Winery - Raptor Ridge
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Extremely intense, ripe, almost (yet not) hot at 15.1% alcohol. Juicy and fruit-driven, this full-tilt, jammy wine packs lots of punch with its overflowing bowl of cherries and berries, but keeps itself on track with a zippy spine and dense, concentrated finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Crisp, stony and mineral-infused, this wine shows tremendous definition and balance. It is beautifully structured, transparent and concentrated. Flavors of ripe berries, cranberry and pomegranate are set up with vivid acids and lead into a very long, satisfying finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Another high-test (15.5%) fruit-bomb from Raptor Ridge, with well-tamed tomato leaf nuances, spice, sweet, plummy fruit and a big mid-palate. The long finish sends up toasted cracker scents and flavors, and the thick, sappy fruit drives it home.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Pretty cherry candy color, with flavors to follow. This is a fruit basket of a wine, friendly, light and flavorful. A multi-vineyard, barrel-aged blend.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Lovely aromatics here: raspberry jam and fresh-baked brioche. The tart, tangy fruit suggests cranberries and plums; it’s a light purple, beautifully clear and brilliant wine, a pleasure to look at as well as to savor. As before, it shows tremendous definition and balance; it’s beautifully structured, transparent and concentrated.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Pungent with tomato leaf and fresh-turned earth. Young and tight, spicy and earthy, this is a classic example of the Oregon style. The alcohol (presumably ripeness) is significantly lower than in past vintages, and the flavors follow suit. Watch this develop over the next five to eight years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Fragrant and inviting, with rose petals soaked in chocolate, tasted outdoors on a pine-scented evening. It’s a beautifully detailed and powerful wine, the classic iron fist in the velvet glove. The cherry fruit is ripe and lively, and there is a slight impression of alcoholic heat in the finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The Raptor Ridge Reserve is an engaging, fruity and tasty wine, immediately showing bright raspberry and bing cherry. The acids prop it up and give it a spicy lift, and the wine sits on the palate with a lively presence, inviting food, another sip, and further exploration. It is not a complex wine, but harmonious and very pleasant, with spicy cinnamon adding interest to the finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The first bottle was corked, the second shows a soft, somewhat flat center and a flavor of black olive underlying the light, plummy fruit. This is a pleasant, round wine, but it doesn’t have the intensity and brilliant definition of previous vintages.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Despite its youth this is already showing a light orange tone and the fruit is round, ripe and quickly maturing. It’s drinking well, with forward flavors of berry, plum and leaf. Tannins are tight and hard, ripe but unyielding.
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