1996 Monte Volpe Barbara

[mrdutton]

A cali wine that was not an oak bomb. As a matter of fact, when I first sipped it I thought "a real fruit bomb".

IK said something about it being able to remove several layers of enamel from the teeth. Well, I guess our palates are different (as they should be) or maybe mine has been destroyed just as many say WW's.......... has been.

Bright ruby red, the clarity of a diamond (I could read through it), lots of up front fruit with lots of body from the alcohol - but it was not "hot". Just a small bit of astringency, with a nice long finish with a hint of spice and what I thought of as lead pencil. The fruit had me guessing - I knew it was there, plenty of it, but plums?, currants?, cherries?, a hint of something but I couldn't quite catch it; I thought a slight hint of citrus but hesitate to say it........

Great just to hold this one for a while in the mouth before swallowing, just to get the fruit and the acid and the body working together. I guess I could say a balanced wine.

Anyway, I am glad that I had it and would really enjoy tasting it again......... Now if I can just find some around this barren land in which I live.

[This message has been edited by mrdutton (edited 10-26-2000).]