Clio

I had been hearing good things about Clio ($$-$$$) for a few years now. Robert Parker gave the 2002 vintage 93 points; he gave 96 points to the 2003. I'm not sure why it took me until the 2004 vintage to get around to trying it, but it seems there is a consistency in its quality. The wine is a blend of 60 year old Monastrell (Mouvedre) vines and 25 year old Cabernet grown in the Jumilla region of Spain.
This wine is brought together by Australian Chris Ringland, who started his own label, Three Rivers, in 1989. Since, he has traveled the world, bringing his knowledge to several top producers.
The wine itself was reminiscent of dark red fruits, coffee, and black pepper. The black pepper overpowers the taste at first, so allow this one to breathe. It's mouthfeel and long, smooth finish made me think of Silver Oak, a much higher priced California cult-wine.
The wine is currently being sold by the glass at 116 Crown (Crown St., New Haven) through their fancy shmancy super duper nitrous system (actual technical term), that keeps by-the-glass wine at by-the-bottle quality for up to 2 weeks.
Also running through the nitrous system are Chateau Villerambert Julien and Chateau Pontac Monplaisir.
Check out a video review of Clio on Winelibrary.com.