I'll pretty much echo what the previous 2 notes have stated - decent wine, nothing special. Very soft, not much varietal character - kind of generic tasting but not offensive in any way. Good wine, but I'm glad I only paid $17 for this and I'm not inspired to pick up any more even at that price.
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Fruit, cherry, vanilla, touch of chocolate. Not bad with a dry-aged strip steak. We paid $20 and it is an ok bottle for that, but nothing special. I had another vintage of this (in NZ) that drank better.
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Popped and poured, this wine was first rather soft, with a nice velvety texture but quite modern and anonymous. The second night it was much more structured and interesting. Medium bodied with blackcurrant, plums, cherry, chocolate and some green notes, but not enough to be off-putting; still some oak/vanilla notes too, but again, it is integrating pretty well. A solid if unspectacular cab/merlot blend from the Gimblett Gravels in Hawkes Bay. It should last several years yet (B+).
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(Villa Maria Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve) Dark ruby color; tart berry, tart cherry nose; tart berry, tart cherry, menthol palate; medium-plus finish (25 months in oak, 40% new)
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4/29/2017 - PIntag wrote: 87 Points
I'll pretty much echo what the previous 2 notes have stated - decent wine, nothing special. Very soft, not much varietal character - kind of generic tasting but not offensive in any way. Good wine, but I'm glad I only paid $17 for this and I'm not inspired to pick up any more even at that price.
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5/11/2016 - TashNYC wrote: 88 Points
Fruit, cherry, vanilla, touch of chocolate. Not bad with a dry-aged strip steak. We paid $20 and it is an ok bottle for that, but nothing special. I had another vintage of this (in NZ) that drank better.
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7/21/2014 - JohnSh wrote: 88 Points
Popped and poured, this wine was first rather soft, with a nice velvety texture but quite modern and anonymous. The second night it was much more structured and interesting. Medium bodied with blackcurrant, plums, cherry, chocolate and some green notes, but not enough to be off-putting; still some oak/vanilla notes too, but again, it is integrating pretty well. A solid if unspectacular cab/merlot blend from the Gimblett Gravels in Hawkes Bay. It should last several years yet (B+).
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