2007 Stefania Haut Tubee

So it's been a whole month and a half since I have visited this wine, what can I say? This is a wine that I cannot keep my hands off of, and like all of the wines made by Paul and Stefania Romero, it just happens to be quite tasty. This seemed like the perfect bottle tonight after a long day, so it was popped and poured into a Riedel Grapes Syrah/Shiraz glass. Note that this is the first time I have used these new glasses, and figured I would give it a test drive tonight. The stem itself seems nice, and is a good daily drinker glass for a wine like this. This glass really seems to let the cherry dominate on the nose, even more than other times I have drank this wine. Was it the bottle? Or was it the glass? We may just find out in a bit if I pull out another glass for comparison sake. Popped and poured tonight, this was showing some classic dark color in the glass. Nice purple hues to it, and it looked darker than normal, but it turns out it was just the light in the room. As I said before the nose was dominated by cherry, with nice dark fruits in the background, to include some blueberry and blackberry. Nice spice on the nose, but not nearly as prevalent as other bottles. Could this be bottle variation? Doubtful, but possible. Could it be that the wine has integrated a bit in the last month and a half? Quite possibly. On the palate, the red fruits once again seemed to be a shining star, with the spice and white pepper following it closely on its heals. Some nice cherry and strawberry on the front of your palate, with the spice coming through on the mid and back palate. Nice acidity, and well integrated tannins already, but I am sure this bottle will be even better as I am sure I will not finish it tonight. On the finish, again, some pleasant white pepper shines through, very reminiscent of Stefania's Eagle Point Ranch syrah. What a pleasure this wine is to drink, and at $16 on future, who could possibly not like this wine? Very enjoyable, and just what the doctor ordered after a long day. 91 points once again. For more information and other tasting notes on this wine, please visit: http://jerseyfoodies.blogspot.com/2010/01/2007-stefania-haut-tubee.html Cheers! -F. Scott