June 21, 2010 - In the waning hours of Father's day, not enough time to give it much air, so I passed it through a vinturi to decanter 3x, and off we go. Color dark ruby made even darker with very fine sediment, medium body. A wine that somehow shows interesting qualities of each of its varietal constituents - gamay, malbec, cab franc, and pinot noir. Bouquet shows cool plums, strawberries, violets, minerals, a little fresh black earth, a little pipe tobacco. Curious palate, it made me think of ripe plums, rhubarb, oven-roasted beets in balsamic, violets and tobacco delivered via smooth vehicle of earth, mineral and vegetables. Low-medium acid, mild very soft tannins, and a relatively short finish. Served blind to spouse who loves fruit bombs, her unsolicited comment was that she really liked it, but acknowledged it is not fruity in an obvious way. Not for everyone, this has a dark savory fruits/meaty/earthy quality that still carries some lightness from a larger percentage of gamay. Drink in the next 2-3 years. At 15 bucks I have no compunction about revisiting this blend from the Valencay appellation again.
December 25, 2009 - A very thin wine without any tanins. The nose doesn't have much to it. No fruit and I was actually surprised by the alc on the nose despite the low alc level in the wine. Again it was very thin in the mouth. Easy to drink by the fire.
October 2, 2009 - Dark purple to the core - looks like it's going to be one of those overly extracted, too intense wines, but it's nowhere close. A nose full of musky, meaty, dark black fruit, with a rich loamy soil character. Very energetic on the nose, and with some exposure to air there is a lovely core of fragrant violets. Completely smooth on the palate, finely grained tannins, fantastic acidity, very meaty and ample in the mouth, and perfectly balanced - the alcohol is a mere 12.5%. Again, with some air, the finish is quite long and takes on a nice smokey character.
March 7, 2009 - Llight ruby, fairly limpid looking. Light licorice on the nose. Dilute, light wine with dry finish and little redeeming fruit. Uninteresting.
February 19, 2009 - shy nose that becomes a delicate flower on the second day. seamless blend of gamay strawberry fruit and malbec dark blue violets, graceful and elegant, nice density and purity of fruit. and understated and lovely wine.
August 4, 2008 - Soft texture on the palate, but medium weight. Some raspberries but generally restrained flavors. Medium to big dryness on the finish along with a decent amount of spice.