2013 Rd V Vineyards Rendezvous
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Tasting notes
The 2013 Rendezvous is a blend of 44% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc and 9% Petit Verdot, aged for 22 months in French oak (65% new, the rest second use). It comes in at 14.5% alcohol. Showing the finesse for which this winery is known, this starts slow and builds gradually, lingering longer on the finish than you might suspect from first taste. Ready to drink and rather understated, but for that fine grip on the finish, this is filled with controlled flavor. It evolves nicely in the glass, too. Nothing is out of place; everything is in perfect balance. This seems quite approachable now and it may yet improve a little with a year or two of cellaring, but it is difficult to believe that this will make serious old bones. Still, it won't fall off the table, either. Drink it over the next few years and you'll be delighted at its grace and finesse.
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Mark Squires
More reviews and scores
Very dark purplish crimson. Wonderfully friendly, creamy, broad and ripe. This is classic ripe, subtle, sweet-but-not-sickly fruit with a velvety texture. Just a little bit hot on the end. This does taste like fermented velvet! Quite enough freshness on the end. Really quite forward and already gulpable. Not for the long term and presumably long on Merlot. This is the black-labelled second wine of RdV although funnily enough I think it looks smarter than the white-labelled Lost Mountain. (JR)