A little surprised at the quietness of the nose- cherries, dark chocolate. Open, expansive black cherry, mesquite. Continues to open the longer it swirls in the glass. Ready to drink.
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Fully mature. Brown at the edge. Plenty of mature fruit, dark cherries, smoky and rustic with smooth tannins. A great glass, but time to drink up. Tasted of Madeira at first, but that blew off with an hour in a decanter. This needs a decant. It develops in the glass for hours.
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A hint of bricking at the edge. Needs a decant, maybe 30 minutes. Tastes of lush and aggressive black cherries, saturated flavors of tar, dark fruits, and licorice on the finish. This is a lusty wine with balance and great length. Still showing the warmth of ripe tannins. A terrific glass from Rioja. Drink now through 2026.
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This really needs a decant to open up. One hour minimum, 1.5 preferred. Berries and cherries on the nose. On the palate, juicy cherries, soft blue berries, crushed rocks, licorice, with a hint of mocha and fine tannins. Fresh with great length. A wonderful wine.
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Medium to full bodied mature wine with plenty of fruit and balance. Easy to drink. No sign of bricking.
The next day this wine was bursting with saturated cherry cola in a warm, sappy liquor. Full bodied and viscous, it is a different wine. Decant for hours.
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Red cherry on the eye with just a hint of a brownish hue. We allowed her to enter the world for nearly 3 hours before sipping our first glass. She was ready to rumba and continued to impress over the next 3 hours. Slightly floral, fresh berries with some vanilla and leather on the nose. Full-bodied with subtle, elegant tannins. An "iron fist in a velvet glove" sort of Tempranillo. We like being smacked about by this light heavyweight :-). A very, very nice drop!!!
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Red cherry visual. Let breathe in the bottle for nearly two hours before sipping our first glass. It was ready and continued to improve over the next two hours. Slightly floral, fresh berry with some vanilla and leather on the nose. Full-bodied with subtle, elegant tannins. An "iron fist in a velvet glove" sort of Tempranillo. We like being smacked about by this light heavyweight :-). A very, very nice drop!!!
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A nice Rioja with decent length and depth, but lacking in complexity and not as smooth as a 15 year old wine should be. This hasn't gained much through the aging process, and most likely isn't going anywhere. Drink up, no reason to cellar any longer.
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Purple garnet in color, appearing young. Throwing sediment now. Ripe, smooth tannins, some spice, fruit, medium bodied. Not very engaging but balanced and well made if ultimately uninteresting. Where is the complexity?
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No sign of bricking, garnet from edge to edge. Not much going on with this wine. Seems like there is plenty of fruit, but it does not show. Decanting it and allowing it to breathe for an hour brings out some flavors, but still there isn't much there. Light bodied, balanced.
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Pre- Xmas lunch (El Recó restaurant (Sant Climent, Barcelona)): Dark color, garnet rim. A bit shy on nose, as probably didn't have enough aireation time. Some subtle ripe black fruit, cinnamon. On palate is medium bodied, smooth, velvety, elegant, some bitterness, still quite acidity, medium finish. Palate, though thin, is good. A wine that didn't thrill at all, but a good example of a good producer getting an acceptable wine in a bad vintage. On the downhill (90-91).
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Not much here. Spanish dinner with a variety of not always wine-friendly tapas. A monolithic wine that has too much wood influence and no character. It seems like an effort aimed at making an annonymous, concentrated, red wine- it is successful in that regard. Too many of these newer Spanish wines are like this one in that they are concentrated, aggressively oaked and offer a big mouth full of something on release. My experiences to date (perhaps limited by some standards) have shown that these wines age poorly. You can keep it for a longer time, but I doubt that this will become a good wine.
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Spanish Gems from World Class Producers (Caveau): Opaque and dark red. Dark plums and cokish lifted by glycerin and gun flint. Big black berries and plums that are almost simple yet so good. It’s like having a bowl of porridge when sick. Purity of flavours are comforting.
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Spanish Gems from World Class Producers (Caveau, Singapore): I preferred this when tasted next to the more expensive 1999, but everyone else seemed to prefer the later. The wine had a surprisingly young hue - deep, dark purple at the core. Really nice nose. Sweeter and more rounded than the 1999, it showed a hint of glycerin, but lots of pleasant little red and black fruits, intermingled with a flowery scents. After time, a pruney accent and some pepper notes came to the fore. Like the 1999, there was some heat on the palate, but I found less of it here. Sweet, plummy notes dominated, with dry woody scents adding interest. Very rich and nicely balanced with bright acid and firmish underlying tannins. Much longer finish than the 1999 here, very long and satisfying. It is certainly less developed and more primary than the 1999 at this point, but with a gentler and slightly finer-boned structure. I would be interested to see how these two stack-up against each other five years down the road.
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Contrary to Marc's note --- I found this aromatically tight and not giving up much on the nose. The palate was also tightly wound but showed full bodied, round dark fruits. Spice and earth intermixed, but this will likely show better in 5+ years. I like the potential.
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12/27/2020 - Doc90 wrote: 91 Points
A little surprised at the quietness of the nose- cherries, dark chocolate. Open, expansive black cherry, mesquite. Continues to open the longer it swirls in the glass. Ready to drink.
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12/12/2020 - Lipsman wrote: 95 Points
Fully mature. Brown at the edge. Plenty of mature fruit, dark cherries, smoky and rustic with smooth tannins. A great glass, but time to drink up. Tasted of Madeira at first, but that blew off with an hour in a decanter. This needs a decant. It develops in the glass for hours.
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1/24/2020 - Paul D wrote: flawed
From Magnum. Corked.
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7/1/2018 - Lipsman Likes this wine: 95 Points
A hint of bricking at the edge. Needs a decant, maybe 30 minutes. Tastes of lush and aggressive black cherries, saturated flavors of tar, dark fruits, and licorice on the finish. This is a lusty wine with balance and great length. Still showing the warmth of ripe tannins. A terrific glass from Rioja. Drink now through 2026.
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5/8/2017 - Lipsman Likes this wine: 94 Points
This really needs a decant to open up. One hour minimum, 1.5 preferred. Berries and cherries on the nose. On the palate, juicy cherries, soft blue berries, crushed rocks, licorice, with a hint of mocha and fine tannins. Fresh with great length. A wonderful wine.
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1/12/2017 - Lipsman wrote: 95 Points
Medium to full bodied mature wine with plenty of fruit and balance. Easy to drink. No sign of bricking.
The next day this wine was bursting with saturated cherry cola in a warm, sappy liquor. Full bodied and viscous, it is a different wine. Decant for hours.
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8/4/2016 - BuzzzzOff Likes this wine: 92 Points
Red cherry on the eye with just a hint of a brownish hue. We allowed her to enter the world for nearly 3 hours before sipping our first glass. She was ready to rumba and continued to impress over the next 3 hours. Slightly floral, fresh berries with some vanilla and leather on the nose. Full-bodied with subtle, elegant tannins. An "iron fist in a velvet glove" sort of Tempranillo. We like being smacked about by this light heavyweight :-). A very, very nice drop!!!
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8/17/2015 - BuzzzzOff Likes this wine: 91 Points
Red cherry visual. Let breathe in the bottle for nearly two hours before sipping our first glass. It was ready and continued to improve over the next two hours. Slightly floral, fresh berry with some vanilla and leather on the nose. Full-bodied with subtle, elegant tannins. An "iron fist in a velvet glove" sort of Tempranillo. We like being smacked about by this light heavyweight :-). A very, very nice drop!!!
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3/8/2015 - Lipsman wrote: 88 Points
A nice Rioja with decent length and depth, but lacking in complexity and not as smooth as a 15 year old wine should be. This hasn't gained much through the aging process, and most likely isn't going anywhere. Drink up, no reason to cellar any longer.
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10/3/2014 - KenPlace wrote: 93 Points
Outstanding wine. Great complex nose and an equally complex palate. PnP. Dense, long, balanced. Great wine.
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11/20/2013 - Stefan75 wrote: 90 Points
A bit alcoholic, will not develop further, not worth the price
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7/6/2013 - Lipsman wrote: 89 Points
Purple garnet in color, appearing young. Throwing sediment now. Ripe, smooth tannins, some spice, fruit, medium bodied. Not very engaging but balanced and well made if ultimately uninteresting. Where is the complexity?
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3/8/2013 - Stefan75 wrote: 90 Points
a lot of red fruit, almost a bit sweet, charming but not really elegant
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9/24/2012 - Stefan75 wrote: 90 Points
still needs some air, very good typical tempranillo from Rioja
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3/31/2012 - smenzies wrote: 91 Points
Lovely pepper palate with fruit...the nose consistant with the palate..decanted over 2.5hrs...i would like to see this in 5 yrs time
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2/26/2012 - Lipsman wrote: 88 Points
No sign of bricking, garnet from edge to edge. Not much going on with this wine. Seems like there is plenty of fruit, but it does not show. Decanting it and allowing it to breathe for an hour brings out some flavors, but still there isn't much there. Light bodied, balanced.
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12/8/2011 - Periko wrote: 90 Points
Pre- Xmas lunch (El Recó restaurant (Sant Climent, Barcelona)): Dark color, garnet rim. A bit shy on nose, as probably didn't have enough aireation time. Some subtle ripe black fruit, cinnamon. On palate is medium bodied, smooth, velvety, elegant, some bitterness, still quite acidity, medium finish. Palate, though thin, is good. A wine that didn't thrill at all, but a good example of a good producer getting an acceptable wine in a bad vintage. On the downhill (90-91).
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6/1/2009 - vindictive wrote:
Not much here. Spanish dinner with a variety of not always wine-friendly tapas. A monolithic wine that has too much wood influence and no character. It seems like an effort aimed at making an annonymous, concentrated, red wine- it is successful in that regard. Too many of these newer Spanish wines are like this one in that they are concentrated, aggressively oaked and offer a big mouth full of something on release. My experiences to date (perhaps limited by some standards) have shown that these wines age poorly. You can keep it for a longer time, but I doubt that this will become a good wine.
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8/25/2008 - Alex H wrote: 87 Points
Spanish Gems from World Class Producers (Caveau): Opaque and dark red. Dark plums and cokish lifted by glycerin and gun flint. Big black berries and plums that are almost simple yet so good. It’s like having a bowl of porridge when sick. Purity of flavours are comforting.
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8/16/2008 - Paul S wrote: 93 Points
Spanish Gems from World Class Producers (Caveau, Singapore): I preferred this when tasted next to the more expensive 1999, but everyone else seemed to prefer the later. The wine had a surprisingly young hue - deep, dark purple at the core. Really nice nose. Sweeter and more rounded than the 1999, it showed a hint of glycerin, but lots of pleasant little red and black fruits, intermingled with a flowery scents. After time, a pruney accent and some pepper notes came to the fore. Like the 1999, there was some heat on the palate, but I found less of it here. Sweet, plummy notes dominated, with dry woody scents adding interest. Very rich and nicely balanced with bright acid and firmish underlying tannins. Much longer finish than the 1999 here, very long and satisfying. It is certainly less developed and more primary than the 1999 at this point, but with a gentler and slightly finer-boned structure. I would be interested to see how these two stack-up against each other five years down the road.
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10/12/2007 - Nanda wrote:
Contrary to Marc's note --- I found this aromatically tight and not giving up much on the nose. The palate was also tightly wound but showed full bodied, round dark fruits. Spice and earth intermixed, but this will likely show better in 5+ years. I like the potential.
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10/12/2007 - randomly wrote: 88 Points
aromatically complex with tar, dark cherries and gravel, but very tight otherwise... hold.
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