This incredibly complex yet refined Amontillado “saca,” which has an average age of over 30 years, is a sublime expression of Amontillado that shows the refined tangy flavors of biological aging as well as layers and layers of subtle complexity coming from the long oxidative aging process. Our editors in our Hong Kong office have been tasting some exceptional sherries at the end of each tasting day, and we have found a few great examples. The syrah was equally mesmerizing, underscored by its precision and polish.Īnother wine not to miss in this report is Spain’s Lustau Jerez Amontillado VORS. The pinot and chardonnay show a little more volume and generosity than previous cooler vintages, but they are still very retained, chalky and elegant. We appreciated its openness and elegance – what Chadwick told Senior Editor Zekun Shuai was its “Mediterranean personality.” This is a fun wine to buy and drink while you wait for the first wine to open with age in your cellar.Ĭhadwick’s Errazuriz Las Pizarras range of wines from the Aconcagua coast also shined through in Chile’s 2020 vintage. We also rated the new second wine of Seña, the Rocas de Seña Valle de Aconcagua 2020. It also nearly always gives a balsamic note to the wine like it has in 2020 – the wine rated in this report. I always think that the touch of malbec in the wine makes the difference and gives it a just enough ripeness and softness in the center palate. I have been to the wine estate a number of times over the last seven years and it’s a breathtaking mountainside vineyard with terraces and biodynamically farmed vines.
The winery is now wholly owned by Chadwick. Gold standards for the best reds of Chile are certainly set by the winery of Seña, which incidentally was created by Robert Mondavi and Eduardo Chadwick after the success with Opus One. Masseto sets the gold standard in Tuscany for the grape.
We often speak about how great merlot is in Tuscany, but only a handful of producers reach the level of the best of Pomerol, which remains the holy grail for merlot. Italy’s iconic merlot, Masseto, is of equally compelling quality in 2019 and I sensed a fine-tuning in the wine, with its meticulously polished tannins and superb length and complexity. This meant it was made from the vineyard of To Kolan, which remains arguably the most famous vineyard in Napa Valley. “Opus took what it wanted in the beginning,” Silacci said with a big, warm grin during the tasting. There’s an almost essence of To Kalon character to the wine with the ripeness and generosity yet firmness and form. What is striking when tasting the old wines with the newest releases is that they resemble one another in nature and pedigree. “I have been waiting for the 19 to go down but they never do,” Silacci said after he tasted both vintages. It’s interesting that I have drunk the 1979 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve a number of times in the last three years and the wine is as equally fresh and vivid as the Opus One 1979 after all these years, although it lacks some of the complexity and polish of the Opus.
Silacci said that the winemakers of Mouton were given the run of the vineyards of the Robert Mondavi Winery at the time and that the French choose some of the best grapes that were going into the Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserves. It showed such grace and beauty for an old wine, with all the autumnal and tobacco character one could hope for in an aged cabernet sauvignon-based red. In fact, one of my favorite wines was the first vintage of Opus, the 1979. He rolled out all the early vintages of Opus from 1979 to 1990 in a tasting at the winery a little over a week ago and it was impressive how well the wines were aging. I am in the process of reviewing almost every vintage of Opus One with winemaker Michael Silacci. The latter is perhaps “the” great icon wine of a generation (especially mine) considering its first vintage was 1979 and it was founded by the late greats of Bordeaux and Napa Valley – Baron Philippe de Rothschild (Mouton Rothschild) and Robert Mondavi. rated some of these world-class standard-bearers over the past week, including Masseto, Seña and Opus One. Great modern icon wines always seem to be of exceptional quality, regardless of their origins. "noresultstext": "No results for Tasting Notes, Tasting Reports, Videos and Events.
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