2004 Pisano ArretXea Grand Reserve

Community Tasting Notes (5) Avg Score: 89 points

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  4/28/2013 - PlanetX wrote: 90 Points

  Well worth the wait. Beautiful red ruby in color with a muted but nice nose. Well balanced tannins and acidity with vanilla blueberry flavors that go on for over close to a minute. Reminds me of Cold Creek Cabernet Sauvignon with its intense tannins. This should drink well for another 5 - 10 years.

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  10/6/2010 - iByron wrote: flawed

  This bottle was off. Not nearly as good as it usually is. Good thing I have two more.

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  7/25/2008 - iByron wrote: 90 Points

  Six days on, went back to this bottle which has been sitting in a V1 decanter since opening. WOW! A nose of tobacco-berry-cherry-chocolate that just sails all over the immediate area. In the mouth, the tannins are still firm, but have smoothed out and blended with the tobaccoey-fruity-chocolatey taste to paint the palate with layers of flavor. The finish goes on for about 30 seconds and is easily recalled with a cold inhale. The staying power of this wine becomes more obvious with each bottle. A phenomenal product, and an incredible QPR at around $25. Uruguay is surely the unsung gem of the Americas.

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  7/19/2008 - iByron wrote: 90 Points

  Popped the second bottle. Let it decant for an hour. This one was much more tame than the first one. Maybe the weather just made the decanting go more quickly. Or maybe the extra two months in the bottle helped it settle some more. Either way this drank nice and smooth, but still with the heavy tannic structure Uruguayan wines are known for. Perfect accompaniment to charred short ribs with chipotle BBQ sauce. One normally wouldn't drink such a big wine on such a hot day, but the pairing was too good to pass up. Will bump up the rating because either time or conditions made this approachable much sooner.

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  5/21/2008 - iByron wrote: 89 Points

  Color (5/5): Deep garnet purple with almost opaque eye. Color goes all the way to the edge and coats the glass when swirled. A full glass is opaque. Nose (12/15): PnP, the nose is very faint. Black fruit, plums, and vanilla oak. After three days of decanting it finally opened up! And I think it could have improved for another day or two. The nose, which was practically shut down on days one and two, gave me a blackberry vanilla creme (yes, the French)
  
  Palate & Finish (15/20): PnP, tarry black fruit with strong tannic presence throughout. Mid-palate is a morph of the attack into the finish of strong coffee, tobacco, and black edibles (black licorice, black fruit, black tea). After three day decant, the long-finishing palate was strong chicory tea with black fruit and some of that blackberry creme served from a newly-fashioned wooden mug. A brooding blend of black and brown edibles (and a few inedibles). Firm but tame tannins similar to what I would expect from a good old-world Cahors, yet is softer than it's French counterpart, Madiran, rule the entire experience. Imagine a firm down pillow in a heavily starched case with a few pin feathers sticking through and you get the general feeling. Mouth-drying tannins really cleaned my mouth after the sticky orange peach marmalade sauce that coated the ham steak I had with it. I could see this with barbecue (smokey, not saucy) which would be a natural pairing. The last sip was glorious.
  
  Potential (7/10): The firm tannic structure along with a healthy mix of flavors that should integrate nicely suggest a potential for significant development. It can be consumed now with a vigorous decanting, but should reward over the next 10-15 years without problem.
  5+12+15+7+50=89

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