Garnet hue with aromas of cocoa laced cigar ash, savory spice and cranberry, with a touch of fresh red berry fighting its way through ending with rustic forest floor
Palate--Tart, bitter first impression with milk chocolate in the middle, lip smacking young tannins, and fruit trying to fight its way out of a youthful straight jacket.
Despite the rough beginning of this Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc, there is the hope of promise with this wine. Mine needs to warm up from cellar temp., open up with some air, and this might just be surprising. It's going to be paired with a steak on the grill (charcoal of course) and we'll see what develops. (*Check back for an update!) Warning--wine geek stuff follows!
*What a nice surprise! In the bouquet there is an added touch of mint and the lip smacking acidity and tannins toned down quite a bit as well. This was a superior pairing with my grilled steak, it just needed some time to breathe and open up. As I looked at some reviews on line there was a clear divide between people really hating this wine giving 1 to 1 1/2 stars out of five with the other end giving it 4-4 1/2 stars. It is readily understood why when you understand the popular palate and the uneducated palate. (This is not to sound condescending or snooty just an explanation.)
Old world wines are more subtle in their expression of fruit and also tend to need much more time in bottle to come around to drinkability much less their prime. Wine makers world wide realized the world at large didn't really care to buy wines that needed to be laid down to cellar for 5-10 years after buying them in order to be enjoyed. So even old world wines now are being made more int he new world style meaning they are quite good right out of the gate upon release and they are much more "fruit forward" meaning you get loads of fruit up front instead of nuances of this and that. Frankly I think it has been an improvement in the wine industry world wide. I have been studying wine for over 40 years and I love a well made "fruit bomb" and I also appreciate and love an old world classic that is affordable but might need a few years to be enjoyed to its fullest. At the end of the day one is not better than another (in my opinion) for at then end of day, it comes down to what YOU like! But-- there is no comparison to the 1996 Chateau Leoville Las Cases I had a few years ago to even the best single vineyard Sonoma Zinfandel (my favorite grape). Bottom line--this is a solid great value fro around $10 so I will grab some more to "lay down" and see how it develops so "raise a glass!
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