With Hart, James and Zi at the @emidiopepe tasting dinner.

This was one of the surprises of the night for me. I’ve never really drank their reds anywhere as young as this. The Branella is one of their 2 oldest plots of vines, with sandy grounds.

In the glass: deep dark purple, with mid+ body and some translucence near the rim.

On the nose: fresh off the bottle, the Branella seemed to have a heavier funk than the Casa Pepe. This was a wine that took a while to really evolve in the glass for me. It started off with initial notes of stewed currant and earthiness, and I just couldn’t detect the floral or fresh bright notes. But oh, when my glass finally got going, it was sublime. That aromatic lift just keep climbing linearly with intense blackberries, a certain (non-Christmas) spices, and I finally got flowers.

On the palate: oh, yes. SO fresh. So energetic. Borderline juicy. Very very elegant on the palate, even with that distinct tannin structure. Certainly feels less plush and rounded than the Casa Pepe.

This was a pleasant surprise. It took a loooong time for my glass to develop in the glass, but when it did? Man it was delicious.