JA, Less exuberant than some of its neighbours, as you might expect, but no less exceptional. Very much in the estate signature, demanding attention but expecting you to wait and pay homage until it is ready to speak. Give it time to unveil its muscular, concentrated cassis and bilberry fruits, puncuated by crushed mint leaf, crayon and liqourice bud. Huge depth through the mid palate, serious, structured, very much in the estate signature, showcasing the idea of it being a wine that is Burdundian in its balance of frustration and delight. Huge potential, but as I said last time I tasted it around a year ago, for now it's not giving much away. 50% new oak.
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My first experience with LLC, from the perhaps mixed 2014 vintage. Nowadays it would probably be called “great but heterogeneous” such is the BDX hyperbole these days.
Decantered 2-4 hours, but never really settled. Slightly volatile tang/acidity in what is a fairly pleasant, if unspectacular offering. Will hold my remaining bottle for a few years, but it is not clear to me where this wine goes from here. About 91-93
This is too young but has great potential. Super attractive nose of blackberries and blueberries. The palate is still tannic and acidic that overshadows the other goodness. Bottle breathed for 10 hours followed by decanter for 2 hours.
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With 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a strong cab dominant left bank, perhaps moreso than normal.
Bottle opened clean. Dark cherries, blackberries and blueberries on the nose. Poured into decanter and did a bit of a power decant. Then let it sit for 45 mins or so. Paired with bbq ribeye. First of the season.
Color is a medium ruby.
From the first sip I was impressed. Fine tannins, medium acid, medium body. Dark tart fruit, leather, tobacco, cocao. Oak is there but integrated. Lingering in the mouth. Pulling you back for more.
First growth quality.
95/100
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Served blind without decant. Deep ruby with a hint of purple. Aromas of cocoa, mushrooms, tobacco. Medium-plus body with medium-to-medium-plus acid, and ripe fine-grained tannins. Smooth, juicy blackberries on the palate, really great acid. Served next to a 2014 Lafite also blind, and this easily won the comparison.
Day 2 unblinded with a decant. Similar aromas but even more juicy on the palate, picking up some raspberry notes as well. Difficult to resist. Still bested the Lafite but the difference was much smaller.
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From a Half Bottle: Blackberry, black currant, leather, mushroom; pure, intense but not overpowering, smooth; tartly fruitful; fast, and yet with a long, very persistent, yet lightly held, finish
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Opened this 2014 Léoville Las Cases to sort out whether I should add it to the cellar. After drinking this over 2 days, I am less bullish than some of the others here on cellartracker. The nose is initially quite raspberry focused beyond the new oak, by day 2 developing a more currant-dominated profile. The main issue is that this does come across somewhat unbalanced on the palate, with acidity and tannin overpowering the body. Finishes well with a potent raspberry presence, though. A good job from a vintage which produced very mixed wines, if not on the top tier (or next to top tier) of las Cases.
Tight tart red fruit, slight heat, licorice, smoke and a touch of sweet scents.
Ra, rich and wild body with jammy red fruit with drying tannins and long finish. Needs 5+ years or longer decant; at hour 4 it started showing its potential. 94 with upside
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2014, Château Léoville Las Cases, Saint-Julien, Bordeaux, Frankreich. Dunkles Rubin. Expressive, feinduftig-florale Nase, dunkle Frucht, Tabak, Kräuter, Rauch. Im Gaumen rund und weich, zeigt Charme und bereits eine schöne Zugänglichkeit, breitet sich dann aus, wird vollmundiger, mit cremiger Textur und feinen Gerbstoffen, die Säure hält das Fruchtbündel frisch und lebhaft, energiegeladen, und mit sehr langem Abgang. Hat sehr gute Anlagen. 2024-2037+. 18.5+ vvPunkte (93+/100). vvWine.ch
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Nuuk weekend; 12/13/2018-12/16/2018: What a wine! It’s young but incredibly savory and complex. Classic Bordeaux elements. Inky dark fruit, hanged meat, lead pencil shavings, a bit of smoke and roasted coffee beans. Dens fruit on the palate but lovely balanced acidity and length.
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Drank from a 375. Tart red fruit dominates which surprised me. This is my first Las Cases. Red current, cranberry, lots of graphite, if I was to be given this blind I might have guessed a high quality Sangiovese. Really good and I can see why petiole are saying to open this a decade from now. The tannins are beautiful and fine, the acid is high, and there isn’t a hint of age except for the fact that the tannins don’t rip your mouth out like my experience was on the release of the 2014’s(my first grand Bordeaux vintage tasting) I give this an A- but would love to see where it goes in a decade or three.
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I 2014-årgangen er det hele 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc og med 10% Merlot-druer. 85% av fatene er nye.
Vinen har en mørkere dyp rød kjerne på farge.
På nesen er vinen intens, dyp, kompleks og allikevel greier den å opptre forførende og elegant. Vinen har en skikkelig fin nerve med mørkere litt parfymerte kirsebær, noe kjølige plommer, et sting av lakris, noe vanilje og en kryddertone i flere lag.
Vinen er konsentrert og dyp på paletten, men er mer som en feminin dronning som selvsikkert tar seg elegant fram og stiller seg fremst på balkongen uten å opptre for brutal og stor. Vinen har nesten en kremete tekstur med tanniner som er så softe og silkepreget at det er til å smile av. Her er det mørkere solbær, litt syrlige kirsebær, et nydelig hint av mint, noe urter og litt fattoner på en lang og mektig utgang. Dette var virkelig en kompleks og herlig vin som vil være helt strålende om 15-20 års tid. Flott vin! www.botti.no
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Opened the bottle with Montrose 2014 still in mind. Compared, considerably more closed. Nose shows hughe potential. Powerful red fruit at first, some metallic notes later on. Palate very closed, strong tannins, juicy, earthy. Can't say whether it takes 10 or 20 years for this to reach full potential, but I will check back here for the reviews in a few years...probably up to 95-96...
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One of the top wines from the 2014 vintage, the color shows a deep ruby hue. Aromatically you find cassis, lead pencil and forest floor notes already. On the palate, the full bodied wine delivers round tannins, fresh red fruits and a nice bite of juicy cassis in the end note. The freshness, with a leafy component is a really nice sensation in the finish. For a good quality vintage of Leoville Las Cases, this will drink well relatively young, meaning that perhaps just a decade or slightly more will be ample time for the wine to open and offer its complexities.
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Shows an immaculate ripe cassis fruit behind some wood. Soft and full-bodied on the palate, mellow pressureful tannins and a fine acid trace, mineral-rich, with a relaxed richness that unites volume and structure. Yield only 33 hl / ha, 13.8 percent alcohol with a very healthy pH value of 3.49 , 94/96
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Nose: dark blackberry, cassis, tobacco, graphite and furniture polish. Palate: dark brooding and powerful, but in check and neatly tailored like Daniel Craig's Bond. This has black fruit for days and yet the finer notes of creamy mocha, cigar and mineral show.
This was the star of this tasting, and I added a bottle to the cellar to sit on. Agree with others that this is a stunner and will drink younger than many las cases.
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Decanted for two hours. The intense blackberry, dried tobacco, dried earth, blood orange zest, hope chest and chocolate pudding nose is stunning in its own right. A salient entry and a round, polished middle palate. There's depth to ponder and terroir to enjoy. Lay this First-Growth of St. Julien down for awhile. Without a doubt this has a nose that will be indelible. Drink 2024 -.
Tasted next to Léoville-Barton and Léoville-Poyferré. This is like in between the Barton and the Poyferré, but also very complex. Beautiful notes of cedar wood, cigar, dark cherries, cassis, tobacco, graphite and some sweet spices too. It's full-bodied, dense and powerful, with high acidity and high tannin that is excellent quality. Very good length with great depth and huge potential. A superb Las-Cases that might be open a little earlier than the most structured vintages.
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Tasted summer 2015. Had the honor of tasting the entire LLC range 2012. Also opened a barrel sample of the 2014 .. Have to say this is a QPR vintage for this wine, very enticing and easily dominated the palet over the entire 2012 range. Notes would say Jeff below is mostly correct, and is certainly a vintage that requires patience. However I wager it will have a small window of fresh drinking upon bottling.
2012 LLC asleep 2012, clos du marquis is approachable already. heads and shoulders above petit lion 2012 petit lion, very average borderline acid 2012 fugue de nenin (second) almost pop and pour, probably should stock up for casual drinking. Hands down better than other vintages I have drank. 2012 nenin deep sleep 2012 pontensac nothing memorable
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With a deep, garnet hue, this full-bodied, concentrated, powerful wine starts off with cedar, earth and cassis. The firm, polished tannins leave your palate loitering about with spice and blackberry. This powerful, structured, bright, crunchy wine has a classic, fresh style. It’s important to note that its ample tannins and classic demeanor will require over a decade—probably two— before it really begins to drink well. Produced from a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot, the wine reached 13.8% alcohol with a pH of 3.49 and is now aging in 85% new French oak barrels. 95-96 Pts
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3/3/2024 - b swan wrote: 96 Points
JA, Less exuberant than some of its neighbours, as you might expect, but no less exceptional. Very much in the estate signature, demanding attention but expecting you to wait and pay homage until it is ready to speak. Give it time to unveil its muscular, concentrated cassis and bilberry fruits, puncuated by crushed mint leaf, crayon and liqourice bud. Huge depth through the mid palate, serious, structured, very much in the estate signature, showcasing the idea of it being a wine that is Burdundian in its balance of frustration and delight. Huge potential, but as I said last time I tasted it around a year ago, for now it's not giving much away. 50% new oak.
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2/3/2024 - Pmysliwi Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very flavorful, somewhat dry. Decanted for about 2 hrs.
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8/6/2023 - Gdubya Likes this wine: 92 Points
My first experience with LLC, from the perhaps mixed 2014 vintage. Nowadays it would probably be called “great but heterogeneous” such is the BDX hyperbole these days.
Decantered 2-4 hours, but never really settled. Slightly volatile tang/acidity in what is a fairly pleasant, if unspectacular offering. Will hold my remaining bottle for a few years, but it is not clear to me where this wine goes from here. About 91-93
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7/22/2023 - Happytoro Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is too young but has great potential. Super attractive nose of blackberries and blueberries. The palate is still tannic and acidic that overshadows the other goodness. Bottle breathed for 10 hours followed by decanter for 2 hours.
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5/6/2023 - novocane wrote: 95 Points
With 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a strong cab dominant left bank, perhaps moreso than normal.
Bottle opened clean. Dark cherries, blackberries and blueberries on the nose. Poured into decanter and did a bit of a power decant. Then let it sit for 45 mins or so. Paired with bbq ribeye. First of the season.
Color is a medium ruby.
From the first sip I was impressed. Fine tannins, medium acid, medium body. Dark tart fruit, leather, tobacco, cocao. Oak is there but integrated. Lingering in the mouth. Pulling you back for more.
First growth quality.
95/100
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10/27/2022 - ayalao3 wrote: 96 Points
Agree with the last note before me. Excellent wine, first growth quality.
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6/3/2022 - timothynbond Likes this wine: 96 Points
Served blind without decant. Deep ruby with a hint of purple. Aromas of cocoa, mushrooms, tobacco. Medium-plus body with medium-to-medium-plus acid, and ripe fine-grained tannins. Smooth, juicy blackberries on the palate, really great acid. Served next to a 2014 Lafite also blind, and this easily won the comparison.
Day 2 unblinded with a decant. Similar aromas but even more juicy on the palate, picking up some raspberry notes as well. Difficult to resist. Still bested the Lafite but the difference was much smaller.
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1/12/2022 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Flickinger Customer Appreciation Tasting (Casino Club - Chicago IL): Walk-around tasting. Dense and very backward. Lots here, but unclear when this will be more accessible.
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8/18/2021 - Orange Tsian wrote: 94 Points
开瓶回塞两个小时。有黑加仑、黑莓等很多黑果。中后段有弥漫而出的牛奶、雪茄、雪松等味道。花香时时飘然，紫罗兰以及偶尔的干红花。接着又有五香粉和肉感，摩卡咖啡等，总体有浓缩感但不滞在，有内蕴略带节制的风格。入口酒体和结构不是很大，骨架感比较明确，修长挺拔，但集中度较高，酸度很高，有线条感而流畅，丹宁坚实，比较细，整体均衡，优雅初现，还需岁月的修饰打磨。口中多黑加仑、黑莓等黑色浆果，紫罗兰，石墨，烟草，雪松，锡兰茶，之后还出现了一些椰奶味，分明有层次，后段有些上扬的俊逸。94/100
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5/4/2021 - wineappreciation wrote: 93 Points
From a Half Bottle: Blackberry, black currant, leather, mushroom; pure, intense but not overpowering, smooth; tartly fruitful; fast, and yet with a long, very persistent, yet lightly held, finish
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11/15/2020 - fotomill Likes this wine: 93 Points
Of course good but not as excellent as expected.
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2/11/2020 - englishman's claret wrote: 92 Points
Opened this 2014 Léoville Las Cases to sort out whether I should add it to the cellar. After drinking this over 2 days, I am less bullish than some of the others here on cellartracker. The nose is initially quite raspberry focused beyond the new oak, by day 2 developing a more currant-dominated profile. The main issue is that this does come across somewhat unbalanced on the palate, with acidity and tannin overpowering the body. Finishes well with a potent raspberry presence, though. A good job from a vintage which produced very mixed wines, if not on the top tier (or next to top tier) of las Cases.
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1/24/2020 - burlingtonm Likes this wine: 94 Points
I have often been underwhelmed by Leoville Las Cases but really liked this wine and found it surprisingly accessible.
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1/16/2020 - mchern02 wrote: 94 Points
2 hour decant from 375
Tight tart red fruit, slight heat, licorice, smoke and a touch of sweet scents.
Ra, rich and wild body with jammy red fruit with drying tannins and long finish. Needs 5+ years or longer decant; at hour 4 it started showing its potential. 94 with upside
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12/2/2019 - vvWine.ch Likes this wine: 93 Points
2014, Château Léoville Las Cases, Saint-Julien, Bordeaux, Frankreich. Dunkles Rubin. Expressive, feinduftig-florale Nase, dunkle Frucht, Tabak, Kräuter, Rauch. Im Gaumen rund und weich, zeigt Charme und bereits eine schöne Zugänglichkeit, breitet sich dann aus, wird vollmundiger, mit cremiger Textur und feinen Gerbstoffen, die Säure hält das Fruchtbündel frisch und lebhaft, energiegeladen, und mit sehr langem Abgang. Hat sehr gute Anlagen. 2024-2037+. 18.5+ vvPunkte (93+/100). vvWine.ch
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12/15/2018 - Bobhelge wrote: 95 Points
Nuuk weekend; 12/13/2018-12/16/2018: What a wine! It’s young but incredibly savory and complex. Classic Bordeaux elements. Inky dark fruit, hanged meat, lead pencil shavings, a bit of smoke and roasted coffee beans. Dens fruit on the palate but lovely balanced acidity and length.
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10/6/2018 - WineAcrobat Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank from a 375. Tart red fruit dominates which surprised me. This is my first Las Cases. Red current, cranberry, lots of graphite, if I was to be given this blind I might have guessed a high quality Sangiovese. Really good and I can see why petiole are saying to open this a decade from now. The tannins are beautiful and fine, the acid is high, and there isn’t a hint of age except for the fact that the tannins don’t rip your mouth out like my experience was on the release of the 2014’s(my first grand Bordeaux vintage tasting) I give this an A- but would love to see where it goes in a decade or three.
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12/22/2017 - Andre Brattland Likes this wine: 95 Points
I 2014-årgangen er det hele 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc og med 10% Merlot-druer. 85% av fatene er nye.
Vinen har en mørkere dyp rød kjerne på farge.
På nesen er vinen intens, dyp, kompleks og allikevel greier den å opptre forførende og elegant. Vinen har en skikkelig fin nerve med mørkere litt parfymerte kirsebær, noe kjølige plommer, et sting av lakris, noe vanilje og en kryddertone i flere lag.
Vinen er konsentrert og dyp på paletten, men er mer som en feminin dronning som selvsikkert tar seg elegant fram og stiller seg fremst på balkongen uten å opptre for brutal og stor. Vinen har nesten en kremete tekstur med tanniner som er så softe og silkepreget at det er til å smile av. Her er det mørkere solbær, litt syrlige kirsebær, et nydelig hint av mint, noe urter og litt fattoner på en lang og mektig utgang. Dette var virkelig en kompleks og herlig vin som vil være helt strålende om 15-20 års tid. Flott vin! www.botti.no
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11/27/2017 - HolyMoly wrote: 94 Points
Opened the bottle with Montrose 2014 still in mind.
Compared, considerably more closed.
Nose shows hughe potential.
Powerful red fruit at first, some metallic notes later on.
Palate very closed, strong tannins, juicy, earthy.
Can't say whether it takes 10 or 20 years for this to reach full potential, but I will check back here for the reviews in a few years...probably up to 95-96...
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7/12/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
One of the top wines from the 2014 vintage, the color shows a deep ruby hue. Aromatically you find cassis, lead pencil and forest floor notes already. On the palate, the full bodied wine delivers round tannins, fresh red fruits and a nice bite of juicy cassis in the end note. The freshness, with a leafy component is a really nice sensation in the finish. For a good quality vintage of Leoville Las Cases, this will drink well relatively young, meaning that perhaps just a decade or slightly more will be ample time for the wine to open and offer its complexities.
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6/16/2017 - Michael777 wrote: 94 Points
Shows an immaculate ripe cassis fruit behind some wood. Soft and full-bodied on the palate, mellow pressureful tannins and a fine acid trace, mineral-rich, with a relaxed richness that unites volume and structure. Yield only 33 hl / ha, 13.8 percent alcohol with a very healthy pH value of 3.49 , 94/96
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6/15/2017 - RockinCabs wrote: 95 Points
Nose: dark blackberry, cassis, tobacco, graphite and furniture polish. Palate: dark brooding and powerful, but in check and neatly tailored like Daniel Craig's Bond. This has black fruit for days and yet the finer notes of creamy mocha, cigar and mineral show.
This was the star of this tasting, and I added a bottle to the cellar to sit on. Agree with others that this is a stunner and will drink younger than many las cases.
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6/2/2017 - Matt Scott Likes this wine: 98 Points
Decanted for two hours. The intense blackberry, dried tobacco, dried earth, blood orange zest, hope chest and chocolate pudding nose is stunning in its own right. A salient entry and a round, polished middle palate. There's depth to ponder and terroir to enjoy. Lay this First-Growth of St. Julien down for awhile. Without a doubt this has a nose that will be indelible.
Drink 2024 -.
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4/30/2017 - MarcelloW Likes this wine: 95 Points
Powerful and complex. Cassis, black and blueberries. Excellent. LLC is in 2014 a payable, great value.
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3/11/2017 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 96 Points
Tasted next to Léoville-Barton and Léoville-Poyferré. This is like in between the Barton and the Poyferré, but also very complex. Beautiful notes of cedar wood, cigar, dark cherries, cassis, tobacco, graphite and some sweet spices too. It's full-bodied, dense and powerful, with high acidity and high tannin that is excellent quality. Very good length with great depth and huge potential. A superb Las-Cases that might be open a little earlier than the most structured vintages.
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2/24/2016 - Monkeygrape Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tasted summer 2015. Had the honor of tasting the entire LLC range 2012. Also opened a barrel sample of the 2014 .. Have to say this is a QPR vintage for this wine, very enticing and easily dominated the palet over the entire 2012 range. Notes would say Jeff below is mostly correct, and is certainly a vintage that requires patience. However I wager it will have a small window of fresh drinking upon bottling.
2012 LLC asleep
2012, clos du marquis is approachable already. heads and shoulders above petit lion
2012 petit lion, very average borderline acid
2012 fugue de nenin (second) almost pop and pour, probably should stock up for casual drinking. Hands down better than other vintages I have drank.
2012 nenin deep sleep
2012 pontensac nothing memorable
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4/16/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
With a deep, garnet hue, this full-bodied, concentrated, powerful wine starts off with cedar, earth and cassis. The firm, polished tannins leave your palate loitering about with spice and blackberry. This powerful, structured, bright, crunchy wine has a classic, fresh style. It’s important to note that its ample tannins and classic demeanor will require over a decade—probably two— before it really begins to drink well. Produced from a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot, the wine reached 13.8% alcohol with a pH of 3.49 and is now aging in 85% new French oak barrels. 95-96 Pts
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