So last night corovin 1/3 bottle its was pretty with heavy barnyard , the fruit was still strong but the funk was a bit too much . Next day let it stand up right for about 24h and decanted stopping at the funk coming out of bottle and yes this was the wine I was looking for the fruit was fresh and vibrant good acidity the barnyard was a faint memory on the back pallet, sexy wine. If you have a bottle enjoy it but stand it upright for at least 24h to settle funk on the bottom and then separate goodbstuff from the bad . It can also wait a solid 10 years if you want to put it away and enjoy later.
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Lovely. An inviting nose of coffee and vanilla is accompanied by a rich, full bodied palate with chocolate, cream, black fruit, and spice. Beautiful integration of primary and secondary traits. Silky tannins round out this fully mature and giving wine. Drink now.
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Outstanding bottle. Good amount of sediment but didn’t need long to open up, and what great deep berry flavors against a strong back bone of age were the structure, and retaining quite a nice Tanic bite but just loose enough to let the flavors come through.
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Who would have thought that this hot vintage would hold that long. Primary notes prevail with cassis and black berries supported by dark chocolate. I guess, if stored correctly, this will hold for quite some time.
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Love this wine. This was as good as I remembered it earlier in the year at a BDX St Emilion tasting. Something really unique about this almost a molasses sweetness (although a fully dry wine) and Christmas spices, notes of orange. High acid which may be offputting for some but drinking perfectly for me and great with food. Need to find more!!
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A good drink, especially at the price. Excellent fruit quality, still on the black fruit side, but 2003 was a vintage where the Bordelais were allowed to acidify, and I think that is more than evident in this wine in terms of what I would say is an odd imbalance. The fruit is excellent, but there is an odd acidic quality that dominates the finish. Acidification is an art, and maybe this estate didn't quite get it right this time. That said, I will have no problem drinking the rest of these bottles.
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Much better bottle than the last. Full bodied, fruit-forward, well-integrated tannins. Touch of spice, menthol and smoke. Mature. Drink over next 5 years.
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Another nice bottle of this wine. Needs a solid 3 hours in the decanter and its good to go. Still youthful and vibrant on the nose and palate. think this has a decent future ahead of it still.
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Dinner at Home (Fremont, CA): Deeper ruby-purple color with little to no bricking; nose is ripe, modern, some oak, notable vanilla spice, youthful; palate is full bodied, ripe, slight heat, smooth, some fruit, fades a bit toward the finish; medium length finish, very slightly drying. A ripe modern styled bordeaux that lacks typical bordeaux character, but still pleasant to drink. Not a bad buy at $25-30 if you like modern fruit-forward wines. 86-88
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Consistent to last notes. Still a lot of wood. A typical crowd pleaser, but not a typical bordeaux. But overall not a bad wine. Should hold a couple more years.
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Dark fruit, cherry, medicinal nose with evident oak and some chocolate. Rich and ripe in the mouth with some freshness to balance. Tannins largely dissolved. Spicy finish. Wine died down in 2 hours which is a weakness.
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I have had the 2000 and loved it. This wine seemed more cooked and flabby with little acidity to carry the fruit. I have found this with some other 2003s. I think this bottle needs to be consumed immediately its at the end of its life.
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Blackish core with orange rim; stewed fruit, very Italian nose, new oak, dark fruit, really ripe, grainy, cedar; not a terrible wine but no terroir- thanks 2003!, people were torn between overripe Brunello and overripe Nebbiolo, a shock when the wine was revealed.
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Brawny, masculine Bordeaux. Concentrated berry character with coffee and chocolate. Tannic and not especially complex, but satisfying. Maybe on the hot side. Drinking well now, but plenty of life left.
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Deep purple color with no signs of bricking; nose shows ripe chewy black fruit, licorice, figs, some sweet spice, slight VA; palate is full bodied, tannins still present and young but starting to moderate, black fruits on the early palate that tend to moderate/thin by the midpalate; finish is short-medium length, clean without a lot of fruit. This is overall a ripe (too ripe) modern-styled Bordeaux that lacks typicity but it still well made and enjoyable to drink. This seems like it is young, likely to enter early maturity soon (but not there yet), though there is some chance this may not have enough balance to be as enjoyable later in life. 86 Update: Over the next few hours, this got worse. The VA increased, the fruit was over-ripe, and it suffered in comparison to the other two wines opened. I'm unsure about whether to finish them off now or wait to see if they get better, but I have quite a few of these. 80-82
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A little hot on the nose but fading to dark berries after 1/2 hour. Creamy, almost sweet entry in the mouth, with dark berries and spice mid and finish. Overall slight oxidation both nose and taste, I think attributable to the hot vintage. Not as nice as was hoping for. Probably not enough structure for the long-haul.
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First very upfront nose of cherries and chocolate. Not a typical bordeaux in the beginning, more new world, but its a very hot vintage. After some hours it became more complex with spices and some charcoal.
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Took this bottle to Valentines dinner with my wife, so it was a pop and pour situation. I must say this wine is drinking beautifully right now! If you have a bottle, pop one and enjoy! The nose is dominated with beautiful coco dust, good minerality and earth notes. The taste is dark chocolate covered cherries with some light blue stone. The mouthfeel is silk and the tannins and acid is beautifully integrated. A great QPR in my opinion. Enjoy!!!
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Nice typical Bordeaux nose, earthy with green notes. Still lots of fruit and good backbone. This seems like a baby - still needs 5 years or more! Delicious to drink now, but should develop much more complexity with age. I need to keep my hands off my remaining bottles!
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Decanted for an hour. This one opened up in the glass quite a bit. Yes, the heat and drought led to a very modern, FF wine, at Faugeres in 2003. There are still tannins and low acid, of course. I still think it competes well on a QPR basis with many offerings from NAPA....
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A reticent nose that showed dark cherry, blackberry and licorice that really opened after a couple of hours. Ripe fruit with plenty of oak present and a firm, slightly green tannic grip, this had decent balance and drank well with our meal.
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Big black cherry and licorice on the nose. The ripe fruit carries over in the mouth but is tempered a bit with lots of smooth and slightly green tannins. Not a lot of complexity but well made and drinking well now with three hours of air.
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Decanted for 2 hrs, taste was full and thick with meaty tones. Plenty of tanins left, felt on my tongue. I wasn't thrilled by this one, I bought 2 bottles, I'll save one, but won't buy anymore.
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Initially, red fruits and even a bit of beef blood on the nose; reddish purple color. Red fruits, a bit of creaminess, significant tannins when tasted right out of the bottle. Hint of tobacco on the finish. Will update after decanting and having this with dinner.
After 6+ hours, the wine is still pretty much the same - red to dark fruits, enough oak to make it feel rounded and creamy enough to have no rough edges. Not much distinctive here- just a touch of the beef blood thing on the nose and palate, otherwise, competent standard issue modern St. Emilion. 86-88
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Exuberant spicy nose, more than a hint of malt whisky peatiness, and on the palate swathes of coconutty oak - but for all this there was some sweet black fruit poking through. This would make the purists shudder, but I enjoyed my glass
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Also from 375ml. Nose with dark fruit with tobacco. Smooth but rather short. Stronger fruit and full bodied after approx 6 hours but nose turns a bit bitter and short finish. Great but a bit expensive ($25) for a half bottle.
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It has a dark ruby/purple color, nice concentration, and aromas of dark fruit and and smoke. Medium-bodied, not overly tannic... Overall, a very good drink (89).
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From 375ml. Very roasted and raisined on the nose, lacking freshness. I like the black fruit here, sort of like prune compote spiked with Port. But the aromatics are awkward at best. Definitely pushing it and perhaps problematic, although I am hoping this is just in an especially awkward place right now.
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This wine was a little closed at first open. After about 2 hours of decant we are detecting a light maraschino cherry on the nose. It has complex aroma that mixes with a slight smoked vanilla. Slightly tannic with a light finish. It is actually full of flavor and has become one of our favorites!
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Very and forward nose of blueberries upon opening. A couple hours in the decanter tamed this down.While there is a lot of fruit going on, there a nice notes of charcoal on the nose. Very full on the palate, this finishes with some nice tannin. This is really nice now and will continue to improve for quite some time.
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Nice, new-world-like Bordeaux. After 1hr decant nose opened into bright blueberries with some floral overtones. On the palate this has creamy feeling of dark fruits, with some smoke, toast and coffee on (relative long) finish. Interesting, and very tasty 90-91pts.
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Quite nice for a fruitbomb.....fruity, oaky, and sweet-ish ripe grapey fruit....an interesting complexity (licorice, allspice, and something not quite discerned) tends to get wiped out on the finish by the toast/smoke/roasted-coffee flavor (i.e. burnt notes) from the oak. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this wine is certainly pleasant and doesn't have any obvious "flaws" (such as heat from the alcohol, VA, syrup/rasin, etc.), and is definitely a crowd-pleasing style of wine.
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Decanted for 2+ hours and the nose was initially closed. However, the taste was of very ripe extracted fruit and the tannins were a bit coarse at first. The color was a deep, dense purple. We paired this with a slow simmered pot-roast and it indeed was a fine match. I thought this wine was missing those classic Bordeaux notes, of graphite, cedar, tobacco but it was not a full throttle California imitator either. I wanted to see how the 03's were progressing, so I tried a mid-tier offering and this one would probably improve in the next 5 years and I am going to hold off on trying any of my other 03's for awhile.
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Really beautiful nose on this with stewed dark fruits, dense tobacco, and some spicy oak. The nose definitely out shown the taste in this wine. The taste is VERY new world in style, if I had tasted this blind I would have guessed that this was from CA, and would have argued that someone switched wines in the bottle when I found out it was Bordeaux. Big blackberry and plum fruit flavors (as would be expected from such a hot vintage),as well as some earth and a pretty hefty amount of oak. Quite long and very smooth finish. I didn't notice the heavy tannins that others mentioned in previous notes, but I felt it had some structure to it. It was a little disjointed at first, this is still a pretty young wine, but it did come together quite nicely after about an hour being open. While I really enjoyed the wine itself, I was intially surprised by how overtly New World it was, so I think it took me awhile to accept that and focus on what the wine had to offer. One great thing about this wine is that it was only $22 at a local wine shop, which is shocking because it goes for $30 or so everywhere else. At the $22 price point, I am likely to buy it again, but probably not at $30+. Next time out I plan to decant it for 30-60 minutes before hand to get past that awkward stage it showed at first.
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Straightforward black fruity cassisy on the nose, which carries through to the palate with maybe some licorice. A very nice mouthful, grapey, easy to drink, but lacks complexity. Still a good bit of tannin, but should round out in a 3-4 years. At $24.00 a bottle at Binnys, I'm not disappointed.
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Very disappointing, over-done St. E. Nose not great, overtly fruity in the mouth and bitter follow through. No better the second day. Had expected much more from this one; and will wait some time to open another.
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Very new world character with plum, cherry, vanilla and smokey oak. This is quite rich and full bodied with light acidity. Nice but not bordeaux in my book.
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Zwarte wijn. ondoorzichtig. Rode fonkeling. Een zeer intens parfum! Chocolade, kersen, wat yoghurt en zoethout. Het smaakpalet: nog meer chocolade. De pure, donkere, bittere soort. Zwarte bessen en een flinke dot hout. Laag in de zuren. Nooit gedacht dat er zoveel wijn in een fles kon passen. Wat een kracht...Dit neigt naar overextractie. Na zes daegen (in koelkast). Hij stond nog als een huis. Nauwelijks enige ontwikkeling bespeurd. Zes dagen in een geopende fles heeft 'm hoogstens ietsje getemd. Maar verder waren nog steeds dezelfde geuren en smaken volop aanwezig. Kers, kaneel, vanille, espressobitters, zoethout, chocolade. Koffietonen waren nu wellicht een fractie meer aanwezig. Score was en blijft 16,5/20 op mijn schaal.
On the nose still young, candyshop, cherry pralines, chocolate, cinnamon. Keep on sniffing! This is a wine we could call slightly 'over-extracted'. So I immediately guessed right bank (tasted blind). On the palate almost too much, very ripe black fruits, looooow acidity, brooding, big, with some coffee bitters towards the finish, which was long. Not a complex or deep wine, a wine that should be enjoyed now (as it is a crowd pleaser and will score high during big blind tastings)
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Deep purple color. Big nose of spicy fruit and oak. Palate is well structured with solid tannins and balancing acid. Red and black fruit abounds. Nice mineral touch too. Count me as a fan.
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Tasted at a retailer tasting next to an 03 Lafon-Rochet. Deep, dark purple with little if any bricking. Plum, oak, cedar, and a bit of heat on the nose. Palate shows spice, black cherry, and vanilla. Long, spicey finish. This seemed overoaked to me and in need of time to balance out the fruit and oak.
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Exotic inky purple color with a nose of velvet blackberry and tobacco, this chewy, full-bodied bordeaux hints of violet , lavendar, and sweet cigar box. Full bodied, yet not quite intense enough to stand up to steak ... duckling with a succulent berry sauce & grilled salmon are ideal compliments. Took nearly a day of decanting to release the fruit aromas in the nose and palate. 2003 too young to drink in 2007. Tannins smooth out with decanting.
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More integrated and enjoyable than last bottle about half a year ago - 'bright' nose, palate reminscent of Haagan Daz black cherry ice cream. Good finish. Not terribly complex, but very enjoyable.
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Very good if atypical bdx. Extremely dense and concentrated with low acidity. Good fruit, moderate oak. I have to say that I like it, but it doesn't have the charm of bordeaux.
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This wine is improving with age, its tannins have softened and it's fleshier and fuller-body now. It has a deep purple color with intesed plum and black cherry flavors on the palate. The spicyness of the French oak give it a nice touch of complexity and austerity. It has definitely improved but it has more to go. Drink 2008-2015.
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Consumed over three days, from 375ml. This was the most interesting the first night, with minimal air. Dark sweet fruit with a pleasing streak of tart cherry, some cocoa and fine tannins. After an hour or so it began to shut down and the fruit was harder to find beneath the tannins. Day two and three, still rather tannic with a cool climate California Syrah profile, all sweet perfumed dark-toned fruit.
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Dark purple color. Intensed aromas of black cherry, spicy French oak, and earhty notes. Pleasant and complex. Medium to full body with a nice aftertaste. Chocolate, spice, earthy notes, and black currant flavours coat the palate. Drink 2007-2014.
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Started out as almost pure californian, but after an hour or so the graphite and minerals emerged, along with the tannin. This is tasty now, but I don't really see where it can go to become a great wine. I agree with the 89-90pts. It's a good drink, but I wouldn't sit on them for 10yrs.
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New wave, very foward St. Emillion. Coffee, black fruit, high octane. Ready in six months, but I would wager that the wine will get more classic with five years of aging.
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Rich and saturated. Very ripe, intense fruit that is a bit hot. Very grapey – this packs a big punch, but lacks some depth and secondary flavors. Still, very good. (16.5)
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9/3/2023 - Kozakofthewest Likes this wine: 92 Points
So last night corovin 1/3 bottle its was pretty with heavy barnyard , the fruit was still strong but the funk was a bit too much . Next day let it stand up right for about 24h and decanted stopping at the funk coming out of bottle and yes this was the wine I was looking for the fruit was fresh and vibrant good acidity the barnyard was a faint memory on the back pallet, sexy wine. If you have a bottle enjoy it but stand it upright for at least 24h to settle funk on the bottom and then separate goodbstuff from the bad . It can also wait a solid 10 years if you want to put it away and enjoy later.
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8/25/2022 - Kozakofthewest Likes this wine: 92 Points
Need time to open up after 4 hours its excellent for a right bank.
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5/16/2021 - Willtryagain5yrsafterImdead Likes this wine: 94 Points
Lovely. An inviting nose of coffee and vanilla is accompanied by a rich, full bodied palate with chocolate, cream, black fruit, and spice. Beautiful integration of primary and secondary traits. Silky tannins round out this fully mature and giving wine. Drink now.
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10/30/2020 - hlip Likes this wine: 92 Points
Outstanding bottle. Good amount of sediment but didn’t need long to open up, and what great deep berry flavors against a strong back bone of age were the structure, and retaining quite a nice Tanic bite but just loose enough to let the flavors come through.
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4/11/2020 - Klugi Wine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Who would have thought that this hot vintage would hold that long. Primary notes prevail with cassis and black berries supported by dark chocolate. I guess, if stored correctly, this will hold for quite some time.
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11/2/2019 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 93 Points
Love this wine. This was as good as I remembered it earlier in the year at a BDX St Emilion tasting. Something really unique about this almost a molasses sweetness (although a fully dry wine) and Christmas spices, notes of orange. High acid which may be offputting for some but drinking perfectly for me and great with food. Need to find more!!
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3/9/2018 - theusualsuspect wrote: 88 Points
A good drink, especially at the price. Excellent fruit quality, still on the black fruit side, but 2003 was a vintage where the Bordelais were allowed to acidify, and I think that is more than evident in this wine in terms of what I would say is an odd imbalance. The fruit is excellent, but there is an odd acidic quality that dominates the finish. Acidification is an art, and maybe this estate didn't quite get it right this time. That said, I will have no problem drinking the rest of these bottles.
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9/11/2017 - adipovino Likes this wine: 89 Points
Much better bottle than the last. Full bodied, fruit-forward, well-integrated tannins. Touch of spice, menthol and smoke. Mature. Drink over next 5 years.
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2/22/2017 - CES911 wrote: flawed
Bad bottle.
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2/27/2016 - Jason wrote: flawed
Corked
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2/25/2016 - mikeywines Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lavender aromas with flavors of pencil lead and fig with a deft balance between modern and claret tendencies.
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1/16/2016 - Wine Poor wrote: flawed
Corked
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1/2/2016 - adipovino Does not like this wine: 87 Points
Plush and soft with a lot of stewed fruit. I am hoping it gets better in a few years.
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10/11/2015 - cigar52 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking very well at this time. Remaining drinking window 12-24 months.
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6/3/2015 - Brsed Does not like this wine: 86 Points
Not a big fan of this wine. Too much oak and bit too much of an extracted prune-like taste. 2003 Cap de Faugeres fared much better.
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4/16/2015 - calgarywino wrote: 91 Points
Another nice bottle of this wine. Needs a solid 3 hours in the decanter and its good to go. Still youthful and vibrant on the nose and palate. think this has a decent future ahead of it still.
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10/24/2014 - wynnewood500 Likes this wine:
Very tasty and mature. Big nose that can fill the room. Round soft flavors.
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9/14/2014 - aagrawal wrote: 87 Points
Dinner at Home (Fremont, CA): Deeper ruby-purple color with little to no bricking; nose is ripe, modern, some oak, notable vanilla spice, youthful; palate is full bodied, ripe, slight heat, smooth, some fruit, fades a bit toward the finish; medium length finish, very slightly drying. A ripe modern styled bordeaux that lacks typical bordeaux character, but still pleasant to drink. Not a bad buy at $25-30 if you like modern fruit-forward wines. 86-88
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7/25/2014 - Klugi Wine wrote: 90 Points
Consistent to last notes. Still a lot of wood. A typical crowd pleaser, but not a typical bordeaux. But overall not a bad wine. Should hold a couple more years.
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6/22/2014 - Janstan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark cherry, cassis, cedar. Quite yummy with a great nose. Dark berry pungent fruit in the nose, perhaps plums
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6/9/2014 - Napacablover Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decent bordeaux
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4/23/2014 - Janstan Likes this wine: 89 Points
Cedar, licorice, forest floor especially on the nose. Had with tenderloin, mustard herb crusted
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11/1/2013 - jayw wrote:
Pretty nose. But the palate is out of balance with stewed fruit and bitter tobacco notes.
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9/14/2013 - j30 wrote: 88 Points
Dark fruit, cherry, medicinal nose with evident oak and some chocolate. Rich and ripe in the mouth with some freshness to balance. Tannins largely dissolved. Spicy finish. Wine died down in 2 hours which is a weakness.
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7/27/2013 - ScottPreston wrote: 88 Points
I have had the 2000 and loved it. This wine seemed more cooked and flabby with little acidity to carry the fruit. I have found this with some other 2003s. I think this bottle needs to be consumed immediately its at the end of its life.
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7/13/2013 - Eric wrote: flawed
The most violently corked wine I have ever smelled. Heinous TCA!
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6/28/2013 - wynnewood500 Likes this wine:
Delicious and ready to drink. No detailed notes.
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6/18/2013 - Rezy13 wrote:
Blackish core with orange rim; stewed fruit, very Italian nose, new oak, dark fruit, really ripe, grainy, cedar; not a terrible wine but no terroir- thanks 2003!, people were torn between overripe Brunello and overripe Nebbiolo, a shock when the wine was revealed.
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4/14/2013 - jayw wrote:
Brawny, masculine Bordeaux. Concentrated berry character with coffee and chocolate. Tannic and not especially complex, but satisfying. Maybe on the hot side. Drinking well now, but plenty of life left.
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2/17/2013 - aagrawal wrote: 86 Points
Deep purple color with no signs of bricking; nose shows ripe chewy black fruit, licorice, figs, some sweet spice, slight VA; palate is full bodied, tannins still present and young but starting to moderate, black fruits on the early palate that tend to moderate/thin by the midpalate; finish is short-medium length, clean without a lot of fruit. This is overall a ripe (too ripe) modern-styled Bordeaux that lacks typicity but it still well made and enjoyable to drink. This seems like it is young, likely to enter early maturity soon (but not there yet), though there is some chance this may not have enough balance to be as enjoyable later in life. 86
Update: Over the next few hours, this got worse. The VA increased, the fruit was over-ripe, and it suffered in comparison to the other two wines opened. I'm unsure about whether to finish them off now or wait to see if they get better, but I have quite a few of these. 80-82
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2/13/2013 - khmark7 wrote: 83 Points
Horribly tannic. Smells tannic, and is so tannic it goes very poorly with food. This was much better upon release. Very disappointing.
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12/22/2012 - epiphany wrote: 88 Points
A little hot on the nose but fading to dark berries after 1/2 hour. Creamy, almost sweet entry in the mouth, with dark berries and spice mid and finish. Overall slight oxidation both nose and taste, I think attributable to the hot vintage. Not as nice as was hoping for. Probably not enough structure for the long-haul.
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12/18/2012 - Klugi Wine wrote: 90 Points
Consistent Notes to first note.
Wuld not score high on tipicity, but it is a good overall wine.
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8/26/2012 - Janstan wrote: 91 Points
Delightful, Nice tannins easily 5 more years, good fruit, prob ably moving toward cedar, forest floor maybe truffles. Very inviting mnhose
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8/19/2012 - David_T wrote: flawed
There’s some funk & cherry coming through, but overall this is too oxidized to get a decent impression of.
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8/18/2012 - theusualsuspect wrote: 88 Points
A fine drinkable black fruitish Bordeaux, but maybe just a bit porty.
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5/9/2012 - Thobman wrote: 92 Points
Decant for at least one hour. A big wine with lots of black fruit. Had it with braised lamb. Can keep a bit longer.
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5/5/2012 - Klugi Wine wrote: 90 Points
First very upfront nose of cherries and chocolate. Not a typical bordeaux in the beginning, more new world, but its a very hot vintage. After some hours it became more complex with spices and some charcoal.
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4/3/2012 - jayw wrote:
Concentrated cherry and blackberry liqueur, tobacco, briar, blood, with hazelnut coffee finish; cedar floral nose. Solid structure and mouthnumbing tannins. Needs time.
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2/22/2012 - edjBoca wrote: 90 Points
Still young
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2/14/2012 - Befloyd Likes this wine: 92 Points
Took this bottle to Valentines dinner with my wife, so it was a pop and pour situation. I must say this wine is drinking beautifully right now! If you have a bottle, pop one and enjoy! The nose is dominated with beautiful coco dust, good minerality and earth notes. The taste is dark chocolate covered cherries with some light blue stone. The mouthfeel is silk and the tannins and acid is beautifully integrated. A great QPR in my opinion. Enjoy!!!
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1/24/2012 - lagrein wrote: 89 Points
a robust, fat st. emilion, clearly from a very hot year, with nearly cooked fruit. Still some years to go.
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12/28/2011 - LeChapeau wrote: 91 Points
Nice typical Bordeaux nose, earthy with green notes. Still lots of fruit and good backbone. This seems like a baby - still needs 5 years or more! Delicious to drink now, but should develop much more complexity with age. I need to keep my hands off my remaining bottles!
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12/13/2011 - lagrein wrote: 90 Points
beautiful chewy saint-emilion. Still some miles to go!
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12/9/2011 - edjBoca wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for an hour. This one opened up in the glass quite a bit. Yes, the heat and drought led to a very modern, FF wine, at Faugeres in 2003. There are still tannins and low acid, of course. I still think it competes well on a QPR basis with many offerings from NAPA....
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11/27/2011 - edjBoca wrote: 91 Points
Concentrated and fruit forward with plenty of structure in this bottle. I think it will be better in 2-3 years. 91+
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9/18/2011 - edjBoca wrote: 90 Points
Tasted similar to a California cab,,,,which isn;t that bad for the 25 that I paid.
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3/31/2011 - MikeZ wrote:
This wine is really delicious after about an hour of air
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4/25/2010 - krmcgrath wrote: 89 Points
A reticent nose that showed dark cherry, blackberry and licorice that really opened after a couple of hours. Ripe fruit with plenty of oak present and a firm, slightly green tannic grip, this had decent balance and drank well with our meal.
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3/11/2010 - Tao wrote: 89 Points
Cherry, okay, tannic and a bit rustic although very fragrant! A touch of alcohol with the depth of red fruits.
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1/21/2010 - krmcgrath wrote: 89 Points
Big black cherry and licorice on the nose. The ripe fruit carries over in the mouth but is tempered a bit with lots of smooth and slightly green tannins. Not a lot of complexity but well made and drinking well now with three hours of air.
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1/15/2010 - WillEdwards wrote: 86 Points
Decanted for 2 hrs, taste was full and thick with meaty tones. Plenty of tanins left, felt on my tongue. I wasn't thrilled by this one, I bought 2 bottles, I'll save one, but won't buy anymore.
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11/1/2009 - amateurwino wrote: 87 Points
Initially, red fruits and even a bit of beef blood on the nose; reddish purple color. Red fruits, a bit of creaminess, significant tannins when tasted right out of the bottle. Hint of tobacco on the finish. Will update after decanting and having this with dinner.
After 6+ hours, the wine is still pretty much the same - red to dark fruits, enough oak to make it feel rounded and creamy enough to have no rough edges. Not much distinctive here- just a touch of the beef blood thing on the nose and palate, otherwise, competent standard issue modern St. Emilion. 86-88
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9/6/2009 - Rupert wrote: 88 Points
Exuberant spicy nose, more than a hint of malt whisky peatiness, and on the palate swathes of coconutty oak - but for all this there was some sweet black fruit poking through. This would make the purists shudder, but I enjoyed my glass
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6/27/2009 - DanielChan wrote: 89 Points
Also from 375ml. Nose with dark fruit with tobacco. Smooth but rather short. Stronger fruit and full bodied after approx 6 hours but nose turns a bit bitter and short finish. Great but a bit expensive ($25) for a half bottle.
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6/7/2009 - hmmarsha wrote:
It has a dark ruby/purple color, nice concentration, and aromas of dark fruit and and smoke. Medium-bodied, not overly tannic... Overall, a very good drink (89).
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3/22/2009 - johnnyrichardson wrote: 84 Points
Toasty, some fruit, still plenty of tannin which may resolve later. May be shutting down. Atypical for the region, I think, lacks charm.
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3/16/2009 - Eric wrote: 85 Points
From 375ml. Very roasted and raisined on the nose, lacking freshness. I like the black fruit here, sort of like prune compote spiked with Port. But the aromatics are awkward at best. Definitely pushing it and perhaps problematic, although I am hoping this is just in an especially awkward place right now.
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2/18/2009 - AllRed wrote: 87 Points
Ruby/garnet color. Aromas of earthy red fruit follow through on the palate. Finishes a bit short and thin, but a nice weeknight Bordeaux nonetheless.
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12/16/2008 - V2 wrote: 89 Points
This wine was a little closed at first open. After about 2 hours of decant we are detecting a light maraschino cherry on the nose. It has complex aroma that mixes with a slight smoked vanilla. Slightly tannic with a light finish. It is actually full of flavor and has become one of our favorites!
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12/7/2008 - popquizkid wrote: 91 Points
Very and forward nose of blueberries upon opening. A couple hours in the decanter tamed this down.While there is a lot of fruit going on, there a nice notes of charcoal on the nose. Very full on the palate, this finishes with some nice tannin. This is really nice now and will continue to improve for quite some time.
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11/14/2008 - dke wrote: 91 Points
Nice, new-world-like Bordeaux. After 1hr decant nose opened into bright blueberries with some floral overtones. On the palate this has creamy feeling of dark fruits, with some smoke, toast and coffee on (relative long) finish. Interesting, and very tasty 90-91pts.
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11/9/2008 - Employee500 wrote: 89 Points
Quite nice for a fruitbomb.....fruity, oaky, and sweet-ish ripe grapey fruit....an interesting complexity (licorice, allspice, and something not quite discerned) tends to get wiped out on the finish by the toast/smoke/roasted-coffee flavor (i.e. burnt notes) from the oak. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this wine is certainly pleasant and doesn't have any obvious "flaws" (such as heat from the alcohol, VA, syrup/rasin, etc.), and is definitely a crowd-pleasing style of wine.
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10/4/2008 - Arch57 wrote: 88 Points
Decanted for 2+ hours and the nose was initially closed. However, the taste was of very ripe extracted fruit and the tannins were a bit coarse at first. The color was a deep, dense purple. We paired this with a slow simmered pot-roast and it indeed was a fine match. I thought this wine was missing those classic Bordeaux notes, of graphite, cedar, tobacco but it was not a full throttle California imitator either.
I wanted to see how the 03's were progressing, so I tried a mid-tier offering and this one would probably improve in the next 5 years and I am going to hold off on trying any of my other 03's for awhile.
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9/26/2008 - jhannah27 wrote: 88 Points
Really beautiful nose on this with stewed dark fruits, dense tobacco, and some spicy oak. The nose definitely out shown the taste in this wine. The taste is VERY new world in style, if I had tasted this blind I would have guessed that this was from CA, and would have argued that someone switched wines in the bottle when I found out it was Bordeaux. Big blackberry and plum fruit flavors (as would be expected from such a hot vintage),as well as some earth and a pretty hefty amount of oak. Quite long and very smooth finish. I didn't notice the heavy tannins that others mentioned in previous notes, but I felt it had some structure to it. It was a little disjointed at first, this is still a pretty young wine, but it did come together quite nicely after about an hour being open. While I really enjoyed the wine itself, I was intially surprised by how overtly New World it was, so I think it took me awhile to accept that and focus on what the wine had to offer. One great thing about this wine is that it was only $22 at a local wine shop, which is shocking because it goes for $30 or so everywhere else. At the $22 price point, I am likely to buy it again, but probably not at $30+. Next time out I plan to decant it for 30-60 minutes before hand to get past that awkward stage it showed at first.
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9/8/2008 - boxwine_in_hell wrote: 90 Points
Had at restauraunt so no exact tasting notes but this was a nice, smooth bordeaux with heavy berry and dark fruit tones. Good balance.
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5/10/2008 - theusualsuspect wrote: 88 Points
Straightforward black fruity cassisy on the nose, which carries through to the palate with maybe some licorice. A very nice mouthful, grapey, easy to drink, but lacks complexity. Still a good bit of tannin, but should round out in a 3-4 years. At $24.00 a bottle at Binnys, I'm not disappointed.
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4/26/2008 - vinomand wrote:
Very disappointing, over-done St. E. Nose not great, overtly fruity in the mouth and bitter follow through. No better the second day. Had expected much more from this one; and will wait some time to open another.
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3/21/2008 - bhardie wrote: 88 Points
Very new world character with plum, cherry, vanilla and smokey oak. This is quite rich and full bodied with light acidity. Nice but not bordeaux in my book.
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1/16/2008 - DavidK wrote: 87 Points
Zwarte wijn. ondoorzichtig. Rode fonkeling. Een zeer intens parfum! Chocolade, kersen, wat yoghurt en zoethout. Het smaakpalet: nog meer chocolade. De pure, donkere, bittere soort. Zwarte bessen en een flinke dot hout. Laag in de zuren. Nooit gedacht dat er zoveel wijn in een fles kon passen. Wat een kracht...Dit neigt naar overextractie.
Na zes daegen (in koelkast). Hij stond nog als een huis. Nauwelijks enige ontwikkeling bespeurd. Zes dagen in een geopende fles heeft 'm hoogstens ietsje getemd. Maar verder waren nog steeds dezelfde geuren en smaken volop aanwezig. Kers, kaneel, vanille, espressobitters, zoethout, chocolade. Koffietonen waren nu wellicht een fractie meer aanwezig. Score was en blijft 16,5/20 op mijn schaal.
On the nose still young, candyshop, cherry pralines, chocolate, cinnamon. Keep on sniffing! This is a wine we could call slightly 'over-extracted'. So I immediately guessed right bank (tasted blind).
On the palate almost too much, very ripe black fruits, looooow acidity, brooding, big, with some coffee bitters towards the finish, which was long. Not a complex or deep wine, a wine that should be enjoyed now (as it is a crowd pleaser and will score high during big blind tastings)
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1/8/2008 - Employee500 wrote: 91 Points
Really showing well....lots of dark, creamy fruit, smoke and spice. A lot of oak, so at least in its present state this may turn some people off.
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1/4/2008 - Ivin wrote: 89 Points
This is so dense and concentrated, I can barely believe it is not Cali. Lots of oak and spice. Good but not my style.
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10/26/2007 - simpsonr wrote: 93 Points
Deep purple color. Big nose of spicy fruit and oak. Palate is well structured with solid tannins and balancing acid. Red and black fruit abounds. Nice mineral touch too. Count me as a fan.
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2/19/2007 - Ivin wrote: 88 Points
Very good but tastes more like an Austrailian wine than bordeaux - super-extracted and low acidity.
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2/17/2007 - drcbarroso wrote:
Tasted at a retailer tasting next to an 03 Lafon-Rochet. Deep, dark purple with little if any bricking. Plum, oak, cedar, and a bit of heat on the nose. Palate shows spice, black cherry, and vanilla. Long, spicey finish. This seemed overoaked to me and in need of time to balance out the fruit and oak.
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2/4/2007 - awinestory wrote: 86 Points
Exotic inky purple color with a nose of velvet blackberry and tobacco, this chewy, full-bodied bordeaux hints of violet , lavendar, and sweet cigar box. Full bodied, yet not quite intense enough to stand up to steak ... duckling with a succulent berry sauce & grilled salmon are ideal compliments. Took nearly a day of decanting to release the fruit aromas in the nose and palate. 2003 too young to drink in 2007. Tannins smooth out with decanting.
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1/31/2007 - TomH wrote: 91 Points
More integrated and enjoyable than last bottle about half a year ago - 'bright' nose, palate reminscent of Haagan Daz black cherry ice cream. Good finish. Not terribly complex, but very enjoyable.
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1/30/2007 - Ivin wrote: 90 Points
Very good if atypical bdx. Extremely dense and concentrated with low acidity. Good fruit, moderate oak. I have to say that I like it, but it doesn't have the charm of bordeaux.
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1/19/2007 - jakob.krummenacher@gmail.com wrote: 91 Points
This wine is improving with age, its tannins have softened and it's fleshier and fuller-body now. It has a deep purple color with intesed plum and black cherry flavors on the palate. The spicyness of the French oak give it a nice touch of complexity and austerity. It has definitely improved but it has more to go. Drink 2008-2015.
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11/2/2006 - Myownscale wrote: 78 Points
Nose:
some dark fruits, but not a lo tthere
Palate:
wood tannin, vanilla, a little hot, something off "Too simple"
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10/14/2006 - 5laton wrote:
Consumed over three days, from 375ml. This was the most interesting the first night, with minimal air. Dark sweet fruit with a pleasing streak of tart cherry, some cocoa and fine tannins. After an hour or so it began to shut down and the fruit was harder to find beneath the tannins. Day two and three, still rather tannic with a cool climate California Syrah profile, all sweet perfumed dark-toned fruit.
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6/15/2006 - jakob.krummenacher@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Dark purple color. Intensed aromas of black cherry, spicy French oak, and earhty notes. Pleasant and complex. Medium to full body with a nice aftertaste. Chocolate, spice, earthy notes, and black currant flavours coat the palate. Drink 2007-2014.
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4/24/2006 - HFuzzell wrote: 90 Points
Started out as almost pure californian, but after an hour or so the graphite and minerals emerged, along with the tannin. This is tasty now, but I don't really see where it can go to become a great wine. I agree with the 89-90pts. It's a good drink, but I wouldn't sit on them for 10yrs.
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4/11/2006 - TomH wrote: 90 Points
New wave, very foward St. Emillion. Coffee, black fruit, high octane. Ready in six months, but I would wager that the wine will get more classic with five years of aging.
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3/3/2006 - dbkitc wrote:
Rich and saturated. Very ripe, intense fruit that is a bit hot. Very grapey – this packs a big punch, but lacks some depth and secondary flavors. Still, very good. (16.5)
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