In a tasting, two bottles were tasted side by side. They showed differently. Was it because the wines were in a different place in the line-up or the bottles came from different stores and had been treated differently? Hard to say, but tasted in a group, we had different reactions. There is an inherent bias that blind tasting removes prejudices and it probably does, but it also introduces its own set of biases that can not be discounted. Bottle #1 was the first glass tasted while bottle #2 was the 9th.
Bottle #1. Purple in color. The nose is dusty with cedar and plenty of black raspberry fruit. On the palate, this is quite tannic. Lots of black raspberry fruit. Easy drinking with little complexity. Some heat on the finish. Seems like a simple fruity wine that should cost around $10. Fine for that type of drinking. More of cocktail wine. Drink now. 88
Bottle #2. Inky purple in color. The nose is very tight at first. It takes some coaxing but black raspberry fruit emerges along with some black pepper. Clean. On the palate, this is much more open. This wine has a lot of energy. It is a fruit bomb with big delicious black raspberry fruit but also has a nice back bone of acidity and would work with bigger foods. Nice texture. Good finish. 91
Purple in color
