February 6, 2024 - Half-bottle. Very tight upon opening, so I decanted the wine for three hours in a small decanter which did the trick. Dark ruby colour. Ripe dark and red fruit, ripe black currant, dark cherry, ripe blackberry, ripe blueberry, kirsch, dark plum, dark chocolate, cocoa, espresso, graphite, cedar, spices, and vanilla, with medium-level acidity, ripe, round tannin, and very good length. Intriguing sweetness from the fruit and the well-integrated oak. Great structure and impressive, almost oily concentration. Wow! The best young Bordeaux I have had in some time.
September 23, 2023 - OK this is more of a story than a review. So I pulled the bottle of the wine fridge and inserted the coravin and gave a couple squirts of gas and the wine started to flow so I gave it a couple more quick presses on the button. And wham the cork loosened up and took flight with the coravin. It sprayed me and the wall with about half the bottle. I used a half of a roll of paper towels to clean up and now the wall is ruined. I was so mad I just put the bottle down and threw my arms up in defeat. The next day I found the cork and it was narrow at the top and bottom. You could use one finger to push the cork more than half way into the bottle. So I took it back to the store and have to wait till Monday for the wine manager to come back. We will see what they say. Defective cork. Has this happened to anyone else or just my dumb luck.
September 23, 2023 - I love this wine! It does not get the love it deserves as an '18. A massive wine with 14.5 ABV and it is hard to tell that. My local store used Corvain on bottle for me to try and I was hooked. I bought them out (4 bottles) and don't regret it. And now I want more and the are out of stock so I bought 12 more at auction for about $35 less a bottle than retail including buyer's premium l. If you find a bottle give it a try.
May 23, 2023 - Bordeaux 23-05-23 (Left Bank): C
May 14, 2023 - Bordeaux 2022 en Primeur and some recent vintages: A very well made 2018. Dark fruit, forest floor, good freshness and massive structure but not with excessive heat. A great Pauillac. 96+
January 7, 2023 - Nose: [58°] White and red flowers, dark note of black olives, wet river stones, soft red currants, dark brambles, and damp mulch. [62°] Within a couple of hours, black fruits become more pronounced with some ripeness and scents of a lit cigar with floral notes. The floral notes grow to the size of a monster with tons of air.
Palate: [58°] Tons of fresh and bright black fruits. A hint of brine on the mid to end palate, what I imagine to be cigar ash, pencil shavings with lead and all. Finishes with lots of steeped tea and almost briny minerals. [62°] With some time, the black fruits tone down its fresh brightness and transitions towards a more darker, brooding profile, all while integrating with the briny minerals and savory tannin.
Attributes: Clear, slightly dark medium ruby. Dry with medium to medium-plus amounts of fine, chewy tannin. Medium body with medium-plus acidity. Good finish of at least 16-18 seconds.
Thoughts: Amazing aromas, initially quite unique but eventually turns into something more familiar. Loved the flavor profile of fresh fruits plus the savory and almost salty notes. Very young so the intensity for the salty and savory notes was up there but it was still quite tasty. This should be able to develop and integrate much more in the future. My hope is that the all the flavors balance out a bit more while still keeping some of the brininess and savoriness. If the trajectory of flavors are to stay the same, I'm not sure if I would enjoy this with tons of age, like 15-20 years, but rather much less like 8-14 years. 95-97
Serving notes: Bordeaux glass. Served one glass and emptied bottle into a decanter at cellar temp ~55° and consumed over 8 hours. Recommend serving ~58°-62° with a decant of at least 1-2 hours at cellar temp if opening now.
January 3, 2023 - Black fruit, cedar, hints of cassis and anise, lots of spice and herbal notes. A
December 31, 2022 - Very, very young, but so much potential. The structure and acid and thick dusty tannins are all there to make this a blockbuster in due time. Beautiful deep ruby color, cigar nose and mid-palate, slight vanilla, and long legs.
Almost makes me think this is, dare say it, the kind of wine Caymus strived to make back in their hey day before they took the fork in the road towards a more extracted, imbalanced fruit bomb. Hold for 5+ years before trying and you will not regret holding it. - Enjoyed on New Year's Eve here in Eunpyeong.
November 18, 2022 - Wines You Dream Of (Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio): A serious wine with tons of extract, graphite mineral, all that Pauillac Cabernet character right on target.
November 1, 2022 - A little shy on the nose with underlying deep black currant, cedar, blackberry, sweet spices.
Lovely depth on the palate but hard to assess at this stage.
*** Tasted as part of a walkaround 2018 Bordeaux tasting. Not full notes ***