Decanted 2 hours before dinner. Moderate sediment. This was the first year Paul bottled a 100% Mouvedre. I previously had the 2012 vintage.Dark purple color. Slight sourness in the red fruit. Notes of iron, blackberries and spices. Past its peak. 87 points.
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Upon opening, nose contained herbaceous characters of eucalyptus along with tart red fruits. After 30 minutes, however, the fruit starts to dominate with cherry and raspberry components with some meaty notes in the background. A medium-bodied palate that is both vibrant and fleshy, with cherry, cranberry, rose and garrigue. Concentration is quite good. Medium finish that is slightly spicy. This is certainly holding and may improve slightly over the next few years. At this point, I plan to drink my next few through 2025. Excellent value!
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Not a tasting note per se as I forgot to concentrate enough to remember (I'm posting about a week after I drank these). Had the '11 and '12 mourvedre side by side and the 12 won out decisively - more weight, more balance and better flavors. The 11 came across as a bit thin, and while I like mourvedre's sometimes funk, it had just enough to make the wine taste unbalanced. Aurelian over Cato the Elder here. Wish Paul was making more of this.
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Better. Barnyard funk for the first 5 mins, but it blew off quickly. Nose of blackberry and cedar. Palate had a medicinal and pine needle finish that was pleasant. Open now, but feel free to hold on for a while.
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Very primary at this point. It tastes and smells like roadside blackberries. There is a nice evergreen needle aftertaste. It's a little medicinal as well. I think I'll wait at least another year before opening the next one.
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I tried and liked this wine this past summer, but this is the first bottle of mine that I've opened after receiving delivery last week. The color is a nice medium to dark red, clear at the edges. The nose is absolutely intoxicating. It's not quite blackberries, it's more like blackberry liqueur or fermented sweet cherries with a really good chemical smell (sounds weird, but some chemicals smell good to me!). I can't stop smelling this. It's got terrific mouthfeel with rich ripe high toned fruit and great acidity that holds it up. The tannin is in balance, not overwhelming. This wine is juicy and full of attitude and I really really like it.
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11/18/2022 - Vino Me wrote: 87 Points
Decanted 2 hours before dinner. Moderate sediment. This was the first year Paul bottled a 100% Mouvedre. I previously had the 2012 vintage.Dark purple color. Slight sourness in the red fruit. Notes of iron, blackberries and spices. Past its peak. 87 points.
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1/2/2021 - Wine Spam Likes this wine: 90 Points
Upon opening, nose contained herbaceous characters of eucalyptus along with tart red fruits. After 30 minutes, however, the fruit starts to dominate with cherry and raspberry components with some meaty notes in the background. A medium-bodied palate that is both vibrant and fleshy, with cherry, cranberry, rose and garrigue. Concentration is quite good. Medium finish that is slightly spicy. This is certainly holding and may improve slightly over the next few years. At this point, I plan to drink my next few through 2025. Excellent value!
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11/16/2019 - grossie Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still so delicious. Juicy and low tannin, goes well with a bit of spice. Floral nose, fresh earth kind of body.
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7/31/2017 - Squirreljam wrote:
Not a tasting note per se as I forgot to concentrate enough to remember (I'm posting about a week after I drank these). Had the '11 and '12 mourvedre side by side and the 12 won out decisively - more weight, more balance and better flavors. The 11 came across as a bit thin, and while I like mourvedre's sometimes funk, it had just enough to make the wine taste unbalanced. Aurelian over Cato the Elder here. Wish Paul was making more of this.
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10/9/2016 - balkmr@hotmail.com wrote: 89 Points
See my previous note. Blackberry and evergreen on nose and palate. Slight cranberry, light tannin and alcohol on the finish.
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5/30/2016 - balkmr@hotmail.com wrote: 89 Points
Better. Barnyard funk for the first 5 mins, but it blew off quickly. Nose of blackberry and cedar. Palate had a medicinal and pine needle finish that was pleasant. Open now, but feel free to hold on for a while.
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9/20/2015 - Vino's daddy wrote:
You can almost smell the alcohol on this right now. I'm hoping this will integrate more over time, but I'd definitely hold off on opening for now.
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10/3/2014 - balkmr@hotmail.com wrote: 87 Points
Very primary at this point. It tastes and smells like roadside blackberries. There is a nice evergreen needle aftertaste. It's a little medicinal as well. I think I'll wait at least another year before opening the next one.
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11/5/2013 - grossie wrote: 93 Points
I tried and liked this wine this past summer, but this is the first bottle of mine that I've opened after receiving delivery last week.
The color is a nice medium to dark red, clear at the edges. The nose is absolutely intoxicating. It's not quite blackberries, it's more like blackberry liqueur or fermented sweet cherries with a really good chemical smell (sounds weird, but some chemicals smell good to me!). I can't stop smelling this. It's got terrific mouthfeel with rich ripe high toned fruit and great acidity that holds it up. The tannin is in balance, not overwhelming. This wine is juicy and full of attitude and I really really like it.
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