So this is quite the treasure I got to open a few days back, a bottle basically gifted to me (34USD) by a local supermarket owner and wine enthusiast, with a two hour decanting and paired with a steak at a tango show here in Buenos Aires.
I must say, it was quite the experience to enjoy a bottle literally older than me. A bit over it's 25th birthday (Argentinian grapes are harvested in March)
I am not quite good at notes, so do have some mercy on me if you most likely find them lacking.
At first, the smell was quite subdued, smelling mostly of damp nothingness with a very slight hint of cassis. We drank some María Magdalena Chardonnay from Sottano, a Colomé Torrontés, and then a 2020 Gualtallary Gran Enemigo while we waited for the Angélica to decant a bit (I don't drink that much, we were 12 people).
As time went on, the wine definitely opened up a lot. We smelled it every 20 minutes or so, and the smell of dried vinegar started to become more and more prominent, which made us worry that it might have been a dud.
At the hour mark it became the main smell, which made me reassure myself that even if it was a dud, the day more than made up for it.
But by God, I couldn't have been more wrong. As we started pouring and then got to the first sip, I finally understood why people paid exorbitant prices for wines this old.
The smoothness I felt as I drank it was out of thia world. The slight smell of vinegar was still there, but behind it hid a rich profile with an elegant note of the currants mentioned earlier, the note of spices found on newer bottles was mostly gone, with the tannins well integrated into an incredibly well balanced wine.
Several people at the table had only slightly liked the previous ones (several of them not particularly liking wine), but even they couldn't pass up on this one.
Even as I remember it, I can't help but feel I sort of wasted this bottle on me. Though I do really like wine, maybe it could have waited until I had tried more things to truly appreciate this bottle (and it also could have used a bit more decanting time). I can't say I'm too hopeful that I'll ever have an opportunity such as this again, but I definitely hope I'll be experienced enough to enjoy it fully and give you better tasting notes than this.
by hanqua1016
1 Comment
Awesome, not the kind of wine you see every day here, especially not with age, and super evocative notes to go along with it. This is the kind of thing I’m on the sub for. I love this producer, but haven’t had anything with real bottle age. I’ll probably hunt one down after reading this, especially considering that they’re pretty under-priced for the quality. Based on your notes it sounds like it aged pretty well, but was slightly past its peak. Regardless of the incredible smoothness on the palate, a well aged wine shouldn’t have any vinegar character unless it’s just a little bit too old. I bet this was better maybe like six or seven years ago- But then again, I’m not the one who tried it!!