2012 Arietta Cabernet Sauvignon 88 Keys
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The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon 88 Keys is one of the finest wines I have tasted from Arietta. The 88 Keys is often dark and plush, but the 2012 has an extra element of aromatic lift that plays off the fruit richness nicely. Raspberry, red cherry, pomegranate and a host of floral/spiced notes give the wine its distinctive lifted, aromatically intense personality. The 2012 handled 32 months in barrel effortlessly. Moreover, the wine shows far better than it did a year previously.
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Robert Parker
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon 88 Keys is a dramatic and extroverted style of wine. It has a deep, ruby/purple color, loads of floral notes intermixed with black raspberry and blackcurrant fruit. The wine hits the palate with a cascade of lush fruit, full-bodied intensity, no hard edges, velvety tannin and a long, long finish. This is an impressive, well-endowed blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot aged an unusually long time of 32 months in 100% new French oak. It has certainly worked, as this is a beauty.
The 2012 88 Keys, a selection of the best Cabernet Sauvignon in the cellar, spent 30 months in cask. There is no shortage of density, power and pure concentration in the dark, smoky flavors. In the end, though, the 88 Keys comes across as lacking the freshness and energy of the very best wines in this lineup.