Community Tasting Note

odds Likes this wine:

Saturday, February 22, 2014 - 95, maybe even 96. The initial notes we had- WOW, this is the first legit candidate for WOTY. Had it at home with a steak dinner. First thought- what a beautiful nose! Oak and cedar, chocolate and tabacco (but just a bit), black fruits... I could (and I did :-) ) smell it for hours. Minerals just opened up as we finished dinner (but day 2 update would arrive tomorrow). It is a very stable 'earthy' type on the nose, with great black fruits background.
On the color-dark violet, slow legs (no sediment). Taste- mmmm....that's a new view on Bordeaux. So much in one glass- fresh woody smell? check, hints of chocolate? check, black forest fruits? checked, minerals? checked. cedar, specifically? checked.
But, for the summary- Is it a wonderful wine to drink on Sat. night? Yes, indeed. A wonderful, enjoyable, upscaling wine from a vineyard we did not explore a lot before. And some new insights for very interesting Bordeaux. Verdict- we are looking forward to trying the rest tomorrow night. This one is still at the beginning of its drinking window, and we'd try the next one in about 10 years, given good health and patient (maybe I should send the second bottle to storage, just in case). A wine built to last.

Day 2 update (02-23-2014): on the palate it is as good or better than day 1. When we opened the bottle the aroma was even better than day 1 but give it about an hour it became a bit shorter on the aroma. (Or it could be that we got a bit tired). Finish is slightly shorter than day 1. The non scientific summary is- mmmm.... on the day two, too. The other non scientific/mixed feeling note is- we opened it at home for weekend meal, no special reason. Perhaps we should have kept it for a better reason given the quality and price range. But sometimes, you just have to come to the conclusion that a quiet weekend at home is the best excuse to have upscaled wine to accompany the dinner. I think this one gave us some new insights on the '03 Bordeaux. And lots of joy. Too bad there's so little left in a bottle that has so much to give
(drink dates, etc., are in line with others opening, though imho drinking window is longer than the by 2028 many others have noted.)

Retrospective note (added on 04-06-2014)-we were thinking about it retrospectively, and we actually think that 95 may have even made some injustice with this bottle. It was certainly more and we still talk about it. To protect the other bottle we have I sent it to storage, so we an revisit it in few years.

Retrospective note (added on 05-05-2014)- We were proactive wrt finding one more bottle. Seems that pricing went up. It does drink above the price range. Too bad more people know about it now :-)

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