PnP that needed 90 minutes. Medium>med+ body, Ready, but will hold thru 2028. I was expecting a more hedonistic expression, what I got was rather elegant and delicious. For my tastes, this is ready now even if it will hold a bit longer. highly recommended in its current form.
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Drank this bottle after 2 hours of decanting over a period of 2 hours. This wine was perfect around 1 hour into our meal. Complex, powerful, and with good layers of flavor. Taste of leather and earth notes followed by tartness. Chocolate and tobacco. I feel that this wine has the hallmarks of an excellent wine but still lacks a bit of finesse and elegance. The price point is also a bit steep whereas there are higher quality wines at this price point, however, the novelty and the interest probably justify it. I also thought it drank a bit thin. Drank alongside Milla Cala from the same winery, Milla Cala is a bit sweeter and hotter on the finish. I think the QPR of Cala is much higher than La Piu Belle, they’re comparable, and the Milla Calla doesn’t lose out by much, there were people at our dinner who preferred the Milla calla, but for me I’d personally drink the La Piu Belle any day of the week!
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Still outstanding. Incredibly balanced with vibrant acidity and silky tannins providing backbone to berries and that wonderful ‘grapey mocha’ as a previous reviewer put it so well. There is a nice cedar wood note on the nose that mingles with the spices to make this a very complex wine. Superb.
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2 hour notes. Deep cranberry. Nose and taste is very balanced and complex and leans toward earth, peppered spice and blackberry. Heavy tannins give a nice dryness. Drank alongside a 2017 Nickel & Nickel. Preferred this to the Nickel except after about 2.5 hours. Nickel is sweeter and smoother. About 92-93.
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Still rock solid. A bit more acidity and softer structure than I recall previously. Lush grapey notes, bridle bit and a slight dirty aspect round it off.
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I first had this as a class pour on LATAM 1st class and I think I ended up with half of their bottle. And now from a bottle purchased in the US.
Really lush, very Chilean dark fruits with slight kinky rubber notes and Angostura bitters. Silky texture. Body on the soft side. Plush and giving. Strong finish with more fruits and bitters. Clean edge of too ripe. A little leather and smoke kind of elements. Good balance, though not a small or meek wine. Really like the vibe.
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N: Attractive earth, toast, & cherries with notes of smoke; Intensity lurking?
P: LM body; NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by an astringent pucker which pretty much works itself out by the LONG, balanced, very, VERY slightly tangy finish with an alluring tangy/swtness to the fairly unoffensive, yet firming, dusty tannins. For now with food, but DESERVES through '20, then drinking through '24. My EXC-/EXC, but trending towards the higher. 93 pts Suckling, and 91 ea WS & WE @ $100. [Though competitive, this vendor's $79.95 *is* beatable by 2 of wine-searcher's now 5 sources.]
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P: Med, poss LM, body; Very NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by an astringent pucker which, while staying within hailing distance of the init frt, fairly seamlessly morphs into a LONG, BALANCED finish with an ELEGANT tangy/swtness to the dusty tannins. DESERVES through '20, then approaching its 15th? My EXC/EXC+; 93 pts Suckling. [Though competitive, this vendor's $79.95 *is* beatable by 1 of wine-searcher's 3 sources.]
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For an unfiltered wine this is well done Must and sediment are present on the nose Good fruit flavors mixed with earth tones on the palate Tannins carry the flavors but are soft. For this blend it is soft but can hold itself with meals. With a thick - non meat - tomato/red pepper puree this wine is perfect Works well with fresh fishes as well as meats Also note I enjoy unfiltered wines.
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3/1/2024 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
PnP that needed 90 minutes. Medium>med+ body, Ready, but will hold thru 2028. I was expecting a more hedonistic expression, what I got was rather elegant and delicious. For my tastes, this is ready now even if it will hold a bit longer. highly recommended in its current form.
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9/10/2023 - WineRay05 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very very good. Shows interesting complexity and flavors. If you like other wines from VIK, you will enjoy this for sure.
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1/29/2023 - crumblemore Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank this bottle after 2 hours of decanting over a period of 2 hours. This wine was perfect around 1 hour into our meal. Complex, powerful, and with good layers of flavor. Taste of leather and earth notes followed by tartness. Chocolate and tobacco. I feel that this wine has the hallmarks of an excellent wine but still lacks a bit of finesse and elegance. The price point is also a bit steep whereas there are higher quality wines at this price point, however, the novelty and the interest probably justify it. I also thought it drank a bit thin. Drank alongside Milla Cala from the same winery, Milla Cala is a bit sweeter and hotter on the finish. I think the QPR of Cala is much higher than La Piu Belle, they’re comparable, and the Milla Calla doesn’t lose out by much, there were people at our dinner who preferred the Milla calla, but for me I’d personally drink the La Piu Belle any day of the week!
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4/30/2022 - talid Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still outstanding. Incredibly balanced with vibrant acidity and silky tannins providing backbone to berries and that wonderful ‘grapey mocha’ as a previous reviewer put it so well. There is a nice cedar wood note on the nose that mingles with the spices to make this a very complex wine. Superb.
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10/15/2020 - RockyII Likes this wine: 93 Points
2 hour notes. Deep cranberry. Nose and taste is very balanced and complex and leans toward earth, peppered spice and blackberry. Heavy tannins give a nice dryness. Drank alongside a 2017 Nickel & Nickel. Preferred this to the Nickel except after about 2.5 hours. Nickel is sweeter and smoother. About 92-93.
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8/5/2020 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Coravin'ed a glass so I wouldn't pound the bottle. Love it. Modern grapey mocha and all that basic stuff in harmony.
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7/18/2020 - felestay Likes this wine: 94 Points
Starts off with its cav side with creamy nose right from the get go, more carmenere spicy notes after tasting. Long and silky finish. Loved it
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5/27/2020 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Still rock solid. A bit more acidity and softer structure than I recall previously. Lush grapey notes, bridle bit and a slight dirty aspect round it off.
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11/21/2019 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
I first had this as a class pour on LATAM 1st class and I think I ended up with half of their bottle. And now from a bottle purchased in the US.
Really lush, very Chilean dark fruits with slight kinky rubber notes and Angostura bitters. Silky texture. Body on the soft side. Plush and giving. Strong finish with more fruits and bitters. Clean edge of too ripe. A little leather and smoke kind of elements. Good balance, though not a small or meek wine. Really like the vibe.
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9/21/2019 - srh Likes this wine:
Winebar [1 Rosé, 3 Whites, 8 Reds, & 6 *shared* bottles] from 09/20/19 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): Oscar, THANK you for allowing me to revisit this! :)
50% C.S., 35% Carmenere, 6% C.F., 5% Merlot, & 4% Syrah; 24 mos in barrel; 14% ABV, 2.71 g/L R.S., 5.45 g/L T.A., & 3.66 pH
N: Attractive earth, toast, & cherries with notes of smoke; Intensity lurking?
P: LM body; NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by an astringent pucker which pretty much works itself out by the LONG, balanced, very, VERY slightly tangy finish with an alluring tangy/swtness to the fairly unoffensive, yet firming, dusty tannins. For now with food, but DESERVES through '20, then drinking through '24. My EXC-/EXC, but trending towards the higher. 93 pts Suckling, and 91 ea WS & WE @ $100. [Though competitive, this vendor's $79.95 *is* beatable by 2 of wine-searcher's now 5 sources.]
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8/24/2019 - srh Likes this wine:
Winebar [4 Whites, 8 Reds, & 9 *shared* bottles] from 08/23/19 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): 50% C.S., 35% Carmenere, 6% C.F., 5% Merlot, & 4% Syrah; 24 mos in barrel; 14% ABV, 2.71 g/L R.S., 5.45 g/L T.A., & 3.66 pH
N: Slight closed; Something medicinal (iodine?) atop ripe berries; Intensity lurking?
P: Med, poss LM, body; Very NICE, ALMOST swtish frt met by an astringent pucker which, while staying within hailing distance of the init frt, fairly seamlessly morphs into a LONG, BALANCED finish with an ELEGANT tangy/swtness to the dusty tannins. DESERVES through '20, then approaching its 15th? My EXC/EXC+; 93 pts Suckling. [Though competitive, this vendor's $79.95 *is* beatable by 1 of wine-searcher's 3 sources.]
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1/5/2019 - Glenn92 Likes this wine: 92 Points
For an unfiltered wine this is well done
Must and sediment are present on the nose
Good fruit flavors mixed with earth tones on the palate
Tannins carry the flavors but are soft. For this blend it is soft but can hold itself with meals. With a thick - non meat - tomato/red pepper puree this wine is perfect
Works well with fresh fishes as well as meats
Also note I enjoy unfiltered wines.
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