Blend of rouche 70%, barbera 20%, and syrah 10% - made in Piemonte and imported by Bonny Doon. Hints of roses and violets followed by red and black berries. Palate shows black berries with some dark bittersweet chocolate, followed by earthy sweet tannins. Finishes with berries and a lingering floral element. Not as floral and complex as I remember a year ago where I described the floral aspect as a "sideways funk". Not nearly as interesting as last year. Still good but not as much fun.
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Interesting wine, a bit closed at present, but it opens up with air. Aromas of white flowers and plums. Pomegranate and cherry palate, with a juicy and spicy aftertaste. Lots of acidity from the Ruche and Barbera. A blend of Ruche, Barbera, and Syrah. Very good QPR on a wine imported by Bonny Doon but made by the Piedmontese winemaker Luca Ferraris.
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Nicely perfumed nose of earth, spring flowers, and dark fruits. The medium bodied palate brings a little damp earth, ripe plums, sweet raisens, licorice and hints of caramel. Flattens a little in the mid palate it does end up finishing long and rich. Would recommend.
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Much better nose than before, with black pepper the most easily recognized element. I'll raise my original nose score by three points (to 12/15) and lower my palate/finish score by one (to 17/20) which is a bit more reasonable. Still, that takes the score to 90 which isn't out of the question. This is a good wine and a very good QPR, and it's driven me to investigate Monferrato Rosso and the Ruche grape more fully.
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Word to the wise, this is a bottle that needs to be finished in one night, at least at the current age. The bit that was leftover turned into a cup of tannin juice that was really tough to bear. That would be the Ruche showing its true colors, I believe. I won't change my score, as the wine is very good when opened, but prepare to finish in one sitting: serve to three or four people, or serve to two having used a cup for cooking, or drink by yourself and plan to get drunk. Perhaps after a year in the bottle, things would be different. Wicked little old lady.
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A blend of 70% ruchè, 20% barbera and 10% syrah. Color (3/5): Transparent dark red actually fades to noticeable clear at the edges. Looks like a Chianti. Nose (9/15): Not much nose. Picked up some pepper and some leathery floral notes, but not much else, but then... Palate (18/20): Wow. This was a surprise. Medium bodied, but strong leather, pepper, some fresh-baked whole-grain bread, and a fruit-covered steak. Or maybe a dirty steak and the leather is a fruit-covered shoe. Hits the tongue like a Chianti, but explodes mid-palate and finishes with some 88% dark chocolate and that whole-grain bread again. I think that little old lady on the label is named "Barbera" and she's hiding muscles under that pufffy-sleeved dress. The Ruchè lulls you into a false sense of "been there before," the Barbera really barks AND bites at you and the Syrah holds it all together. Potential (8/10): This surprising blend tastes great and holds my interest now, but I think this could be a gem in 3-5 years. And a bargain one at that. The second glass, which had been in a decanter for 30 minutes, was really smooth but with all of the flavors aforementioned. Rumor has it that Bonny Doon is getting out of the import business (per PA Wine & Spirits) so we may not be able to get this for much longer. I'm getting another couple of bottles and will test my theory in 2010 or so.
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Curious. Medium bodied, with a sweet, almost cough medicine nose; cherry, hint of licorice, with a smooth finish. The sweetness on the front end is almost off-putting, but it balances out some more on the back end.
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11/7/2009 - tequilajake wrote: 84 Points
Took 45 min to really open up, but after that was quite nice. Dry on the finish with lively fruit on the palate.
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7/6/2009 - James Kim wrote: 88 Points
Blend of rouche 70%, barbera 20%, and syrah 10% - made in Piemonte and imported by Bonny Doon. Hints of roses and violets followed by red and black berries. Palate shows black berries with some dark bittersweet chocolate, followed by earthy sweet tannins. Finishes with berries and a lingering floral element. Not as floral and complex as I remember a year ago where I described the floral aspect as a "sideways funk". Not nearly as interesting as last year. Still good but not as much fun.
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2/16/2009 - JackDawg wrote: 84 Points
It was a good wine - nothing special - tasted better with the spaghetti.
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2/12/2009 - drdebs wrote: 89 Points
Interesting wine, a bit closed at present, but it opens up with air. Aromas of white flowers and plums. Pomegranate and cherry palate, with a juicy and spicy aftertaste. Lots of acidity from the Ruche and Barbera. A blend of Ruche, Barbera, and Syrah. Very good QPR on a wine imported by Bonny Doon but made by the Piedmontese winemaker Luca Ferraris.
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1/19/2009 - BSpdx wrote: 89 Points
Nicely perfumed nose of earth, spring flowers, and dark fruits. The medium bodied palate brings a little damp earth, ripe plums, sweet raisens, licorice and hints of caramel. Flattens a little in the mid palate it does end up finishing long and rich. Would recommend.
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8/11/2008 - iByron wrote: 90 Points
Much better nose than before, with black pepper the most easily recognized element. I'll raise my original nose score by three points (to 12/15) and lower my palate/finish score by one (to 17/20) which is a bit more reasonable. Still, that takes the score to 90 which isn't out of the question. This is a good wine and a very good QPR, and it's driven me to investigate Monferrato Rosso and the Ruche grape more fully.
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11/29/2007 - iByron wrote:
Word to the wise, this is a bottle that needs to be finished in one night, at least at the current age. The bit that was leftover turned into a cup of tannin juice that was really tough to bear. That would be the Ruche showing its true colors, I believe. I won't change my score, as the wine is very good when opened, but prepare to finish in one sitting: serve to three or four people, or serve to two having used a cup for cooking, or drink by yourself and plan to get drunk. Perhaps after a year in the bottle, things would be different.
Wicked little old lady.
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11/27/2007 - iByron wrote: 88 Points
A blend of 70% ruchè, 20% barbera and 10% syrah.
Color (3/5): Transparent dark red actually fades to noticeable clear at the edges. Looks like a Chianti.
Nose (9/15): Not much nose. Picked up some pepper and some leathery floral notes, but not much else, but then...
Palate (18/20): Wow. This was a surprise. Medium bodied, but strong leather, pepper, some fresh-baked whole-grain bread, and a fruit-covered steak. Or maybe a dirty steak and the leather is a fruit-covered shoe. Hits the tongue like a Chianti, but explodes mid-palate and finishes with some 88% dark chocolate and that whole-grain bread again. I think that little old lady on the label is named "Barbera" and she's hiding muscles under that pufffy-sleeved dress. The Ruchè lulls you into a false sense of "been there before," the Barbera really barks AND bites at you and the Syrah holds it all together.
Potential (8/10): This surprising blend tastes great and holds my interest now, but I think this could be a gem in 3-5 years. And a bargain one at that. The second glass, which had been in a decanter for 30 minutes, was really smooth but with all of the flavors aforementioned.
Rumor has it that Bonny Doon is getting out of the import business (per PA Wine & Spirits) so we may not be able to get this for much longer. I'm getting another couple of bottles and will test my theory in 2010 or so.
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3/16/2007 - umazz wrote: 75 Points
We both found this one exceedingly harsh, and although it toned down after being opened for a while, it still wasn’t what we preferred.
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2/22/2007 - Frodnesor wrote: 87 Points
Curious. Medium bodied, with a sweet, almost cough medicine nose; cherry, hint of licorice, with a smooth finish. The sweetness on the front end is almost off-putting, but it balances out some more on the back end.
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