
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Tasted after a couple hours in the glass. Wow! Very, very nice Rioja. Ripe dark fruits and berries, spice box, cedar, vanilla, tobacco, eucalyptus, earth, bacon fat, smooth tannins and perfect level of acidity to bring it all together. A nice port-like finish.
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Decanted but early on lots of oakiness and predominant vanilla. Dark purple color almost port like. It evolved beautifully with fruit coming out, blueberries, refreshing acidity, Integrated oak, it gained weight but remained medium bodied with polished tannins. Feels like it can go 3 years more at least. Will look for more as i consumed my last 2 bottles today.
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Just a short splash and swirl in the glass and I'm already amazed by this wine. Super dark purple, almost fully opaque and not really any visible sign of age. It has a bouquet that sends tingles down my spine with deep rose, lavender, blackberry, licorice, tobacco, earth, potpourri, and Krispy-creme confection. Similar, but not as intense, as something like a Carnival of Love, which just shows my lack of a grasp of nice Tempranillo. Palate is nothing Aussie-like though, and the flavor is distinctly different as now the maturity is felt and the tannins paint classical, not contemporary, notes through the ending. Luscious, but not heavy. More velvet than silk, as I get some nice grip and crispness. Very long finish with plenty of tasty fumes still lingering long after a swallow. At least a few good years to go, too. Maybe I'm generous, maybe I'm jaded, or maybe I've tapped a special bottle out of the lot, but this rocks imho. 5+12+17+7 = 91
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Rich, modern, and very smooth. A bit too much wood for my tastes. Some strawberry and other red fruits. It seems designed to please everyone but cater to no one. Aside from the telltale tempranillo acidity, its just too nondescript. Very enjoyable though.
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The nose is black cherry. The taste is a bit flat with a mild 'cough syrup' sense. There are no real tannins and there is only mild acid. A bit of cherry aftertaste. I confess that I was expecting more. This was better on the 2nd night.
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Big, luscious Rioja -- great nose of spice, oak, & earth. Rich, warm palate, lots of toasty oak, an earthy mid-palate, and moderate acidity and tannin on the long, long finish. A nice balance between modern and traditional styles of wine; exceptionally good QPR under $20. An early contender for value of the year.
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Plum and cinnamon on the nose. Lush mouth-coating, mouthfeel. Black fruit, underbrush and cloves on the palate. Fine acidity and long, long balanced finish. Really, really good. Buy more.
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Giving up nothing at first. Opened up much more, consumed over 4-5 hours and poured through a Nuance. Soft, modern style Rioja. Some tempranillo meatiness, maybe some hints of black cherry. Not sure it deserves the hype, but for a hair over $20 it's a decent value.
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Was much better for me after extended decant than as PnP. Subtle nose of coffee, chocolate, some brett. Taste is all up front: mild black fruit and round, drying tannins. Jumps straight to a long finish -- no mid-palette to speak of. That makes me want to score lower, but roundness and aromas keep me right up at the 89/90 line.
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This Rioja really impressed me and my guests during dinner. I used an aereator to bring up the dark cherry and chocolate aromas in the glass. At first, the full bodied, deep red notes of the Valsacro caught our attention. In mouth we experienced a well rounded Rioja, with a delicate texture, the right balance of tannins, and a long lasting aftertaste that was quite pleasant. We finished 2 bottles in less than 2 hours and we were saddened by the fact that we didn't have a third bottle to continue our lovely evening!
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The wine is so dark the cork was nearly black. Vanilla and spice on the nose. Long, complex finish. Tannins present but not overwhelming. Certainly not a dusty old Rioja - this complex, interesting wine should be fun for years to come.
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The nose was subtle, but complex: vanilla, smokiness, leather, soft tannins, blackberry, and black cherry. The wine was just as intriguing on the palate, with tobacco, dark fruit, chocolate, and creamy tannins. Full-bodied and well-balanced, the finish lasted upwards of 20 minutes, and was clean and smooth.
I was absolutely in love with this wine, and was disappointed that I only had a tiny sample glass to enjoy. If I had the money, I would have bought the bottle on the spot.
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3/22/2023 - Colorado Native 3G Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very smooth, not over powering to the food of a season porkchop and cauliflower rice, but still "boldness and brightness in the fruit. A terrific drinking experience.
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6/5/2022 - classicalspin Likes this wine:
Assumed Drunk
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12/15/2021 - classicalspin Likes this wine: 92 Points
Remarkable. Still drinking beautifully. Drank over three days, better each day. A great value. Will enjoy my remaining case as it declines, oh so very gradually, over the next 10 years.
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7/25/2021 - The Real SVB Does not like this wine: 80 Points
Frankly, a disappointing little wine. Rough, indistinguishable flavor profiles. Nothing to really of quality, complexity or distinction to note.
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4/7/2021 - mpsocal Likes this wine: 91 Points
This was my last one and my only regret is I didn't buy more. It just has a nice balance of fruit, oak and acid. Excellent wine with food or on it's own. And for $20 it was a steal.
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2/4/2021 - bg3034 wrote:
PnP through Nuance Wine Finer. Deep dark purple color. Dark fruit, leather, dirt on the nose. Leather and blackberry on the palate, still some decent tannins and nice finish. 90pts. Aloha!
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1/29/2021 - classicalspin wrote: 92 Points
Still drinking beautifully
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1/9/2021 - madvitale Likes this wine: 89 Points
This has held up remarkably well. 15 year old Rioja. Still has fruit, but is very smooth and flavorful. Have one more bottle. Looking forward to seeing how it ages. Watch out for the sediment, tho!
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1/1/2021 - classicalspin Likes this wine: 92 Points
Love this wine. Acquired several cases to serve at my birthday party which was COVID cancelled. Still have 4 cases. 2005 was drinking well five years ago and is still excellent today though I think it’s reached its peak at this point. Toned down a bit. Creamy on the palate and fully integrated. Dark Rioja fruits and fine tannins leading to a long finish. The kind of wine that will evolve in the glass and then be something else again the next day. Could give it a 93. Give it some time to breathe after opening or decant. It’s been sleeping for 15 years and need a very gentle wake up.
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9/20/2020 - mpsocal Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great bottle. It’s bold but not overdone.
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6/27/2020 - prufrocksabogado Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful middle aged modern rioja. Deep hues of red, lush fruits and hints of pepper and oak. Way above the price point. The only thing many of the ‘05s needed was time. Well done!
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4/8/2020 - MrD Likes this wine:
Aging nicely and I think it's close to the end. I really enjoyed it.
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3/28/2020 - mpsocal Likes this wine: 92 Points
This one is in it’s prime and ready to go. Full bodied with great balance of fruit, acid, and oak.
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8/25/2019 - SICILIAN-SOLE Likes this wine: 94 Points
Similar to my note from 2016 but a tick better. Last bottle... wish I had more!
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7/15/2019 - ccarter5181 wrote: 91 Points
30 min decant. Really nice mature Rioja in it's prime. Perfumed nose, nicely integrated, rich fruit with nice secondary elements. Long smooth finish.
This bottle was much better than the last one tasted almost 4 years ago. I'm guessing bottle variation is responsible for some of the unfavorable reviews rather than excessive age.
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6/27/2019 - vinodolphin Likes this wine: 90 Points
Smooth with a nice finish.
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4/5/2019 - thebonnydooner wrote: flawed
Agree with "studleytrey" that this is begining to wane. Nicely ripe, but losing some vibrancy and picking up almost musty rather than vanilla oaky note on the nose. Palate is pretty clean initially but has some musty, overirpe notes that mar the finish. Thinking this might be past it or slightly flawed.
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2/4/2019 - studleytrey Likes this wine: 90 Points
A few years since the last, and it's drinking well for my palate, which is to say aged nicely, and a lighter touch overall. I'd probably not hold these too much longer though. Dense, opaque coloring here with ruby to garnet edges. Aromas of dark and dark red fruits, cinnamon, cedar, mushrooms, some fresh herbs, and graphite minerality. Medium body, acid, and finish, with fully integrated tannins, and flavors of dark and dark red fruits, lemon, dry spices, and minerals. Worked perfectly with our ropa vieja tonight. 90+
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1/5/2019 - RDHudak wrote: 90 Points
Dark fruit with medium body and tannin. Got better with a decant, but minimally. 88-90
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6/30/2018 - costacasa wrote: 90 Points
Wonderful grilled meat wine...stands up to spicy rubs and sauces well. Only complaint is that it started to fall flat after 3 hours of air time and become a bit more acidic.
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4/1/2018 - Whitetail Wino wrote: 87 Points
On the decline
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12/11/2017 - bin905 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Initially vanilla and charred oak are preeminant; secondarily, there are spice and tobacco flavors. After breathing, the oak characteristics settle down, the wine integrates and the cherry fruit becomes much more apparent. The moderate length finish shows some tension and ample fine tannins.
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12/3/2017 - RDHudak wrote: 86 Points
Faded fruit and dry tannin. Timeless Wine buy.
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3/16/2017 - robert.kalinowski@gmail.com Likes this wine: 92 Points
I liked this wine. Drank first in 2012. No notes. Drank with Patatas a La Riojana and of course, any Rioja wine is amazing with this dish.
Very, very deep dark color, deep fruit, integrated wood and tannis. Tons of sediment and nearly black cork. Delicious, but I won't be saving the other bottle, I will drink the other one soon as I felt this bottle was just on long side of peak, or I misinterpreted some overipe flab as getting old. Color did not indicate age. A Garagiste buy. I will report on bottle #3 and we will see if there is bottle variation as reported by others.
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1/23/2017 - bin905 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pepper, spice, pine forest and Kirsch on the nose. Fully integrated, superbly balanced, blackberry, mint, cherry, tea with milk flavor. Ample acidity helps keeps it interesting. Finishes with plenty of fine tannins.
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12/28/2016 - studleytrey Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dense ruby coloring. Tons of dried spice character on the nose, along with dark and dark red fruits, earth, tobacco, mushroom, and floral. Very enticing nose. Medium body, acid, and finish, with flavors of dark and dark red fruits, dried spices, and leather. This was quite nice.
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12/7/2016 - SICILIAN-SOLE Likes this wine: 93 Points
Great wine! I was expecting far less given a lot of the recent notes. In agreement with a lot of the characteristics described by recent reviewers...tobacco, leather, earthiness, with very little fruit at this point. Also has a touch of sweet, but integrated oak and plenty of acidity to keep it lively. The running theme in a lot of the notes seems to be bottle variation...I guess I got a good one! I don't believe it's in decline but I don't see any reason to hold either. Drinking very well now.
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10/31/2016 - nefarm Likes this wine:
Slightly corked but impresses me as a good wine. Too bad.
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10/18/2016 - jmasterj wrote:
Unique Rioja. A level of earthy/truffle/forest floor that wasn't expected. Under that you could sense the aged layers of dark fruit but coupled with the flabby/dead mouthfeel, the bottle was offputting enough to make me set it down. Decanted but it still held true to initial impressions. Granted the bottle is well aged, I don't feel the bottle was flawed but perhaps in a level of decline.
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10/13/2016 - Yondan Likes this wine: 88 Points
This wine drank well, hints of tobacco on the pallet. Full body, peaking now, maybe turning. Don't wait too long
The wine looks violet colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, gooseberry, red currant and black currant (cassis). It tastes like tobacco, black currant (cassis) and red currant. The body is medium/full. The wine has linear texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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9/25/2016 - theplatz wrote: flawed
Last 3 bottles all bad....recommend opening yours if you have any left.
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9/21/2016 - theplatz wrote: flawed
Last 3 bottles all bad....recommend opening yours if you have any left.
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9/17/2016 - theplatz wrote: flawed
Last 3 bottles all bad....recommend opening yours if you have any left.
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4/14/2016 - vinodolphin Likes this wine: 90 Points
Actually getting better. Smoother with medium finish.
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4/11/2016 - RDHudak wrote: 91 Points
Hmmm, this bottle drank so young; blind, I would swear it was Bordeaux. Loads of dark fruit, leather and oak. Young tannin and a pronounced earthy note on both the nose and palate. Short-med finish. While I have had tons of bottle variation, this example showed like it just left the winery. As before, a perfect cork and no signs at all of age in the color. 91+
On day three, this still showed very young, but was delicious.
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1/30/2016 - quaffnov Likes this wine: 92 Points
This spent two hours in the decanter and on first pour the nose presents a deep, rich, dark raspberry with a strong smoky element clearly present. The palate is well integrated, with dark fruit, anise and a hint of earth couched in very mild acidity and chocolate tannins. Full bodied, the only downside is that the finish is shorter than I thought it would be based on the palate. A fine example of the classic Rioja style.
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1/2/2016 - vinodolphin Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drinking well but finish is short.
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12/21/2015 - RDHudak wrote: 85 Points
The third bottle from a case, all of which have shown completely different than my prior experience with this item, which came from two different sources. Muted fruit with minimal complexity and a short finish. The cork looked perfect and the wine showed no flaws, just seemed like a vastly different product. This came from a lot that was "just uncovered" and was implied that it was recently discovered at the winery.
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11/14/2015 - thebonnydooner wrote: 91 Points
Deep, ripe and sweet, full of fruit. This was an amazing wine for the money. Drinking really well.
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10/11/2015 - ccarter5181 wrote: 90 Points
Similar to last bottle but nose and flavors seemed a bit muted in comparison. Very enjoyable and still drinking well.
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7/24/2015 - wormfarmer Likes this wine: 91 Points
Best bottle yet, and best an hour in. Classic rioja. Fruit mostly in absentia. Some spicebox on the nose. Thickened a bit on the palate as things progressed, and revealed slight hints of licorice and menthol. I still think it's time to drink up, but this was in great shape.
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7/15/2015 - ravbik wrote: 86 Points
Funk and sour red fruit , maybe bad bottle
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6/18/2015 - tychill wrote: 91 Points
My last bottle of this and without doubt, this showed the best of the three. Similar notes to past bottles but this one just seemed fuller and smoother.
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4/11/2015 - RKatzDO Does not like this wine:
Oxidized. Perfect cork. Will try another.
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3/31/2015 - tychill wrote:
Same notes as last bottle. Time to drink up on these.
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2/14/2015 - ericindc wrote: 89 Points
Fruit starting to go on this bottle. Solids,but light black fruits,sold minerality, good acid,and fading tannins, medium body. A huge amount of sediment. If this bottle is any indication, drink up in the next 1-3 years.
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2/12/2015 - davidspieker wrote: 89 Points
Dark garnet color. Aromatic dark raspberry and vanilla. Consistent flavors with good balance and integration. Medium finish.
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2/2/2015 - wormfarmer Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted for an hour prior to drinking. Overall impression is of a wine at peak, or barely beginning the descent -- but for now it is smooth, and drinking great. Soft tannins. Tons of sediment. No bricking. Notable oak, but not overdone. Initially there's raspberry and some tertiary prune notes; as the thing opens up and settles in for the evening it turns into Fig Newtons. Had with sous-vide'd ribeye and some lemon-y, olive-y cauliflower "couscous" and it was damn-near perfect.
Revisited after 6-7 hours, and it was falling apart a bit.
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1/5/2015 - klaberdog wrote: 87 Points
- Ruby color.
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12/26/2014 - BradleyDavis wrote: 91 Points
Was a bit concerned initially that this wine was done, but after one hour had tons of character. What I thought were signs of being done turned into hints of vanilla and raspberry. The tannins dissipated quickly and the finish is smooth. Really love this wine, but have 10 more and will make drinking them a priority as I suspect this wine is approaching its prime.
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12/23/2014 - tychill Likes this wine: 89 Points
First of my three bottles. PnP: Visibly not many signs of age. Still dark and garnet colored, no bricking. Shows beautiful and huge nose very typical Rioja black raspberries, toasted vanilla. Its a shame the nose faded rather quickly after sitting in the glass for several minuets. On the palate shows a slightly redder fruit character. Mid palate a bit hollow and a bit of alcohol on the finish as well. Somewhat disappointing considering some of the prior notes posted. Perhaps slightly past its prime? Still a fun wine and solid QPR.
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11/16/2014 - Redrunners wrote: 87 Points
Starting to get past its prime, with the fruit starting to fade.
Not as nice as it was a couple of years ago.
Flavors of sour cherry, vanilla and a little alcohol on the nose.
Last bottle - time to finish this off.
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11/10/2014 - rjdoan Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep color. Complex deep nose with fruit. Complex taste with nice tannins, and a short finish.
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9/24/2014 - RDHudak wrote: 93 Points
Awesome bottle. Loads of tobacco, black cherry and earth. Excellent structure and medium-long finish. I just purchased 24 more after this bottle. 93+, which may be a bit low.
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9/6/2014 - hesnctrl Likes this wine: 92 Points
PnV. Very dark crimson. Started off very tight...like a hollow Chianti that's all leather. After sitting in the glass for about an hour, the wine completely opened up and put on some weight. Nice nose of blueberries, cedar, and leather. Multi-layered and dense, with oak framing the berry nicely on the palate. Nice texture also.
Enjoyed in a Riedel Vinum Tempranillo glass at 65F. I'd give this a mid 80s in the first several minutes, but low 90s after an hour or so.
Edit: After Vacuvin and fridge overnight, this was still great the next day. Certainly don't judge this book by the cover or the first few chapters. Stay with it all evening and enjoy the story that unfolds.
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8/31/2014 - Rojo Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark ruby color. Aromas of cherry, currant, vanilla bean and hint of tar. Full-bodied, with flavors of cherries, cocoa powder and oak. A touch of sweetness on entry with a little bit of air with soft tannins that are starting to integrate well. Decanting will help now or wait at least one more year.
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8/23/2014 - Tpairing wrote: 89 Points
Continuos with fruit and earthy peppery tastes. Seems tannins integrate in an overall appreciation of the wine.
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8/22/2014 - RichardP wrote: 89 Points
Pop and pour. This comes across as all vanilla at first, but opens up after half an hour. Menthol on the nose; once the vanilla blows off, on the palate, black cherry, plum, raspberry, and a touch of dill, with some peppery and smoky notes on the surprisingly long finish. This is much better than a bottle I had about a year ago. Although I couldn't pick up a defect in that bottle, I have to conclude that it was flawed. I have edited the previous note to reflect that.
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8/1/2014 - Merengue wrote: 90 Points
This is in a nice spot after a one hr decant. Just after popping the tannins are very much present, acidity is high and tons of vanilla/oak on the nose. This balances out beautifully after an hour, with dark fruits, mellowed tannins and a smoky charred wood finish that give this complexity. Acidity remains which makes this a great food wine. This is an excellent value for $25.
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8/1/2014 - Tpairing wrote: 89 Points
Fruit burst leading to superb taste. Tannins hardy when first opened. Recommend to decant for two hours. Excellent food wine - tonight with grilled lamb shoulder chops and thin Italian sausage.
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7/31/2014 - Doc90 wrote: 91 Points
Deep red. Nose initially muted, but opens up after a few hours to one of age, kiwi, leather, and mesmerizing heat. Initially tight, but after a few hours expresses some fantastic Rioja characteristics. Tannins are perfectly timed right after midway through the bottle. I recommend decanting because only the second half was really great.
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7/13/2014 - Tpairing wrote: 89 Points
Berry fruit and an all around very good wine- great on the nose. Decant fir an hour and enjoyed with grilled lamb and fettuccine garlicky with olio.
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6/30/2014 - schwank wrote:
This wine must be decanted for massive sediments. As other tasters noted this developed more character on day 2, and the last glass is still very deep and interesting on day 4. Not spectacular but worth an Andrew Jackson.
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6/18/2014 - Not647f wrote:
A solid wine, with big fruit flavors. If you like new-model cabs, you'll like it. Lots of pie fruits, oak sweetness (without too much vanilla), but after that, it's reasonable simple. I think it went as far as it can go. Funny thing is, for such a cutting edge kind of guy, Rimmerman sells a ton of this kind of wine that won't push anyone out of his or her comfort zone. Ah, marketing.
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6/12/2014 - millerarner wrote: 89 Points
No complaints.
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5/18/2014 - FandL Likes this wine: 89 Points
Paired with a lamb burger dinner. Went very nicely. Open and allow to breathe for 1-2 hours min.
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5/13/2014 - sbfern wrote: 92 Points
Solid wine drink very nicely for two days. Very rich and colorful. Taste of apricots dried mangoes and dried cranberries. Bits of hickory smoke and dark wood.
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4/27/2014 - madvitale Likes this wine: 89 Points
Excellent Rioja. Very berry. I get blueberry and some raspberry. Mouth filling flavor. Glad I have a couple more. A bargain at $13.
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4/26/2014 - A055951 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice bouquet of raspberry / blueberry with a hint of smoke. Tasted A bit hot mid-palate/caught a note of citrus as well. Has more new world style than one would think. The bottle is only open 15 minutes, I'm gonna let it sit a while but I see it evolving further. All in all I'm pleased with this wine, nice value. I'm gonna try another bottle in 6 months
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4/19/2014 - ccarter5181 wrote: 91 Points
Intense perfumed nose. Nice aged flavor with good supporting fruit. Nice long finish. Drinking very nicely at this point.
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4/18/2014 - BlancdeBlanc Likes this wine: 86 Points
Smoky, licorice, fruity, I would have liked it to be drier. Nice wine though.
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2/25/2014 - vinodolphin Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice bottle and drinking surprisingly young for a 2005. I look forward to watching this develop.
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2/20/2014 - RDHudak wrote: flawed
Possibly a bit of VA. I will refrain from scoring, but this wasn't completely a loss. Seemed to have significant structure, but the VA got in the way of anything else.
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2/19/2014 - DesMarteau Likes this wine: 91 Points
need to get a 6+ of these as it's a steal. I'd let age a few more years as it's pretty concentrated and needs air at this stage (age 9). after 2 hours open…deep blueberries, kiwi, cassis, strawberries, tons of tannins and dust. well made wine that is age worthy.
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1/16/2014 - RDHudak wrote: 92 Points
Very good . Earthy and a bit funky with red fruit and nice structure. This is very nice and continued to evolve positively for 2 hours. Killer QPR. 92+
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1/10/2014 - ericdavis311 wrote: 85 Points
kind of boring by itself... maybe with some food it would be better.
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12/15/2013 - cupoverflowing1 Likes this wine: 90 Points
good QPR... nice nose, typical Rioja finish.. enjoyable
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12/12/2013 - phantphant wrote: 82 Points
Average juice.
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12/7/2013 - Sniffy-Sniff Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted about 30 minutes and drank over 2 hours. Rustic, old world style that had subtle nuances of smoke, bacon and tobacco. Clean finish framed by dry, dusty tannins. Paired wonderfully with Spanish style slow roasted pork. This is definitely a wine more appreciated with food. Softened over the evening, but not that much. I think this has a long life ahead of it still. Would buy again.
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11/24/2013 - tb_baltimore wrote: 92 Points
- Ruby color and aromas of raspberry and black pepper. It's balanced and has flavours of cedar, dusty and cloves with a light/medium body. Silky texture with a short finish - Weak the first hour, then improved. Poor again the next night, but quite good the night following. Surprisingly low tannins and acids. Send of fruit and pepper.
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11/16/2013 - RDHudak wrote: 92 Points
I bit more pruney than I remember. Leather, sour cherry. I will re-visit tomorrow. 87-88.
EDIT: DAY 2 -As before, this really developed with a decant. Full bodied with nice tannin and acid structure. The pruney flavors have mellowed and turned into dark fruit. This is very nice for the price. 91-92.
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10/7/2013 - phantphant wrote: 88 Points
Took a while, but tasted just fine.
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10/3/2013 - RoysterWright wrote: 91 Points
An earthy aroma met with lush cherry and blackberry fruit. Beautifully stood with the New Mexican spices of the meal.
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9/30/2013 - LopedeAguirre Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very nice bouquet with tar, red fruit, and wood. Good balance, very long finish. Complex with multiple layers.
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9/18/2013 - cjclark wrote: 84 Points
Definitely funk on nose and early palate that got worse as it opened up. My husband described it as "nam pla" (aka fishy Chinese market smell). Buried plum fruit, devolves to cured meat and a long finish. Definitely hope remaining bottle has more fruit and roundness, but perhaps I kept it in the wine fridge too long?
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9/18/2013 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 91 Points
good chewy rioja
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9/15/2013 - chrisanderika Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark, thick, and rich, spice and clove round out the blackberry liqueur like notes of this more modern Rioja.
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9/7/2013 - RDHudak wrote: 91 Points
The fruit seemed more subdued than before, but the tertiary flavors were coming around. Earthy, leather and spice with black fruit. Definitely a high quality Rioja and a good value at $20.
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8/24/2013 - Brett and Megan Likes this wine: 92 Points
aroma - just a tiny bit of funk on the nose, tobacco; tastes - really round and smooth, little alcohol bite, little bit of pencil lead, lots of black pepper; needs a fatty/rich meal; dry finish
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8/7/2013 - CondorKhan wrote: 92 Points
Fifth bottle I consume of this, and it's still fantastic. Aroma of a musty, oak paneled basement. A lot less fruit this time around and a lot more toasty oak is showing. Some hits of cherry and blackberry give way to a long, intense earthy, spicy finish. Concentration and texture are to die for.
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7/24/2013 - RichardP wrote: flawed
Clove and barnyard on the nose. On the palate, plum and red and black berries, with white pepper and a touch of citrus on the medium to short finish. No flaws, but nothing special to recommend it either. Based on other notes, there may be significant bottle variation on this. I have one more bottle, and I will hope it is better. Edit: A subsequent bottle was much better. I suspect this one may have been slightly corked.
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7/16/2013 - Mark O wrote: 90 Points
Good the first night. Not so much the second night.
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5/26/2013 - FlyinI wrote: 86 Points
smoothly integrated tannins, berry, some oak
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5/24/2013 - gph Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark fruit, some tobacco, and a hint of spice. Good length
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5/22/2013 - aajder wrote: 88 Points
Good color. The nose is dominated by new oak, with red fruits, tobacco, flowers, and cedar joining in. This is medium full bodied on the palate, with good concentration and decent finesse. The finish is medium length, with good acidity and integrated tannins. My problem with this wine is the oak treatment; it detracts from the texture and finish.
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5/18/2013 - agilenut Likes this wine: 90 Points
Inky. Slow legs. Strong oak and hit of berry and spice. Medium body. Leathery texture. Medium finish. A bit of sediment. Great value!
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5/15/2013 - RDHudak wrote: 93 Points
Outstanding bottle! Raisin, stewed fruit ( in a good way) with great balanced acidity and integrated tannins. This continued to evolve in the glass and was very impressive for the money. This is a case buy, for me. 92-93
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5/13/2013 - JPLogan wrote: 91 Points
wonderful wine
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5/9/2013 - phantphant wrote: 85 Points
Ok...a bit off
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5/4/2013 - bobadopolis Likes this wine: 90 Points
Smooth nose with fragrants of mesquite wood, faint tobacco, and hint of dark cherries. Darker fruit on the palate, finishing with a titch of rhubarb.
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4/1/2013 - skurtz wrote:
A bit too thin and one dimensional. Sour cherry, acid, berries. No tannins (a plus). Good but not great. At $25, there are better buys from Spain. Had it with flank steak. Decanted, peaked at 2h, not much improved by 3h. Three and half stars out of five.
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4/1/2013 - DSP Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Some muted red fruits, but mostly just oak extract with a slightly bitter finish. Based on other reviews, maybe an off bottle?
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3/2/2013 - mmurry Likes this wine: 90 Points
Rich and creamy on the nose, with dark fruit and leather, some spice in the middle, and vanilla at the end. Black fruit and leather on the palate, with spice on the mid-palate, and a very creamy finish.
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2/23/2013 - Nojomoschwa wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for over an hour. Liked it more toward the beginning than toward the end of the evening. Still, a good-value Rioja from a great vintage. Very modern in style and possibly a little too reduced for my palate. Tasty though.
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2/16/2013 - Benj wrote: 92 Points
The Iberian Peninsula (My apartment): Boy oh boy do I love this wine. I tasted this a few months ago but I had forgotten how amazing it was until today's tasting. Caveat: this is *extremely* oaky and most certainly not a "traditional" Rioja. I'm not talking super blockbuster punch-your-teeth-out oak, it's certainly not that, but this is all about the soft, creamy, sweet, almost powdery (in the perfumery sense) oak. The leathery, slightly meaty dark cherry is smooth, silky and supple. Everything is functioning perfectly now - tannin, acid, fruit and oak. Drink drink drink! Can't believe this only cost me $20.
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2/8/2013 - JPLogan wrote: 92 Points
Nice nose, chew a great mouth feel and full on the palette throughout. Mmmm....
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2/3/2013 - Charlie Pendejo wrote:
Wow, this was super modern on day one, and I was far from crazy about it: smooth lush vanilla-infused French-oaky (not the American oak more traditional to this region) purple-black fruit. Silly though it may be, I'd' be happier with this if the label read "Ribera del Duero"; for some reason I seem to want my Rioja more old-worldly traditional. After a couple days in the wine fridge, the second half was similar but a bit subdued, with drying tannins taking the place of half the fruity perfume. It was as if the wine were trying to become more "serious" and to woo me while still appealing to my wife; instead, it was more of a "worst of both worlds" and we both disliked it. Well, I've got another bottle, and perhaps it'll be more interesting to me in 202x.
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1/28/2013 - Onthelees wrote: 88 Points
Deep garnet color with purple overtones and a lighter rim; muted nose dominated by the odd combination of vanilla oak and the odor of I-95 driving through the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia ( which is not good); complex flavors of dark fruits plus a touch of raspberry, clove, pepper, olive oil and several more flavors in addition to enough oak to be more than I wanted. Very good acid balance, moderate tannins and a medium finish. I-95 never appeared on the palate thank goodness. The excess of oak and the odd nose kept this from being a 90 or 91 point wine for me.
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1/19/2013 - ucbeau Likes this wine: 87 Points
Popped and poured. Lots of oak and red fruit on the nose, mixing with dried herbs and dusty soil. Full tannin on the palate, creating very nice structure and enclosing ripe red and black fruit, sun dried tomato, dried herb, and peppercorn flavors. Need more time in bottle I think.
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1/16/2013 - bobpsi wrote: 88 Points
Expressive nose of cedar, blackberry, and smoke. Medium body black fruits, coffee, and cedar. Medium finish.
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12/31/2012 - JPLogan wrote: 90 Points
Very nice Rioja. Will definitely buy again.
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12/10/2012 - Ron Felthoven wrote:
solid wine, relatively big in stature but nicely done.
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12/3/2012 - aajder wrote: 90 Points
Deep, saturated color. On the nose, this flaunts oak, ripe red berries, flowers, tobacco, and spice. This is medium full bodied on the palate, with a lot of concentrated fruit. The finish is well balanced and long, with enough acidity and integrated tannins. Very modern Rioja, but delicious.
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11/25/2012 - cwiebe wrote: 88 Points
Fairly dark red color. Noe is substantially muted, but there is a fine floral component. Bright red cherry and raspberry fruit. Medium to full bodied flavor, some oak. Finish is fairly long.
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11/21/2012 - luchavino wrote: 87 Points
On first opening the nose is showing candle wax and earthy bright cherries. The palate is full of mouth puckering cherry, tart spices and coffee bean with the coffee bean and spice notes carrying over to the finish.
One day later the nose is showing earthy notes of dark cherry, currant and cracked pepper. The palate has also bulked up with dark currant, cola, clove and cracked pepper with a tart menthol spicy finish.
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11/13/2012 - ericindc Likes this wine:
Definitely some big bottle variation. Much more oakey than the last. Needed some time open. Similar to last notes.
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11/8/2012 - schwank wrote:
No notes but it was very pleasant. Definitely in a good window for consumption.
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11/2/2012 - Bigbadbrewsky wrote: 92 Points
Really great structure and fruit. Wonderful finish and nose.
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11/1/2012 - Seweint wrote: 90 Points
Nice bottle of tempranillo. Easy to drink, with backbone of red fruits, some oak...Not mind-blowing but certainly a good drink.
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10/11/2012 - CondorKhan wrote: 93 Points
This is *really* hitting the spot tonight.. Sweet dark cherry nose. Earth, prunes, dark cherries. Wonderful, balanced acidity and silky tannins in the finish. Memories of a special bottle of Vosnee-Romanee float in my head. Unbelievable steal at 20 bucks.
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10/5/2012 - fingers wrote:
This bottle was much better than the last one 3 weeks ago. Right out of the gate, the aroma was beautifully perfumed and full of life. After a couple hours open, the palate settled in and gave a weighty performance. Rich, opulent fruit, framed with an earthen base and tannins of velvet. Fully redeemed itself. 91
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10/2/2012 - DecaturDan wrote: 91 Points
De - Li - Cious
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9/27/2012 - mtaczak wrote: 89 Points
gained weight and intensity with air, but still has that sour cherry Rioja finish.
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9/26/2012 - pifcho wrote: 90 Points
A bottle you want to open at a dinner party as it will appeal to various tastes. Beautiful nose of cassis and chestnuts. Smooth round palate which is rich on fruit but nicely balanced. It really shone on the 1st night and was not quite as good on the 2nd night when it got a little oakier and flatter. Solid for the $20 paid.
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9/15/2012 - theplatz wrote: 85 Points
Ok but nothing special...wanted to like this more but just kinr of average and nothing too distinctive.
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9/15/2012 - fingers wrote:
This bottle was a big dropoff from priors. Weak bouquet and semi-flat on the palate. Aeration no help. Just the wrong phase of the moon, I suppose. Hopefully, my last one will still have some life and I'll give it try in a few weeks.
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9/9/2012 - nobodycares123 wrote: 89 Points
We had a great experience. The nose was well rounded, with cassis and licorice. The mouth feel was balanced, with a hint of sweetness from caramel. It has light tannins and a smooth lingering finish for about 20 seconds. For $20, this is a steal, I only have three left, and surely will enjoy them in a year or so.
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9/3/2012 - gmfamoso wrote: 93 Points
Earthy and rustic nose of plums, figs, licorice, spice, and hints of tobacco. Tastes are almost identical to the nose with incredibly integrated silky tannins and a hint of coffee on the finish. Just a wonderfully balanced, silky, and extremely complex wine for the price of $20. Will buy more and look forward to seeing future vintages with this winery.
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8/31/2012 - blaiseiii wrote:
Very nice wine....better on day two and three....only issue was the "sulfur nose effect"...on day one (ie morning after)
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8/12/2012 - JR_Boston wrote: 93 Points
- Garnet color and aromas of cloves and licorice anise. It's balanced and has flavours of blackberry, raspberry, black currant and black pepper with a medium/full body. Silky texture with a medium finish - Really nice and smooth. Great body and aroma
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8/6/2012 - prettydeceextrap wrote: 84 Points
(B-) Bit of chemical funk in the nose that blows off over 2 hours. COmes around to a nice musty and pruney nose. Dried cherries and soil come to mind. The fruit is nice, with more prunes, cherries, and a very delicate spice. A bit one dimensional on the palate, without offering much for the side and top palate. Finishes smooth. Sipping wine. Drink now.
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8/3/2012 - Bumbanian wrote: 89 Points
A bit short, but full of flavor and with a wonderful nose. No detailed notes.
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7/31/2012 - Marc_Iadarola wrote: 88 Points
Typical old world style. Very earthy and musky. Whatever fruit is in there is all candied(figs, prunes and raisins.) It opened up a bit but it will probably benefit from a few more years of bottle age.
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7/15/2012 - RDHudak wrote: 91 Points
C: Dark ruby. N: Candied red fruit, soil, slightly prunish. P: Dried red fruit, light prune, soft earth and spice. F: Medium length with lingering prune, dried cherry and light spice. Light acidity and medium, integrated tannins. Medium body. 88-89 EDIT: This just needed a decant. Much bigger in body with more earthiness and complexity to the fruit. Very good. 91+
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7/4/2012 - theplatz Likes this wine: 90 Points
Enjoyed wine at TW tasting and bought bottle. Enjoyed this bottle although wife not as bigba fan
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7/1/2012 - Easter Everywhere wrote: 87 Points
Shy nose of sweet black fruit, pine, wood (lumber, not oak), oak, big w/touch of heat, rustic tannnins, bit disjointed, give time
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6/20/2012 - RussK wrote: 90 Points
RussK. Week2 in frig vinvac. Better 90-
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6/18/2012 - Redrunners wrote: 91 Points
Still can use a few years, was tannic when opened.
After a 2 hour decant, smoothed out nicely - very nice bottle.
Good complexity and balance - blackberry, raspberry, earthiness with prune flavors.
Nice long finish.
Three more bottles to go - worth burying more.
Rate at 91 - 92 points.
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6/14/2012 - P&F wrote: 89 Points
Rand says that it's good but, "Outstanding? I don't think this tastes Outstanding." So, it gets an 89. Nose of molasses or maybe a little tar. As for taste it is rich, new worldy, modern, plummy or even pruney, a bit of smoke (according to Rand, again). It's definitely good, and definitelly good for the price, but too fruit forward for me.
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6/9/2012 - BBinSC wrote: 92 Points
91-93: this wine is just getting better and better -- intense, smoky nose, rich fruit in the palate, and a very long finish that tops many bottles 3X the price. It is a modern style of Rioja, with the cedary notes taking the forefront, but if you like it, it's exceptional.
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6/1/2012 - phantphant wrote: 90 Points
Wonderful. Excellent on the forenose...and improving on the midpalate.
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5/27/2012 - ericindc wrote:
Slighty rougher bottle than the last notes. So it may have some slight to moderate bottle variation. Still a stupidly wonderful bottle for $20. This is better than alot of $100+ bottles I have had. If you can find some, get em.
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5/19/2012 - ericindc wrote: 92 Points
deep reddish brown. Fabulous nose of leather, raspberry blackberry, and dirt. This wine is much better that the tasting notes below lead me to believe. It explodes with blackberry, raspberry, a strong gushing salinity, with a complex earthiness that is shocking in a $20 wine. And the finish.... It goes on and on and on for at least 45 seconds, with a ghost of a finish that lasts minutes. I found none of the drying tannins or light fruit others found. I suspect they were bad bottles. This is a great wine, at a 95, i may be underrating it, knowing its a $20 wine. This wine should be drunk within the next 4 years.
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5/18/2012 - RussK wrote: 88 Points
RussK. Nose muted. Plum in the mouth, rough acidity and some bitterness in the finish. Don't buy again.
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4/30/2012 - sstoloff wrote: 91 Points
Excellent wine, with nose of cherry, earth, brier, touch of menthol. I found the palate a bit tannic but I think the slightly rough edge will smooth over a couple more years.
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4/28/2012 - RSLyss wrote: 90 Points
A lovely wine, displaying the depth and elegance of the excellent 2005 vintage. Taste is an expanse of blackfruit, tobacco, dark minerals, hints of smoke yet with a delicate chime of tangerine (somehow) on the attack and mid-palate. Acidity is medium-firm, but matched by tannin which suggests a nice long future for this bottling. Excellent length echoes the fruit, the minerals, and hints of citrus. It has all the stuffing to be versatile with a vast array of cuisine.
Stylistically, this effort from Valsacro leans towards the international, but there's enough traditional Rioja characteristics in there to firmly stand its ground. At $19.99, it's an easy case-lot purchase, especially if you're fond of throwing good sized dinner parties. Impressive.
Side-note: This wine does not show well at lower temps. If it comes out of your cellar at 55 degrees, put it on the counter for half an hour to bump it into the 60s.
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4/26/2012 - graphite wrote: 90 Points
Ripe blakberries, cherries,damp earth, cedar, dill, Asian spices. Lacking a bit in tannic structure and fimish, but very good Rioja at the price! Drink over next couple years.
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4/21/2012 - danibus Likes this wine: 91 Points
Delicious and complex, if a tad modern for my tastes. Dark berries, vanilla, spice, loamy earth.
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4/21/2012 - Stevecci wrote: 92 Points
Tasted after a couple hours in the glass. Wow! Very, very nice Rioja. Ripe dark fruits and berries, spice box, cedar, vanilla, tobacco, eucalyptus, earth, bacon fat, smooth tannins and perfect level of acidity to bring it all together. A nice port-like finish.
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4/13/2012 - Camacarthur wrote: 91 Points
Full bodied, red fruits, oak, earthy, long finish. Should benefit from a couple more years of age.
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4/7/2012 - Merengue wrote: 90 Points
Decanted but early on lots of oakiness and predominant vanilla. Dark purple color almost port like. It evolved beautifully with fruit coming out, blueberries, refreshing acidity, Integrated oak, it gained weight but remained medium bodied with polished tannins. Feels like it can go 3 years more at least. Will look for more as i consumed my last 2 bottles today.
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4/5/2012 - fingers wrote: 91 Points
Just a short splash and swirl in the glass and I'm already amazed by this wine. Super dark purple, almost fully opaque and not really any visible sign of age. It has a bouquet that sends tingles down my spine with deep rose, lavender, blackberry, licorice, tobacco, earth, potpourri, and Krispy-creme confection. Similar, but not as intense, as something like a Carnival of Love, which just shows my lack of a grasp of nice Tempranillo. Palate is nothing Aussie-like though, and the flavor is distinctly different as now the maturity is felt and the tannins paint classical, not contemporary, notes through the ending. Luscious, but not heavy. More velvet than silk, as I get some nice grip and crispness. Very long finish with plenty of tasty fumes still lingering long after a swallow. At least a few good years to go, too. Maybe I'm generous, maybe I'm jaded, or maybe I've tapped a special bottle out of the lot, but this rocks imho. 5+12+17+7 = 91
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3/30/2012 - tourette wrote: 90 Points
Rich, modern, and very smooth. A bit too much wood for my tastes. Some strawberry and other red fruits. It seems designed to please everyone but cater to no one. Aside from the telltale tempranillo acidity, its just too nondescript. Very enjoyable though.
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3/28/2012 - tb_baltimore Likes this wine: 87 Points
The nose is black cherry. The taste is a bit flat with a mild 'cough syrup' sense. There are no real tannins and there is only mild acid. A bit of cherry aftertaste. I confess that I was expecting more. This was better on the 2nd night.
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3/18/2012 - BBinSC wrote: 92 Points
Big, luscious Rioja -- great nose of spice, oak, & earth. Rich, warm palate, lots of toasty oak, an earthy mid-palate, and moderate acidity and tannin on the long, long finish. A nice balance between modern and traditional styles of wine; exceptionally good QPR under $20. An early contender for value of the year.
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3/17/2012 - swade wrote: 92 Points
Plum and cinnamon on the nose. Lush mouth-coating, mouthfeel. Black fruit, underbrush and cloves on the palate. Fine acidity and long, long balanced finish. Really, really good. Buy more.
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3/14/2012 - snaff wrote: 92 Points
Big and bright, in the Numanthia style. Delicious lingering finish.
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3/9/2012 - monist wrote: 90 Points
Yummy.
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3/4/2012 - thw3z wrote: 94 Points
Cool wine. Cinnamon stick, earthy.
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2/25/2012 - AllRed wrote:
4th Saturday Group brown bagger (Rich & Dana's): Dusty garnet color. Aromas of caramel corn and herbs with a sour red fruit flavor.
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12/27/2011 - mtaczak wrote: 90 Points
Giving up nothing at first. Opened up much more, consumed over 4-5 hours and poured through a Nuance. Soft, modern style Rioja. Some tempranillo meatiness, maybe some hints of black cherry. Not sure it deserves the hype, but for a hair over $20 it's a decent value.
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12/19/2011 - jj96 wrote: 90 Points
Was much better for me after extended decant than as PnP. Subtle nose of coffee, chocolate, some brett. Taste is all up front: mild black fruit and round, drying tannins. Jumps straight to a long finish -- no mid-palette to speak of. That makes me want to score lower, but roundness and aromas keep me right up at the 89/90 line.
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12/15/2011 - AMV8_79 wrote: 90 Points
great right out of the bottle. decanted for a half hour and of course only improved. the balance was the best bit of this
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10/28/2011 - Chivafradi wrote: 93 Points
This Rioja really impressed me and my guests during dinner. I used an aereator to bring up the dark cherry and chocolate aromas in the glass. At first, the full bodied, deep red notes of the Valsacro caught our attention. In mouth we experienced a well rounded Rioja, with a delicate texture, the right balance of tannins, and a long lasting aftertaste that was quite pleasant. We finished 2 bottles in less than 2 hours and we were saddened by the fact that we didn't have a third bottle to continue our lovely evening!
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10/23/2011 - mikejohn wrote: 92 Points
- Brick color. It's in total harmony with a full body. Round texture with a long finish.
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10/4/2011 - BL4 wrote: 91 Points
taste's like a high end wine...deep with blackberry, hint of pepper. Solid wine.
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9/29/2011 - cliffo41 wrote: 91 Points
The wine is so dark the cork was nearly black. Vanilla and spice on the nose. Long, complex finish. Tannins present but not overwhelming. Certainly not a dusty old Rioja - this complex, interesting wine should be fun for years to come.
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7/7/2011 - la dut wrote: 94 Points
The nose was subtle, but complex: vanilla, smokiness, leather, soft tannins, blackberry, and black cherry. The wine was just as intriguing on the palate, with tobacco, dark fruit, chocolate, and creamy tannins. Full-bodied and well-balanced, the finish lasted upwards of 20 minutes, and was clean and smooth.
I was absolutely in love with this wine, and was disappointed that I only had a tiny sample glass to enjoy. If I had the money, I would have bought the bottle on the spot.
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4/1/2011 - Camacarthur Likes this wine: 92 Points
saturated purple color; wood smoke, pencil lead, espresso, truffle, and blackberry. Rich and flavorful. Will be better in a few years.
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