Jake Barnes
Member #553,507 signed up 10/15/2017
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2009 Château Cantemerle
5/4/2024 - Jake Barnes Likes this wine: 95 Points
Second of two bought at retail. This was open for business from PnP, with well-concentrated, aging black cherry and cassis on the palate, along with some very elegant—and very Cantemerle-like—undergrowth, black truffle, and pipe tobacco on the nose. Great complexity and nuance here, as well as a long, lingering finish.
This was showing about an 80/20 primary-to-tertiary profile and had plenty of unresolved, ripe tannins left and miles to go before it slept. In terms of development, it was way ahead of bottles from my lot of the 2010 and much more satisfying right now. I need a case of this stuff. Even now, in its fifteenth year, it’s only about $55 US per bottle by the case. You’ve got to love the value Cantemerle brings to the table. I’ve not yet discovered its equal in this department. 13% ABV (great; distinctive/****/17/95)
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2020 Château Fontenil
5/4/2024 - Jake Barnes Likes this wine: 93 Points
From a single bottle purchased at retail. Coravin pour. Glass-coating concentration. Wow. That’s good wine. I bought this on sale for $23 US, but don’t let the price point fool you.
This is a bit shy on the nose right now, showing peonies and a bit of leather in addition to plums and cherries on the nose, but in the mouth, it’s a big, weighty, glycerol-drooling beast packed with well-concentrated black and red fruits and showing hints of licorice and dark chocolate covered cherries. It seems very soft at first and then it explodes, courtesy of an electrifying backbone of acidity that brings the juice alive with a zap without giving the least impression of too much acidity. Lots of ripe tannins here. Balance is excellent. Zero perception of the high ABV.
Young as this is, it is already a great wine that is drinking very well in a flashy, youthful way. There is a lot of juice and structure here. If this develops some complexity and nuance as its youthful in-your-face wow factor fades, it could easily become the 95-point wine some critics have called it. I have bought a case since this tasting. I’d buy two, but I just don’t have the cellar space. The Wine Searcher average price is $28 US. That would provide an excellent QPR for this, but at the sale price of $23 US, this is in back-the-truck-up QPR land. If you’ve got the space, you would do well to load up on this. 14.5% ABV (very good; distinctive/****/16.5/93)
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2019 Château Sénéjac
5/3/2024 - Jake Barnes Likes this wine: 90 Points
First of a case bought at retail. Drinking very well for such a young wine, showing a well-concentrated but friendly mixture of red and black fruits and dusty tannins on the palate. Not so simple as you might expect on the nose, though, where it also showed peonies, baker’s chocolate, and a hint of cinnamon.
An astounding value, really. At the full US retail price of $20 a bottle, this represents exceptional QPR, but on sale as it is for $17 at my local retailer, it’s an absolute steal. 13.5% ABV (very good/***/15.5/90)
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