Community Tasting Notes 13

• Sean Tay wrote: 91 points

  May 25, 2023 - Medium nose intensity of black fruits, black currant, spices. Medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Drinking well now and doubt it will improve with bottle ageing.

  Comment

• DominikMueller Likes this wine: 91 points

  April 5, 2023 - A cuvée of about three quarters Cabernet Sauvignon and one quarter Merlot. From a rather unappreciated Bordeaux vintage 2013 with somewhat lighter wines, not all of which will have a long life.
  
  The colour of this wine is youthful. An opaque deep dark red with purple highlights. In the glass it draws thick streaks.
  
  An elegant bouquet with a very light floral touch and a distinct but soft cherry fruit. Reminiscent of cherry yogurt. I like it! A vanilla spice is there, but also subtle. With a hint of mint in the background. Smoke was initially present after opening, but this quickly dissipated, allowing the fruit to predominate.
  
  The tannins are velvety. The mouthfeel is really soft and approachable. The acidity is restrained. On the palate, the dark fruit again predominates. With more time in the glass, this does not change much.
  
  Although the wine seems rather soft, the finish is long and dry.
  
  Overall, the 2013 is an approachable Château d'Issan. The wine is elegant, but has few rough edges at this stage, which some may miss. Nevertheless, I liked it very much: Sometimes a red wine is a lot of fun even if it is not the most complex. It'll be interesting to see whether more cellaring can bring out some tertiary notes into the mix. Rated 91 points.

  Comment

• WineTally Likes this wine:

  August 1, 2022 - Cabernet Sauvignon 74%, Merlot 26%
  from rolling slopes of gravel with clay and limestone soils
  and vines of average age 35 yrs planted 9,000/ha.
  Subpar vintage with low yield of 28 hl/ha.
  55% of the 52 ha estate went into this first wine.
  Parcel by parcel vinification in 37 stainless steel vats.
  Malolactic in tank and barrel (for Merlot).
  Aged ~18 months in 50% new French oak barrels.
  12.83% Abv. 75,000 bottles
  Background: One of the oldest wine estates in Bordeaux dating
  back to 1152. Acquired by the Cruse family in 1945.
  Managed by Emmanuel Cruse since 1998.
  50% sold to the Lorenzetti family (Jacky, Françoise et Filles
  who also own Pedesclaux, Lilian Ladouys and Lafon)
  
  A(ccuray)=2: Deep garnet. Tight-knit Cab blend.
  B(alance)=2: Structure impresses rather than components.
  C(omplexity)=2: Dark ripe berries, iron, earth.
  D(epth)=2: Monolithic mouthfeel. Full length and finish.
  
  Wine Tally Score [2,2,2,2] = 8/10
  
  Decanted 2 hrs at a top notch restaurant. Not long enough?
  In dumb stage? Tough vintage in spite of great winemaking?
  In any case, not as poor as some noted.
  
  For story-telling label graphics, see:
  [https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg_dsmTuXSd/]
  [https://www.facebook.com/WineTally/]
  For a video explanation of WineTally (in 8 languages) see:
  Wine Tally on www.youtube.com.

  Comment

• Juliansi Does not like this wine: 83 points

  June 17, 2022 - Was super curious on what a 2013 vintage Bordeaux is like, and finally had the chance last night. Disjointed and takes patience, the 1-2 hour decant just was not enough, but I do wonder if it would have evolved any better?
  
  Nose of dark fruits perfume was pleasant enough, but the tannins and acidity bite into your palate and this D'Issan 2013 severely lacked the finesse of its other vintages.
  
  After 2 hours airtime, the plum and oak notes integrated better, but overall it still lacked typicity & character.
  
  Thanks to ET bro for sharing this at Enoteca last night, we had this with the 3 pastas.. Pomodoro, Pesto and Truffles, before the Tomahawk arrived!
  
  TTDI, Malaysia - 17 Jun 2022

  Comment

• Jake Barnes wrote: 89 points

  March 6, 2021 - (3/6/21) From a 750ml bottle purchased from a local merchant/auction house. On opening, this wine was thin and unbalanced, and there were cords of oak, drying tannins, and a high acidity. The fruit was nondescript, tangy, and red, backed up by a little smokiness. Previous posts indicated this wine would need air time, so the bottle was decanted for two hours. What a difference this made.
  
  Two hours later, the nose had become something more refined. The oak was much less noticeable on the nose and had become a pleasant, toasty quality, instead of the vanilla milkshake bomb it had been. There were also more, well-defined red fruits. On the palate, the concentration was much improved, and there were now ample amounts of tangy cranberry and red currants present. The balance was good as well, and the wine had a very acceptable finish, largely thanks to the verve supplied by the medium-plus acidity. The tannins remained drying, but this was not a problem.
  
  All in all, this was a very good bottle of wine in the context of the vintage. I agree with Vide, who noted in a recent post, that the wine making here is exceptional. I imagine this bottle is what many a bottle of classed 1970s and 1980s left bank Bordeaux might have tasted like with seven years under their corks (minus the oak, perhaps). It had that kind of austere fruit-tannin-acid-alcohol profile. At any rate, I’m glad to have tasted this excellent example of what skilled winemakers were able to pull out of a bad vintage. I’d be interested to taste this wine again in five years to see what has become of it. That being said, I don’t know that I will buy it again given what $45 USD will purchase in my local market. 13% abv. (***/15/89)

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Pro Reviews 13

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2013
• Type Red
• Producer Château d'Issan
• Varietal Red Bordeaux Blend
• Designation n/a
• Vineyard n/a
• Country France
• Region Bordeaux
• SubRegion Médoc
• Appellation Margaux
• UPC Code 3511061344493

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 1 (0%)
• In Cellars 240 (64%)
• Consumed 136 (36%)

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