It has been about 3 years since my last bottle. Healthy ruby/garnet color with just some bricking towards the rim. The nose alone is intoxicating, showing notes of dark red fruit, red but also dark cherries, menthol, cloves, tobacco, some tar, violets and also some cedar wood. It‘s medium-full bodied, with medium-high tannin that is incredibly silky for a young Montestefano, medium-high acidity and excellent length. I just had the 2013 a few weeks back and compared to 2013, this seems a touch less structured and dense, still excellent though. What a beauty and so transparent to the cru.
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Aerate to decanter 90 minutes. I've not tasted this since release when it was wide open - and yes, I enjoyed the firmness of the tannins at the time. That said, it's a good degree more coiled than that time (nearly two years ago, already), and I was constantly swirling away to get it to try and get back to that wide open status; wasn't really in the cards. A small glass on night 2 was more complete, but I think I'll wait. All of that having been said, I bought another 2 bottles that I'll plan to open post 2024/beyond. Totally in my wheelhouse. highly recommended
Decanted 1 hour. Good deep red. Tar, tobacco, cherry, roses - all a bit coiled up and with fine tannins. Needs time in the cellar, don’t touch for a few years
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5/2/2023 - JohanPe wrote: 94 Points
Consistent with previous note. Dark cherries, menthol, gravel, minerals and some fresh herbs. Slightly more polished after 5 years. Brilliant.
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1/16/2022 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 94 Points
It has been about 3 years since my last bottle. Healthy ruby/garnet color with just some bricking towards the rim. The nose alone is intoxicating, showing notes of dark red fruit, red but also dark cherries, menthol, cloves, tobacco, some tar, violets and also some cedar wood. It‘s medium-full bodied, with medium-high tannin that is incredibly silky for a young Montestefano, medium-high acidity and excellent length. I just had the 2013 a few weeks back and compared to 2013, this seems a touch less structured and dense, still excellent though. What a beauty and so transparent to the cru.
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3/2/2021 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
Aerate to decanter 90 minutes. I've not tasted this since release when it was wide open - and yes, I enjoyed the firmness of the tannins at the time. That said, it's a good degree more coiled than that time (nearly two years ago, already), and I was constantly swirling away to get it to try and get back to that wide open status; wasn't really in the cards. A small glass on night 2 was more complete, but I think I'll wait. All of that having been said, I bought another 2 bottles that I'll plan to open post 2024/beyond. Totally in my wheelhouse. highly recommended
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1/29/2020 - il_diavolo wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 1 hour. Good deep red. Tar, tobacco, cherry, roses - all a bit coiled up and with fine tannins. Needs time in the cellar, don’t touch for a few years
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10/23/2019 - Marcyrillo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Elegant, very fresh and long
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