Community Tasting Note
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Gregory Dal Piaz Likes this wine: 90 points
March 4, 2017 - xSo here I am, drinking the last bottle of my first case purchase. In truth there is another bottle but being as sentimental as I tend to be I expect I will not drink that bottle, or at least will not drink it while it’s delivering as much pleasure as it has tonight. The fill on this bottle was still into the neck, and the cork remained pliant and clean on the top. Some previous bottles had suffered a bit from less than perfect seals but this wine was as good as it could be tonight. Upon opening the color was ruby and bright with only the faintest edge of brassiness. The nose offered up not a hint of decay and such a surprisingly sweet burst of fruit from the bottle, joined quickly by rich notes of tea and humus all earthy and slightly leathery toned with hints of fading spice and cold stone adding nuance.
Still with a tinge of tannin in the mouth, this is a touch tight early on the palate hinting at a lovely if fading core of sweet red currant and strawberry tinged fruit. A touch of greenness frames the nose with air as the palate, elegant and gentle, reveals nuanced mineral notes and hints of darker fruit, earthy spice and licorice on the backend before fading softly on a slightly medicinal red cherry note. This just gets better with air, its frail frame filling in with red currant fruit and gaining a silky texture. After about an hour the tannins begin to pierce that tender gauze of fruit, as the nose show more of a smoky black tea and gunpowder character while still retaining retreating currant fruit. The elegance gently leaves the palate, earthy fruit remains with spice and vegetal accent notes, as this draws the curtains on a wonderful performance, a beautiful arc of evolution.
At its peak this certainly pushed 90pts tonight, perhaps 91-92pts with a bit of sentimentality, though by the end we were back where most bottles have performed, still lovely but perhaps more typically past peak and somewhere in the 82-86 point range depending on one’s palate.3 people found this helpful 5,173 views
2 Comments
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YGGY commented:
3/22/20, 10:54 AM - This captures sentimentality in the human experience surely beyond wine. Very sweet note. Wonderful descriptions too, helped me out. Thanks for sharing.
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Gregory Dal Piaz commented:
3/29/20, 4:33 PM - Thank you for your kind words. I love wine, it is part of my life, part of the life of the winemaker. It's perhaps silly, but of course there is a sentimental side to all of this. I'm glad my words were helpful!