86 / B
Tasted by Mike Supple - 22 Dec 2008
Dark maroon core and a brick rim. Spicy cedar and black pepper around plum, blackberry and a touch of wet earth and violets. Juicy palate entry with dark blackberry and black cherry fruits. Lots of pepper spice with nutmeg and creamy vanilla. Baker’s chocolate and sweet plum on the finish.
90 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 25 May 2008
Dark ruby core surrounded by a bright rim. Very bold caramel coated raspberry fruit aromas are backed by darker cassis, sweet dried tobacco and a spicy punch of cedar. Dark and thick on the palate. Ripe cassis and blackberry fruits are underscored by a dark wet earth tone and a streak of minerality leading to the long toffee, toast and charcoal finish. Rich and complex with a solid backbone of approachable tannins.
45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 25% Syrah.
91 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 03 Nov 2008
Dark ruby core with a lighter rim and a hint of garnet to the edge. Huge plum aromas with fresh black cherry juice surrounded by spicy cedar, nutmeg, raw oak and candied cinnamon. Spicy, rich and dark on the palate. A touch of mocha and cinnamon spice surround lush, juicy plum and blackberry. Medium to full bodied with solid ripe tannic grip. Lingering dark fruits with a touch of earth, scorched oak and coffee beans.
Not your average Merlot, this wine delivers quite a punch of fruit and power. It is good to see Napa producing Merlot of this quality again. Ignore the remarks in “Sideways.” This a great bottle of wine.
87 / B
Tasted by Mike Supple - 18 Mar 2008
Dark core with a brick red rim. Plum, red cherry and spicy cinnamon aromas. Licorice on the palate surrounded by bold cedar, leading to white truffle and prunes on the finish. Nice tannic grip on the back.
91 / A-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 24 Mar 2008
Dark ruby and black in the core, and continuing almost the entire way out to the edge of the glass. Rich fruit on the nose: cassis, blackberry and blueberry. A hint of dusty slate are backed by spicy cedar, cinnamon and toasty vanilla. Lush entry on the front of the palate building quickly on the mid-palate. Ample ripe tannins give the wine a lot of structure and body through the finish. Dark black cherry and cassis are matched with black truffle, wet earth and lingering roast coffee on the finish.
Since this wine comes from the general “Bordeaux Superieur” region rather than a specific village the price tag is about $30 less than it would otherwise be. Very high quality stuff for this vintage. Should be approachable in the next 2-3 years, and can be aged another 10-12.
87-89 / NA
Tasted by Mike Supple - 01 Apr 2008
Very dark core with a fuchsia rim. Plum, blackberry and black cherry aromas backed by cedar and flowers. Ripe fruit entry on the palate. Lush and dark. Good integration of tannins and fruit. Candied berries with a dark chocolate finish.
This wine is not yet released from the winery, thus it has no price or value grade.
86-88 / NA
Tasted by Mike Supple - 01 Apr 2008
Ruby core with a fuchsia rim. Black cherry, cassis and cedar aromas. A touch herbal with green pepper notes on the front palate, followed by black cherries. Pretty good mid-palate with medium tannins and a spicy finish.
This wine is not yet released from the winery, thus it has no price or value grade.
89 / A-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 14 Feb 2008
Dark purple core with a tinge of pink on the rim. A bit reductive on the nose, but gives way to blueberry, raspberry, black cherry and lighter strawberry aromas after a few minutes. Cedar spice, leather and slate support the dark fruits. On the palette the wine is medium to full bodied leading to fairly bold tannic structure on the finish. Perfumed notes of baby powder and rose petals lead to plum and black cherry on the mid-palate with a darker finish of cedar, leather, wet earth and slate.
This wine takes a very long time to show its true value right now. It needs to be open for several hours before being agreeable, but once open for a couple of days the aromas and flavors really started to come out. Good quality wines from Chateauneuf often cost a lot of money. This is priced very reasonably and will be a very good wine with another 3 or so years in the bottle. However, if you don’t have that patience, pour it into a decanter (or any large pitcher with space for oxygen) and give it several hours.
83 / B
Tasted by Mike Supple - 04 Jan 2008
Thick, dark purple (almost black) in the glass with a garnet rim. [On first whiff something smelled off - like old wet sponge. This mostly blew off quickly, leaving just a rustic touch of Italian barnyard.] Big cinnamon aromas over dark black cherry and a touch of plum. Notes of dry cedar and green herbs with a rustic wet earth edge. Pretty big on the palate; bold, chewy tannins. Dense core of dried dark fruits, leather and mocha.
Aglianico is a very tannic grape, and with more time this will open nicely as long as the tannins soften before the fruit dries out. Good classic old-world Italian.
Reviews, Articles, Videos and more from SuppleWine.com is proudly powered by
WordPress
Entries (RSS)
and Comments (RSS).
