From DMag, 4h decant, lots of cherry & red current on the nose, definitely modern but to me neither the "monster" described on CT previously nor a 98 Parker Rioja. A bit overextracted but we did not feel the alcohol nor the hot year 2004 too much. For me somewhat similar to an Aalto PS. A lot of sediment in the bottle! Group preferred the Artadi Pison 1999 though...
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Hmm - my experience is quite markedly different than most others, so not sure what to make of that...Bottle now opened for two hours - very firmly in the cherry camp, but it is also very dry and a titch tannic, so I'm going all-in on it aging gracefully and becoming a swan, cuz as it is right now, it ain't worth $192 - youthful medium deep ruby w purple highlights - high toned cherry nose, very dry entry, crisp cherry fruit, somewhat drying tannins - high acidity - no richness, this bottle is drinking like a modestly priced Barbera d'Asti. Hopefully bottle variation, I'll keep the other for a decade and hope.
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Great wine, but not my style of Rioja. Maybe in another ten years it will have relaxed more, but it is still drinking very young and too concentrated for my personal taste.
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This wine to me is the so gets biggest blunder of Robert Parker. Actually his blunder is letting Jay Miller publishing under his brand. He has hyped so many 2004 Spanish wines into the stratosphere with corresponding controversy and this is probably the starkest example. It's a wine that was made to taste well from the barrel, now after 8 years it's still a tannic mouthful, but everything is out of place and there is no harmony at all. For something rated 98 points its a colossal disappointment. The only reconciliation is that the market price also doesn't correspond to a 98 rating, so the market is somewhat efficient after all and the Parker brand not omniscient. PS: don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of him (but not Jay Miller)
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I'm curious when a wine has widely divergent scores so I had to try it myself even though it may still be an infant. We had this with steak frites and Florio in San Francisco. We should have decanted it carefully as there was a great deal of sediment and it was dispersed throughout the wine. Nevertheless, I was relieved that its clearly not an 80 to 89 point wine as Winespectator and some other raters have suggested. I would say it is now in the 90 to 95 point range and could get better, particularly if properly decanted. It is very ageworthy and reminiscent of a Bordeaux for sure. Will definitely try this one again in the next year or two with better decanting. Also, it is definitely drinkable now.
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What a disappointment. Just a plain boring wine, not cooked, not corked, just meh. Opened and sampled over 3+ hours with no improvement whatsoever. Wish there was more to tell, considering the price and the "professional" review(s), but there isn't.
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Just started drinking this, without a decant. Clearly a YOUNG wine...dark red/maroon color, dark berries/fruit, but nothing elegant at the initial stage. Tastes almost bitter but not tannic. Will write more after it's open for a while longer. Left open for 24 hours and it got significantly better....almost sweeter than first night and not nearly as tight.....more new world Rioja with dark, bright colors and dark berry tastes....none of the leather, musty smell of old style Rioja but still a beautiful wine. Not sure it's worth the Parker ratings but will wait another year before trying another one.
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11/30/2021 - Stefan75 wrote: 92 Points
From DMag, 4h decant, lots of cherry & red current on the nose, definitely modern but to me neither the "monster" described on CT previously nor a 98 Parker Rioja. A bit overextracted but we did not feel the alcohol nor the hot year 2004 too much. For me somewhat similar to an Aalto PS. A lot of sediment in the bottle! Group preferred the Artadi Pison 1999 though...
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5/3/2017 - winot wrote: 87 Points
Hmm - my experience is quite markedly different than most others, so not sure what to make of that...Bottle now opened for two hours - very firmly in the cherry camp, but it is also very dry and a titch tannic, so I'm going all-in on it aging gracefully and becoming a swan, cuz as it is right now, it ain't worth $192 - youthful medium deep ruby w purple highlights - high toned cherry nose, very dry entry, crisp cherry fruit, somewhat drying tannins - high acidity - no richness, this bottle is drinking like a modestly priced Barbera d'Asti. Hopefully bottle variation, I'll keep the other for a decade and hope.
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10/23/2015 - jpjvino Likes this wine: 93 Points
Simply exquisite Tempranillo expression.......will leave you craving more....
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2/9/2014 - never oenough wrote: 90 Points
Great wine, but not my style of Rioja. Maybe in another ten years it will have relaxed more, but it is still drinking very young and too concentrated for my personal taste.
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3/1/2013 - aegerter Does not like this wine: 85 Points
This wine to me is the so gets biggest blunder of Robert Parker. Actually his blunder is letting Jay Miller publishing under his brand. He has hyped so many 2004 Spanish wines into the stratosphere with corresponding controversy and this is probably the starkest example. It's a wine that was made to taste well from the barrel, now after 8 years it's still a tannic mouthful, but everything is out of place and there is no harmony at all. For something rated 98 points its a colossal disappointment. The only reconciliation is that the market price also doesn't correspond to a 98 rating, so the market is somewhat efficient after all and the Parker brand not omniscient.
PS: don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of him (but not Jay Miller)
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8/9/2012 - LFCHALA Likes this wine: 98 Points
Sober, restrained, elegant, tasty and ... still young. Imagine after aging?
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7/26/2012 - Invinoverytas wrote: 94 Points
I'm curious when a wine has widely divergent scores so I had to try it myself even though it may still be an infant. We had this with steak frites and Florio in San Francisco. We should have decanted it carefully as there was a great deal of sediment and it was dispersed throughout the wine. Nevertheless, I was relieved that its clearly not an 80 to 89 point wine as Winespectator and some other raters have suggested. I would say it is now in the 90 to 95 point range and could get better, particularly if properly decanted. It is very ageworthy and reminiscent of a Bordeaux for sure. Will definitely try this one again in the next year or two with better decanting. Also, it is definitely drinkable now.
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1/27/2012 - AtlantaBill wrote: 89 Points
Very dark garnet. Almost no nose. Dark blackberries with a hint of leather on the tongue.
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11/20/2010 - KingSlacker999 wrote: 81 Points
What a disappointment. Just a plain boring wine, not cooked, not corked, just meh. Opened and sampled over 3+ hours with no improvement whatsoever. Wish there was more to tell, considering the price and the "professional" review(s), but there isn't.
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10/21/2010 - SJC wrote:
Just started drinking this, without a decant. Clearly a YOUNG wine...dark red/maroon color, dark berries/fruit, but nothing elegant at the initial stage. Tastes almost bitter but not tannic. Will write more after it's open for a while longer.
Left open for 24 hours and it got significantly better....almost sweeter than first night and not nearly as tight.....more new world Rioja with dark, bright colors and dark berry tastes....none of the leather, musty smell of old style Rioja but still a beautiful wine. Not sure it's worth the Parker ratings but will wait another year before trying another one.
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12/20/2008 - buckeye76 wrote: 96 Points
RICH BLACK FRUITS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR WITH TOUCHES OF SPICE AND LICORICE. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH
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