Stephen Tanzer's Wines Subscribe to this Feed

Stephen Tanzer's Review:

Ruby-red to the rim. Briary, minty, blackcurrant nose. Juicy, spicy and intensely flavored, with rather strong acidity leading to a slightly tart finish. Plenty of material here: will it become more pliant with bottle aging?

Stephen Tanzer's Review:

Good dark red. Slightly high-toned aromas of violet and cassis, with the exotic fruit note shown by so many Barolos from this superripe year. Lush, sweet and expressive in the mouth; flavors of red fruit complicated by a slightly rustic quality. Quite pliant and fruity for a young Rinaldi wine. Finishes with substantial, thoroughly ripe tannins and sneaky length.

Stephen Tanzer's Review:

Medium color shows some development. Expressive, complex aromas of redcurrant, plum, dried flowers, tobacco and smoke; rather Graves-like. Smooth, silky and consistent, with lovely sweetness and moderate flesh and weight. The very fine, tongue dusting tannins are slightly dry, but there also sneaky finishing fruit. Drink over the next five or six years.

Stephen Tanzer's Review:

Medium red. Spicy, tangy aromas of sweet cherry, red berries and smoked meat; this could be mistaken for a Gevrey Chambertin Clos St. Jacques in a blind tasting. Terrific intensity of cherry and red berry flavor with solid, integrated acids. Quite youthful and fresh for a pinot noir from this vintage. Finishes firm and very long; in fact, this has one of the strongest, most persistent finishes of any recent pinot release from this winery.

Stephen Tanzer's Review:

Expressive aromas of black raspberry, mocha, espresso, game and smoke. Lusher and sweeter than the normale, with more depth of fruit. The tannins are substantial but hit the palate later. Still, this has a serious structure for aging. I underrated this wine somewhat two years ago.

Stephen Tanzer's Review:

Excellent deep ruby-red. Sappy, superripe aromas of black cherry and mint; shows a distinctly liqueur-like quality. Very sweet and lush in the mouth, but juicy and shapely. Port-like suggestions of menthol and shoe polish. Impressively concentrated and youthful. Finishes very long, with tannins currently hidden behind fruit.

Stephen Tanzer's Review:

Very good deep color. Brooding yet perfumed aromas of violet, black cherry and licorice. Superconcentrated and sweet in the mouth, with flavors of leather and tobacco complicating the core of black cherry fruit. Denser and sweeter than the normale. Finishes with strong but fine grained tannins. Texturally, this is more like a dusty solid than a liquid. Offers remarkable potential for the vintage.

Stephen Tanzer's Review:

Dark ruby-red. Brooding, pure aromas of black fruits, licorice, nutmeg and venison. Even more intensely flavored than the Napa bottling, like an essence of small dark berries complicated by licorice and mint. Juicy acidity gives the flavors terrific thrust and persistence. Finishes with firm but not excessive tannins.

Stephen Tanzer's Review:

Perfumed, aromatic nose of dried fruits and dried flowers. Sweet and thick in the mouth, with extremely concentrated flavor framed by strong acids. The dried fruit and dried flower notes repeat on the palate. Very long and firm, with ripe tannins in balance with the wine extraordinary fruit.

Stephen Tanzer's Review:

Aromas of honeysuckle, lime, peach and white plum. Moderately thick and sweet, but juicy and fresh, with enticing floral, peachy flavor. But I don't get the texture or complexity of noble rot. Attractive but rather one-dimensional today; perhaps time in bottle will bring greater nuance.