4/10/2024 - Highlander wrote:

This is like lemons mixed with some sort of almond extract. Very different, but drinkable. I found myself going hot and cold on this wine

3/31/2024 - Highlander wrote:

Excellent! Hour or so decant and it was singing. Very well balanced: Terroir, Tannins & Fruit, everything comes together here. Add in a bit of leather, very mild tobacco and you have an excellent wine

3/14/2024 - Highlander wrote:

2 hour decant. seemed simple vs. complex. Tannins fully integrated, but nothing special on the palate. Try again in 18 months.

2/10/2024 - Highlander wrote:

Excellent. Sweet, but balanced. Works well with spicy food or as an after dinner wine.

1/16/2024 - Highlander wrote:

Excellent. This keeps adding weight with each year. Decanted about 45 minutes. The last glass was the best. Elegant is the best word I can use to describe this. Similar to my last notes...only this glass was better

1/16/2024 - Highlander wrote:

Wow! I had this several years ago. It was nothing approaching this beauty! The nose alone had me going long before I took my first sip. Crisp, but not the bite of years past, nor the questionable aftertaste. A little mild Oak on the initial sip, apricots and a hint of almonds. Just outstanding!

1/15/2024 - Highlander wrote:

Consistent notes....this needs air (1.5 hours in decanter) and food. Lots of large sediment. Dark fruits, Currant, leather and a splash of tobacco all come together for a lovely wine.

1/13/2024 - Highlander wrote:

Fully mature, on the decline side of mature. Still Excellent. Needs no more than a 20 minute decant.

1/4/2024 - Highlander wrote:

Gave this a 5 hour decant. This is good now, but will get better. Big flavours, tannins were fine with the 5 hours of decanting. Excellent QPR

12/31/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Right now this will peel the enamel off your teeth! Wait another 3-5 years to try this again

12/24/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Lots of sediment, so best to stand up a day or more before decanting. I gave this three hours in the decanter which seemed to be too much, as the tannins, were fully resolved, leaving the wine wanting for balance

12/20/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Cork broke about 2/3 of the way down. Given that the last bottle did this, and was badly corked, I was concerned. This bottle was not however, but I did notice that the noticeable tannins had much faded. I gave this only 20 minutes or so in the duck. While the wine was very tasty, I am moving up my drinking window several years. Maybe it is moving from a fruit and tannin driven wine into something more mature. Regardless, I will error on drinking this early vs. too late

12/10/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Very nice sipping wine. Has a melon nose, but unfolds into a nice Rose wine with good structure

12/10/2023 - Highlander wrote:

three of the 6 bottles I had left from the original case were bad. I knew there was trouble when the cork broke off 1/4 of an inch from the bottom. Both were bad. The other two were excellent however.

12/8/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Wow! Wow again!
Gave this a 3 hour decant, which was just slightly more than enough. The fruit/tannin balance was just suburb, as was the wine. This is a big, yet elegant wine. Everything is there.

12/6/2023 - Highlander wrote:

So glad I have the CT community to rely on! I would have not touched this for another few years, but after reading so many notes that noticed how approachable this is, I couldn't help myself. After an hour decant this was just wonderful. There is a taste of cranberry, strawberry and melon all blended together with the normal Pinot flavors. Elegant but quite different than many Pinots. I suspect for some this will be a polarizing factor, but I much enjoyed it.

11/21/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Wow....deep licorice flavors along with very dark cherry flavours mixed with tobacco. This was so good that next time, no dinner. maybe just some Jambon Iberico,

11/18/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Have enjoyed 5 of these prior....opened this last bottle with a fairly easy pull on the cork....wine was not corked, but rather the seal must not have been perfect as the wine seemed older, over the hill and past its prime. Opened a second bottle shortly after and it was its normal beautiful self, so I will chalk this up to a bad, undersized cork.

11/12/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Enjoyed this very much. Gave it a 3 hour decant...and I still think the last glass was best. There is something about the right bank that brings the Merlot grape out of hibernation and into something very complex. This seems to be very young from a drinking perspective. It is in its drinking window, but early.

11/5/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Much enjoyed. Very feminine in a positive way. The fruit has evolved into a more complex set of flavors. This is no longer a fruit forward wine. Others did not like this, but I did. Tannins are fully integrated. I am moving up my drinking window. While I much enjoyed this, it isn't on a par with other Insignia vintages....07 comes to mind. Still this is a classic Insignia...finesse over brut force

10/9/2023 - Highlander wrote:

3-4 hr decant....I would do at least this. Nice, but not sure about the value of any of these Gran Selzone's. Seems more like a marketing gimmick than anything else. I enjoyed this, but think a few more years in the cellar would benefit this much.

10/6/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Premature e-oxidation. This one found the drain. On its way to salad dressing

9/29/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Big wine that struggles to hide the alcohol. Great with very big dishes, like pasta with tomato sauces and the like. I truly wish the bottle didn't weight 50% more than the wine itself.....I measured the empty bottle and it weighed 2 pounds, 10.9 ounces, compared to a Dunn Napa that I had to compare it with which weighed 1 pound 3.8 ounces.....That's more than DOUBLE the WEIGHT! Think about this, if you are paying to have this shipped (which most of us are, one way or another)...that is an additional 17 pounds/case of 12. This will be the last I buy from this winery.

9/27/2023 - Highlander wrote:

1 hour decant: At first sip, I thought somebody slipped several drops of blackberry liquor into this wine! Wow! This was excellent. A fruit bomb that reminded me of a Cali Cab....but with so much more. Secondary flavors were dark cherry, leather, tobacco. Tannins were fully integrated from the first sip. This is drinking beautifully now.

9/18/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Note: A great deal of sediment....sit up a day or so in advance. with a 2 hour decant this was simply outstanding. Fruit bomb! Dark fruits, not a lot of secondary going on here, but still a very tasty wine. No need to wait, as the tannins disappeared with the decant.

7/25/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Excellent! Gave this an hour in the duck in the fridge. Served at about 45-55 degrees. I think it got better as it got warmer. I agree with others that it had a very different berry component to it. More light berry and lighter fruits, melon,strawberry, apricot and others. Worked very well with a sesame citrus sauce and seared tuna.

7/6/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Wow! Blown away. Tobacco, Tobacco, Black cherry, Leather, Black Licorice,
What a value and wonderful wine. long, finish. Plenty of time on this....read several years. Tannins fully integrated with an hour decant.

6/28/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Very, very nice! Super Tuscan in so many ways. Tannins fully integrated with an hour decant. Dark fruits with fine sediments....needs to be decanted. A small bit of leather with the fruit, but the fruit is center stage.

6/20/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Finish was dry as a bone.....even with 2 hours decant. Not sure about this wine.

5/25/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Excellent, Gave this 2 hours in the Duck and then another hour in the bottle. Color looked like a 2 year old Bdx. Tannins still going strong, which leaves me to think this will last much longer. Great fruit. No need to hurry on this.

5/20/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Wow! Gave this two hours in the duck, then back in the bottle to the restaurant. Silky smooth, almost lush. Excellent fruits, integrated tannins, great balance...it all comes together here. One note of importance, the sediment is very small, so caution is needed in the decant as there was about two tablespoons of sediment there. Very much enjoyed this.

4/6/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Delicious wine. Gave it a 4 hour decant, which it needed. Last glass was the best. One has to get over the fact that the bottle weighs more than many small cars, but the wine is very tasty. a decent QPR, unless you are having to pay freight on the bottles. Very thick and concentrated, a Godzilla type of wine.

4/6/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Not as rich and lush as the '09 was 4 years ago, but still very enjoyable. I liked this much better at a temperature closer to 55, not straight out of the fridge.

3/30/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Gave this a 4 hour decant and it needed it as the last glass was still the best. Very good wine, dark fruits, a bit of leather on the finish. Excellent QPR on this. I suspect it might last longer than many expect.

3/23/2023 - Highlander wrote:

4 hour decant and this was excellent! Powerful but yet still very balanced and almost elegant, almost. Had this with dinner but had a bit before and it was very drinkable without the food. Excellent with Chocolate afterwards! Yet, Nebbiolo is still a harsh mistress. I can't imagine this without the decant

3/12/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Deep gold color. Good balance. Excellent QPR

3/5/2023 - Highlander wrote:

Excellent! Developing many secondary flavours. Tannins well integrated with a 2 hour decant. Big and Rich....and that's no country pun.

3/4/2023 - Highlander wrote:

I agree with Mr. T on this one. While I liked this wine, the acidity of it took much away from my overall enjoyment. This is a different style of ZH than I am accustomed to. Considerably drier. Shame on me for pairing this with a Sauerbraten! Any other ZH would have been on point.

12/26/2022 - Highlander wrote:

Had this side by side with the 85 Fonseca, Fonseca was much younger, in color and taste. This was much lighter in color and on the palate. . This Graham's is quite complex. I am a bit concerned about the color turning to a beautiful amber....how long will this last....perhaps 5 years, I am not sure, but it is excellent right now. Sweetness has evolved into many different layers of flavor. A bit of tobbacco, mildly sweet cherry and spices. I only decanted this for an hour or so and that was enough. T

12/26/2022 - Highlander wrote:

Had this side by side with the 85 Graham's, This was much younger, in color and taste. I believe this could easily go another decade. Still on the sweet side. Right now this is more of a dessert wine and not something to pair with blue cheese (the Graham's fits that bill better). Color is still bright ruby, with little if any brown coloring. Very nice, but crazy enough the Graham's wins on the complexity side....at this moment in time

12/20/2022 - Highlander wrote:

Just OK. Not bad, but best served after other wine.

11/26/2022 - Highlander wrote:

substantially improved from a year ago....and with 3 hours in duck. Many dark fruit tastes, integrated tannins. Secondary flavors just starting to come out. Not a show stopper, but a solid wine

11/26/2022 - Highlander wrote:

wine is over the hill. Heavily oxidated. I will likely pour out what is left

11/19/2022 - Highlander wrote:

Wow! Exquisitely balanced! Great deep port flavors. Currants, Tobacco (mild) with the dark fruits.

11/10/2022 - Highlander wrote:

This has big potential. I agree with others that it tastes very, very young, and with mostly integrated tannins. I suspect it will be much better in a few years....but still quite enjoyable now. Gave it 2 hours in the duck. I would like it to calm down a bit in the coming years. Try again in 2 years

11/6/2022 - Highlander wrote:

Just Lovely! Full of fruit, alcohol mellowed with the 3 hour decant. Very nice, smooth, full bodied port. I will compare this to the Graham's 85 in a few weeks.

11/5/2022 - Highlander wrote:

Very good, but something in the tannic taste kept me from thinking this could have been better, even after two hours in the duck. A lovely delicate, feminine profile, but there was an overriding taste of oak/menthol that tended to dominate the mid palate. This was the first bottle I tasted, so I am not sure if this is not some variation or something else. Not corked, as there was plenty of fruit there. Try again

11/3/2022 - Highlander wrote:

Gave this 4 hours in the duck....needed 5-6. Very much improved from last time! Mile tobacco with currants and mild black cherry. Maybe just a touch of menthol as well. With the decant, and only with, the tannins are well balanced. Very nice

10/28/2022 - Highlander wrote:

Undecided. Gave this a 4 hour decant in the duck. Still had tannins that were omnipresent. Fruit is there, but Nebbiolo is a harsh mistress sometimes. I could pick out the quality in this wine, but oh at what a price, not just the poor QPR either. I am moving back my drinking window and hope that this is better integrated in the future (2-4 years)

10/8/2022 - Highlander wrote:

Excellent! 3 hours in the duck....just wonderful. Tannins fully integrated, on the nose a bit of leather and tobacco with wonderful cherry, possibly cranberry added. Palate was consistent with nose. finish was long and smooth. With proper air, this is in a fine drinking window.