| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.1 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 33 notes) - hiding notes with no text |
| | Tasted by RobertLA on 4/13/2024 & rated 96 points: Wonderful wine, amazing to have a granache at 20 years and still feel that it has more to give. Full bodied great length super fruit. Easily will last another 3 to 5 years but no reason to wait. (46 views) |
| | Tasted by cos82 on 7/15/2017 & rated 92 points: I love this producer and this wine. Not an Aussie fruit bomb. Wonderful nose of cherry and minerals. Smooth and balanced palate of cherry, ash, minerals and licorice. No tannin. Strong but not over the top. Years to go in my humble opinion. (2229 views) |
| | Tasted by Gti2ton on 5/27/2017 & rated 93 points: Needed a 2 hour decant to open up, but when it did, wow. (2198 views) |
| | Tasted by andrewdodd86 on 4/24/2015 & rated 93 points: old note. ripe, fleshy, fruity, little tannin. round, palate filling. did like (3450 views) |
| | Tasted by Nicholas81 on 11/4/2013 & rated 93 points: Beautiful wine. Needed decanting at least an hour before consumption. Very long legs. Lots of raspberry, cassis and blackberry flavours both in the nose and palate. Almost syrup like levels. Very silky texture and a finish that lasts around half a minute. Consumed on it's own. (4738 views) |
| | Tasted by Kraigers1 on 10/15/2012 & rated 93 points: Seriously good wine. Drinking very nicely now. Let it breathe and the rewards will come. Big blackberry fruit and a ton of raspberry too. Just delicious as to be expected from Clarendon Hills. (5744 views) |
| | Tasted by Chateaunole-du-Pape on 12/10/2011 & rated 92 points: Still excellent, consistent with previous tasting note. Lots of extracted fruit. New world style for sure, which is not my everyday preference, but I do enjoy that type on occasion and regret that this was my last bottle of this excellent offering. (5232 views) |
| | Tasted by Kraigers1 on 10/1/2011 & rated 92 points: Needs 1.5 hours for this wine to shine; out of the bottle very alcoholic but it totally settles down. Pleasant and ripe, drinking nicely but can still evolve with another year or two. Blueberries, blackberries to me. A hint of smokiness on the finish. Good stuff. (4919 views) |
| | Tasted by mpricher on 7/24/2011 & rated 93 points: Whoa. Bottle variation was an issue in the last bottle, but this specific bottle rang bright and true like a clear bell. Opulent dark purple velevt in the glass with excellent viscosity. The nose is ripe blackberries, muddled with cedar and spice and all things nice!! The palate is rich with berry compote goodness, but not overly sweet. The mid-palate has multipe levels of flavor, and the finish sings on for 30-45 sec. Just a woonderful bottle of Grenache, and nice path change from Syrah, and in perfect form to drink right now. (4237 views) |
| | Tasted by mpricher on 7/4/2011 & rated 91 points: Pulled for the Dinner with Dan; to offer some new world rhone comparison to the syrah's opened for the occasion. Who doesn't like a little Grenache? Little concerned as we opened the capsule to some seepage around the edge of the cork. Cork pulled smartly, with a pop. Some notes of oxidation at first, but this did blow off. After 1-2 hours this opened, and offered much of what we experienced in our last tasting of this bottling from CH. In the glass, this is Red Opal dark, but not opaque. It offers some rich bramble berry fruit, spice, and eucalyptus action. This presents well on the palate, coating well with the fruit and a little Halls cough drop on the back end. This was not hot, and over 2 hours evolved quite nice. I still think the last bottle we had in Feb was better. Will chalk up to bottle variation, as we have one more bottle of this vintage to try later. The nice thing is that this bottle looses none of it's vigor. Like their Syrah, the old vine has some length to it. Still plan to drink this year. Salut! (3108 views) |
| | Tasted by petitblanc on 6/24/2011: CT Wisconsin Offline; 6/24/2011-6/25/2011 (Madison, WI): This seemed overly alcoholic, ripe and simple. Need to retaste. Not scored. (3628 views) |
| | Tasted by wineismylife on 6/24/2011 & rated 92 points: CellarTracker Wisconsin Offline I - Part One (Madison, WI): WIML92+/-?
Tasted non blind at a wine dinner.
Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of tobacco, cocoa, black berries and plums. Flavors of berries, cherries and a hint of blueberries. Medium to bright acidity, medium to firm tannins, full bodied. Drink now with air or continue to hold. (3519 views) |
| | Tasted by floydtp on 6/24/2011 & rated 88 points: CellarTracker Wisconsin June 2011; 6/24/2011-6/25/2011 (Madison, WI- various venues): Tasted non blind at a wine dinner. Big fruity nose. On the palate, it has a lot of fruit and sweetness but also some leather. The finish is a bit overshadowed by some looming heat. (4213 views) |
| | Tasted by Biskuit on 3/27/2011 & rated 92 points: More impressed than I expected, needs an hour plus to open up, the raspeberry liqueur is very present, but well balanced. Nice wine. Not crazy over the top as it was a couple years ago. (2578 views) |
| | Tasted by mpricher on 2/13/2011 & rated 93 points: This is an exceptional old-vine Grenache!! Over the course of 3+ hours, this became an amazing bottle of wine. We were fortunate enough to find this bottle on sale, and given the age it seems to be right in a prime drink window. The Dark and Red berry flavors were very rich. Nose had both fruit, spice, and sandlesoap. The color is ruby red, but somewhat cloudy. I will seek out more of this juice, because it's just that darn good!!! (2571 views) |
| | Tasted by huevosconvino on 11/18/2010 & rated 93 points: So juicy, lots of refined red and black fruit flavors, just an amazing wine...great with hearty foods! (2714 views) |
| | Tasted by bonedoc on 10/8/2010 & rated 94 points: drank at grove park inn-horizons restaurant in asheville, nc. phenomenal concentration, ripe cherries/guava/candy/spice, but somehow not hot on the finish. not sure this is an easy food-pairing wine bc of inherent sweetness - but paired extremely well w/ grilled lamb and whole mint leaves (the mint somehow matched perfectly w/ the wine, and mad an exquisite combination!). (2924 views) |
| | Tasted by lushlife on 5/12/2010 & rated 93 points: a derby day delight (2966 views) |
| | Tasted by Chateaunole-du-Pape on 8/20/2009 & rated 92 points: Ah, this was very, very good. It was the perfect choice for what I wanted: a nice bottle to drink without food (after dinner) while watching a baseball game. This would undoubtedly be a nice wine with food but it was extremely easy to drink on its own as well. Opened and let stand on the counter for around 1:30 before pouring through an aerator.It was initially pretty tight in the glass but it opened up nicely after around a half an hour. Very full structure, extracted fruit, including some beautiful blackberries, and a lot of black pepper. It was surprisingly spicy, almost like a Gigondas in that regard. As the evening went along, the wine developed a really nice texture in the mouth... very smooth, almost like velvet. I'm glad I have two more bottles of this, though it will be a while before I open the next one as I think this wine will continue to improve. (3323 views) |
| | Tasted by Jfarris02 on 7/8/2009 & rated 93 points: This is a great wine, and I really enjoyed the cabernet from this producer as well. Personally, I think it is a wine that could stand to age, although it is enjoyable to drink now, I don't think at this point it has reached it's full potential. I don't know that the taste is as full of fruit as most grenaches, not as light of a glass as you might expect. It has a lot of texture and I detect some blackberry and a little "earthiness" or spice to it. It's definitely full of flavor - there is no flatness in this wine. I felt a little burn on the tongue and going down my throat, which I don't mind. I think that it should be allowed to breathe a bit before drinking for optimal enjoyment. It really is a full bodied wine, would be great on Christmas Eve. (3269 views) |
| | Tasted by robertgoulet on 1/3/2009 & rated 94 points: Sweet jesus this wine rocks. Folks it's a big one. If you perceive grenache as an easy drinking fruit driven wine well than you have not drank a grenache from the big leagues. This is a unique drinking experience, one sniff of the nose and you know this means serious business. Let it open a little bit to tame some of the alcohol. What wins me over about this wine is the semi-sweet charcoal at the end of the mid palate. I found it quite stunning. Be happy if you have some. (3558 views) |
| | Tasted by winelovr2001 on 7/22/2008 & rated 93 points: The nose blasts you with menthol, raspberry liquor, and spices. The palate has great length and texture, showing a touch of heat but the fruit balances it out for the most part. Great wine. (3561 views) |
| | Tasted by winelovr2001 on 5/24/2008 & rated 94 points: A very focused wine, showing a tad more eucalyptus than the '03. Showing menthol, red fruits, cinnamon, and fresh herbs on the nose. The palate is very balanced and is all grenache. (3660 views) |
| | Tasted by James B on 3/29/2008 & rated 93 points: What a great wine. Big, complex nose; exquisitely balanced on the palate. Not too young. Tannins have softened significantly. Go ahead and drink this now. I am becoming a bigger grenache fan all the time. (3978 views) |
| | Tasted by A&C on 3/29/2008 & rated 93 points: This wine kicked-butt. The more Grenache I drink, the more I love the grape and cannot help but wonder why it is not at the top of the list of many wine lists. The wine had a wonderful silky fullness, which brought out the grape in a perfect display. There was some great dust to the wine, which balanced perfectly with the plump fullness of the fruit. I think the best thing about the wine was its balance. A great balance between complexity and fruit. I really, really liked this wine. Thanks to James and Juli for sharing. (3886 views) |
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