'Biggie's' tasting note from Feb 2012 is very interesting. Much of what's written there remains true. Notes of tobacco and a dryness now combined with a real depth. I really like this. Very dry finish, but also very long. The flavours - tobacco, red berries, leather - stay with you. Really lovely.
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From the cellar so still cool - decanted and poured a glass. Clear very dark core of medium plus intensity. Clean nose of tar, dark chocolate, plum, oak of medium intensity. Dry with medium plus acid, medium body and ripe tannin and medium plus alcohol that doesn't intrude too much. Medium intense flavours of cocoa, plum, black cherry and vanilla. The finish is medium in length with the dark chocolate and vanilla continuing. Well made and quite well balanced - ready now but the structure is there for continued development for a couple of more years. After a couple of hours in the decanter the nose has tightened right up - very little in the way of aromatics - some dark chocolate and plum still linger... Virtually the same on the palate and in the finish - perhaps a little smoother. This is now acting like a very young wine needing 5 or more years in the cellar.
Second day - Nose is now showing plum, blackberry, oak and vanilla and is quite warming. On the palate the tannins are still showing strongly - a bit chewy - and there's a bit of astringency emerging as well. The fruit is still there but is now overshadowed by the structure. The finish is much leaner and there's a bit of stalkiness showing along with some alcohol heat. Bottom line - I think I'll leave my other bottle a couple of years and serve it a touch on the cool side to show off the fruit.
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Silky, ripe. But dull. Dark ripe fruit, cream and melted tannin. True to the style of Malbec that has become popular (dark, extracted, oaked, silky tannin), but doesn't reach beyond that. Heat was a factor, though this was flavorful overall.
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Popped and poured. Purple hue. Nose of blackberry, smoke and vanilla. Ripe, full palate of blackberry, espresso, herbs, and licorice. Good length. Youthful but mild tannins. Pleasant acidity. Excellent, well-made wine. Decent value.
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Petite syrah like color. Smokey boysenberries on the nose. Same in the mouth, over a chocholate cake. The oak is prominent on the pop and pour. Tannins and acidity plenty for the big fruit. Needs some more time, but still pretty good.
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Still too young, but had an amazing deep red color with expressive aromas of blackberries and dusty cherries. Acidity a bit high, but mellowed out a bit after a few hours. Should get better in a few years.
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very nice wine with dark berry fruit, fig and chocolate running through this full bodied, textured wine. Tannins are still upfront in the wine but disappate with 2 to 3 hour decant. Wine will improve with age for the next 4 to 6 years.
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Terrific effort. Deep, lucious fruit, smokey nose, long finish. Not for the faint of heart. This is a big wine with lots of years ahead. Can't wait to taste again in another year!
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Ripe dark berry and plum, oak, and pencil shavings on the nose. Same in the mouth with the addition of coco and perhaps some tobacco in the finish. Not a particularly long finish, but very pleasant, and quite balanced.
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100% Malbec. Aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. Decanted for 50 minutes. Beautiful violet color. Screaming milky chocolate on the nose, with some tobacco and coffee. On the palate, it's full bodied, with more milky chocolate, tobacco, low astringency, good acidity, round, short aftertaste. After 1 hour, the aromas and flavors started to disappear and the wine became even more closed on both nose and palate. On the other hand, it has only 13,9% alcohol, which is pretty uncommon nowadays for Argentinean Malbecs, making this wine very food friendly....it's not heavy like other Argentinean Malbecs. It paired very well with steak and salad. If you want an elegant and balanced wine, go for it, but don't expect too much, cause it's a bit austere (at least to me).
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At the malbec tasting: This one had a smokier, blacker fruit profile with more prominent pencil shavings and tobacco. Also some bitter dark chocolate on the back end which was nice...
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Super dark red, almost purplish with a dark pink rim. This is a wine lover's Malbec. Nice and even tannins compliment dark red fruits, some forest floor richness, a hint of distant strawberry, and a solid finish. The French oak is still really present here, but with time this will be a superb wine. Gulp.
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Inky purple. There's a lot of oak on the nose, but it's nice oak, restrained, more sawdust than vanilla. Forest fruits are there but losing the fight against the wood. In the mouth, this has wonderfully pure fruit and (I'm with Andrew on this) big architecture. The dusty tannins are like a insistent toddler, "look at me!". I don't drink a lot of Malbec, mostly because they don't usually taste like this one. Be curious to see how this one evolves.
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Blackberry fruits and slightly grippy tannins. Reasonable heft and some acids balance out the plushiness. Noticable oak-derived flavors. Time broadens out some good structure and persistence. Good at what it is and likely to improve. (This note is almost identical to my note for the 2005 version of this wine - though more structure here )
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7/31/2017 - mblazis Does not like this wine: 70 Points
Extreme medicine taste.
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11/8/2014 - Altmat Likes this wine: 91 Points
'Biggie's' tasting note from Feb 2012 is very interesting. Much of what's written there remains true. Notes of tobacco and a dryness now combined with a real depth. I really like this. Very dry finish, but also very long. The flavours - tobacco, red berries, leather - stay with you. Really lovely.
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2/4/2012 - biggie Likes this wine: 89 Points
From the cellar so still cool - decanted and poured a glass. Clear very dark core of medium plus intensity. Clean nose of tar, dark chocolate, plum, oak of medium intensity. Dry with medium plus acid, medium body and ripe tannin and medium plus alcohol that doesn't intrude too much. Medium intense flavours of cocoa, plum, black cherry and vanilla. The finish is medium in length with the dark chocolate and vanilla continuing. Well made and quite well balanced - ready now but the structure is there for continued development for a couple of more years.
After a couple of hours in the decanter the nose has tightened right up - very little in the way of aromatics - some dark chocolate and plum still linger... Virtually the same on the palate and in the finish - perhaps a little smoother. This is now acting like a very young wine needing 5 or more years in the cellar.
Second day - Nose is now showing plum, blackberry, oak and vanilla and is quite warming. On the palate the tannins are still showing strongly - a bit chewy - and there's a bit of astringency emerging as well. The fruit is still there but is now overshadowed by the structure. The finish is much leaner and there's a bit of stalkiness showing along with some alcohol heat. Bottom line - I think I'll leave my other bottle a couple of years and serve it a touch on the cool side to show off the fruit.
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10/2/2011 - Mh33 wrote: 87 Points
Fine but not spectacular
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5/7/2011 - french16 wrote: flawed
Corked
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4/16/2011 - Cabfrancophile wrote: 83 Points
Silky, ripe. But dull. Dark ripe fruit, cream and melted tannin. True to the style of Malbec that has become popular (dark, extracted, oaked, silky tannin), but doesn't reach beyond that. Heat was a factor, though this was flavorful overall.
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2/5/2010 - europat55 wrote:
I was not too impressed by this wine last night... I'll revisit again tonight before posting my notes and rating.
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1/25/2010 - alexc wrote: 89 Points
Too young I fear. Rather ordinary
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1/10/2010 - Wink wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Purple hue. Nose of blackberry, smoke and vanilla. Ripe, full palate of blackberry, espresso, herbs, and licorice. Good length. Youthful but mild tannins. Pleasant acidity. Excellent, well-made wine. Decent value.
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12/13/2009 - tairanosaurus wrote: 90 Points
Petite syrah like color. Smokey boysenberries on the nose. Same in the mouth, over a chocholate cake. The oak is prominent on the pop and pour. Tannins and acidity plenty for the big fruit. Needs some more time, but still pretty good.
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9/19/2009 - win wrote: 89 Points
Still too young, but had an amazing deep red color with expressive aromas of blackberries and dusty cherries. Acidity a bit high, but mellowed out a bit after a few hours. Should get better in a few years.
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8/4/2009 - GlenviewGSW wrote: 91 Points
very nice wine with dark berry fruit, fig and chocolate running through this full bodied, textured wine. Tannins are still upfront in the wine but disappate with 2 to 3 hour decant. Wine will improve with age for the next 4 to 6 years.
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8/2/2009 - tevans wrote: 91 Points
Terrific effort. Deep, lucious fruit, smokey nose, long finish. Not for the faint of heart. This is a big wine with lots of years ahead. Can't wait to taste again in another year!
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6/27/2009 - brettp wrote: 90 Points
Ripe dark berry and plum, oak, and pencil shavings on the nose. Same in the mouth with the addition of coco and perhaps some tobacco in the finish. Not a particularly long finish, but very pleasant, and quite balanced.
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5/8/2009 - vsbastosx wrote: 87 Points
100% Malbec. Aged in French oak barrels for 12 months.
Decanted for 50 minutes.
Beautiful violet color.
Screaming milky chocolate on the nose, with some tobacco and coffee.
On the palate, it's full bodied, with more milky chocolate, tobacco, low astringency, good acidity, round, short aftertaste.
After 1 hour, the aromas and flavors started to disappear and the wine became even more closed on both nose and palate.
On the other hand, it has only 13,9% alcohol, which is pretty uncommon nowadays for Argentinean Malbecs, making this wine very food friendly....it's not heavy like other Argentinean Malbecs. It paired very well with steak and salad.
If you want an elegant and balanced wine, go for it, but don't expect too much, cause it's a bit austere (at least to me).
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3/9/2009 - AdamWallstein wrote: 91 Points
At the malbec tasting: This one had a smokier, blacker fruit profile with more prominent pencil shavings and tobacco. Also some bitter dark chocolate on the back end which was nice...
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2/20/2009 - Hazeo wrote: 89 Points
Argentina wine-tasting at Meritage. Nice wine with lush fruit perhaps a tad jammy, a little harsh on the finish that may smooth out in time.
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1/16/2009 - oakland.cory wrote: 92 Points
Super dark red, almost purplish with a dark pink rim. This is a wine lover's Malbec. Nice and even tannins compliment dark red fruits, some forest floor richness, a hint of distant strawberry, and a solid finish. The French oak is still really present here, but with time this will be a superb wine. Gulp.
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12/29/2008 - RationalDenial wrote:
Inky purple. There's a lot of oak on the nose, but it's nice oak, restrained, more sawdust than vanilla. Forest fruits are there but losing the fight against the wood. In the mouth, this has wonderfully pure fruit and (I'm with Andrew on this) big architecture. The dusty tannins are like a insistent toddler, "look at me!". I don't drink a lot of Malbec, mostly because they don't usually taste like this one. Be curious to see how this one evolves.
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10/24/2008 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Blackberry fruits and slightly grippy tannins. Reasonable heft and some acids balance out the plushiness. Noticable oak-derived flavors. Time broadens out some good structure and persistence. Good at what it is and likely to improve. (This note is almost identical to my note for the 2005 version of this wine - though more structure here )
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