Dégustation GEEU chez nous (Mouline, Redigaffi, Rousseau...) (Bernex): Bouteille en parfaite condition mais bouchon très friable. Into neck. Grenat mat et foncé. Nez proche d'un Bordeaux avec des arômes de bois noble, de havane, puis de sous-bois. La comparaison s'arrête là car, en bouche, le vin offre un profil sur la chaleur, une extraction poussée, une certaine mollesse. C'est assez agréable à boire mais fatigant. À boire.
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Excellent wine... Good nose upon opening but needed about an hour in decanter to open up taste. Then still strong dark fruit, bordeaux like tobacco, still good acidity, well age polished tannins. Nice.
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Some Spanish Wines on a Saturday afternoon (Some very old ones) (CB): Bought on release, I have always found these quite over oaked. At 14 years from vintage, much of the oak has integrated, not all, and there is still plenty of fruit. Dark cherries, cigar, slight bell pepper. Getting to be more Bordeaux-like IMO. Very smooth and complex. Layers of cherries, dark cherries, earthy with some damp forest floor notes. Nice balance. No hurry on this, but getting near peak.
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The nose showed black currant, sweet spices, animal musk and a slight medicinal cherry. On the palate it was ripe and silky with mixed berry, cedar and autumnal spices. A tug of tannin and acid led to a clean, fresh finish with tart, dark red fruit.
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Granato cupissimo. Naso severo di tabacco, sottobosco, cuoio, pellame, poi prugna, mora, menta, cacao amaro, sanguinaccio. Bocca rispondente, intensissima ma elegante ed equilibrata, mai sopra le righe
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A very heavy, brooding, intense nose, almost chocolate in quality. Didn't really sense much in the way of fruit in the aromatics. Upon tasting, I get that feeling that whatever fruit there was on the palate has since left the building. I don't know if it is because this wine is still "young" as some have suggested or if it's on its way out and where there once was fruit it is now fading away. For me, there is some fruit but it's not as prominent as I would like. But then again, I haven't been a big fan of Spanish reds so I'm not overly disappointed by this. Definitely not as bitter as other Spanish reds and maybe that is due to this wine's age. Let's just say at $55 paid back around 2006, you could find many other better ways to spend.
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Decanted for 3+ hours before tasting: fruit was still intense with a strong oak presence. Shocked at how young the wine tasted, how intense the color remained, and how lively the oak felt. Definitely put this item in the "modern" portion of Ribera's wines. Nice acidity and great balance, this wine has many years ahead of it.
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not as vigor as in the days of it's youth. Porcine mushrooms, lots of oak is still present, and felt like I was cheated out of the experience by not drinking it earlier. Not a good feeling.
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base: 50 pts color & appearance - max 5 pts: 5 aroma & bouquet - max 15 pts: 13 flavor and finish - max 20 pts: 18 overall quality & potential - max 10 pts: 7 OVERALL: 93 Followed by 2000 Numanthia. This one is much more fruit forward and well balanced. Still strong tannins.
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Aalto / Aalto PS complete vertical (HSH): Nose: Hay and barnyard with a little bit of wet leaves. Little bit of blackberry. Still a good intensity. Taste: Very harsh tannins and a crazy acidity. Very young wine on the palate mostly tasting of blackberries. However, a bit unstructured.
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Haggis generously offered to bring this to dinner at the Beachhouse on Kauai. He and his wife bought this in Spain a few years ago. This was my favorite red wine of our vacation. Not decanted. Since this wine continued to open during the dinner some decanting would be recommended. Blackish red color. At first this wine had some slight scents of nail polish. On the palate I detected some iron/blood notes when first poured. However, this wine really opened up and showed notes of blackberry, semisweet chocolate and ripe berries. Smooth texture and a dry crisp finish that left me smacking my lips. Wonderful. 95 points.
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Wineflock - Ribera del Duero 94-01 (Rich's): Group #1, My #3 - Full deep crisp red color. Medium full earthy black currant with a lifted note - and a slight green hint. Mmmn, nice rich electric spicy chocolate palate with good balance and structure - firm. 93-94 pts.
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Flock: 1994-2001 Ribera del Duero Tasting (Chicago): Bright purple color. Beautiful, youthful, full nose has toast, coffee and dark cherries. Palate is well balanced and full bodied. Firm tannins and juicy acidity compliment the mature, rich fruit. Long, full chocolaty, toasty finish. Kept getting better. My #4, Group #1.
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Pop and pour. This could have used a two hour decant. Awesome fragrance and taste of ripe, delicious, stewed plums, smoky mesquite and earthy tar. Bet this would be amazing with a grilled steak. Still my favorite Spanish wine. Very long and still retaining a strong, although fine and classy, tannic finish. 3 years 'til next bottle. 94+
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A ton of promise in this wine. I drank this with a steak, and it was much better two hours after I opened it. Alot of promise in this wine. I wish I had kept this another five years.
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Audouzed for 3 hours, and then double decanted for 90 minutes. Medium to full-bodied wine that is dark purple/black in color. On the nose, dark candied cherries, lovely light barnyard/forest floor funk, and some smoke. On the palate, silky smooth, dark chococolate-covered cherries, minerals, and light toast. Simply gorgeous wine...exquisite balance, loaded with fruit, ethereal yet powerful, and closing with a stunning 40+ second finish...wow!
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Opened first bottle last week and had only 1 hour to breath (due to thirsty friends). Could see the body underneath but not opened up yet...
Second bottle opened tonight. Double decanted for 4 hours. A very well balanced wine with solid tannins. Blueberry, vanilla and creme de cassis with some pepper (more to my wife than me). Definitely a noticable minerality on the finish. Smoke and violet on the nose. An intellectual wine (complex) that also pleases the senses. The dark fruits do not overwhelm this wine, but complement it nicely.
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2000 Aalto "PS" (Ribera del Duero) - 97 rating ***Note*** This wine was a replacement "ringer" for the 2001 Aalto PS which had not been released in the USA at the time of this tasting. Deeply colored. Lovely nose is open and so sexy; big, sweet black cherry fruit, vanilla, Asian spices, and tons of oak. Heavily extracted fruit on the palate with tar, earth, smoked meat, and chewy tannins. Very complex and delicious wine that brilliantly combines structure and fruit; its powerful yet silky with excellent acidity throughout. The balance of this wine is perfect and the finish is long, consistent, and persistent. Everyone in the room was mesmerized by this wine. Wow! This is from Parker notes
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Dark purple black. Intense focused brawny attack. Forward nose with ripe dark fruit. Cassis, blueberry weighty texture. Big elegant tannins creating a harmonious perfectly balance wine. Lenghth went on for 30+ seconds. This was a winner. If all Spanish wines are this good my cellar is way under stocked. Thanks Kris
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blue/ purple color saturated to the rim. Huge fragrant nose of roasted beef, mesquite, cherry jam. The palate was a monster! tidal waves of cherry jam attack the palate, with incredible nuances of liquid stones, distinct violet and a roasted gritty steak. This was such a large scale wine, but all balanced. So incredibly intense, i think another year in the cellar would be key, after that, the fireworks are worth experiencing. A stellar wine.
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8/16/2021 - maaike2 wrote: 93 Points
Powerful with elegance. Dark fruit, tobacco, earthiness, good freshness. Long finish. Superb wine.
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5/20/2015 - Ericsson wrote: 90 Points
Dégustation GEEU chez nous (Mouline, Redigaffi, Rousseau...) (Bernex): Bouteille en parfaite condition mais bouchon très friable. Into neck. Grenat mat et foncé. Nez proche d'un Bordeaux avec des arômes de bois noble, de havane, puis de sous-bois. La comparaison s'arrête là car, en bouche, le vin offre un profil sur la chaleur, une extraction poussée, une certaine mollesse. C'est assez agréable à boire mais fatigant. À boire.
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1/10/2015 - Kevdog Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent wine... Good nose upon opening but needed about an hour in decanter to open up taste. Then still strong dark fruit, bordeaux like tobacco, still good acidity, well age polished tannins. Nice.
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9/14/2014 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 94 Points
Some Spanish Wines on a Saturday afternoon (Some very old ones) (CB): Bought on release, I have always found these quite over oaked. At 14 years from vintage, much of the oak has integrated, not all, and there is still plenty of fruit. Dark cherries, cigar, slight bell pepper. Getting to be more Bordeaux-like IMO. Very smooth and complex. Layers of cherries, dark cherries, earthy with some damp forest floor notes. Nice balance. No hurry on this, but getting near peak.
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1/19/2014 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 92 Points
The nose showed black currant, sweet spices, animal musk and a slight medicinal cherry. On the palate it was ripe and silky with mixed berry, cedar and autumnal spices. A tug of tannin and acid led to a clean, fresh finish with tart, dark red fruit.
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7/1/2013 - Ludi Likes this wine: 93 Points
Granato cupissimo. Naso severo di tabacco, sottobosco, cuoio, pellame, poi prugna, mora, menta, cacao amaro, sanguinaccio. Bocca rispondente, intensissima ma elegante ed equilibrata, mai sopra le righe
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6/29/2013 - edjBoca Does not like this wine: 88 Points
Decanted for a long time. Oak never receded. Structure will outlive the fruit.
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3/20/2011 - t4drman wrote: 85 Points
A very heavy, brooding, intense nose, almost chocolate in quality. Didn't really sense much in the way of fruit in the aromatics. Upon tasting, I get that feeling that whatever fruit there was on the palate has since left the building. I don't know if it is because this wine is still "young" as some have suggested or if it's on its way out and where there once was fruit it is now fading away. For me, there is some fruit but it's not as prominent as I would like. But then again, I haven't been a big fan of Spanish reds so I'm not overly disappointed by this. Definitely not as bitter as other Spanish reds and maybe that is due to this wine's age. Let's just say at $55 paid back around 2006, you could find many other better ways to spend.
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1/31/2011 - BBinSC wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for 3+ hours before tasting: fruit was still intense with a strong oak presence. Shocked at how young the wine tasted, how intense the color remained, and how lively the oak felt. Definitely put this item in the "modern" portion of Ribera's wines. Nice acidity and great balance, this wine has many years ahead of it.
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7/13/2010 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
Very monolithic, still lots of oak present, not the wine for Bordeaux lovers. I won't go for it again.
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4/17/2010 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
not as vigor as in the days of it's youth. Porcine mushrooms, lots of oak is still present, and felt like I was cheated out of the experience by not drinking it earlier. Not a good feeling.
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2/15/2010 - abunai wrote: 93 Points
base: 50 pts
color & appearance - max 5 pts: 5
aroma & bouquet - max 15 pts: 13
flavor and finish - max 20 pts: 18
overall quality & potential - max 10 pts: 7
OVERALL: 93
Followed by 2000 Numanthia. This one is much more fruit forward and well balanced. Still strong tannins.
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2/6/2010 - canan wrote: 93 Points
Aalto / Aalto PS complete vertical (HSH): Nose: Hay and barnyard with a little bit of wet leaves. Little bit of blackberry. Still a good intensity.
Taste: Very harsh tannins and a crazy acidity. Very young wine on the palate mostly tasting of blackberries. However, a bit unstructured.
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8/21/2009 - Zweder wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful and elegant, spicy bouquet. Beautiful juice. Some chocolate. Soft and ripe tannin and bitterness. Great and complex wine.
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12/27/2008 - Vino Me wrote: 95 Points
Haggis generously offered to bring this to dinner at the Beachhouse on Kauai. He and his wife bought this in Spain a few years ago. This was my favorite red wine of our vacation. Not decanted. Since this wine continued to open during the dinner some decanting would be recommended. Blackish red color. At first this wine had some slight scents of nail polish. On the palate I detected some iron/blood notes when first poured. However, this wine really opened up and showed notes of blackberry, semisweet chocolate and ripe berries. Smooth texture and a dry crisp finish that left me smacking my lips. Wonderful. 95 points.
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11/19/2008 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
Wineflock - Ribera del Duero 94-01 (Rich's): Group #1, My #3 - Full deep crisp red color. Medium full earthy black currant with a lifted note - and a slight green hint. Mmmn, nice rich electric spicy chocolate palate with good balance and structure - firm. 93-94 pts.
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11/19/2008 - Nanda wrote: 93 Points
Flock: 1994-2001 Ribera del Duero Tasting (Chicago): Bright purple color. Beautiful, youthful, full nose has toast, coffee and dark cherries. Palate is well balanced and full bodied. Firm tannins and juicy acidity compliment the mature, rich fruit. Long, full chocolaty, toasty finish. Kept getting better. My #4, Group #1.
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10/8/2008 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
aging gracefully, no rush drinking it, unless you can't resist the urge.
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6/14/2008 - sawira wrote: 94 Points
Pop and pour. This could have used a two hour decant. Awesome fragrance and taste of ripe, delicious, stewed plums, smoky mesquite and earthy tar. Bet this would be amazing with a grilled steak. Still my favorite Spanish wine. Very long and still retaining a strong, although fine and classy, tannic finish. 3 years 'til next bottle. 94+
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9/16/2007 - Serge Birbrair wrote: 94 Points
Just marvelous wine.
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8/5/2007 - slogan wrote: 96 Points
A ton of promise in this wine. I drank this with a steak, and it was much better two hours after I opened it. Alot of promise in this wine. I wish I had kept this another five years.
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7/30/2007 - Serge Birbrair wrote: 96 Points
Buy, drink, hold - perfection in the bottle
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7/21/2007 - DFC wrote: 95 Points
Audouzed for 3 hours, and then double decanted for 90 minutes. Medium to full-bodied wine that is dark purple/black in color. On the nose, dark candied cherries, lovely light barnyard/forest floor funk, and some smoke. On the palate, silky smooth, dark chococolate-covered cherries, minerals, and light toast. Simply gorgeous wine...exquisite balance, loaded with fruit, ethereal yet powerful, and closing with a stunning 40+ second finish...wow!
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3/25/2006 - buckeye76 wrote: 93 Points
RICH SPICY BERRY FRUIT IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH.
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4/29/2005 - SeaBud wrote: 95 Points
Opened first bottle last week and had only 1 hour to breath (due to thirsty friends). Could see the body underneath but not opened up yet...
Second bottle opened tonight. Double decanted for 4 hours. A very well balanced wine with solid tannins. Blueberry, vanilla and creme de cassis with some pepper (more to my wife than me). Definitely a noticable minerality on the finish. Smoke and violet on the nose. An intellectual wine (complex) that also pleases the senses. The dark fruits do not overwhelm this wine, but complement it nicely.
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2/13/2005 - stgbull wrote:
2000 Aalto "PS" (Ribera del Duero) - 97 rating ***Note*** This wine was a replacement "ringer" for the 2001 Aalto PS which had not been released in the USA at the time of this tasting.
Deeply colored. Lovely nose is open and so sexy; big, sweet black cherry fruit, vanilla, Asian spices, and tons of oak. Heavily extracted fruit on the palate with tar, earth, smoked meat, and chewy tannins. Very complex and delicious wine that brilliantly combines structure and fruit; its powerful yet silky with excellent acidity throughout. The balance of this wine is perfect and the finish is long, consistent, and persistent. Everyone in the room was mesmerized by this wine. Wow!
This is from Parker notes
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8/6/2004 - jamiekutch wrote: 94 Points
Dark purple black. Intense focused brawny attack. Forward nose with ripe dark fruit. Cassis, blueberry weighty texture. Big elegant tannins creating a harmonious perfectly balance wine. Lenghth went on for 30+ seconds. This was a winner. If all Spanish wines are this good my cellar is way under stocked. Thanks Kris
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6/14/2004 - Koods wrote: 95 Points
blue/ purple color saturated to the rim. Huge fragrant nose of roasted beef, mesquite, cherry jam. The palate was a monster! tidal waves of cherry jam attack the palate, with incredible nuances of liquid stones, distinct violet and a roasted gritty steak. This was such a large scale wine, but all balanced. So incredibly intense, i think another year in the cellar would be key, after that, the fireworks are worth experiencing. A stellar wine.
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