Way too much oak. Dirty wood and vanilla smell get in all the way. This is unfortunate because the juice is good on the palate otherwise with lots of fruit and matured tannin in the background.
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Last of a half case. Cork in good condition. Medium ruby in the glass with no bricking. Ballpoint ink, pencil lead, oak and a tiny sliver of black currant on the nose. Very fruit poor on the palate with just a tiny beam of black currant showing. Very dry. Some tannins remain. These ought to be consumed very soon.
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En magnum. A vibrant nose of ripe blackcurrant, charred oak and graphite. Perhaps surprisingly not hugely developed but savory and charming. On the palate richly fruited with quite formidable structure. Not a ton of complexity on the palate and the fruit expression is not very bright. The flavor profile has a very generic feel to it and seems perhaps somewhat manufactured.
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A wine by Michel Rolland; a blend of Merlot (75%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (25%) from vineyards in Entre-Deux-Mers averaging 40 years old. The grapes are first cold-soaked in stainless steel tanks, then fermented in a combination of oak fermentors and stainless steel tanks (70%) and new oak barrels (30%). After the MLF, the wine is racked into 100% new oak barriques in which the wine is aged for 19 months. Served from a magnum.
The wine has a concentrated, dense and quite opaque blackish-red appearance with an evolved plummy hue. The nose is instantly recognizable for a Bordeaux with its bold and slightly sweet-toned aromas of ripe blackcurrants and dark plums, some toasty oak tones, a little bit of juicy bilberry, light woody notes of pencil shavings, a hint of coffee and a touch of sweet smoke. The wine is ripe, juicy and quite broad on the palate with a full body and somewhat polished flavors of sweet blackcurrants and dark plummy fruit, some bilberry tones, a little bit of toasty mocha oak, light bitter notes of extracted woody bitterness, a hint of gravelly minerality and a touch of cocoa. The overall taste is somewhat less intense, more straightforward and maybe a bit banal than what the nose led to believe. Nevertheless, the wine still retains good sense of structure, thanks to both its moderately high acidity and still quite grippy yet not aggressive medium-plus tannins. The finish is moderately grippy yet still enjoyably juicy and velvety with a ripe, somewhat sweet-toned aftertaste of dark plums and bilberries, some toasty mocha oak, a little bit of ripe blackcurrant, light coffee tones and a hint of extracted woody bitterness.
A big, firm and somewhat polished Bordeaux from the modern end of the spectrum. You can really taste the Rolland influence here as the wine has a very Parkerized feel to it, even if it is recognizably Bordeaux with its classic cassis notes and firm and still quite tightly-knit structure. I can imagine this might've felt quite overdone in its youth, but now the wine is turning quite enjoyable with its more evolved, savory overtones. The rather pronounced and quite impactful new oak character is yet to integrate with the fruit, but hopefully it will continue to disappear with further aging. Although the wine is starting to show some aged qualities, it still retains quite a youthful overall disposition and most likely the wine is capable of aging for another 15-20 years quite easily - at least in this magnum format. I can only hope the taste gains a bit more depth and complexity, as the wine seemed a bit lackluster on the palate, lacking the vibrancy and brightness it showed in the nose. All in all a pretty nice effort for an aged modern Bordeaux, but still I must admit I'm not really a big fan of the style.
I'll be honest. I don't really enjoy this style of wine, or really, any of the "Parkerized" Bordeaux of this era made in the dreaded "international style." This is blowsy and unbalanced, with a heavy roasted nose showing coffee and scorched earth. The fruit has a slightly stewed character to go with the fig, cassis and kirsch flavors, finishing a bit hot. This is better than a bottle of the '06 I tried recently (read, drinkable), but it's not really enjoyable. Tastes like someone set fire to a fruitcake.
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I’m calling a draw between tannins and fruit. Dark fruits are prominent along with well worn saddle leather. It meets expectations and I’m good with it. Drink now.
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Going downhill. Still tannic and tongue coating while fruit and good flavors harder to find. No real pleasure here; just weeknight drinking. Missed the boat.
First bottle in four years. Decanted a couple of hours before serving. Notes of plum, cherry, leather and earth. Wood showing with the coarse tannins still not resolved. Perhaps a little improved from last showing, but I'm afraid the fruit may not outlast the tannins and I still have a fair amount. Will try again in the near future and hope things come right.
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This wine exceeded my expectations. Old shoe leather, tobacco, graphite with a mild dose of blue fruit. Nice nose. Good weight and wonderful texture. At age 16, this budget Bordeaux is delicious.
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Stored at 55F since release. Double decanted an hour before drinking.
Still very youthful and primary, little tertiary development. Good fruit density. Modern but pleasant. Push well stored bottles to the back and try again in a few years.
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Same impressions as my 2/2/21 post. Quite a bit of debris in the shoulder and subsequently the bottom of the bottle. Would have filtered into a decanter if I had expected to finish bottle at one sitting. Glad to have 4 more.
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Red fruit, cherry, blackberry, earth, loam and herbs. Less chocolate from this bottle than previously. Good with the beyond beef burgers on onion buns.
Coravin pour one day and the rest 5 days later.
Drink now. Possibly better a few years ago but still pretty good now.
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I agree with the other favorable reviews. I’d add that my bottle had a stronger than expected fruit-ester nose. Hearty tannins provided a long pleasing finish.
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I bought this on release somewhere between $25-$27.
My first bottle. I have seen people post this w/ nice reviews. It over delivers the price point.
Still needs another 5 years and will live well for 10- 15 years more.
It is classic good vintage Bordeaux. Blueberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum, tobacco, graphite, stone, limestone, moist clay, sage, bay leaf, darker, withering florals, smooth acidity and length, balance & polish for days.
92.5 is more accurate. Really doesn’t taste like a Bordeaux Superior at all.
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Big tannins still, but showing better then the last time I had it. Some interesting fruit still but I wonder if it will fade away before the tannins do.
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Massive! Now on day 3, the wine is still holding its poise. This is broad, powerful wine that will continue to drink well for years to come. No need to rush. Wow, lovely.
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Opened, but did not decant, 1 hour before dinner (grilled steak)
Dark red color with slight change from rim to center. On nose, charred cedar, blackberry, sweet cherry, red currants and tobacco. Medium body, medium acidity and integrated tannins. Flavor profile of tobacco, blackberry and black currant. Long finish. Has aged very well. 91-92 range. Would buy again.
I miss Wine Library TV - the good old days.
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I last opened one of these 5.5 yrs. ago. Didn't decant or use Vinturi, and it has improved. The remainder is under Argon and awaits dinner tonight.This is a BIG wine and can probably age several more years. I agree with RD Hudak's notes. This was purchased back in '07 and '09, during the good 'ol days of Wine Library TV/Gary Vanerchuk. Glad to have 6 more!
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Flasche immer im Dormagener Keller gewesen, seit Erwerb, welcher 2010-2012 war. Preis: ca. 15 € pro Flasche. Füllstand: high fill-into neck. 50 mm Naturkorken. Korken zu 5-15 mm durchnässt, meist 5-7 mm, so dass der Korken vermutlich für weitere 10-20 Jahre gut gewesen wäre. Wirkt jugendlich. 5-8 Jahre jünger. Am Beginn des Höhepunktes. Dunkel-violette Farbe, minimaler Wasserrand. Blind hätte ich auf einen ca. 7-10 Jahre alten Bordeaux getippt. Tiefe und Länge sind nicht auf Premiere Grand Cru Niveau. 75 % Merlot, 25 % Cabernet Sauvignon. Frucht ist da. Toller Wein, jedoch keine sehr gute Tife und Länge. 90-92 Punkte? Höhepunkt: 2016-2025? Trinken: bis 2030+?
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Same with earlier tasting notes three years ago, this is dark inky blackish garnet, medium full bodied, firm structured tannic laced black berry and black cherry fruits with notes of tobacco, leather, graphite, spice box, anise, cedar with big, ripe, dusty tannins on a long lingering finish.
This was a wonderful, big, great QPR Bordeaux for several years. Unfortunately while this was not bad it was certainly past peak. Ripe raisin, plum, leather and forest floor on that palate. Pretty nonexistant tannins.
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Wow, this wine has really come around and has matured to a killer value. There's lots of dusty tannins on the surface, and beneath that, an amalgam of plums, tobacco, tar, licorice, and lavender shines through. It is dry, super aromatic, and has good acidity.
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Deep indigo color in the glass. Nose of raisin and plum. It has been almost two years since my last bottle. Although still good for a Bordeaux Superior this has seen some diminution in the last two years. There still exists some structure. Fruit has diminished but is still very evident...light red fruit, strawberry and raspberry but no longer what I would describe as fruit forward. Some old world characteristics are emerging such as mushroom and forest floor but somehow this seems a bit muddled. Was a nice second bottle of the evening but time to drink up.
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Deep purple color. Muted nose on opening but came around quickly with air. A lot of sediment. Good but not much going on beyond mature merlot (dominant) and Cabernet fruit; earlier tannic structure is gone. Drink up.
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Opaque dark color. Nice mature fruit nose with oak seasoning. Full bodied palate with plenty of sweet tannic grip, perhaps too much for some, but right up my alley. Typical Bordeaux palate but with extra density. Good balance for its large size, though I suspect some would prefer leaner and even more elegant. I would have guessed this a classified growth. Stupendous QPR!
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The initial flavor is mild and pleasant, but the finish comes after 2-3 seconds and it's a bit foul and barnyard, in the way of a bad french wine, not a good one. Disappointing.
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Dear Rickets, we have had a completely different experience with this wine. I have opened the bottle yesterday evening and took a sip, than I've put it in the fridge and two hours before tasting the wine today, it came out of the the fridge. An extremely deep colour with a bouquet of dark red fruit, bitters you can smell and lots of smooth tannins. The taste is creamy and polished, maybe missing the depth and comlexity to be a real top wine, but, wow, what a gentle giant.and still quite young.
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Corked!! unpalatabley, unquestionably, indisputably CORKED!!! I hate coddling a bottle for a dozen years to have it prove undrinkable. The cork looked nigh onto perfect with no legs up its side. This was not oxidized, cooked or volatile, it was clearly TCA.
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PnP. 750 from JJB. Decent, but probably missed this by several years in terms of peak. Fruit seems somewhat diminished. A bit astringent on the finish, showing a diminished balance compared to what it may have had. That said, none of the problems evident with this one re: "cooked" mistreatment in shipping.
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Opened and left to breath in cellar for 5 hours. On first taste, very dark purple in glass, nose of violets and dark fruit, nicely integrated tannin's with a medium finish. However, after a couple of hours more the wine turned flat and showed its age. I'll give this wine a 90 based on the first taste.
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Tasting note 4,994: Last tasted Jan. '17, hardly any differences with that wine. I think the tannins are now a bit more polished; still a young looking wine with lots of fresh fruit and a concentrated taste.
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The best this wine has ever shown for me. After pop and pour a little tannic, dry and ashy, along with powerful dark fruit. Just 30 minutes later this was real bordeaux: Graphite and dark, mildly smokey merlot fruit. Nice finish too. Excellent.
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This bottle was great! Loads of dark fruit, tobacco and some earthiness. Balanced tannin and acid, with a medium ++ finish. The cork looked perfect and I'm telling ya, if someone masked this as a second growth, no one would question it. This bottle got better with air and seemed to be drinking perfectly with 2 hours, with no decline. The perfect cork which was high quality added to the experience. 91-93, yeah, really.
Chosen to pair with grilled top sirloin steaks. Slightly moldy cork top, no signs of seepage. Long cork came out in one piece, soaked about 1/3rd way up. Decanted 60 minutes before consuming. A dark garnet robe in the glass with thinning edges. The nose featured red alpine currant, cassis, forest floor, herbs and oak spices. Very good intensity and concentration, with only a tiny bit of fine drying tannins providing structure. This was very enjoyable, and a very good foil for the steaks. Seems to us this has reached its peak, and should stay here for several years. Glad we went long on this reliable producer.
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Prominent tannins but still enough fruit to support the structure. Not sure the tannins will ever fully resolve. Nevertheless it's a lovely "luncheon claret" and should drink through 2015.
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Good wine, and excellent QPR. Big and serious structure with enough fruit underlying to support. Maybe still a hair tannic (which may never resolve), but drank well over 3 nights under pump. Think 2019 window is early. Still got a ways to go.
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Red fruit, cherry, blackberry, earth, loam, herbs and just a touch of chocolate. Good but not as decadent as other bottles. These seem to need more bottle age. Great with our Roasted rack of American lamb.
Drink 2020 or later.
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P n P tableside at rest. Althought a little tight out of the bottle, it was very alive and well tonight. Solid bord, almost in a new world style. Soft black and red fruits, some earth to it. Tannins present but soft and gave the wine good structure. Good with food. A pleasure to drink.
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Nose of plum, cherry, earth and cedar, especially the cedar. On the palate, lots of oak still, some cherry, leather, earth and graphite. This wine still has unresolved tannins, and a astringent note that is not pleasant. Feels like it needs time still, but I don't think the fruit will outlast the tannins. Overall, dry, chunky and a little disappointing. I see others have had better experiences than I. Bottle variation as the last bottle was corked. Unfortunately still have a case of this and hope for better in the future, but I just don't think it has the material to come together in time.
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Drinking very well. uncorked but didn't decant or pour a glass. sat for 30-45 and was ready to roll, but got even better as it went. no detectable fade here.
This bottle was hard to drink. Over ripe fruit, all raisin, dark profile, dry tannins. No charm. A little va on nose. Consistently getting worse to my palate. One day I’ll be done with this case....
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Still some time left in this one. Quite round and plush (yet thinning) compared to a 3-day old Leoville Barton. Milder and more modern for sure. Good with steak nonetheless and ok to sip alone.
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Overdone modern style. Toasty oak and a little raison in the fruit. Still quite tannic. Really liked this young but I’m not hopeful it will turn around.
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Loads of graphite with nice fruit that emerges after a few hours of air. On day 2 the graphite notes gave way to mature fruit. actually better on the second day.
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This one has seen better days. This bottle lost almost all its fruit, and was just dust and dirt. I usually like a good barnyard flavor, but this one left a lot to be desired. Tannins sucked all the moisture out of my head.
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An example of how a Bordeaux priced in the low $20s can still be a good Bordeaux wine. 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, made with the help of consultant Michel Roland. Classic balanced example of opaque purple, bight acidity, drying tannin, and tasty fruit. Aging well at 13 years old.
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Drank over two days and the wine showed incredibly youthful with noticeable tannin on both days. Still very dark color as well. Classic Bordeaux nose and some merlot fruit lurks underneath. I suspect this will improve as the tannin integrates but this bottle was not as enjoyable as others since the baby fat is all gone. I will try to wait at least 3 years before opening another bottle. Amazing QPR.
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Still luscious after 12 years. Strong fruit with subtle notes of cassis, roasted plum, tobacco and leather. Long finish reminds me of cocoa and vanilla.
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Opaque, indigo color. Looks rich and robust. Nose of overripe plum and steely flint. Medium bodied. Expressive with bright fruit on the palate. Medium finish of tea and mocha.
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Dark ruby, bordering on burgundy and not showing the 10+ years this wine has on it. Nose is dark berry with some spice notes, but lighter than intensity than the palate. This is still a deep and powerful wine. Black plum, stewed cherry, damp earth, wet forest all come together throughout the taste. It is very dry and sucks all the moisture out of your mouth leaving even your teeth dry. The tannins are still chunky and I wish they would mellow some and integrate better with the fruit. It has the structure to age forever, but I think the fruit will fade too quickly for the wine to improve much. Drink over the next couple years. An excellent QPR and a good example of a well made Bdx.
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Consistent with earlier notes - more expressive and vibrant than I recall or noted earlier - Deep ruby/purple color, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced, black currant and black berry fruits, subtle notes of mocha chocolate, anise, graphite and spice box, moderate concentration and acidity, supple ripe tannin makes for pleasant smooth easy casual drinking.
These got lost in a corner. Been 4 years since I had one. Been properly stored since purchased at release. Better than I expected, but not quite as good as I hoped it might be. While the fruit is not entirely gone, there is no freshness remaining. Dried dark berries, prunes, earth and perhaps some charcoal. Very dark, somber and brooding. Drink up.
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Coravin taste. Red fruit, blackberry and cherry, a touch of earth and quite a bit of tannins on the finish. Really would have benefited from 30-60 minutes of decanting. 75% merlot and 25% cabernet sauvignon. Karen liked it but Diana did not. (Diana doesn't like tannins). Age 2-3 years more.
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Modern styled without being soft. Still plenty of spine to balance out the jammy fruit. This wine is still showing quite young demonstrating the classic 2005 vintage.
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Unsure if there was some temp variation or just its age, but the fruit is turning pretty cooked/stewed with more pruny and earthy notes taking dominance. Drink now.
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Drinking like I'd expect from unclassified wine in great vintage. Good initial flavors, good structure, slightly wierd flavors on finish. Also, drank over three days under pump, with last day a little less good than second day. Good value, though. Drink next couple years.
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Open 2 hours: Dark fruited nose, blackberry preserves or pie filling, licorice and cedar wood. Smells nice. The aroma really came alive as it got some air, as a PnP this seemed dead. Nice mouthfeel and initial attack, dusty tannins, some dark fruit, tobacco, leather. Where I start to wonder about this bottle is there is practically no finish. It's there in the mid-palate but just disappears in the finish. Cleanly and nicely, mind you, it's just weird it falls off so quickly. Good with a meal as the wine really gets out of the way of the other flavors and compliments them decently. A gift bottle from a friend, so I don't know the provenance or source for this bottle.
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Red fruit and some earth, but much more primary and tannic than our prior bottles. Might have benefited from decanting. A wonderful pairing with the herbal leg of lamb, post-Easter. These are the bottle I bought on futures, rather than later, so they have the best storage. Well-stored bottles have lots of life in them.
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My wife killed another. This was much fresher and put together. Nice delineation on the palate--though still very extracted and ripe, but more pleasing. No VA on this bottle. Seems to be lots of bottle variation. I could see this bottle aging positively for another 5yrs or so, maybe more.
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My last half, and best showing. Deep maroon color. Nice nose. Maturing well. Slightly overripe fruit on palate, but smooth. Drying tannins after 60 minute decant. Full bottles should improve next year or two and last to 2020+. But this is not a $100 Bordeaux.
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Nose is all eucalyptus and stewed fruit. Palate is over ripe and just out of balance. Comes off disjointed overall. Flawed bottle perhaps? Other notes make me think lots of variation or just mediocre wine here.
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This was drinking quite well tonight's with lots of earthy, barnyardy, dark fruit with tobacco and leather undertones. The tannins are still abit on the firmish side, but they're well integrated and not all obtrusive. To my tastes, this has been drinking well for the last couple of years and continues to do so today.
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I've had horrendous luck with bottles of these procured from JJBuckley, both in the '03 and '05 vintage. The vast majority of the '03s were cooked. Seems like the '05s might be on the same trajectory. First bottle cooked. Second bottle - signs of mishandling in the background, but would be drinkable.....maybe.
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Ugh. Everything I dislike in 1 wine. Some va and port-like liquor on the nose giving this a super ripe black fruit profile. Palate is superextracted without elegance or place. Medium coffee driven finish. I really liked this in its youth, enough to buy a case. But this is a modern bdx monstrosity. I'll be holding out another 2-3yrsnuntil my next bottle and hope it pulls together. Tannins are prominent and rather angular (I fine most '05 tannins polished, smooth, and sweet)
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Deep ruby/purple color, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced, black currant and black berry fruits, notes of mocha chocolate, anise, graphite and spice box, moderate concentration and acidity, supple ripe tannin makes for pleasant smooth easy casual drinking.
Same points as the previous tasting, but slightly different wine. The colour is still impenetrable, but in the bouquet and in the taste there is a certain development; more secondary notes, more roundness and a lot of 2005 tannins of which you taste only a bit in the finish. Maybe next year 92 points, although I'm sure that the fruit is one of the qualities of this lovely wine. So don't hesitate to taste this wine.
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I agree with ACYSO's score, though his comments were too generous. Second bottle of perfectly cellared 2005 Reignac that tasted old and tired, with literally nothing to recommend this wine to anyone for any purpose. I do not believe the bottles were flawed. They were simply over the hill, and nothing of interest developed whilst I patiently waited for the magic of bottle age. This wine was never interesting and never improved. A shame.
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I don't think this wine will get any better on the showing of this bottle. It is still drinking the same as the last one I drank. Don't think there is a hurry to drink them but will not get any better. Good for what it is.
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PnP and had over 2 days. First taste was maybe 30 minutes after opening and it was tight as a drum. Full bodied and gripping tannins, flavors of licorice or anise. Very good and seems like it was just a couple of years old, not 11. Could last a very long time.
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Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are still rather youthful along with baking spices, dark red cherries, cedar, red florals, and some tobacco notes.
Overall: This is starting to show beautifully. While this isn't necessarily mature, it is quite lovely and shows of merlot's elegance extremely well.
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The Rotating Dinners, I.7: 2005 Bordeaux Blends (Chicago, IL): Served double-blind (but it was known this was a 2005 Bordeaux blend). There was more than a little brett here on the nose, which coupled with the ripe fruit, make for a less-than-pleasant experience. Leathery and ripe, with some of the new oak still showing prominently. This is one of those wines which is held together by the sheer amount of stuff in a comical Katamari Damacy sort of way (that's meant to be mildly perjorative, by the way). I guessed this was some kind of modernist Bordeaux.
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I liked this wine the first day I opened it and also the second day when I finished it. Medium body with plenty of dark fruit flavors and a very pleasant leathery complex nose. Ready to drink, but don't be in a hurry to drink it as I think it will be good for several more years.
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Upon opening.... Great nose, but still on the tannic side. Decanted for an hour and then enjoyed over a 2 hour sitting. A little oaky for me, but otherwise a great value for the $22 per I spent on two of these as futures back in 2006. I think I'll wait about a year to try the second bottle.
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For a change, we had this wine with steak (prime strip steak and rib eye), rather than with lamb. Surprisingly, it paired better with the strip steak than with the rib eye. The wine was initially quite tannic, opening over time to red fruit, cedar and some bitter chocolate. I still think the lamb is the better pairing (and I prefer cabernet with beef to merlot). Drink now or hold.
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Lamb dinner (my house): Pop and pour, drank over an hour with friends. This went well with lamb, in that there is a fair amount of funk, underbrush and secondary/tertiary Bordeaux characteristics. There is not much fruit here. It is a charming wine, with a lot of interest, although not as easy to drink as most wine. I would drink now.
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Popped and poured. Similar to my last bottle a year ago this is still showing quite well. It's a slow ager as he 2005s tend to be and is still quite dark and primary. The fruit is on the jammy side and there is also a coffee note on the palate. The tannin is starting to integrate and the wine is starting to smooth out. I'd say this is hitting the beginning of a 10 plus year drinking window. Amazing QPR here.
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I am sure I drank about 20 bottles of this too early as this is really coming into its own. You have to get past a very funky, bordering on offensive nose in the first hour but the flavor on the palate is very good. More fruit forward than most Bordeaux implying a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. Still some mushroom, and forest floor so indicative of Bordeaux. Well integrated tannins. Still improving.
I popped as dates said past prime -- not so; likely 5 years left. Very good wine & drinking excellent -- tannins mellowing although still present. Dark purple with dirt tones in color. Taste of earth with black currant fruit. Classic 'right bank' french Bordeaux (75% merlot; 25% cab).
Still delivering. We really enjoy this wine, and yes I did find a few more to purchase. I think the fruit was more pronounced in this bottle with the same earthy tones. Probably still need to finish up by 2019 or 2020. There is some sediment at the end if that is a concern for you. Enjoy.
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PnP. Great purple-red color. Dark fruit,charcoal, slightly drying tannin, enough acidity. Plenty of Life yet, maybe better than prior bottles. 88-89. Hold last bottle two years. Try not to cook with it...
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PHMG WAG: Value Bordeaux (Chateau Lyon): After a 3+ hour double decant, it's slightly better than I remember from 8/13. Still dominated by the '05 TANNINS! But the black fruit comes out to play along with gravel and tar notes. Pencil, spice, and florals show up later. Patience young padiwan: 2018-2028
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Similar to previous notes - starts of very earthy, almost muddy, but ooens up and shiws some depth and sweet charm. Nothing fancy, but some real power and quality all the same.
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Reignac Vertical; 2/7/2016-2/24/2016: The final bottle of my Reignac vertical. Medium-dark crimson color. An ashy smell dominates the nose, which evolves aromas of braised meat (uncannily similar to Rhône wine), and sweet berries after some aeration. The palate has tart black fruit flavors accented by a piquant vegetal note. Tannins remain firm after a decade in the bottle, with the overall experience hinting at much more to be revealed here with maturation. The best of the bunch, this should remain very much alive through its twentieth birthday.
sweet ripe fruit - blackberry and cassis. with time - more herbs and spices. big mid - still showing young and tannic. more cassis with a few hours but needs to age. a keeper.
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Not decanted. Notes of licorice, blackberry, currant and mineral. Good acidity and freshness with solid backbone. Enjoyable now with roast stew but should have plenty of life left.
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Garnet colored, medium to full bodied, firm texture and structure, bright vibrant cherry and blackberry fruits accented by classic Bordeaux notes of cassis, leather, earth and oak turning to a lingering tangy fruit filled moderate tannin finish.
Still needs time. Much better day 2. Dark black fruit, tannins starting to smooth, great licorice and long finish. Potential to be higher. Great QPR with long decant.
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Tasted single-blind as part of a random Bdx flight (w.2008 d'Arsac Derencourt, 2010 Fontblanche Blaye) Pours very dark, nearly opaque throughout - almost seems black in low light. Very plummy nose that shows an awful lot of oak. Noted something a bit pure and mineral in the nose, hard to specify. Lots of black cherry aroma steeped in vanilla. A strong attack on palette hollows out rather quickly. Some tannin on the front end that even disappears to quickly. What's left behind the dark fruit is not impressive. Despite the perceived heft, it's rather thin and bitter. It feels very modern and inexpensive. Very much like a CA or WA big production low cost wine. In opposition to the '08 - this is not appetizing. Day 2 displayed more vanilla and furthered the split between nose/palatte. Despite what the color tells you, the frailty of the wine would have me looking to pair with Pork chops. Least impressive of the three, clearly. I had a prior bottle of this which was similarly disappointing, so it's not a bad bottle - I could probably score this lower.
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Amazing what a year and half can make. This wine has developed and evolved over the last 18 months and is drinking very well. Lovely garnet color, with nice clarity. Bright cherry fruit on the nose. Medium body and drinks very smoothly. Easy to drink, elegant, and lively. This was a great value. Interesting to see how this develops further, however it's drinking so well now, I can see this as a go to QPR.
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Black with a deep ruby rim. Nose of thick black currant with some spice, smoke, and floral notes. Full bodied on the palate with good presence and length.
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I always find this '05 to be murky, almost muddy in a way - it's soo earthy. Itried the '06 the following night by comparison and surprisingly it was better; more elegant and precise, some sweetness and lively acidity.
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This has gone through a fascinating evolution. Very approachable upon release; went through a period of 5 years or so where it closed up and now is really coming into its own, revealing lots of dark fruit, creosote and a biter pepper. Full bodied and rich.
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Popped and poured. Nose of plum, black cherry, rich vanilla, toasty oak. On the palate, cherries and plum with rich mocha. Tannins have integrated. This should drink pretty well over the next five years.
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Good value wine but needs plenty of air to lose the harshness and sort of an olive flavor. Plenty of life left based on tasting profile but a bit of sludge found in the neck.
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Slow oxed for 12 hours. Whoah this is good. Coffee, dark fruit, lead pencil. Deeply concentrated and delicious. This is great now with air and will last another 20 or 30 years.
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A perennial over performer, this is not everyone's idea of Bordeaux, but I think it is very good. Dark purple. Rich spiced plum, graphite, smooth tannin and finishes with some vanilla oak but much less than a couple of years ago. I don't see this developing huge complexity, but it's solid and great value.
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Im a New World, QPR-focused guy looking to expand my horizons by trying Old World product. Recently I saw a video comparing some of the best Bordeaux of the '05 vintage. This $25 bottle scored better than a $1,000+ Petrus and other premieres. Wow! I''m still trying to digest the meaning of that. For some CT'ers it's too oakey. Maybe so. However for this nose, its balance of fruit, acid, grip and length creates an enjoyable quaff...at a terrific price!
plump and full bodied, quite aromatically expressive upon opening..... tightened up after a couple hours in the decanter.......very merlot, though perhaps not very Bordeaux
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Really same notes as last time. This develops exceptionally well in the glass. I can see how this wine might be confused with a first growth. Well maybe at least in an off year. Very good wine.
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Big wine and fruit forward, especially for a Bordeaux. Nose of graphite, black currant and prune with wood & earth. Soft but big with dark fruit dominating and a mid palate of mineral herbs and spices leading to a woodsy finish with spied dark fruit. Don't think that time would make this any better - it's simply a big dense wine with some finesse but ultimately not what I am hoping for in a Bordeaux, even for the $
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Dark purple hue. Nose of graphite, black currants and oak. Medium plus bodied, drying astringent tannins, currants, over extracted dark fruit (raisin type quality), good acidity and a long finish. Tannins are not completely integrated and has some rough edges. Good but not great.
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This was quite nice tonight, although it is beginning to pick up some stewed notes, which I'm not wild about, with good depth and complexity. There's still a fair amount of structure and this needed a couple of hours of air to open. All in all, really good, especially at the $15 a bottle that I paid.
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One of the most fun half-cases of wine I have had the joy of witnessing go through it's gyrations and evolutions over the past few years. At (now) 10 years old, the wine has become a dark, broody, and very earthy expression of itself. Whereas earlier openings played much more in the bright red fruit space, this wine has now become "serious." Amazing chocolate and licorice notes dominate over the fruit, which is still there but is much more subtle and the finish is a very old world moist and sweet cigar tobacco. There are also some reductive coffee notes. The sweetness of the oak shows through and the structure is still very tight.
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Wine tasting Party and Dinner at our house: Some good red fruits (blackberry and currants), earth, fine tannins and some bitter chocolate on the finish. I put this in the decanter to open up, but the group was a little predatory and didn't let it sit for very long before trying it. Perhaps more fruit and chocolate if it could have finished its decant! Still a great wine. Good with the roast leg of lamb and the potatoes.
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I have been patient to hold on to this wine, and every time I open a bottle I am rewarded. Drinking very well at this point. It is integrated into a smooth, structured wine with a medium to long finish. Poured through vinturi which helps it open up. Very dark, fruit is subtle, and has a bit of an earthy tone - maybe the new oak? Still has a few years to go, but probably not more than a couple. I would still buy a bottle if I ran across one though.
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Wow, this wine has really developed. Dark, earthy, a little gritty in a good way, med to full bodied. Really enjoyed this. Wish I had not drank the other bottles so early.
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Not easy to handle, needs lots of air, but after 48 hours in the fridge and after some hours to come to a decent temperature, this wine showed a mixed nose of delicate new wood and small red fruit followed by a massive body with lots of heavy, but ripe tannins. I tasted a lot, but I missed the complexity of the great 'appellations'. Still a very enjoyable wine with a future of at least 5 years; € 12 at the auction!
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With Sue Rexford in Princeton, NJ. (Before Jen arrived back from the castle in Dagstuhl, Germany). Decanted over an hour (dinner was late and delayed so Ursula could go to bed). Initially tight and tannic but opened with lovely chocolate notes, red fruit and earth. Delicious with the Australian lamb loin chops, baked Yukon gold potatoes and the sauteed, organic rainbow Swiss chard. (Especially with the lamb, which is a great pairing). Excellent QPR for $22 / bottle. Drink now but these have some time, too.
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At Donna T's Beef Burgundy dinner party in Princeton. 2nd bottle of the night. It was a hit so we opened a 2nd bottle. Shorter decant but similar showing as 1st bottle. Lovely chocolate notes and great with the beef burgundy.
(Bottle from the basement cellar and not the VinoTemp)
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Donna T Beef Burgundy Dinner Party in Princeton (Princeton, NJ): At Donna T's Beef Burgundy dinner party in Princeton. I really loved this wine. Out of the bottle it was a little closed and tannic, but with notes of bitter chocolate shining through. Put it in the decanter for 30 minutes and it really blossomed. Lovely notes of red fruit (blackberry and current), some earth and oozing chocolate flavors on the finish. A great pairing with the beef burgundy; ok with the shepherd's pie as well. The WOTN for me.
Drinking well now with a short decant, but wine has more time as well.
These are great QPR at our $22 purchase price.
(Bottle from the basement cellar and not the VinoTemp)
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Similar to last bottle, but this was a PnP. Dark fruit may have rallied a bit. Still concerned re: tannin balance, but those may be resolving into a bit of complexity. Hold next bottle a year or so
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45 min decant and poured through a vinturri. This has a very dark garnet in colour with lots of ripe plums and ripe blackberries with a hint of currants and dark tobacco leaf on the nose. Still have the dusty tannins on the front palate(similar to my last tn); lots of dark ripe fruits with some touches of black tar and dark chocolate on the palate. Agree of the new world-ness of this wine, but I do like it along with its wallet friendly price tag, and goes very well with some ribeye.
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The label says 100% new French oak aging. And I'm guessing that's about 67.354% too much new French oak. I like this wine but it is very much in a new world style with ripe fruit (plum and Berry) and lots and lots of woody tannins. Bordeaux for the common man!
2005 is a tannic vintage. Even the low-level wines need more time to come around. Let's hear from Racer117: "The label says 100% new French oak aging. And I'm guessing that's about 67% too much new French oak. I like this wine but it is very much in a new world style with ripe fruit (plum and Berry) and lots and lots of woody tannins." Paired with sirloin and rated Very Good.
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Drank over 2 hours. Good example of Bordeaux Superior from a stellar vintage. Blend of 75/25 Merlot/Cab. Really nice nose- inviting with promise. So dark. Charcoal, slate, tar & some dark fruit carry into mouth and hold wine in balance. Fruit a bit more pronounced over time. Fades a bit on mid-palate (which is where the olfactory promise is slightly broken) but with plenty of dry gripping tannins that linger into satisfying though slightly bitter finish. Fully matured IMO, but what do I really know anyway. Drink now and for another 3-5. 2015 probably a good time to have a retrospective on non-trophy 2005 Bordeaux (or trophy too if you are a champion).
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Lovely aromas of grilled meat, raspberries/blackberries/black cherries, earth and a bit of herbs. The palate also has that meaty/barnyard note up front with cherries/raspberries and a bit of earth to follow. Not as bold/complex as the nose, though. Medium tannins/acidity/finish.
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Chalk and blood with nuances of flowers and minerals. Quite tannic still, but this quality helps the wine have more presence and drives the minimal dusty fruit into the finish. An elegant wine for its price. There is a tinge of synthetic material in the finish that stops me from giving it a point or two more...
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Innfridde ikke forventningene etter forrige gang. Mye trøkk med kirsebær, tobakk, lær, god syre, markante tanniner men mangler litt eleganse. Tydelig Bordeaux stil på lukt.
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Good underlying flavors, but heavy tannins competing for your taste buds. Seemed to go back and forth, enough flavor to enjoy, but hope the tannins subside over the next few years. Not sure.
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Quite a polarizing wine given prior tasters comment. On this tasting, and with airtime, the oak was very apparent. On nose, oak (if this were a CA cab people would not complain about it), black currants, tobacco, graphite & a touch of heat. On palate, dark fruits / tobacco. Modern interpretation of Bordeaux. Excellent with a NY Strip. I really enjoyed (91+) and would buy again but this wine is not an '09Marcel Lapierre Morgon Beaujolais that everyone on CT loves. If you like old school California Cabernet (Mondavi, not Caymus) this is worth a try.
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Big, generous flavors immediate upon opening. Ripe black fruit, cedar and a bit of asphalt with the obvious Rolland oak (and 14+% alc) that comes together in a very pleasing way. Opened with several other wines, and it was the clear favorite of my guests who probably drink more new world wines than old.
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Nose of black cherry, plum, and earth, more of the same on the palate, lovely and rich fruit in 2005, paid $27 and worth it, medium body, peaked, flavorful finish. Wish I bought more.
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Surprisingly dense fruit for a merlot-driven blend. Still showing a fair amount of tannin. Enjoyable, and a good value, and I expect will improve with additional time in the bottle.
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Dark rub color. Heavy ok and cedar on sniff. The fruit is there underneath and became more prevalent after a few hours, but it is overpowered by the oak. Medium bodied, tar, tobacco, smoke - tart / tannic. After 1 hour decant was positive this needs more time, however after a few hours opened up a bit. Based on other reviewers could have been an odd bottle but find hard to believe - came out of a newly opened wood case, bought on futures and cellared. More likely needed longer decanting or more time in bottle. Will try another bottle with longer decant in 6 - 12 months.
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Deep crimson color, slow-forming legs, medium+ body. Nose of cherry, oak, anise and dark fruits. Palate echoes nose and adds some minerality. Grippy, drying tannins on the medium finish. Slightly better on day 2, a little more fruit and better balance. Tannins still grippy. Agree with ArtF that this needs a nice long decant or better yet, another couple years in the bottle.
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From .375. Showing the merits of '05 in bordeaux. Still improving after being opened but not decanted 6 hours. I would decant full bottles or wait 2-3 more years.
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I liked this wine, but did not love it. It showed good balance and nice ripeness, but also tasted heavy-handed. I think there was too much oak showing, despite 9 years of age on the wine. Also, the acidity was oddly disjointed and not integrated compared with other vintages from this producer. I should note though that I generally do not like Michel Rolland-influenced wines.
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Drank this following 2 2nd classe medocs and a Beringer Howell mountain merlot of the same year. Fist bottled opened 3 hours before drinking and 2nd bottle PNP.
Second bottle had slight bret in the nose that blew away. The wine seemed more akin to the left bank than the Ca. merlot., despite being 75% merlot. Really the great value of the night.
Cassis licorice and tobacco in the nose, good round fruit in the body good finish with firm tannins. Could easily age another few years. I will look for more of this!
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Dark berries, licorice, oak, and pine tree components wrapped in a massively tannic body show off good aromatics and a decent length on the finish. Back label says "under the supervision of consulting enologist, Michel Rolland". This wine is certainly his style.
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Consumed over 4 nights and kept under pressure. Big bold fruit when first opened. Went into a rough, grippy phase over the next couple of nights. Finally calmed down and and softened up again on night 4. Seems to have a long life ahead and some number of years before it hits a drinking plateau.
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Nice to revisit. Nose showed slight sign of evolution, but it was overly tarry and the tannics were chunk and dry. They wine has a nice richness, but it was almost LESS evolved than samples I had years ago and showed little balance. My thought is that this will only lose balance over time, not come together in the bottle. Drink now.
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I recently opened two bottles of this vintage on separate occasions. Both were very good; one was better than the other. (Funny how that works.) Nonetheless, this is a very enjoyable wine. I'm happy to have purchased and cellared it. Drink now or save for later. Enjoy.
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Drank over 3 days with vacuum seal and refrigerated.
Initially, still quite firm and drying tannins, cedar and oak notes. A nice nose full of dark fruit, vanilla.
Day 3, shows dark black cherry/blackberry, a hint of sweetness from the merlot and the tannins really mellowed. I believe this will become more integrated in time. Needs a few more years [to 2016 at the earliest for next bottle].
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Think one of best values I ever purchased. Very good Bordeaux. Nice chewy tannins, and dark fruit. Some minerality. Glad I have more. Still pronounced tannins after several hours. Nicely balanced.
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From .375. Dark blood red in glass. Prunes and charred oak on nose. More prunes on palate with drying tannins. Best after being opened 4 hours when tannins smoothed out and fruit became more pronounced. Drink full bottles now with decant or wait 2015-2019.
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This has a nice nose full of dark fruit, vanilla and cedar but the palate is somewhat drying and a little bitter. A big dense wine whose fruit has faded leaving the overt oak influence front and center. I have more of these and will be patient but am not sure waiting longer will pay off. We'll see...
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More modern than I remembered with heavy oak treatment that I hope will become more integrated in time. Still quite tannic and unwieldy. Needs a few more years.
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It's not drinking like the 10-12 year lifespan wine I expected, but rather more like a vin de garde. Dark purple color. Cedar dominated nose. When initially opened, good fruit and some tannin. Modern feeling (it should be - Michel Rolland consulted!), the more I tasted the more it seemed overwhelmed by the big tannic backbone and the heavy 100% new oak treatment. Less happy with this than 2 years ago, where you could taste more going on despite the oak. Hope this comes around sometime.
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This one was quite a gem. Am amazed at how it manages to be dry but with some lovely sweet fruit at the same time. This is a murky, earthy, brooding concoction that is not so nuanced or elegant but it really is pretty tasty. I've found significant bottle variation with this wine but when it's good it's one of the very best values in Bordeaux. The '05 in particular can be excellent.
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Like my most recent prior bottle, this tasted tired and a bit over the hill. Will not score as I would give this bottle about an 87, but it has been a terrific wine for many years and this bottle was simply not representative.
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surprisingly really good for the price point...chewy layers of fruit and cassis, with hints of cherry...tasted even better over the next two days...nice, ripe, complex structure.
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I've had many bottles of the 2005 Reignac, and the most frustrating aspect has always been bottle variation. But sometimes you pop the cork and you get a surprise like this, quintessentially Bordeaux, with tertiary aromas including porcini mushroom and truffles, with deep black fruit flavors, soft mouthfeel with an acidic lift. Finishes dry, but for the price it's nice to discover these cellar gems every once in awhile.
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Bold, full bodied cassis and French oak flavors. Moderate tannins are well integrated and give nice structure without any harsh edges. The oak, however, is still quite strong and overpowers the flavors and finish.
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Nose developed over one hour, black cherry fruit, dust, earth-clay like my garden, and touch of cassis, more of the same on the palate, very pleasant after a merlot, went well with the smoked cheddar cheese, lots of soft tannins present, medium body and medium finish. Value for $25.
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After a vinturi decant and 30 in the glass this wine gave a peek at what it can be. Black fruit, gravel/ stone, pencil, and rose notes. Still pretty stern like all the '05's I've had - still hoping they'll all open by fall 2015 for a big tasting.
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Poured through a vinturri into a decanter and let sit for a couple of hours. Poured into glass using a vinturri. The profile is similar to my last tn, though the extra air time helped bring out the dark blue and black fruits more profusely. The tannins are still there, though more of a "dusty" like feeling in the front palate. Paired with some grass-fed beef tenderloin.
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Much better on the first day - by the 2nd day, a lot of the fruit seemed to have faded. Quite a murky and earthy wine, but robust and lively in its own way.
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Very tannic and in dire need of a decant. Nice earthy fruit, bramble, wet twigs and licorice on the palate. Bitter, mouth coating tannins on the finish that had me puckered for minutes, this screamed for some food.Great qpr .Hold.
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Nice funk to it. Less fruit showing, just now starting to show the earthy secondary flavors. The slight brett may have been a bottle flaw (have never seen it in the past) or a result of age. Either way, it was pleasant and subtle. Excited to see where this goes over time!
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First time this wine has shown any ill effects of age - if that is what the problem was. This bottle definitely had less fruit and was a bit tired and washed out - especially when compared to the other bottles I have had over the past couple of years. I think this may simply have been a bad bottle and/or was exposed to too much oxygen. I will not score it.
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Rather reticent nose, but gives up a little cedar, saddle leather, and dark fruit. Palate is quite concentrated, with very but prominent tannins. Dark plummy fruit, giving it a thick quality across the palate, but has just enough acidity. Moderate finish. Still quite young, and this was rather shut down but should be an excellent drinker in ~5yrs. Merlot is prominent right now. Hold. 89-90
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Decanted and drank over 4 hours. Dark fruit, mineral, but tannin is out of balance until the last half hour or so. I like my merlot (75% merlot, 25% cab) tannic, but this was drying for the first couple hours. Not sure it has the fruit to hold up to the tannin over time, but it's worth a shot. My sense is that I'd really like this with less oak. Bit of shmutz.
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Nose the same but I think the alcohol in this bottle mellowed out a bit. I would say this is as good as it will get but has plenty of years of drinking head of it.
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30 min decant. The nose is getting some sweet dark fruits, dark ripe plums with a hint of minty vanilla. On the palate, I am getting black fruits, dark chocolate, and some black cherries. Tannins are tight and chewy; dry finish. I paired this with some buffalo burger and this wine really went well with it. I'd say wait a couple more years before trying again. Excellent QPR.
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Decanted 1 hr. Med+ body, grippy tannins, dry finish. Paired with lamb burgers. Lots of great material here, just needs more time... say 3-5 years. Good quality Bordeaux for the price.
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Great juice for the price. Let decant for a few hours, sweet black fruit, cassis, pencil lead. Not screaming Bordeaux, but very enjoyable. Think I paid $14.50?
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Firm tannins. The fruit is dominant at the fore, but the tannins leave the finish long and dry. Alone, it is almos too much. But with a meal (ribeye, mushrooms, and braised celery root) is was the perfect match and cut through the fat. This is very well suited for red meat.
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Wine does not smell or taste at all like Bordeaux. Very similar in style to extracted new world wine. On the nose I get plum and prune along with some licorice. On the palate more plummy ripe fruit with moderate structure and finish. A nice wine or the price if you are looking for a more new world profile. I hope to bring to a blind tasting someday because I highly doubt that someone would guess bordeaux. I liked the wine for value and fruit profile.
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Auction purchase for $27, one of my favorite wines, nose of black cherry fruit, dust earth, and touch of cassis, more of the same on the palate, lovely taste as I paired it with grilled sausage, some soft tannins present, medium body and medium finish.
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Dark berry fruit, chocolate, earth and dust and leather, with sweet black cherry on the long finish. Substantial tannins and decent acidity. Lots of life left in this wine.
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An early taste was promising, and I was looking forward to the majority being better on day 2. That never happened, as most of this bottle was poured out due to sickness. ~89
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Another very nice bottle. Bordeaux nose with a lot of new world flavors and textures. Second bottle of a new case, and I think this case is either less fruity than prior cases, and/or the fruit is losing some vibrancy. Still very enjoyable with very dark fruits, and good concentration and depth. A bit on the acidic side of balanced, but just enough to give it some grip. Medium +, slightly drying finish.
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Finally, a decent bottle. Wish these guys would just use a screwcap. The bottle variation on this vintage has been appalling. This one showed what I believe the winemaker intended, unlike the last two. Fairly merlot dominant. Still showing some tannic grit. Could happily go several more years.
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Mint and green herb nose, minerals, linen and stems. Black fruit, lush mouth feel with gripping tannin and a tarry cocoa finish. Delicious wine that has many years ahead of pleasure.
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this was quite excellent - some bottle variation here as others I've had were not as good. Sumptuous, rich and decadent. Impressive length and concentration. A bit sweet and simple in some ways, but one of the best Bordeaux at this pricepoint.
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It's been awhile, but it's nice to come back to an old favorite. Definite Right Bank evolved aromas on the nose, tar, carob, some violets, and French vanilla aromas give way a palate that's juuuust beginning to soften a bit. Vibrant acidity carries the dark plum flavors across the palate. In a good place through the decanber, but this can use another couple of years. Drink in 2015 and be very happy.
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Thick, rich and chocolatey. Better on the 2nd day. A bit brawney, almost sweet and maybe missing some polish but likeable. Compared directly to the '06 on the same night, this was definitely the better wine.
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The tannins have certainly integrated and subsided since a bottle opened at release. Opened, decanted and consumed over a few hours. Well balanced, the nose came around with some coaxing. A bit monolithic and tight on the palate.
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Splash decanted and drank half the bottle then vacuumed pumped. This note is based on tasting 24 hours later. Really beautiful full bodied Bordeaux packed with black cherry, licorice, earth, leather, and an underpinning of Bordeaux funk. Great impact on the palate. Strong frame with dry, dusty tannins and good acidity. Medium length. While the fruit is quite juicy, this nonetheless finishes completely dry. Better on night two. Should benefit from a couple more years in the cellar but no harm in popping today. Really amazing quality for a B.S.
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Really delicious with Pamela Zave's beef burgundy. Dark fruit, a touch of chocolate & substantial earth. Decanted for 3 hours prior to the dinner, in a flower vase. (No decanter was available). Pamela thought it was too tannic on its own, but really liked it with the beef. I liked it a lot at 90 minutes, when the tannins were less resolved. A good drink now but much better with some bottle age
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Had this at work with the gang. This was really good, and a killer value. Open for business right now, but with plenty of time to improve. Nose shows plenty of tobacco leather and spice, palate is rustic but properly balanced, and finish is solid with plentiful tannins. Super buy for the $13 it cost me.
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Fine Bordeaux tasting (Brookline liquor mart): Deep ruby color; plums, blackberry, complex young nose, slight salinity; palate shows a bit too much alcohol, dense oak, big tannins, modern styled. Very young.
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Bottle decanted for three hours. Extremely concentrated, dark fruits, very tannic. Day two (after pumped and fridged), tannins subsided but still two chewy for my taste.
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From the bottle, better after a couple hours of air. Deep, dark nose of red fruit and some gamey hints. Medium+ body with rich dark red fruits and softening tannins leaving a nice drying finish. A little hot but pleasant with some veal chops and broccoli.
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Decanted 1 hr then paired with grilled lamb chops. Funky and earthy with a medium fruit character. Chocolate covered cherries, tobacco, scorched earth. Soundly structured and tannic, though not painfully so and easily nullified by the med rare lamb. Med/med+ body with good acidity. Very Bordeaux. A generous mouthfull of wine for the price with good typicity.
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Straight out of the bottle, the wine exhibited a compelling balance of fruit and structure. I loved the merlot's jousting with the cab. Naysayers be damned, this wine shows excellence from vineyard to bottle, with restraint and confidence.
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Just took delivery of another case and opened one of the bottles. Not quite as fresh and vibrant as the bottles I have had in my cellar for several years, but still very good. I will not score as the new arrivals may still be suffering from "travel shock".
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In comparison its sibling 2006, this is brighter and more red fruited, yet slightly more tannic, oaky, and alcoholic. Good fruit. At $15, this is great, but because of little heat with 2005, I prefer 2006.
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At first, it had a bit of a barnyard taste, but it disappeared and opened up nicely. The tannins are stilla bit strong, so I will give it more time in the cellar.
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Once again, Reignac easily out performs its price point and its level. This is drinking beautifully today with only abit of air. Med bodied with nice depth and concentration for a Bordeaux Superieur. This is a delightful bottle of wine.
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- Purple color with medium forming legs and aromas of black currant and raspberry. It's unbalanced and has flavours of raspberry with a medium body. Linear texture with a medium finish.
Definitely improved after 30 min decant. Present yet smooth tannins, with aromas of dark fruit, earth, and tobacco combined with integrated acidity. The finish is short but has a touch of complexity. Good on its own, but this wine paired extremely well with the Wine Spectator 8 for $20 vegetable pot pie (much better than a fruitier 2009 Bordeaux). Overall tasty with enough complexity to warrant a 90 pt score.
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- Crimsom color with slow forming legs. It's somewhat balanced and has flavours of chocolate with a medium body. Narrow texture with a short finish - Improved with time. Easy drinking, great for a casual weekday. Would drink a little upon opening, much smoother and tastier the next day.
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A lot if earthy, dry, tar notes. Quite deep and hearty. Mising some sweetness and complexity one might expect from more pricey wines, but at this price this is a very solid wine for midweek diversion, for me anyways..
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This wine is still too young but within 5 years it wll be great. possibly the best bordeaux wine for the money actually. A must for people with a proper wine cellar. Open 2016 and enjoy with a great meal.
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Brought to 24+ btl blind tasting of Bordeaux blends. Mand tched against '93 LLC, a '86 Clerc Milon and some other great selections, it held its own. Decanted 90 minutes before tasting then returned to bottle after an hour of air, which really seemed to soften both the nose and feel on my palate. A great QPR, should have bought still more back in 2/07!
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real nice wine for under $15. Decanted and drank over two nights. First night, still a little tight, but opened the longer it sat. Give it some air. Night two, softer and more "fruit" vs dirt of the first night. Can't go wrong for a mid-week bourdeaux style.
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What a consistent, solid wine this has turned out to be. I have gone thru almost 2 cases of this wine and have never been disappointed by a single bottle. I probably will buy some more as for $20 it over-delivers with rich, dark fruits with hints of earth and perhaps coffee. Soft, plush structure and usually not much backbone, although this particular bottle had more structure than most prior bottles.
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No extensive notes, as it was one of several bottles. Opened like a course, tannic wood plank. Fortunately, - 3+hrs later - provided the aromatics and complex flavors I've come to expect.
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So dark. Seems a bit overripe to me and tannic (which I like) - the tannin is quite drying on the finish, with dark fruits. I have one bottle left and will do it justice by giving a tad more time sideways and a proper decanting, as I suspect there could be more potential lurking here.
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Another really nice bottle and easily one of the best QPR wines I have ever had. Dark, ripe fruits, coffee, licorice and earth on the nose. Fleshy and soft on the palate with a slightly acidic balance and medium +, sweet, almost dessert-like finish. Seems to be getting richer, riper and more complex with time., but I am thinking it has probably reached its peak. Drinks way above its price point.
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My note closely mirrors Jeff's below, except I'll note that there were fine drying tannins on the finish immediately after opening, but that these resolved after about 40 minutes. Amidst very nice, moderately ripe fruit, a dose of French earthiness was ever-present. The last glass, 2 hours after opening, was the best, suggesting that these are good to go for some time.
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A little over a year on since the last bottle and drinking nicely, about the same. Deep concentrated purple color, lots of tannins, coffee, licorice, chocolate and a little plummy. Modern style for sure, but still has a nice Bordeaux-ness to it. It was still drinking well the second day but you could detect a hint of oxidation even though it was stored in a half bottle in the fridge. I wouldn't bet on this being very long lived, but who cares? Good value.
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Deep purple in color. Some floral notes on the nose but not too much perfume and a bit of herb evident. Full bodied and fruit forward with an emphasis on cherry and strawberry. Also some cola on the palate. Interesting comparison with a 98 Seavey. Probably due the difference in age, there was almost a role reversal with Seavey more Bordeaux like and the fruit forward expression of the Reignac reminiscent of a Cabernet. Gala celebration with all 3 boys at home.
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Is this the deal of the year for a house wine? Depending on where you live, for $12, you get a nose filled with coffee bean, licorice, jammy dark berries, cherry and earth. Fleshy, round, ripe and ready to drink, the wine ends with chocolate covered plums and licorice. 2005 Reignac is a value Bordeaux wine worth buying by the case!
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Classic Bordeaux style. Full fruit on the front palate showing some mushroom and forest floor on the back. Deep, dark garnet color. Normally rate this a bit higher but drank this with a 2006 Flinders Run Shiraz and 2007 Justin Isosceles. Both were a bit more complex and more interesting but the Reignac is a great value.
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A very deep dark magenta color to the 05 Reignac. On the nose I get clove, licorice, dark red and black fruits, and an earthy set of eucalyptus and rusted iron aromas. This has a very complex nose indeed, without any of the vanilla I expected. This is just a bit overripe but I don't blame them for picking the grapes as late as they did as the tannins are fairly aggressive, and dominate the finish. Without looking at my last review of this wine and not being able to recall it for some reason, I'll say I've warmed to this wine since the last bottle. I do remember tasting past vintages, the 2000 in particular, and have always thought the nose on the Reignac wines has been spectacular while the mouthfeel has been downright gritty and harsh; no exception here. Do these wines, or more specifically the tannins, need more time or is this eternally the nature of the wine? Needs food I suppose.
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This is a good wine, but not terribly interesting. Opened and decanted. Became clunky after a couple of hours which was much faster than I would have guessed. Still a great value and recommended.
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Aerated/decanted for 30-45 minutes, took notes over the course of 2 hours. When a wine in this dark, I call it "octopus defense mechanism" in color. Almost black, and murky. An opulent, expressive nose greets you right away, with loads of ripe fruit and a backbone of hay, mushroom, and olive. At first, the palate was extremely restrained and basically not much beyond astringent. But after 1+ hours, notes of sour cherry, plums, and brambly fruit open up to complement the secondary flavors of earth, anise, and burnt toast. The oak is ever-present but not overwhelming. Initially, the tannins dominated everything else, but they do soften around the 90-minute mark. The wine is gritty but acidic, and has the foundation to continue to evolve. I would give this at least a 90-minute decant, or 1-2+ years, and I would guess this will be coming into its own within 5. Stellar QPR. 88 upon pour, 91+ potential. Will taste again in 6 months.
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A wine that needs serious air, but can be drank now! Popped and poured through venturi into decanter, let sit for an hour, then poured from decanter through venturi into glass. That definitely does the trick. Smooth, perfumed, integrated, a wonderful wine for sub $15! Get it if you can!
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This needed some air as it was kind of closed at P&P. After 90 minutes of being open/partially consumed, it opened up with lovely fruit and soft tannins. Nicely accompanied a rare Porterhouse steak. This wine will improve even more w/cellar time. 90 at P&P, 91 after 2 hrs.
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This wine a real weight and heft to it, and doesn't really show much fruit to start with. Overall though this is an excellent every day bordeaux that can really be mistaken for something much more expensive.
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What a very nice Bordeaux Superieur. This is a fairly new world styled bordeaux that was quite closed on opening, but after a couple of hours of air it opened with dark fruit, cocoa, earth and firm, leathery tannins on the finish, not particularly complex but very good for what it is. This wine is in a good place today. I have the opportunity to pick up another case and I think I will. This has a very good qpr.
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Still one of the best value wines from Bordeaux. Fresh, full of fruit and medium tannins. Great start to a family dinner, followed a 2004 Calon Segur in magnum and ending with a 2002 Robert Craig Howell Mountain Cabernet.
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After breathing for an hour, the tannis are gone, leaving great fruit juice behind, which is very nice. This bottle is much better than the bottle I served last year.
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Ripe, heavy-handed and tannic. Not unpleasant, but lacking elegance and balance with the more herbal character that i much enjoy in red wines from Bordeaux. A solid early drinking wine that can last.
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No score or formal note; opened this at a crappy hotel restaurant with a bunch of soccer parent friends, drank out of glorified water glasses. Modern fruit-heavy styled bdx; clearly Merlot dominated. WAY too young out of this 3 liter (no surprise); no development detected whatsoever. Bottom line: great p/q crowd pleasing wine.
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I remember opening bottles of the 2000 and 2004 Reignac and thinking I could just smell them all day as they wreaked beautifully of merlot grown in the Medoc. I do recall the tannins being a bit coarse on the finish but that was a small price to pay for such a beautiful nose. In 2005 the coarse tannins are gone but so is the unmistakably Bordeaux nose. Sure, they've made a balanced, correct wine but also a boring one with too much alcohol and oak. This is officially a new world wine now with it's origin masked by over manipulation, rendering it another product of technology. I don't know if we have Michel Rolland to thank for this but I'm sure micro oxygenation played a role here. I'm sad.
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Deep indigo color. Lots of fruit of the nose with a hint of earth. Fruit is predominant on the palate...raspberry, cassis and plum with a hint of clove and a bit of mocha. Really nice bordeaux and an interesting new world/old world comparison when tasted side by side with a '90 Dame de Montrose.
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Decanted about an hour. This has developed nicely, it's a a beautiful wine now. Raspberry, cassis, leather, loam, and a little spice on the nose. The palate is medium-full, not as ripe as you might think from the vintage. Good structure, great balance. Could still have some upside, but drinking beautifully now.
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Very dark ruby red. Blueberry, oak, leather, and earth nose. Full bodied, blackberries, chocolate covered cherries, spices, grainy young tannins, tobacco, a bit of soy, smoke, and a long finish. Lots of terrior and charactor, and a good value.
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Decnated for 2 hours prior to drinking. This was great. The nose was full of dark red fruit, cassis, some espresso notes. ON the palate the red fruit was dominant with damp earth, a pleasant oak taste, a hint of black pepper and a bit of worn leather. I felt that the tannins were nicely integrated and that this guy is probably right on the front end of the prime drinking window. I have two left that I will probably space out over the next 2 years.
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Really delicious new world style bordeaux. Classic bordeaux nose of cassis, leather, earth and oak. Aromas carry over to the palate with rich, juicy fruits and the addition of some spice. Medium to full bodied with a firm, full texture and lots of structure. Long, fruity, drying finish. This is a big mouthfull of flavors and textures. Still a bit young, but drinking great - and a terrific value.. 91+
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Decanted for an hour and then consumed with a steak dinner over the following three hours. It benefited from the exposure to the air and opened up nicely. The wine offed good dark fruit, but the tannins were in the fore. Not out of balance, but should improve with more time in the cellar. The tannins did help the wine compliment the steak.
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Agree with rickspicks on all counts except the score -- I think it will merit an Outstanding rating, but not yet. Excellent now and should be better as the tannins integrate a bit further. Try again in 1 year.
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Did not take notes, but consumed just yesterday. It has been about a year and half since I last tried this wine and it has certainly blossomed, mellowed and integrated during the intervening period. Ripe dark fruits, oak and earth on the nose and palate with a full body and a rich texture. Plenty of structure to match the rich fruit. Almost new world in style but with bordeaux roots. The merlot dominates the flavors, but the cabernet provides plenty of backbone.
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I don't think it's going out on a limb to surmise that this wine was obviously made with RP in mind. Possibly the deepest, darkest, black-purple color I've ever seen (reminded me of a Camenere); thick to the rim...and even sweetly fruited! I know!..it's French, though you'd be hard-pressed to peg it as such. I don't think I've had such a modern version of a Bordeaux since my so-loved, Chateau Charmail's of the 90's. I made the mistake of putting it through the vinturi, which made it somewhat disjointed and so it wasn't until the final glass that it came back into focus and revealed its true potential - rich, full & round with a finish that went on and on. I must be sure to refer back to these notes when I go to open my last bottle. (88-90)
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Can't seem to lay off of these. Wonderful full nose of espresso, plum, currants, and a little cedar. Palate still showing some prominent tannins, but wonderful merlot/dark fruit profile, with acidity and spice. Medium finish. Modern in style as it is rather concentrated and moderate oak, but balanced. Drinking well but will improve over next decade.
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Deep purple color. Floral notes of lavender on the nose. Well balanced tannins with a nice balance of fruit flavors, chocolate and tobacco box reflecting the terroir. Drinking beautifully now, much better than a year ago but plenty of life left.
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Popped and poured to check in. Nose of plum, cherry, black fruit, mocha, vanilla, earth. On the palate, black and red fruits, mocha, vanilla. Finishes with a wall of tannin. Lots to like here, definitely more of a sense of place than previous vintages. Excellent. Hold 2-3 more years. Nice upside on this.
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Beautiful bouquet of blackberries, boysenberry, earthy minerality.
Much more integrated and smooth on the palate than my last bottle maybe time has helped. Loads of minerality with the dark red and black fruits. Tannins are still grippy and should hold this together for a while yet. Definitely drinking well now but should get better with a few more years.
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From a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine offers aromas of jammy berries, coffee, black cherry and licorice scents. Round in texture, the wine finishes with ripe, chocolate and black cherry flavors.
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Part of a 19 bottle tasting, side by side with 2003 Havens Bouriquot. Very similar in style. Aeration helped both. I imagine this has a minimum of 4-5 years left. Wonderful transition over 3-4 hours, initially exposing dark black fruit, some cedar. After 2-3 hours, the alcohol had softened and there was more leather, graphite, and more fruit forward. Nice velvety palate feel. Wish I had more than 5 left in the cellar.
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Excellent. Aerated into decanter and drank with grilled NY Strips one hour later. Dark black / red color (looks young). Black currant / graphite / cedar on nose. On palate, cassis, blackberry, touch of minerality. The fruit was surprisingly big for a Bordeaux but not out of balance. Medium+ body and long finish - good wine for CA Cab lovers to try. Will buy more.
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Tasted non blind against 2006 Tourelles de Longueville. The 2005 Reignac has a rich nose of burnt oak, black fruit and a little cedar. Lots of dark fruit on the palette, with good acidity and well integrated tannin. Good value for money and slightly more satisfying than the Tourelles - the better vintage shines through.
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Nose is very nice with cedar, spice, currant and dark fruits. Its about the same except for a more lush mouthfeel and I think it filled out nice in the balance category. I really think this is drinking exceptionally well right now. It might be able to mellow out a little bit more on the finish because the alcohol is still a bit present. Drink this and try it if you have it. What a gem for the price.
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Nice wine for the price. Quite tannic still, with some pretyt lush fruit for Bordeaux. The mid-palate is lacking a bit though, and I'm not quite sure how it will age once the bright fruit starts to dissipate. Will wait a little though for the next bottle to let the tannins mellow out.
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Consider me guilty of appellation snobbery, but I didn't expect this to be so good. Dark, glass coating violet with a slight transparent edge. The nose is wonderful bouquet de Bordeaux. The palate a medium-full bodied, balanced fruits and acid, tightly packed but smooth tannin, wholesome bdx experience. My only quibble is the chalky bone dry finish.. Great QPR, this really dogs quite a few much more expensive/reputable bdx's. While drinking well now, a couple years would melt some tannins, and there is plenty of life left. Now to 2020+
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Pretty much where I expected it to be at this time of it's life. Reticent nose of smoke and vanilla and hint of dark cherry fruit. Pretty closed on the palate, with surprisingly smooth tannin but muted cherry, smoke and oak on the palate. Potential to improve with time. Very Good.
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At BWC tasting. My #6, Group #6. I had high expectations for this right bank. Aromas were very prominent, with deep ripe cherries and chocolate. Black raspberries, liquorice, and some smoke are evident on fatter palate. Got some heat on this merlot as well, and acidity was not as strong as I would like. Finish had very nice length though. For those that prefer a richer Bordeaux
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Boerne Wine Club = Merlot and Cab Franc (Scenic Loop Cafe, San Antonio, TX): decanted 2 hrs prior. Needed lots of time before opening up with a lovely nose of licorice and cherry. Palate with plenty of ripe red fruits, prominent dusty tannins and nice acidity. Medium mocha finish. Nicely made bdx that will continue to improve.
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Palate: Initial PoP and drank over the span of 2 hours. To start, some tannins pronounced on the front of the palate that died off quickly. Over the 2 hours, the tannins mellowed and out came dark, black cherry and a hint of smoked peppers. Not sure this has the body to stand up to a whole lot more aging, but should get better for the next 3 - 5 years.
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Seems a bit closed down right now. Some black fruit, but kind of indistinct, especially on the nose. Getting some gravel and pencil lead on the palate, but there seems to be good fruit hiding in there. Nice chalky tannins. Really well structured, but needs some time to come alive. Looking forward to tasting second half of the bottle tonight, with some time/air to help it along. REDUX: Opened this again after a couple days under VacuVin. Nose is strong with roses. Crazy. Tannins have backed off. Palate is still black fruit and some violets. Weird that it's gone all floral after a couple days. Still very nice.
I originally discovered Reignac in 1999 when it was $14 a bottle. I stopped buying when it went north of $22. Found a deal recently and stocked up at $17. I've always liked this stuff, and wonder why US producers can't make a Merlot this brilliant at this price point.
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Day 2: Lots of ceder and herbs, in lieu of the dark fruit. Still a good drink, but better on Day 1 (and perhaps best sometime in between Day 1 & Day 2). Better with time
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A wine with a lot of promise. The nose on this wine was just lovely. The taste was a little more restrained, but lots of likeable dark fruit, flowers and minerals. Best after being opened for 4-5 hours (no decant). Ok with the decant (and not as good, to me, with the Vinturi). Just lovely with the roast leg of lamb leftovers (infused with garlic slivers and herbs), that brought out the earth and herb tones in the wine. A better drink in a year.
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Its hard to believe this isn't a classed growth... goes to show what's in a rating... its shed a lot of its rustic tanins, and is a full, diffused wine. Wet stone, earth, dark fruits. Fantastic.
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I like where this wine is going. Poured from bottle 1/2 hr into a large drinking vessel. The nose was of cedar, dark fruits and floral overtones. Balanced, meaty with juicy and still dusty tannins, the wine is somewhat dry on the palate but clearly has the potential to evolve further in bottle. I'm glad I bought 6, sad I didn't grab a case. Paired with seasoned, grilled NY Strip Steaks at home. Great value but expecting much more in the next 5 years. I liked the 2000, and maybe just like the overall flavor profile of this wine. 91-93 potential.
4 Days later - the wine still holding up very well. Dark and rich, brooding with dry and dusty but fine tannins. Minerals and acid backbone evident but in balance. Give it 3 years to try next bottle. Nice.
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Quite a solid wine, with enough ripeness but still lots of Bdx character. My big complaint is the mouthfeel - it feels gritty, like the dregs at the bottom of the bottle.
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Day1: Black-purple to the rim! This is a seriously Modern-styled Bordeaux. The aromatics are all beef blood with a hint of crushed stone. At this stage, devoid of the expansive, pretty and almost floral aromatics of vintages past. Mouthfeel is extraordinarily unctuous and although the acidity is there, I'd have to conclude that it's primary at this stage; with saliva-zapping tannins, which I'm thinking might mellow with time. In conclusion, it's quite obvious that M. Rolland had his hand in the crafting of this wine. Think whole-cluster extended maceration. I'm drinking alone and sans a meal so, I'll have more to report tomorrow (with score). Unfortunately, I didn't get back to this for 3 days and by then it had "pruned" a bit. And, although I can't know for sure, since the tannins were still very elevated, I'd have to say this one needs another year or two...minimum. Probably an 88 with the potential to be a 91.
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Drinkiable from .375 when popped and poured, but best after all day decant. Soft, furry tannins even after 10 hours in decanter. Sweet creme de cassis on palate, but slightly too creamy for me. At this point, good to enjoy on its own rather than with food.
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Hmmm,much much different for me tonight. Still has the deep dark fruit, but not accessible as last time. Tannin really clenched down hard and early. Only had one glas and will see what emerges on day 2. Still an impressive package of raw material here for $20.
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Intensely extracted purple-garnet-violet-black, staining the sides of the glass, not to mention my teeth. Bouquet of vanilla, bourbon, black licorice and blackberries. On the palate, obviously very young, but showing excellent structure. Tannins firm but polished. Seems likely to improve with age. 75% merlot, 25% cabernet sauvignon.
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My third bottle in about 3 weeks (one badly corked, so I suppose that doesn't count). Popped and poured, and ready to go right out of the gate. Dark ruby with a very appealing and forward nose of mocha, blackberry and cassis. On the palate, typically bordeaux but with a modern twist. Some black olive to go with the black fruit and coffee notes. Firm but caressing tannins, full-bodied, with a long finish. Very well made and will probably drink well for another decade at least. Great QPR.
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A really good $20 bordeaux. A fairly modern styled med to full bodied wine with cassis, black fruit and some leather tones with some firm chalky tannins on the finish. Drank this bottled without decanting, opened nicely after an hour or so in the glass.
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Really deep ruby color. Awesome dark cherry fruit on the nose. On the palate, however, a ton of oak intrudes on the fruit. While the attack is promising, the oak soon hijacks the midpalate and overpowers the finish with wood and anise. There's high pitched acidity here as well, which is off-putting for me. I'd call this one 88?, with upside if the oak integrates or if this is just in a bad place now, but I'm fearful the fruit never emerges...
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Decanted, rested for a couple hours, and then tasted without food. Color is a deep burgundy with constant hue all the way to the rim. Nose is nice, but not intense and it does not evolve well. More of an aroma, not a bouquet. Still, the smell is pleasant. The taste is weak at the beginning and builds throughout to a teeth tingling dry finish full of spice and lingering fruits (blackberry, plum). I wish the first part of the taste was more developed. The balance just is not there (yet?) for me. Still, it is a nice QPR for a wine that should continue to develop. Edit: Better, more mellow, the second day.
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Drinkable, but still very young. Mostly dark cherry & boysenberry on the nose. Rich, concentrated, fruit-forward flavors that match the nose, but still very primary and straightforward. Richly textured with a rough structure and a touch of bitterness on the finish. Needs lots of airtime right now and another 2+ years of age.
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The nose of ripe fruit announcing that it is very much a new world bordeaux, which is confirmed by the sweet, with a tinge of candied-fruit on the palette. It is nicely concentrated and smooth with a certain polishness that punches above its designation. However, I'm not getting much complexity out of the wine beside the fruit ... I'm not getting much of the chocolate/meat/spice that other notes suggest. Finishes with a little bitterness and heat, as if it was trying a little too hard. A really good QPR to be sure, but does it really challenge the good classified growths for this vintage? Perhaps I should try this again blind before making any claims ...
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WGS: 2005 Bordeaux; 4/17/2010-4/18/2010 (Hilton Hotel Singapore): Alc lifted hot boldy spicy currant fruit nose with hints of black leather. Quite sappy with powdery tannins. Mouthpuckering and it had reminded me of a Pauillac with its dark fruits and cassis. Just noting the alc heat at the moment. If not, this should have loads of potential to develp. This definitely needs time.
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A rich, velvety, chocolate/roasted meat/dark berry MONSTER! A bit tight right now, but I was a fool not to buy a case of this stuff for $20 a pop. A FOOL!!! At $35, still the QPR of the vintage, IMO.
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This is a great bdx now and has the pedigree to improve. Initially quite closed, but opened some one night two, with the nose sowing blackberry and plum, subtle oak, and slight freshness. Palate was very concentrated and tannic, but not too terribly backwards with nice balanced b/t the acidity and fruit, retaining a freshness throughout. Mostly plum and currant flavors on the palate, wit licorice highlights, and plenty of toast and a lengthy dry fine tannic finish adding some spice, coffee, and roasted nuts. This has all the makings to be an exceptional wine in 5-10yrs, but can be enjoyed now by those who aren't bothered by the tannins. Will be trying to find more.
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A remarkably classy and sophisticated Bordeaux for the price. Purchased this wine after tasting it against the '06 1st Growths, and finding that it stood up rather well for a wine less than 1/20 of the price.
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A great example of how good a modest wine from an outstanding vintage can be. Lots of fruit and a deep purple color. Still young though and rather tight. Thought this was a good value at $30 a year ago. Even better now at $20. Is bound to improve significantly over the next 5 to 10 years. Served 10 people with a tenderloin dinner prior to Wills bachelor party
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Has a nice little bit of perfume on the nose; not fantastic on the palate right now. Has a creamy merlot mouthfeel but tastes a bit closed. Beautiful juicy nose with some dark notes thrown in though. Medium-bodied, showing toward merlot fruit. Not quite living up to some of the accolades thrown at this property on the wine boards, but I note it might be closed right now. Tasty for sure, though. 89-90
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I popped and poured this from 375 last night( I recommend a long decant though). Right off the bat, the nose was awesome showing sweet, dark fruits and some toasty notes. Over time, it developed prominent espresso and smoke aromas as well. The palate took more time to develop however. Initially it was light and the finish short but as this picked up weight, it became truly excellent. Smoke, dark fruits, and coffee were there along with big tannins and medium acidity. This wine has power yet grace. It was the best of my 05 Bordeaux QPRs so far. It's definitely a wine to be taken seriously in my opinion. ****
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nose - ripe dark fruit, cassis mouth - bold, fruit forward and tannic as all get out. hold for years. not a casual sipper at this stage. pairs well with an M&M cookie.
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Leaves, some barnyard notes, and a hint of cherry scents appear on the nose. Some enjoyable bright raspberry and plum flavors appear right out of the gate, and a firm structure shows up later on the palate. There is a nice cherry note way in the back as the finish sets in, but it's too disjointed on the mid palate for me. Maybe this will even out with time.
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splash decanted and returned to bottle. surprisingly open on the nose - prune, earth, and cherry. palate is a little tight but silky with red fruit, cedar, and spice. solid wine to start the new year.
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Really very good, some dark fruit and some spice. Opened nicely over two hours of decanting, though got some odd vegetal / bitter notes towards the end. 75% merlot, 25% cabernet sauvignon according to label.
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Dark garnet red color. Nose has cassis, strawberry, and cedar. Medium bodied, tons of structure at this point. Nice, clean fruit, good balance. Should be very nice in a couple of years.
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Lots of vanilla. Lots of new fruit. But Bordeaux underneath it all. Plenty of spice, full midpalate. Dark fruit. Needs time. Also went well with beef bourguignon. Really nice. Will be good to watch it age.
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Found and purchased a few more of these. Decanted for an hour, but could have used several hours. Still fairly tannic, but enjoyable now. Medium to full bodied, dark purple colour, blackberries and plums. Great QPR, but don't buy any - save them for me!
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dense, full bodied and chunks and layers of dark fruit and chocolate - nice future ahead of it for the price, there is no californian comparison - delicious
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Very enjoyable, nice soft fruit, supple and round on the mouth, hints of pencil tips, good depth, turned a little tannic and harsh on the finish as it started to close down. Cellar for a few years and revisit.
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Wow, not really what I was expecting from this 05 bdx. Upon opening it was so lush, fruit foward and really full of oak. I thought along the lines of a young Neal family cab ect, After a couple of hours the wines structure really showed through and clamped up quite a bit with tannin. Not a lot of french terrior here but a fun and good wine none the less. I'm thinking starts Neal finishes Dunn. Approachable now for a 2005 but need some short term cellaring.
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Decanted for 2 hours. Good concentration, full-bodied. Chocolate, dark fruits, and smoke. Enjoyed over several hours, and also the next day. The tannins softened a little, but not much. Glad I drank one now, but won't open another for at least 2-3 years.
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At a retailer tasting. Good meaty nose with sweet fruit and oak. Lots of dark chocolate and dark fruits on the palate. Very tannic and dense. Nice wine. 90-91-
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I don't have a lot of experience with Bordeaux, but I would say this is the finest Bordeaux Superieur I have ever had. More often I describe them as a "luncheon wine". At a minimum, this is a "luncheon wine on steroids". But, more to the point, it is a very serious wine. A perfume note on the nose that I can't quite place. Palate is medium to medium heavy, good depth of fruit, and silky barring a tannic tightness on the finish. It'll be fun, with a case of this, to see how it evolves over the coming years. This wine does have a bit of the Rolland imprint on it, which for me is a good thing.
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Tasted 2/13 Ok, this definitely needs some serious time. We decanted it for 4 and a half hours and the tannins were still quite fierce. Quite a bit of nice flavor to look forward to though...
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Decanted 24 hours. Beautiful dark purple. Pencil, earth, a bit of dark fruit and smoke on the nose, but tasted outside in front of the fireplace, so hard to say about that last part. Strong tannins dominated, though some blackberry came through toward the end.
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Certainly not yet ready to drink... dark purple/black color. Nose has dark fruit, charcoal and pencil. In the mouth the tannins are still quite fierce and the fruit comes in and goes out. When it's in there, this is quite delicious. Needs some time, or at least several hours of decanting...
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Retailer tasting. This wine was on par with the fine 200 vintage. Purple red color. Surprisingly multilayered for beign so young. Herbal, pencil shavings and raw meat. much of the fruit is hidden at this stage. Dry finish. 90 points.
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Still needing a good bit of time, but very good--tasted this time after 2 hours aeration, and after a beautiful glass of '04 las Cases. Didn't come up to the las Cases, but still showed itself highly drinkable.
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Purple, almost opaque. Fairly intense nose of red and black fruit. Fairly dark, dense nose. Cedar and spice notes. On the palate, fairly plush with lots of tannic structure in the background. Young, well-balanced, well put together - should go 5-8 years. Very dark and dense. As it went on I found it a touch hollow in the mid-palate. Growing tannins. Compared to La Roche (drunk together) this is much better. This is really, really good. Drinks way past its price (purchased en primeur).
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Decanted for 90 minutes - probably needed 4 hours.. Very dense color and nice blackberry and smokiness on the nose ... This wine was dense and tannic and very tight.. seems to have the stuffing and will have a great aging potential...
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Will be fine, but very tight now. Tight but fruit detectable over pronounced tannins after 4 hours aeration. Two days later, after sitting air-tight under stopper, still good but beginning to fade, with a slight detection of vinegar. In it's time, it bodes to be beautiful.
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Deep, dark color. Nose of berries and flowers. Fruit forward with soft tannins. Long finish but a little one dimensional. Fine now but should get better with a little age.
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Intense, not complex, and not currently very pleasant. Perhaps time will allow this to bloom. Update: by day three this has improved. If you've got 'em, hold 'em.
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Dark opaque purple in the glass. Nose of intense dark fruit, cigar box, and smoke. More fruit on the palate, so intense it's almost jammy. Crisp acidity and massively tannic. Hard to assess the finish because of the tannins as they just dominate the palate after a bit.
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Descriptions to wait are dead on. Some fruit taste, prune?, immediately upon opening, hour to two hours later very astingent, complety shut down. Wait at least another five years.
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Opened this last night and drank a few glasses, then corked and came back to it today. Last night it was a touch lighter, but still had the requisite dark fruits. There was not an abundance of tannin/alcohol, at least compared to today. It was actually quite pleasant to drink. On day 2, it's actually much more tannic and the alcohol is more noticeable. All in all, a nice value for under $25. Would try again. I'm not surprised to see the wine is consulted on by Michel Rolland, given the big ripe fruit.
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nose: nice and floral with some vanilla, black berry, smoke, dark cherry, and coffee tones. It's still fairly tight though as the flavors come and go(it should be noted that this was opened at my store's tasting two days ago and has been sitting with a cork in it since)
taste: lots of tannins still a couple days later with black berry, smoke, coffee and floral tones
overall: still a very tannic wine, its taken a while of swirling in the glass to open up. This is really great now after it has taken a while to open up, and will need some good laying down. Nice lush attack with a good black berry finish. The mid palate is lacking a bit because of the tannins, but this is a outstanding wine now and will be tremendous when it finally opens up
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this is a huge wine. inky opaque black. floral nose, giant backbone, high alcohol, big sweet ripe fruit. black raspberry and vanilla with oak, minerals, gobs of ripe tannins and long bitter, almost astringent finish. the only thing lacking is time in the cellar. this will drink well for at least 2 decades.
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This is super young and dense. Black cherry, lavish oak, minerals and chewy graphite tinged palate with hugely tannic finish. Like a California Petite Sirah. I can only imagine this will get better as it mellows and should last 20 years.
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Medium intensity of aromas, if a bit one-dimensional. Modest concentration, with noticeable but not astounding fruit, spice and earth flavors. Still one of the best values in Bordeaux, but not as much of an overachiever as in the 2003 vintage.
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Obviously way too young, but I opened one of these to see if 1) I should buy more at a better price 2) the fact that a couple of them looked like leakers had yet affected quality. This one, which showed clear evidenced of leakage, tasted fine. Not sure how much it will affect it over time. Very young and tannic right now, but with lots of blue and dark red fruit which should last beyond/with the tannin. Good potential -- at this price (~$18) I decided to buy more.
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Opened and poured into decanter. First half hour the wine was unapproachable, fierce tannins. After an hour it was drinkable but still very tannic. Nice fruit on the nose but it didn't make it through to palate. Wine seemed new world, reminded me of several Chilean wines I've had recently. Wouldn't try this again for years.
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Picked this up at the local Costco for $22.99 and consumed over 2 1/2 days. I was super curious to taste a 05 bdx but this was very unforgiven and no fun to drink young! Day 1: Pop and pour -- very dark purple color with some faint blackbery on the nose and quite a bit of alcohol. The palate was very dense, extracted, extremely tanic and astringent. After aprox 30 mins this wine closed down completely and there was no discernible fruit on the nose and palate. I put a cork on the bottle and stuck it in the fridge. Day 2: Much better nose with some blackberries, vanilla, cinamon and spices. This wine was still fiercely tanic and very hard to drink. I can see the potential here but I was overwhelmed by the massive tanins. For now, I'll let my remaining bottles sleep for a long while hoping the tanins will soften and integrate. IMO, this will take at least 10 years to become drinkable and enjoyable.
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Drank over two days. Day one very tight and hard. Showed somewhat better after 4 hours in the decanter, but still not offering much. Day two was better - with currant fruit, spice, graphite and toast. But still tight with tannins clamping down the fruit and offering a bitterness in the finish. Pedigree is there - I can see this softening into a 90-92 point wine - but way too closed right now. A sign to come with 2005 BDX?
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Dark, inky purple colour. This was hard to drink on the first day - incredibly dense and not showing much other than a lot of oak and some dark fruits with firm, astringent tannins. After a day in the fridge this has become far more accessible with the nose showing rich blackberries, plums, cherries, smoke and toasty flavours with a faint floral note underneath. Palate is dense and concentrated with sweet dark fruits and low acidity. Tannins are still quite prominent (although not as astringent as earlier), particularly on the finish. Definitely needs time - this was far better on the second day. Serious QPR at $18.
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9/14/2023 - mitsmats Does not like this wine: 80 Points
Way too much oak. Dirty wood and vanilla smell get in all the way. This is unfortunate because the juice is good on the palate otherwise with lots of fruit and matured tannin in the background.
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8/18/2023 - dsimmons Likes this wine: 89 Points
Pretty fruitless upon opening but showed dramatic improvement after about an hour. DRINK
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8/15/2023 - TashNYC wrote: 91 Points
Still delicious. Cherry, berry, earth and tar. Great with the herbal, rack of lamb.
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1/7/2023 - wicozani wrote: 86 Points
Last of a half case. Cork in good condition. Medium ruby in the glass with no bricking. Ballpoint ink, pencil lead, oak and a tiny sliver of black currant on the nose. Very fruit poor on the palate with just a tiny beam of black currant showing. Very dry. Some tannins remain. These ought to be consumed very soon.
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11/6/2022 - kuumies wrote:
En magnum. A vibrant nose of ripe blackcurrant, charred oak and graphite. Perhaps surprisingly not hugely developed but savory and charming. On the palate richly fruited with quite formidable structure. Not a ton of complexity on the palate and the fruit expression is not very bright. The flavor profile has a very generic feel to it and seems perhaps somewhat manufactured.
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11/5/2022 - forceberry wrote: 88 Points
A wine by Michel Rolland; a blend of Merlot (75%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (25%) from vineyards in Entre-Deux-Mers averaging 40 years old. The grapes are first cold-soaked in stainless steel tanks, then fermented in a combination of oak fermentors and stainless steel tanks (70%) and new oak barrels (30%). After the MLF, the wine is racked into 100% new oak barriques in which the wine is aged for 19 months. Served from a magnum.
The wine has a concentrated, dense and quite opaque blackish-red appearance with an evolved plummy hue. The nose is instantly recognizable for a Bordeaux with its bold and slightly sweet-toned aromas of ripe blackcurrants and dark plums, some toasty oak tones, a little bit of juicy bilberry, light woody notes of pencil shavings, a hint of coffee and a touch of sweet smoke. The wine is ripe, juicy and quite broad on the palate with a full body and somewhat polished flavors of sweet blackcurrants and dark plummy fruit, some bilberry tones, a little bit of toasty mocha oak, light bitter notes of extracted woody bitterness, a hint of gravelly minerality and a touch of cocoa. The overall taste is somewhat less intense, more straightforward and maybe a bit banal than what the nose led to believe. Nevertheless, the wine still retains good sense of structure, thanks to both its moderately high acidity and still quite grippy yet not aggressive medium-plus tannins. The finish is moderately grippy yet still enjoyably juicy and velvety with a ripe, somewhat sweet-toned aftertaste of dark plums and bilberries, some toasty mocha oak, a little bit of ripe blackcurrant, light coffee tones and a hint of extracted woody bitterness.
A big, firm and somewhat polished Bordeaux from the modern end of the spectrum. You can really taste the Rolland influence here as the wine has a very Parkerized feel to it, even if it is recognizably Bordeaux with its classic cassis notes and firm and still quite tightly-knit structure. I can imagine this might've felt quite overdone in its youth, but now the wine is turning quite enjoyable with its more evolved, savory overtones. The rather pronounced and quite impactful new oak character is yet to integrate with the fruit, but hopefully it will continue to disappear with further aging. Although the wine is starting to show some aged qualities, it still retains quite a youthful overall disposition and most likely the wine is capable of aging for another 15-20 years quite easily - at least in this magnum format. I can only hope the taste gains a bit more depth and complexity, as the wine seemed a bit lackluster on the palate, lacking the vibrancy and brightness it showed in the nose. All in all a pretty nice effort for an aged modern Bordeaux, but still I must admit I'm not really a big fan of the style.
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9/28/2022 - GrapeScott wrote:
I'll be honest. I don't really enjoy this style of wine, or really, any of the "Parkerized" Bordeaux of this era made in the dreaded "international style." This is blowsy and unbalanced, with a heavy roasted nose showing coffee and scorched earth. The fruit has a slightly stewed character to go with the fig, cassis and kirsch flavors, finishing a bit hot. This is better than a bottle of the '06 I tried recently (read, drinkable), but it's not really enjoyable. Tastes like someone set fire to a fruitcake.
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7/23/2022 - WACABLOVER Likes this wine: 90 Points
I’m calling a draw between tannins and fruit. Dark fruits are prominent along with well worn saddle leather.
It meets expectations and I’m good with it.
Drink now.
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7/13/2022 - levinml wrote: 89 Points
Going downhill. Still tannic and tongue coating while fruit and good flavors harder to find. No real pleasure here; just weeknight drinking. Missed the boat.
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6/18/2022 - jgh123 Likes this wine: 90 Points
This is at a good place. 14% abv; should be good for a few more years but no reason to wait.
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4/16/2022 - Rick & Ilsa wrote: 89 Points
First bottle in four years. Decanted a couple of hours before serving. Notes of plum, cherry, leather and earth. Wood showing with the coarse tannins still not resolved. Perhaps a little improved from last showing, but I'm afraid the fruit may not outlast the tannins and I still have a fair amount. Will try again in the near future and hope things come right.
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2/5/2022 - jgh123 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Showing well. Not particularly complex, but solid. Nothing to gain by more age, but should be good through 2025.
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12/22/2021 - Oldmanzin Likes this wine: 90 Points
This wine exceeded my expectations. Old shoe leather, tobacco, graphite with a mild dose of blue fruit. Nice nose. Good weight and wonderful texture. At age 16, this budget Bordeaux is delicious.
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12/8/2021 - TashNYC wrote:
With Beyond Beef burgers.
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12/4/2021 - Brady D wrote:
Stored at 55F since release. Double decanted an hour before drinking.
Still very youthful and primary, little tertiary development. Good fruit density. Modern but pleasant. Push well stored bottles to the back and try again in a few years.
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11/29/2021 - gcarl wrote: 92 Points
Same impressions as my 2/2/21 post. Quite a bit of debris in the shoulder and subsequently the bottom of the bottle. Would have filtered into a decanter if I had expected to finish bottle at one sitting. Glad to have 4 more.
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9/7/2021 - TashNYC wrote: 90 Points
Cherry, berry, earth and tar. Better a few years ago,but good with our rack of lamb
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8/18/2021 - Doctor Vyd Likes this wine: 88 Points
Nice fruit on the nose Deep color smooth pleasant finish Still with good life for several years
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8/10/2021 - TashNYC wrote: 91 Points
Red fruit, cherry, blackberry, earth, loam and herbs. Less chocolate from this bottle than previously. Good with the beyond beef burgers on onion buns.
Coravin pour one day and the rest 5 days later.
Drink now. Possibly better a few years ago but still pretty good now.
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7/14/2021 - Pranillo Likes this wine: 89 Points
I agree with the other favorable reviews. I’d add that my bottle had a stronger than expected fruit-ester nose. Hearty tannins provided a long pleasing finish.
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7/11/2021 - Doctor Vyd wrote: 88 Points
Simple pleasant table wine that is ready to drink now Will not get any better Should last for several years yet
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6/4/2021 - Somm David T Likes this wine: 92 Points
I bought this on release somewhere between $25-$27.
My first bottle. I have seen people post this w/ nice reviews. It over delivers the price point.
Still needs another 5 years and will live well for 10- 15 years more.
It is classic good vintage Bordeaux. Blueberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, black plum, tobacco, graphite, stone, limestone, moist clay, sage, bay leaf, darker, withering florals, smooth acidity and length, balance & polish for days.
92.5 is more accurate. Really doesn’t taste like a Bordeaux Superior at all.
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5/6/2021 - louisl wrote: 91 Points
Big tannins still, but showing better then the last time I had it. Some interesting fruit still but I wonder if it will fade away before the tannins do.
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5/2/2021 - herbtcat Likes this wine: 95 Points
Excellent. Well presented fruit, moderate structure and perfect balance all the way through the long finish. Drink it now or before 2023.
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4/6/2021 - bordeauxman777 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Massive! Now on day 3, the wine is still holding its poise. This is broad, powerful wine that will continue to drink well for years to come. No need to rush. Wow, lovely.
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2/22/2021 - gbauer wrote:
Still showing young with lots of tannin. But plenty there to wait on. Hold.
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2/21/2021 - CWilliam wrote:
Opened, but did not decant, 1 hour before dinner (grilled steak)
Dark red color with slight change from rim to center. On nose, charred cedar, blackberry, sweet cherry, red currants and tobacco. Medium body, medium acidity and integrated tannins. Flavor profile of tobacco, blackberry and black currant. Long finish. Has aged very well. 91-92 range. Would buy again.
I miss Wine Library TV - the good old days.
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2/16/2021 - SeattlePaul wrote:
Okay but not great at first, then fell off.
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2/2/2021 - gcarl wrote: 92 Points
I last opened one of these 5.5 yrs. ago. Didn't decant or use Vinturi, and it has improved. The remainder is under Argon and awaits dinner tonight.This is a BIG wine and can probably age several more years. I agree with RD Hudak's notes. This was purchased back in '07 and '09, during the good 'ol days of Wine Library TV/Gary Vanerchuk. Glad to have 6 more!
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12/28/2020 - dsimmons Likes this wine: 88 Points
PnP and drank with leftover rib roast. Best right after opening. With time fruit faded and drying tannin emerged. I would say drink up.
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11/20/2020 - Vinophil2000 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Flasche immer im Dormagener Keller gewesen, seit Erwerb, welcher 2010-2012 war. Preis: ca. 15 € pro Flasche.
Füllstand: high fill-into neck. 50 mm Naturkorken. Korken zu 5-15 mm durchnässt, meist 5-7 mm, so dass der Korken vermutlich für weitere 10-20 Jahre gut gewesen wäre.
Wirkt jugendlich. 5-8 Jahre jünger. Am Beginn des Höhepunktes.
Dunkel-violette Farbe, minimaler Wasserrand. Blind hätte ich auf einen ca. 7-10 Jahre alten Bordeaux getippt.
Tiefe und Länge sind nicht auf Premiere Grand Cru Niveau.
75 % Merlot, 25 % Cabernet Sauvignon. Frucht ist da. Toller Wein, jedoch keine sehr gute Tife und Länge. 90-92 Punkte?
Höhepunkt: 2016-2025? Trinken: bis 2030+?
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11/14/2020 - mmcdds Likes this wine:
My last bottle, and I think it is finally starting to turn the oxidized corner. While still enjoyable, I’m glad it’s my last bottle.
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10/20/2020 - rmcnees wrote: 90 Points
Same with earlier tasting notes three years ago, this is dark inky blackish garnet, medium full bodied, firm structured tannic laced black berry and black cherry fruits with notes of tobacco, leather, graphite, spice box, anise, cedar with big, ripe, dusty tannins on a long lingering finish.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/10/reignac-bordeaux-superieur-2005.html
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10/10/2020 - RDHudak wrote: 92 Points
Fantastic bottle! Big red and dark fruit, tobacco, leather and plenty of structure. What an insane QPR.
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9/28/2020 - Nutty08 Does not like this wine: 87 Points
Best of the recent batch of bottles. No volatility. Still, this was ripe and roasted with strong coffee notes and dry tannins. An overdone ‘05.
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9/10/2020 - the godfather wrote:
really solid
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8/8/2020 - rickspicks wrote:
Ugh!- over the hill
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8/2/2020 - wconnolly wrote: 86 Points
This was a wonderful, big, great QPR Bordeaux for several years. Unfortunately while this was not bad it was certainly past peak. Ripe raisin, plum, leather and forest floor on that palate. Pretty nonexistant tannins.
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7/25/2020 - TashNYC wrote: 91 Points
This was a beautiful wine, served at the wrong place and time. I served this outdoors and without food; it needed a rack of lamb to pair.
Red fruit, cherry, blackberry, earth, loam and herbs. Maybe a little too much earth, herbs and loam without some food.
I thought it was lovely but the outdoor group was mixed on it.
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7/20/2020 - the godfather wrote:
consistent with prior bottles, in a good place
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6/24/2020 - Gunman wrote:
Love this wine. Tremendous QPR. Even at 15 years, this holds its own against wines 2 to 3 times its price.
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5/17/2020 - Eichelhof Likes this wine: 89 Points
A very good wine, not too complex, classical Bordeaux, but high quality, no surprises. Drink up now.
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4/10/2020 - stoneb Likes this wine: 87 Points
A little better bottle than my last one from 9/27/19, but same profile. Drink up.
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3/25/2020 - the godfather wrote:
good, drank younger than last few
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2/25/2020 - the godfather wrote:
consistent with last bottle, very tasty
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1/24/2020 - thalver wrote: flawed
very lightly corked, but corked nonetheless
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1/18/2020 - Number51 wrote: 94 Points
Wow, this wine has really come around and has matured to a killer value.
There's lots of dusty tannins on the surface, and beneath that, an amalgam of plums, tobacco, tar, licorice, and lavender shines through.
It is dry, super aromatic, and has good acidity.
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12/25/2019 - the godfather wrote:
Best bottle to date a nice match for prime rib
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12/6/2019 - ctjared Likes this wine:
consistent
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11/24/2019 - gbauer wrote:
Still fairly primary. Fruit, tannin, and Rolland-like concentration. No longer a style I like, but these will be better with more time.
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11/23/2019 - wconnolly Likes this wine: 87 Points
Deep indigo color in the glass. Nose of raisin and plum. It has been almost two years since my last bottle. Although still good for a Bordeaux Superior this has seen some diminution in the last two years. There still exists some structure. Fruit has diminished but is still very evident...light red fruit, strawberry and raspberry but no longer what I would describe as fruit forward. Some old world characteristics are emerging such as mushroom and forest floor but somehow this seems a bit muddled. Was a nice second bottle of the evening but time to drink up.
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11/21/2019 - EhrlichDY wrote: flawed
Seems like the cork failed on this one. Its slid out too easily and the wine tasted over the hill. Oh well.
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9/27/2019 - stoneb wrote: 86 Points
Deep purple color. Muted nose on opening but came around quickly with air. A lot of sediment. Good but not much going on beyond mature merlot (dominant) and Cabernet fruit; earlier tannic structure is gone. Drink up.
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9/22/2019 - tbone wrote:
My last bottle had lost all of its fruit. Wasn't flawed just didn't have much joy at this pointing is evolution.
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9/20/2019 - ephorn Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opaque dark color. Nice mature fruit nose with oak seasoning. Full bodied palate with plenty of sweet tannic grip, perhaps too much for some, but right up my alley. Typical Bordeaux palate but with extra density. Good balance for its large size, though I suspect some would prefer leaner and even more elegant. I would have guessed this a classified growth. Stupendous QPR!
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9/17/2019 - neurovino Does not like this wine: 83 Points
The initial flavor is mild and pleasant, but the finish comes after 2-3 seconds and it's a bit foul and barnyard, in the way of a bad french wine, not a good one. Disappointing.
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8/10/2019 - bethel31 Does not like this wine: 87 Points
Quite a bit of spice with tannins. A bit jammy and taste more like an Aussie Shiraz than a French merlot. Not quite my type of wine.
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7/22/2019 - FransS wrote: 93 Points
Dear Rickets, we have had a completely different experience with this wine. I have opened the bottle yesterday evening and took a sip, than I've put it in the fridge and two hours before tasting the wine today, it came out of the the fridge. An extremely deep colour with a bouquet of dark red fruit, bitters you can smell and lots of smooth tannins. The taste is creamy and polished, maybe missing the depth and comlexity to be a real top wine, but, wow, what a gentle giant.and still quite young.
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7/12/2019 - Rickets wrote: 87 Points
showing its age. initially pretty decent after pop and pour, but totally gone after 90min of air.
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5/31/2019 - Intellectual Sasquatch Likes this wine: 89 Points
No decant (and not necessary). Had on the fly with steak. Very serviceable Bordeaux. Plenty of fruit left, but not very complex.
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4/21/2019 - rmcnees wrote: 90 Points
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/04/easter-family-dinner-features-wlw.html
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3/14/2019 - thalver wrote:
Corked!! unpalatabley, unquestionably, indisputably CORKED!!! I hate coddling a bottle for a dozen years to have it prove undrinkable. The cork looked nigh onto perfect with no legs up its side. This was not oxidized, cooked or volatile, it was clearly TCA.
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3/14/2019 - vanpe003 wrote: flawed
Another cooked bottle. Label showed leakage, as did the cork. Not undrinkable, but too many alternatives that aren't flawed to entertain this one.
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3/11/2019 - vanpe003 wrote:
PnP. 750 from JJB. Decent, but probably missed this by several years in terms of peak. Fruit seems somewhat diminished. A bit astringent on the finish, showing a diminished balance compared to what it may have had. That said, none of the problems evident with this one re: "cooked" mistreatment in shipping.
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3/10/2019 - wineoracle Likes this wine: 90 Points
Opened and left to breath in cellar for 5 hours. On first taste, very dark purple in glass, nose of violets and dark fruit, nicely integrated tannin's with a medium finish. However, after a couple of hours more the wine turned flat and showed its age. I'll give this wine a 90 based on the first taste.
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1/27/2019 - WineAggregate wrote: flawed
Corked. &% $#@!
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1/17/2019 - woody0198 wrote: 92 Points
Great balance, full body. Still drinking great after 14 years in the bottle. Color not too brown or orange.
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1/14/2019 - springdrive Likes this wine: 91 Points
Perfectly ripe black fruit, balanced tannin, leather, graphite. Really nice and balanced overall.
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12/29/2018 - iahviahv wrote: 92 Points
This is a very good wine. I recommend an hour decant and pair with lamb. Good job consulting enologist Michel Rolland!
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12/29/2018 - FransS wrote: 91 Points
Tasting note 4,994: Last tasted Jan. '17, hardly any differences with that wine. I think the tannins are now a bit more polished; still a young looking wine with lots of fresh fruit and a concentrated taste.
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12/28/2018 - theRealPepe Likes this wine: 91 Points
The best this wine has ever shown for me. After pop and pour a little tannic, dry and ashy, along with powerful dark fruit. Just 30 minutes later this was real bordeaux: Graphite and dark, mildly smokey merlot fruit. Nice finish too. Excellent.
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12/26/2018 - RDHudak wrote: 92 Points
This bottle was great! Loads of dark fruit, tobacco and some earthiness. Balanced tannin and acid, with a medium ++ finish. The cork looked perfect and I'm telling ya, if someone masked this as a second growth, no one would question it. This bottle got better with air and seemed to be drinking perfectly with 2 hours, with no decline. The perfect cork which was high quality added to the experience. 91-93, yeah, really.
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11/29/2018 - D.Callahan Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very good claret! Mature now so don't hesitate to enjoy it. Well balanced with still noticeable but not overstated tannins.
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10/23/2018 - wicozani Likes this wine: 90 Points
Chosen to pair with grilled top sirloin steaks. Slightly moldy cork top, no signs of seepage. Long cork came out in one piece, soaked about 1/3rd way up. Decanted 60 minutes before consuming. A dark garnet robe in the glass with thinning edges. The nose featured red alpine currant, cassis, forest floor, herbs and oak spices. Very good intensity and concentration, with only a tiny bit of fine drying tannins providing structure. This was very enjoyable, and a very good foil for the steaks. Seems to us this has reached its peak, and should stay here for several years. Glad we went long on this reliable producer.
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10/23/2018 - SeattlePaul wrote:
In great shape, but likely at peak.
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10/21/2018 - jgh123 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Prominent tannins but still enough fruit to support the structure. Not sure the tannins will ever fully resolve. Nevertheless it's a lovely "luncheon claret" and should drink through 2015.
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10/14/2018 - the godfather wrote:
Overripe and completely unyielding, zero pleasure
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9/25/2018 - levinml wrote: 90 Points
Good wine, and excellent QPR. Big and serious structure with enough fruit underlying to support. Maybe still a hair tannic (which may never resolve), but drank well over 3 nights under pump. Think 2019 window is early. Still got a ways to go.
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9/22/2018 - TashNYC wrote: 90 Points
Red fruit, cherry, blackberry, earth, loam, herbs and just a touch of chocolate. Good but not as decadent as other bottles. These seem to need more bottle age. Great with our Roasted rack of American lamb.
Drink 2020 or later.
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9/13/2018 - Whine-oh Likes this wine: 91 Points
P n P tableside at rest. Althought a little tight out of the bottle, it was very alive and well tonight. Solid bord, almost in a new world style. Soft black and red fruits, some earth to it. Tannins present but soft and gave the wine good structure. Good with food. A pleasure to drink.
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9/11/2018 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Showing much better than prior bottles. No VA at all. Dark mildly roasted fruit and coffee flavors, but fresher. Enjoyable in the style.
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8/25/2018 - Rick & Ilsa wrote: 88 Points
Nose of plum, cherry, earth and cedar, especially the cedar. On the palate, lots of oak still, some cherry, leather, earth and graphite. This wine still has unresolved tannins, and a astringent note that is not pleasant. Feels like it needs time still, but I don't think the fruit will outlast the tannins. Overall, dry, chunky and a little disappointing. I see others have had better experiences than I. Bottle variation as the last bottle was corked. Unfortunately still have a case of this and hope for better in the future, but I just don't think it has the material to come together in time.
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7/15/2018 - Rick & Ilsa wrote: flawed
Cork seemed to be superglued in. After finally leveraging it out, wine was very obviously corked.
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7/7/2018 - ctjared Likes this wine:
Drinking very well. uncorked but didn't decant or pour a glass. sat for 30-45 and was ready to roll, but got even better as it went. no detectable fade here.
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6/28/2018 - Nutty08 Does not like this wine: 82 Points
This bottle was hard to drink. Over ripe fruit, all raisin, dark profile, dry tannins. No charm. A little va on nose. Consistently getting worse to my palate. One day I’ll be done with this case....
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5/12/2018 - Primordialsoup Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still some time left in this one. Quite round and plush (yet thinning) compared to a 3-day old Leoville Barton. Milder and more modern for sure. Good with steak nonetheless and ok to sip alone.
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5/10/2018 - Skibank114 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still drinking really well - very solid.
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5/7/2018 - Nutty08 wrote: 88 Points
Overdone modern style. Toasty oak and a little raison in the fruit. Still quite tannic. Really liked this young but I’m not hopeful it will turn around.
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4/26/2018 - dsimmons Likes this wine: 89 Points
Loads of graphite with nice fruit that emerges after a few hours of air. On day 2 the graphite notes gave way to mature fruit. actually better on the second day.
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4/6/2018 - tcarter Does not like this wine: 88 Points
This one has seen better days. This bottle lost almost all its fruit, and was just dust and dirt. I usually like a good barnyard flavor, but this one left a lot to be desired. Tannins sucked all the moisture out of my head.
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4/2/2018 - Mossrose wrote: 91 Points
An example of how a Bordeaux priced in the low $20s can still be a good Bordeaux wine. 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, made with the help of consultant Michel Roland. Classic balanced example of opaque purple, bight acidity, drying tannin, and tasty fruit. Aging well at 13 years old.
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4/2/2018 - signotim wrote: 90 Points
better on the 2nd night
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4/2/2018 - mnoljo wrote: 91 Points
Punching above its weight! Drinking well! Chunky dark fruit and lingering Tannins on the finish.
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3/7/2018 - EhrlichDY wrote:
Drank over two days and the wine showed incredibly youthful with noticeable tannin on both days. Still very dark color as well. Classic Bordeaux nose and some merlot fruit lurks underneath. I suspect this will improve as the tannin integrates but this bottle was not as enjoyable as others since the baby fat is all gone. I will try to wait at least 3 years before opening another bottle. Amazing QPR.
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2/8/2018 - Redguy wrote:
Rough. So much toasty oak yet. VA starting to creep in on this bottle. A mess
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1/27/2018 - herbtcat wrote: 94 Points
Still luscious after 12 years. Strong fruit with subtle notes of cassis, roasted plum, tobacco and leather. Long finish reminds me of cocoa and vanilla.
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12/15/2017 - wconnolly Likes this wine: 88 Points
Opaque, indigo color. Looks rich and robust. Nose of overripe plum and steely flint. Medium bodied. Expressive with bright fruit on the palate. Medium finish of tea and mocha.
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12/14/2017 - Grenik Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark ruby, bordering on burgundy and not showing the 10+ years this wine has on it. Nose is dark berry with some spice notes, but lighter than intensity than the palate. This is still a deep and powerful wine. Black plum, stewed cherry, damp earth, wet forest all come together throughout the taste. It is very dry and sucks all the moisture out of your mouth leaving even your teeth dry. The tannins are still chunky and I wish they would mellow some and integrate better with the fruit. It has the structure to age forever, but I think the fruit will fade too quickly for the wine to improve much. Drink over the next couple years. An excellent QPR and a good example of a well made Bdx.
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12/10/2017 - rmcnees wrote: 90 Points
Consistent with earlier notes - more expressive and vibrant than I recall or noted earlier - Deep ruby/purple color, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced, black currant and black berry fruits, subtle notes of mocha chocolate, anise, graphite and spice box, moderate concentration and acidity, supple ripe tannin makes for pleasant smooth easy casual drinking.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/12/reignac-bordeaux-superieur-2005.html
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11/29/2017 - rickspicks wrote: 89 Points
These got lost in a corner. Been 4 years since I had one. Been properly stored since purchased at release. Better than I expected, but not quite as good as I hoped it might be. While the fruit is not entirely gone, there is no freshness remaining. Dried dark berries, prunes, earth and perhaps some charcoal. Very dark, somber and brooding. Drink up.
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11/25/2017 - WineAggregate Likes this wine: 90 Points
Hard and unyielding at first, took quite a while to air our, then was round and succulent. Good food wine with lamb at restaurant.
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11/23/2017 - herbtcat Likes this wine: 91 Points
Well balanced Bordeaux (75% merlot, 25% cab sauv.). Could continue to improve for another 3-5 years.
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11/11/2017 - TashNYC wrote: 90 Points
Coravin taste. Red fruit, blackberry and cherry, a touch of earth and quite a bit of tannins on the finish. Really would have benefited from 30-60 minutes of decanting. 75% merlot and 25% cabernet sauvignon. Karen liked it but Diana did not. (Diana doesn't like tannins). Age 2-3 years more.
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11/11/2017 - TashNYC wrote: flawed
Corked! A WineBid lot.
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8/22/2017 - EhrlichDY Likes this wine: 91 Points
Modern styled without being soft. Still plenty of spine to balance out the jammy fruit. This wine is still showing quite young demonstrating the classic 2005 vintage.
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8/8/2017 - CabIsKing wrote: 92 Points
Same notes as last bottle. Drinking as good as it will get. Should still have some years left.
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8/1/2017 - vegasoenophile wrote:
Unsure if there was some temp variation or just its age, but the fruit is turning pretty cooked/stewed with more pruny and earthy notes taking dominance. Drink now.
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7/21/2017 - ctjared Likes this wine:
consistent
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5/15/2017 - levinml wrote: 89 Points
Drinking like I'd expect from unclassified wine in great vintage. Good initial flavors, good structure, slightly wierd flavors on finish. Also, drank over three days under pump, with last day a little less good than second day. Good value, though. Drink next couple years.
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4/29/2017 - gripNsip wrote:
Open 2 hours: Dark fruited nose, blackberry preserves or pie filling, licorice and cedar wood. Smells nice. The aroma really came alive as it got some air, as a PnP this seemed dead. Nice mouthfeel and initial attack, dusty tannins, some dark fruit, tobacco, leather. Where I start to wonder about this bottle is there is practically no finish. It's there in the mid-palate but just disappears in the finish. Cleanly and nicely, mind you, it's just weird it falls off so quickly. Good with a meal as the wine really gets out of the way of the other flavors and compliments them decently. A gift bottle from a friend, so I don't know the provenance or source for this bottle.
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4/24/2017 - TashNYC wrote: 90 Points
Red fruit and some earth, but much more primary and tannic than our prior bottles. Might have benefited from decanting. A wonderful pairing with the herbal leg of lamb, post-Easter. These are the bottle I bought on futures, rather than later, so they have the best storage. Well-stored bottles have lots of life in them.
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4/15/2017 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 90 Points
My wife killed another. This was much fresher and put together. Nice delineation on the palate--though still very extracted and ripe, but more pleasing. No VA on this bottle. Seems to be lots of bottle variation. I could see this bottle aging positively for another 5yrs or so, maybe more.
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3/14/2017 - ArtF Likes this wine: 92 Points
My last half, and best showing. Deep maroon color. Nice nose. Maturing well. Slightly overripe fruit on palate, but smooth. Drying tannins after 60 minute decant. Full bottles should improve next year or two and last to 2020+. But this is not a $100 Bordeaux.
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3/14/2017 - wirelesswine Does not like this wine: 83 Points
Nose is all eucalyptus and stewed fruit. Palate is over ripe and just out of balance. Comes off disjointed overall. Flawed bottle perhaps? Other notes make me think lots of variation or just mediocre wine here.
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2/15/2017 - mmcdds Likes this wine: 90 Points
This was drinking quite well tonight's with lots of earthy, barnyardy, dark fruit with tobacco and leather undertones. The tannins are still abit on the firmish side, but they're well integrated and not all obtrusive. To my tastes, this has been drinking well for the last couple of years and continues to do so today.
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2/9/2017 - vanpe003 wrote: flawed
I've had horrendous luck with bottles of these procured from JJBuckley, both in the '03 and '05 vintage. The vast majority of the '03s were cooked. Seems like the '05s might be on the same trajectory. First bottle cooked. Second bottle - signs of mishandling in the background, but would be drinkable.....maybe.
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1/30/2017 - Nutty08 Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Ugh. Everything I dislike in 1 wine. Some va and port-like liquor on the nose giving this a super ripe black fruit profile. Palate is superextracted without elegance or place. Medium coffee driven finish. I really liked this in its youth, enough to buy a case. But this is a modern bdx monstrosity. I'll be holding out another 2-3yrsnuntil my next bottle and hope it pulls together. Tannins are prominent and rather angular (I fine most '05 tannins polished, smooth, and sweet)
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1/20/2017 - rmcnees wrote: 89 Points
Deep ruby/purple color, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced, black currant and black berry fruits, notes of mocha chocolate, anise, graphite and spice box, moderate concentration and acidity, supple ripe tannin makes for pleasant smooth easy casual drinking.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/01/reignac-bordeaux-superieur-2005.html
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1/13/2017 - FransS wrote: 91 Points
Same points as the previous tasting, but slightly different wine.
The colour is still impenetrable, but in the bouquet and in the taste there is a certain development; more secondary notes, more roundness and a lot of 2005 tannins of which you taste only a bit in the finish. Maybe next year 92 points, although I'm sure that the fruit is one of the qualities of this lovely wine. So don't hesitate to taste this wine.
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1/9/2017 - Brad T Does not like this wine: 80 Points
I agree with ACYSO's score, though his comments were too generous. Second bottle of perfectly cellared 2005 Reignac that tasted old and tired, with literally nothing to recommend this wine to anyone for any purpose. I do not believe the bottles were flawed. They were simply over the hill, and nothing of interest developed whilst I patiently waited for the magic of bottle age. This wine was never interesting and never improved. A shame.
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1/7/2017 - CabIsKing wrote: 92 Points
I don't think this wine will get any better on the showing of this bottle. It is still drinking the same as the last one I drank. Don't think there is a hurry to drink them but will not get any better. Good for what it is.
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12/27/2016 - jkad Likes this wine: 90 Points
PnP and had over 2 days. First taste was maybe 30 minutes after opening and it was tight as a drum. Full bodied and gripping tannins, flavors of licorice or anise. Very good and seems like it was just a couple of years old, not 11. Could last a very long time.
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12/12/2016 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
Rotating Dinner Series- 2005 Blind Bordeaux Blends from around the world (The Bristol, Chicago IL): Nose: The nose is aromatic and open with baking spices, cocoa powder, dark red cherries, herbs, cedar, red florals, and some tobacco.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and medium+ tannins. The tannins are still rather youthful along with baking spices, dark red cherries, cedar, red florals, and some tobacco notes.
Overall: This is starting to show beautifully. While this isn't necessarily mature, it is quite lovely and shows of merlot's elegance extremely well.
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12/12/2016 - acyso wrote: 80 Points
The Rotating Dinners, I.7: 2005 Bordeaux Blends (Chicago, IL): Served double-blind (but it was known this was a 2005 Bordeaux blend). There was more than a little brett here on the nose, which coupled with the ripe fruit, make for a less-than-pleasant experience. Leathery and ripe, with some of the new oak still showing prominently. This is one of those wines which is held together by the sheer amount of stuff in a comical Katamari Damacy sort of way (that's meant to be mildly perjorative, by the way). I guessed this was some kind of modernist Bordeaux.
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11/21/2016 - jsapping Likes this wine: 92 Points
Big improvement over last bottle. Ready to drink, but still has some life. Great balance and long finish.
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11/7/2016 - ahwt wrote: 89 Points
I liked this wine the first day I opened it and also the second day when I finished it. Medium body with plenty of dark fruit flavors and a very pleasant leathery complex nose. Ready to drink, but don't be in a hurry to drink it as I think it will be good for several more years.
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11/2/2016 - spatchmo2 wrote: 91 Points
A very nice wine for the price. It has lots of depth.
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10/28/2016 - Intellectual Sasquatch Likes this wine: 89 Points
Upon opening.... Great nose, but still on the tannic side. Decanted for an hour and then enjoyed over a 2 hour sitting. A little oaky for me, but otherwise a great value for the $22 per I spent on two of these as futures back in 2006. I think I'll wait about a year to try the second bottle.
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10/15/2016 - TashNYC wrote: 90 Points
For a change, we had this wine with steak (prime strip steak and rib eye), rather than with lamb. Surprisingly, it paired better with the strip steak than with the rib eye. The wine was initially quite tannic, opening over time to red fruit, cedar and some bitter chocolate. I still think the lamb is the better pairing (and I prefer cabernet with beef to merlot). Drink now or hold.
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8/27/2016 - galewskj wrote: 89 Points
Lamb dinner (my house): Pop and pour, drank over an hour with friends. This went well with lamb, in that there is a fair amount of funk, underbrush and secondary/tertiary Bordeaux characteristics. There is not much fruit here. It is a charming wine, with a lot of interest, although not as easy to drink as most wine. I would drink now.
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8/5/2016 - bon vivant wrote:
2nd bottle quite good especially after an hr decant -a little more fruity and round than the 2006 tonight (note also has a corked 2006).
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8/5/2016 - bon vivant wrote: flawed
corked -badly.
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7/6/2016 - EhrlichDY Likes this wine: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Similar to my last bottle a year ago this is still showing quite well. It's a slow ager as he 2005s tend to be and is still quite dark and primary. The fruit is on the jammy side and there is also a coffee note on the palate. The tannin is starting to integrate and the wine is starting to smooth out. I'd say this is hitting the beginning of a 10 plus year drinking window. Amazing QPR here.
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7/2/2016 - wconnolly Likes this wine: 89 Points
I am sure I drank about 20 bottles of this too early as this is really coming into its own. You have to get past a very funky, bordering on offensive nose in the first hour but the flavor on the palate is very good. More fruit forward than most Bordeaux implying a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. Still some mushroom, and forest floor so indicative of Bordeaux. Well integrated tannins. Still improving.
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6/15/2016 - Farnelicous Likes this wine: 92 Points
I popped as dates said past prime -- not so; likely 5 years left. Very good wine & drinking excellent -- tannins mellowing although still present. Dark purple with dirt tones in color. Taste of earth with black currant fruit. Classic 'right bank' french Bordeaux (75% merlot; 25% cab).
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6/9/2016 - Skibank114 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still delivering. We really enjoy this wine, and yes I did find a few more to purchase. I think the fruit was more pronounced in this bottle with the same earthy tones. Probably still need to finish up by 2019 or 2020. There is some sediment at the end if that is a concern for you. Enjoy.
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4/19/2016 - BrunelloBob wrote: 89 Points
PnP. Great purple-red color. Dark fruit,charcoal, slightly drying tannin, enough acidity. Plenty of Life yet, maybe better than prior bottles. 88-89.
Hold last bottle two years. Try not to cook with it...
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4/9/2016 - Grinner wrote: 91 Points
PHMG WAG: Value Bordeaux (Chateau Lyon): After a 3+ hour double decant, it's slightly better than I remember from 8/13. Still dominated by the '05 TANNINS! But the black fruit comes out to play along with gravel and tar notes. Pencil, spice, and florals show up later. Patience young padiwan: 2018-2028
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4/3/2016 - John McCabe wrote: 90 Points
Similar to previous notes - starts of very earthy, almost muddy, but ooens up and shiws some depth and sweet charm. Nothing fancy, but some real power and quality all the same.
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3/11/2016 - floydtp wrote: flawed
TCA
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3/11/2016 - floydtp wrote: flawed
TCA once again.
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2/24/2016 - NineteenEightyTwo Likes this wine: 91 Points
Reignac Vertical; 2/7/2016-2/24/2016: The final bottle of my Reignac vertical. Medium-dark crimson color. An ashy smell dominates the nose, which evolves aromas of braised meat (uncannily similar to Rhône wine), and sweet berries after some aeration. The palate has tart black fruit flavors accented by a piquant vegetal note. Tannins remain firm after a decade in the bottle, with the overall experience hinting at much more to be revealed here with maturation. The best of the bunch, this should remain very much alive through its twentieth birthday.
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2/11/2016 - ctjared Likes this wine:
drinking nicely. good fruit, medium plus finish. well integrated
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1/26/2016 - Mlermontov wrote: 91 Points
sweet ripe fruit - blackberry and cassis. with time - more herbs and spices. big mid - still showing young and tannic. more cassis with a few hours but needs to age. a keeper.
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1/24/2016 - gmbdds wrote: 90 Points
Not decanted. Notes of licorice, blackberry, currant and mineral. Good acidity and freshness with solid backbone. Enjoyable now with roast stew but should have plenty of life left.
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12/22/2015 - rmcnees wrote: 89 Points
Garnet colored, medium to full bodied, firm texture and structure, bright vibrant cherry and blackberry fruits accented by classic Bordeaux notes of cassis, leather, earth and oak turning to a lingering tangy fruit filled moderate tannin finish.
http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/12/reignac-bordeaux-superieur-2005.html
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12/17/2015 - jsapping Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still needs time. Much better day 2. Dark black fruit, tannins starting to smooth, great licorice and long finish. Potential to be higher. Great QPR with long decant.
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12/11/2015 - lyle@vinchicago.com Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Tasted single-blind as part of a random Bdx flight (w.2008 d'Arsac Derencourt, 2010 Fontblanche Blaye) Pours very dark, nearly opaque throughout - almost seems black in low light. Very plummy nose that shows an awful lot of oak. Noted something a bit pure and mineral in the nose, hard to specify. Lots of black cherry aroma steeped in vanilla. A strong attack on palette hollows out rather quickly. Some tannin on the front end that even disappears to quickly. What's left behind the dark fruit is not impressive. Despite the perceived heft, it's rather thin and bitter. It feels very modern and inexpensive. Very much like a CA or WA big production low cost wine. In opposition to the '08 - this is not appetizing. Day 2 displayed more vanilla and furthered the split between nose/palatte. Despite what the color tells you, the frailty of the wine would have me looking to pair with Pork chops. Least impressive of the three, clearly. I had a prior bottle of this which was similarly disappointing, so it's not a bad bottle - I could probably score this lower.
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11/10/2015 - stevenrcagle Likes this wine: 92 Points
See review from week earlier. Completely consistent with previous notes.
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11/6/2015 - stevenrcagle Likes this wine: 91 Points
Amazing what a year and half can make. This wine has developed and evolved over the last 18 months and is drinking very well. Lovely garnet color, with nice clarity. Bright cherry fruit on the nose. Medium body and drinks very smoothly. Easy to drink, elegant, and lively. This was a great value. Interesting to see how this develops further, however it's drinking so well now, I can see this as a go to QPR.
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10/25/2015 - dougsmith Likes this wine: 90 Points
Black with a deep ruby rim. Nose of thick black currant with some spice, smoke, and floral notes. Full bodied on the palate with good presence and length.
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9/9/2015 - gcarl wrote: 91 Points
Decanted thru Vinturi, dark fruit/graphite/cedar on nose, very soft mouth feel, and long dark fruit finish. Sorry to have only 2 left in my stash.
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8/23/2015 - John McCabe wrote: 91 Points
I always find this '05 to be murky, almost muddy in a way - it's soo earthy. Itried the '06 the following night by comparison and surprisingly it was better; more elegant and precise, some sweetness and lively acidity.
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8/23/2015 - wconnolly Likes this wine: 88 Points
This has gone through a fascinating evolution. Very approachable upon release; went through a period of 5 years or so where it closed up and now is really coming into its own, revealing lots of dark fruit, creosote and a biter pepper. Full bodied and rich.
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7/19/2015 - GalvezGuy Likes this wine: 89 Points
Popped and poured. Nose of plum, black cherry, rich vanilla, toasty oak. On the palate, cherries and plum with rich mocha. Tannins have integrated. This should drink pretty well over the next five years.
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7/11/2015 - wconnolly Likes this wine: 88 Points
See notes from previous day.
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7/10/2015 - wconnolly Likes this wine: 88 Points
Good value wine but needs plenty of air to lose the harshness and sort of an olive flavor. Plenty of life left based on tasting profile but a bit of sludge found in the neck.
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5/31/2015 - EhrlichDY Likes this wine: 92 Points
Slow oxed for 12 hours. Whoah this is good. Coffee, dark fruit, lead pencil. Deeply concentrated and delicious. This is great now with air and will last another 20 or 30 years.
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5/25/2015 - PFra wrote: 89 Points
A perennial over performer, this is not everyone's idea of Bordeaux, but I think it is very good. Dark purple. Rich spiced plum, graphite, smooth tannin and finishes with some vanilla oak but much less than a couple of years ago. I don't see this developing huge complexity, but it's solid and great value.
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5/24/2015 - Grateful Bear wrote: 89 Points
Still tightly wound. Oak, tannins and cassis. Medium finish. Have 4 more bottles, will wait until 2017 for the next.
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5/7/2015 - Magnum Bill Likes this wine: 90 Points
Im a New World, QPR-focused guy looking to expand my horizons by trying Old World product. Recently I saw a video comparing some of the best Bordeaux of the '05 vintage. This $25 bottle scored better than a $1,000+ Petrus and other premieres. Wow! I''m still trying to digest the meaning of that. For some CT'ers it's too oakey. Maybe so. However for this nose, its balance of fruit, acid, grip and length creates an enjoyable quaff...at a terrific price!
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4/18/2015 - thalver wrote:
plump and full bodied, quite aromatically expressive upon opening..... tightened up after a couple hours in the decanter.......very merlot, though perhaps not very Bordeaux
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4/15/2015 - CabIsKing wrote: 92 Points
Really same notes as last time. This develops exceptionally well in the glass. I can see how this wine might be confused with a first growth. Well maybe at least in an off year. Very good wine.
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3/25/2015 - Eags25 wrote: 88 Points
Big wine and fruit forward, especially for a Bordeaux. Nose of graphite, black currant and prune with wood & earth. Soft but big with dark fruit dominating and a mid palate of mineral herbs and spices leading to a woodsy finish with spied dark fruit. Don't think that time would make this any better - it's simply a big dense wine with some finesse but ultimately not what I am hoping for in a Bordeaux, even for the $
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3/23/2015 - Eags25 wrote: 88 Points
Dark purple hue. Nose of graphite, black currants and oak. Medium plus bodied, drying astringent tannins, currants, over extracted dark fruit (raisin type quality), good acidity and a long finish. Tannins are not completely integrated and has some rough edges. Good but not great.
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3/23/2015 - mmcdds Likes this wine: 88 Points
This was quite nice tonight, although it is beginning to pick up some stewed notes, which I'm not wild about, with good depth and complexity. There's still a fair amount of structure and this needed a couple of hours of air to open. All in all, really good, especially at the $15 a bottle that I paid.
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3/19/2015 - mattlennert wrote: 92 Points
One of the most fun half-cases of wine I have had the joy of witnessing go through it's gyrations and evolutions over the past few years. At (now) 10 years old, the wine has become a dark, broody, and very earthy expression of itself. Whereas earlier openings played much more in the bright red fruit space, this wine has now become "serious." Amazing chocolate and licorice notes dominate over the fruit, which is still there but is much more subtle and the finish is a very old world moist and sweet cigar tobacco. There are also some reductive coffee notes. The sweetness of the oak shows through and the structure is still very tight.
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2/28/2015 - TashNYC wrote: 91 Points
Wine tasting Party and Dinner at our house: Some good red fruits (blackberry and currants), earth, fine tannins and some bitter chocolate on the finish. I put this in the decanter to open up, but the group was a little predatory and didn't let it sit for very long before trying it. Perhaps more fruit and chocolate if it could have finished its decant! Still a great wine. Good with the roast leg of lamb and the potatoes.
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2/27/2015 - Skibank114 Likes this wine: 90 Points
I have been patient to hold on to this wine, and every time I open a bottle I am rewarded. Drinking very well at this point. It is integrated into a smooth, structured wine with a medium to long finish. Poured through vinturi which helps it open up. Very dark, fruit is subtle, and has a bit of an earthy tone - maybe the new oak? Still has a few years to go, but probably not more than a couple. I would still buy a bottle if I ran across one though.
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2/21/2015 - miadelt Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wow, this wine has really developed. Dark, earthy, a little gritty in a good way, med to full bodied. Really enjoyed this. Wish I had not drank the other bottles so early.
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2/15/2015 - FransS wrote: 91 Points
Not easy to handle, needs lots of air, but after 48 hours in the fridge and after some hours to come to a decent temperature, this wine showed a mixed nose of delicate new wood and small red fruit followed by a massive body with lots of heavy, but ripe tannins. I tasted a lot, but I missed the complexity of the great 'appellations'. Still a very enjoyable wine with a future of at least 5 years; € 12 at the auction!
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2/13/2015 - TashNYC wrote: 92 Points
With Sue Rexford in Princeton, NJ. (Before Jen arrived back from the castle in Dagstuhl, Germany).
Decanted over an hour (dinner was late and delayed so Ursula could go to bed). Initially tight and tannic but opened with lovely chocolate notes, red fruit and earth.
Delicious with the Australian lamb loin chops, baked Yukon gold potatoes and the sauteed, organic rainbow Swiss chard. (Especially with the lamb, which is a great pairing).
Excellent QPR for $22 / bottle. Drink now but these have some time, too.
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1/31/2015 - TashNYC wrote:
At Donna T's Beef Burgundy dinner party in Princeton.
2nd bottle of the night. It was a hit so we opened a 2nd bottle. Shorter decant but similar showing as 1st bottle. Lovely chocolate notes and great with the beef burgundy.
(Bottle from the basement cellar and not the VinoTemp)
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1/31/2015 - TashNYC wrote: 92 Points
Donna T Beef Burgundy Dinner Party in Princeton (Princeton, NJ): At Donna T's Beef Burgundy dinner party in Princeton. I really loved this wine. Out of the bottle it was a little closed and tannic, but with notes of bitter chocolate shining through.
Put it in the decanter for 30 minutes and it really blossomed. Lovely notes of red fruit (blackberry and current), some earth and oozing chocolate flavors on the finish.
A great pairing with the beef burgundy; ok with the shepherd's pie as well. The WOTN for me.
Drinking well now with a short decant, but wine has more time as well.
These are great QPR at our $22 purchase price.
(Bottle from the basement cellar and not the VinoTemp)
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1/30/2015 - BrunelloBob wrote: 88 Points
Similar to last bottle, but this was a PnP. Dark fruit may have rallied a bit. Still concerned re: tannin balance, but those may be resolving into a bit of complexity. Hold next bottle a year or so
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12/31/2014 - the godfather wrote:
Ho hum
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12/30/2014 - floydtp wrote: flawed
Another TCA victim. Not as bad as other examples from this vintage but still enough to make it unpleasant.
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12/30/2014 - wari wrote: 90 Points
Drinking well right now!
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12/28/2014 - AMC Eagle wrote: 91 Points
45 min decant and poured through a vinturri. This has a very dark garnet in colour with lots of ripe plums and ripe blackberries with a hint of currants and dark tobacco leaf on the nose. Still have the dusty tannins on the front palate(similar to my last tn); lots of dark ripe fruits with some touches of black tar and dark chocolate on the palate. Agree of the new world-ness of this wine, but I do like it along with its wallet friendly price tag, and goes very well with some ribeye.
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12/26/2014 - the godfather wrote:
still a baby. a solid made wine allbeit not really my style
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12/20/2014 - Racer117 wrote: 88 Points
The label says 100% new French oak aging. And I'm guessing that's about 67.354% too much new French oak. I like this wine but it is very much in a new world style with ripe fruit (plum and Berry) and lots and lots of woody tannins. Bordeaux for the common man!
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12/19/2014 - theRealPepe wrote:
2005 is a tannic vintage. Even the low-level wines need more time to come around. Let's hear from Racer117: "The label says 100% new French oak aging. And I'm guessing that's about 67% too much new French oak. I like this wine but it is very much in a new world style with ripe fruit (plum and Berry) and lots and lots of woody tannins." Paired with sirloin and rated Very Good.
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12/6/2014 - Primordialsoup Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drank over 2 hours. Good example of Bordeaux Superior from a stellar vintage. Blend of 75/25 Merlot/Cab. Really nice nose- inviting with promise. So dark. Charcoal, slate, tar & some dark fruit carry into mouth and hold wine in balance. Fruit a bit more pronounced over time. Fades a bit on mid-palate (which is where the olfactory promise is slightly broken) but with plenty of dry gripping tannins that linger into satisfying though slightly bitter finish. Fully matured IMO, but what do I really know anyway. Drink now and for another 3-5. 2015 probably a good time to have a retrospective on non-trophy 2005 Bordeaux (or trophy too if you are a champion).
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11/28/2014 - David_T Likes this wine: 90 Points
Lovely aromas of grilled meat, raspberries/blackberries/black cherries, earth and a bit of herbs. The palate also has that meaty/barnyard note up front with cherries/raspberries and a bit of earth to follow. Not as bold/complex as the nose, though. Medium tannins/acidity/finish.
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11/22/2014 - ciesel wrote: 90 Points
Very good and elegant for the price. Has aged well. Strong tannins still present.
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11/22/2014 - ciesel wrote: 90 Points
Very good and elegant for the price. Has aged well. Strong tannins still present
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11/7/2014 - Purple Tooth wrote: 88 Points
Chalk and blood with nuances of flowers and minerals. Quite tannic still, but this quality helps the wine have more presence and drives the minimal dusty fruit into the finish. An elegant wine for its price. There is a tinge of synthetic material in the finish that stops me from giving it a point or two more...
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11/2/2014 - Tahan wrote: 86 Points
Innfridde ikke forventningene etter forrige gang. Mye trøkk med kirsebær, tobakk, lær, god syre, markante tanniner men mangler litt eleganse. Tydelig Bordeaux stil på lukt.
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10/5/2014 - John McCabe wrote: 88 Points
Quite earthy, with a kind od murky clay feel to it. Pleasant enough, and useful at the price but nothing too soecial.
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10/5/2014 - FLI Likes this wine: 87 Points
Well balanced, easy drinking.
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9/29/2014 - levinml wrote: 89 Points
Good underlying flavors, but heavy tannins competing for your taste buds. Seemed to go back and forth, enough flavor to enjoy, but hope the tannins subside over the next few years. Not sure.
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8/19/2014 - FLI wrote: flawed
Yuck - undrinkable. Badly corked. "Stewed tomatoes" would be a kind characterization.
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8/8/2014 - CWilliam wrote:
Quite a polarizing wine given prior tasters comment. On this tasting, and with airtime, the oak was very apparent. On nose, oak (if this were a CA cab people would not complain about it), black currants, tobacco, graphite & a touch of heat. On palate, dark fruits / tobacco. Modern interpretation of Bordeaux. Excellent with a NY Strip. I really enjoyed (91+) and would buy again but this wine is not an '09Marcel Lapierre Morgon Beaujolais that everyone on CT loves. If you like old school California Cabernet (Mondavi, not Caymus) this is worth a try.
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8/2/2014 - gregg g wrote:
Awful, manipulated, over-oaked crap! YUCK!!!
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6/20/2014 - Neecies wrote:
Big, generous flavors immediate upon opening. Ripe black fruit, cedar and a bit of asphalt with the obvious Rolland oak (and 14+% alc) that comes together in a very pleasing way. Opened with several other wines, and it was the clear favorite of my guests who probably drink more new world wines than old.
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6/13/2014 - gven wrote: 88 Points
Not fully integrated. Tannins are saying that it has some room for improvement. The fruit brings a good balance.
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5/7/2014 - ctjared Likes this wine:
definitely needs air. still has good tannin. surprising for this 75/25 merlot/cab blend.
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5/5/2014 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nose of black cherry, plum, and earth, more of the same on the palate, lovely and rich fruit in 2005, paid $27 and worth it, medium body, peaked, flavorful finish. Wish I bought more.
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5/5/2014 - FLI Likes this wine: 87 Points
Surprisingly dense fruit for a merlot-driven blend. Still showing a fair amount of tannin. Enjoyable, and a good value, and I expect will improve with additional time in the bottle.
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5/5/2014 - PFra wrote: flawed
Oxidized.
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5/4/2014 - stevenrcagle wrote:
Dark rub color. Heavy ok and cedar on sniff. The fruit is there underneath and became more prevalent after a few hours, but it is overpowered by the oak. Medium bodied, tar, tobacco, smoke - tart / tannic. After 1 hour decant was positive this needs more time, however after a few hours opened up a bit. Based on other reviewers could have been an odd bottle but find hard to believe - came out of a newly opened wood case, bought on futures and cellared. More likely needed longer decanting or more time in bottle. Will try another bottle with longer decant in 6 - 12 months.
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4/30/2014 - ChipGreen wrote: 86 Points
Deep crimson color, slow-forming legs, medium+ body. Nose of cherry, oak, anise and dark fruits. Palate echoes nose and adds some minerality. Grippy, drying tannins on the medium finish.
Slightly better on day 2, a little more fruit and better balance. Tannins still grippy. Agree with ArtF that this needs a nice long decant or better yet, another couple years in the bottle.
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4/21/2014 - apljb Likes this wine: 92 Points
One of my favourite Bordeaux, at the price point close to unbeatable.
Plenty of tannins, deep dark rich fruits, full bodied, almost inky, delicious.
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4/13/2014 - ArtF Likes this wine: 92 Points
From .375. Showing the merits of '05 in bordeaux. Still improving after being opened but not decanted 6 hours. I would decant full bottles or wait 2-3 more years.
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4/7/2014 - mmcdds Likes this wine: 89 Points
This is a really good mid weight Bordeaux Superieur that is drinking very, very well tonight with a few hours of air. What a great qpr.
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3/22/2014 - discoverwine wrote: flawed
Corked
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3/9/2014 - ucbeau Likes this wine: 86 Points
I liked this wine, but did not love it. It showed good balance and nice ripeness, but also tasted heavy-handed. I think there was too much oak showing, despite 9 years of age on the wine. Also, the acidity was oddly disjointed and not integrated compared with other vintages from this producer. I should note though that I generally do not like Michel Rolland-influenced wines.
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3/8/2014 - jaumealaska Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drank this following 2 2nd classe medocs and a Beringer Howell mountain merlot of the same year. Fist bottled opened 3 hours before drinking and 2nd bottle PNP.
Second bottle had slight bret in the nose that blew away. The wine seemed more akin to the left bank than the Ca. merlot., despite being 75% merlot. Really the great value of the night.
Cassis licorice and tobacco in the nose, good round fruit in the body good finish with firm tannins. Could easily age another few years. I will look for more of this!
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3/4/2014 - dsimmons Likes this wine: 89 Points
The best one of these to date. Still has some tannin to resolve but otherwise very nice. Loads of graphite, subtle fruit and tar. Good value here.
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3/2/2014 - Number51 wrote: 91 Points
Dark berries, licorice, oak, and pine tree components wrapped in a massively tannic body show off good aromatics and a decent length on the finish. Back label says "under the supervision of consulting enologist, Michel Rolland". This wine is certainly his style.
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2/17/2014 - signotim Likes this wine: 90 Points
Consumed over 4 nights and kept under pressure. Big bold fruit when first opened. Went into a rough, grippy phase over the next couple of nights. Finally calmed down and and softened up again on night 4. Seems to have a long life ahead and some number of years before it hits a drinking plateau.
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2/9/2014 - FLI Likes this wine: 87 Points
Very well balanced. Drinking well right now. Though not a showy wine, a great value. Best bottle of this case yet.
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1/31/2014 - oakland.cory wrote: 86 Points
Nice to revisit. Nose showed slight sign of evolution, but it was overly tarry and the tannics were chunk and dry. They wine has a nice richness, but it was almost LESS evolved than samples I had years ago and showed little balance. My thought is that this will only lose balance over time, not come together in the bottle. Drink now.
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1/27/2014 - TLR Likes this wine: 90 Points
solid 05 bordeaux with all the characteristics you would expect from a 9 year old wine. Easy drinking and very pleasurable.
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1/19/2014 - Squire Likes this wine: 91 Points
I recently opened two bottles of this vintage on separate occasions. Both were very good; one was better than the other. (Funny how that works.) Nonetheless, this is a very enjoyable wine. I'm happy to have purchased and cellared it. Drink now or save for later. Enjoy.
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1/4/2014 - njgolfer wrote: 89 Points
Drank over 3 days with vacuum seal and refrigerated.
Initially, still quite firm and drying tannins, cedar and oak notes.
A nice nose full of dark fruit, vanilla.
Day 3, shows dark black cherry/blackberry, a hint of sweetness from the merlot and the tannins really mellowed. I believe this will become more integrated in time. Needs a few more years [to 2016 at the earliest for next bottle].
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1/1/2014 - jkvedar wrote: 91 Points
Initially strong smell of licorice, but after ~ 3 hour decant, the fruit came through nicely. Paired well with herb crusted rib roast.
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12/29/2013 - ciesel Likes this wine: 91 Points
Think one of best values I ever purchased. Very good Bordeaux. Nice chewy tannins, and dark fruit. Some minerality. Glad I have more. Still pronounced tannins after several hours. Nicely balanced.
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12/27/2013 - PFra wrote: 90 Points
A bit simple, but nice dark fruit with a mineral streak and still prominent vanilla oak. Hold for now.
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12/25/2013 - unrelenting wrote: 90 Points
not a lot of fruit but great structure with some additional aging potential. Try again in 2015
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12/11/2013 - ArtF Likes this wine: 90 Points
From .375. Dark blood red in glass. Prunes and charred oak on nose. More prunes on palate with drying tannins. Best after being opened 4 hours when tannins smoothed out and fruit became more pronounced. Drink full bottles now with decant or wait 2015-2019.
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11/29/2013 - krmcgrath wrote: 89 Points
This has a nice nose full of dark fruit, vanilla and cedar but the palate is somewhat drying and a little bitter. A big dense wine whose fruit has faded leaving the overt oak influence front and center. I have more of these and will be patient but am not sure waiting longer will pay off. We'll see...
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11/24/2013 - dmalcolm wrote:
More modern than I remembered with heavy oak treatment that I hope will become more integrated in time. Still quite tannic and unwieldy. Needs a few more years.
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11/23/2013 - theRealPepe Does not like this wine:
It's not drinking like the 10-12 year lifespan wine I expected, but rather more like a vin de garde. Dark purple color. Cedar dominated nose. When initially opened, good fruit and some tannin. Modern feeling (it should be - Michel Rolland consulted!), the more I tasted the more it seemed overwhelmed by the big tannic backbone and the heavy 100% new oak treatment. Less happy with this than 2 years ago, where you could taste more going on despite the oak. Hope this comes around sometime.
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11/6/2013 - John McCabe wrote: 93 Points
This one was quite a gem. Am amazed at how it manages to be dry but with some lovely sweet fruit at the same time. This is a murky, earthy, brooding concoction that is not so nuanced or elegant but it really is pretty tasty. I've found significant bottle variation with this wine but when it's good it's one of the very best values in Bordeaux. The '05 in particular can be excellent.
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11/5/2013 - rickspicks wrote:
Like my most recent prior bottle, this tasted tired and a bit over the hill. Will not score as I would give this bottle about an 87, but it has been a terrific wine for many years and this bottle was simply not representative.
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11/2/2013 - jayw wrote:
Licorice and berry fruit, with green herbs, earth and minerals. Long finish with fairly substantial tannins.
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10/31/2013 - richshoes Likes this wine: 92 Points
surprisingly really good for the price point...chewy layers of fruit and cassis, with hints of cherry...tasted even better over the next two days...nice, ripe, complex structure.
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10/18/2013 - ArtF wrote: 90 Points
Maturing nicely. Drink now- 2019.
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10/14/2013 - oakland.cory wrote: 93 Points
I've had many bottles of the 2005 Reignac, and the most frustrating aspect has always been bottle variation. But sometimes you pop the cork and you get a surprise like this, quintessentially Bordeaux, with tertiary aromas including porcini mushroom and truffles, with deep black fruit flavors, soft mouthfeel with an acidic lift. Finishes dry, but for the price it's nice to discover these cellar gems every once in awhile.
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9/30/2013 - redbrix wrote: 85 Points
Purple red color and licorice, cherry and bramble nose. Cherry cola flavor with good tannins.
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9/26/2013 - Surfdoc wrote: 88 Points
Bold, full bodied cassis and French oak flavors. Moderate tannins are well integrated and give nice structure without any harsh edges. The oak, however, is still quite strong and overpowers the flavors and finish.
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9/14/2013 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nose developed over one hour, black cherry fruit, dust, earth-clay like my garden, and touch of cassis, more of the same on the palate, very pleasant after a merlot, went well with the smoked cheddar cheese, lots of soft tannins present, medium body and medium finish. Value for $25.
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8/31/2013 - Grinner Likes this wine: 90 Points
After a vinturi decant and 30 in the glass this wine gave a peek at what it can be. Black fruit, gravel/ stone, pencil, and rose notes. Still pretty stern like all the '05's I've had - still hoping they'll all open by fall 2015 for a big tasting.
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8/25/2013 - AMC Eagle wrote: 91 Points
Poured through a vinturri into a decanter and let sit for a couple of hours. Poured into glass using a vinturri. The profile is similar to my last tn, though the extra air time helped bring out the dark blue and black fruits more profusely. The tannins are still there, though more of a "dusty" like feeling in the front palate. Paired with some grass-fed beef tenderloin.
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8/5/2013 - FLI Likes this wine: 87 Points
A decent go-to claret for every day.
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8/5/2013 - John McCabe wrote: 91 Points
Much better on the first day - by the 2nd day, a lot of the fruit seemed to have faded. Quite a murky and earthy wine, but robust and lively in its own way.
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7/24/2013 - Skibank114 wrote: 90 Points
Very nice, deep flavor. Smooth finish. I hope the remaining 5 bottles are as tasty. I will try to be patient and enjoy over the next couple years.
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7/22/2013 - BullseyeOregon Likes this wine: 90 Points
Solid tannins match up with dark fruits for a balanced wine well suited to a grilled ribeye.
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7/20/2013 - Tahan wrote: 93 Points
Fungerte suverent til grillet, langhengt entrecote. Tydelige tanniner renset munnen effektivt. Fordel med dekantering/lufting et par timer.
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7/19/2013 - RDHudak wrote: 91 Points
Very tannic and in dire need of a decant. Nice earthy fruit, bramble, wet twigs and licorice on the palate. Bitter, mouth coating tannins on the finish that had me puckered for minutes, this screamed for some food.Great qpr .Hold.
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7/17/2013 - John O' wrote:
maybe not enough air. still pretty tannic
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7/15/2013 - Stratos73 wrote: 89 Points
Nice funk to it. Less fruit showing, just now starting to show the earthy secondary flavors. The slight brett may have been a bottle flaw (have never seen it in the past) or a result of age. Either way, it was pleasant and subtle. Excited to see where this goes over time!
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7/14/2013 - rickspicks wrote:
First time this wine has shown any ill effects of age - if that is what the problem was. This bottle definitely had less fruit and was a bit tired and washed out - especially when compared to the other bottles I have had over the past couple of years. I think this may simply have been a bad bottle and/or was exposed to too much oxygen. I will not score it.
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7/13/2013 - Redguy wrote: flawed
Second bottle out of four consumed so far from a case that has been corked. This one was horribly corked. A troublesome trend?... I hope not.
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6/8/2013 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Rather reticent nose, but gives up a little cedar, saddle leather, and dark fruit. Palate is quite concentrated, with very but prominent tannins. Dark plummy fruit, giving it a thick quality across the palate, but has just enough acidity. Moderate finish. Still quite young, and this was rather shut down but should be an excellent drinker in ~5yrs. Merlot is prominent right now. Hold. 89-90
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6/7/2013 - BrunelloBob wrote: 88 Points
Decanted and drank over 4 hours. Dark fruit, mineral, but tannin is out of balance until the last half hour or so. I like my merlot (75% merlot, 25% cab) tannic, but this was drying for the first couple hours. Not sure it has the fruit to hold up to the tannin over time, but it's worth a shot. My sense is that I'd really like this with less oak. Bit of shmutz.
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6/2/2013 - CabIsKing wrote: 92 Points
Nose the same but I think the alcohol in this bottle mellowed out a bit. I would say this is as good as it will get but has plenty of years of drinking head of it.
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5/26/2013 - GEDC Likes this wine: 91 Points
I agree with "AMC Eagle" excellent QPR bought 3 bottles for $60 they did not last a week!!!
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5/19/2013 - AMC Eagle wrote: 91 Points
30 min decant. The nose is getting some sweet dark fruits, dark ripe plums with a hint of minty vanilla. On the palate, I am getting black fruits, dark chocolate, and some black cherries. Tannins are tight and chewy; dry finish. I paired this with some buffalo burger and this wine really went well with it. I'd say wait a couple more years before trying again. Excellent QPR.
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4/29/2013 - Redguy wrote: 89 Points
Decanted 1 hr. Med+ body, grippy tannins, dry finish. Paired with lamb burgers. Lots of great material here, just needs more time... say 3-5 years. Good quality Bordeaux for the price.
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4/29/2013 - WStucker wrote: 90 Points
Great juice for the price. Let decant for a few hours, sweet black fruit, cassis, pencil lead. Not screaming Bordeaux, but very enjoyable. Think I paid $14.50?
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4/23/2013 - Redguy wrote: flawed
Last night, an oxidized bottle of white. Tonight, a corked red. Note to self: don't buy lottery ticket.
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4/20/2013 - BullseyeOregon wrote: 90 Points
Firm tannins. The fruit is dominant at the fore, but the tannins leave the finish long and dry. Alone, it is almos too much. But with a meal (ribeye, mushrooms, and braised celery root) is was the perfect match and cut through the fat. This is very well suited for red meat.
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4/16/2013 - johnwine Likes this wine: 91 Points
This wine was very concentrated with flavors of dark chocolate and black cherries. It should continue to improve over the next three to five years.
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3/31/2013 - astrauss wrote: 91 Points
Wine does not smell or taste at all like Bordeaux. Very similar in style to extracted new world wine. On the nose I get plum and prune along with some licorice. On the palate more plummy ripe fruit with moderate structure and finish. A nice wine or the price if you are looking for a more new world profile. I hope to bring to a blind tasting someday because I highly doubt that someone would guess bordeaux. I liked the wine for value and fruit profile.
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3/30/2013 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points
Auction purchase for $27, one of my favorite wines, nose of black cherry fruit, dust earth, and touch of cassis, more of the same on the palate, lovely taste as I paired it with grilled sausage, some soft tannins present, medium body and medium finish.
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3/22/2013 - jayw wrote:
Dark berry fruit, chocolate, earth and dust and leather, with sweet black cherry on the long finish. Substantial tannins and decent acidity. Lots of life left in this wine.
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3/15/2013 - silton wrote:
An early taste was promising, and I was looking forward to the majority being better on day 2. That never happened, as most of this bottle was poured out due to sickness. ~89
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3/9/2013 - rickspicks wrote: 90 Points
Another very nice bottle. Bordeaux nose with a lot of new world flavors and textures. Second bottle of a new case, and I think this case is either less fruity than prior cases, and/or the fruit is losing some vibrancy. Still very enjoyable with very dark fruits, and good concentration and depth. A bit on the acidic side of balanced, but just enough to give it some grip. Medium +, slightly drying finish.
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3/5/2013 - FLI Likes this wine: 87 Points
Finally, a decent bottle. Wish these guys would just use a screwcap. The bottle variation on this vintage has been appalling. This one showed what I believe the winemaker intended, unlike the last two. Fairly merlot dominant. Still showing some tannic grit. Could happily go several more years.
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3/2/2013 - keepitreal wrote: 89 Points
Mint and green herb nose, minerals, linen and stems. Black fruit, lush mouth feel with gripping tannin and a tarry cocoa finish. Delicious wine that has many years ahead of pleasure.
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2/26/2013 - John McCabe wrote: 93 Points
this was quite excellent - some bottle variation here as others I've had were not as good. Sumptuous, rich and decadent. Impressive length and concentration. A bit sweet and simple in some ways, but one of the best Bordeaux at this pricepoint.
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2/26/2013 - oakland.cory wrote: 92 Points
It's been awhile, but it's nice to come back to an old favorite. Definite Right Bank evolved aromas on the nose, tar, carob, some violets, and French vanilla aromas give way a palate that's juuuust beginning to soften a bit. Vibrant acidity carries the dark plum flavors across the palate. In a good place through the decanber, but this can use another couple of years. Drink in 2015 and be very happy.
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2/24/2013 - WStucker wrote: 91 Points
Big big steak wine. Good QPR, might leave for a few years, or decant more. Not alot of tannins to lose, but might settle a little more.
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2/22/2013 - hudamang wrote:
Drinking well right now. Would be interesting to throw in a CA tasting as a ringer.
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1/30/2013 - Eags25 wrote: flawed
This bottle wasn't as good as previous
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1/29/2013 - mr21cbs wrote: 90 Points
Dark ruby color, thick in the glass. Cassis, blackberries, dried cherries, spice. Drinking great second evening. Smooth, dark and tasty.
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1/24/2013 - John McCabe wrote: 91 Points
Thick, rich and chocolatey. Better on the 2nd day. A bit brawney, almost sweet and maybe missing some polish but likeable. Compared directly to the '06 on the same night, this was definitely the better wine.
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1/13/2013 - thalver wrote:
The tannins have certainly integrated and subsided since a bottle opened at release. Opened, decanted and consumed over a few hours. Well balanced, the nose came around with some coaxing. A bit monolithic and tight on the palate.
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1/12/2013 - Redguy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Splash decanted and drank half the bottle then vacuumed pumped. This note is based on tasting 24 hours later. Really beautiful full bodied Bordeaux packed with black cherry, licorice, earth, leather, and an underpinning of Bordeaux funk. Great impact on the palate. Strong frame with dry, dusty tannins and good acidity. Medium length. While the fruit is quite juicy, this nonetheless finishes completely dry. Better on night two. Should benefit from a couple more years in the cellar but no harm in popping today. Really amazing quality for a B.S.
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12/30/2012 - TashNYC wrote: 92 Points
Really delicious with Pamela Zave's beef burgundy. Dark fruit, a touch of chocolate & substantial earth. Decanted for 3 hours prior to the dinner, in a flower vase. (No decanter was available). Pamela thought it was too tannic on its own, but really liked it with the beef. I liked it a lot at 90 minutes, when the tannins were less resolved. A good drink now but much better with some bottle age
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12/15/2012 - ron m wrote:
Had this at work with the gang. This was really good, and a killer value. Open for business right now, but with plenty of time to improve. Nose shows plenty of tobacco leather and spice, palate is rustic but properly balanced, and finish is solid with plentiful tannins. Super buy for the $13 it cost me.
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12/9/2012 - FLI wrote: 86 Points
A bit tannic and dark. Fine as an every day claret.
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12/8/2012 - aagrawal wrote: 88 Points
Fine Bordeaux tasting (Brookline liquor mart): Deep ruby color; plums, blackberry, complex young nose, slight salinity; palate shows a bit too much alcohol, dense oak, big tannins, modern styled. Very young.
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12/6/2012 - maxfischer wrote: 87 Points
Bottle decanted for three hours. Extremely concentrated, dark fruits, very tannic. Day two (after pumped and fridged), tannins subsided but still two chewy for my taste.
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12/4/2012 - John McCabe wrote: 91 Points
Excellent body, fresh earthy tones, good vigor.
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12/2/2012 - schwank wrote: 88 Points
From the bottle, better after a couple hours of air. Deep, dark nose of red fruit and some gamey hints. Medium+ body with rich dark red fruits and softening tannins leaving a nice drying finish. A little hot but pleasant with some veal chops and broccoli.
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11/30/2012 - gbbwino wrote: 92 Points
Very impressive for the price! Wish I bought more!
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11/29/2012 - emf Likes this wine:
Very good wine with lots of dark fruit and some smokiness. Went well with roast beef.
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11/21/2012 - slippytoad wrote: 92 Points
Was very impressed with depth and character. Lots of smokey dark fruit. For $12 you have to be kidding me.
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11/17/2012 - Redguy wrote: 89 Points
Decanted 1 hr then paired with grilled lamb chops. Funky and earthy with a medium fruit character. Chocolate covered cherries, tobacco, scorched earth. Soundly structured and tannic, though not painfully so and easily nullified by the med rare lamb. Med/med+ body with good acidity. Very Bordeaux. A generous mouthfull of wine for the price with good typicity.
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11/16/2012 - JonnyG wrote: 92 Points
Straight out of the bottle, the wine exhibited a compelling balance of fruit and structure. I loved the merlot's jousting with the cab. Naysayers be damned, this wine shows excellence from vineyard to bottle, with restraint and confidence.
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11/13/2012 - rickspicks wrote:
Just took delivery of another case and opened one of the bottles. Not quite as fresh and vibrant as the bottles I have had in my cellar for several years, but still very good. I will not score as the new arrivals may still be suffering from "travel shock".
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11/13/2012 - NewFrenchClaret wrote: flawed
Bought from wine.com. Very corked- straight down the drain.
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11/11/2012 - dmalcolm wrote: 89 Points
This has softened some since my last bottle a few years back, but it tannic & restrained. Needs a few more years to blossom.
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11/4/2012 - pmbohn wrote: 91 Points
Amazing Bordeaux, generous body, right tannin and structure, love the Cab which filled out the Merlot.
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10/30/2012 - Number51 wrote:
In comparison its sibling 2006, this is brighter and more red fruited, yet slightly more tannic, oaky, and alcoholic.
Good fruit. At $15, this is great, but because of little heat with 2005, I prefer 2006.
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10/30/2012 - slippytoad wrote: 89 Points
Very enjoyable every day wine but was pretty raisiny on day 2. Note to self: drink it all in one evening
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10/29/2012 - jonb72 wrote: 89 Points
At first, it had a bit of a barnyard taste, but it disappeared and opened up nicely. The tannins are stilla bit strong, so I will give it more time in the cellar.
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10/27/2012 - silton wrote:
Scary good value. 88-89.
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10/22/2012 - mmcdds wrote: 89 Points
Once again, Reignac easily out performs its price point and its level. This is drinking beautifully today with only abit of air. Med bodied with nice depth and concentration for a Bordeaux Superieur. This is a delightful bottle of wine.
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10/20/2012 - Mchang99 wrote: 91 Points
- Purple color with medium forming legs and aromas of black currant and raspberry. It's unbalanced and has flavours of raspberry with a medium body. Linear texture with a medium finish.
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10/20/2012 - Mchang99 wrote: 89 Points
- Crimsom color.
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10/17/2012 - GoBlue2002 wrote: 90 Points
Definitely improved after 30 min decant. Present yet smooth tannins, with aromas of dark fruit, earth, and tobacco combined with integrated acidity. The finish is short but has a touch of complexity. Good on its own, but this wine paired extremely well with the Wine Spectator 8 for $20 vegetable pot pie (much better than a fruitier 2009 Bordeaux). Overall tasty with enough complexity to warrant a 90 pt score.
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10/15/2012 - FLI wrote: flawed
Totally rotten. I sure hope this was just one bad bottle. The first from a recently purchased case...
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10/14/2012 - Mchang99 wrote:
- Crimsom color with slow forming legs. It's somewhat balanced and has flavours of chocolate with a medium body. Narrow texture with a short finish - Improved with time. Easy drinking, great for a casual weekday. Would drink a little upon opening, much smoother and tastier the next day.
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10/11/2012 - John McCabe wrote: 90 Points
A lot if earthy, dry, tar notes. Quite deep and hearty. Mising some sweetness and complexity one might expect from more pricey wines, but at this price this is a very solid wine for midweek diversion, for me anyways..
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10/10/2012 - Sevencircles wrote: 91 Points
This wine is still too young but within 5 years it wll be great. possibly the best bordeaux wine for the money actually. A must for people with a proper wine cellar. Open 2016 and enjoy with a great meal.
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10/7/2012 - gcarl wrote: 91 Points
Brought to 24+ btl blind tasting of Bordeaux blends. Mand tched against '93 LLC, a '86 Clerc Milon and some other great selections, it held its own. Decanted 90 minutes before tasting then returned to bottle after an hour of air, which really seemed to soften both the nose and feel on my palate. A great QPR, should have bought still more back in 2/07!
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10/2/2012 - W2WineGuy Likes this wine: 89 Points
real nice wine for under $15. Decanted and drank over two nights. First night, still a little tight, but opened the longer it sat. Give it some air. Night two, softer and more "fruit" vs dirt of the first night. Can't go wrong for a mid-week bourdeaux style.
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9/8/2012 - rickspicks wrote: 91 Points
What a consistent, solid wine this has turned out to be. I have gone thru almost 2 cases of this wine and have never been disappointed by a single bottle. I probably will buy some more as for $20 it over-delivers with rich, dark fruits with hints of earth and perhaps coffee. Soft, plush structure and usually not much backbone, although this particular bottle had more structure than most prior bottles.
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9/3/2012 - W2WineGuy Likes this wine: 89 Points
Similar to other comments, needs air, lots of air, but if you give it what it needs, real nice wine. Drank half and will finish other half next night.
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9/1/2012 - golfwine wrote:
No extensive notes, as it was one of several bottles.
Opened like a course, tannic wood plank.
Fortunately, - 3+hrs later - provided the aromatics and complex flavors I've come to expect.
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9/1/2012 - slippytoad wrote: 90 Points
Very good everyday drinking wine. Nothing wrong with it at all, some tannins are present which is nice.
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8/30/2012 - wirelesswine wrote: 88 Points
So dark. Seems a bit overripe to me and tannic (which I like) - the tannin is quite drying on the finish, with dark fruits. I have one bottle left and will do it justice by giving a tad more time sideways and a proper decanting, as I suspect there could be more potential lurking here.
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8/19/2012 - rickspicks wrote: 91 Points
Another really nice bottle and easily one of the best QPR wines I have ever had. Dark, ripe fruits, coffee, licorice and earth on the nose. Fleshy and soft on the palate with a slightly acidic balance and medium +, sweet, almost dessert-like finish. Seems to be getting richer, riper and more complex with time., but I am thinking it has probably reached its peak. Drinks way above its price point.
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8/15/2012 - wicozani wrote: 89 Points
My note closely mirrors Jeff's below, except I'll note that there were fine drying tannins on the finish immediately after opening, but that these resolved after about 40 minutes. Amidst very nice, moderately ripe fruit, a dose of French earthiness was ever-present. The last glass, 2 hours after opening, was the best, suggesting that these are good to go for some time.
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8/14/2012 - bullmrkt wrote: 90 Points
A little over a year on since the last bottle and drinking nicely, about the same. Deep concentrated purple color, lots of tannins, coffee, licorice, chocolate and a little plummy. Modern style for sure, but still has a nice Bordeaux-ness to it. It was still drinking well the second day but you could detect a hint of oxidation even though it was stored in a half bottle in the fridge. I wouldn't bet on this being very long lived, but who cares? Good value.
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8/11/2012 - wconnolly wrote: 88 Points
Deep purple in color. Some floral notes on the nose but not too much perfume and a bit of herb evident. Full bodied and fruit forward with an emphasis on cherry and strawberry. Also some cola on the palate. Interesting comparison with a 98 Seavey. Probably due the difference in age, there was almost a role reversal with Seavey more Bordeaux like and the fruit forward expression of the Reignac reminiscent of a Cabernet. Gala celebration with all 3 boys at home.
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8/10/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Is this the deal of the year for a house wine? Depending on where you live, for $12, you get a nose filled with coffee bean, licorice, jammy dark berries, cherry and earth. Fleshy, round, ripe and ready to drink, the wine ends with chocolate covered plums and licorice. 2005 Reignac is a value Bordeaux wine worth buying by the case!
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8/9/2012 - EGunderson wrote: 88 Points
Starting to come around. Nice wine for the price.
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8/4/2012 - wconnolly wrote: 86 Points
See previous notes
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7/27/2012 - wconnolly wrote: 86 Points
Classic Bordeaux style. Full fruit on the front palate showing some mushroom and forest floor on the back. Deep, dark garnet color. Normally rate this a bit higher but drank this with a 2006 Flinders Run Shiraz and 2007 Justin Isosceles. Both were a bit more complex and more interesting but the Reignac is a great value.
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7/23/2012 - WiningWife Does not like this wine: 80 Points
This wine was okay, but there are much better wines out there. It tasted like lead.
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7/14/2012 - kanjimoti wrote: 89 Points
A very deep dark magenta color to the 05 Reignac. On the nose I get clove, licorice, dark red and black fruits, and an earthy set of eucalyptus and rusted iron aromas. This has a very complex nose indeed, without any of the vanilla I expected. This is just a bit overripe but I don't blame them for picking the grapes as late as they did as the tannins are fairly aggressive, and dominate the finish. Without looking at my last review of this wine and not being able to recall it for some reason, I'll say I've warmed to this wine since the last bottle. I do remember tasting past vintages, the 2000 in particular, and have always thought the nose on the Reignac wines has been spectacular while the mouthfeel has been downright gritty and harsh; no exception here. Do these wines, or more specifically the tannins, need more time or is this eternally the nature of the wine? Needs food I suppose.
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7/9/2012 - mbwineguy wrote: 86 Points
This is a good wine, but not terribly interesting. Opened and decanted. Became clunky after a couple of hours which was much faster than I would have guessed. Still a great value and recommended.
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7/3/2012 - mguglielmo wrote: 89 Points
Aerated/decanted for 30-45 minutes, took notes over the course of 2 hours. When a wine in this dark, I call it "octopus defense mechanism" in color. Almost black, and murky. An opulent, expressive nose greets you right away, with loads of ripe fruit and a backbone of hay, mushroom, and olive. At first, the palate was extremely restrained and basically not much beyond astringent. But after 1+ hours, notes of sour cherry, plums, and brambly fruit open up to complement the secondary flavors of earth, anise, and burnt toast. The oak is ever-present but not overwhelming. Initially, the tannins dominated everything else, but they do soften around the 90-minute mark. The wine is gritty but acidic, and has the foundation to continue to evolve. I would give this at least a 90-minute decant, or 1-2+ years, and I would guess this will be coming into its own within 5. Stellar QPR. 88 upon pour, 91+ potential. Will taste again in 6 months.
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7/2/2012 - W2WineGuy Likes this wine: 90 Points
A wine that needs serious air, but can be drank now! Popped and poured through venturi into decanter, let sit for an hour, then poured from decanter through venturi into glass. That definitely does the trick. Smooth, perfumed, integrated, a wonderful wine for sub $15! Get it if you can!
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6/13/2012 - gcarl wrote: 90 Points
This needed some air as it was kind of closed at P&P. After 90 minutes of being open/partially consumed, it opened up with lovely fruit and soft tannins. Nicely accompanied a rare Porterhouse steak. This wine will improve even more w/cellar time. 90 at P&P, 91 after 2 hrs.
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6/7/2012 - europat55 wrote: 87 Points
A little bit thin, but still a very good wine. I think it needs a couple more years.
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6/7/2012 - John McCabe wrote: 91 Points
This wine a real weight and heft to it, and doesn't really show much fruit to start with. Overall though this is an excellent every day bordeaux that can really be mistaken for something much more expensive.
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6/6/2012 - pdadams66 wrote: 88 Points
Very good, but a little dumb at the moment. Has some good fruit and oak tending to the new world. Should improve with a year or two.
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6/6/2012 - mmcdds wrote: 88 Points
What a very nice Bordeaux Superieur. This is a fairly new world styled bordeaux that was quite closed on opening, but after a couple of hours of air it opened with dark fruit, cocoa, earth and firm, leathery tannins on the finish, not particularly complex but very good for what it is. This wine is in a good place today. I have the opportunity to pick up another case and I think I will. This has a very good qpr.
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6/2/2012 - wconnolly wrote: 88 Points
Still one of the best value wines from Bordeaux. Fresh, full of fruit and medium tannins. Great start to a family dinner, followed a 2004 Calon Segur in magnum and ending with a 2002 Robert Craig Howell Mountain Cabernet.
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6/1/2012 - ilmvino wrote: 88 Points
Nice new world Bdx. Good QPR.
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5/23/2012 - liondream wrote: 91 Points
After breathing for an hour, the tannis are gone, leaving great fruit juice behind, which is very nice. This bottle is much better than the bottle I served last year.
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5/13/2012 - John O' wrote: 92 Points
thru aerator and 2 hour decant. The extra air rounded off the rough edges I experienced on the last bottle. Very nice wine
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5/11/2012 - khmark7 wrote: 86 Points
Ripe, heavy-handed and tannic. Not unpleasant, but lacking elegance and balance with the more herbal character that i much enjoy in red wines from Bordeaux. A solid early drinking wine that can last.
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5/6/2012 - WST wrote:
No score or formal note; opened this at a crappy hotel restaurant with a bunch of soccer parent friends, drank out of glorified water glasses.
Modern fruit-heavy styled bdx; clearly Merlot dominated. WAY too young out of this 3 liter (no surprise); no development detected whatsoever.
Bottom line: great p/q crowd pleasing wine.
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4/16/2012 - kanjimoti wrote: 85 Points
I remember opening bottles of the 2000 and 2004 Reignac and thinking I could just smell them all day as they wreaked beautifully of merlot grown in the Medoc. I do recall the tannins being a bit coarse on the finish but that was a small price to pay for such a beautiful nose. In 2005 the coarse tannins are gone but so is the unmistakably Bordeaux nose. Sure, they've made a balanced, correct wine but also a boring one with too much alcohol and oak. This is officially a new world wine now with it's origin masked by over manipulation, rendering it another product of technology. I don't know if we have Michel Rolland to thank for this but I'm sure micro oxygenation played a role here. I'm sad.
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4/13/2012 - wconnolly wrote: 88 Points
Deep indigo color. Lots of fruit of the nose with a hint of earth. Fruit is predominant on the palate...raspberry, cassis and plum with a hint of clove and a bit of mocha. Really nice bordeaux and an interesting new world/old world comparison when tasted side by side with a '90 Dame de Montrose.
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4/13/2012 - JavaMonkey wrote: 90 Points
Decanted about an hour. This has developed nicely, it's a a beautiful wine now. Raspberry, cassis, leather, loam, and a little spice on the nose. The palate is medium-full, not as ripe as you might think from the vintage. Good structure, great balance. Could still have some upside, but drinking beautifully now.
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3/27/2012 - signotim wrote: 90 Points
wait till 2014 to try again. 90+
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3/24/2012 - merryberry wrote: 89 Points
Very dark ruby red. Blueberry, oak, leather, and earth nose. Full bodied, blackberries, chocolate covered cherries, spices, grainy young tannins, tobacco, a bit of soy, smoke, and a long finish. Lots of terrior and charactor, and a good value.
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3/11/2012 - awilliamson4 wrote: 91 Points
Decnated for 2 hours prior to drinking. This was great. The nose was full of dark red fruit, cassis, some espresso notes. ON the palate the red fruit was dominant with damp earth, a pleasant oak taste, a hint of black pepper and a bit of worn leather. I felt that the tannins were nicely integrated and that this guy is probably right on the front end of the prime drinking window. I have two left that I will probably space out over the next 2 years.
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3/4/2012 - rickspicks wrote: 91 Points
Really delicious new world style bordeaux. Classic bordeaux nose of cassis, leather, earth and oak. Aromas carry over to the palate with rich, juicy fruits and the addition of some spice. Medium to full bodied with a firm, full texture and lots of structure. Long, fruity, drying finish. This is a big mouthfull of flavors and textures. Still a bit young, but drinking great - and a terrific value.. 91+
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2/25/2012 - CabIsKing wrote: 92 Points
Same notes as before.
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1/27/2012 - wildwine Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice bottle. Almost a bit musty but I like that. Classic Bordeaux nose. Psyched to enjoy again.
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1/14/2012 - gven wrote: 88 Points
Opened 18 hours before drinking. Dark fruit, spices, tannins still present but softened.
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12/27/2011 - viking60 wrote: 88 Points
Still tannic
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12/18/2011 - BullseyeOregon wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for an hour and then consumed with a steak dinner over the following three hours. It benefited from the exposure to the air and opened up nicely. The wine offed good dark fruit, but the tannins were in the fore. Not out of balance, but should improve with more time in the cellar. The tannins did help the wine compliment the steak.
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12/6/2011 - stoneb wrote: 89 Points
Agree with rickspicks on all counts except the score -- I think it will merit an Outstanding rating, but not yet. Excellent now and should be better as the tannins integrate a bit further. Try again in 1 year.
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12/6/2011 - rickspicks wrote: 91 Points
Did not take notes, but consumed just yesterday. It has been about a year and half since I last tried this wine and it has certainly blossomed, mellowed and integrated during the intervening period. Ripe dark fruits, oak and earth on the nose and palate with a full body and a rich texture. Plenty of structure to match the rich fruit. Almost new world in style but with bordeaux roots. The merlot dominates the flavors, but the cabernet provides plenty of backbone.
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12/2/2011 - golfwine wrote: 89 Points
I don't think it's going out on a limb to surmise that this wine was obviously made with RP in mind. Possibly the deepest, darkest, black-purple color I've ever seen (reminded me of a Camenere); thick to the rim...and even sweetly fruited! I know!..it's French, though you'd be hard-pressed to peg it as such. I don't think I've had such a modern version of a Bordeaux since my so-loved, Chateau Charmail's of the 90's. I made the mistake of putting it through the vinturi, which made it somewhat disjointed and so it wasn't until the final glass that it came back into focus and revealed its true potential - rich, full & round with a finish that went on and on. I must be sure to refer back to these notes when I go to open my last bottle. (88-90)
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11/19/2011 - gven wrote: 88 Points
Opened 10 hours before drinking. Dark fruit, pepper and tannins. Very good and room for improvement.
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11/6/2011 - miadelt Likes this wine: 89 Points
Dark color. med to full body. enjoyed it.
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10/22/2011 - John O' wrote: 93 Points
Very powerful, even after a 2 hour airing. Dark fruit and lots of tannins. Still a baby
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10/22/2011 - Nutty08 wrote: 91 Points
Can't seem to lay off of these. Wonderful full nose of espresso, plum, currants, and a little cedar. Palate still showing some prominent tannins, but wonderful merlot/dark fruit profile, with acidity and spice. Medium finish. Modern in style as it is rather concentrated and moderate oak, but balanced. Drinking well but will improve over next decade.
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9/13/2011 - johnwine Likes this wine: 89 Points
Will continue to develop for another three years.
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9/4/2011 - wconnolly wrote: 88 Points
Deep purple color. Floral notes of lavender on the nose. Well balanced tannins with a nice balance of fruit flavors, chocolate and tobacco box reflecting the terroir. Drinking beautifully now, much better than a year ago but plenty of life left.
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9/3/2011 - ciesel wrote: 89 Points
decanted for several hours, and then had balance next day. came together very nicely. meduim bodied with deep complex flavor.
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8/21/2011 - GalvezGuy wrote: 89 Points
Popped and poured to check in. Nose of plum, cherry, black fruit, mocha, vanilla, earth. On the palate, black and red fruits, mocha, vanilla. Finishes with a wall of tannin. Lots to like here, definitely more of a sense of place than previous vintages. Excellent. Hold 2-3 more years. Nice upside on this.
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8/12/2011 - cadams wrote: 90 Points
Beautiful bouquet of blackberries, boysenberry, earthy minerality.
Much more integrated and smooth on the palate than my last bottle maybe time has helped.
Loads of minerality with the dark red and black fruits. Tannins are still grippy and should hold this together for a while yet. Definitely drinking well now but should get better with a few more years.
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7/25/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
From a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine offers aromas of jammy berries, coffee, black cherry and licorice scents. Round in texture, the wine finishes with ripe, chocolate and black cherry flavors.
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7/17/2011 - gcarl wrote: 91 Points
Part of a 19 bottle tasting, side by side with 2003 Havens Bouriquot. Very similar in style. Aeration helped both. I imagine this has a minimum of 4-5 years left. Wonderful transition over 3-4 hours, initially exposing dark black fruit, some cedar. After 2-3 hours, the alcohol had softened and there was more leather, graphite, and more fruit forward. Nice velvety palate feel. Wish I had more than 5 left in the cellar.
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7/11/2011 - CWilliam wrote: 91 Points
Excellent. Aerated into decanter and drank with grilled NY Strips one hour later. Dark black / red color (looks young). Black currant / graphite / cedar on nose. On palate, cassis, blackberry, touch of minerality. The fruit was surprisingly big for a Bordeaux but not out of balance. Medium+ body and long finish - good wine for CA Cab lovers to try. Will buy more.
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6/11/2011 - Jdog wrote: 90 Points
Tasted non blind against 2006 Tourelles de Longueville. The 2005 Reignac has a rich nose of burnt oak, black fruit and a little cedar. Lots of dark fruit on the palette, with good acidity and well integrated tannin. Good value for money and slightly more satisfying than the Tourelles - the better vintage shines through.
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5/28/2011 - ArtF wrote: 88 Points
I found this a little too sappy. Better after two hour decant or wait 3-5 years. Drank from .375.
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5/22/2011 - CabIsKing wrote: 92 Points
Nose is very nice with cedar, spice, currant and dark fruits. Its about the same except for a more lush mouthfeel and I think it filled out nice in the balance category. I really think this is drinking exceptionally well right now. It might be able to mellow out a little bit more on the finish because the alcohol is still a bit present. Drink this and try it if you have it. What a gem for the price.
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5/14/2011 - louisl wrote: 89 Points
Nice wine for the price. Quite tannic still, with some pretyt lush fruit for Bordeaux. The mid-palate is lacking a bit though, and I'm not quite sure how it will age once the bright fruit starts to dissipate. Will wait a little though for the next bottle to let the tannins mellow out.
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5/6/2011 - bullmrkt wrote: 91 Points
Consider me guilty of appellation snobbery, but I didn't expect this to be so good. Dark, glass coating violet with a slight transparent edge. The nose is wonderful bouquet de Bordeaux. The palate a medium-full bodied, balanced fruits and acid, tightly packed but smooth tannin, wholesome bdx experience. My only quibble is the chalky bone dry finish.. Great QPR, this really dogs quite a few much more expensive/reputable bdx's. While drinking well now, a couple years would melt some tannins, and there is plenty of life left. Now to 2020+
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3/30/2011 - kidsmurf2000 wrote: 91 Points
Another great bottle of the 2005 Reignac... this one is a bit more tannic and disjointed than the last, but still good stuff.
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3/5/2011 - theRealPepe Likes this wine:
Pretty much where I expected it to be at this time of it's life. Reticent nose of smoke and vanilla and hint of dark cherry fruit. Pretty closed on the palate, with surprisingly smooth tannin but muted cherry, smoke and oak on the palate. Potential to improve with time. Very Good.
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2/27/2011 - macker100 wrote: 88 Points
At BWC tasting. My #6, Group #6. I had high expectations for this right bank. Aromas were very prominent, with deep ripe cherries and chocolate. Black raspberries, liquorice, and some smoke are evident on fatter palate. Got some heat on this merlot as well, and acidity was not as strong as I would like. Finish had very nice length though. For those that prefer a richer Bordeaux
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2/27/2011 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Boerne Wine Club = Merlot and Cab Franc (Scenic Loop Cafe, San Antonio, TX): decanted 2 hrs prior. Needed lots of time before opening up with a lovely nose of licorice and cherry. Palate with plenty of ripe red fruits, prominent dusty tannins and nice acidity. Medium mocha finish. Nicely made bdx that will continue to improve.
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2/23/2011 - oakland.cory wrote: flawed
corked.
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2/22/2011 - toontune wrote: 88 Points
New world style
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2/3/2011 - njgolfer wrote: 88 Points
Palate: Initial PoP and drank over the span of 2 hours. To start, some tannins pronounced on the front of the palate that died off quickly. Over the 2 hours, the tannins mellowed and out came dark, black cherry and a hint of smoked peppers. Not sure this has the body to stand up to a whole lot more aging, but should get better for the next 3 - 5 years.
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2/3/2011 - Gunman wrote: 90 Points
Seems a bit closed down right now. Some black fruit, but kind of indistinct, especially on the nose. Getting some gravel and pencil lead on the palate, but there seems to be good fruit hiding in there. Nice chalky tannins. Really well structured, but needs some time to come alive. Looking forward to tasting second half of the bottle tonight, with some time/air to help it along. REDUX: Opened this again after a couple days under VacuVin. Nose is strong with roses. Crazy. Tannins have backed off. Palate is still black fruit and some violets. Weird that it's gone all floral after a couple days. Still very nice.
I originally discovered Reignac in 1999 when it was $14 a bottle. I stopped buying when it went north of $22. Found a deal recently and stocked up at $17. I've always liked this stuff, and wonder why US producers can't make a Merlot this brilliant at this price point.
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2/1/2011 - TashNYC wrote: 89 Points
Day 2: Lots of ceder and herbs, in lieu of the dark fruit. Still a good drink, but better on Day 1 (and perhaps best sometime in between Day 1 & Day 2).
Better with time
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1/31/2011 - TashNYC wrote: 90 Points
A wine with a lot of promise. The nose on this wine was just lovely. The taste was a little more restrained, but lots of likeable dark fruit, flowers and minerals.
Best after being opened for 4-5 hours (no decant). Ok with the decant (and not as good, to me, with the Vinturi). Just lovely with the roast leg of lamb leftovers
(infused with garlic slivers and herbs), that brought out the earth and herb tones in the wine. A better drink in a year.
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1/27/2011 - kidsmurf2000 wrote: 93 Points
Its hard to believe this isn't a classed growth... goes to show what's in a rating... its shed a lot of its rustic tanins, and is a full, diffused wine. Wet stone, earth, dark fruits. Fantastic.
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12/12/2010 - Jimdish25 wrote: 89 Points
I like where this wine is going. Poured from bottle 1/2 hr into a large drinking vessel. The nose was of cedar, dark fruits and floral overtones. Balanced, meaty with juicy and still dusty tannins, the wine is somewhat dry on the palate but clearly has the potential to evolve further in bottle. I'm glad I bought 6, sad I didn't grab a case. Paired with seasoned, grilled NY Strip Steaks at home. Great value but expecting much more in the next 5 years. I liked the 2000, and maybe just like the overall flavor profile of this wine. 91-93 potential.
4 Days later - the wine still holding up very well. Dark and rich, brooding with dry and dusty but fine tannins. Minerals and acid backbone evident but in balance. Give it 3 years to try next bottle. Nice.
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12/10/2010 - CabIsKing wrote: 91 Points
Same notes as last time. Still needs time to evolve in the bottle.
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11/28/2010 - TLR wrote: 92 Points
decanted 3 hours tasted blind against two other 05 St. Emillion's
Wine of the night matched perfectly with the beef burgundy dish
Nose was rich with cedar and blood along with spice
tast of stone, cherry and very balanced made this the perfect match for the food
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11/21/2010 - ListenToMeWine wrote: 88 Points
Dried cherry fruit, a bit austere and lean. Not bad for the price. Maybe I was off, as i didn't like it as much as others.
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11/5/2010 - beezer6 wrote: 87 Points
2006 Blind Tasting - Chateau Reignac v. Bordeaux First Growths (Wine Discount Center - Highland Park): Rusty with a touch of smoked meat on the nose.
Stewed cherries and clove with some leather and cigar.
The palate is shut down now and is a bit austere. Shorter tannic finish.
Rougher around the edges. May be in a dumb stage now. Hold.
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10/31/2010 - rasandler wrote: 90 Points
Still a winner in my book!
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10/18/2010 - joshwoodward wrote: 90 Points
Quite a solid wine, with enough ripeness but still lots of Bdx character. My big complaint is the mouthfeel - it feels gritty, like the dregs at the bottom of the bottle.
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10/6/2010 - golfwine wrote:
Day1: Black-purple to the rim! This is a seriously Modern-styled Bordeaux. The aromatics are all beef blood with a hint of crushed stone. At this stage, devoid of the expansive, pretty and almost floral aromatics of vintages past. Mouthfeel is extraordinarily unctuous and although the acidity is there, I'd have to conclude that it's primary at this stage; with saliva-zapping tannins, which I'm thinking might mellow with time. In conclusion, it's quite obvious that M. Rolland had his hand in the crafting of this wine. Think whole-cluster extended maceration. I'm drinking alone and sans a meal so, I'll have more to report tomorrow (with score).
Unfortunately, I didn't get back to this for 3 days and by then it had "pruned" a bit. And, although I can't know for sure, since the tannins were still very elevated, I'd have to say this one needs another year or two...minimum. Probably an 88 with the potential to be a 91.
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9/26/2010 - JN wrote: 91 Points
Scored in a blind tasting. Very impressive QPR.
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9/13/2010 - dsimmons wrote: 87 Points
Okay but nothing special. not good the second day.
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8/24/2010 - ArtF wrote: 90 Points
Drinkiable from .375 when popped and poured, but best after all day decant. Soft, furry tannins even after 10 hours in decanter. Sweet creme de cassis on palate, but slightly too creamy for me. At this point, good to enjoy on its own rather than with food.
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8/7/2010 - Button Yang Likes this wine: 95 Points
This wine will kill first growth GCC in bad vintages. The only drawback is the over-extracted tannin. Needs time.
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8/5/2010 - EGunderson wrote:
Harsh, don't open for a few years.
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8/3/2010 - Ekoostik wrote:
Hmmm,much much different for me tonight. Still has the deep dark fruit, but not accessible as last time. Tannin really clenched down hard and early. Only had one glas and will see what emerges on day 2. Still an impressive package of raw material here for $20.
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7/27/2010 - bluedog wrote: 91 Points
Still young, but really enjoyed this. Blackberry, cherry, plum - with a hint of tobacco.
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7/19/2010 - Javachip wrote: 89 Points
Intensely extracted purple-garnet-violet-black, staining the sides of the glass, not to mention my teeth. Bouquet of vanilla, bourbon, black licorice and blackberries. On the palate, obviously very young, but showing excellent structure. Tannins firm but polished. Seems likely to improve with age. 75% merlot, 25% cabernet sauvignon.
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7/10/2010 - cadams wrote: 88 Points
lots of plum on the nose and palette, very dry, needs a few years
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7/9/2010 - GrapeScott wrote: 91 Points
My third bottle in about 3 weeks (one badly corked, so I suppose that doesn't count). Popped and poured, and ready to go right out of the gate. Dark ruby with a very appealing and forward nose of mocha, blackberry and cassis. On the palate, typically bordeaux but with a modern twist. Some black olive to go with the black fruit and coffee notes. Firm but caressing tannins, full-bodied, with a long finish. Very well made and will probably drink well for another decade at least. Great QPR.
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6/28/2010 - team-blackburn wrote: 89 Points
Pretty good on day one and excellent by day 3
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6/20/2010 - mmcdds wrote: 90 Points
A really good $20 bordeaux. A fairly modern styled med to full bodied wine with cassis, black fruit and some leather tones with some firm chalky tannins on the finish. Drank this bottled without decanting, opened nicely after an hour or so in the glass.
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6/19/2010 - KevinS wrote: 88 Points
Really deep ruby color. Awesome dark cherry fruit on the nose. On the palate, however, a ton of oak intrudes on the fruit. While the attack is promising, the oak soon hijacks the midpalate and overpowers the finish with wood and anise. There's high pitched acidity here as well, which is off-putting for me. I'd call this one 88?, with upside if the oak integrates or if this is just in a bad place now, but I'm fearful the fruit never emerges...
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6/19/2010 - Grenik wrote: 89 Points
Decanted, rested for a couple hours, and then tasted without food. Color is a deep burgundy with constant hue all the way to the rim. Nose is nice, but not intense and it does not evolve well. More of an aroma, not a bouquet. Still, the smell is pleasant. The taste is weak at the beginning and builds throughout to a teeth tingling dry finish full of spice and lingering fruits (blackberry, plum). I wish the first part of the taste was more developed. The balance just is not there (yet?) for me. Still, it is a nice QPR for a wine that should continue to develop. Edit: Better, more mellow, the second day.
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6/10/2010 - rickspicks wrote:
Drinkable, but still very young. Mostly dark cherry & boysenberry on the nose. Rich, concentrated, fruit-forward flavors that match the nose, but still very primary and straightforward. Richly textured with a rough structure and a touch of bitterness on the finish. Needs lots of airtime right now and another 2+ years of age.
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6/1/2010 - Hazeo wrote: 89 Points
The nose of ripe fruit announcing that it is very much a new world bordeaux, which is confirmed by the sweet, with a tinge of candied-fruit on the palette. It is nicely concentrated and smooth with a certain polishness that punches above its designation. However, I'm not getting much complexity out of the wine beside the fruit ... I'm not getting much of the chocolate/meat/spice that other notes suggest. Finishes with a little bitterness and heat, as if it was trying a little too hard. A really good QPR to be sure, but does it really challenge the good classified growths for this vintage? Perhaps I should try this again blind before making any claims ...
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5/31/2010 - CabIsKing wrote: 91 Points
Very impressive. Nose of cedar, spice, black cherries and currant. Same in the mouth with a super silky feel and long finish. Great bang for the buck.
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5/16/2010 - rmsanz wrote: 92 Points
Great future for this wine. Began to open up as we neared the end of the bottle.
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5/1/2010 - dmalcolm wrote: 91 Points
Tasted very nice with one hour of air, and continued to improve. Firm tannins and dark fruits.
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4/23/2010 - nelsstromborg wrote: 88 Points
This wine calmed down significantly after being opened for awhile. The nose was very poor at open.
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4/18/2010 - Alex H wrote: 87 Points
WGS: 2005 Bordeaux; 4/17/2010-4/18/2010 (Hilton Hotel Singapore): Alc lifted hot boldy spicy currant fruit nose with hints of black leather. Quite sappy with powdery tannins. Mouthpuckering and it had reminded me of a Pauillac with its dark fruits and cassis. Just noting the alc heat at the moment. If not, this should have loads of potential to develp. This definitely needs time.
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4/1/2010 - WineScoundrel wrote: 92 Points
A rich, velvety, chocolate/roasted meat/dark berry MONSTER! A bit tight right now, but I was a fool not to buy a case of this stuff for $20 a pop. A FOOL!!! At $35, still the QPR of the vintage, IMO.
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3/29/2010 - Nutty08 wrote: 91 Points
This is a great bdx now and has the pedigree to improve. Initially quite closed, but opened some one night two, with the nose sowing blackberry and plum, subtle oak, and slight freshness. Palate was very concentrated and tannic, but not too terribly backwards with nice balanced b/t the acidity and fruit, retaining a freshness throughout. Mostly plum and currant flavors on the palate, wit licorice highlights, and plenty of toast and a lengthy dry fine tannic finish adding some spice, coffee, and roasted nuts. This has all the makings to be an exceptional wine in 5-10yrs, but can be enjoyed now by those who aren't bothered by the tannins. Will be trying to find more.
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3/29/2010 - evanbaines wrote:
A remarkably classy and sophisticated Bordeaux for the price. Purchased this wine after tasting it against the '06 1st Growths, and finding that it stood up rather well for a wine less than 1/20 of the price.
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3/26/2010 - wconnolly wrote: 88 Points
A great example of how good a modest wine from an outstanding vintage can be. Lots of fruit and a deep purple color. Still young though and rather tight. Thought this was a good value at $30 a year ago. Even better now at $20. Is bound to improve significantly over the next 5 to 10 years. Served 10 people with a tenderloin dinner prior to Wills bachelor party
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3/11/2010 - amateurwino wrote: 89 Points
Has a nice little bit of perfume on the nose; not fantastic on the palate right now. Has a creamy merlot mouthfeel but tastes a bit closed. Beautiful juicy nose with some dark notes thrown in though. Medium-bodied, showing toward merlot fruit. Not quite living up to some of the accolades thrown at this property on the wine boards, but I note it might be closed right now. Tasty for sure, though. 89-90
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3/1/2010 - D@vidsWine wrote:
I popped and poured this from 375 last night( I recommend a long decant though). Right off the bat, the nose was awesome showing sweet, dark fruits and some toasty notes. Over time, it developed prominent espresso and smoke aromas as well. The palate took more time to develop however. Initially it was light and the finish short but as this picked up weight, it became truly excellent. Smoke, dark fruits, and coffee were there along with big tannins and medium acidity. This wine has power yet grace. It was the best of my 05 Bordeaux QPRs so far. It's definitely a wine to be taken seriously in my opinion. ****
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2/13/2010 - soyhead wrote: 90 Points
nose - ripe dark fruit, cassis
mouth - bold, fruit forward and tannic as all get out. hold for years. not a casual sipper at this stage. pairs well with an M&M cookie.
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1/24/2010 - dmalcolm wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for 5 hours. Will benefit from more time, but approachable now. Lots of ripe fruits and spice with firm tannins. Did not improve on Day 2.
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1/15/2010 - subtlet wrote: 85 Points
Leaves, some barnyard notes, and a hint of cherry scents appear on the nose. Some enjoyable bright raspberry and plum flavors appear right out of the gate, and a firm structure shows up later on the palate. There is a nice cherry note way in the back as the finish sets in, but it's too disjointed on the mid palate for me. Maybe this will even out with time.
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1/2/2010 - signotim wrote: 90 Points
splash decanted and returned to bottle. surprisingly open on the nose - prune, earth, and cherry. palate is a little tight but silky with red fruit, cedar, and spice. solid wine to start the new year.
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12/25/2009 - BrooksT wrote: 89 Points
Really very good, some dark fruit and some spice. Opened nicely over two hours of decanting, though got some odd vegetal / bitter notes towards the end. 75% merlot, 25% cabernet sauvignon according to label.
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12/25/2009 - JavaMonkey wrote: 88 Points
Dark garnet red color. Nose has cassis, strawberry, and cedar. Medium bodied, tons of structure at this point. Nice, clean fruit, good balance. Should be very nice in a couple of years.
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12/6/2009 - milwaukeewino wrote:
Lots of vanilla. Lots of new fruit. But Bordeaux underneath it all.
Plenty of spice, full midpalate. Dark fruit.
Needs time. Also went well with beef bourguignon.
Really nice. Will be good to watch it age.
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12/1/2009 - Millercg68 wrote: 90 Points
Still wound tight. needs years
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11/28/2009 - the godfather wrote: 89 Points
Needs years to settle down
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11/27/2009 - JOsgood wrote: 89 Points
Young but plenty impressive right now. Big ripe fruits with a good dose of oak treatment. Nice texture. Will be a beauty with more time in the cellar.
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11/6/2009 - dmalcolm wrote: 90 Points
Found and purchased a few more of these. Decanted for an hour, but could have used several hours. Still fairly tannic, but enjoyable now. Medium to full bodied, dark purple colour, blackberries and plums. Great QPR, but don't buy any - save them for me!
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10/16/2009 - S. Lorin wrote: 92 Points
dense, full bodied and chunks and layers of dark fruit and chocolate - nice future ahead of it
for the price, there is no californian comparison - delicious
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10/8/2009 - Vinomarcus wrote: 89 Points
Very enjoyable, nice soft fruit, supple and round on the mouth, hints of pencil tips, good depth, turned a little tannic and harsh on the finish as it started to close down. Cellar for a few years and revisit.
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9/16/2009 - tkoby11 wrote:
WAY too young...2 days later and it was barely giving anything up!
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7/12/2009 - jkramer65 wrote: 91 Points
really approachable. could use a little age.
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6/21/2009 - Ekoostik wrote: 90 Points
Wow, not really what I was expecting from this 05 bdx. Upon opening it was so lush, fruit foward and really full of oak. I thought along the lines of a young Neal family cab ect, After a couple of hours the wines structure really showed through and clamped up quite a bit with tannin. Not a lot of french terrior here but a fun and good wine none the less. I'm thinking starts Neal finishes Dunn. Approachable now for a 2005 but need some short term cellaring.
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6/15/2009 - dmalcolm wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for 2 hours. Good concentration, full-bodied. Chocolate, dark fruits, and smoke. Enjoyed over several hours, and also the next day. The tannins softened a little, but not much. Glad I drank one now, but won't open another for at least 2-3 years.
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4/25/2009 - dke wrote: 90 Points
At a retailer tasting. Good meaty nose with sweet fruit and oak. Lots of dark chocolate and dark fruits on the palate. Very tannic and dense. Nice wine. 90-91-
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3/27/2009 - isdblm@lsu.edu wrote: 92 Points
Shared with A&H, this dark purple beauty coated the palate w blackberry and charcoal with one pour through the venturi. Getting better and better.
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3/6/2009 - vanpe003 wrote: 91 Points
I don't have a lot of experience with Bordeaux, but I would say this is the finest Bordeaux Superieur I have ever had. More often I describe them as a "luncheon wine". At a minimum, this is a "luncheon wine on steroids". But, more to the point, it is a very serious wine. A perfume note on the nose that I can't quite place. Palate is medium to medium heavy, good depth of fruit, and silky barring a tannic tightness on the finish. It'll be fun, with a case of this, to see how it evolves over the coming years. This wine does have a bit of the Rolland imprint on it, which for me is a good thing.
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2/19/2009 - AdamWallstein wrote: 90 Points
Tasted 2/13
Ok, this definitely needs some serious time. We decanted it for 4 and a half hours and the tannins were still quite fierce. Quite a bit of nice flavor to look forward to though...
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2/16/2009 - cormyr wrote: 92 Points
huge wine. time is the only resolution for this concoction. dense smoked meats and thick black fruit. decant for days or enjoy in 10-20 years
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2/16/2009 - bltmd wrote: 90 Points
Decanted 24 hours. Beautiful dark purple. Pencil, earth, a bit of dark fruit and smoke on the nose, but tasted outside in front of the fireplace, so hard to say about that last part. Strong tannins dominated, though some blackberry came through toward the end.
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2/12/2009 - AdamWallstein wrote: 90 Points
Certainly not yet ready to drink... dark purple/black color. Nose has dark fruit, charcoal and pencil. In the mouth the tannins are still quite fierce and the fruit comes in and goes out. When it's in there, this is quite delicious. Needs some time, or at least several hours of decanting...
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1/13/2009 - Vino Me wrote: 90 Points
Retailer tasting. This wine was on par with the fine 200 vintage. Purple red color. Surprisingly multilayered for beign so young. Herbal, pencil shavings and raw meat. much of the fruit is hidden at this stage. Dry finish. 90 points.
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1/11/2009 - isdblm@lsu.edu wrote: 91 Points
Still needing a good bit of time, but very good--tasted this time after 2 hours aeration, and after a beautiful glass of '04 las Cases. Didn't come up to the las Cases, but still showed itself highly drinkable.
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12/29/2008 - milwaukeewino wrote:
Purple, almost opaque.
Fairly intense nose of red and black fruit. Fairly dark, dense nose. Cedar and spice notes.
On the palate, fairly plush with lots of tannic structure in the background.
Young, well-balanced, well put together - should go 5-8 years.
Very dark and dense.
As it went on I found it a touch hollow in the mid-palate. Growing tannins.
Compared to La Roche (drunk together) this is much better.
This is really, really good. Drinks way past its price (purchased en primeur).
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12/15/2008 - profiler54 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 90 minutes - probably needed 4 hours.. Very dense color and nice blackberry and smokiness on the nose ... This wine was dense and tannic and very tight.. seems to have the stuffing and will have a great aging potential...
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12/13/2008 - isdblm@lsu.edu wrote: 93 Points
Needs a good 4 hours to drink at all--but awfully good in the second day.
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11/30/2008 - isdblm@lsu.edu wrote: 90 Points
Will be fine, but very tight now. Tight but fruit detectable over pronounced tannins after 4 hours aeration. Two days later, after sitting air-tight under stopper, still good but beginning to fade, with a slight detection of vinegar. In it's time, it bodes to be beautiful.
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11/18/2008 - dsimmons wrote: 89 Points
Very nice .. better the second day. Fruit and graphite on the palate. a bit muted. soft tannin.
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11/15/2008 - the godfather wrote:
what an absolute beast, tight as any wine I've ever tasted
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10/13/2008 - Brsed wrote: 89 Points
Deep, dark color. Nose of berries and flowers. Fruit forward with soft tannins. Long finish but a little one dimensional. Fine now but should get better with a little age.
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10/1/2008 - gotapex wrote: 88 Points
Tight, tannic, and dominated by earth.
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9/21/2008 - jim dixon wrote:
Intense, not complex, and not currently very pleasant. Perhaps time will allow this to bloom. Update: by day three this has improved. If you've got 'em, hold 'em.
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9/20/2008 - chitowncdpguy wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 6 hours.
Dark opaque purple in the glass. Nose of intense dark fruit, cigar box, and smoke. More fruit on the palate, so intense it's almost jammy. Crisp acidity and massively tannic. Hard to assess the finish because of the tannins as they just dominate the palate after a bit.
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9/5/2008 - ews3 wrote: 90 Points
dark cherry and other black fruit (plum, blackberry) dominates this brooding wine -- strong tannins that should round out nicely with some bottle age
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8/6/2008 - D.Callahan wrote: 90 Points
Started out a little closed. Opened up slightly with time decanted but it is still very young and tannic. Should age nicely.
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6/21/2008 - ciesel wrote:
Descriptions to wait are dead on. Some fruit taste, prune?, immediately upon opening, hour to two hours later very astingent, complety shut down. Wait at least another five years.
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6/5/2008 - winenewb068 wrote: 88 Points
Opened this last night and drank a few glasses, then corked and came back to it today. Last night it was a touch lighter, but still had the requisite dark fruits. There was not an abundance of tannin/alcohol, at least compared to today. It was actually quite pleasant to drink. On day 2, it's actually much more tannic and the alcohol is more noticeable. All in all, a nice value for under $25. Would try again. I'm not surprised to see the wine is consulted on by Michel Rolland, given the big ripe fruit.
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5/18/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 90 Points
nose: nice and floral with some vanilla, black berry, smoke, dark cherry, and coffee tones. It's still fairly tight though as the flavors come and go(it should be noted that this was opened at my store's tasting two days ago and has been sitting with a cork in it since)
taste: lots of tannins still a couple days later with black berry, smoke, coffee and floral tones
overall: still a very tannic wine, its taken a while of swirling in the glass to open up. This is really great now after it has taken a while to open up, and will need some good laying down. Nice lush attack with a good black berry finish. The mid palate is lacking a bit because of the tannins, but this is a outstanding wine now and will be tremendous when it finally opens up
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5/13/2008 - ksmith wrote: 90 Points
Very tight -- needs time. Plenty of fruit and graphite, should come together nicely in 5 years.
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4/30/2008 - cormyr wrote: 92 Points
this is a huge wine. inky opaque black. floral nose, giant backbone, high alcohol, big sweet ripe fruit. black raspberry and vanilla with oak, minerals, gobs of ripe tannins and long bitter, almost astringent finish. the only thing lacking is time in the cellar. this will drink well for at least 2 decades.
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4/5/2008 - rmodak wrote: 91 Points
This is super young and dense. Black cherry, lavish oak, minerals and chewy graphite tinged palate with hugely tannic finish. Like a California Petite Sirah. I can only imagine this will get better as it mellows and should last 20 years.
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3/7/2008 - NineteenEightyTwo wrote: 85 Points
Medium intensity of aromas, if a bit one-dimensional. Modest concentration, with noticeable but not astounding fruit, spice and earth flavors. Still one of the best values in Bordeaux, but not as much of an overachiever as in the 2003 vintage.
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3/4/2008 - Paul Lin wrote: 89 Points
Salil nailed this wine. See his tasting note below. 89-90.
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2/26/2008 - gbauer wrote:
Obviously way too young, but I opened one of these to see if 1) I should buy more at a better price 2) the fact that a couple of them looked like leakers had yet affected quality. This one, which showed clear evidenced of leakage, tasted fine. Not sure how much it will affect it over time. Very young and tannic right now, but with lots of blue and dark red fruit which should last beyond/with the tannin. Good potential -- at this price (~$18) I decided to buy more.
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2/17/2008 - the godfather wrote: 92 Points
fabulous dense chewy wine, huge and complex and ridiculously young, killer qpr
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1/16/2008 - Redline325 wrote: 89 Points
Opened and poured into decanter. First half hour the wine was unapproachable, fierce tannins. After an hour it was drinkable but still very tannic. Nice fruit on the nose but it didn't make it through to palate. Wine seemed new world, reminded me of several Chilean wines I've had recently. Wouldn't try this again for years.
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12/28/2007 - Lou Ferreira wrote:
Picked this up at the local Costco for $22.99 and consumed over 2 1/2 days.
I was super curious to taste a 05 bdx but this was very unforgiven and no fun to drink young!
Day 1: Pop and pour -- very dark purple color with some faint blackbery on the nose and quite a bit of alcohol.
The palate was very dense, extracted, extremely tanic and astringent.
After aprox 30 mins this wine closed down completely and there was no discernible fruit on the nose and palate.
I put a cork on the bottle and stuck it in the fridge.
Day 2: Much better nose with some blackberries, vanilla, cinamon and spices.
This wine was still fiercely tanic and very hard to drink.
I can see the potential here but I was overwhelmed by the massive tanins.
For now, I'll let my remaining bottles sleep for a long while hoping the tanins will soften and integrate.
IMO, this will take at least 10 years to become drinkable and enjoyable.
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12/7/2007 - Nanda wrote:
Drank over two days. Day one very tight and hard. Showed somewhat better after 4 hours in the decanter, but still not offering much. Day two was better - with currant fruit, spice, graphite and toast. But still tight with tannins clamping down the fruit and offering a bitterness in the finish. Pedigree is there - I can see this softening into a 90-92 point wine - but way too closed right now. A sign to come with 2005 BDX?
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12/3/2007 - salil wrote: 90 Points
Dark, inky purple colour. This was hard to drink on the first day - incredibly dense and not showing much other than a lot of oak and some dark fruits with firm, astringent tannins.
After a day in the fridge this has become far more accessible with the nose showing rich blackberries, plums, cherries, smoke and toasty flavours with a faint floral note underneath. Palate is dense and concentrated with sweet dark fruits and low acidity. Tannins are still quite prominent (although not as astringent as earlier), particularly on the finish. Definitely needs time - this was far better on the second day. Serious QPR at $18.
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