Winery - Louis M. Martini
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
From low-yielding 120-year-old vines, this is one of the most serious Zins around. It's soft, well-structured and harmonious, with Zin's briary, jammy, peppery, wild berry fruit. The mouth-coating flavors persist on the long delicious finish for a full minute.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Dark and powerful, this glass-staining wine explodes with blackberry marmalade and smoke aromas, and fills the mouth with powerful fruity, berry flavors. Despite the size, it's elegant and harmonious, with sweet, oaky tannins.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A beautifully balanced wine that shows how to make the best of a lesser vintage. The cherry, blackberry and blueberry flavors are delicately framed in smoky oak, with a lush, smooth texture.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Tannic and young and dry. This adolescent Cab is locked down now, but it shows the flash and structure associated with this vineyard. Is it an ager? Hard to tell, because it’s more elegant than powerful, and you have to wonder if the fruit will outlive the tannins. The betting is on longevity. Drink 2008–2015.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Has a flashy, showy nose of toasty, smoky oak and vanilla, but also plenty of blackberry and cassis fruit. Ripe, lush and oak-laden, but with enough chewy tannins to suggest cellaring a couple of years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Pretty sweet for a dry table wine, and rather cloying. Feels flat on the palate despite officially high acidity. The flavors and texture veer toward cherry cough medicine, turning bitter on the finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Fragrant and delicate, a wine with polished flavors of green apple, peach, litchi, wildflowers and Oriental spices. Drinks very dry and quite acidic. Refreshing and flavorful, especially with Asian fusion fare.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The 2001 vintage appears to mark a step up in quality for these wines. Lead pencil and dusty berry notes start this wine off, opening to deliver bright cassis flavors and a full-bodied, firmly structured mouthfeel. Long on the finish. Drink 2010–2020.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Subtle notes of toast, vanilla and chocolate allow the leafy, cassis-driven fruit to shine. It’s a medium-weight Cab, not a heavyweight, which makes it easier to pair with food. Finishes lush and chocolaty, with the merest hint of raisins.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Marks a welcome return to the old Martini style of soft, delicious red wines that are intricate in detail and subtly marked by wood. The flavors spread feather-like over the palate, highlighting black cherry, pepper, tobacco and spice; dry and rich. Has an extra layer of nuance that makes each sip different from the last. —S.H.
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