by Jenise » Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:09 pm
Tasted a bottle of this cab/mer/tempranillo (I think) blend when I purchased it a few years ago, and hated it. It was modern, tuitti-fruitti grapey and otherwise undistinguished. It was an auction purchase based on Parker's glowing review and the wine's generally low price (I paid about $7 when it retailed for close to $20), so I just let the three or four other bottles get lost in the cellar. We pulled one last night to pair with a vegetarian dinner of broiled fresh and baby potatoes topped with rosemary and comte cheese. Well, it's better now. The grapiness has gone and the flavors have mellowed to the boring side of soft red fruits and faint minerality. The tannins seemed nonexistent at first but built up toward the end of the bottle, which was a good thing, because it masked some jammy, cooked strawberry notes that ramped up at about the same time and rate, and I prefer tannins. I'll put the rest of these in the drinking queue, there's no point holding them.
