1990 Castello di Ama L'Apparita Toscana IGT

Community Tasting Notes (11) Avg Score: 91.3 points

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  10/26/2022 - forceberry wrote: 82 Points

  100% Merlot from Vigna l'Apparita Cru in Chianti Classico, planted in 1982. Fermented spontaneously in stainless steel, macerated for a month with the skins, aged for 14 months in a combination of new and old French oak barriques (normally 50/50). 13% alcohol.
  
  Very dark, almost fully opaque and quite old blackish-red color with a brownish hue. The nose feels very odd at first with aromas of stewed dark fruits and rather pronounced volatile notes of medicinal ether. We leave the wine to breathe for some time, during which it opens up to reveal rather aged aromas of raisiny dark fruits and wizened blackcurrants, asphalt, some pruney tones, a little bit of cigar, light oxidative notes of beef jerky, a hint of pouch tobacco, a touch of balsamic VA and a whiff of soy sauce. The wine seemed to evolve from a somewhat cooked wine into a very tertiary wine in a rather short span of time. On the palate the wine feels old and tertiary with a silky medium body and a bit tired flavors of sour cherries and crunchy redcurrants, some oxidative notes of beef jerky and tangy rancio, a little bit of asphalt, light cigar tones, a sweeter hint of raisiny fruit and a balsamic touch of VA. The overall feel is sinewy and quite tough, thanks to the high acidity and quite assertive, grippy tannins. The finish is dry, old and tannic with a medium-long aftertaste of soy sauce, some beef jerky, a little bit of salty rancio, light crunchy notes of redcurrants, a hint of sour cherry bitterness and a touch of earth.
  
  This bottle seemed to be just past its peak. At first it didn't feel that obvious, as the wine just came across as a bit stewed and weird, but the more the wine opened, the worse it got. There are still some fruit notes and the wine is still fully drinkable, but it's pretty obvious the wine isn't showing its best anymore. Structurally it is still very tough and unresolved, but the fruit department has started to give up.

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  12/23/2018 - MM29 Likes this wine: 97 Points

  1 Stunde dekantiert - die letzte Flasche aus meiner Jugend...perfekt gereift- steht noch wie eine eins im Glas - hätte ich damals nur mehr davon gekauft...

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  1/27/2018 - ricknat1 wrote: 91 Points

  very well balanced and easy to drink, the merlot is soft and complex, has tannins yet to resolve ad should be good for at least 5 more years if not more. incredible value

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  9/15/2017 - thunberg wrote: 90 Points

  @BYOB blind tasting
  Funky, earthy, strawberry, acidic, tight, a bit thin on the mid palate.

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  1/19/2016 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Celebrating in Style (Capo, Santa Monica): Something of a supernova. The first sip was the best. Lush, powerful and astonishingly generous when opened, displaying a seamless array of flavors: dark cherries, licorice, mild herbs, sage and some mint. The sommelier, who had had a bottle of this wine a week ago, suggested it not be decanted, and I learned why, as this star of a wine burned bright then faded. The fruit steadily dissipated, leaving a lovely but somewhat austere shadow version of what had been. No complaints: better to burn out than to fade away (note to draft: this is my subtle homage to Neil Young, who believe it or not was dining at the adjacent table on this memorable night!).

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