Community Tasting Note

Saturday, March 27, 2021 - Initial nose on opening is closed closed closed. For a 16 year old Bordeaux this wine yields not much more than when it was first bottled. 6 hours in the decanter however and the classic Bordeaux aromas of pencil shavings, star anise, cigars, slate and dark fruit combined with saddle leather waft from the glass.
The palate shows huge potential behind the massive tannic structure that dominates the long grippy finish. The fruit is just starting to peek out with just a touch of sweetness and a hint of mellowness starting to show, but this has at least 10 years in front of it before it is really ready to drink. This wine has all the hallmarks of future greatness but it’s a crying shame to open it now, and it gives a true insight into how unapproachable top tier Bordeaux has become. It’s built to be drunk 25-30 years after the vintage but who on earth has that sort of patience to buy wine en-primeur or even on release and hope that all the moving parts coalesce into something eventually yielding pleasure and worthy of its label. 96 points for great patience and future potential only. Closer to 89/90 points if you were hoping that it would deliver on its price point today.

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