Tasted better than the bottle we had a couple of months ago. Purple in color with a fragrance of black berries and wet cigar. On the palate there was a nice balance of light tannins in the background and dark fruits in the foreground, but not too heavily fruity. Drank with lamb burgers and it was a perfect pairing.
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Started on this with a coravin tasting on 7/22/20. Had another around 7/31 and finished on 8/08/20. Consistent with my bottle in 2018. I had been concerned that this might downshift, but my experience was positive. Good QPR; nice flavors of charcoal, soil and cigar leaf. A very good food wine, but not so bad on its own either.
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PNP the first night and a bit simple and grapey, much as I hate that descriptor it kind of hits it on the nose. On second night, more interesting, filled out and more interesting in flavors. Drinks pretty young and likely has many years ahead of it
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Patience is not one of my strong points...I opened this perhaps earlier than ideal but it was because the last bottle was so good, I couldn't wait to revisit it. Unfortunate that it is my last bottle. My impatience is further revealed by my laziness in decanting this bottle. Great wine!
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Just short of three years later and as written in Jan. '14, time is exactly what this wine needed. It was deftly balanced with a level of intrigue that erased most of my early impression and has me excited to open my final bottle. Although aromatics are not the hallmark of these Super Tuscan styled wines, the intrigue is in the unique and compelling flavor profile; replete with dusty fruit that carried right through the rich mid-palate and into a finish of pleasant, dusty tannins. What was telling was my concurrent drinking of a 2012, Merlot based offering that had much promise but for the firm and distracting tannin.
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Decanted for about 30 minutes. It is very deep purple in color with a strong nose of wet earth and jam. It is rich tasting and a bit explosive in the Napa style. The first glass was better than the second which has me concerned about the future of the bottles I have left. I would have scored this higher on the first glass alone. Overall it was very good.
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I decanted for two to three hours before drinking and highly recommend giving it some time before drinking. The nose is herbs, vegetables and tobacco. Almost no scent of fruit initially but, through drinking the nose became more currant although just a hint of currant. The body is smoothlt textured and pleasant but has very little tail. It trails off quickly. It paired well with steak and brussel sprouts.
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Liked this. Drank alongside a number of other Italian blends and felt it showed nicely. I do think it will probably improve with some additional age...
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Funky dark fruit aromas that blew off after a few minutes. Blackberry and dark cherry fruit with earth and tar flavors. Tar dominates on a short, watery finish.
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Drunk alongside the same vineyards Merlot from 2000 the Merlow was the winner. I did not expect that and would have said previously this wine would have been better. I think this was not the best bottle example and pity it was the last of my stock and used for tasting with an Italian Chef.
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Evidently this wine needs quite a bit of air. When first opened, it did seem a bit modern and oaky, but with air, the fruit blossomed and the oak faded to a more of a graphite quality. Very good.
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Whoa... what happened here? This is nothing like my bottle from 12/11/2013. This is much more modern in style, more oak, more coconut and riper fruit. Not horrible, but not really my style. Judgement deferred until I taste my third and last bottle.
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Hmmm?..I must reserve my opinion until I can give this more time. What's clear is that this is a modern styled, hugely structured wine. Going forward, I think I should pay closer attention to my preference for Merlot-based Super Tuscans, particularly since it's the Cab component that seems to be kicking me in the teeth. As anticipated, it requires considerable air time...and a richly flavored meal, to offset the huge body and tannic backbone. The aromatics are tight though intriguing. Surprisingly, with the additional air time, the alcohol becomes more prevalent. Again, I've returned the cork and will revisit in the next day or two. TBD. Returned 2 days later and the wine had not lost a thing. As expected, it clicked with some heavily seasoned tri-tip that effectively tamed its tannic grip. This wine's got years of life left.
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The review from 12/11/13 is spot on. This is not a pop and pour wine. It needs time to express itself. As it begins to show what it is made of you forget that this is an Italian wine.
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While a bit more expensive than some of the other Sant'Elena wines offered through Garagiste, this was definitely worth the extra cost. This still has the secondary flavors of earth, wet leaves and graphite, but the fruit is a bit more prominent here, still juicy and fresh. Above all, a great, lengthy finish; more substantial than the 98/99 Ros di Rol. Bordeaux-like and classy.
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5/1/2022 - Mr T wrote:
aged well and nicely balanced...a little herbal but in the way I enjoy a little bit of the green
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10/29/2020 - SMagowan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasted better than the bottle we had a couple of months ago. Purple in color with a fragrance of black berries and wet cigar. On the palate there was a nice balance of light tannins in the background and dark fruits in the foreground, but not too heavily fruity. Drank with lamb burgers and it was a perfect pairing.
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8/8/2020 - SMagowan Likes this wine: 91 Points
Started on this with a coravin tasting on 7/22/20. Had another around 7/31 and finished on 8/08/20. Consistent with my bottle in 2018. I had been concerned that this might downshift, but my experience was positive. Good QPR; nice flavors of charcoal, soil and cigar leaf. A very good food wine, but not so bad on its own either.
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4/24/2018 - SMagowan Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nicely evolved and continuing to grow in stature. Very high QPR compared to Bordeaux and California. 91+
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9/11/2017 - Mr T wrote:
PNP the first night and a bit simple and grapey, much as I hate that descriptor it kind of hits it on the nose. On second night, more interesting, filled out and more interesting in flavors. Drinks pretty young and likely has many years ahead of it
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2/2/2017 - golfwine wrote: 90 Points
Patience is not one of my strong points...I opened this perhaps earlier than ideal but it was because the last bottle was so good, I couldn't wait to revisit it. Unfortunate that it is my last bottle. My impatience is further revealed by my laziness in decanting this bottle. Great wine!
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12/12/2016 - davidspieker wrote: 90 Points
Has evolved nicely. Dusty dark fruit aromas. Blackberry and dark cherry fruit with earth and tar flavors. Dusty tannin with mid-length finish.
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12/2/2016 - golfwine wrote: 91 Points
Just short of three years later and as written in Jan. '14, time is exactly what this wine needed. It was deftly balanced with a level of intrigue that erased most of my early impression and has me excited to open my final bottle. Although aromatics are not the hallmark of these Super Tuscan styled wines, the intrigue is in the unique and compelling flavor profile; replete with dusty fruit that carried right through the rich mid-palate and into a finish of pleasant, dusty tannins. What was telling was my concurrent drinking of a 2012, Merlot based offering that had much promise but for the firm and distracting tannin.
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12/11/2015 - SMagowan Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted for about 30 minutes. It is very deep purple in color with a strong nose of wet earth and jam. It is rich tasting and a bit explosive in the Napa style. The first glass was better than the second which has me concerned about the future of the bottles I have left. I would have scored this higher on the first glass alone. Overall it was very good.
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10/13/2015 - gordoyflaca wrote: 89 Points
black cherry and green bell pepper
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5/14/2015 - travelin.mikeyt Likes this wine: 90 Points
I decanted for two to three hours before drinking and highly recommend giving it some time before drinking. The nose is herbs, vegetables and tobacco. Almost no scent of fruit initially but, through drinking the nose became more currant although just a hint of currant. The body is smoothlt textured and pleasant but has very little tail. It trails off quickly. It paired well with steak and brussel sprouts.
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2/21/2015 - SMagowan Likes this wine:
No point rating on this because I did not drink enough of it to score it. Others in the party finished it quickly and enjoyed it.
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1/3/2015 - Snoski62 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Liked this. Drank alongside a number of other Italian blends and felt it showed nicely. I do think it will probably improve with some additional age...
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9/4/2014 - davidspieker wrote: 85 Points
Funky dark fruit aromas that blew off after a few minutes. Blackberry and dark cherry fruit with earth and tar flavors. Tar dominates on a short, watery finish.
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6/30/2014 - Italiana wrote:
Opaque-ish purple. Fresh aromas. Hot finish. Not much in between.
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6/21/2014 - Francophile Likes this wine: 86 Points
Drunk alongside the same vineyards Merlot from 2000 the Merlow was the winner. I did not expect that and would have said previously this wine would have been better. I think this was not the best bottle example and pity it was the last of my stock and used for tasting with an Italian Chef.
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3/15/2014 - Francophile Likes this wine: 90 Points
Deep, very tasty
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2/18/2014 - mdefreitas wrote: 91 Points
Evidently this wine needs quite a bit of air. When first opened, it did seem a bit modern and oaky, but with air, the fruit blossomed and the oak faded to a more of a graphite quality. Very good.
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2/16/2014 - mdefreitas wrote:
Whoa... what happened here? This is nothing like my bottle from 12/11/2013. This is much more modern in style, more oak, more coconut and riper fruit. Not horrible, but not really my style. Judgement deferred until I taste my third and last bottle.
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1/30/2014 - golfwine wrote:
Hmmm?..I must reserve my opinion until I can give this more time. What's clear is that this is a modern styled, hugely structured wine. Going forward, I think I should pay closer attention to my preference for Merlot-based Super Tuscans, particularly since it's the Cab component that seems to be kicking me in the teeth. As anticipated, it requires considerable air time...and a richly flavored meal, to offset the huge body and tannic backbone. The aromatics are tight though intriguing. Surprisingly, with the additional air time, the alcohol becomes more prevalent. Again, I've returned the cork and will revisit in the next day or two. TBD.
Returned 2 days later and the wine had not lost a thing. As expected, it clicked with some heavily seasoned tri-tip that effectively tamed its tannic grip. This wine's got years of life left.
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12/27/2013 - tonysmith72 wrote: 91 Points
The review from 12/11/13 is spot on. This is not a pop and pour wine. It needs time to express itself. As it begins to show what it is made of you forget that this is an Italian wine.
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12/11/2013 - mdefreitas wrote: 93 Points
While a bit more expensive than some of the other Sant'Elena wines offered through Garagiste, this was definitely worth the extra cost. This still has the secondary flavors of earth, wet leaves and graphite, but the fruit is a bit more prominent here, still juicy and fresh. Above all, a great, lengthy finish; more substantial than the 98/99 Ros di Rol. Bordeaux-like and classy.
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11/27/2013 - mmurry Likes this wine: 87 Points
Cherry and black current on the nose, with hints of spice, leather, and smoke. Lots of dirt and leather on the palate, with some cherry and pepper.
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10/11/2013 - Francophile Likes this wine: 89 Points
Good, full bodied CabSav/Merlot mix that did not lose the taste of Italy
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8/28/2013 - Francophile Likes this wine: 89 Points
Nice rounded wine with a good amount of tannin, even better on the 2nd day
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