This wine is all kinds of lovely. It smells of black olives, tapenade, oregano, lemon myrtle, smoke, and red fruits. It's all rather complex, with a real sense of style. It tastes expensive: very bright acidity working in tandem with a sort of thick, almost yeasty body with smoky barrel notes and a fine sweetness finishing on a firmly tannic note. It's almost as if there were such a thing as sugar-glazed black peppercorns: it's all rich smoky sweetness, absolutely lovely. The finish really does coat your mouth with tannin, though, so if you're drinking some of this, it would really, really help to have some steak handy.
I drank a couple of New World wines last week - a $25 bottle from Napa and a $25 bottle from Mendoza - and although both of them had rich, round fruit and high alcohol, they weren't anywhere near as pleasing as this wine is. I'm sensing not only restraint in the alcohol department but also a willingness to avoid industrial yeasts and simple, primary fruit flavors. This winery makes a wine this complex look easy.
I drank a couple of New World wines last week - a $25 bottle from Napa and a $25 bottle from Mendoza - and although both of them had rich, round fruit and high alcohol, they weren't anywhere near as pleasing as this wine is. I'm sensing not only restraint in the alcohol department but also a willingness to avoid industrial yeasts and simple, primary fruit flavors. This winery makes a wine this complex look easy.
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