I've always enjoyed how the Friuli interpret cabernet sauvignon, and this cabernet-merlot blend is no exception. Deep garnet, ripe fruit still in evidence, tannic rough edges sanded off, lithe and delicate texture. Well worth drinking now if you have it.
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Dark red core with very slight bricking at the edge. Licorice on the nose with a touch of tobacco. Palate was dark fruit jammy with a bit of oakiness present. There is structure in this wine and tannin is still present. I would not be worried about this fading quickly nor would I be worried about decanting. There is still enough fruit and structure for several more years of enjoyment. An excellent wine with a bit of age/complexity for $30 a bottle. Life is good! I am glad I bought a case in 2008.
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Fig, cherry, earth, savory and sour with maybe some grapefruit. A hard edge lurking in the background. There is enough up front to make this wine enjoyable now but I don't know if this will stand up to much more aging. I would not decant this either. Plenty of acid with moderate tannin.
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(TATO Saint?Ele) Tato Dear Friends, This one requires more than a passing glance and it should repay your curiosity with one of the high-end price/value wines of the year. If you are into aged Bordeaux, this is for you... In Italy, the month of August is a time to forget your troubles, to while away the day at the beach and re-charge for the coming fall and winter. It's usually too hot to do much (although not this year) and the "national monthly holiday" is one that is expected (can you imagine the US shutting down for the entire month of August? Maybe the Europeans are on to something). I mention this because I was treated to this wine over the weekend by a friend of mine that is also a major collector in Italy. He holds an exclusive summer dinner every year that is a send-off to the August holiday - it is always the weekend before the 1st of August. To understand this mentality, in August, normally close-knit Italian friends and family go their independent way for a month - sort of like grade school summer vacation where you don't see each other until the next school year and you come back in September excited to tell stories about your summer adventure. This dinner acts as a send-off and it is done in style. I am always thankful for an invitation to this event as great old bottles are opened but the focus is typically on 1-2 new wines poured with the main course. This year, he chose to pour this. My point is, he has just about every wine you can imagine in his cellar and he picked this as the wine to share with the most significant food of the evening - not Haut Brion or Comte de Vogue (as in the past) but this - the 2000 Tato (that food course, by the way, was one of the more incredible meat dishes I've had in some time - an interplay of char grilled NY strip that was finely sliced and woven "between" braised maitake and porcini mushrooms with whole sauteed leek strands acting as a ribbon that were tied around the steak/mushroom "present" to hold the creation together - insane). The 2000 Tato is from one of Italy's most promising old-world landscapes and one of it's least traveled - almost the Transylvania of Italy. In the northeast, near Slovenia, the Tato is a Friulian mystery train bent on changing the game once and for all - it is what makes this corner of Europe so intriguing for me. It is wild and unharnessed but still medium bodied, elegant and low in alcohol (as opposed to something like Miani that is massive and high in alcohol) - all I can say is that this is a stunning wine. I have very limited experience with this producer (I believe I had the 1999 once in Verona after the Parker review) but it made such an olfactory impression on me (and the other attendees) that I spent the better part of yesterday trying to find a parcel in pristine condition. I recommend you enjoy this wine over the duration of an evening, with and without food as it changes every hour or so. It is like crushed tobacco mixed with floating red fruits with just the right touch of regal aged cedar. This may sound ridiculous but (in a blind tasting), it's a toss up as to which you would prefer from an olfactory standpoint at this stage of development, the 2000 Lafleur or the 2000 Tato (I've had the 2000 Lafleur at least 4-6 times already, thanks to the Guinaudeau family so this impression comes from experience - certainly the Lafleur will be better in time but I'm talking about today) - if you have stopped laughing at this point, and wish to read on, the 2000 Tato is like an enviable mix of 2000 Right and Left Bank (Calon-Segur mixed with Vieux Chateau Certan?) spun together by the climate and different soil structure in Friuli. If you crave charismatic, top-level 2000 Bordeaux at what would be considered a ridiculous price at this point, this is your wine...and it may introduce you to a new region that is ripe for discovery - Friuli. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED as a wonderful new discovery: 2000 Saint'Elena "Tato" (Friuli) (this is a terrific price - you can check pricing on the 2001 if you can't find the 2000 listed) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Italy8989
3/12/2017 - Italiana Likes this wine:
I've always enjoyed how the Friuli interpret cabernet sauvignon, and this cabernet-merlot blend is no exception. Deep garnet, ripe fruit still in evidence, tannic rough edges sanded off, lithe and delicate texture. Well worth drinking now if you have it.
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3/23/2011 - astrauss wrote: 89 Points
Dark red core with very slight bricking at the edge. Licorice on the nose with a touch of tobacco. Palate was dark fruit jammy with a bit of oakiness present. There is structure in this wine and tannin is still present. I would not be worried about this fading quickly nor would I be worried about decanting. There is still enough fruit and structure for several more years of enjoyment. An excellent wine with a bit of age/complexity for $30 a bottle. Life is good! I am glad I bought a case in 2008.
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2/24/2011 - lkatz wrote: 88 Points
too much of an anise/licoricse taste
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2/5/2011 - spo wrote: 90 Points
Fig, cherry, earth, savory and sour with maybe some grapefruit. A hard edge lurking in the background. There is enough up front to make this wine enjoyable now but I don't know if this will stand up to much more aging. I would not decant this either. Plenty of acid with moderate tannin.
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5/19/2010 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Not at all like bottle of 12/08 - off aged-metallic notes, thin and reedy. Not enjoyable.
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