| Dear Mr Danielle, I finally got around
to tasting your wine yesterday. Here are
my notes:
Secundo Cabernet Sauvignon 2004.
Fine ruby-carmine colour with clarity and
limpidity; subdued notes of ripe berry fruit,
a little briary, fine expression of Cabernet
Sauvignon with clear and precise fruit on
the palate, evidently youngish vines, but
already with a sense of place. Quite Medoc
in style, but more Margaux or St Julien
rather than Pauillac or St Estephe, fine
balance, refreshing flavours and nice length.
16/20.
Premium Cabernet Sauvignon 2004.
Very fine black cherry colour with still
the violet tinge of youth, more earthy and
more meaty than the Secundo, more in the
Pauillac/St Estephe mould, excellent depth
and ripeness, almost plummy and succulent
on the middle palate with fine tannins at
the end. Very fine expression of Cabernet
Sauvignon, without any of the excesses often
found in the New World, deep briary fruit
with polish and length and good smooth tannins.
18/20.
The wines were tasted around 3pm in the
afternoon, and I re-tasted them with a couple
of friends over dinner around 9pm. By that
time the Secundo had faded a little, but
the Premium had really opened up and was
even more impressive.
(...)
My friend Stephen Brook, who writes regularly
for Decanter, has been invited to attend
the San Paulo Wine Fair this May. You would
find him a most interesting person, who
would certainly appreciate what you are
doing in Brazil.
For the moment, I think that given the quantities
(tiny) and prices (high) it would be difficult
to place these wines on the UK market, and
I think a personal visit by yourself is
the way to progress on this.
Thank you for the great opportunity to
taste the two excellent wines.
Kind regards,
Steven Spurrier. |