2005 Giuseppe Campagnola Valpolicella Classico Superiore Caterina Zardini

Community Tasting Notes (59) Avg Score: 90.3 points

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  10/2/2014 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 87 Points

  In retrospect, this wine peaked between 2010 and 2012 (see those notes). The bottle I had last year (no public note) seemed a little flat, and this wine is now tasting tired. The aromas have lost all of their subtle complexity that I loved in early bottles, now revealing more thick notes and fairly simple: Dark complexion, dark strawberries, some graphite dust and minerals. Soft palate as always, but the notes are again more simple, showing very dark, ripe red fruit, bordering on spoiled, moderate acidity, and fairly grippy tannins still. Spicy finish with those tannins still holding strong. Tart and really gritty at the tail end. So for sure, the tannins have outlasted the fruit here. Fun to follow 8 bottles over 6 years, through the whole bell curve of its evolution.

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  5/2/2012 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 91 Points

  Yes! This is good. Delicious, perfectly ready to drink wine. Glad I let mine sit in the cellar for a few years as initially it was a bit hard. Per my note 10/10/2011, this definitely doesn't have the angles or complexities it had 4 years ago, but it is so much smoother, drinkable, integrated, and as I said, delicious. Reiterating my comments with no hesitation to drink these over the next year or so. I fear this whole bottle will be down my gullet in the next two hours. Update: it was.

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  10/10/2011 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 91 Points

  After my last corked bottle, this one's quite beautiful. I won't get into all the delineation of individual flavors as I did in the previous notes, but most of that is all here. An absolutely delicious, grapey, earthy, graphite drenched nose. The palate is equally smooth, soft, and integrated. A much more complete package than it has ever been, with balance and grace throughout at this point. The tannins are present, but things are integrated quite well right now, with pleasing, lightly intense acid at the back end of the palate before swallowing. The finish dials up that acidity, and the rich fruit flavors coat the palate without seeming heavy or over done. Very smooth and graceful at present, with awesome texture and light tannins and acid present on the finish. When younger this may have had more individual character going on, but it always left something to be desired with its integration. Right now it's the total package. I'd say this wine is peaking, and should be consumed over the next 2 years.

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  9/21/2011 - TCKM wrote: 89 Points

  1 hr decant. I would echo that this is beginning to fade. Drink up.

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  7/29/2011 - PSPatrick wrote: 88 Points

  We decanted the wine for one hour before we poured the first glass. It offered plum, cherry, raisins, coffee, cedar and sweet spices on the nose and plum, cherry, raisins, vanilla and rum on the sweet and creamy palate. The wine was smooth, but slightly alcoholic and a little out of balance in that respect. The wine improved when we chilled it slightly and changed from Riedel “O” Cabernet/Merlot glasses to Riedel Sommelier “Hermitage” glasses. All in all I’d say that the wine still offers a good QPR, but to me it has lost the magic it undeniably had two years ago. 88+

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