"Odedi"

9.0

It's time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday. Let's bring Merlot back!

Dark purple /inky in color with a short reddish rim.

Very dry on the palate with medium plus acidity.

Showing black currants, dried figs, raisins, over ripen cherries, light oak, licorice, light vanilla, spices, mildew, chocolates, tobacco leaf, bitter herbs, light earth, cola and peppercorn.

Long finish with soft tannins and raspberries.

This 11 year old, Single Vineyard, Merlot blend from Argentina is still drinking nicely, although not in its peak anymore. I've been meaning to drink it for a few years, but so much wine, so little time... 😉

Showing nice complexity with an elegant mouthfeel. Feels like an older Right Bank Bordeaux. Interesting stuff.

A little off now, and lost much of the fruits, but still enjoyable especially with food.

Good right out of the bottle and did not change much with airtime. Alcohol is well integrated by now.

A small production of only 26 barrels produced.

A blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc.

14.9% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$45. — a year ago

Edmond Bordelon

9.4

When they hand you the massive wine list and say “pick something interesting...within reason”. Pretty easy with Gargiulo on the list. Had the pleasure of meeting winemaker Kristof Anderson 2 years ago and toured the GV facility to see him in action. Amazing winery and some of the best grapes in the valley...what could go wrong? (Had them decant for an hour while the other guests roasted me on my second departure from Hard Rock Internaional on my way back to Darden for a second tour there...restaurant world is small.) Once poured out, it danced firmly across the palet. Still a little tight, but the dark fruits and medium tannins balanced out and went with the wagyu nicely. — 3 years ago

Byron Hewett

9.3

Stunning gorgeous harmonious Cab Franc. This wine is not available in the US. A friend hand carried this back from France. Very small production. Ready to go now with a double decant. — 4 years ago

Vanessa

9.0

Artesana is a small production, low intervention, terroir-driven producer of beautiful Uruguayan wines. 🙌🙌 🇺🇾

This wine was made from grapes grown on estate vineyards, harvested by hand, with sustainable farming practices. 🍇🍇

It is a deep ruby hue, offering concentrated aromas and flavors of tart black cherry, black currant, plum, nutmeg, cedar, anise, pepper, vegetal and green notes, alongside meaty characteristics.

It is balanced with good fruit concentration, refreshing acidity, high alcohol (14%), and soft tannins.

It’s comprised of Cabernet Franc (55%) and Merlot (45%) from the region of Canelones, Uruguay.

Acclaimed female winemakers Analía Lazaneo and Valentina Gatti have left us inspired and excited to try more from Artesana.

@Delectable Wine This is the Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend. 🙏🙏 — 2 years ago

with Deked1

MaJ CappS

8.9

These are crafted with such elegance.

Straw berries and slight Smokey tones, a nice nose.
After. 4 hour decant, this is a medium bodied Claret, with a elegant fruit, berry and pit. Solid backbone, small tannins, yet enough to complete this. The acidity straightforward, and long.
— 3 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.1

Vintage 2015 | Chenin Blanc that is very useful to combine with food. I drank this with 1) rillettes, 2) prunes with bacon from grill, 3) charcuterie. With the prunes it was perfection. Smell with flint, peaches and a hint of papaya, great acidity, but off dry why it combines so good with different foods. Nice to drink a wine from this small appellation with so much potential. — 4 years ago

Kyle Masson

9.0

Sartori di Verona is a 4th generation family winery driven by a profound love for their city of Verona. For over a century, Sartori has made wines that respect local tradition yet embrace innovation. Ownership in premium vineyards allows for control from vineyard to bottle with a steadfast focus on quality. PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE The grapes are carefully selected, placed in small crates, and air dried for 3 to 4 months. At optimal dryness, only the best grapes are hand selected and fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel for about 30 days. The wine is transferred to traditional tanks for malolactic fermentation and is then aged in various sized oak casks for about 4 years. At least 6 months of bottle ag,ng follows. BOUQUET Dried fruits, ripe berry, and plum. TASTE Rich, velvety, and full-bodied. — 4 years ago

Jan de Weerd

9.3

A Syrah that became more powerful with each sip. We experimented with different foods on our charcuterie board. Winner in a class by it selves was the pairing with these small sweet spicy gurkins. Brought out layers of dark fruit and carried the wine a bit further to linger longer in your throat. Combining it with the Irish Dubliner cheddar type cheese covered by sour cherry jam exploded the somewhat hidden forest floor earthiness. — 2 years ago

with Tammy

E Button

10

Exceptionally smooth with a blend ratio of 70% cab sav and 30% Malbec. Taste is not dry and bold like other Malbecs and can pair well with many foods or alone. Definitely buy a few bottles to keep on hand. — 3 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Nose reveals beauty & grace. Sweet & just sour lemons, lime candy, green dominate apples with shades of golden, cream, vanillin, ginger, ripe squeezed pineapple flesh, grapefruit with pith, touch of apple cider, salted caramel, cream soda, sea fossils, sea spray, light volcanics, marmalade fruit, Stone fruit with yellow & spring flowers flowers set in mixed greens.

The palate is very full, round, waxy, rich with excellent viscosity. Beautiful mouthfeel. Great time for a bottle. Sweet & just a sour lemons, lime candy, green dominate apples with shades of golden, cream, vanillin, ginger, ripe squeezed pineapple flesh, grapefruit with pith, touch of apple cider, salted caramel, cream soda, healthier honey, sea fossils, white spice with the perfect depth & heat, sea spray, reductive, melted molasses, light volcanics, wet stone, elegant flintiness, marmalade fruit, stone fruit-apricot, nectarines, white & yellow peach with yellow & spring flowers flowers set in mixed greens. The acidity is like a cool stone filled stream. The long, round finish is; waxy, round, lush, with excellent balance fruit & earth, gentle white spice palate heat that persists endlessly. On the long, longboard set, I get soft subtle cream notes of whiskey/scotch w/o any heat. It Hoovers center mouth.

Photos of; one of Dauvisst Cru vineyards, staff caning in the spring, Vincent, Dauvisst and photo of a vineyard that shows every bit of reason why White Burgundy tastes the way it does!

Some producer notes I read. Vincent started helping his father René in 1976 and, during the last decade, has gradually taken control of viticulture and winemaking. For him, the ultimate goal is to harvest healthy grapes that are fully ripe and concentrated which, he declares, can only be achieved consistently by hard work in the vineyard. His passion for wine enables him to put this work ethic into practice with real vigour - close pruning the vines (40 years old on average) during the growing season to restrict yields, hand harvesting at vintage time and ruthlessly discarding any rotten or split grapes. His vinification and maturation methods see him join the small band of Chablis producers who employ oak. The wines are vinified and aged in a mixture of steel vats and 6-to 8 year old wooden barrels. The wood is old and therefore doesn’t stamp any oak flavour onto the wines but does give them an extra depth of flavor and density of body, whilst still retaining their unique identities. These are intensely terroir-driven, mineral wines of such concentration that they take longer than most to reach their best, though they are every bit worth the wait. — 4 years ago