Dark garnet in the glass; aromas of currants, blackberries, and black pepper on the nose. Wonderful flavours of dark berries, spice, and leather. Nice long finish.
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Similar tasting notes to prior entry, with the addition of a nice woody backdrop that I hadn't noticed last time. The last bottle I have, it was a nice run!
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Pleasing rasberry and mineral aromatics, finishes with an acidity soaked finish of spicey oak. Best of four bottles I've had, but could use another year.
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Very good Rioja and a very good value. Lush and aromatic with appealing black fruits, maybe a hint of chocolate, leather and licorice. Finishes with a noticeable woody tang that accents but doesn't detract. Not at all old. When cool at cellar temperature I was slugging it down-now I'm happily sipping. Went great with an herbed pork tenderloin.
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Very good initial nose of cherry and earth. Smooth through the midpalate, tannins definitely have settled down. Vacu-saved it and put it in the fridge to revisit a couple days later (not enough time to drink it the first night) and it was showing excellent after a couple days. Great fruit, earthiness has died off a little bit. Overall very good for the price.
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This wine is drinking today as well as it will probably get. Everything has come together. The fruit is right there w/o fading in the least, the tannins are tamed, everything is in balance. Extremely smooth. Medium body. The table gave raving reviews to this wine tonite, paired with a garlic/onion/mushroom stuffed chicken breast. I intend to drink my remaining bottle before the end of the year. I wish the rest of the case, consumed in 2005, were still available for consumption. But I'm happy to have a couple that are right there in the perfect window for drinking.
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Gaining a nice subtleness to it as it gains bottle age. The cherry is still vibrant and smooth with a nice oakiness on the finish. I have found that the flavors hold up well even after a day or so of being open.
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Dark, near opaque, garnet; juicy nose of blackberry, leather, saline, blood; lean astringent initial palate; medium bodied; something is out of balance resulting in a drying chemical feel on the palate; long unpleasant finish; summing up, this smells great but the palate doesn't equal the nose. Note that this is the first wine tasted after one-month sinus infection...taste buds may still be screwed.
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I dinged it on the score a little since the tannins were more pronounced in this bottle than others I've had. Could be that I rushed it into service without cellaring it to let it settle down after buying it, but it was still a really nice bottle of wine.
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R2-D2 brought a bottle of this to dinner on Friday at a Thai restaurant. I think WS gave this wine either 90 or 91 points. This was a good match for the beef dishes that we ordered. I know my wife liked it very much. Supple texture with notes of plum and meaty red fruit. Medium bodied. Drinking well now. 89-90 points.
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Light pepper nose with details of cherry and blackberry. Medium finish with reasonable tannins. Cork was very delicate (one bottle ruined, other cork was very brittle).
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1/30/2009 - no leashes wrote: 90 Points
An excellent pairing with chicken in Indian curry sauce. Smooth, supple bright sweet cherry, plum, vanilla and oak flavors. Nice acid and structure.
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12/25/2008 - jctaylor wrote: 90 Points
holding up ok, sadly I'm getting to the end of my stache of this great little Rioja.
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3/29/2008 - yipen wrote: 90 Points
this si quite good now, berry with some earth note
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2/12/2008 - gbauer wrote:
Sorry this was the last bottle. Drinking superbly right now.
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9/6/2007 - gbauer wrote:
I enjoyed this very much -- good dark red and black fruit, nice structure, drinking well.
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9/5/2007 - brutusbuckeye wrote: 85 Points
Dark garnet in the glass; aromas of currants, blackberries, and black pepper on the nose. Wonderful flavours of dark berries, spice, and leather. Nice long finish.
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7/2/2007 - pjhr wrote: 90 Points
Delicious Rioja. Last bottle, need to find some more.
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5/27/2007 - Harley1199 wrote:
Classic rioja: red berries and currants in wood. Fruity and very tasty, with silky tannins and a long finish.
Un rioja de los de antaño: frutos rojos maduros en madera. Afrutado y muy sabroso, con taninos sedosos y un largo final
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1/24/2007 - vanpe003 wrote: 90 Points
Similar tasting notes to prior entry, with the addition of a nice woody backdrop that I hadn't noticed last time. The last bottle I have, it was a nice run!
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12/30/2006 - pjhr wrote: 88 Points
Lost some of it's vibrant blackberry and cherry fruit. Maybe an off bottle or past it's prime.
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12/15/2006 - R2-D2 wrote: 89 Points
Pleasing rasberry and mineral aromatics, finishes with an acidity soaked finish of spicey oak. Best of four bottles I've had, but could use another year.
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11/28/2006 - bevetroppo wrote: 88 Points
Very good Rioja and a very good value. Lush and aromatic with appealing black fruits, maybe a hint of chocolate, leather and licorice. Finishes with a noticeable woody tang that accents but doesn't detract. Not at all old. When cool at cellar temperature I was slugging it down-now I'm happily sipping. Went great with an herbed pork tenderloin.
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10/26/2006 - ncmussell wrote: 88 Points
Very good initial nose of cherry and earth. Smooth through the midpalate, tannins definitely have settled down. Vacu-saved it and put it in the fridge to revisit a couple days later (not enough time to drink it the first night) and it was showing excellent after a couple days. Great fruit, earthiness has died off a little bit. Overall very good for the price.
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9/17/2006 - vanpe003 wrote: 91 Points
This wine is drinking today as well as it will probably get. Everything has come together. The fruit is right there w/o fading in the least, the tannins are tamed, everything is in balance. Extremely smooth. Medium body. The table gave raving reviews to this wine tonite, paired with a garlic/onion/mushroom stuffed chicken breast. I intend to drink my remaining bottle before the end of the year. I wish the rest of the case, consumed in 2005, were still available for consumption. But I'm happy to have a couple that are right there in the perfect window for drinking.
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9/9/2006 - jctaylor wrote: 91 Points
Gaining a nice subtleness to it as it gains bottle age. The cherry is still vibrant and smooth with a nice oakiness on the finish. I have found that the flavors hold up well even after a day or so of being open.
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6/15/2006 - wood wrote:
Fruit forward, smooth but a little fat. Not much backbone.
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4/20/2006 - Patrick wrote: 85 Points
Dark, near opaque, garnet; juicy nose of blackberry, leather, saline, blood; lean astringent initial palate; medium bodied; something is out of balance resulting in a drying chemical feel on the palate; long unpleasant finish; summing up, this smells great but the palate doesn't equal the nose. Note that this is the first wine tasted after one-month sinus infection...taste buds may still be screwed.
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12/29/2005 - jctaylor wrote: 90 Points
I dinged it on the score a little since the tannins were more pronounced in this bottle than others I've had. Could be that I rushed it into service without cellaring it to let it settle down after buying it, but it was still a really nice bottle of wine.
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11/7/2005 - Vino Me wrote: 89 Points
R2-D2 brought a bottle of this to dinner on Friday at a Thai restaurant. I think WS gave this wine either 90 or 91 points. This was a good match for the beef dishes that we ordered. I know my wife liked it very much. Supple texture with notes of plum and meaty red fruit. Medium bodied. Drinking well now. 89-90 points.
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10/9/2005 - md8speed wrote: 91 Points
Light pepper nose with details of cherry and blackberry. Medium finish with reasonable tannins. Cork was very delicate (one bottle ruined, other cork was very brittle).
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10/7/2005 - trankin wrote: 88 Points
EOTC $15-20 Blind Rioja Tasting (Robert & Shefali's): Subtle red, a touch thin. Nose of white pepper, blackberry. Delicate, earthy, red fruit, some light acifity. Soft. Tastes older.
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