2002 Arietta Merlot

Community Tasting Notes (33) Avg Score: 92.2 points

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  2/2/2024 - MJP Hou TX Likes this wine: 94 Points

  My contribution to the CDV713 MacDonald tasting.
  
  For my palate this was firing. I loved sharing this magnum and got some great feedback. My biggest regret is not being able to focus on this wine but that is just how it goes.
  
  Just enough fruit to carry secondary and tertiary flavors. I picked this up for a very fair price at BWG. A flyer that paid off.
  
  Happy to share but left wanting more. That’s the sign of a great bottle of wine.
  
  94

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  12/23/2022 - Hamersly wrote: 94 Points

  Tannins are still present but extremely fine with remarkable fruit for a 2002. A bit less power and a bit more elegance than my bottles in 2017 and 2018. I would drink within the next couple of years.

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  7/14/2022 - MarkLA wrote: 93 Points

  Much more open compared to the last bottle in 2010. Rich, ripe black fruit, licorice, leather, and cedar. Quite full on the palate but with balance. Warm, slightly grippy finish suggests a gentle slope downward. I like the fruit where it is right now. Waiting to see if some of the tannin melts wouldn't be a bad gamble, but for me, it's at peak. Drink now and over the next several years.

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  4/27/2018 - vindictive wrote:

  Another expensive, ridiculous wine from California. I suppose that one's tolerance for oak is the primary determinant for enjoying this wine (mine is low). This bottle was dumb, syrupy and banal. Very little happens over several hours. I contrast this wine with the inexpensive Jonc Blanc "Pure T" merlot, a real wine of terroir that actually tastes like merlot revealing place and nuance. I am skeptical that a good wine will emerge from this manipulated mess.

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  2/24/2018 - Hamersly wrote: 94 Points

  Consistent with prior notes. Day 2 adds menthol to the fascinating range of aromas, and the fine tannins retain their grip.

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