Tasting Notes: Weekly Roundup

Happy Friday! Before we celebrate the coming weekend, we want to look back on drinks the Delectable community enjoyed and consumed this week. We've gathered a handful of reviews and notes that caught our eye. From detailed notes to standout photos, the Delectable community was busy this week, and there are so many great posts to read. Mark your favorites and pick up a bottle to try this weekend. Cheers!

R. López de Heredia

Viña Tondonia Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2011

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of three days. Consistently enjoyable throughout, but best after several hours of air and through Day 3. The wine pours, a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. No signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with expressive notes of ripe and dried cherry, plums, toasted coconut, fresh dill, cedar chest, and soft baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose however, the fruit is much more tart. The finish is long and tangy. A textbook example of old-school Rioja. Lovely. Drink now with patience and through 2036. — 4 months ago

Andrew, David and 18 others liked this
Ceccherini Cristiano

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I always wish i have more Lopez de Heredia in my cellar evertime i look at your reviews. Cheers!
Jay Kline

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@Ceccherini Cristiano lol…I think the same thing. I certainly have some in the cellar but not nearly as deep as I would like. I guess there’s always time, right? 🤣 Regardless, thank you.
Ceccherini Cristiano

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@Jay Kline there's always time, agreed!
You are most welcome

Bodegas Riojanas

Monte Real Gran Reserva Rioja Tempranillo 1998

what an outstanding experience and without question one of the best wines of the year for me. This is a world class business card of what American oak can do at its best. It starts with a powerful yet elegant knows of dusty cherry, old licorice but mostly gives way to inebriating feeling of grandma‘s old spice cabinet. Something in the nose already tells you that fine fine tans are waiting for you, but the palate is overwhelmingly silky smoothness, possibly the highest combination of intense-yet-silky tannins you can find anywhere, with bright acidity and medium to light body that makes the whole thing dance. I decided to check the producer website and they recommend pairing it with cod with sauce. Luck would have it that I randomly was eating pasta filled with salt cod and tomato sauce. The pairing works well as it further rejuvenates the wine, but I would say it shines at its brightest just by itself, letting those tannins tell the story without any need to curb them down. I’m drinking from Coravin meaning I cannot decant the wine, but even the sediment tastes good. Just like those people who brag about buying burgundy in the 70s, I feel like once the ebbs and flows of trends will shift I will be bragging about buying a 26-year-old monte real gran reserva, kept 24 years at the winery, for 60 bucks, which in San Francisco wouldn’t even pay for the cost of storage  — 4 months ago

Andrew, Douglas and 6 others liked this

Dom Pérignon

Brut Champagne Blend 2008

#AgedWineTuesday

Light gold in color.

Nice crisp nose with limes and brioche.

Light to medium in body with medium plus acidity and small bubbles.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity.

Showing citrus, yeast, minerals, bread, green apples, herbs, earth, lemon juice and white pepper.

Long finish, tasty and elegant.

This 16 year old still feels very young, and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years. Rich and well balanced.

I love this vintage of Dom Perignon. Complex and interesting. I've had this vintage it a few times before, and it is very consistent.

Good by itself as a sipping wine, or with food. Good stuff.

12.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$350.
— 4 months ago

John, ARNS and 25 others liked this

Jutta Ambrositsch

UTOPIE RIESLING 2021

From Chambers Street Wines. Apple juice, mac and cheese lol, something herbal. Interesting 🤔 — 4 months ago

Brian, Neil and 1 other liked this

Nickel & Nickel

State Ranch Yountville Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Paul K
9.2

Huge, plush young but good bones. Lots of cherry, blueberry, and blackberry. — 4 months ago

Vanessa, Tom and 18 others liked this

Benanti

Etna Rosso Nerello Mascalese 2021

Soft tannins, cherries and roses, cinnamon, baked earth, easy gulping — 4 months ago

Ceccherini, Pooneet and 12 others liked this

Alta Vista

Terroir Selection Mendoza Malbec 2019

Huge nose of menthol, cedar, white pepper, clove, and spiced red and black fruit. On the palate plumb, cinnamon, dark cherry, oak, and hints of pencil lead. High alcohol, high acid, medium plus tannin, medium plus body, with long finish. — 4 months ago

LM liked this

Thierry Allemand

Cornas Reynard (R) Syrah 2016

Makes me happy to be alive and wonder what everyone else is trying to do with Syrah. — 4 months ago

Shay, Jonathan and 26 others liked this
Shay A

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On my list to try one day.
Peter van den Besselaar

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Beautiful description, romo