A beautiful showing. Balanced and fresh. Dark fruits and good complexity. Was a bit circumspect with the blend (Merlot driven) but very positively surprised.
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Such a good wine, particularly for the price point. At 11 years old this is just cruising along beautifully, smells of blackberries and cedar, some plummy notes as well. Integrated palate, tannins nicely framing without dominating, great length and balance overall. Same blackberry flavours, maybe tea and slight hint of cloves, all meshes beautifully together. Great stuff from Blue Poles.
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Screwcap. Dark red with fuchsia hints. Some light bricking at rim.
Captivating nose with regional aromas of blackcurrant, bay, wet gravel and lots of menthol. Cedar oak notes play a supportive role, as do the redcurrant and chocolate top notes.
Not giving much away on the palate until it has seen extended breathing. The wine retains a lot of drying tannin on the short-ish finish. Much more supple, and gently fruit-filled, on Day 5.
Opinion: Good value for money. Demanding air and likely a few more years of ageing to soften and flesh out.
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1 hour decant and this is just singing. It just glides over the tongue. Clean silky bay leaf, five spice and red currant. A hint of tobacco creeping in with age and a long finish of solid silky tannin. Some anise and spice in the end and acid profile that wants you to drink it. It has a vigour but a sense of completeness also. It's in a great place, with a decant, so guessing it will peak in the next few years. I like it now.
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Wasn’t huge on this on the first night. But the sealed half bottle drunk a few days later was much better. It had opened up noticeably. It’s quite a rich wine; the merlot seems to play a leading role here. Medium bodied, darkish red in colour. A fair bit of reduction initially, which blows off over time. Sour plums and some red fruit, bayleaf and dried herbs. Highly pitched acid profile and a long, crisp and dry finish punctuated by aniseed. Another five years at least for this to reach where it’s heading. Decant if drinking now.
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Gooseberry, bay leaf, char grilled capsicum. Missing some cab franc nuances. Dusty tannins and vanilla oak on the finish. I was hoping for a wine in the style of a right bank Bordeaux, but it seems the warm vintage has dominated the wine.
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Classic Right-bank Bordeaux blend: 74% merlot and 26% cab franc. I'm usually a left-bank style cab sauv drinker, but this is nice. Floral and fruity nose, with a medium+ body of plums and red berries, sweet yet at the same time underlined with gravelly tannins. Long finish with spice and some oak. Zesty acidity. Looks like this has good cellaring potential. 5-10 years is claimed on the label. Will be interesting to see how this develops.
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At 5 years old this still feels young. There is a lot happening here. Elements of tobacco and licorice, perhaps a little jubey. It is quite fresh but has significant body and tannin. Also not shy with acidity and there is a strong line though to a long finish.
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10/7/2023 - Julian B Likes this wine: 95 Points
Glorious.
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3/15/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine: 93 Points
A beautiful showing. Balanced and fresh. Dark fruits and good complexity. Was a bit circumspect with the blend (Merlot driven) but very positively surprised.
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3/4/2022 - deverett wrote: 93 Points
Such a good wine, particularly for the price point. At 11 years old this is just cruising along beautifully, smells of blackberries and cedar, some plummy notes as well. Integrated palate, tannins nicely framing without dominating, great length and balance overall. Same blackberry flavours, maybe tea and slight hint of cloves, all meshes beautifully together. Great stuff from Blue Poles.
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3/23/2021 - mphatic wrote:
Screwcap. Dark red with fuchsia hints. Some light bricking at rim.
Captivating nose with regional aromas of blackcurrant, bay, wet gravel and lots of menthol. Cedar oak notes play a supportive role, as do the redcurrant and chocolate top notes.
Not giving much away on the palate until it has seen extended breathing. The wine retains a lot of drying tannin on the short-ish finish. Much more supple, and gently fruit-filled, on Day 5.
Opinion: Good value for money. Demanding air and likely a few more years of ageing to soften and flesh out.
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8/1/2020 - A_Steady Likes this wine: 91 Points
A bit over 12 months since my last one of these, very nice, balanced, long finish, no rush
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2/16/2020 - Julian B Likes this wine: 94 Points
Another beautiful bottle of Allouran.
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8/3/2019 - GD77 Likes this wine: 96 Points
1 hour decant and this is just singing. It just glides over the tongue. Clean silky bay leaf, five spice and red currant. A hint of tobacco creeping in with age and a long finish of solid silky tannin. Some anise and spice in the end and acid profile that wants you to drink it. It has a vigour but a sense of completeness also. It's in a great place, with a decant, so guessing it will peak in the next few years. I like it now.
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5/11/2019 - DanielJH wrote: 93 Points
Wasn’t huge on this on the first night. But the sealed half bottle drunk a few days later was much better. It had opened up noticeably. It’s quite a rich wine; the merlot seems to play a leading role here. Medium bodied, darkish red in colour. A fair bit of reduction initially, which blows off over time. Sour plums and some red fruit, bayleaf and dried herbs. Highly pitched acid profile and a long, crisp and dry finish punctuated by aniseed. Another five years at least for this to reach where it’s heading. Decant if drinking now.
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8/18/2018 - Ksanti wrote:
Better bottle. Needs 3-4 years. Or a decent decant
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3/25/2017 - Ksanti wrote:
Deep ruby tinged with brown.
On the nose: plum, cigar , 5 spices (subtle) , earthy notes.
On palate: Nice oak interweaving gently. Very ripe plum (quite dominant), cherry notes.
very smooth in mouth with lovely acidity. tannins integrated.
Not sure whether it was effected by cellaring conditions. I found it a bit flat through the middle. merlot fwd.
Hoping it was bottle variation, as I have a few more to go!
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11/19/2016 - majamke Likes this wine: 90 Points
Gooseberry, bay leaf, char grilled capsicum. Missing some cab franc nuances. Dusty tannins and vanilla oak on the finish. I was hoping for a wine in the style of a right bank Bordeaux, but it seems the warm vintage has dominated the wine.
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9/7/2016 - AnonymousCoward Likes this wine: 90 Points
Classic Right-bank Bordeaux blend: 74% merlot and 26% cab franc. I'm usually a left-bank style cab sauv drinker, but this is nice. Floral and fruity nose, with a medium+ body of plums and red berries, sweet yet at the same time underlined with gravelly tannins. Long finish with spice and some oak. Zesty acidity. Looks like this has good cellaring potential. 5-10 years is claimed on the label. Will be interesting to see how this develops.
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7/8/2016 - paulf wrote: 93 Points
At 5 years old this still feels young. There is a lot happening here. Elements of tobacco and licorice, perhaps a little jubey. It is quite fresh but has significant body and tannin. Also not shy with acidity and there is a strong line though to a long finish.
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