2014 Henry of Pelham Speck Family Reserve Baco Noir – Vintages 461699 – $24.95 – ****+ – Can Baco be refined? One of the reasons I love Baco from Henry of Pelham is that is comes a little rough around the edges. So it’s interesting to get a bottle with the silver label signifying the top tier of wines from Henry of Pelham. The nose is raspberry and blueberry but the intense fruit flavours are kept in check with smoke and vanilla. The flavours on this wine are smooth from start to finish with Raspberry, Blackberry, Cherry and a nice Smokiness to the finish. While everything about this wine tastes big and fruity the finish offers nice acidity. So, the answer to my question is Yes – While this is a smoother, rounder, more refined version of this wine from Henry of Pelham it is still very much the Baco that we have come to expect from this winery.
I recently opened a 2010 Reserve from HOP and you would be hard pressed to guess Baco in a blind tasting IMHO. It was superb, and definitely showed no signs of green/herbal/vegetal that some Baco exhibits.