Serious stuff, this has aged nicely and was drinking with great depth and warmth. Big nose of earth and wood, dark fruits and spices. On the palate it was rich, balanced, smooth but not heavy. Its fully mature but in a place where it can easily go sideways for a few more years if stored well so no need to drink up in a particular hurry. Its nice to see this wine go the distance and come out a winner!
One note of caution: be sure to use both hands when handling or pouring this wine. Its another entry into my museum of Vitreous Excesses with this massively thick and heavy bottle topping 2 lbs! The thoughtful folks at Trapiche weren't going to let a little earth quake, military coup, meteorite or other natural disaster harm this precious juice......
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Surprisingly dark for a ten-year-old bottle, with a ruby, even slightly purple, rim without a trace of bricking. The nose begins faint, but builds over time with good mixed berries, nice baking spices, and a touch of cedar and cigar box. On the palate, this is very solid from the very first, with good fruit, a fair amount of wood, and solid but very smooth tannin. It is a touch of astringency, but that is well-balanced by solid acidity. The mouthfeel is very smooth and the finish is long and very well-balanced. Overall, this is a pretty special wine that more than justifies its $45 reported price tag. Very nice.
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This great wine is finally receding... Drank the last of a wonderful case last night. Fruit has now taken a back seat. The subtle tannins and earth tones made this a wonderful appetizer wine.
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Color: nearly opaque dark ruby -> dark ruby rim just beginning to show a little garnet. Bouquet of blueberries, plums; briary, brambly fruit reminiscent of Zinfandel. Palate showed chocolate, a little tobacco and dark, dusty black fruits. Struck me as a rustic Malbec jumped up in flashy new world clothes. Chalky tannins that did smooth out a bit over the course of 4+ hours. Fairly monolithic. Kinda like the Hulk of wines: big and brawny but not a lot to say.
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Big, bold chewy wine that needed a 3 hour decant to showcase it's depth of character. This opulent bottle with a finish that lingers on and on is still not hitting it's prime but don't hesitate to experience it now over the course of an evening. I for one will wait a few years to see how this brute matures for interest sake.
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This wine is finally entering it's prime. Remarkable velvety tannins. Beautiful and seamless integration of flavors. Served two bottles for the bride and groom table at my son's wedding. Lots of smiles!
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Opened and allowed to breath for a half hour. Excellent wine with smoky fruit and chocolate dark berries. Paired very well with applewood smoked bacon mac and cheese and prime steaks.
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Enormous bottle. Makes me vaguely feel inferior somehow. Like I am just not man enough. But in any case...
Sniffy the bottle off the cork pull made me thing the bottle was corked, which it is not. Strong coffee and coco notes to the wine, chocolate throughout the nose and palate. Palate is rather tense, lots of stuffing but very tight right now. Finish is short, but I am going to guess that is because I just opened the bottle. We shall in a couple more hours.
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First bottle slightly corky, second bottle big, rich massive and dense. Showing know sign that it is now 7 years old. Would have liked to romance the bottle a bit more but ended up just tasting.
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A brooding, contemplative modern beauty. Layered. Perfume, soap, intense black fruit, prune/plum notes. Great freshness. Elegant and smooth. Slight peppery finish, a little tang of acid. Drinking incredibly well. Excellent wine.
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Thoroughly enjoyable. Fruity with some smoky wood. Medium length, clean finish. Would buy again, and decant to see what else might develop. Just popped and poured with some steak and a friend who's a fan of Malbecs and he thoroughly enjoyed as well.
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Tasted after multiple $100+ wines and it easily held it's own. Completely dark in every aspect - color, taste profile, finish...they're all simply "black"...and delicious. I wish I could purchase more.
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(Following note was made after 28-hours in a decanter). Held a "mini tasting" with friends wherein we directly compared this Tributo to Trapiche's standard label Malbec (2008) and their reserve Malbec (2007). Upon opening, the difference between the Tributo and the other two were very subtle. But after 3 hours, the Tributo began to (finally!) open up a little and the difference became clearer. This wine is deep ruby-purple in color and rather viscous. It has a complex but subtle nose of blackberry, blueberry, cassis, mint, cedar, and smoke. Very well-structured medium-bodied palate, with spicy blackberry and blueberry replay on the finish that is balanced by pleasant tannins and noticeable acidity - almost too acidic for my taste. 30-second+ finish. In sum, this wine was more pleasantly old-world in style than I was expecting. Definitely more integrated and harmonious after a 28 hour decant. Even then it seemed like it had lots of life still in it....
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diep rood, sexy neus, uitbundig, kersenfruit en mooie vanille, smaak is krachtig en vloeiend, modern maar wel met inhoud, warme wijn die indruk maakt en ook heel goed drinkbaar blijft, lekker
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4/11/2016 - UpfromtheCellar wrote: 91 Points
Serious stuff, this has aged nicely and was drinking with great depth and warmth. Big nose of earth and wood, dark fruits and spices. On the palate it was rich, balanced, smooth but not heavy. Its fully mature but in a place where it can easily go sideways for a few more years if stored well so no need to drink up in a particular hurry. Its nice to see this wine go the distance and come out a winner!
One note of caution: be sure to use both hands when handling or pouring this wine. Its another entry into my museum of Vitreous Excesses with this massively thick and heavy bottle topping 2 lbs! The thoughtful folks at Trapiche weren't going to let a little earth quake, military coup, meteorite or other natural disaster harm this precious juice......
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2/15/2014 - Phredd Likes this wine: 93 Points
Surprisingly dark for a ten-year-old bottle, with a ruby, even slightly purple, rim without a trace of bricking. The nose begins faint, but builds over time with good mixed berries, nice baking spices, and a touch of cedar and cigar box. On the palate, this is very solid from the very first, with good fruit, a fair amount of wood, and solid but very smooth tannin. It is a touch of astringency, but that is well-balanced by solid acidity. The mouthfeel is very smooth and the finish is long and very well-balanced. Overall, this is a pretty special wine that more than justifies its $45 reported price tag. Very nice.
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10/13/2013 - drmarc61 wrote: 91 Points
This great wine is finally receding... Drank the last of a wonderful case last night. Fruit has now taken a back seat. The subtle tannins and earth tones made this a wonderful appetizer wine.
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4/4/2013 - BVal wrote: 90 Points
Color: nearly opaque dark ruby -> dark ruby rim just beginning to show a little garnet. Bouquet of blueberries, plums; briary, brambly fruit reminiscent of Zinfandel. Palate showed chocolate, a little tobacco and dark, dusty black fruits. Struck me as a rustic Malbec jumped up in flashy new world clothes. Chalky tannins that did smooth out a bit over the course of 4+ hours. Fairly monolithic. Kinda like the Hulk of wines: big and brawny but not a lot to say.
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3/3/2012 - Al-Vino wrote: 91 Points
Big, bold chewy wine that needed a 3 hour decant to showcase it's depth of character. This opulent bottle with a finish that lingers on and on is still not hitting it's prime but don't hesitate to experience it now over the course of an evening. I for one will wait a few years to see how this brute matures for interest sake.
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10/12/2011 - drmarc61 wrote: 96 Points
This wine is finally entering it's prime. Remarkable velvety tannins. Beautiful and seamless integration of flavors. Served two bottles for the bride and groom table at my son's wedding. Lots of smiles!
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7/9/2011 - Bak wrote: 93 Points
Fantastisk malbec som lige er som den skal være. god syre, fin frugt og lang eftersmag.
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3/26/2011 - scottmlew wrote: 90 Points
Opened and allowed to breath for a half hour. Excellent wine with smoky fruit and chocolate dark berries. Paired very well with applewood smoked bacon mac and cheese and prime steaks.
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10/9/2010 - lumpyelbow wrote: 91 Points
Similar impressions to last bottle. Brenda was fanatical about this. DON'T TOUCH HER GLASS!! Seemingly lots of life left.
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9/8/2010 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
It may be corked.
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7/13/2010 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Enormous bottle. Makes me vaguely feel inferior somehow. Like I am just not man enough. But in any case...
Sniffy the bottle off the cork pull made me thing the bottle was corked, which it is not. Strong coffee and coco notes to the wine, chocolate throughout the nose and palate. Palate is rather tense, lots of stuffing but very tight right now. Finish is short, but I am going to guess that is because I just opened the bottle. We shall in a couple more hours.
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7/13/2010 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
First bottle slightly corky, second bottle big, rich massive and dense. Showing know sign that it is now 7 years old. Would have liked to romance the bottle a bit more but ended up just tasting.
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4/28/2010 - lumpyelbow wrote: 92 Points
A brooding, contemplative modern beauty. Layered. Perfume, soap, intense black fruit, prune/plum notes. Great freshness. Elegant and smooth. Slight peppery finish, a little tang of acid. Drinking incredibly well. Excellent wine.
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11/3/2009 - DataSquid wrote: 92 Points
Thoroughly enjoyable. Fruity with some smoky wood. Medium length, clean finish. Would buy again, and decant to see what else might develop. Just popped and poured with some steak and a friend who's a fan of Malbecs and he thoroughly enjoyed as well.
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10/18/2009 - Philly NQ King wrote: 94 Points
Tasted after multiple $100+ wines and it easily held it's own. Completely dark in every aspect - color, taste profile, finish...they're all simply "black"...and delicious. I wish I could purchase more.
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7/23/2009 - true-blue wrote: 92 Points
(Following note was made after 28-hours in a decanter). Held a "mini tasting" with friends wherein we directly compared this Tributo to Trapiche's standard label Malbec (2008) and their reserve Malbec (2007). Upon opening, the difference between the Tributo and the other two were very subtle. But after 3 hours, the Tributo began to (finally!) open up a little and the difference became clearer. This wine is deep ruby-purple in color and rather viscous. It has a complex but subtle nose of blackberry, blueberry, cassis, mint, cedar, and smoke. Very well-structured medium-bodied palate, with spicy blackberry and blueberry replay on the finish that is balanced by pleasant tannins and noticeable acidity - almost too acidic for my taste. 30-second+ finish. In sum, this wine was more pleasantly old-world in style than I was expecting. Definitely more integrated and harmonious after a 28 hour decant. Even then it seemed like it had lots of life still in it....
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11/28/2008 - Biglama wrote: 92 Points
diep rood, sexy neus, uitbundig, kersenfruit en mooie vanille, smaak is krachtig en vloeiend, modern maar wel met inhoud, warme wijn die indruk maakt en ook heel goed drinkbaar blijft, lekker
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