Community Tasting Note
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ajbergren wrote: 95 points
February 19, 2022 - Deep red with tinges of purple, very high optical density and low, dull specular reflectivity. Medium intensity of aromas, with tart cherry, cranberry, and plums mingling in a tantalizing array. Backing this up is leather, dusty forest floor, and smoked truffles. Nice depth on the nose.
On the palate, rich and full bodied with a polished texture showing integrated, but still present tannins. Medium acidity and very dry, but with a glossy glycerin surface. Flavours of rich mixed fruits on the attack (plum, blueberry, and raspberry), with good intensity. Strong entry with a medium amount of complexity. At midpalate, things develop toward vegetal notes and leather, with crushed tobacco leaf, where the attack gives way to the fruit for these tertiary notes. Finishes with some light smokey leather and baked fruit skins, with very nice length. Overall intensity is high, while complexity is medium plus or so.
This is a lovely bottle that is in a great place. Definitely showing age nicely, with enough complexity to appreciate. Mostly this takes the form of evolution of flavours down the middle, with some light touches to the sides (more stacked flowing layers than all simultaneous). Very easy to drink and appreciate more with thought, showing a balanced elegance. Definitely one of the nicer bottles of Merlot I've had the pleasure of drinking! This hits my biases nicely, so bonus points put this a few higher for the sheer fun factor of this one!4 people found this helpful 801 views
3 Comments
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KillerJones commented:
2/19/22, 5:26 PM - Loved this - as I do all your reviews. (Have you thought of doing your own blog??)
'light smoky leather' ...I will dream about this later. Thanks for the intel! -
Canoehead commented:
2/20/22, 2:43 PM - AJ, great TN. We just bought a few bottles of this alongside a member's purchase. Couldn't be more excite to try it. Love the "bonus points" element for "hitting my biases nicely"! I've had those types of bottle outcomes in the past but haven't been able to verbalize as well as you. 2015 Consensus comes to mind - definitely earned points for a bias bullseye! I'll write a TN when we open our first Equinoxe Merlot.
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ajbergren commented:
2/25/22, 3:09 PM - Thanks for the kind words! Cheers!