Monastero Suore Cistercensi S.O. Trappiste 2006 “Coenobium” (Lazio) – From a bottle that’s been open for a little while, which has contrasting effects. On the one hand, the occasional diffidence of the foamy, tanned soil nose is less combative, leaving old stone fruit and the purer version of the soil a little more exposed. On the other, the fight to get at this wine is, in a way, a stand-in for some of the balancing structure that this wine doesn’t always have enough of. I like Coenobium a lot (though I liked it even more when it was under $20), but it often feels like a junior, training wheels version of the crazy “orange wines” that seem to flow like water from Italy these days. (3/09)
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