Weinert Tonel 111 Malbec 1994 - when is it really ready?

Drinks Chat
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I’ve been a big fan of the Weinert wines for a few years now so I was straight in with the en-primeur offer for the Tonel 111 Malbec. I was wondering if anyone had any insight on why the drinking window is suggested from 2019. Is it because the wine is fresh in bottle and therefore needs to settle down a little? Have to say I’m keen to dig in - has anyone else succumbed and cracked theirs open yet?

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There was another thread on this wine:

https://community.thewinesociety.com/t/weinert-tonel-111-malbec-1994-en-primeur-just-delivered/528

Mine arrives in a week’s time - I’ll let it rest for a week or two and then I think I might dive in!

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Thanks - for some reason that thread is blocked - perhaps because I’ve only just opened my account. Do come back and post your thoughts on the wine when you do try it… on my thread of course :grin:

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@tonythepony - you need to join the en-primeur group to see it

go to GROUPS and click ‘join’ - then that link will work

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In fact the drinking advice is inconsistent, since the narrative says ‘It will be ready to drink soon after bottling’, which I would assume does not mean ‘from 2019’.

I’ve raised this with the WS but not received a reply.

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How soon is soon. Reminds me of an old smiths song. I took soon as meaning 2019. That probably seems very far away to my four year old daughter but quite soon to me.

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The wine just got reviewed on Cellartracker, looks it needs a bit more time, but positive review.

https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine=2648609&iNote=6722681

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I could no longer withstand my curiosity and coravinned one of my bottles. I did really enjoy it. You can taste the age, but there is freshness and fruit to complement. Will probably drink the coravinned bottle gradually this year and start opening the rest next year.

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I agree with your comments. I tasted this wine recently. The wine is not austere on the palate. However, something I noticed when buying Rioja is that wines aged a certain time in wood do suffer from the bottling and need a year or so to come round, particularly as regards the aromas. That was the idea with setting a 2019 start to the drinking date. Its the first time we have bottled such a wine and sold en primeur so I am still learning about how the wine reacts. I think all the Weinert wines can be similar as they do not carry that much bottled stock, so most of the wines are bottled just before shipment and improve with bottle age.

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Just to point out (again) that this contradicts the advice in the tasting note, namely, ‘will be ready to drink soon after bottling’.

Perhaps that phrase should be deleted?

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Yes Richard you are right and I will remove that. There is a drinking date 2019-2025 which is my best estimate.

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I can’t wait to try it next year (or perhaps over Christmas this year…)

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Thanks. I opened a bottle from my half-case in reliance on that statement and was very disappointed.

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I suppose maybe soon in the context of a 25 year old wine is maybe a year or two! Grateful to you pioneers cracking into yours early - I will leave mine in Stevenage until next year.

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Tried another bottle this weekend. Decanted then rebottled to vacuum overnight.

Not totally convinced, still quite youthful, some fruit, nice acidic lift at the finish, the 15% barely noticeable. Lasted well into day 2. Decent wine but I expected something more exciting.

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I withdrew 3 of my 6 last year before Chistmas. I’ve really enjoyed the two I’ve had so far, but I agree if I’d tasted it blind I wouldn’t have got anywhere near the true age.

I’ll be happy to let my remaining 3 sit for several years yet, but expect I’ll drink them sooner.

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If you want to return the wine we will take back your remaining bottles and credit you with those you have drunk.

This was the first ever bottling of such a wine from Weinert. In the relatively dry conditions of their cellar there is preferential evaporation of the water content of the wine and this has concentrated the acidity. (Its the reverse in wet London cellars, as alcohol reduces, hence the early landed cognac style where alcohol is lowered from cask strength without the addition of water, which is the normal practice at the distillery.) Winemaker Huber Weber was very surprised when he analysed the wine as the acidity had increased from when it was younger. I think that is why it tastes young for its age.

I will give a longer start date in future. I think the wine is superb, it just needs longer than I had anticipated. All drinking dates are estimates and its very difficult to predict how a wine will mature. Its not a science but an educated guess. One usually goes by track record, trying to compare a wine with a similar vintage. There was none in this case. Given we have established the wine is developing more slowly than predicted its seems sensible to leave it longer as Matth suggests and perhaps towards the end of its drinking date range. I apologise to all who have been disappointed.

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I’ve had three out of six so far, fairly well spaced out, and each has been better than the last.

It seems to me like it’s very slowly pulling itself together, and while with hindsight I’d rather have waited longer before opening the first bottle, it’s been interesting - and educational - to see how, despite all those years in barrel, it’s needed further time in bottle to show what it can be.

I’m glad I have them now, and am in no rush to drink my remaining three.

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Interesting thread which rang a vague bell with me. Looking back I bought a couple of these and drank in 2019. I must have found them unmemorable as I have no notes on them at all. My notes are hardly works of art but I usually manage something! I clearly went in too early and this has made me more interested in trying them again with more time in bottle.

Jim

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I keep being tempted to take mine out so this is good to hear, no rush yet!