1986 Terrantez

Tasted from a 37.5-cl sample bottle. TA 9.5 g/l, VA 1.4 g/l, RS 88 g/l, pH 3.4. The fire and ice, sweetness and slice-winter-in-ribbons dryness of this Terrantez is an edge-of-seat thriller in a glass. It's a rapid, wild ride, starting with a deceptively slow sensuous swirl of dark chocolate and thick, molasses-sticky, back-pepper-fiery gingerbread that, with gathering urgency, moves into lime syrup, then lime and kumquat and blood orange with a deep clove-and-tobacco underline. The sweetness swirls out and out and out, eddying slowly at the same time that the acidity moves over the top like an arctic wind. Smoky, tense, dark. Smouldering beauty. (TC)

The 1986 Terrantez has a deep burnished amber hue. The nose is quite intense, offering scents of stewed fig, clove and a light furniture polish aroma, all well defined but not subtle. The palate is sharp on entry, with an almost penetrating line of acidity. Orange rind, tangerine and marmalade come through forcefully. I am just missing a bit of finesse and composure on the finish.