This past weekend we went out to a friends house for Shabbos and I brought over a bottle of the 2010 Capacnes Peraj Petita, which turned out to be a bit of a dud. EP warned me it was going downhill, I should have listened 😦

Anyway, the meal was wonderful, and the host opened a bottle of the 2007 Four Gates Merlot which is hopping now! Rich and layered and with so much wonderful acid.

The wine notes follow below:

2010 Capcanes Peraj Petita
In many ways this wine is consistent and not just an entry-level wine that Capcanes would like you to believe. This is a wine that many wineries would dream to be a front line wine in their portfolios. A blend of Grenache, Samso and Temparanillo, all Spanish varietals that have had great success in the Montsant wine region. The nose starts off with plum, blackcurrant, and coffee. The mouth is filled with rich coffee, ripe black forest fruit, toasty almost burnt cedar, nice black fruit, but the mouth is falling apart and it is hollow in the middle that fills in with air, but loses almost all complexity and concentration. The finish is medium long with nice spice, toast and bramble.

2007 Four Gates Merlot – Score: A-
Having tasted this again recently, the wine continues to show like it did before but with even more concentration and bracing acidity! The nose on this massive wine is screaming with blackberry, black plum, ripe raspberry, herbaceous, bramble/minerality, toasty oak, and coffee. The mouth on this medium to full-bodied wine, is gripping with tannins, dark fruit and minerality that come together into a nice round mouth. The finish is super long with nice red and black fruit that is topped with rich coffee balancing acid and oak. This is a structured and massive wine that will also open up over time. For now, open it and taste the wine, then watch it grow before your eyes. If that is too complicated, stick with tasting it out of the bottle, and then again after a few hours of air. Drink by 2016.