Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10801
 | | 12/16/2004 3:51 PM |
| - 1999 Celler Vall Llach Priorat Vall Llach - Priorat, Catalunya, Spain (12/16/2004)
I think DdB and I were the only ones who ever purchased bottles of this wine. When it was released I convinced someone ITB to open a bottle so we could taste it. At that point it was just a monolithic oak bomb. At the time the other person stated, "this is a good wine but I'm not sure the oak will ever resolve". Only time will tell with this one. The wine is a blend of Cariñena, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Dark, dark purple. No light shone through this wine. I'm not sure I've ever noticed that before, even with some Syrahs. On the nose there was spice and tobacco. The fruit was mostly plum with blackberry liqueur. The style was very rustic with huge tannins. This wine would scare you in a dark closet. I'm going to forget I have another bottle for about 5 more years and hope for the best.
[$55; Decanted two hours, not nearly long enough. Served with grilled strip steak] (90 pts.)
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max
Grape Fermenter
Posts:579
| | 12/16/2004 6:27 PM |
| | Winetex, have you had the 2000 or 2001 of this wine? I have a couple bottles each and was curious. | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10801
| | 12/16/2004 9:02 PM |
| | I have not. Love_cab_chard and some others have the 00 and 01 vintages which I think were probably better than the 99. | | | |
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max
Grape Fermenter
Posts:579
| | 12/16/2004 10:02 PM |
| | Thanks. | | | |
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love_cab_chard
Master of Wine
Posts:12501
| | 12/17/2004 1:23 AM |
| | I did not have the 99, but trust Winetex's taste. So, in that case, the 00 & the 01 are better (much better). The 00 is a hold. The 01 is more approchable. I brought the 00 & the 01 to different events/tastings. They did very well against some tough competition. | | | |
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DdB
Barrel Filler
Posts:1452
| | 12/17/2004 3:55 AM |
| | WT- not as encouraging as I would have hoped but I'll sit on mine. Any chance this was an off bottle? I seem to recall winebrat really liking this. | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10801
| | 12/17/2004 8:39 PM |
| No, it wasn't off. Maybe it hadn't shaved in a while (joke..). A very manly wine. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 12/18/2004 3:27 PM |
| | parker never rated the 99, did anyone else? 99 was just an average year in priorat, correct? | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10801
| | 12/18/2004 4:35 PM |
| | No, Parker didn't rate it. The WS rated it 95 points. | | | |
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ojeffso
warren, new jersey
Wine Lover
Posts:4877
| | 12/19/2004 12:45 AM |
| | 1999 was a very good to excellent year in priorat. 2001 was exceptional. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 12/19/2004 5:55 AM |
| | now that i think of it, all the 99's i have had were great. i don't know what i was thinking. | | | |
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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10801
| | 07/01/2006 3:49 PM |
| I know that subsequent vintages of this wine improved but "blech". The previous bottle was at least drinkable so I gave it a good score while this one wasn't.
- 1999 Celler Vall Llach Priorat Vall Llach - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat (6/30/2006)
Dark purple and a monolithic oak bomb. Nothing to recommend in this wine although Mr. Winetex said that it opened up a bit a few hours later. I wouldn't drink it so I can't comment on that. It is interesting that multiple critics gave this very high ratings but the wine is virtually undrinkable seven years post-vintage. A waste of $$ at around ~$50. (80 pts.)
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