By far, one of the most difficult wines I have reviewed in ages. Explanation: I always taste the wine on opening and then breathe it accordingly if time permits. As stated many times, most wines, even inexpensive red wines will change (improve) with some breathing.
My initial taste of this wine was angering. The bouquet was really subtle with a suggestion of chocolate maybe with a hint of brambly red berries but really subdued. It was thin, flat, and sour on the palate and since I bought it out of state there was no way I could return it and I paid $20 for it.
It was so bad and my 30 years of experience said it was not going to get better, I was close to dumping it. But, the combination of my frugality and my inability to determine what was wrong with this wine told me to hang on for a while. I didn't believe it was "corked" which meant it had to be simply "bad." But I waited; and I breathed it, and I decanted it and tasted it again after another 2 hours.
What tha? It wasn't great but it wasn't the same wine I had tasted earlier either. I waited still another 2 hours and after 5 hours re-tasted it. Eureka!
Garnet ruby hue with lush plum and bold ripe blackberry with a wildness and spice with notes of evergreen.
Palate--almost cherry candy front with a juicy ripe core. Delicious and what a surprise. I am usually quite good at determining whether a wine will improve with breathing and whether it is a bad wine or just a poorly made wine. This one was a total baffler. So--lesson learned. trust your palate, be patient and you may be rewarded. Raise a glass!
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