Bodega Norton – Privada 2012 – Mendoza

Very inky colour here quite massive colour. Pure and fruity nose; high intensity, high ripeness. Almost as intense as a port wine with really sweet ripe fruits, dark plum, blackberry, a lot of crushed berries. Not a lot of oak, rather with an emphasis of fruit on this one. Intense palate here, it has a lot of weight, a lot of fruitiness. However, with a quite rounded texture. Rather fine tannin on the background, slightly powdery there. With an underlying spiciness as well, some hints of pepper, clove, giving a lift to that very intense and ripe fruit. However I say ripe, but I do not think over ripe. Nothing is jammy, stewed or cooked in there, rather ripe fruit. Elegant and nicely balanced. There is a good deal of freshness despite this high ripeness. I think the alcohol is probably rather high here. I don’t really taste it, you just feel a bit of warmth on the finish. Oak is finely integrated as well. Plenty of juicy and succulent dark fruit in this one. Long finish with a fine spiciness, a wine that will certainly gain more complexity from further cellaring, but it is drinking pretty well already right now.

Tasted by the Best Sommelier of the World, Andreas Larsson.