Lacking ripeness and a bit acidic; flavors of red raspberries and American oak. Difficult to pair with any foods; tannin was a little aggressive. Average but under performing in general.
The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, oak, vanilla and cherry. It tastes like blackberry, blueberry, oak, vanilla and tobacco. The body is medium/full. The wine has silky texture and tannins. The wine finishes long. The wine has medium acidity.
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Classic Tempranillo on the nose, with cherry, fig, prune, sundried tomato, baking spice, cedar, and a pronounced oak influence. The palate is quite vibrant, with bright red cherry leading the way. That being said, tertiary aromas are already making themselves known, with an unmistakable black truffle note. There’s a slight sharpness to the acidity, and a long and lingering finish with tannins that have softened a bit but with just a little grip. Everything I want in a Rioja. Also, a decant stripped away some of those bright fruits and left more black fruit and cassis character, along with a slight metallic tinge, so to my taste at least, start drinking as soon as you pop that cork.
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moderate depth of color, ruby rim. on the nose well delineated dark fruits with some ripe plum, dark cherry, a mix of new french > american oak baking spices, pretty clean and in between modern and traditional. on the palate moderate acids, moderate amount of flesh on the midpalate, modetare tannins that are already nicely integrated, moderate alcohol. balanced wine with good length, very good intensity, ok complexity. wine has finesse, a fine texture, very good expression of place. as always with this producer well made wine... should improve over the next 1-3 years and hold for some time though drinks well now.
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Best on day 3. I'm just discovering Rioja now. This reminds me of a nice CDR or cheap CDP. Red fruit (perhaps stronger on the fruit than the Rhone), some spice and tobacco. Solid acidity. Enjoyed but needs air to open a bit. Not sure how much Grenache is in the blend (10-15%?) but it felt nicely omnipresent in some way.
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Dark ruby in color, with sweet-ish hints of wood in bouquet and dark fruit, the taste is copying the smell, need some time to open up. You can detect wood, coffee, cocoa, dark full ripened fruit in taste with firm tannins. Its hard to describe how pleasing this wine was for me. It is a wine which can create emotions indeed. I would describe it as for special ocasion, animalistic and expressive.
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Deep, brightly-toned, dark garnet with ruby edges. Aromas of black plum & cherry, sage, violet, tea, vanilla, leather. Succulent black fruit on the attack over a dense core of rosemary, cracked pepper, pipe tobacco and star anise among others. Medium to full on the palate, tightly wound but nicely vivid in expression, with taut acidity and round dense tannins, finishing with dry zesty length. Solid and a great value as always.
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Dark ruby red, pink-purplish rim. Stewed strawberry, dark cherry, tobacco, herbs and vanilla. Medium high tannin and high acidity. Still too youthful and not ready. Not much mid-palate now (two dimensional) and hopefully that would change as the wine develops.
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Smoked wood, menthol, eucalyptus, ripe black cherry and vanilla on the nose. Reports that the 18s wre closed off did not allign with my experience. The intensity of aromas are high here. To be fair though, I am not sure how long this was open for, and would err on the side of a long decant.
The palate changes the dark fruits into red ones, showing ripe red cherry and ripe red plum flavors as well as wild "forbidden berries"(the ones you see outside in nature but aren't sure if you can eat). It's also more primary on the palate than on the nose. The oak flavors are mostly in the background. Balanced and rounded.
Medium + body, medium - tannin, medium acid. If every bottle was as open as the one I tasted, I say drink now.
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Slightly disappointing as I’ve had ongoing difficulty finding good value out of Rioja lately, but 90 pts for being well structured and without obvious blemishes.
The wine is incredibly closed off at this stage, seeing only minimal benefit from even 3 hours of air. Dark brambly berry, a tinge of leather and a thick, if not overpowering, concentration of oak.
Palate is clearly well constructed as I’ve said, but the overall impression is a simple, albeit well-made Reserva. Could benefit from age perhaps or maybe the vintage just has little to offer.
Second bottle for this vintage, still needs decanting for several hours. Primary fruit aromas of blackberry, raspberry and other ripe fruits with signicant note of oak. A hint of vanilla and herbs makes the nose more complex. Extra try palate is not that pleasant, the same as the first taste. Perhaps more years are needed.
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Acceptable but weak by Muga high standards. Oak is more pronounced than I remember from past vintages. Maybe over time the fruit will come out, but right now even after an hour in the glass it’s buried. I love this producer - I’ve been drinking this, the special selection, and the roses for years. Not thrilled about this one right now.
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Popped and poured, will decant half a bottle (ish) for tomorrow night.
Like most young Rioja, it's not very exciting, but it's decent and solid. Primary fruit with hints of oak, tobacco, dried herbs and just a tad of alcohol. Good concentration and well balanced. Grainy tannins and bitter cherry and tobacco again on the finish.
Night 2 - kept in open decanter overnight (open around 28 hours in total). Fruit still primary but has gained more weight and concentration, feels more balanced overall.
Personally I’ll let this sleep a few more years (2028+)
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Fragrant pot-pouri aromatics. Still quite tight on the palate with juicy acidity and some structure to work through. Added weight and creaminess on days 2 and 3. Mostly spicy red fruit. I really enjoyed and expect a few years cellaring may add a point or two to the score.
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Esse vinho está pronto. Com taninos e acidez bem presente, presença de adstringência na ponta da língua e laterais que salivam rapidamente. Cor rubi médio, lágrimas e fundo escuro. No nariz, notas de madeira, especiarias. Na boca, esse vinho se apresenta ligeiramente complexo, tanínico, ácido e com longo final. Excelente vinho para acompanhar pratos bem salgados, amargos e/ou com presença de gordura. Recomendo a degustação com tira-gosto, pizzas mais condimentadas ou carnes vermelhas potentes.
That wine is ready. With tannins and very present acidity, presence of astringency on the tip of the tongue and sides that salivate quickly. Medium ruby color, cry and dark background. On the nose, notes of wood, spices. In the mouth, this wine is slightly complex, tannic, acidic and has a long finish. Excellent wine to accompany very salty, bitter and/or fatty dishes. I recommend the tasting with appetisers, more spicy pizzas or strong red meats.
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Drunk after a Chianti Classico providing a contrast. This was rounder and more alcoholic and tannic. Still a good wine and has nice old world flavors, but prefer the Chianti.
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The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, raspberry, black currant (cassis), and mineral. It tastes like black currant (cassis) and red currant. The body is medium/full. The wine has round texture with a medium finish. Overall a great Rioja tempranillo for the price.
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Just a quick impression as drunk over Xmas in the midst of quite a few other wines but this is typical Muga, deeply fruited and with some clear oak influence, and it offers pretty decent drinking pleasure now or for at least a decade and probably longer I would guess.
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This is surprisingly light (for a rioja) cassis, black cherry, bit of woody character long finish mildly tannic low acid, this was quite pleasant would buy again
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Pop and pour while waiting for the primary bottle to decant.
On the nose, smoke, plum and earthy notes. Initial sips yielded ripe blackberry, tobacco, forrest floor, moss. This opened up with more pronounced smokiness and pleasant earthy flavors. Decent finish with some dark fruit and more smoke.
Med bodied, smooth and crisp tannins. This went down easy and was pleasantly dry.
For the price, this is a solid choice and is consistent with Muga as a whole. Would sip again.
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This was very good. Big and rich, plenty of classic oak, but also some good fruit to balnce it out. I would prefer lower alcohol and higher tannin, but this was still nice.
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Elaborado con Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo y Graciano y luego una crianza de 26 meses en barrica de roble francés. Alc. 14% vol. A pesar de encontrarse joven para su potencial, ya se bebe muy bien. Un caldo de buena expresión olfativa y de paso en boca redondo e intenso.
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3/17/2024 - Sanlucar wrote: 88 Points
Lacking ripeness and a bit acidic; flavors of red raspberries and American oak. Difficult to pair with any foods; tannin was a little aggressive. Average but under performing in general.
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3/9/2024 - rsarmi Likes this wine: 92 Points
The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, oak, vanilla and cherry. It tastes like blackberry, blueberry, oak, vanilla and tobacco. The body is medium/full. The wine has silky texture and tannins. The wine finishes long. The wine has medium acidity.
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2/19/2024 - andrewfowler Likes this wine: 91 Points
Classic Tempranillo on the nose, with cherry, fig, prune, sundried tomato, baking spice, cedar, and a pronounced oak influence. The palate is quite vibrant, with bright red cherry leading the way. That being said, tertiary aromas are already making themselves known, with an unmistakable black truffle note. There’s a slight sharpness to the acidity, and a long and lingering finish with tannins that have softened a bit but with just a little grip. Everything I want in a Rioja. Also, a decant stripped away some of those bright fruits and left more black fruit and cassis character, along with a slight metallic tinge, so to my taste at least, start drinking as soon as you pop that cork.
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2/18/2024 - begoari Likes this wine: 100 Points
Very smooth
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1/29/2024 - markjanes wrote: 88 Points
moderate depth of color, ruby rim. on the nose well delineated dark fruits with some ripe plum, dark cherry, a mix of new french > american oak baking spices, pretty clean and in between modern and traditional. on the palate moderate acids, moderate amount of flesh on the midpalate, modetare tannins that are already nicely integrated, moderate alcohol. balanced wine with good length, very good intensity, ok complexity. wine has finesse, a fine texture, very good expression of place. as always with this producer well made wine... should improve over the next 1-3 years and hold for some time though drinks well now.
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1/13/2024 - nimrod17 Likes this wine: 90 Points
클래식 리오하
향은 꽃향
초코, 가죽, 과실, 탄닌, 산미 밸런스가 좋음
모든 맛이 하나로 엮여있는 느낌
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12/30/2023 - Elodie Grace Likes this wine: 90 Points
Best on day 3. I'm just discovering Rioja now. This reminds me of a nice CDR or cheap CDP. Red fruit (perhaps stronger on the fruit than the Rhone), some spice and tobacco. Solid acidity. Enjoyed but needs air to open a bit. Not sure how much Grenache is in the blend (10-15%?) but it felt nicely omnipresent in some way.
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11/20/2023 - sjfunkenhauser wrote: 91 Points
Very similar to the gran reserva, but lighter and fresher. Wonderful fresh and dried fruit, spices and some dried herbs.
Deep ruby colour.
Pronounced aromas of red cherry, cranberry, raspberry, black cherry, violet, dried cherry, anise, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, dried earth, dried oregano.
Pronounced palate.
Medium (+) body, high acidity, medium (+) smooth tannins, long finish.
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11/2/2023 - Mosquito Likes this wine:
Dark ruby in color, with sweet-ish hints of wood in bouquet and dark fruit, the taste is copying the smell, need some time to open up. You can detect wood, coffee, cocoa, dark full ripened fruit in taste with firm tannins. Its hard to describe how pleasing this wine was for me. It is a wine which can create emotions indeed. I would describe it as for special ocasion, animalistic and expressive.
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10/14/2023 - Zed57 wrote: 92 Points
Needs a decant. Very good. Has a great future.
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10/5/2023 - DTK Rockstar Likes this wine: 87 Points
Decanted in the glass for 3 hours (distracted by my son).
Nose is multidimensional unlike the other Spanish reds I’ve been drinking although this is at a slightly higher price point.
Still young but good little bit of complexity and balance.
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9/16/2023 - MattMauldin Likes this wine: 90 Points
Deep, brightly-toned, dark garnet with ruby edges. Aromas of black plum & cherry, sage, violet, tea, vanilla, leather. Succulent black fruit on the attack over a dense core of rosemary, cracked pepper, pipe tobacco and star anise among others. Medium to full on the palate, tightly wound but nicely vivid in expression, with taut acidity and round dense tannins, finishing with dry zesty length. Solid and a great value as always.
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9/4/2023 - GuanYu wrote: 90 Points
Dark ruby red, pink-purplish rim. Stewed strawberry, dark cherry, tobacco, herbs and vanilla. Medium high tannin and high acidity. Still too youthful and not ready. Not much mid-palate now (two dimensional) and hopefully that would change as the wine develops.
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8/26/2023 - AlphaMikeFoxtrot Likes this wine: 89 Points
Smoked wood, menthol, eucalyptus, ripe black cherry and vanilla on the nose. Reports that the 18s wre closed off did not allign with my experience. The intensity of aromas are high here. To be fair though, I am not sure how long this was open for, and would err on the side of a long decant.
The palate changes the dark fruits into red ones, showing ripe red cherry and ripe red plum flavors as well as wild "forbidden berries"(the ones you see outside in nature but aren't sure if you can eat). It's also more primary on the palate than on the nose. The oak flavors are mostly in the background. Balanced and rounded.
Medium + body, medium - tannin, medium acid. If every bottle was as open as the one I tasted, I say drink now.
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8/16/2023 - KingsleyZissou Likes this wine: 90 Points
Slightly disappointing as I’ve had ongoing difficulty finding good value out of Rioja lately, but 90 pts for being well structured and without obvious blemishes.
The wine is incredibly closed off at this stage, seeing only minimal benefit from even 3 hours of air. Dark brambly berry, a tinge of leather and a thick, if not overpowering, concentration of oak.
Palate is clearly well constructed as I’ve said, but the overall impression is a simple, albeit well-made Reserva. Could benefit from age perhaps or maybe the vintage just has little to offer.
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8/14/2023 - Deyue wrote: 89 Points
Second bottle for this vintage, still needs decanting for several hours. Primary fruit aromas of blackberry, raspberry and other ripe fruits with signicant note of oak. A hint of vanilla and herbs makes the nose more complex. Extra try palate is not that pleasant, the same as the first taste. Perhaps more years are needed.
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8/4/2023 - BaroloBucky wrote: 88 Points
Acceptable but weak by Muga high standards. Oak is more pronounced than I remember from past vintages. Maybe over time the fruit will come out, but right now even after an hour in the glass it’s buried. I love this producer - I’ve been drinking this, the special selection, and the roses for years. Not thrilled about this one right now.
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7/30/2023 - mike410 wrote: 87 Points
Below average for a Muga. Not as enjoyable as older vintages.
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6/17/2023 - @sebastienwine Likes this wine: 90 Points
Spicy with leather and smoky oak aromas Similar palate with a long finish
Very good as usual from this producer
Tasted blind
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6/1/2023 - @sebastienwine Likes this wine: 89 Points
Always good this has aromas of black plums and pencil shavings along with spicy oak. Similar palate with a nice finish Tasted blind and shows well.
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5/5/2023 - Vinoguy wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured, will decant half a bottle (ish) for tomorrow night.
Like most young Rioja, it's not very exciting, but it's decent and solid. Primary fruit with hints of oak, tobacco, dried herbs and just a tad of alcohol. Good concentration and well balanced. Grainy tannins and bitter cherry and tobacco again on the finish.
Night 2 - kept in open decanter overnight (open around 28 hours in total). Fruit still primary but has gained more weight and concentration, feels more balanced overall.
Personally I’ll let this sleep a few more years (2028+)
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4/29/2023 - ProfByron wrote: 87 Points
Very popular in good restaurants in Spain. I’m not sure why. There are older more exciting bottles.
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4/6/2023 - Kentw wrote: 89 Points
Decent rioja. Not as good as some prior years such as 2006, 2010 at this stage but may need another few years.
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4/3/2023 - Madera16 wrote:
Big and dark, honestly prefer the Imperial at home right now, maybe more lift, this one is bigger and darker maybe.
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3/14/2023 - The Green Room wrote: 90 Points
Nice acidity
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3/1/2023 - hkbob Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fragrant pot-pouri aromatics. Still quite tight on the palate with juicy acidity and some structure to work through. Added weight and creaminess on days 2 and 3. Mostly spicy red fruit. I really enjoyed and expect a few years cellaring may add a point or two to the score.
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2/20/2023 - Lantimant wrote: 90 Points
Esse vinho está pronto. Com taninos e acidez bem presente, presença de adstringência na ponta da língua e laterais que salivam rapidamente.
Cor rubi médio, lágrimas e fundo escuro.
No nariz, notas de madeira, especiarias.
Na boca, esse vinho se apresenta ligeiramente complexo, tanínico, ácido e com longo final. Excelente vinho para acompanhar pratos bem salgados, amargos e/ou com presença de gordura. Recomendo a degustação com tira-gosto, pizzas mais condimentadas ou carnes vermelhas potentes.
That wine is ready. With tannins and very present acidity, presence of astringency on the tip of the tongue and sides that salivate quickly.
Medium ruby color, cry and dark background.
On the nose, notes of wood, spices.
In the mouth, this wine is slightly complex, tannic, acidic and has a long finish. Excellent wine to accompany very salty, bitter and/or fatty dishes. I recommend the tasting with appetisers, more spicy pizzas or strong red meats.
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2/19/2023 - Kitura Likes this wine: 88 Points
Drunk after a Chianti Classico providing a contrast. This was rounder and more alcoholic and tannic. Still a good wine and has nice old world flavors, but prefer the Chianti.
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1/27/2023 - vward wrote: 92 Points
We'll balanced. Very smooth
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1/7/2023 - rjdscott Likes this wine: 92 Points
The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, raspberry, black currant (cassis), and mineral. It tastes like black currant (cassis) and red currant. The body is medium/full. The wine has round texture with a medium finish. Overall a great Rioja tempranillo for the price.
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12/26/2022 - sjw_11 wrote: 90 Points
Just a quick impression as drunk over Xmas in the midst of quite a few other wines but this is typical Muga, deeply fruited and with some clear oak influence, and it offers pretty decent drinking pleasure now or for at least a decade and probably longer I would guess.
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12/21/2022 - Teaky Likes this wine:
This is surprisingly light (for a rioja) cassis, black cherry, bit of woody character long finish mildly tannic low acid, this was quite pleasant would buy again
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12/2/2022 - Srabkin90 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Pop and pour while waiting for the primary bottle to decant.
On the nose, smoke, plum and earthy notes. Initial sips yielded ripe blackberry, tobacco, forrest floor, moss. This opened up with more pronounced smokiness and pleasant earthy flavors. Decent finish with some dark fruit and more smoke.
Med bodied, smooth and crisp tannins. This went down easy and was pleasantly dry.
For the price, this is a solid choice and is consistent with Muga as a whole. Would sip again.
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11/25/2022 - DaveNC Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark fruit, cocoa, dark cherry, medium tannin, very nice. Great QPR at $35-ish
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11/2/2022 - Madera16 Likes this wine:
This was very good. Big and rich, plenty of classic oak, but also some good fruit to balnce it out. I would prefer lower alcohol and higher tannin, but this was still nice.
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10/20/2022 - fredfta wrote: 92 Points
Elaborado con Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo y Graciano y luego una crianza de 26 meses en barrica de roble francés. Alc. 14% vol. A pesar de encontrarse joven para su potencial, ya se bebe muy bien. Un caldo de buena expresión olfativa y de paso en boca redondo e intenso.
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10/6/2022 - _Alex_ Likes this wine: 88 Points
Fruktig, floral og elegant Rioja. Tydelig eikepreg, men pent integrert og ikke dominerende. Fortsatt ung og lovende for framtiden.
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9/4/2022 - steinersing wrote: 88 Points
Cherries, sweetness, oak already quite resolved but hints of vanilla.
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2/21/2022 - mats13 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decent weekday drinker. Best second day when aromatics and flavors are a bit more pronounced. Vanilla lurks in the background.
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