I think that this wine -- which is virtual dead-ringer for a very ripe wine from the Pessac-Leognan region of Bordeaux -- is the reserve bottling of the Calina winery's Carmenere, the 2004 vintage of which I previously reviewed here. This was very rich and interesting, though I'm not sure I liked it any better than the regular bottling.
Eye: Fully saturated plasma-like ruby with violet highlights.Nose: Almost over-the-top richness: melted baker's chocolate, chalk, moist tobacco-leaf, loamy gravel. Oh yeah, and there's some rich blackberry fruit lurking beneath all that.
Mouth: Rich and earthy, with lots of stony minerals at first, giving way to chocolately, port-like fruit, and long, long finish full of soft tannin. Almost too much on the earthy side as opposed to the fruity side of the flavor spectrum.
Score: 88.
Cellar or drink? Drinking well now, I think this wine could improve over the next 3 years.
Price/store: Got this for $14.99 at Whole Foods on Bellaire.
1 comment:
I got this wine at Gabriel's Specs wholesale liquor outlet -- at Texas chain -- in San Marcos Texas, for four bucks, and I absolutely love it. Had never even heard of Carmenere before. This is definitely one of my all time favorites, though my experience with high-end wines (of which this is not) is admittedly very limited.
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