Marques De Riscal - Rioja 2002

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Thank you Michael, you have always been a man after my own heart. I have been saving this bottle of wine, not really saving, but admiring and yearning for it. One of my best friends Micheal bought it for me and said "drink this when you will really enjoy it, it's special". I have kept it and kept it and today a voice came into my head - my mothers "wine is for drinking and enjoying". After a hard but enjoyable day hunting in the souks i thought yes - I'm alive, life is a celebration.

Madame Monet read and weep as i so often have over your great write ups of wine tasting. This wine is truly superb and lived up to all expectation, it had a faint woody nose, but after allowing it to breath for a while it was delicious, not at all heavy as some describe it. Full bodied but eloquent and smooth with a nice resounding aftertaste, long in the mouth i think you say. A real winner with me. The last time i tasted such a nice red was in Johannesburg when i bought a special red from Stellenbosch, the name which i forget. It also reminded me a little of the fabulous Bordeaux, Chateaux Le Maine 1999.

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