TN: 2001 Bodegas Julián Chivite Navarra Reserva Coleccion 125 (Spain, Navarra)

WINE TALK
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  • 2001 Bodegas Julián Chivite Navarra Reserva Coleccion 125 - Spain, Navarra (2/15/2010)
    Purple in color with ruby at the rim. Opaque and bright. The nose is nice with Cedar, dark cherries and slight earthy dust. On the palate, this is young and vibrant and showing more fruit than prior vintages. Easy to drink. On Day 2, it is a bit more complex. The other bottles get put away for a few years. (89 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Thanks Loren - I just tasted a range of new wines from this producer and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought their wines had some good qualities to make them ageable, glad to see there’s support for my hypothesis out there in their earlier vintages. Do you drink a lot of Navarra wines?

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Alan - what did you think of those Navarra wines the other day? I think the region is improving a lot. Rosado is still its best bet though.

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Just had the 2002 (cool and rainy vintage) Pago de Arínzano, Chivite’s single-estate wine (now with its own appellation, separate from Navarra). Wonderfully subtle, complex and elegant wine. Fernando Chivite doesn’t make modern-style fruit bombs, and his wines are increasingly balanced and refined.

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Slightly different, but just as remarkable as Chivite’s 125 was their 2001 Conde de la Salceda Reserva Rioja, an ethereal experience that made me stand up and slam my fist on the table, proclaiming THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO WINE WHEN IT IS PROPERLY AGED! Brilliant ruby core extending to a faint garnet rim, gorgeous melodic notes of crushed red and black fruit (fresh and dried), garrigue, herbal/spice/mocha, and notes laced throughout, and simply singing right now. NOT A FRUIT BOMB, so the Anti-Flavor gang should take notice.

Aaaah that felt good. Thanks for the outlet.

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I was disappointed by this wine a couple years ago, especially having really like previous vintages. A lack of focus was my major complaint. I should give this another try. Thanks for the note.

A.

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I wish I knew a local Seattle source for the Chivite wines. But with the Jose Pastor selections, my incentive to dig them up is pretty low.

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Greg, to be honest, I wasn’t expecting that much, but the wines were better than I thought they would be. Lots of really well-made wines at very reasonable prices. A few real standouts that really showed a lot of character, too. Definitely some wines that will be getting some of my spending dollars in there. At some point I will get my notes together and do a semi-detailed report on them.