On the Nose: Pretty standard Malbec fare. Dark currant. On the Palette: Fantastic! Dark, earthy, peppery, like... Pepper city! I <3 it. This is a complex bomb of a Malbec. The only negative is the finish is a bit lacking. Kind of thin and watery. But not offensive. Easily adjusted to. 89.
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Tasting took place after one hour of decanting: On the NOSE: The nose on this is fairly bland, the initial smell is simply "hot" or "alcoholic" a deeper sniff reveals a bit of cassis, and spice. But mainly it is hard to see past the "hotness". On the PAL: I wish I could say the complexity deepens in the taste department but unfortunately for me, there was little to find here. This wine starts out very thin and hot with almost no flavor notes to speak of, out of nowhere mid palate you do get a bit of earthiness, pipe tobacco and hay which is definitely promising, unfortunately, any pleasant notes to be found mid palate disappear with the flavorless, hot, finish. The most pleasant thing about the finish for me was the very bold dry tannins, although some drinkers will not appreciate this feature. At the end of the day, this is a bordeaux that contains those old world notes you might expect but not in a pleasant and fully realized way, resulting in a very bland and uninspiring experience. I hope this wine improves with age for those holding it in their cellars. 81
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Decanted for one hour before tasting. ON THE NOSE: Pepper, pepper, pepper, then along comes a fresh component, also some ripe berries, citrus and a slight smokiness. Very nice nose, quite enjoyable. ON THE PAL: The nose plays very accurate on this one, tastes just like it smells. You've got the pepper, the fruity freshness, and a bit more smokiness than the nose. HUGE tannins, which I love. A bit reminiscent of a big Syrah. My major complaints are that the taste is a bit thin for a Malbec, and there is a bit of a "apple skin" sort of bitterness on the finish. Otherwise a very nice wine with a decent QPR but I find it difficult to give this wine over an 85-87.
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2011 Alta Vista Malbec Classic
5/14/2016 - small_cellar wrote: 89 Points
On the Nose: Pretty standard Malbec fare. Dark currant. On the Palette: Fantastic! Dark, earthy, peppery, like... Pepper city! I <3 it. This is a complex bomb of a Malbec. The only negative is the finish is a bit lacking. Kind of thin and watery. But not offensive. Easily adjusted to. 89.
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2009 Château Féret-Lambert
7/14/2012 - small_cellar wrote: 81 Points
Tasting took place after one hour of decanting: On the NOSE: The nose on this is fairly bland, the initial smell is simply "hot" or "alcoholic" a deeper sniff reveals a bit of cassis, and spice. But mainly it is hard to see past the "hotness". On the PAL: I wish I could say the complexity deepens in the taste department but unfortunately for me, there was little to find here. This wine starts out very thin and hot with almost no flavor notes to speak of, out of nowhere mid palate you do get a bit of earthiness, pipe tobacco and hay which is definitely promising, unfortunately, any pleasant notes to be found mid palate disappear with the flavorless, hot, finish. The most pleasant thing about the finish for me was the very bold dry tannins, although some drinkers will not appreciate this feature. At the end of the day, this is a bordeaux that contains those old world notes you might expect but not in a pleasant and fully realized way, resulting in a very bland and uninspiring experience. I hope this wine improves with age for those holding it in their cellars. 81
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2010 Alamos Malbec
8/23/2011 - small_cellar wrote: 86 Points
Decanted for one hour before tasting. ON THE NOSE: Pepper, pepper, pepper, then along comes a fresh component, also some ripe berries, citrus and a slight smokiness. Very nice nose, quite enjoyable. ON THE PAL: The nose plays very accurate on this one, tastes just like it smells. You've got the pepper, the fruity freshness, and a bit more smokiness than the nose. HUGE tannins, which I love. A bit reminiscent of a big Syrah. My major complaints are that the taste is a bit thin for a Malbec, and there is a bit of a "apple skin" sort of bitterness on the finish. Otherwise a very nice wine with a decent QPR but I find it difficult to give this wine over an 85-87.
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