The 1998 of this was often featured in tastings over here, and I have quite fond memories of it so I decided to try this '05. And it's quite nice. There is plenty of sweet and dark fruit, but the fruit isn't over the top - rather, it has some nice savoury and typically Cabernet elements like earth, baked beans and herbs (sometimes veering too much into the minty end of the spectrum). Full bodied, fairly smooth tannins already despite being young, clean and refreshing acidity. I have an oak allergy, but here the 16 months didn't bother me all that much: it doesn't seem to be of high toast and it doesn't cover all the other aromas so my crystal ball tells me that it should become harmonious over time (at least the '98 did). I really enjoy the way that this is fully ripe without resorting to a style of mouth coating fruit and oak that one too often sees from the new world. And I can't emphasize it enough: this is refreshing and savoury, too! Possibly very nice once the oak fades.
Pisano Tannat / Petit Verdot 2008 - Uruguay, Progreso Region of Origin; 14% abv; 13,60€; 6 g/l acidity
Under plastic cork. Apparently a blend of 80% Tannat and 20% Petit Verdot - but I'll have to take that at face value because the beverage doesn't seem all that much like wine. It sees eight months in oak of which two thirds was new, but that it is simply too much. There is no indication from the aromas that this would be made of grapes: it smells of hot chocolate and cream. The palate is simple and sweet, hollow, with unpleasantly extracted tannins. Is this really made from grapes? I thought Quercus was not a grape...
