Pour Me More Fucking Merlot! :-)

After saturdays wine dinner at Jeanette & Miran its hard to agree with Miles in his judgement - "I´m not drinking any fucking Merlot". But I guess he wasn´t thinking about the kind of Merlot we drank...

There were lots of other great stuff also - Dönnhoff, Keller, Pol Roger, Lamy and Taylor - but that will be a separate post - this one highlights four stunning bottles of Merlot.
All bottles were decanted three hours before the first pour and were tasted double blind.

1997 Redigaffi, Tua Rita
This inky monster has a deep, tight, concentrated nose with masses of sweet dark plums, blackberries, dark cookie dough, bonfire and a lovely flowery note. Very deep, complex and structured. Impressive stuff!
The taste is dark, intense and massive with notes of black cherries, blueberries, blood & iron and in the finish the sweet flowery note as on the nose. The finish is counted in minutes. A big, bold structure but with finesse and refinement. Still young, this should have no problem going on like this for the coming 10+ years.
95p   (tasted 2013/08)

1999 Messorio, Le Macchiole
This is even better than the previous glass! The nose is deep, velvety and immensly seductive with stunning notes of blackberries, plums, lightly peppered veal meat, pressed flowers, forest floor and expensive leather. It has a gorgeous creaminess to the fruit. So, so fine.
The taste is dense and tight but with an impressive balance, nerve and intensity. Notes of ripe plums, licorice, forest floor and dark chocolate fills the mouth. The finish is very long and rewarding. Silk and iron in a stunning mix. This should also hold well for a looong period of time.
96p   (tasted 2013/08)

2000 Galatrona, Tenuta di Petrolo
In every other context, this should have been a great bottle of wine, but in this company it doesn´t have the dimensions of the others. But there is much to like - the nose is deep and intense with notes of black cherries, blueberries, black olives, hot earth and a bit of rust. A lot of warmth. Very good.
The taste is young, warm and steady with notes of sweet blueberries, plums, hot tiles and green raisins. The tannins are a touch foursquared. A long, warm finish. Very, very good, although I think we caught it in an awkard stage.
90p   (tasted 2013/08)

2004 Masseto, Tenuta dell´Ornellaia
First - a rant - this now cost somewhere in the range of 550 - 600 Euro - #¤%"#¤%/)&%¤#!!! Rant over.
This is what dreams are made of, and it still isn´t close to maturity. The nose is the pure expression of beauty, soil, care and breed. There are gorgeous notes of fresh violets, ripe plums, black cherries, a bonfire in the distance and a hauntingly beautiful perfumed scent. It has to be smelled to be believed. And still very young.
The taste is like a cashmere wave of the most perfect ripe fruit there is over your tongue, with additional notes of veal meat, warm tiles, a Tuscan gravel road and Zegna leather. The finish is long, fresh as a daisy and ends with an aristocratic backbone. In 6-10 years this will be a perfect wine. Thanks Miran!!
98p   (tasted 2013/08)