Decanted off the moderate-plus sediment and left to breathe. Aromas hit the nose with moderate-plus intensity and notes of star anise, cardamom spice, graham, dried herbs, bay leaf and mocha combine with notes of cassis, muddled plum, blackberry that come laced with nuances of vanilla, violet pastilles, worn leather, earth and mushroom. The palate shows a medium-plus frame with juicy acidity and firm smoothed out tannins. The flavor profile follows the nose leading with the fruit notes of cassis, plum, blackberry that bring in the spice, mocha, earth and herb notes. Moderate through the finish. Still drinking well.
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Double decanted and poured starting about half an hour later. It continued to open up over a couple more hours.....very nice, expressive nose, tannins are smooth and largely resolved, but still adequate to provide some cut and structure. Very merlot without being too "plummy"...This seems in its drinking window, but should hold for the mid term
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Decanted 2 hrs., the secret is a longer decant, at 3 hrs. the wine is big, yet came together and paired well with grilled chicken. My last bottle was consumed with too little air.
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Really delicious stuff, probably at its peak. Pnp’d lots of red fruits with some secondary flavors and it had a touch of acid that made me worry for a bit. Would the acid harmonize or dominate, fortunately it harmonized and the wine just got bigger and velvet smooth with air.
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3/23/2024 - bjamesclark wrote: 92 Points
Decanted off the moderate-plus sediment and left to breathe.
Aromas hit the nose with moderate-plus intensity and notes of star anise, cardamom spice, graham, dried herbs, bay leaf and mocha combine with notes of cassis, muddled plum, blackberry that come laced with nuances of vanilla, violet pastilles, worn leather, earth and mushroom.
The palate shows a medium-plus frame with juicy acidity and firm smoothed out tannins. The flavor profile follows the nose leading with the fruit notes of cassis, plum, blackberry that bring in the spice, mocha, earth and herb notes. Moderate through the finish. Still drinking well.
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1/8/2023 - thalver wrote:
Double decanted and poured starting about half an hour later. It continued to open up over a couple more hours.....very nice, expressive nose, tannins are smooth and largely resolved, but still adequate to provide some cut and structure. Very merlot without being too "plummy"...This seems in its drinking window, but should hold for the mid term
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10/5/2021 - curtr Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 2 hrs., the secret is a longer decant, at 3 hrs. the wine is big, yet came together and paired well with grilled chicken. My last bottle was consumed with too little air.
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7/11/2021 - curtr wrote:
14% Petite Verdot was too big an impact on the wine. Not to my taste.
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2/13/2021 - ccotton8 Likes this wine:
Really delicious stuff, probably at its peak. Pnp’d lots of red fruits with some secondary flavors and it had a touch of acid that made me worry for a bit. Would the acid harmonize or dominate, fortunately it harmonized and the wine just got bigger and velvet smooth with air.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment