I've reviewed more than one wine before, but I've never reviewed the same wine just different vintages. I've only had the opportunity to conduct this experiment once before and I didn't take any tasting notes on the second vintage I sampled. So I went ahead and made sure to take notes on both vintages this time. Without further ado, on to the reviews.
2007 Trentatre Rosso (33.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33.3% Merlot, 33.4% Montepulciano), Italy
Color – Dark red (nearly purple) with a black core
Nose – Plum, molasses, smoke
Taste – Be in for a shock on the first sip of this decadent red. This wine makes the grade in every single category. Color, yep it’s got beautiful dark red characteristics that look amazing in the glass. Aroma, that’s here too in spades with bountiful scents of plum, molasses, smoke that fade to lighter notes of oak, leather, chocolate, and spice. Flavor, this wine has flavor for days; intense plum, dark fruit, bittersweet chocolate, leather, coffee and oak mingle together with perfect acidity and tannins, all topped off with a long, dry finish. This wine can take you on a journey all its own; it’s nearly a masterpiece compared to anything else out there under 15 dollars. Don’t delude yourself, this wine is a heavy hitter. While it might not be a fruit bomb, it comes pretty darn close. It’s complex and full bodied red wine with a nice silky mouthfeel. This one tastes perfect when served right at room temperature. Make sure to let it breathe in the glass for about 10 minutes, but I wouldn’t say you need to decant it any more than that. I took four days to finish my bottle off and the wine tasted just as amazing on glass number one as it did on glass number five.
Overall, this is probably the best QPR I have come across in a 6 dollar bottle of wine. It has the depth, complexity, flavor, and texture of a 15-20 dollar wine. It has layer upon layer of flavor and texture and brings intense pleasure with every sip. It is so well balanced that it holds up nicely with food, but tastes absolutely superb on its own. I sincerely can’t say enough about this wine. You have to go buy it now if you enjoy big red wines. This is a “buy by the case” wine!
2009 Trentatre Rosso (33.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33.3% Merlot, 33.4% Montepulciano), Italy
Color – Ruby red
Nose – Dusty blackberry, chocolate, damp soil
Taste – I will preface this merely by saying I would have loved this wine had I drank it before trying the 2007 vintage. That being said, this wine is not bad. In fact it’s pretty good, just not on the same level as the 2007. It has a decent enough nose even though it is lighter in the glass than its previous variation. The flavor in the initial sip are light and acidic, with more raspberry, cherry and smoke than blackberry or chocolate. The mid-palate consists largely of tannins, red berry flavors and some alcohol. The finish is medium in length; contains raspberry, sour cherry and wet leaves; and is quite dry. This wine is young and while not very complex, is still a pretty good effort. The texture is smooth in the mid-palate and finish but the wine starts a little confused and somewhat harsh. I can’t honestly say this is great wine nor can I say it’s a bad wine; it falls firmly in the good wine category. The wine has minor complexity, mostly smooth mouthfeel, and decent flavors mainly of red fruit with some chocolate and earth mixed in.
Overall, if you were to randomly purchase 10 wines with a price tag of 5.99 each, this wine would beat 8 of those wines and fall just short of the 9th. It’s not a bad wine at all, it’s just not a great wine. It is a good wine and not much more. What is best about this wine is that its only 6 dollars at Trader Joe’s and that makes it a really good QPR. I would say that if you can’t find the 2007 vintage then pick up a bottle or two of this. It’s not a wine to buy by the case unless you are going to cellar it for a few years, but it’s a wine you can keep around and still enjoy.
To recap, if you are able to pick up these vintages, set the 2007 aside and open the 2009 first. Enjoy its flavors, how it only cost you 6 dollars but still tastes good enough to get pretty good marks. It's not off-putting or pretentious, there aren't any surprises, its a little complex and tastes quite nice. Then a few nights later pop open the 2007 and be prepared for an amazing experience with a glass of wine. It's a wine that you can pick up for the price of the change you can find in your couch, but it tastes absolutely fantastic. Big flavors that rival a 15 or 20 dollar wine. You can enjoy both of these wines in their own time and place. The 2007 is a truly superb QPR, the 2009 is a good QPR. But for 6 bucks, I would advice buying the 2007 by the case and the 2009 by the half case.
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