Weinert Estrella Cabernet Sauvignon 1994: delicate bitter notes. Bordeaux-style. Elegant wine with clear Cabernet Sauvignon expression: 88 P.

Norton Reserve Malbec 1999: Big improvements in this winery's releases compared to previous vintages! Redberries and beetroot notes. Well integrated tannins and almost burgundry in style: 87 P.

Norton Privada 1999: Blend of CS, Merlot and Malbec, Norton's flagship wine. Full bodied, fruit driven. Lush and with a long finish. Too low in acidity: 87 P.

Don Eugenio Reserva Malbec 2000: Buttery nose. Very deep colour. Pure ripe and sweet fruit, very concentrated. A lot of new wood, but it can sustain that. Spicy finish, a very pleasant surprise: 90 P.

Mas la Plana 1996 (Torres, Spain): bitter chocolate and rubber notes in the nose. Full bodied with a very typical CS-notes. Long and warm finish with an afterburner: 90 P.

Sassi Grossi 2000 (Gialdi, Switzerland): Earthy, smoky Merlot del Ticino. Somewhat closed, but complex and serious wine. Almost as good as the 1997 version: 90 P.

Syrah elevée en Fut de Chêne (Salquenen, Switzerland): Syrah from Wallis, at the Rhône-headwater. Buttery and vanilla notes in the nose. Redberries and a smooth long finish. 87 P.

You'll never believe me, but I've still got to try a bottle of Mas La Plana... I was thinking of the 1997 (TM 92), but this 96 may be available already. It's no longer such a good deal, about thirtysome € here...

Gastro, I think these are good bottles, they're just too often drunk too early. The 1995 still has some time to go, the 1996 I've tried yesterday is at least 5-7 years before its top. The 1993 is just beginning to drinking well now. If you like the more earthy Cab-style, Mas la Plana is fine for you. It even shows some spanish temperament: warm spicy notes in the finish.

Miguel Torres would be proud of you: he constantly says infanticide is usually the first cause of death among these. The problem is I cannot trust most of the ages-old bottles found here, and I'm not willing to wait on/risk keeping one myself. I'll try to get an aged/forgotten one from a Corte Inglés in Spain some time (we've just had our Corte Inglés here for a year).

[ 09-23-2002, 04:11 AM: Message edited by: Gastronauta ]

I recently had a bottle of '89 Mas la Plana and it was showing very well, all the black, smokey and earthy notes in their place and great equilibrium and finesse.
Someone at the tasting found it a bit too impersonal, but I tend to disagree, it's neither a monster nor a terroir screamer but very good indeed.
Worth the wait, and I still have two '88s.
(edited for spelling)

[ 09-23-2002, 05:24 AM: Message edited by: andreadago ]

Marc,

If you do not mind me asking, what is the price of the '00 Don Eugenio reserva malbec in your neck of the woods. I would love to find some of this. Thanks.

IW

italian wino, this wine was offered at an introductory price of USD 18 - in fact a very good QPR. I also had a sip of the 2001, however it was not near as good as the 2000.

hi marc,

sehen wir uns bei boucherwille am samstag?

Ein, zwei, drei.... da!

Tsunami, thanks for the hint. Yes, we should meet there, sounds like a very nice line-up! I'll write you an E-mail.

Vengo anch'io!!!
Ich moechte!!!!!

andreadago, they will present wines by Dr. Loosen, Gundlhof, Müller and a lot of other great names. If you would like to meet us there, write me an E-mail at sabbath@gmx.ch.

I know, I'm a Boucherville customer.
I was trying to organize a group from here but no luck, and coming up alone is a bit of a trip.

dai andrea vieni!

ci troviamo tutti li, e dopo ti invito a mangiare
con i miei amici.
siccuramente beviamo belle bottigliette

ciao

Marc,

Interesting notes. Thanks for posting.

Sassi Grossi 2000: brought a bottle with me from Ticino. Glad to hear it is as good as the 1997! I put it in the cellar and wrote 'wait a few years and see how it develops'. I did the same with a bottle of Castello Luigi 1998, Rosso del Ticino, and Sottobosco 2000. I am just curious about how these wines will develop ...

Weinert 84 Cab Estrella: I thought this was reaaaally good. Bought 9 bottles. Low to mid-90s score for me. Perhaps huge bottle variation?

Norton: nice wines for everyday drinking and very reasonably priced in the US.

Gus

guscus, are we talking about the same wine? You mentioned the Weinert Estrella Cab 1984, mine was the 1994. It was a very good wine, and my 88 P. are quite a good rating. For an outstanding rating, it only lacked a bit of body and complexity. It surely wasn't an off-bottle, I think it is just a matter of personal preferences whether this wine gets 88 or slighly above 90 P.

[ 09-25-2002, 03:58 AM: Message edited by: Marc ]

Tsunami,
How many more languages other than moon-dialect (you know: " ") do you speak?
For Heavens' sake, Andrea, if I lived in Cadiz, I'd drive!!

Hey Gastro, you're a student aren't you?
On saturdays I should be a padre de familia. If I live wife, children and mother the whole day they may take hostages from the cellar!

gastronauta,



maybe i drive throu spain next year,

if, then, we could meet and drink wine together!