2018 Bella Oaks Vineyard Proprietary Red
Community Tasting Note
Robmcl920 Likes this wine:
Tuesday, August 16, 2022 - The '18 Bella Oaks is a very promising young wine that is in need of a long time in the cellar. That said, it's already quite drinkable because it is relatively well balanced, showing a combination of Napa exuberance/richness and classic acidity.
On the nose, I found rich red raspberry and blackberry fruits, cassis, red floral aromas, sweet spices, herbal tones like anise/licorice, and a hint of mocha. On the palate, I found a similar mix of fresh and liqueur-like red and black fruit tones, with red raspberry being the most dominant, along with espresso and sweet spices, and ending on a more savory expression of anise, grilled herbs, earth, and black fruit. The wine is richly textured on the palate, with a slightly creamy texture, but high acidity keeps it in balance. The tannins are finely textured, but hit hard as the wine moves towards the finish, along with a touch of alcoholic heat. I found the wine enters relatively smoothly, but the texture is a bit harsh towards the finish, which hopefully mellows out with age.
My primary "concern" with the '18 Bella Oaks, and the reason for knocking the score a point or two, is the finish which I found a bit harsh; it drinks a bit high octane today. If this mellows out a bit and the wine is more seamless from start to finish, it would be a top notch wine in my opinion.
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Comment posted by Geaux Tigers:
8/18/2022 9:01:00 PM - Great note—the 18s seem like the ‘13s and will be interesting to see how these wine shake off structure and alcohol before they blossom—your guess is as good as mine—I have ‘13s that show now as beauty queens and some that act like pissed off pimply teenagers! Thanks for taking one for the team!