Similar notes as our last tasting in March 2020 Still several years left in the bottle. Rich, concentrated fruit in the nose and flavor. Black cherries, blackberries, chocolate, licorice, and hints of mint and floral. A full bodied wine, well balanced with nice acidity and complexity, and a long lingering finish.
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Fantastic wine. Fully mature and will hold at this excellent level for many years. Cedar, graphite. Similar to an aged left bank Bordeaux. Just lovely.
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Fantastic, drinking really well after an hour of slow ox. Developed nose of mushroom and smoke. Well integrated oak, lovely black fruit and mineral on the palate with a saline touch that compliments the savoury. Good concentration, complexe and long. Can develop further in the cellar but lovely now. Paired very well with beef Wellington.
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Still several years left in the bottle. Concentrated fruit, black cherries, blackberries, mocha, licorice, and minerals in the nose and flavor. A full bodied wine with nice acidity and complexity, well balanced, and a long finish.
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This bottle was stellar, far better than the one I had a year ago. Nicely extracted, spicy tannins, sweet sweet cherry fruit, and long juicy finish. Still has plenty of stuffing and structure to go many more years.
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Deep maroon and clear in the glass with no orange hues. Fairly subdued and fruit-forward nose with bright cherry, blackberry, violets, Asian spice, and vanilla. Similar notes on the palate with some faint eucalyptus. Mouth watering acidity, round tannins, and appropriate alcohol. 10 yrs too young...
This bottle was surprising in a couple of ways. First, it didn't show any signs of being 18 yrs old. Blind, my guess would have been 2008-2010. Also, as others have noticed (albeit with other vintages), the wine presented more characteristics of a Bdx (I think Merlot based) than of a Rioja. On the palate, there was some tell-tale eucalyptus, but, blind, I'm embarasssed to admit that I probably would have guessed Merlot - based Bdx.
At any rate, a compelling wine of outstanding quality and, therefore: 94-95pts.
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Terrific showing for a great wine. Very rich, mature fruit with smooth tannins. Long finish. Deep burgundy color. Few signs of age,but in a great place for drinking now.
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So well balanced - bright fruit, hints of earth, moderate alcohol - outstanding drinkability. The bottle just disappeared. Was a bit mondovino in that it didn't seem to represent Spain as much as a stylized way of making really good wine from classic varietals that can also be found in the super tuscans and others.
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Tasted blind. Menthol on the nose. Packs quite a punch of flavor on the front end with notes of camphor and dark fruit, but then the flavor gets a little murky on the finish. I got the impression this is going through a bad phase. Well-integrated tannins though.
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Tasted double blind. Raspberry, rhubarb, cranberry nose. Silky texture, some juiciness, berry palate. Pleasant enough, but really lacking intrigue. Disappointed upon the reveal, I would hope for a lot more from Artadi, though they often seem to make Riojas which stray from the traditional path.
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Tasted quadruple blind. Good, yet simple, though conditions weren't perfect. Definitely a bit of a letdown considering the price and other reviews. Maybe there was something off about this bottle, but I hate to make apologies for it when it should have easily been a contender. Maybe try an extended decant next time to try to stir some life into it? Drink up.
Medium dark ruby. Nose of black cherry. Medium body and elegant with flavors of blackberry, graphite, and coffee. Long structured inish with smooth tannins ample acidity and fresh tart fruit.
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Very pretty nose of flowers, sweet black fruits, a little earth and minerals. Rich but pure black fruits, beautiful spices, earth and minerals. Great concentration and purity and a 30+ second finish. WOTN over 75 LCC, 96 Calon-Segur, 07 Saxum James Berry, 05 Crystal. 95 points
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Day 1 PnP- smoke, charcoal, plums, blackberry, lavender. Very ripe, yet still fresh with no heat, full-body, but not heavy in the mouth. Concentrated, with a long black fruit and mineral filled finish. Few tannins. Surprisingly, showed best with less oak and more fruit on day 3. Some stewed fruit aromas. Drink now or hold for 3-5 yrs.
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Deep ruby color, floral bouquet with a bit of spice/earthiness. The wine is drinking really nicely, with good fruit, some oak, a bit of tannins that are quite smooth and a long pleasant finish.
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From a magnum bought on release and cellared since then. Not decanted. What a great wine this is! Initially a bit tight, this wine blossomed into a beauty after 45 minutes of been open. Intensely fruity, with attractive smokiness and cigar ash notes. Tannin has smoothed out with 13 years in bottle, and the length is remarkable. Acidity and oak are in check. Everything has come together for this bottle. Highly recommendable.
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what a surprise! this one has turned into a really nice wine. Solid personality with realy fantastic masculine aromas. Tannins still need time to soften further, but in a few years this one will glow. For once I am happy I have more!
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Just a classic, delicious bottle of Spanish wine. Deep red color. Earth, cigar, cherry, and tar. This will stand up well with any Cab or Bordeaux and is aging beautifully. Every time I open this wine I am sure it will be great. Drinking beautifully and long life ahead.
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Served room temperature with no decant. Dark color and solid fruit, although again I would not pick for Rioja given the big fruit and spice on the nose. Nice wine, but lacks the finish of a great one. A-
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Better than my last bottle. Again very ribe fruit. Not very Rioja, but again nor overly jammy. Just right. Black-currant, liqourice, marzipan and nail paint remover said my daughter... Indeed a very good vine. This bottle showed that there is still years to enjoy in this wine
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Beautifull red color, maybe turning slightly brown in the edges. Wonderfull nose and taste of ribe fruit, tobacco, spices, acetone, marzipan. medium aftertaste. This one has topped. But still a wonderful glass. Not very typically Rioja. Little too jammy and too little terroir.
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Really excellent right now, and ready to be enjoyed. I would not hold off any longer - 10 years was all it needed. Lovely profile with solid concentration and balance. Big in the mouth with a good finish. Not the most complex of wines, but enjoyable and tasty. Good stuff! .. btw, way better than the 96 El Pison right now. way way better!
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Outstanding. A bit musty upon first opening but that quickly blew off after a few moments. Dark brick color and complex berry and cedar flavors with smooth tannens. This was drinking absolutely beautifully at this point.
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This was a fantastic bottle of wine. The nose was explosive from the minute the bottle was open. 2nd bottle from a case, and its hit a very nice drinking window. Go ahead and feel free to open this if you have it, but no hurry, as its likely to have another 10 years easily. Every person at dinner liked this a lot.
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(From Magnum). This wine was unusually dark for a Rioja with 8 years of age. For the first hour, the nose on this wine was completely shut down, offering hints of fruit but not much more. Towards the end of the night, the nose started to open up, offering a strong black fruit aroma and a distinctive smokiness. In the palate, the wine was medium to full bodied, with unobtrussive tannin and with lower acidity than you find in most Riojas. With the reticent nose of the first hour, you could have picked this wine to be from anywhere (except perhaps Australia). It is a shame I didn't decant this well in advance. The drinking experience would have been greatly enhanced, as towards the end, a very attractive wine was shaping up. Note to self: don't open another one of these magnums for 3-5 more years.
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My first thought as I smelled this wine was "Halleleujah, a Spanish wine not dominated by oak!". Alas, this was not the final impression. Medium ruby with lightening edges, this wine was at its best for me within a half hour of opening the bottle. At that point, it showed nice black fruits, good body to buffer the acidity, and a nice tobacco-like hint that reminded me of Graves. Over time, though, a green, cedary component emerged and took control of the wine, making the finish quite astringent and robbing it of the flesh it had displayed earlier. If you enjoy a lean style of Temparanillo, you will probably enjoy this rapid evolution to the final result more than I did. If not, I'd advise drinking it right out of the bottle without a lot of air time to capture the fruit.
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from memory with dinner last night. dark red. big nose of fruit, spice, earth - some heat. big wine, that feels tuscan at times, and CDP like at times. good with food. i would not pick as a rioja, but like it and look forward to its evolution. B+
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5/5/2022 - buckeye76 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Similar notes as our last tasting in March 2020 Still several years left in the bottle. Rich, concentrated fruit in the nose and flavor. Black cherries, blackberries, chocolate, licorice, and hints of mint and floral. A full bodied wine, well balanced with nice acidity and complexity, and a long lingering finish.
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1/21/2022 - SparkyMI Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fantastic wine. Fully mature and will hold at this excellent level for many years.
Cedar, graphite. Similar to an aged left bank Bordeaux.
Just lovely.
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5/10/2021 - wardamnwine wrote: 94 Points
Lovely wine in stride!
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9/22/2020 - Yassine23 Likes this wine:
Fantastic, drinking really well after an hour of slow ox. Developed nose of mushroom and smoke. Well integrated oak, lovely black fruit and mineral on the palate with a saline touch that compliments the savoury. Good concentration, complexe and long. Can develop further in the cellar but lovely now. Paired very well with beef Wellington.
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3/5/2020 - buckeye76 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still several years left in the bottle. Concentrated fruit, black cherries, blackberries, mocha, licorice, and minerals in the nose and flavor. A full bodied wine with nice acidity and complexity, well balanced, and a long finish.
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12/26/2017 - BradE wrote:
Sound bottle, and drank well. But interestingly I liked this wine better ten years ago.
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8/19/2016 - robmatic wrote: 92 Points
This bottle was stellar, far better than the one I had a year ago. Nicely extracted, spicy tannins, sweet sweet cherry fruit, and long juicy finish. Still has plenty of stuffing and structure to go many more years.
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5/15/2016 - texanoblues Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep maroon and clear in the glass with no orange hues. Fairly subdued and fruit-forward nose with bright cherry, blackberry, violets, Asian spice, and vanilla. Similar notes on the palate with some faint eucalyptus. Mouth watering acidity, round tannins, and appropriate alcohol. 10 yrs too young...
This bottle was surprising in a couple of ways. First, it didn't show any signs of being 18 yrs old. Blind, my guess would have been 2008-2010. Also, as others have noticed (albeit with other vintages), the wine presented more characteristics of a Bdx (I think Merlot based) than of a Rioja. On the palate, there was some tell-tale eucalyptus, but, blind, I'm embarasssed to admit that I probably would have guessed Merlot - based Bdx.
At any rate, a compelling wine of outstanding quality and, therefore: 94-95pts.
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9/23/2015 - SteelerFan wrote: 94 Points
Terrific showing for a great wine. Very rich, mature fruit with smooth tannins. Long finish. Deep burgundy color. Few signs of age,but in a great place for drinking now.
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8/3/2015 - FLI Likes this wine: 93 Points
So well balanced - bright fruit, hints of earth, moderate alcohol - outstanding drinkability. The bottle just disappeared. Was a bit mondovino in that it didn't seem to represent Spain as much as a stylized way of making really good wine from classic varietals that can also be found in the super tuscans and others.
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8/2/2015 - Doc90 wrote: 89 Points
Tasted blind. Menthol on the nose. Packs quite a punch of flavor on the front end with notes of camphor and dark fruit, but then the flavor gets a little murky on the finish. I got the impression this is going through a bad phase. Well-integrated tannins though.
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8/2/2015 - andtheodor wrote: 88 Points
Tasted double blind. Raspberry, rhubarb, cranberry nose. Silky texture, some juiciness, berry palate. Pleasant enough, but really lacking intrigue. Disappointed upon the reveal, I would hope for a lot more from Artadi, though they often seem to make Riojas which stray from the traditional path.
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8/1/2015 - robmatic wrote: 88 Points
Tasted quadruple blind. Good, yet simple, though conditions weren't perfect. Definitely a bit of a letdown considering the price and other reviews. Maybe there was something off about this bottle, but I hate to make apologies for it when it should have easily been a contender. Maybe try an extended decant next time to try to stir some life into it? Drink up.
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6/18/2014 - WDK Likes this wine: 94 Points
Medium dark ruby. Nose of black cherry. Medium body and elegant with flavors of blackberry, graphite, and coffee. Long structured inish with smooth tannins ample acidity and fresh tart fruit.
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4/22/2014 - devraj Does not like this wine:
Mildly corked...
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1/6/2014 - sastewart wrote: 95 Points
Very pretty nose of flowers, sweet black fruits, a little earth and minerals. Rich but pure black fruits, beautiful spices, earth and minerals. Great concentration and purity and a 30+ second finish. WOTN over 75 LCC, 96 Calon-Segur, 07 Saxum James Berry, 05 Crystal. 95 points
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11/30/2012 - DarinC Likes this wine: 93 Points
Day 1 PnP- smoke, charcoal, plums, blackberry, lavender. Very ripe, yet still fresh with no heat, full-body, but not heavy in the mouth. Concentrated, with a long black fruit and mineral filled finish. Few tannins. Surprisingly, showed best with less oak and more fruit on day 3. Some stewed fruit aromas. Drink now or hold for 3-5 yrs.
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9/6/2012 - NY Wino wrote: 93 Points
Deep ruby color, floral bouquet with a bit of spice/earthiness. The wine is drinking really nicely, with good fruit, some oak, a bit of tannins that are quite smooth and a long pleasant finish.
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5/29/2012 - MC wrote:
B+
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2/14/2012 - jnadler12@gmail.com wrote: 91 Points
Had with filet. Big, bold but no over the top fruit showing. Fully integrated and complex. We enjoyed it very much. Last one.
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2/11/2012 - hcampana wrote: 96 Points
From a magnum bought on release and cellared since then. Not decanted. What a great wine this is! Initially a bit tight, this wine blossomed into a beauty after 45 minutes of been open. Intensely fruity, with attractive smokiness and cigar ash notes. Tannin has smoothed out with 13 years in bottle, and the length is remarkable. Acidity and oak are in check. Everything has come together for this bottle. Highly recommendable.
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12/23/2011 - kjroenetrian Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep color, nice legs,rich fruit, vanilla ,spice, smooth soft tanins , medium finish went well with roast
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9/26/2011 - kjroenetrian wrote:
Sent to Mike
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9/4/2011 - Lorien wrote: 91 Points
what a surprise! this one has turned into a really nice wine. Solid personality with realy fantastic masculine aromas. Tannins still need time to soften further, but in a few years this one will glow. For once I am happy I have more!
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8/15/2011 - BradE wrote:
Drank well, but not up to the exceptional bottles drunk to date. Likely a little bottle variation.
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8/12/2011 - SteelerFan wrote: 91 Points
Just a classic, delicious bottle of Spanish wine. Deep red color. Earth, cigar, cherry, and tar. This will stand up well with any Cab or Bordeaux and is aging beautifully. Every time I open this wine I am sure it will be great. Drinking beautifully and long life ahead.
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2/26/2011 - MC wrote:
Served room temperature with no decant. Dark color and solid fruit, although again I would not pick for Rioja given the big fruit and spice on the nose. Nice wine, but lacks the finish of a great one. A-
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1/11/2011 - The Wine Bum wrote:
I enjoyed this better than the 01. Serious, dense and fulsome.
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11/5/2010 - Lorien wrote: 89 Points
lovely
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10/15/2010 - G_H wrote: 95 Points
Ottis' 50th Birthday: Thanks a lot Otti for sharing so many great wines with us!
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7/30/2010 - Tartiflette wrote: 92 Points
Better than my last bottle. Again very ribe fruit. Not very Rioja, but again nor overly jammy. Just right. Black-currant, liqourice, marzipan and nail paint remover said my daughter... Indeed a very good vine. This bottle showed that there is still years to enjoy in this wine
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7/10/2010 - Tartiflette wrote: 90 Points
Beautifull red color, maybe turning slightly brown in the edges. Wonderfull nose and taste of ribe fruit, tobacco, spices, acetone, marzipan. medium aftertaste. This one has topped. But still a wonderful glass. Not very typically Rioja. Little too jammy and too little terroir.
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5/1/2010 - Miceri wrote: flawed
Slightly corked, but still somewhat fruity nose, sweet blue berries, good acidity, fresh, plenty of tannin, brownish red, but but but - corked
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3/20/2010 - BradE wrote:
Beautiful, silky, really good juice.
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12/19/2009 - psmith wrote:
Dense, dark flavors. Clear Rioja character, but some excessive VA. Flashy but somewhat rustic character. Not really my style.
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4/12/2009 - Lorien wrote: 89 Points
I stand by my note dated 9/27/2008 and wish to add: this can hold much longer.. great now though!
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9/27/2008 - Lorien wrote: 89 Points
Really excellent right now, and ready to be enjoyed. I would not hold off any longer - 10 years was all it needed. Lovely profile with solid concentration and balance. Big in the mouth with a good finish. Not the most complex of wines, but enjoyable and tasty. Good stuff! .. btw, way better than the 96 El Pison right now. way way better!
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5/21/2008 - SteelerFan wrote: 94 Points
Outstanding. A bit musty upon first opening but that quickly blew off after a few moments. Dark brick color and complex berry and cedar flavors with smooth tannens. This was drinking absolutely beautifully at this point.
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3/29/2008 - BradE wrote:
A stunningly good bottle of Rioja. Smooth as silk, very balanced, wonderful fruit. Bravo.
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12/27/2007 - BradE wrote:
This was a fantastic bottle of wine. The nose was explosive from the minute the bottle was open. 2nd bottle from a case, and its hit a very nice drinking window. Go ahead and feel free to open this if you have it, but no hurry, as its likely to have another 10 years easily. Every person at dinner liked this a lot.
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2/9/2007 - hcampana wrote: 91 Points
Drank at Pangea with Chuck & Lidia.
(From Magnum). This wine was unusually dark for a Rioja with 8 years of age. For the first hour, the nose on this wine was completely shut down, offering hints of fruit but not much more. Towards the end of the night, the nose started to open up, offering a strong black fruit aroma and a distinctive smokiness. In the palate, the wine was medium to full bodied, with unobtrussive tannin and with lower acidity than you find in most Riojas. With the reticent nose of the first hour, you could have picked this wine to be from anywhere (except perhaps Australia). It is a shame I didn't decant this well in advance. The drinking experience would have been greatly enhanced, as towards the end, a very attractive wine was shaping up. Note to self: don't open another one of these magnums for 3-5 more years.
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1/23/2007 - drwine2001 wrote:
My first thought as I smelled this wine was "Halleleujah, a Spanish wine not dominated by oak!". Alas, this was not the final impression. Medium ruby with lightening edges, this wine was at its best for me within a half hour of opening the bottle. At that point, it showed nice black fruits, good body to buffer the acidity, and a nice tobacco-like hint that reminded me of Graves. Over time, though, a green, cedary component emerged and took control of the wine, making the finish quite astringent and robbing it of the flesh it had displayed earlier. If you enjoy a lean style of Temparanillo, you will probably enjoy this rapid evolution to the final result more than I did. If not, I'd advise drinking it right out of the bottle without a lot of air time to capture the fruit.
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4/13/2006 - MC wrote:
from memory with dinner last night. dark red. big nose of fruit, spice, earth - some heat. big wine, that feels tuscan at times, and CDP like at times. good with food. i would not pick as a rioja, but like it and look forward to its evolution. B+
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