This is showing great now. The profile is a little thin and limited but everything is in its place. An amazing wine for the silly low price of about $17.
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After 9 bottles, the verdict is in. This just isn't very good and isn't going to improve. Tart, sour fruit, bitter notes, imbalanced (too much fruit, not enough structure), and not very tasty in its flavor profile. Pass.
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Consistent. Not at the level of the 09. Bright red fruits and a sour or bitter note that bugs me, like unripe stem inclusion or maybe some unripe berries. Tighter and brighter, so maybe some upside, but is it worth it? No degradation over three or even four nights so maybe.......
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Deepening? This seems better than last bottles, and may be starting to hit its stride. Still not as deep, juicy, sweet ripe fruited and absolutely delicious as the 09 in its heyday, but may be getting closer.... Shows more creaminess, and less tartness, to the fruit, which seems to be deepening.
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Better than last couple of bottles, this needs air. I'm getting to know this wine. Creamy red fruits, which are tart at first, then settle in to something luscious and delicious - the tart red unripe fruit deepening into more black and purple, with a nice dollop of tasty oak. A little heat on the finish as it warms. Give these another 6 months, then they'll be ready to go.
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Young. This has significantly less new oak than the 09. It's also lighter bodied, which I can understand the choice of oak regimen. Usually I'm on the more feminine, lighter, less extracted side of things, but here I greatly prefer the 09, on of our favorite house reds of all time. This has crunchy bright red fruits, but is a bit underripe, sour and just plain uninteresting. Not much depth of flavor. Maybe this will develop in bottle, but we'll see. Maybe I have too high of an expectation for this wine, given the 09 which was the QPR of all time.
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Side by side with the 09. Distinctly more sour fruit and cool vintage oriented. While the 09 is fat and sassy, robust, big, ripe and super tasty, this is more reserved, red fruited (as opposed to black and purple), detailed, and with maybe more upside. This develops in glass the way the 09 never did. (Of course, the 09 was already 'there'.) They both have the same oak regimen on the nose. I was uncertain about this the first time I had it, and over grilled buffalo strip steaks the wife and I agreed that this has potential to match the 09. Not necessarily outdo it, and certainly different, but this may be a new rendition of our house red. We decided to wait a year and see what this looks like then, when our stocks of 09 are gone. This wine is a serious QPR and flies under the radar. Potential yum down the road. Fun 09 vs 10 European vintage comparison - we look forward to many more across the continent over time. 88pts, maybe a couple pts upside over the next couple years.
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On second visitation, I'm not sure I like this better than the 09. This wines strength is in it's immediate, upfront, deep lusciousness. The 09 has more of that. This 10 is representative of the vintage, is brighter, more structured, defined and has more potential, and I usually like all these attributes way more that brash ripe deliciousness. But in this case, I think the 09 fits better with the style of this particular house. This crianza is not an ager, so why try to be? In every other region give me 10 over 09, but in Spain, (and in Beaujolais) I'll take 09, at least for the lesser crus.
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Maybe even better than the 09, which is saying something. Same oak regimen, and great Tempranillo fruit, which absolutely works for me. Interesting how the 09 and 10 vintages across Europe are consistent, from north to south - 09 lush , rich, deep and forward, 10 pure, bright, nuanced, delineated, with great aging potential. Gimme 09 for now, and 10 in a decade. :)
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12/5/2019 - MD Winery wrote:
Really beautiful for $16
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4/21/2019 - John McCabe wrote: 91 Points
Similar to previous notes. Very expressive and balanced, showing great now.
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1/3/2019 - John McCabe wrote: 91 Points
Similar to previous notes. Crowd-pleaser.
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6/30/2017 - John McCabe wrote: 91 Points
This is showing great now. The profile is a little thin and limited but everything is in its place. An amazing wine for the silly low price of about $17.
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6/15/2017 - elblufer wrote: flawed
Sadly, corked or turned (not sure which)
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12/12/2015 - slippytoad Likes this wine: 91 Points
Elegant wine. Smooth mouthfeel.
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10/27/2015 - sawira wrote:
After 9 bottles, the verdict is in. This just isn't very good and isn't going to improve. Tart, sour fruit, bitter notes, imbalanced (too much fruit, not enough structure), and not very tasty in its flavor profile. Pass.
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10/7/2015 - sawira wrote: 86 Points
Consistent. Not at the level of the 09. Bright red fruits and a sour or bitter note that bugs me, like unripe stem inclusion or maybe some unripe berries. Tighter and brighter, so maybe some upside, but is it worth it? No degradation over three or even four nights so maybe.......
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9/10/2015 - sawira wrote: 88 Points
Just a bit clunky still, but I enjoyed this bottle more than some in the past.
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8/29/2015 - sawira wrote: 88 Points
Deepening? This seems better than last bottles, and may be starting to hit its stride. Still not as deep, juicy, sweet ripe fruited and absolutely delicious as the 09 in its heyday, but may be getting closer.... Shows more creaminess, and less tartness, to the fruit, which seems to be deepening.
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8/9/2015 - sawira wrote: 88 Points
Better than last couple of bottles, this needs air. I'm getting to know this wine. Creamy red fruits, which are tart at first, then settle in to something luscious and delicious - the tart red unripe fruit deepening into more black and purple, with a nice dollop of tasty oak. A little heat on the finish as it warms. Give these another 6 months, then they'll be ready to go.
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6/29/2015 - sawira wrote: 84 Points
Young. This has significantly less new oak than the 09. It's also lighter bodied, which I can understand the choice of oak regimen. Usually I'm on the more feminine, lighter, less extracted side of things, but here I greatly prefer the 09, on of our favorite house reds of all time. This has crunchy bright red fruits, but is a bit underripe, sour and just plain uninteresting. Not much depth of flavor. Maybe this will develop in bottle, but we'll see. Maybe I have too high of an expectation for this wine, given the 09 which was the QPR of all time.
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1/23/2015 - sawira wrote: 88 Points
Side by side with the 09. Distinctly more sour fruit and cool vintage oriented. While the 09 is fat and sassy, robust, big, ripe and super tasty, this is more reserved, red fruited (as opposed to black and purple), detailed, and with maybe more upside. This develops in glass the way the 09 never did. (Of course, the 09 was already 'there'.) They both have the same oak regimen on the nose. I was uncertain about this the first time I had it, and over grilled buffalo strip steaks the wife and I agreed that this has potential to match the 09. Not necessarily outdo it, and certainly different, but this may be a new rendition of our house red. We decided to wait a year and see what this looks like then, when our stocks of 09 are gone. This wine is a serious QPR and flies under the radar. Potential yum down the road. Fun 09 vs 10 European vintage comparison - we look forward to many more across the continent over time. 88pts, maybe a couple pts upside over the next couple years.
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10/25/2014 - yofog wrote:
Some really attractive spice and meat notes, this is quite tannic, approaching coarseness and a bit disjointed. Ok.
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10/6/2014 - sawira wrote: 88 Points
On second visitation, I'm not sure I like this better than the 09. This wines strength is in it's immediate, upfront, deep lusciousness. The 09 has more of that. This 10 is representative of the vintage, is brighter, more structured, defined and has more potential, and I usually like all these attributes way more that brash ripe deliciousness. But in this case, I think the 09 fits better with the style of this particular house. This crianza is not an ager, so why try to be? In every other region give me 10 over 09, but in Spain, (and in Beaujolais) I'll take 09, at least for the lesser crus.
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9/27/2014 - sawira wrote: 90 Points
Maybe even better than the 09, which is saying something. Same oak regimen, and great Tempranillo fruit, which absolutely works for me. Interesting how the 09 and 10 vintages across Europe are consistent, from north to south - 09 lush , rich, deep and forward, 10 pure, bright, nuanced, delineated, with great aging potential. Gimme 09 for now, and 10 in a decade. :)
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