Community Tasting Note

• msuwine Likes this wine: 94 points

  April 10, 2019 - A (Way-Too-Early) TRB 2016 Trio: Dark purple in color; medium in body; nose of black cherry, graphite, and fresh flowers. Tastes of blueberry, ripe raspberry, cocoa powder, and herbs, with a bright and lingering finish that has grainy tannins and a hint of tartness. 14.7% alcohol. This doesn’t have the intensity or nuance of the 2015 (or the 2013), but my experience with a lot of these 2016s is that they come on juicy in the early going.
  
  As noted above, this has the most lift (i.e., acidity on the finish) of the three, with less ripeness and power - but it's also the easiest drinking at the moment (i.e., the one you'd serve to someone who likes wine but doesn't obsess about it). On the second day, this became a bit more tart and linear, and it more clearly needed time in bottle to put on a little weight. 94+ for now, with upside in 2020 or later.

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4 Comments

• #1Winelover commented:

  10/7/19, 9:36 AM - I picked up a few bottles at $105/bottle and it was really good - on day 2! It was a little tart on day 1, so I am sure it'll get much better as it ages.

• msuwine commented:

  10/7/19, 5:07 PM - Interesting - thanks for letting me know (and good shopping by the way - that's a fantastic price). I've had mixed experiences with the 2016 vintage in the early going, so I just need to leave my hands off of them (which is easier said than done).

• #1Winelover commented:

  10/7/19, 8:18 PM - Yep. Benchmark had 6 of them. I purchased 4, went back for more but they were gone. I actually was worried that they were their 2nd label, terroir, so I called and they verified.

• msuwine commented:

  10/7/19, 8:20 PM - Glad you get the real thing (and the Estate is a far better wine than the Terroir Series, in my opinion). For what it's worth, I've only had one labeling mistake from Benchmark, and they fixed it quickly. It pays to pay attention, I guess!

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