Final bottle of this. Double decanted prior to serving - quite a lot of sediment thrown off. Bit of apple stem and muck on the nose - is it TCA? No - it blows off rather than growing, this is lovely. Plump in the middle, lovely pencil lead nose, and a long finish with good acid and red fruits. Just the ticket.
Opened after the Chevalier turned out to be just not quite enough wine, and after a friend had tasted one and thought it was coming along nicely. Well - this acquitted itself admirably after the Chevalier - the oak is there, and that high-toned red fruit energy, but it's oh-so-well mannered. This is the kind if wine you should give to people who say they don't like Rioja. Not because it's not like other Rioja, but because - well it's really really good Rioja, so if they don't like this, they really just don't like Rioja. If you have a few of these - maybe time to start gently drinking through them, just to explore the evolution, but plenty of gas in the tank yet. Yum.
Hmm well. Shared with friends who had bought a case of this many years ago. Our tastes have changed and who drinks turbocharged alcoholic fruit bombs anymore? Opened on the basis that we would likely quickly open something else. Well - this is fab, joyous, almost thrilling, and somewhat absurd. The front label says 15.7% abv, the back 16.5%, either way, this isn't messing around. There's lovely dark fruits - some of that blackberry character I used to love in Australian Shiraz, and a long harmonious finish. Almost herbal notes as the cacophony gracefully dies down. A fellow diner remarked that he thinks this is what the winemaker was aiming for, and I agree. Current market for this is just over £100 - I don't think i'm rushing out to buy any but...this is good, i think, for what it is, and *sometimes* this is what I want.
With that said - by the end of my second glass it was starting to become tiring, and I think a bottle shared between six, every decade or so, is probably my ideal level of consumption of this type of thing.
2009 Domaine de Chevalier
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Final bottle of this. Double decanted prior to serving - quite a lot of sediment thrown off. Bit of apple stem and muck on the nose - is it TCA? No - it blows off rather than growing, this is lovely. Plump in the middle, lovely pencil lead nose, and a long finish with good acid and red fruits. Just the ticket.
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2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Selección Especial
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Opened after the Chevalier turned out to be just not quite enough wine, and after a friend had tasted one and thought it was coming along nicely. Well - this acquitted itself admirably after the Chevalier - the oak is there, and that high-toned red fruit energy, but it's oh-so-well mannered. This is the kind if wine you should give to people who say they don't like Rioja. Not because it's not like other Rioja, but because - well it's really really good Rioja, so if they don't like this, they really just don't like Rioja. If you have a few of these - maybe time to start gently drinking through them, just to explore the evolution, but plenty of gas in the tank yet. Yum.
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2005 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
Hmm well. Shared with friends who had bought a case of this many years ago. Our tastes have changed and who drinks turbocharged alcoholic fruit bombs anymore? Opened on the basis that we would likely quickly open something else. Well - this is fab, joyous, almost thrilling, and somewhat absurd. The front label says 15.7% abv, the back 16.5%, either way, this isn't messing around. There's lovely dark fruits - some of that blackberry character I used to love in Australian Shiraz, and a long harmonious finish. Almost herbal notes as the cacophony gracefully dies down. A fellow diner remarked that he thinks this is what the winemaker was aiming for, and I agree. Current market for this is just over £100 - I don't think i'm rushing out to buy any but...this is good, i think, for what it is, and *sometimes* this is what I want.
With that said - by the end of my second glass it was starting to become tiring, and I think a bottle shared between six, every decade or so, is probably my ideal level of consumption of this type of thing.
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