1996 Clos Erasmus Priorat

Community Tasting Notes (35) Avg Score: 91.9 points

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  6/25/2023 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Picked up this bottle at auction a few weeks back and so happy to be able to open it for Gabriel and Linda, since he treated me to my first Erasmus (2015) ever, a while back.
  
  Slow ox'd only 45 minutes before we started our event for the night. This one was really good right from the pnp. Bright cherry fruit and gentle perfume notes right from the start. The nose retreated just a bit over the first hour but the clean, precise cherry fruit persisted. This had a slight Bdx feel to it, medium/- weight in the mouth, but clean and refined and balanced. A hint or caramel on the palate as well. One of the most enjoyable older wines I've had of late and makes me want to visit Priorat all the more, next year. Such a unique and fun wine! Still performing very well at this late age. I know Parker only gave it a 90 but there is no way this one is a 90. It may be a 91-92 for many, but with our meal of teriyaki marinated flank steak, scalloped potatoes, jalapeno cornbread and sauteed mushrooms, it is an extremely good match. The true definition of a great wine pairing......94 because of that, for me.

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  12/24/2021 - DH90 wrote: flawed

  Corked. Very sad as this was our last bottle.

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  8/24/2020 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  There's lots of variation on what is the blend here, the data ranging from 100% Grenache to a blend of Grenache (40%), Cabernet Sauvignon (40%) and Syrah (20%), depending on the source. 14,5% alcohol.
  
  Somewhat developed, luminous and relatively little translucent reddish-maroon color with a thin, colorless rim. The nose feels developed and quite savory with dry aromas of bloody meat, licorice root, some leather, light fruity notes of wizened dark berries, a little bit of roasted game and a sweeter hint of blackberry jam. The wine is ripe, full-bodied and quite textural on the palate with juicy flavors of wizened boysenberries, gamey meat, some licorice root, light plummy tones, a little bit of wizened black cherry, a dark-toned hint of marmaladey sweetness and a touch of sweet, toasty oak spice. The wine is still quite muscular with its high acidity and relatively grippy, assertive tannins. The high alcohol lends some obvious warmth to the palate. The finish is ripe, somewhat sweet-toned and quite grippy with long, complex flavors of boysenberries, some blackberry jam, light licorice tones, a little bit of leather, a hint of toasty oak spice and a salty-umami touch of beef jerky.
  
  A very enjoyable and quite impressive Priorat that has developed to some degree. However, people wondered whether the wine is actually improving rather than just developing. This is a big, ripe wine with a great structure that can stand up to the weighty body and concentrated fruit, resulting in a wine that is seemingly very impressive and in a great shape now. However, nobody seemed to be particularly impressed by the wine - it felt like it was built to impress, but at the same time it seemed to lack character completely. It was like any other big wine with sturdy structure. At least this wine proved that Priorat wines can age easily for 25 years - but the jury is still out whether these wines actually benefit from such long aging. While a terrific wine in its own right, I'm not particularly convinced that this wine was worth the 175€.

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  7/11/2020 - Nothung Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Consistent with prior notes. Unfortunately my last two bottles of this vintage. :-(

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  6/13/2020 - Nothung Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Consistent with prior notes.

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