Wasn’t sure how much life would be left in this wine, so I was positively surprised. Bouquet of dark berries and some black cherries. Good structure with still balancing acidity. Good old vine material show, how ageworty Malbec from Mendoza can be.
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shared with pat at selkirk manor. as samuel clemens is known to have said, "the reports of my demise are highly exaggerated and entirely premature". this wine is alive and kicking despite the shorter longevity suggested by others. dark color reminiscent of blue/black ink. rich nose. lots of dark fruit including plum and black cherry. firm tannins. heavy sediment in last glass. this wine is still tight. needs another year or two to blossom. excellent value.
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Underlying burnt Tupperware and raisins throughout bouquet and mid-pallette. The initial pallette gives you some hope as it shows some smoke (the good kind) and toasted vanilla. But not enough hope.
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Real nice nose of blackberry with some cassis as a secondary scent. On the palate tannins are still fairly prominent and I had to let it breathe for a good while before I could really enjoy it. Satisfying dark fruit on the palate with some good tobacco-like flavors on there for good measure. Slightly bitter/greenish tannins kept me from rating this higher. Still a good QPR, especially at Wine Library prices.
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Liked this considerably better than similarly priced malbecs from Norton and Catena tasted recently. Black cherry and blueberry. Nicely balanced, comes off as a quite serious wine.
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opens up after a few hours -- medium to full-bodied. Blackberry & cherry nose, soft tannins and not too hot, which was a pleasant surprise considering the 14%+ alcohol
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Nice QPR. Ripe blackberries, dried fruit and cassis on the nose. Well balanced palate. Concentrated and fruit forward with good acidity and soft tannins. No heat on finish even though alcohol is almost 15%. Good example of what old vines can do; intensity and lush mouth feel from alcohol, but you don't smell/taste the alcohol. Reminded me a bit of some old vine Zins, but with softer tannins and less outright jammyness. Lack of complexity prevents this from being a superior wine.
Decanted about 45 minutes. Lots of sediment in the bottle. Not much evolution over a couple of hours. Drinking well right now, though maybe more bottle age will allow complexity to develop.
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Sight: deep color Smell: intense nose , spicy, woody aromas Taste: lively , dry , full-bodied , persistent finish Overall Impression: bold wine Rating: 4.5 stars. Notes: Rich, earthy, robust; lots of depth and powerful flavour. One of my favorites so far.
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Out of half a dozen low-end bottles at the party, this was WOTN. Unfortunately this was just P&P. Deep purple color darkened by heavy extract, opaque, medium-full body. Nose was a combo of blackberry, raspberry, some tobacco, earth, and toast. Big weighty fruit on the tongue with a mix of fresh earth and dark fruit that lets you know this is a malbec. Acid medium low, soft and mild tannins, and medium finish carried by heavily extracted fruit. Although for me this did not have the "wow" factor and complexity to live up to WS score 91 and top 100 list, perhaps it was sold short by no decant. Our price on this was 14, making it an excellent QPR.
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Amazingly complex and rich malbec that will only get better over the next couple of years. Drink it now, but decant for at least an hour and you'll be very happy.
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Loved this wine. Great bouquet and very long lasting flavors. Full mouth feel and very balanced. I had it with a spiced salmon but would be awesome with grilled meat. Definitely a wine I will buy again and enjoy. Recommended.
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Big wine. Nice notes both on the nose and on the palate. A lot of sediment left on the bottle after we finished it. This wine can take a couple of year more of aging though. Decant it for an hour or two otherwise.
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Clear deep ruby w. purple hues. Quite pronounced nose w. mushrooms, cedar, smoke and black fruit. Dry, medium acidity, lots of tannins, medium to full bodied. Vanilla, prunes, cigar box, some blackberry. Overly woody and very tannic, but there's plenty of fruit to go around, i.e. good potential. On the 2nd day the oak is much less pronounced. Dried fruit flavours now dominate, still plenty of tannins. Complex.
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Very dark, inky, but somehow missing that special character of a great wine. It might be that I just can't get into malbecs. But at $23, a great value, and I'll buy a few more.
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A subtle and sophisticated improvement over its non-reserva sibling. This wine is seductive in every way. The color is gem-like with inky depth. Generous in the nose with dark cherry, blackberry, chocolate, a hint of smokiness, and pepper. This bad boy was wrapped tight in the mouth -- definitely would benefit from bottle aging and/or decanting. It was an explosion of flavors -- dark currant, black cherry, ripe plum, and dark jammy strawberries. The fruit flavors continue as the wine washes over the mouth with velvety cedar and rich tobacco. The enduring finish of earthy, chewy, tannic flavors completes this excellent wine's seduction. Definitely recommend this mouthful of flavor!
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Very nice Malbec. Needs some time to open in the glass/decanter. Very deep purple color. Bold wine, not for the faint at heart. At $20, this is a fair value. There are cheaper Malbecs out there, but I found this a good value
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deep purple, blackish color. lots of blackberry and rasberry extract on the nose, with a bit of spicy toast. this is a big malbec that needs time to open up. had after being open an hour. this needs a decanter or at least a year. there's lots of boysenberry pancake topping flavors with a solid dose of oak and dirty tobacco. the oak isn't too much though, as it's balanced by such rich fruit. a wonderful malbec at $19.
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Inky purple color; fragrant dark fruit on the nose, with a whiff of vanilla; juicy dark fruit flavors with some mocha; nice, crunchy finish. Very tasty.
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No wonder it scored 90+ and made the Top 100 WS list of 2006. An elegant, decent and enjoyable wine. You will get everything here: lusty purple/ruby color and a medium/full body with a zesty indulging taste of refined flavors to conclude with a 30+ enticing after taste. I would definitely buy more for the holidays; this will make a respectful gift that will help to cope with the increasing cost of Napa wines. If the famous tasting of 1976 would repeat again, the players this time will be the outrageous over-priced Napa vs the emergent quality and affordable Mendoza wines.
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Deep inky purple, big legs. Pepar, minerally aroma with some blue and blackberries as well as a faint floral undertone. Blueberry up front with a mineral back that was surprisingly smooth. Slight vanilla taste as well. Very well balance, and excellent wine. One of WS top 100 on their 2006 list. French oak aged w/ 50yr old vines. Needed a little decanting.
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Decanted for 1 hr. On the initial open, cherry and vanilla on the nose. While Kath thought cherry licorice and chocolate. The nose changed into a noticeable maple syrup concoction. In the mouth, a bit of vanilla, black fruit, and a mild jam action. A longer decanting would have been interesting. At $14, I think it's a very good QPR.
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popped and let sit in my glass for about 45 min before dinner. Inky black color, and a nose of caramel or maple syrup. Found the wine to be a little thin but pleaseant, had some light fruit coming through along with a little leather taste. finsih was short and not unpleasant. The second glass brought out a little more flavor than the first. I liked this wine but did not love it. I found it to be ok at its price point and would drink it again but probably not buy it..
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Black purple color. On the nose, caramel, black fruit and a pretty floral note. Lush black fruit carries over on the palate with some mineral and a little vanilla. After an hour open, fruit became more expressive and vanilla showed more (in a good way). Great wine.
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Color: purple paint! Dark inky purple. it is unfiltered but being so young really isn't throwing sediment (yet anyway). Nose of rose petals and red fruits, a little smoke, a little tiny way-back there whiff of leather. On the palate: On the 30-sec opened bottle, Cherry, Black cherry, black licorice, black currant, and some oak. Full-bodied mouthfeel, lively acidity, a mid-palate of leather, and a dry tannic finish, which keeps the fruit coming. The tannins are firm but have 'round edges'. Actually, 'round' is a good description of this wine. Update: The wine opened up beautifully with 2-3 hours of air. Wow, it is now 'really round' more jammy, and the acidity has mellowed and integrated along with the tannins. Basically, the wine has come together. This is a young wine that just needed some air! I am raising the score from 89 to 90 based on this. Looking over my notes of the non-reserva version of this wine, my memory of it seemed a little more jammy. It's hard to draw comparisons without having them side-by-side but this one seems a little more complex and a tad less fruit-forward but really, they are very similar wines. For the price difference I think I prefer the non-reserva (black label) to this reserva (white label). Both are very nice.
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This was only the second time I had a straight malbec, the first from argentina, so I won't give it a score. However, I will say this was a very heavy wine. Quite a bit of what I would say was dirt and tobacco in it. Almost to the point of being overpowering. Some fruit. May go well with a heavy stew or perhaps barbeque.
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6/30/2019 - Klugi Wine wrote: 89 Points
Wasn’t sure how much life would be left in this wine, so I was positively surprised.
Bouquet of dark berries and some black cherries. Good structure with still balancing acidity. Good old vine material show, how ageworty Malbec from Mendoza can be.
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9/3/2011 - bacchus wrote: 89 Points
shared with pat at selkirk manor. as samuel clemens is known to have said, "the reports of my demise are highly exaggerated and entirely premature". this wine is alive and kicking despite the shorter longevity suggested by others. dark color reminiscent of blue/black ink. rich nose. lots of dark fruit including plum and black cherry. firm tannins. heavy sediment in last glass. this wine is still tight. needs another year or two to blossom. excellent value.
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5/22/2011 - dfresh wrote: 86 Points
Underlying burnt Tupperware and raisins throughout bouquet and mid-pallette. The initial pallette gives you some hope as it shows some smoke (the good kind) and toasted vanilla. But not enough hope.
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4/26/2011 - dmitchell4 wrote: 89 Points
Still needs air to be at it's best.
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10/19/2010 - erichrod wrote: 91 Points
Drinking after 5 data with vacu-vin. Balanced, good, better.
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3/22/2010 - jetlag wrote: 85 Points
Unimpressed
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3/19/2010 - whelanpg wrote: 92 Points
Everyone really liked this one, but C got most of it.
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2/2/2010 - SyrahQueen wrote: 90 Points
Very lush heavy wine. Very deep color. Spicy and full of tannis. Extremely well balanced on the fruit and tanins..
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1/19/2010 - gaboose wrote: 89 Points
very rich and dark fruit, heavy sediment
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12/27/2009 - DRod wrote: 88 Points
Real nice nose of blackberry with some cassis as a secondary scent. On the palate tannins are still fairly prominent and I had to let it breathe for a good while before I could really enjoy it. Satisfying dark fruit on the palate with some good tobacco-like flavors on there for good measure. Slightly bitter/greenish tannins kept me from rating this higher. Still a good QPR, especially at Wine Library prices.
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10/10/2009 - dmitchell4 wrote: 90 Points
Drinking beautifully.
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6/2/2009 - pgm wrote: 89 Points
Liked this considerably better than similarly priced malbecs from Norton and Catena tasted recently. Black cherry and blueberry. Nicely balanced, comes off as a quite serious wine.
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4/26/2009 - JerzeyJohn wrote: 88 Points
opens up after a few hours -- medium to full-bodied. Blackberry & cherry nose, soft tannins and not too hot, which was a pleasant surprise considering the 14%+ alcohol
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2/19/2009 - vancouvermatt wrote: 86 Points
Quite unremarkable. Basic drinker, but a bit overpriced for what it is.
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1/18/2009 - Hazeo wrote: 85 Points
At emeril's delmonico. Brief impression from memory. Not refined in any sense but interesting enough to keep drinking.
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1/10/2009 - Cabfrancophile wrote: 89 Points
Nice QPR. Ripe blackberries, dried fruit and cassis on the nose. Well balanced palate. Concentrated and fruit forward with good acidity and soft tannins. No heat on finish even though alcohol is almost 15%. Good example of what old vines can do; intensity and lush mouth feel from alcohol, but you don't smell/taste the alcohol. Reminded me a bit of some old vine Zins, but with softer tannins and less outright jammyness. Lack of complexity prevents this from being a superior wine.
Decanted about 45 minutes. Lots of sediment in the bottle. Not much evolution over a couple of hours. Drinking well right now, though maybe more bottle age will allow complexity to develop.
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12/22/2008 - tmuhly wrote:
Sight: deep color Smell: intense nose , spicy, woody aromas Taste: lively , dry , full-bodied , persistent finish
Overall Impression: bold wine
Rating: 4.5 stars. Notes: Rich, earthy, robust; lots of depth and powerful flavour. One of my favorites so far.
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12/1/2008 - Grape_ape wrote: 87 Points
A bit too pruny / raisiny for my taste.
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11/1/2008 - Vinacull wrote: 88 Points
Out of half a dozen low-end bottles at the party, this was WOTN. Unfortunately this was just P&P. Deep purple color darkened by heavy extract, opaque, medium-full body. Nose was a combo of blackberry, raspberry, some tobacco, earth, and toast. Big weighty fruit on the tongue with a mix of fresh earth and dark fruit that lets you know this is a malbec. Acid medium low, soft and mild tannins, and medium finish carried by heavily extracted fruit. Although for me this did not have the "wow" factor and complexity to live up to WS score 91 and top 100 list, perhaps it was sold short by no decant. Our price on this was 14, making it an excellent QPR.
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10/26/2008 - konquest wrote: 88 Points
Une bombe de fruit. Pas totalement dans mes goûts, mais objectivement quand même très bon...
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10/13/2008 - Raul wrote: 86 Points
CColour Depth: dark; Colour Hue: purple-red; Clarity: clear; Aroma Intensity: aromatic/powerful; Development: some age; Aromas: red fruits, wood; Dry/Sweet: very dry; Body: medium; Acidity: lively/fresh; Tannins Level: medium/high; Tannins Type: soft; Flavours Intensity: flavourful; Flavours: red fruits, wood; Finish: medium/long. Balanced.
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9/25/2008 - Lawgirlt wrote: 92 Points
Amazingly complex and rich malbec that will only get better over the next couple of years.
Drink it now, but decant for at least an hour and you'll be very happy.
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9/21/2008 - aeverett wrote: 92 Points
Loved this wine. Great bouquet and very long lasting flavors. Full mouth feel and very balanced. I had it with a spiced salmon but would be awesome with grilled meat. Definitely a wine I will buy again and enjoy. Recommended.
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8/21/2008 - DoubleMagnum wrote: 88 Points
Big wine. Nice notes both on the nose and on the palate. A lot of sediment left on the bottle after we finished it. This wine can take a couple of year more of aging though. Decant it for an hour or two otherwise.
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5/8/2008 - kryelvine wrote: 91 Points
Clear deep ruby w. purple hues. Quite pronounced nose w. mushrooms, cedar, smoke and black fruit. Dry, medium acidity, lots of tannins, medium to full bodied. Vanilla, prunes, cigar box, some blackberry. Overly woody and very tannic, but there's plenty of fruit to go around, i.e. good potential. On the 2nd day the oak is much less pronounced. Dried fruit flavours now dominate, still plenty of tannins. Complex.
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3/10/2008 - themillers wrote: 88 Points
Heavy and lush. Excellent flavors. Great value. Does need to be decanted or aged.
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1/25/2008 - timdrex wrote: 88 Points
Very dark, inky, but somehow missing that special character of a great wine. It might be that I just can't get into malbecs. But at $23, a great value, and I'll buy a few more.
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1/15/2008 - docjavadude wrote: 92 Points
A subtle and sophisticated improvement over its non-reserva sibling. This wine is seductive in every way. The color is gem-like with inky depth. Generous in the nose with dark cherry, blackberry, chocolate, a hint of smokiness, and pepper. This bad boy was wrapped tight in the mouth -- definitely would benefit from bottle aging and/or decanting. It was an explosion of flavors -- dark currant, black cherry, ripe plum, and dark jammy strawberries. The fruit flavors continue as the wine washes over the mouth with velvety cedar and rich tobacco. The enduring finish of earthy, chewy, tannic flavors completes this excellent wine's seduction. Definitely recommend this mouthful of flavor!
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1/14/2008 - Raul wrote: 86 Points
Colour Depth: dark; Colour Hue: purple-red; Clarity: clear; Aroma Intensity: aromatic/powerful; Development: some age; Aromas: red fruits, wood; Dry/Sweet: very dry; Body: medium; Acidity: lively/fresh; Tannins Level: medium/high; Tannins Type: soft; Flavours Intensity: flavourful; Flavours: red fruits, wood; Finish: medium/long. Balanced.
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1/1/2008 - zblang wrote: 90 Points
Very nice Malbec. Needs some time to open in the glass/decanter. Very deep purple color. Bold wine, not for the faint at heart. At $20, this is a fair value. There are cheaper Malbecs out there, but I found this a good value
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12/15/2007 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 90 Points
deep purple, blackish color. lots of blackberry and rasberry extract on the nose, with a bit of spicy toast. this is a big malbec that needs time to open up. had after being open an hour. this needs a decanter or at least a year. there's lots of boysenberry pancake topping flavors with a solid dose of oak and dirty tobacco. the oak isn't too much though, as it's balanced by such rich fruit. a wonderful malbec at $19.
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12/8/2007 - mangell wrote: 88 Points
Very astringent right after opening, but calmed down greatly after only 10 min. Nice chewy dark fruits and earthy minerals. Excellent for the price.
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11/18/2007 - wahoo70 wrote: 89 Points
Inky purple color; fragrant dark fruit on the nose, with a whiff of vanilla; juicy dark fruit flavors with some mocha; nice, crunchy finish. Very tasty.
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11/18/2007 - RATER wrote: 91 Points
No wonder it scored 90+ and made the Top 100 WS list of 2006.
An elegant, decent and enjoyable wine. You will get everything here: lusty purple/ruby color and a medium/full body with a zesty indulging taste of refined flavors to conclude with a 30+ enticing after taste.
I would definitely buy more for the holidays; this will make a respectful gift that will help to cope with the increasing cost of Napa wines.
If the famous tasting of 1976 would repeat again, the players this time will be the outrageous over-priced Napa vs the emergent quality and affordable Mendoza wines.
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11/6/2007 - DougLee wrote:
nice
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8/6/2007 - chrisab14 wrote:
Deep inky purple, big legs. Pepar, minerally aroma with some blue and blackberries as well as a faint floral undertone. Blueberry up front with a mineral back that was surprisingly smooth. Slight vanilla taste as well. Very well balance, and excellent wine. One of WS top 100 on their 2006 list. French oak aged w/ 50yr old vines. Needed a little decanting.
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7/29/2007 - purcellj wrote: 89 Points
Decanted for 1 hr. On the initial open, cherry and vanilla on the nose. While Kath thought cherry licorice and chocolate. The nose changed into a noticeable maple syrup concoction. In the mouth, a bit of vanilla, black fruit, and a mild jam action. A longer decanting would have been interesting. At $14, I think it's a very good QPR.
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4/14/2007 - Coupe 60 wrote: 86 Points
popped and let sit in my glass for about 45 min before dinner. Inky black color, and a nose of caramel or maple syrup. Found the wine to be a little thin but pleaseant, had some light fruit coming through along with a little leather taste. finsih was short and not unpleasant. The second glass brought out a little more flavor than the first. I liked this wine but did not love it. I found it to be ok at its price point and would drink it again but probably not buy it..
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4/1/2007 - tskrueger wrote: 90 Points
Black purple color. On the nose, caramel, black fruit and a pretty floral note. Lush black fruit carries over on the palate with some mineral and a little vanilla. After an hour open, fruit became more expressive and vanilla showed more (in a good way). Great wine.
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3/24/2007 - Kellious wrote: 88 Points
Didn't like this nearly as much as the 2004. Decent Malbec. Leaner and less fruit and complexity than the previous year.
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3/19/2007 - careyd wrote: 90 Points
Color: purple paint! Dark inky purple. it is unfiltered but being so young really isn't throwing sediment (yet anyway). Nose of rose petals and red fruits, a little smoke, a little tiny way-back there whiff of leather. On the palate: On the 30-sec opened bottle, Cherry, Black cherry, black licorice, black currant, and some oak. Full-bodied mouthfeel, lively acidity, a mid-palate of leather, and a dry tannic finish, which keeps the fruit coming. The tannins are firm but have 'round edges'. Actually, 'round' is a good description of this wine. Update: The wine opened up beautifully with 2-3 hours of air. Wow, it is now 'really round' more jammy, and the acidity has mellowed and integrated along with the tannins. Basically, the wine has come together. This is a young wine that just needed some air! I am raising the score from 89 to 90 based on this. Looking over my notes of the non-reserva version of this wine, my memory of it seemed a little more jammy. It's hard to draw comparisons without having them side-by-side but this one seems a little more complex and a tad less fruit-forward but really, they are very similar wines. For the price difference I think I prefer the non-reserva (black label) to this reserva (white label). Both are very nice.
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3/15/2007 - erikkanderson wrote:
This was only the second time I had a straight malbec, the first from argentina, so I won't give it a score. However, I will say this was a very heavy wine. Quite a bit of what I would say was dirt and tobacco in it. Almost to the point of being overpowering. Some fruit. May go well with a heavy stew or perhaps barbeque.
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