Coturri Assemblage Millenaire

[RichardA]

Has anyone tasted the Coturri Assemblage Millenaire? I just picked up a few bottles of the 1999 vintage. I am a big fan of Coturri wines but have never tasted this one.

[Morgan_Weber]

Has anyone tasted the Coturri Assemblage Millenaire? I just picked up a few bottles of the 1999 vintage.  I am a big fan of Coturri wines but have never tasted this one.

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I haven't tried that one. Last August, I made an appointment with Mr. Cotturi and went and checked out the winery when I was in Sonoma. It is quite the place. He really is a nice guy. The winery is not quite what one might expect. They're more-or-less, left-over hippies. The place is really run down--cars on blocks that don't work. The 'tasting room' was in the wine cave, which was just a hole in the side of the mountain that had been blown out and dynamited, then a wall built to cover the front up. They don't get many visitors out there, so we made a special appointment. All in all, we spent over an hour talking with Tony Coturri. He bent over backwards to show us his wine, opening close to a case of bottles of different styles and different years, and didn't charge us a thing. As we were packing up our wine purchases, he picked up an empty case, re-corked the bottles that he had opened during the tasting, and sent them home with us. Needless to say, we had quite an evening...didn't want to let any of it go bad. It is to date, one of the best wine experiences that I have ever had.

Let me know how this bottle turns out. If you want pictures from Cotturi, let me know and I'll email them to you.

Cheers.

M

[RichardA]

Thanks M. Please email me the photos as I would like to see the winery.

Only 20 cases of the 1999 Coturri Assemblage Millenaire were made so it is not a surprise that I have not seen many talking about this wine.

[docsconz]

Has anyone tasted the Coturri Assemblage Millenaire? I just picked up a few bottles of the 1999 vintage.  I am a big fan of Coturri wines but have never tasted this one.

←

I haven't tried that one. Last August, I made an appointment with Mr. Cotturi and went and checked out the winery when I was in Sonoma. It is quite the place. He really is a nice guy. The winery is not quite what one might expect. They're more-or-less, left-over hippies. The place is really run down--cars on blocks that don't work. The 'tasting room' was in the wine cave, which was just a hole in the side of the mountain that had been blown out and dynamited, then a wall built to cover the front up. They don't get many visitors out there, so we made a special appointment. All in all, we spent over an hour talking with Tony Coturri. He bent over backwards to show us his wine, opening close to a case of bottles of different styles and different years, and didn't charge us a thing. As we were packing up our wine purchases, he picked up an empty case, re-corked the bottles that he had opened during the tasting, and sent them home with us. Needless to say, we had quite an evening...didn't want to let any of it go bad. It is to date, one of the best wine experiences that I have ever had.

Let me know how this bottle turns out. If you want pictures from Cotturi, let me know and I'll email them to you.

Cheers.

M

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The Coturri Winery takes the term "garagist" literally. They have made some wonderful wines, but also some clunkers. If they ever got consistent with the great wines, they would be a major force. Haven't had or even previously heard of this one though. Do you know what is in it? I would imagine given the name that it is a blend.

[RichardA]

It is their Bordeaux style wine, with 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot.

[RichardA]

I opened a bottle a few nights ago with my local wine buddies.

The wine is very dark in color, almost inky. Initially, this wine had a funky aroma, very earthy and almost a barnyard smell. My initial tastes of this wine began with a gush of very grapey flavors. It transformed into a more earthy taste on the finish, which was fairly long. What this wine really needed was to sit and breath for awhile. For later on, after some time had passed, the wine really smoothed out. The funky aroma largely vanished, though still being mildly earthy. The grapey flavor became much more subdued to nice blackberry and dark cherry flavors. The wine became very smooth with a complex layer of tastes. There were some spicy elements on the finish that emerged and the earthiness largely vanished. I was very impressed with the wine after it had sat for a time. It became very much a Bordeaux-style wine.

My friends all enjoyed the wine as well, especially after it sat for a time. I would definitely recommend this wine. I do look forward to my other bottles as I will get to taste even more of the wine then, rather than split it with five others.

[docsconz]

Thanks for the report, Richard. What does the wine sell for?

[RichardA]

I bought it for $25 a bottle.

[docsconz]

Thanks. Sounds like a decent value.