In an ideal drinking window. One of the best Côtes de Tablas I’ve had the privilege of tasting. Syrah adds some structure, and rivals with the best of what Côtes du Rhône can offer.
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Great and just like the 2012 and 2013 I opened earlier in the week. Medium ruby. Dark Cherry, Raspberry and Soy. Nice and juicy, well balanced with a medium finish. Fruit forward but spice, fig and mushroom on the back end. Drank over two days and stayed solid
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The 2014 and 2017 Cotes de Tablas are a delicious pair. Cellar Trackers consistently rate both wines above 90.5 points, a shade higher than other vintages of Cotes de Tablas going back to 2000.
The 2014 (after a low rainfall winter) still drinks great with a ripe lush profile and red fruits of cranberry, dark cherry, and herbal savory elements. The palate tilts toward voluptuousness but sustaining acidity and tannins (which cling without bitterness or astringency) come to the rescue. 15% abv but did not taste hot or alcoholic when drunk at 60 F. 91.
The 2017 Cotes (following a very wet winter breaking a four year stretch of drought) was rounder, more perfumed and focused, with a more subtle interplay of black and red fruit, and a suggestion of licorice. It expressed a seamlessness in its trinity of aroma, taste, and finish, like a Premier Cru from Côte de Nuits. 14.5% abv but would have guessed 13.5%. Showed best at 60 F, a little warmer than cellar temps. 92-93
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This '14 is smooth drinking with great layers of aromas and flavors. The velvety red fruit is nicely balanced with pepper and woody herb spices, which really pop on the mid-palate. The predominant Grenache and Syrah fruit in this blend overpowered our seared thinly cut pork chops, but should be great for the chimichurra flank steak at our son's wedding rehearsal dinner. We wanted to try this wine ahead of that dinner, in 8 days, albeit an earlier vintage than what we will serve, along with other wines.
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It seems every time I have a CdT with some age on it, I regret not having purchased more. This was my only bottle. Great wine.
Whereas the Esprit is meatier, earthier, this shows the Grenache in the lead (44%). Raspberry, dark cherry, dried fig, fresh bay leaf, some cooked strawberry, that pure Grenache kirsch that the best CdPs deliver, very "high toned" but at the same time dark fruit in the body, which I think is the Syrah + Mourvedre.
This was consumed over three nights with the first and second nights showing beautifully. Probably best on the second night.
The third night, having been opened a total of three days with about seven ounces remaining, the extended air caused it to put on weight, lose vibrancy, and show some cooked notes. But that's not a knock on the wine, just a foul on my part.
So a brief decant and you're read to go.
Granache 44%, Syrah 36%, Counoise 12%, Mourvedre 8% 15.0% abv without even a hint of heat
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Very dark purple color. French funk on the nose. Wonderful Rhône style. Floral/rose and dark fruit notes. Great acidity. Chewy tannins. Excellent paired with food such as Thanksgiving dinner.
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The little sister to the more opulent Esprit, this offering is a tremendous value and has a lot to offer right now. Lyrical on the palate with meaty, smoky notes joined by black fruits, wildflowers and a campfire in the distance. Didn’t need a decant, and didn’t open much more in the glass. The star of tonight’s dinner consisting of leftovers. Drink now to 2028. Worth Seeking Out.
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Aromas of spicy red fruit, undergrowth, ash...mineral notes as well. Flavours of sweet ripe red fruit...strawberries...red licorice. Medium body...quite smooth. Medium finish. Nicely balanced. Did not fair as well with the meal as the wine was quite sweet. Ready. 89+
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What a great value and drinking beautifully right now. Grenache dominant 3rd tier TCV wine. As good as many producers top line wines. It is more refined than many GSM's as the Grenache is dominant.
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Not as spectacular as two years ago with its then hyper and explosively ripe Grenache character but still has a bit of the wow factor. I saved a bit to try tomorrow. Very fleshy and with abundant tannin but smooth and went great with the Ottolenghi menu (salads and shawarma). This has less of the usual Tablas Creek restraint and elegance and more like big GSMs from other California producers. A Wine Spectator type red.
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Very dark fruit on the nose, with some graphite, bittersweet chocolate, and herbs. Thickish on the front of the palate, the acidity is well balanced, and the fruit on the jammy side. Has a nice grip mid-palate, but more from mature fruit than wood. Great stuff, but probably best suited accompanying a robust meal than sipping on its own.
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This is crinking really well right now. Grenache dominant and it really comes through. Wonderfully complex, yet still young and vibrant. Hard to do better than this.
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A very good blend. Tablas has done it again. This vintage is at the beginning of its full maturity. Very rounded flavors with depth from some darker fruit and the beautiful offset of the brighter fruit. If you like French varietals, Tablas is hard to beat.
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Quite big and rich for Tablas; full, big fruit in the mouth. Primarily dark, meaty fruit with a little red lift. Soil, touch of ash provided some savory notes. Chalky acid held things together; medium sandpaper tannin.
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Bright ruby; rich cherry stone, black raspberry and cherry cola aromas on the nose, a little coulis like, very attractive; sweet fruited entry, bags of flavour, like a supercharged Cotes du Rhone. Nice acidity and extract. Very nice indeed.
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The 2014 Cotes is a bit richer than some previous ones I have tasted with a 36% Syrah (along with 44% Grenache, 12% Couniose and 8% Mourvèdre). Always a good buy as the mid level Tablas blend.
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Great wine! Phenomenal blend of grapes that make for a fabulous wine. The spectrum of flavors is incredible. For the second to bottom line wine from TCV, an incredible wine.
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Bright Garnet. Decant and air an hour or three. Explosive and savory garrigue, dark chocolate, black cherry, dry rub smoked pork. Verges on the voluptuous. Tasted blind, like unto a Chateauneuf du Pape, much more so than the Esprit, since Grenache dominates the blend (44/36/12/8 Grenache, Syrah, Counoise, Mourvedre). Peppery, chalky, sweet, not astringent, tannin suffuses the finish. 15% abv. 2014 was a great year at Tablas.
No comparison to other Cotes de Tablas I've had. Bottled sunshine and sensuality. 4+13+17+8 Perhaps the most balanced, graceful red in the Tablas line-up this year. The Esprit and Panoplie have higher extract and intensity, with the Esprit especially muscular.
Day 2. The tannins are even better and the Grenache shines brighter.
Family Winemakers Tasting San Francisco, the best of the three tasted today, nose of black currants, plum, and licorice, same on the palate, medium/big body, fairly fruit forward, rich, juicy, and slightly sweet taste, better in 2 years, medium/long finish.
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44% Grenache, 36% Syrah, 12% Counoise, 8% Mourvedre and 15.0% alcohol this vintage.
Color: light ruby core -> diffuse, light fuchsia rim. Bouquet of strawberries, raspberries and a little light cherry cola with a touch of spice. Palate presented those strawberries and raspberries again with some fine-grained tannins married to good acid levels. Even though the Grenache has come down this vintage, this is still quite driven by that varietal. This strikes me as a very food-friendly wine, much like its Cotes-du-Rhone cousins -- and that 15% alcohol is IMO barely noticeable. Once again, very nice for the price and similar to the '13 although I think that wine may have had a touch more spice . . . .
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Enjoyed this at the winery and back home. Bright grenache fruit with subtle spice notes paired well with medium rare grilled lamb. Very well balanced and drinkable now. Quite a good wine for the price point.
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3/27/2024 - urban_dk wrote: 93 Points
In an ideal drinking window. One of the best Côtes de Tablas I’ve had the privilege of tasting. Syrah adds some structure, and rivals with the best of what Côtes du Rhône can offer.
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1/14/2024 - malvasia8796 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great and just like the 2012 and 2013 I opened earlier in the week. Medium ruby. Dark Cherry, Raspberry and Soy. Nice and juicy, well balanced with a medium finish. Fruit forward but spice, fig and mushroom on the back end. Drank over two days and stayed solid
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1/21/2023 - wilypod Likes this wine: 91 Points
The 2014 and 2017 Cotes de Tablas are a delicious pair. Cellar Trackers consistently rate both wines above 90.5 points, a shade higher than other vintages of Cotes de Tablas going back to 2000.
The 2014 (after a low rainfall winter) still drinks great with a ripe lush profile and red fruits of cranberry, dark cherry, and herbal savory elements. The palate tilts toward voluptuousness but sustaining acidity and tannins (which cling without bitterness or astringency) come to the rescue. 15% abv but did not taste hot or alcoholic when drunk at 60 F. 91.
The 2017 Cotes (following a very wet winter breaking a four year stretch of drought) was rounder, more perfumed and focused, with a more subtle interplay of black and red fruit, and a suggestion of licorice. It expressed a seamlessness in its trinity of aroma, taste, and finish, like a Premier Cru from Côte de Nuits. 14.5% abv but would have guessed 13.5%. Showed best at 60 F, a little warmer than cellar temps. 92-93
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2/6/2022 - AAW_RightWine wrote: 92 Points
Drinking beautifully... no decanting needed
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5/30/2021 - bbcc66 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Drank over 3 days. Day 3 was about as good as day 1. Tastes of lighter red fruits, cherry, and some darker fruits.
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3/25/2021 - Bob in NC Likes this wine: 91 Points
This '14 is smooth drinking with great layers of aromas and flavors. The velvety red fruit is nicely balanced with pepper and woody herb spices, which really pop on the mid-palate. The predominant Grenache and Syrah fruit in this blend overpowered our seared thinly cut pork chops, but should be great for the chimichurra flank steak at our son's wedding rehearsal dinner. We wanted to try this wine ahead of that dinner, in 8 days, albeit an earlier vintage than what we will serve, along with other wines.
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3/6/2021 - tward Likes this wine: 92 Points
It seems every time I have a CdT with some age on it, I regret not having purchased more. This was my only bottle. Great wine.
Whereas the Esprit is meatier, earthier, this shows the Grenache in the lead (44%). Raspberry, dark cherry, dried fig, fresh bay leaf, some cooked strawberry, that pure Grenache kirsch that the best CdPs deliver, very "high toned" but at the same time dark fruit in the body, which I think is the Syrah + Mourvedre.
This was consumed over three nights with the first and second nights showing beautifully. Probably best on the second night.
The third night, having been opened a total of three days with about seven ounces remaining, the extended air caused it to put on weight, lose vibrancy, and show some cooked notes. But that's not a knock on the wine, just a foul on my part.
So a brief decant and you're read to go.
Granache 44%, Syrah 36%, Counoise 12%, Mourvedre 8%
15.0% abv without even a hint of heat
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2/8/2021 - yatchisin Likes this wine: 94 Points
Hard to believe this is Tablas's third-level* blend--this was an exciting wine, complex jammy fruit but lots of spice and elegance and finish. Yum.
*As a commenter wisely pointed out, I wasn't think straight here--it's the second level blend....sorry for the mess up.
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12/1/2020 - Hodad Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very dark purple color. French funk on the nose. Wonderful Rhône style. Floral/rose and dark fruit notes. Great acidity. Chewy tannins. Excellent paired with food such as Thanksgiving dinner.
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11/1/2020 - agsdlswine wrote: 92 Points
This fine Tablas Grenache leading Rhine blend was well worth the wait. Bacon fat & smoke very noticeable. Delicious.
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10/18/2020 - jonahfactor Likes this wine:
The little sister to the more opulent Esprit, this offering is a tremendous value and has a lot to offer right now. Lyrical on the palate with meaty, smoky notes joined by black fruits, wildflowers and a campfire in the distance. Didn’t need a decant, and didn’t open much more in the glass. The star of tonight’s dinner consisting of leftovers. Drink now to 2028. Worth Seeking Out.
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5/13/2020 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 88 Points
Black fruit, blue fruit, cedar, cassis, pepper and Smokey oak. B+
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11/12/2019 - ChateauDutremble Likes this wine: 89 Points
Aromas of spicy red fruit, undergrowth, ash...mineral notes as well.
Flavours of sweet ripe red fruit...strawberries...red licorice. Medium body...quite smooth. Medium finish. Nicely balanced. Did not fair as well with the meal as the wine was quite sweet. Ready. 89+
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9/23/2019 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
What a great value and drinking beautifully right now. Grenache dominant 3rd tier TCV wine. As good as many producers top line wines. It is more refined than many GSM's as the Grenache is dominant.
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8/23/2019 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
Beautiful Grenache based GSM. Very nice for TCV third-line wine.
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6/1/2019 - wilypod Likes this wine: 90 Points
Not as spectacular as two years ago with its then hyper and explosively ripe Grenache character but still has a bit of the wow factor. I saved a bit to try tomorrow. Very fleshy and with abundant tannin but smooth and went great with the Ottolenghi menu (salads and shawarma). This has less of the usual Tablas Creek restraint and elegance and more like big GSMs from other California producers. A Wine Spectator type red.
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5/21/2019 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine is developing beautifully. For the 3rd line TCV wine, it is amazing. Too bad I only have 3 more left.
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5/10/2019 - DickMull Likes this wine: 88 Points
Very dark fruit on the nose, with some graphite, bittersweet chocolate, and herbs. Thickish on the front of the palate, the acidity is well balanced, and the fruit on the jammy side. Has a nice grip mid-palate, but more from mature fruit than wood. Great stuff, but probably best suited accompanying a robust meal than sipping on its own.
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3/31/2019 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
Not as good as the last bottle I had, but for TCV third line wine, a really fine product.
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2/17/2019 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 92 Points
Grenache shines in this blend. Very tasty and drinking really well right now. Probably would improve with age, but why wait.
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2/6/2019 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wow for their third line GSM, this drinking incredibly well now. One of the best Cotes I have ever had.
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11/29/2018 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
This is crinking really well right now. Grenache dominant and it really comes through. Wonderfully complex, yet still young and vibrant. Hard to do better than this.
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11/22/2018 - Stampeder Likes this wine: 92 Points
A very good blend. Tablas has done it again. This vintage is at the beginning of its full maturity. Very rounded flavors with depth from some darker fruit and the beautiful offset of the brighter fruit. If you like French varietals, Tablas is hard to beat.
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10/23/2018 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drinking well now. Typically great quality TCV wine.
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9/28/2018 - brinko99 wrote: 90 Points
Quite big and rich for Tablas; full, big fruit in the mouth. Primarily dark, meaty fruit with a little red lift. Soil, touch of ash provided some savory notes. Chalky acid held things together; medium sandpaper tannin.
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7/22/2018 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
one of the best TCV Cotes.
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7/13/2018 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
TCV just totally nailed the blend with this one. At this point in time, this remains the best Cotes Noir that they have ever made.
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5/28/2018 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 90 Points
Maybe an awkward stage right now. Not as good as prior bottles.
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1/28/2018 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
Fabulous for the third-line wine from this producer. Drinking really well not even without a decant.
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6/24/2017 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
Just a great wine. Great vintage. The TCV wines just get better and better each vintage, even when the vintage is not as good as the last.
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6/20/2017 - BobMilton Likes this wine: 91 Points
Grenache dominant GSM blend so a touch lighter than many. Good red fruit on the palate.
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5/25/2017 - vespasian wrote:
Bright ruby; rich cherry stone, black raspberry and cherry cola aromas on the nose, a little coulis like, very attractive; sweet fruited entry, bags of flavour, like a supercharged Cotes du Rhone. Nice acidity and extract. Very nice indeed.
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5/8/2017 - Anthonut Likes this wine: 91 Points
The 2014 Cotes is a bit richer than some previous ones I have tasted with a 36% Syrah (along with 44% Grenache, 12% Couniose and 8% Mourvèdre). Always a good buy as the mid level Tablas blend.
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5/8/2017 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lovely wine. Delicious "chewy" tannins. One of the best Cotes that TCV has ever made.
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4/7/2017 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great wine! Phenomenal blend of grapes that make for a fabulous wine. The spectrum of flavors is incredible. For the second to bottom line wine from TCV, an incredible wine.
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3/29/2017 - Hill of Grace wrote: 90 Points
nose shows pomegranate, iodine, mixed berry mouth with good acidity
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9/22/2016 - tompage wrote: 93 Points
Tastey Rhone blend, it has old world characteristics with new world fruit.
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9/16/2016 - wilypod Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bright Garnet. Decant and air an hour or three. Explosive and savory garrigue, dark chocolate, black cherry, dry rub smoked pork. Verges on the voluptuous. Tasted blind, like unto a Chateauneuf du Pape, much more so than the Esprit, since Grenache dominates the blend (44/36/12/8 Grenache, Syrah, Counoise, Mourvedre). Peppery, chalky, sweet, not astringent, tannin suffuses the finish. 15% abv. 2014 was a great year at Tablas.
No comparison to other Cotes de Tablas I've had. Bottled sunshine and sensuality. 4+13+17+8 Perhaps the most balanced, graceful red in the Tablas line-up this year. The Esprit and Panoplie have higher extract and intensity, with the Esprit especially muscular.
Day 2. The tannins are even better and the Grenache shines brighter.
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8/23/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Forward, medium bodied, fresh, easy to like and drink styled wine with a focus on spicy, fresh, red fruits.
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8/21/2016 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 91 Points
Family Winemakers Tasting San Francisco, the best of the three tasted today, nose of black currants, plum, and licorice, same on the palate, medium/big body, fairly fruit forward, rich, juicy, and slightly sweet taste, better in 2 years, medium/long finish.
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6/18/2016 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 92 Points
This was even better than my last two bottles. Just keeps getting better. A one hour decant just really nails it. Don't PnP.
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5/31/2016 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
Remarkably good wine. The Grenache dominates in a really nice way. For sure one of TCV best efforts yet.
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5/30/2016 - BVal wrote: 89 Points
44% Grenache, 36% Syrah, 12% Counoise, 8% Mourvedre and 15.0% alcohol this vintage.
Color: light ruby core -> diffuse, light fuchsia rim. Bouquet of strawberries, raspberries and a little light cherry cola with a touch of spice. Palate presented those strawberries and raspberries again with some fine-grained tannins married to good acid levels. Even though the Grenache has come down this vintage, this is still quite driven by that varietal. This strikes me as a very food-friendly wine, much like its Cotes-du-Rhone cousins -- and that 15% alcohol is IMO barely noticeable. Once again, very nice for the price and similar to the '13 although I think that wine may have had a touch more spice . . . .
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5/16/2016 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
The grenache really comes through in a very pleasant way. Great wine.
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3/23/2016 - beerenauslese Likes this wine: 92 Points
Enjoyed this at the winery and back home.
Bright grenache fruit with subtle spice notes paired well with medium rare grilled lamb. Very well balanced and drinkable now. Quite a good wine for the price point.
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