Double blind tasting Dark garnet color with mild rim clearing Medium plus aromas of red/ black fruit and dark florals and cocoa with ash/ mineral background - light new oak notes very well integrated Medium plus bodied with palate of black fruit/ plum/ bit of prune and cocoa powder Medium plus acidity and medium plus well integrated tannins and medium alcohol with really nice length I knew I really liked this wine but I really flailed with my call - I really picked up no pyrazines and I missed the new oak initially Ended up calling this Aglianico based on the ashy components In any case - this is drinking very well at this point and I dont see much need for further aging - it is very well integrated at this point
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Deep garnet Aromatics medium +. Blue plums. Purple roses. Balanced new oak. Palate has medium body. Acid medium +. Tannins medium +, medium grained on teeth/gums, well integrated. Alcohol medium. Chalk, rocks, black plums and vegetal almost tobacco leaf. Finish has medium length. Balanced Drink now, but can hold for more tertiary if desired. I feel this is best now though. For a supposedly poor vintage, this is really nice.
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Bordeaux 2011 - 10 Years On - 30 Reds: All tasted blind, not decanted. A few observations: 1) As expected, it's a mediocre vintage with many wines lacking depth and mid palate weight of great vintages. My average score for the reds was 91.3 pts vs group scores at more recent horizontals for 2010 (93.0), 2000 (92.7) and 2009 (93.9). 2) I expected more green/unripe notes and drying tannins but that is not the case (hence the solid 91.3 average). Most wines showed well-made (with only 6 out of 30 reds rated below 90 pts). 3) Left bank (average 91.8 pts) clearly trumps right bank (90.6) thanks to more mid palate substance. 4) Virtually no wine showed a) over extracted and already dying and b) with far too much ripeness. Both 2009/2010 (and 2015/2018) have several wines with these problem. 5) Most wines are in a good drinking window. Although not yet with tertiary complexity, the structure has softened and the wines are open (even without extended decanting). 6) Unfortunately (due to price), the best reds were Le Pin (97+ pts), Margaux (96), Petrus (96) and Mouton (95). 7) Good vintage for Sauternes it seems (we tasted only two) with a surprising Giraud (96 pts) beating a too sweet Yquem (93).
TN: Medium- intense nose with ripe dark fruits, some tobacco and minerality. Nothing too exciting but round and without fault other than being not that expressive and complex. On the palate a beautiful rather blue and fresh fruit profile, stems and probably a touch green notes but more like a feature than fault. Not very long but quite good and round, even though its not very complex. Solid 90 pts.
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Undrinkably tart out of the bottle I wondered at first if it was contaminated. With two hours of air a lovely nose of black cherry, leather, cedar and vanilla. High acidity, medium body, medium- tannins. Only 13.5% abv but the finish is still hot.
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Lovely. Decanted 1 hr. Toffee and pecan undertones. Already very soft without any coarse notes I'll try more bottles in a few years but insoibt it can go much farther
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6/10/2022 - dsamuel Likes this wine: 92 Points
Double blind tasting
Dark garnet color with mild rim clearing
Medium plus aromas of red/ black fruit and dark florals and cocoa with ash/ mineral background - light new oak notes very well integrated
Medium plus bodied with palate of black fruit/ plum/ bit of prune and cocoa powder
Medium plus acidity and medium plus well integrated tannins and medium alcohol with really nice length
I knew I really liked this wine but I really flailed with my call - I really picked up no pyrazines and I missed the new oak initially
Ended up calling this Aglianico based on the ashy components
In any case - this is drinking very well at this point and I dont see much need for further aging - it is very well integrated at this point
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6/9/2022 - S.Wayne Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep garnet
Aromatics medium +. Blue plums. Purple roses. Balanced new oak.
Palate has medium body. Acid medium +. Tannins medium +, medium grained on teeth/gums, well integrated. Alcohol medium. Chalk, rocks, black plums and vegetal almost tobacco leaf.
Finish has medium length. Balanced
Drink now, but can hold for more tertiary if desired. I feel this is best now though. For a supposedly poor vintage, this is really nice.
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11/10/2021 - Cailles wrote: 90 Points
Bordeaux 2011 - 10 Years On - 30 Reds: All tasted blind, not decanted. A few observations: 1) As expected, it's a mediocre vintage with many wines lacking depth and mid palate weight of great vintages. My average score for the reds was 91.3 pts vs group scores at more recent horizontals for 2010 (93.0), 2000 (92.7) and 2009 (93.9). 2) I expected more green/unripe notes and drying tannins but that is not the case (hence the solid 91.3 average). Most wines showed well-made (with only 6 out of 30 reds rated below 90 pts). 3) Left bank (average 91.8 pts) clearly trumps right bank (90.6) thanks to more mid palate substance. 4) Virtually no wine showed a) over extracted and already dying and b) with far too much ripeness. Both 2009/2010 (and 2015/2018) have several wines with these problem. 5) Most wines are in a good drinking window. Although not yet with tertiary complexity, the structure has softened and the wines are open (even without extended decanting). 6) Unfortunately (due to price), the best reds were Le Pin (97+ pts), Margaux (96), Petrus (96) and Mouton (95). 7) Good vintage for Sauternes it seems (we tasted only two) with a surprising Giraud (96 pts) beating a too sweet Yquem (93).
TN: Medium- intense nose with ripe dark fruits, some tobacco and minerality. Nothing too exciting but round and without fault other than being not that expressive and complex. On the palate a beautiful rather blue and fresh fruit profile, stems and probably a touch green notes but more like a feature than fault. Not very long but quite good and round, even though its not very complex. Solid 90 pts.
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6/1/2020 - Portland Seth Likes this wine: 91 Points
Undrinkably tart out of the bottle I wondered at first if it was contaminated. With two hours of air a lovely nose of black cherry, leather, cedar and vanilla. High acidity, medium body, medium- tannins. Only 13.5% abv but the finish is still hot.
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5/8/2020 - mkates2000 wrote: 92 Points
Lovely. Decanted 1 hr. Toffee and pecan undertones. Already very soft without any coarse notes I'll try more bottles in a few years but insoibt it can go much farther
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4/24/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 89 Points
From limestone, sand and clay terroir, this round-textured wine has notes of mineral and black raspberry with some dryness in the finish. 88-90 Pts
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