Deep dark red. Opened and poured, instantly wonderful aromas on the nose that screamed Cabernet Sauvignon, deep cassis still hugely fruit-forward after 16 years. Like a left bank Bordeaux but dialled up in intensity rather than restrained and classical, with the focus still on the primary and really good for it. There are fresh herbs along with the blackcurrant, and hints of leather and dust but really these take a back seat. Lovely bottle for a good steak at Hawksmoor Seven Dials.
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Tasted with the 2008 alongside (which had been opened 3 hours earlier). Quite classic Bordeaux nose of cassis and wood, some leather and library dust. Medium bodied and no evidence of the 14%abv. One cheeky fellow taster suggested it was more reminiscent of Rioja. Some tannin to start but this faded quickly. The 2008 alongside seemed lot younger but these bore a strong sibling resemblance. Rather delicious and squarely in its prime drinking window. The 2008 could do with 3-4 more years.
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Medium garnet. Pronounced nose, fully developed. Dried cassis and plum, blackcurrant leaf, leather, tobacco, cedar, earth. Dry palate, fresh acidity, fine, chalky tannins, full body, savoury tertiary flavours dominate the palate, long finish. Fully mature, outstanding Bordeaux blend, drinking beautifully now, but on a long plateau for several years. Recommended.
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Dark garnet, fine but noticeable sediment - needs decanting. Pronounced nose - dried cassis and plum, blackcurrant leaf, pencil lead, cedar, smoke, savoury, earth. Fully developed. Dry palate, med acidity, med+ chalky tannins, med alcohol, med+ body, palate similar to the nose, nice mineral edge, long finish. Classic bordeaux blend, cabernet dominated. Well balanced. Drinking well now and has the structure for a few more years.
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Very expressive nose, lots of pepper and spices, leather, coffee, earthy, balsamic and very little nice volatile acidity. Low to medium acidity, very soft integrated tannins, fruit missing in mid palate, I believe over the top
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Loved this wine, wish I had bought more. Tossed salad on the nose and palate followed by a streak of charcoal on the finish. Tannins resolved and drinking beautifully. After about an hour the charcoal elements diminished and the lovely green characteristics dominated on all fronts. Excellent.
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Started drinking 45 mins in the decanter, it started collapsing at about the 2 hour mark. Struggling with most of the other reviews here.... This is quite a green cabernet, bell pepper, eucalyptus with a touch of smoke and cedar. Smoke passes with time in decanter. Failing to understand the hype, quite one dimensional herbaceous (over fruit) driven cabernet blend. The blend is well balanced I will give it that. Acid is low, tannins soft, finish medium would be generous. Meh. On its way out, last leg of its window, drink now for sure.
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A ton better than the last time we opened a bottle. Dark garnet red with medium edges. Dark berries on the nose with dark spices and a touch of greenery undertone. Medium tannins (5.5/10) and medium bodied. Well rounded and balanced. Nice complexity on the palate with blackberries, cassis, dried cherries, a touch vegetal, spices, slate and a little toasty. Medium plus finish. Drink till 2020.
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Something gloriously naive here in the pretty herbal fruit and soft palate that isn't quite old school Bordeaux but a much gentler New World expression of the idiom.
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P&P in YYZ. Massive perfumed Cabernet Franc nose, properly eyebrow raising, with an immediate return for a second hit. Juicy and intense in the mouth, big cassis fruit, but not even a hint of jaminess. Perfectly pitched acidity and a gently grainy, tannic, mouth-watering tail. Pauillac meets Loire, with added sunshine. Wonderful.
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Green pepper, herbs, red and dark fruit on the nose, tobacco. A little thin on the palate, lots of acidity, not very generous. Nice tannic frame and length. Drink or keep. 88-90
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Second wine and first red wine of our annual DMV South Africa Tasting. Deep garnet core with brick edges. Layered nose with notes of chalk, dust, cedar, truffles, cherries and red currants. Medium tannins (5/10) and well balanced acidity. Medium bodied with dried cherries, a little stoney, dusty, light savory spices and some twigs on the palate. Medium length finish and well integrated. Drink now.
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Mature but still some lingering fruit. Silky tannins but still a little tannic bite - in a good way. Drinking very well right now - I'm not sure it will improve much.
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Dark fruit, spices, herbal notes, earth on the nose. Grippy and fresh on the palate, not overly generous with lots of structure and good balance. Drinking well. 89-91
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Slight signs of evolution around the rim. Open and expressive on the nose showing notes of dark fruit, smoke, undergrowth, tobacco, spices. Hints of dark chocolate. Quite herbal with notes of green bell pepper. On the palate good acidity, quite savoury, spicy with slightly drying tannins not not much fruit. Bright finish. Not very generous and still quite firm. 89-91
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Violet in the glass, nose has a bit of smokiness and blackberries, with an interesting strong cheese note, tannins are soft leading to a short finish that fades quickly. Nice but pales compared to a similar blend from Sullivan.
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Very well made and with a great balance on the palate. But this is just too much smoke paired with green grassy aromas. Smoked meat and hints of plastic. Finish is long but with a slight bitterness. Good intensity and as long as you can cope with the nose a good quality wine!
Not a very expressive nose. Deep garnet ruby color. The fruit is quite linear, however, the tannins have integrated quite nicely into the fruit though there's enough to help continue to age this for a few more years. Medium finish. This is a nice pleasant wine, not very complex or structured but good for easy drinking with food.
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Dark Ruby with a very thin edge. Big mouthful of dark berries, pepper, cassis. Long lingering finish that stays with you well after the glass is empty. So sorry I bought only a single sample bottle, will try to find more and soon.
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Can't agree with Neecies and can't help but think a bad shipment. Our bottle was solid. 2nd of the night and not as good as the CDP we started with but all enjoyed.
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I am absolutely at a loss to reconcile Tanzer's 92 pt description against the rotting cabbage/sewage nose on the four identically tainted bottles of Rubicon I bought and poured for a local wine tasting a few weeks ago. Opened early in the day, splash decanted and left to air out over about eight hours, though some fruit developed in that time the stench never did blow away. I'm very familiar with this wine in other vintages and know this not to be typical. But four bottles says it's not a problem with the closures.
Disappointed in this wine since 2007 was supposed to be a great year for reds. The wine lacked balance with practically no back end. I have one bottle left, so I'll hold for at least a couple of years to see if it evolves into something better. <fingers crossed>
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Nose: green pepper, jalapeno, blackrerry, beef jerkey, white pepper and fig. Nose is quite complex but focused on green notes. Palate: smoked beef brisket, blueberry, blackberry and smoked bbq rub. Filled with beefy bbq notes and some nice spiced preseve notes. Smoke is very dicernable but integrate. Finish: smooth fruit with some intense bbq notes. Blackberry preserves and jerky linger.
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I have to admit that this was the first time i had this with "proper" food, i.e. red meat. And it was wonderful. Herbal on the nose, spicy, black fruit. The green notes that i was mentioning in earlier notes were mellowed by the food we were having. Truly a food fine, complex, herbal, spicy, powerful. This has a good future, I am looking forward to enjoying my remaining bottles from 2018 onwards.
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Medium crimson color with faint brickish rim. Dense nose of potpourri, fried red bell pepper, oil, shoe polish, cigar box and smoke. The palate is surprisingly bright by comparison, with juicy flavors of plum and blackberry along with more tart notes of red apple. This finishes long, with spicy and woody tastes lingering for 10-15 seconds. The tannins are smooth and well integrated but retain good structure; I can easily see the fruit flavors on this broadening out over the next 5-8 years. For now, this tastes like young Bordeaux. At $25/bottle this is an exceptional value.
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good to see that opinions differ on this wine. I like the 'old school' SA profile of this wine. I hope that cellar time will prove me right on this one (if not that's fine too), and that this will turn out to be a spectacular wine for the money in let's say 8 years. It will always show typicity and it is indeed not focused on fruit. Only slightly worrying factor is the musty character, especially right after opening. Currently this really benefits from a decant as the wine fleshes out and becomes more complete.
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This bottle was showing better than the last one. Really dark in colour, this wine shows again lots of smoke, tobacco, spices, wood and some red and black fruit on the nose. Better in balance on the palate, good character of fruit, spicy with drying but quite well integrated tannins and a slightly bitter, fresh and persistent finish. Good value and a good couple of years of life ahead.
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Really dark in colour. Very nice nose: smoke, wood, tobacco and lush fruit. Ripe red fruit, cherries on the palate, firm and slightly drying tannins. Quite acidic and slightly green towards the persistent finish, really fresh but not overly complex and a little lean, austere, not very generous. I guess this will get better with a bit more bottle age, but I am a bit worried about the finish.
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As we have never had one of these, we initially planned on just popping the cork and allowing the bottle to stand open for an hour before serving. Poured a small glass to chart the progress.
Dark ruby with little sign of aging. The nose was chocked full of tobacco smoke, tar and oak. Acidic and full bodied palate but unfortunately not very pleasant - just tons of tannins, smoke and tar, marring the fruit. Even vigorous swirling on many occasions over 15 minutes did not shake the tight tannic smoke bomb!
Poured the rest of the bottle into a decanter and allowed to stand for an hour when it started to mellow slightly and the dark and red fruits started to emerge. Though it remained quite tannic, it was quite nice with a cottage pie though the over riding flavour profiles were smoke, leather and tar over the raspberries, black berries and vanilla.
It however started singing when paired with our pecan blondies (brownies made with white chocolate) with dark chocolate chips. The smokiness and tar profiles mellowed out allowing the black and red fruits to shine through. The tannins also appeared more mellow - we felt the wine tasted better and balanced compared to before.
Looking forward to tasting the other bottles in years to come as we do not think they are ready (to our palate) if this is the norm.
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Lots of wines at Tommy's Clambake (Tommy's): Purple in color. The nose is celery and very powerful. Hard to get past that, but there was some black cherry too. Bitter on the palate. Black cherries. Not sure if this was a proper bottle, but nothing to suggest it was not. Even the AFWE's in the group found it quite green.
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Dark red with a typical SA nose. Smoke berries and a hint of cherry. Acid forward with medium chalky tannins. The wow was the finish. Literally minutes. Recommended.
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Really starting to show some secondary characteristics and shed some of its puppy fat. Impressive combination of red and black fruits, mushrooms, spices and cherries. Needs some air to open up but after 2 hours this is rocking. Very good stuff and starting to drink well.
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This is a Stellenbosch Bordeaux blend, and I believe one of my first (I've never drank from this winery before). I popped and poured this straight into the glass.
The nose on this wine is bold, with pungent aromas of smoke, meat, and ripened berries. After a few minutes of airing in the glass, I took the first sip – more smoke and dark fruit. The finish on this wine is hiding in every corner of my mouth several minutes afterwards.
After a few sips, I’m noticing some medium tannins. This wine is nice to sip and likely would go well with smoked meats, steak, and assorted other beef and meat. Based on the structure, I’d say this would cellar for many more years, but is very enjoyable now. Strongly recommend, great QPR. VERY GOOD.
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Undeniable South African nose. Readily identifiable as Stellenbosch because of the wet-gray-clay/iron-ore terroir hallmark that others reviewers here have called 'dust' or 'chalk'. I don't know what imparts this element to Stellenbosch reds, and I don't care for it, but it always seems prominent.
Once you get passed that, if you ever really can, this wine is well made. On the downside, it fairly single-pitched. It's not a layered wine; it hits a pleasant vein and pretty much stays there.
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No formal note. Deep ruby, viscous and slow moving legs @ 14% abv. Developed nose dominated by oak, saw dust, earth and green leaves. Dry, medium(+) sharp acidity, medium(+) dry chalky tannins, medium-medium(+) body, medium alcohol sensation. Medium flavours of blackberries, red berries, oak. Upon opening quite tart. Medium dry tannic finish. Good, too acid and rough for my liking.
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Really interesting cab-heavy blend. Nose reveals a lot of earth, almost musty. PnP through the Venturi, this was medium-bodied and almost Boudreaux-like. Very smooth mouth feel with smokey fruits.
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This one is totally on it's way to it's peak. Really good! Very Bordeaux-ish with blackcurrant, tobacco, chocolate, coffe and so on. Big on the nose, full with dark fruits and vanilla. Had this one at a dinner two weeks ago and I don't remember any further details. Just a really good wine which I would love to have again in a year or two.
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on its way to the peak, but very good already. lovely bordeaux "earth" nose, balanced, long finish. was stored at 70F for six months, that might have accelerated the aging.
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Second time i had this wine, now with food. This is really outstanding, great bouquet, spices, classy claret really. A future classic surely. This really needs another 5 to 10years and should easily last for 20 yrs. The tannic structure allows this and meerlust has an excellenttrack record when it comes to ageing. I will be buying all i can.
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Decanted for 6 hours. Classy cabernet, although a benchmark sa wine, i would not have guessed this if tasted blind. Nice texture with aristocratic dusty tannin backbone. Pretty sure that this will benefit from 5 yrs plus cellaring. 91-92
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Hafif opak, vişne çürüğü röfleli, derin yakut.Ön burun da, bariz yeşil biber ile birlikte kahve, çikolata ,lastik, kiraz, erik, tütün, tarçın, toprak ve animal notları var.Arkada deri gibi animal daha da belirginleşiyor.Orta gövdeli yumuşak,tanen yapısı ve asidi belirgin.Tanenlerin gücünün yanında kuruluğunun da dikkat çektiği damakta hissedilen, baharat,yeşil biber ve tütün,soğuk bölge ve eski dünya da düşündürüyor.Hafif bir acılığın algılandığı kısa-orta,orta bitimi, tannik.
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Hafif opak, vişne çürüğü röfleli, derin yakut.Ön burun da, bariz yeşil biber ile birlikte kahve, çikolata ,lastik, kiraz, erik, tütün, tarçın, toprak ve animal notları var.Arkada deri gibi animal daha da belirginleşiyor.Orta gövdeli yumuşak,tanen yapısı ve asidi belirgin.Tanenlerin gücünün yanında kuruluğunun da dikkat çektiği damakta hissedilen, baharat,yeşil biber ve tütün,soğuk bölge ve eski dünya da düşündürüyor.Hafif bir acılığın algılandığı kısa-orta,orta bitimi, tannik.
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Wika vinfestival 2012 (Køge): 92 professionelle point forstår jeg simpelthen ikke. Jeg ved ikke om der er defekt på denne flaske eller den lige er åbnet uden iltning. Første gang nogenside jeg har kunnet dufte pikantost i en vin (de tre øvrige smagere havde samme opfattelse - mystisk). Smagen tydelig med gummi. Direkte ubehagelig vin. Bestemt ikke min smag.
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Decanted 2 hours, drank over 4 hours. Wow, this was incredible! Huge vegetable tones on the nose: extremely aromatic. In the mouth, this was spectacular given it's youth. Very complex, green vegetables, chocolate, coffee and aniseed. Over time, tannins softened and mint came through. Really great, even now.
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Not a great wine to be honest, looking at the grape I expected a fruity , good smelling wine, what I got was a harsh acidic tasting red wine, not fruity and the small was like BO
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Significanty better than pervious bottles. Had one bought in Sweden and one in South Africa, this one is from a merchant in London. This one has spicy, racy fruit with fine acidity. No sign of baked, smokey fruit a la SA.
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Balanserat och fylligt nya världenvin. Elegant tanninstruktur och lååångt men möjligtvis lite tunnt avslut. Nyanser av läder och mogna svarta vinbär. Gott.
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More new world than I expected. Blackberrries and mint nose. Plush palate but lovely fine tannins come sauntering in to claim the slightly puckering lengthy finish.
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Slow-O for 24hrs. With Comte cheese. Concentrated & extraordinarily smokey aromas & flavours. Painfully young, but with enormous potential. No issues with the cork.
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New Year's Day Party (Our House): Earthy nose with moderate tannins and slightly dry. Thinner than I expected - I had the same problem with the cork as the 2006 (corks have been drying and crumble when removed with a traditional corkscrew - I have reported this to the winery in SA as it is either a full batch of corks or there shipments to the US)
Decanted for 4 hours.
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7/31/2023 - oenanthe Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep dark red. Opened and poured, instantly wonderful aromas on the nose that screamed Cabernet Sauvignon, deep cassis still hugely fruit-forward after 16 years. Like a left bank Bordeaux but dialled up in intensity rather than restrained and classical, with the focus still on the primary and really good for it. There are fresh herbs along with the blackcurrant, and hints of leather and dust but really these take a back seat. Lovely bottle for a good steak at Hawksmoor Seven Dials.
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7/6/2023 - Vinumming & Ahhing Likes this wine:
Bromley Wine Circle goes Ooop North (London) - South Africa (Ariana 2, Kilburn, London): Lifted tobacco nose, someone observes that blind this could be mistaken for Rioja. Have to agree. There's a little mintiness around the red fruited core, a touch of pepper and something meaty as well. Very good.
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7/6/2023 - king-bing Likes this wine:
Tasted with the 2008 alongside (which had been opened 3 hours earlier). Quite classic Bordeaux nose of cassis and wood, some leather and library dust. Medium bodied and no evidence of the 14%abv. One cheeky fellow taster suggested it was more reminiscent of Rioja. Some tannin to start but this faded quickly. The 2008 alongside seemed lot younger but these bore a strong sibling resemblance. Rather delicious and squarely in its prime drinking window. The 2008 could do with 3-4 more years.
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1/6/2023 - Andrewbdc wrote: 93 Points
Medium garnet. Pronounced nose, fully developed. Dried cassis and plum, blackcurrant leaf, leather, tobacco, cedar, earth. Dry palate, fresh acidity, fine, chalky tannins, full body, savoury tertiary flavours dominate the palate, long finish. Fully mature, outstanding Bordeaux blend, drinking beautifully now, but on a long plateau for several years. Recommended.
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3/13/2022 - dave747400 wrote: 94 Points
Decanted 2hrs. Beautiful, balanced & fresh. Delicious.
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3/26/2021 - Andrewbdc wrote: 91 Points
Dark garnet, fine but noticeable sediment - needs decanting.
Pronounced nose - dried cassis and plum, blackcurrant leaf, pencil lead, cedar, smoke, savoury, earth. Fully developed.
Dry palate, med acidity, med+ chalky tannins, med alcohol, med+ body, palate similar to the nose, nice mineral edge, long finish.
Classic bordeaux blend, cabernet dominated. Well balanced. Drinking well now and has the structure for a few more years.
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12/6/2020 - dave747400 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 2hrs. With various cheeses & saucisson. Fragrant & full bodied. Savoury with plenty of backbone still - delicious.
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11/3/2020 - cab blends wrote: 93 Points
Not blind
Chalky nose and dusty body.
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3/30/2019 - Liskit Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very expressive nose, lots of pepper and spices, leather, coffee, earthy, balsamic and very little nice volatile acidity. Low to medium acidity, very soft integrated tannins, fruit missing in mid palate, I believe over the top
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3/15/2019 - Artmount Likes this wine: 92 Points
earthy leather
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2/16/2019 - cob Likes this wine: 91 Points
Loved this wine, wish I had bought more. Tossed salad on the nose and palate followed by a streak of charcoal on the finish. Tannins resolved and drinking beautifully. After about an hour the charcoal elements diminished and the lovely green characteristics dominated on all fronts. Excellent.
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1/20/2019 - Roughl wrote: 88 Points
I read in one of the Posts bordeaux meets Loire . The finish was a bit of on this one.
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1/12/2019 - red.red.vino wrote: 86 Points
Started drinking 45 mins in the decanter, it started collapsing at about the 2 hour mark. Struggling with most of the other reviews here.... This is quite a green cabernet, bell pepper, eucalyptus with a touch of smoke and cedar. Smoke passes with time in decanter. Failing to understand the hype, quite one dimensional herbaceous (over fruit) driven cabernet blend. The blend is well balanced I will give it that. Acid is low, tannins soft, finish medium would be generous. Meh. On its way out, last leg of its window, drink now for sure.
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10/11/2018 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 90 Points
A ton better than the last time we opened a bottle. Dark garnet red with medium edges. Dark berries on the nose with dark spices and a touch of greenery undertone. Medium tannins (5.5/10) and medium bodied. Well rounded and balanced. Nice complexity on the palate with blackberries, cassis, dried cherries, a touch vegetal, spices, slate and a little toasty. Medium plus finish. Drink till 2020.
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10/2/2018 - rwpalmer wrote: 88 Points
Something gloriously naive here in the pretty herbal fruit and soft palate that isn't quite old school Bordeaux but a much gentler New World expression of the idiom.
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4/20/2018 - dave747400 wrote: 93 Points
P&P in YYZ. Massive perfumed Cabernet Franc nose, properly eyebrow raising, with an immediate return for a second hit. Juicy and intense in the mouth, big cassis fruit, but not even a hint of jaminess. Perfectly pitched acidity and a gently grainy, tannic, mouth-watering tail. Pauillac meets Loire, with added sunshine. Wonderful.
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4/15/2018 - rossi.wine wrote: 89 Points
Green pepper, herbs, red and dark fruit on the nose, tobacco. A little thin on the palate, lots of acidity, not very generous. Nice tannic frame and length. Drink or keep. 88-90
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3/13/2018 - cab blends wrote: 91 Points
Light dusty chalky nose - N7 T6 B7 F5
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3/2/2018 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 87 Points
Second wine and first red wine of our annual DMV South Africa Tasting. Deep garnet core with brick edges. Layered nose with notes of chalk, dust, cedar, truffles, cherries and red currants. Medium tannins (5/10) and well balanced acidity. Medium bodied with dried cherries, a little stoney, dusty, light savory spices and some twigs on the palate. Medium length finish and well integrated. Drink now.
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2/24/2018 - Burgundynick wrote: 89 Points
It is a bit of a beast. Not my cup of tea as it's too full for me. But it had plenty of fruit to go with it. Drinkable 89 points
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7/28/2017 - SvenWine wrote: flawed
Corked
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3/26/2017 - Twinkles wrote: 86 Points
Crazy smoke. Uni dimensional. May very well be past its prime.
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2/28/2017 - Herkygirl130 wrote: flawed
Started to turn....
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2/18/2017 - Domfrenette wrote:
Bombe de fruit. Méga bombe. Avec toute la structure d'un bordelais... mais pour boire en mangeant. Solide même après 10 ans. Pas fatigué.
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2/18/2017 - rwpalmer wrote: 90 Points
Pure, blackcurrant nose. Medium weight. Integrated, elegant wine.
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2/18/2017 - Rhellner Likes this wine: 90 Points
Mature but still some lingering fruit. Silky tannins but still a little tannic bite - in a good way. Drinking very well right now - I'm not sure it will improve much.
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12/27/2016 - rossi.wine wrote: 89 Points
Consistent with previous notes. 88-90
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12/4/2016 - rossi.wine wrote: 89 Points
Herbal, spicy on the nose - notes of tobacco, leather, dark fruit. Fresh and grippy on the palate, slightly drying finish. 88-90
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9/13/2016 - rsed Likes this wine: 90 Points
very dry and smooth, need food with this one,earthy flavors,tar, should last many more years
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8/24/2016 - rossi.wine wrote: 90 Points
Dark fruit, spices, herbal notes, earth on the nose. Grippy and fresh on the palate, not overly generous with lots of structure and good balance. Drinking well. 89-91
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4/8/2016 - vinodolphin Likes this wine: 91 Points
I keep thinking that this will start to go down hill. Still drinking nicely.
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3/24/2016 - rossi.wine wrote: 90 Points
Slight signs of evolution around the rim. Open and expressive on the nose showing notes of dark fruit, smoke, undergrowth, tobacco, spices. Hints of dark chocolate. Quite herbal with notes of green bell pepper. On the palate good acidity, quite savoury, spicy with slightly drying tannins not not much fruit. Bright finish. Not very generous and still quite firm. 89-91
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2/6/2016 - vinodolphin Likes this wine: 91 Points
Best bottle yet. Enjoyed with Lasagna and our dear friends.
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2/2/2016 - Peck Likes this wine: 92 Points
Better with air
Blackberry current green grass of home
Very good SA effort Bordeaux blend
Not really francise though
But nice try
P
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10/22/2015 - vinodolphin Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still drinking very nicely.
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7/20/2015 - iwhawkes@yahoo.co.uk Likes this wine: 91 Points
Stunning wine. Always delivers. Great value. I savoured every sip, shame it was my last bottle.
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5/8/2015 - kevin h wrote: 91 Points
Bold Bx blend with nice cassis and cedar mix. Excellent.
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3/18/2015 - vinodolphin Likes this wine: 90 Points
Enjoyed by all
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1/31/2015 - Twinkles wrote: 88 Points
Too intense on the smoke. Confirmed that this is inconsistent wine from one bottle to the other.
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1/22/2015 - DeadheadKurt wrote: 88 Points
Hard for me to describe, but not my type of wine. Sorry. Wouldn't purchase again.
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1/17/2015 - thor_orsby wrote:
Oops, let it go too long, lost any vivacity, all aged character. Not really very interesting any longer.
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1/3/2015 - vinotintoahora wrote: 87 Points
Beaucoup de corps, bonne présence en bouche sans être trop longue mais manque un peu de tanin.
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11/28/2014 - WineCenturyAZ wrote: 85 Points
Violet in the glass, nose has a bit of smokiness and blackberries, with an interesting strong cheese note, tannins are soft leading to a short finish that fades quickly. Nice but pales compared to a similar blend from Sullivan.
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11/26/2014 - Lilja wrote: 87 Points
Very well made and with a great balance on the palate. But this is just too much smoke paired with green grassy aromas. Smoked meat and hints of plastic. Finish is long but with a slight bitterness. Good intensity and as long as you can cope with the nose a good quality wine!
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11/2/2014 - Roughl wrote:
drinking nicely, with the stuffing to age
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9/19/2014 - Twinkles wrote: 89 Points
Very good but a bit too much on the smoke this time around. Sometimes this wine is musky bordeaux style, this time it was smoky South Africa style...
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8/24/2014 - Sharmajd wrote: 90 Points
Not a very expressive nose. Deep garnet ruby color. The fruit is quite linear, however, the tannins have integrated quite nicely into the fruit though there's enough to help continue to age this for a few more years. Medium finish. This is a nice pleasant wine, not very complex or structured but good for easy drinking with food.
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7/27/2014 - cwiebe Likes this wine: 90 Points
Flavor profile of an older Bordeaux. Still a solid amount of fruit, but also strong flavors of tea, and some stewed vegetables.
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7/27/2014 - haBu Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark Ruby with a very thin edge. Big mouthful of dark berries, pepper, cassis. Long lingering finish that stays with you well after the glass is empty. So sorry I bought only a single sample bottle, will try to find more and soon.
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5/25/2014 - Twinkles wrote: 88 Points
Very smoky this time around. No time to decant.
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2/12/2014 - vinodolphin Likes this wine: 90 Points
Can't agree with Neecies and can't help but think a bad shipment. Our bottle was solid. 2nd of the night and not as good as the CDP we started with but all enjoyed.
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1/29/2014 - Neecies Does not like this wine: 79 Points
I am absolutely at a loss to reconcile Tanzer's 92 pt description against the rotting cabbage/sewage nose on the four identically tainted bottles of Rubicon I bought and poured for a local wine tasting a few weeks ago. Opened early in the day, splash decanted and left to air out over about eight hours, though some fruit developed in that time the stench never did blow away. I'm very familiar with this wine in other vintages and know this not to be typical. But four bottles says it's not a problem with the closures.
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12/30/2013 - jcosindc wrote: 88 Points
Disappointed in this wine since 2007 was supposed to be a great year for reds. The wine lacked balance with practically no back end. I have one bottle left, so I'll hold for at least a couple of years to see if it evolves into something better. <fingers crossed>
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12/21/2013 - RockinCabs wrote: 89 Points
Nose: green pepper, jalapeno, blackrerry, beef jerkey, white pepper and fig. Nose is quite complex but focused on green notes. Palate: smoked beef brisket, blueberry, blackberry and smoked bbq rub. Filled with beefy bbq notes and some nice spiced preseve notes. Smoke is very dicernable but integrate. Finish: smooth fruit with some intense bbq notes. Blackberry preserves and jerky linger.
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12/9/2013 - rossi.wine wrote: 92 Points
I have to admit that this was the first time i had this with "proper" food, i.e. red meat. And it was wonderful. Herbal on the nose, spicy, black fruit. The green notes that i was mentioning in earlier notes were mellowed by the food we were having. Truly a food fine, complex, herbal, spicy, powerful. This has a good future, I am looking forward to enjoying my remaining bottles from 2018 onwards.
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12/8/2013 - Twinkles wrote: 91 Points
Musk and green peppers. Great wine this time again.
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12/7/2013 - rossi.wine wrote: 90 Points
consistent with previous note.
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12/1/2013 - Twinkles Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wow. Wonderful earth and green peppers. Feels...opulent. Very classy but remains punchy. Lingers on the palate. Nothing overpowers, excellent.
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12/1/2013 - NineteenEightyTwo Likes this wine: 94 Points
Medium crimson color with faint brickish rim. Dense nose of potpourri, fried red bell pepper, oil, shoe polish, cigar box and smoke. The palate is surprisingly bright by comparison, with juicy flavors of plum and blackberry along with more tart notes of red apple. This finishes long, with spicy and woody tastes lingering for 10-15 seconds. The tannins are smooth and well integrated but retain good structure; I can easily see the fruit flavors on this broadening out over the next 5-8 years. For now, this tastes like young Bordeaux. At $25/bottle this is an exceptional value.
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11/25/2013 - Roughl wrote: 91 Points
good to see that opinions differ on this wine. I like the 'old school' SA profile of this wine. I hope that cellar time will prove me right on this one (if not that's fine too), and that this will turn out to be a spectacular wine for the money in let's say 8 years. It will always show typicity and it is indeed not focused on fruit. Only slightly worrying factor is the musty character, especially right after opening. Currently this really benefits from a decant as the wine fleshes out and becomes more complete.
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11/1/2013 - rossi.wine wrote: 90 Points
This bottle was showing better than the last one. Really dark in colour, this wine shows again lots of smoke, tobacco, spices, wood and some red and black fruit on the nose. Better in balance on the palate, good character of fruit, spicy with drying but quite well integrated tannins and a slightly bitter, fresh and persistent finish. Good value and a good couple of years of life ahead.
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10/19/2013 - spo Does not like this wine:
Musty with bell pepper. Some other positive attributes but the first two were so dominant.
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10/12/2013 - rossi.wine wrote: 88 Points
Really dark in colour. Very nice nose: smoke, wood, tobacco and lush fruit. Ripe red fruit, cherries on the palate, firm and slightly drying tannins. Quite acidic and slightly green towards the persistent finish, really fresh but not overly complex and a little lean, austere, not very generous. I guess this will get better with a bit more bottle age, but I am a bit worried about the finish.
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10/7/2013 - Yme wrote:
As we have never had one of these, we initially planned on just popping the cork and allowing the bottle to stand open for an hour before serving. Poured a small glass to chart the progress.
Dark ruby with little sign of aging. The nose was chocked full of tobacco smoke, tar and oak. Acidic and full bodied palate but unfortunately not very pleasant - just tons of tannins, smoke and tar, marring the fruit. Even vigorous swirling on many occasions over 15 minutes did not shake the tight tannic smoke bomb!
Poured the rest of the bottle into a decanter and allowed to stand for an hour when it started to mellow slightly and the dark and red fruits started to emerge. Though it remained quite tannic, it was quite nice with a cottage pie though the over riding flavour profiles were smoke, leather and tar over the raspberries, black berries and vanilla.
It however started singing when paired with our pecan blondies (brownies made with white chocolate) with dark chocolate chips. The smokiness and tar profiles mellowed out allowing the black and red fruits to shine through. The tannins also appeared more mellow - we felt the wine tasted better and balanced compared to before.
Looking forward to tasting the other bottles in years to come as we do not think they are ready (to our palate) if this is the norm.
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9/15/2013 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 87 Points
Lots of wines at Tommy's Clambake (Tommy's): Purple in color. The nose is celery and very powerful. Hard to get past that, but there was some black cherry too. Bitter on the palate. Black cherries. Not sure if this was a proper bottle, but nothing to suggest it was not. Even the AFWE's in the group found it quite green.
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8/10/2013 - Danthejuiceman Likes this wine:
Old school blend. Dusty mineral overtones.
Very nice with a piece of cheese.
A good buy.
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7/14/2013 - Dlgreenstein wrote: 90 Points
Dark red with a typical SA nose. Smoke berries and a hint of cherry. Acid forward with medium chalky tannins. The wow was the finish. Literally minutes. Recommended.
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6/16/2013 - FinMB wrote: 92 Points
Much improved versus 1 year ago
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5/6/2013 - pjaines Likes this wine:
Really starting to show some secondary characteristics and shed some of its puppy fat. Impressive combination of red and black fruits, mushrooms, spices and cherries. Needs some air to open up but after 2 hours this is rocking. Very good stuff and starting to drink well.
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4/24/2013 - BigTex22 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This is a Stellenbosch Bordeaux blend, and I believe one of my first (I've never drank from this winery before). I popped and poured this straight into the glass.
The nose on this wine is bold, with pungent aromas of smoke, meat, and ripened berries. After a few minutes of airing in the glass, I took the first sip – more smoke and dark fruit. The finish on this wine is hiding in every corner of my mouth several minutes afterwards.
After a few sips, I’m noticing some medium tannins. This wine is nice to sip and likely would go well with smoked meats, steak, and assorted other beef and meat. Based on the structure, I’d say this would cellar for many more years, but is very enjoyable now. Strongly recommend, great QPR. VERY GOOD.
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3/12/2013 - Motz wrote: 90 Points
Undeniable South African nose. Readily identifiable as Stellenbosch because of the wet-gray-clay/iron-ore terroir hallmark that others reviewers here have called 'dust' or 'chalk'. I don't know what imparts this element to Stellenbosch reds, and I don't care for it, but it always seems prominent.
Once you get passed that, if you ever really can, this wine is well made. On the downside, it fairly single-pitched. It's not a layered wine; it hits a pleasant vein and pretty much stays there.
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3/7/2013 - Barolo Raymond wrote: 88 Points
No formal note. Deep ruby, viscous and slow moving legs @ 14% abv. Developed nose dominated by oak, saw dust, earth and green leaves. Dry, medium(+) sharp acidity, medium(+) dry chalky tannins, medium-medium(+) body, medium alcohol sensation. Medium flavours of blackberries, red berries, oak. Upon opening quite tart. Medium dry tannic finish. Good, too acid and rough for my liking.
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3/6/2013 - GoHeels Likes this wine: 90 Points
Really interesting cab-heavy blend. Nose reveals a lot of earth, almost musty. PnP through the Venturi, this was medium-bodied and almost Boudreaux-like. Very smooth mouth feel with smokey fruits.
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2/26/2013 - cab blends Likes this wine: 91 Points
Only a little decanting to get the full terroir and chalkiness
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2/24/2013 - FinMB wrote: 91 Points
Huge smokey bold wine . Mellowed a little on day 2 - but still very powerful
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2/18/2013 - FinMB Likes this wine: 89 Points
A lesser and less complex wine than the highly enjoyable 2001.
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1/20/2013 - karl.1480 wrote: 91 Points
This one is totally on it's way to it's peak. Really good! Very Bordeaux-ish with
blackcurrant, tobacco, chocolate, coffe and so on. Big on the nose, full with dark fruits and vanilla. Had this one at a dinner two weeks ago and I don't remember any further details. Just a really good wine which I would love to have again in a year or two.
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12/29/2012 - pradipta Likes this wine: 92 Points
on its way to the peak, but very good already. lovely bordeaux "earth" nose, balanced, long finish. was stored at 70F for six months, that might have accelerated the aging.
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12/26/2012 - Roughl wrote: 92 Points
Second time i had this wine, now with food. This is really outstanding, great bouquet, spices, classy claret really. A future classic surely. This really needs another 5 to 10years and should easily last for 20 yrs. The tannic structure allows this and meerlust has an excellenttrack record when it comes to ageing. I will be buying all i can.
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12/5/2012 - Roughl wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for 6 hours. Classy cabernet, although a benchmark sa wine, i would not have guessed this if tasted blind. Nice texture with aristocratic dusty tannin backbone. Pretty sure that this will benefit from 5 yrs plus cellaring. 91-92
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11/17/2012 - ŞarapTutkunları wrote: 88 Points
Hafif opak, vişne çürüğü röfleli, derin yakut.Ön burun da, bariz yeşil biber ile birlikte kahve, çikolata ,lastik, kiraz, erik, tütün, tarçın, toprak ve animal notları var.Arkada deri gibi animal daha da belirginleşiyor.Orta gövdeli yumuşak,tanen yapısı ve asidi belirgin.Tanenlerin gücünün yanında kuruluğunun da dikkat çektiği damakta hissedilen, baharat,yeşil biber ve tütün,soğuk bölge ve eski dünya da düşündürüyor.Hafif bir acılığın algılandığı kısa-orta,orta bitimi, tannik.
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11/17/2012 - Ilker Ozdemir wrote: 88 Points
Hafif opak, vişne çürüğü röfleli, derin yakut.Ön burun da, bariz yeşil biber ile birlikte kahve, çikolata ,lastik, kiraz, erik, tütün, tarçın, toprak ve animal notları var.Arkada deri gibi animal daha da belirginleşiyor.Orta gövdeli yumuşak,tanen yapısı ve asidi belirgin.Tanenlerin gücünün yanında kuruluğunun da dikkat çektiği damakta hissedilen, baharat,yeşil biber ve tütün,soğuk bölge ve eski dünya da düşündürüyor.Hafif bir acılığın algılandığı kısa-orta,orta bitimi, tannik.
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10/24/2012 - Engelund wrote: 85 Points
Wika vinfestival 2012 (Køge): 92 professionelle point forstår jeg simpelthen ikke. Jeg ved ikke om der er defekt på denne flaske eller den lige er åbnet uden iltning. Første gang nogenside jeg har kunnet dufte pikantost i en vin (de tre øvrige smagere havde samme opfattelse - mystisk). Smagen tydelig med gummi. Direkte ubehagelig vin. Bestemt ikke min smag.
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9/23/2012 - 99tollap wrote: 93 Points
Decanted 2 hours, drank over 4 hours. Wow, this was incredible! Huge vegetable tones on the nose: extremely aromatic. In the mouth, this was spectacular given it's youth. Very complex, green vegetables, chocolate, coffee and aniseed. Over time, tannins softened and mint came through. Really great, even now.
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8/25/2012 - john.walsh@kentz.com wrote: 83 Points
Not a great wine to be honest, looking at the grape I expected a fruity , good smelling wine, what I got was a harsh acidic tasting red wine, not fruity and the small was like BO
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7/26/2012 - Tavastgatan wrote: 90 Points
Significanty better than pervious bottles. Had one bought in Sweden and one in South Africa, this one is from a merchant in London. This one has spicy, racy fruit with fine acidity. No sign of baked, smokey fruit a la SA.
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5/18/2012 - Revisorn wrote: 92 Points
Balanserat och fylligt nya världenvin. Elegant tanninstruktur och lååångt men möjligtvis lite tunnt avslut. Nyanser av läder och mogna svarta vinbär. Gott.
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3/30/2012 - Wrighty Likes this wine: 92 Points
More new world than I expected. Blackberrries and mint nose. Plush palate but lovely fine tannins come sauntering in to claim the slightly puckering lengthy finish.
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3/1/2012 - Tavastgatan wrote: 88 Points
Smoky, burnt, earthy fruit. Not my cup of tea.
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2/22/2012 - Rupert wrote: 86 Points
At 1901: offputting stalky nose and entry, but sweeter and riper on the mid palate
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1/6/2012 - patric.broman@yahoo.com Likes this wine: 92 Points
Elegant and well balanced wine, flavors of tea and black currant , balanced oak and tannins. Over all, a bloody good wine!
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1/6/2012 - dave747400 wrote: 91 Points
Slow-O for 24hrs. With Comte cheese. Concentrated & extraordinarily smokey aromas & flavours. Painfully young, but with enormous potential. No issues with the cork.
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1/1/2012 - cab blends wrote: 90 Points
New Year's Day Party (Our House): Earthy nose with moderate tannins and slightly dry. Thinner than I expected - I had the same problem with the cork as the 2006 (corks have been drying and crumble when removed with a traditional corkscrew - I have reported this to the winery in SA as it is either a full batch of corks or there shipments to the US)
Decanted for 4 hours.
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12/31/2011 - James.michael.watrous wrote: flawed
Corked
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12/22/2011 - Existumator wrote:
Nyanserad, utvecklad, aningen rökig doft med fatkaraktär, inslag av svarta vinbär, korinter, tobak och mörk choklad.
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