September 24, 2023 - Too much ripe fruit and too powerful for me. Lacks elegance and not sure that this bottle will every find a better balance. Not my thing.
September 18, 2023 - Pretty much same as previous note.
September 1, 2023 - Ripe dark and red berries and good garrigue in both the bouquet and on the palate. In this bottle the alcohol seemed to be more integrated than in the previous bottle.
June 3, 2023 - Very ripe dark berries and a lot of garrigue in the bouquet as well as on the palate. A firm amount of sweetness, ok acidity and tannin. The 16% ABV is a bit disturbing.
March 25, 2023 - Fabulous full bodied, nice fruit,
January 21, 2023 - Oof, was I wrong giving this CdP a shot. Very good vintage according to many (warm during the day but cool at night, unusually large diurnal swing, slow ripening, all leading to good acidity). So I thought I’d try this CdP, an entry level bottling… The alcohol was simply brutal though. As obtrusive as it gets, on both palate and nose. Little else came through, especially on the palate. The nose did improve a bit with air, revealing hints of classic CdP aromas… that were then quickly clobbered by alochol burn.
January 17, 2023 - Medium ruby in glass. After 2 hours in decanter and some time in the glass, medium (almost med-) fruit forward nose remains rather tightly wound around Asian spices and pepper, black cherry, chocolate and charred wood. This wine is still developing with little tertiary characteristics.
Palate is fruity and spicy to match the nose, although perhaps not with intensity. Acidity is med, tannins medium, alcohol high, body medium (lighter body than I was expecting). Med finish, med flavor intensity. This is an acceptable wine altjoufh lacking in balance due particularly to high alc. On a positive side, there is some complexity given the various varietals traditionally included in the CdP. Drink now or age a few years. Pair it with a complexly flavored white meat such as spiced grilled pork.
Postscript: Something has been bugging me about this wine. The more I think about it the less I think I really liked it. The alcohol at 16% was not balanced out by the fruit and acidity that I think it should have been. Another reviewer talked about the mid palate “gloop.” I think that is the alcohol. It certainly left a finish that was not enjoyable. Again, mayb time can improve this? The key to high alc is balance and I think this wine lacks it.
November 7, 2022 - WIML93
Tasted non blind.
Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of aspirin, black berries and ginger. Flavors of berries, cherries and raspberries. Medium to bright acidity, medium to firm tannin, full bodied. Drink or hold.
October 20, 2022 - Kind of disappointing…Not a lot of balance. Rather less tannic than I’d expect. Kind of “gloopy” (hard to explain but murky dark fruits without a lot of freshness). A bit too much oak as well.
July 10, 2022 - Big bold fruit. Give it some more years.