10 minuets from bottle uncorked: Tight and thin from, but immediately aromatic - 16.5C having quickly warmed in the glass from cellar temperature. Remainder decanted.
Immediately fruit laden nose; raspberries and blackcurrant, fresh menthol, and mint. Very dry.
15minuites: initial tight sharpness relaxed to dry fresh vibrant cedar with sweet mint. Mint more defined and rounded with time.
Plus 90 minutes: subdued to a muted cedar and mild savoury palette. Muted minty nose.
Plus 120: Combined and complete. Resolved to dry, slightly acidic, chewable mouthfeel. Earthiness, and savoury with blueberry and suggestion of light Toffee.
Open and pour for enjoyable berry fruit freshness. Decant for earthy, savoury texture.
Would accompany a good soft white cheese, or goat cheese. Roasted or pan prepared venison or lamb.
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Pop and pour. Classic Bordeaux nose s of forest floor, mushroom, musty fruit. Right out of the bottle and a bit too cold, this is much more heavily weighted towards fruit vs structure.
Two hrs after pulling the cork the nose is largely unchanged and the profile is still tighter and heavier than I'd have expected.
As others note i see lots of nice potential here, making this very reasonable buy $28-35
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I drank the bottle over two days. On the first day, full-bodied and powerful indeed. On day 2, it turned bitter and was not that enjoyable. Overall, a wine I'm glad I have tried and that I won't buy again.
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Enjoy with good friends. Full body, sweet, ripe fruit, oak, espresso and dark cherry nose. Solid and powerful wine. Very good balance. It is ready to drink now, great value!
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Wine Advocate-Parker : The 2015 la Tour Carnet is medium garnet-purple in color and has an earthy nose with red and black fruits and floral notions. The medium-bodied palate has plenty of energy with a great core of pure red and black fruits plus approachable tannins and nice freshness on the finish.
Starting to show some tertiary notes of forest floor and mushroom, but still a good amount of primary fruit. Well balanced, not a lot of noticeable oak.
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Very fragrant bouquet of ripe red and blue berries, earthy, black licorice, toasted spices, hints of salty minerals and leather. Good density and depth but it remained gentle and elegant. For the first hour, it is a bit tight on the palate. Once opened, the plush merlot fruits filled the plummy mid-palate with Cabernet providing the robust structure and depth for further aging. Medium to full bodied. Transitions from entry to finish is already quite seamless. Finish is still somewhat tannic and dry for now. Let this sleep for a while more and it should bloom beautifully over the next 5 years and many more years thereafter.
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Possibly in full reduction phase now. Very dark, almost impenetrable on the palate, with fresh dark berries, massive roasted, herbal, mentholic and earthy aromas and the typical youth vanilla in the background. Judging by the (unsurprisingly) very present tannins you better forget this bottle somewhere in your cellar for another 10 years and hope that it follows the law of this otherwise excellent vintage.
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Bu en succ. Une valeur sure avec un prix encore honnête. Fruit primaire et tanins charnus. Finale longue et persistante. Très bon, voir excellent avec quelques années dans le corps!
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Very young, albeit with rather soft tannins. Currently offering a lot of primary (red berries) and secondary (French oak) aromas. This Grand Cru Classé should improve over the next 8-10 years and reach its peak around 2023-2025. Cellar or decant for at least 2-3 hours.
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From a half, tasted over two days, and next to a 2014 vintage bottle. Clearly from the same place as the 2014, though compared to it, this did not show as well. And, this assessment is not based on excessive power, reticence, or edginess, none of which were present.
A solid wine, typical of varieties in place. Quite ripe, and thus not showing the power typical of this Chateau. Might it add power and weight, turning more traditional? Certainly. Would I expect it to? No.
Much better from the bottle than from the barrel, the round textured, forward wine provides a plummy, licorice, espresso and dark cherry nose. Polished, lush, ripe fruits, licorice and espresso complete the experience.
Quite sweet with red fruit and showing some new oak. Somewhat Californian in that sense, though much more minerally. Enjoyable but not a notable wine. Appropriately priced at $40 USD, though for a better value and more traditional BDX consider 2014 or 2015 Cantemerle also located in Haut Medoc.
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A light bodied 2015 with cherry and licorice flavors. I wouldn't lay any down in the cellar, but it may be enjoyable if found on a wine list in 3-5 years. The tannins are grippy. Overall unbalanced.
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Union Des Grand Crus de Bordeaux Tasting of the 2015 Vintage, blend of 60% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, nose of cigar box, cherry fruit, and earth, same on the palate, medium body, tasty, ready to enjoy now with a two hour decant, and over the next eight years, rich fruit, tasty, touch simple, and a medium/long finish.
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Fresh, bright, fairly clean again but on the herbal, mineral end of the spectrum. Yes, it is sitting between the open-hearted loveliness of a barrel sample and the presence of a wine that has been in bottle for a few years, but this is not particularly compelling.
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New packaging since 2013, very nice big shoulder bottles. The 2015 is balanced, it's body is masculine, and it's body is somewhat muscular. You could say it's like a cross trainer with cut muscles, not too strong but quick and agile. Going by Jeffs tasting note it could be a dark flavored person. ;)
Anyway, big improvement over older vintages. The wine is a lot more precise, and easier to approach, with a good balance. Can be drunk young or old
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With 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, the wine is full bodied, showing espresso bean, smoke, licorice, vanilla, spice and black cherries. Round, open and flashy, the wine finishes with dark chocolate and spicy, dark red fruits. 87 - 89 Pts
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3/5/2024 - BiglyBron Likes this wine: 92 Points
Ever excellent.
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2/3/2024 - BiglyBron Likes this wine: 91 Points
10 minuets from bottle uncorked: Tight and thin from, but immediately aromatic - 16.5C having quickly warmed in the glass from cellar temperature. Remainder decanted.
Immediately fruit laden nose; raspberries and blackcurrant, fresh menthol, and mint. Very dry.
15minuites: initial tight sharpness relaxed to dry fresh vibrant cedar with sweet mint. Mint more defined and rounded with time.
Plus 90 minutes: subdued to a muted cedar and mild savoury palette. Muted minty nose.
Plus 120: Combined and complete. Resolved to dry, slightly acidic, chewable mouthfeel. Earthiness, and savoury with blueberry and suggestion of light Toffee.
Open and pour for enjoyable berry fruit freshness. Decant for earthy, savoury texture.
Would accompany a good soft white cheese, or goat cheese. Roasted or pan prepared venison or lamb.
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6/27/2023 - davidandrose wrote:
Pop and pour. Classic Bordeaux nose s of forest floor, mushroom, musty fruit.
Right out of the bottle and a bit too cold, this is much more heavily weighted towards fruit vs structure.
Two hrs after pulling the cork the nose is largely unchanged and the profile is still tighter and heavier than I'd have expected.
As others note i see lots of nice potential here, making this very reasonable buy $28-35
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6/3/2023 - benjiz Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Medium+ grenat. Blackberry, Cherry confit, vanilla. Medium- intensity. Sugar 0 body 6 acidity 6 tannin 7 (harsh) alcohol 13.5 length 3s.
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11/25/2022 - boillatm wrote: 89 Points
I drank the bottle over two days. On the first day, full-bodied and powerful indeed. On day 2, it turned bitter and was not that enjoyable.
Overall, a wine I'm glad I have tried and that I won't buy again.
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10/24/2022 - Khon Kaen Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drank without decanting. Very pleasant and very full-bodied. Still young now but drinkable.
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9/26/2022 - Khon Kaen Likes this wine: 90 Points
Similar as my previous note.
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9/22/2022 - Khon Kaen Likes this wine: 90 Points
Enjoy with good friends. Full body, sweet, ripe fruit, oak, espresso and dark cherry nose. Solid and powerful wine. Very good balance. It is ready to drink now, great value!
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5/28/2022 - Mortenhdahl wrote: 90 Points
Udmærket og drikkeklar
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5/20/2022 - Khon Kaen Likes this wine: 90 Points
Wine Advocate-Parker :
The 2015 la Tour Carnet is medium garnet-purple in color and has an earthy nose with red and black fruits and floral notions. The medium-bodied palate has plenty of energy with a great core of pure red and black fruits plus approachable tannins and nice freshness on the finish.
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11/10/2021 - Jvskinn wrote: 93 Points
Starting to show some tertiary notes of forest floor and mushroom, but still a good amount of primary fruit. Well balanced, not a lot of noticeable oak.
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3/24/2020 - Psdycp wrote: 92 Points
Very fragrant bouquet of ripe red and blue berries, earthy, black licorice, toasted spices, hints of salty minerals and leather. Good density and depth but it remained gentle and elegant. For the first hour, it is a bit tight on the palate. Once opened, the plush merlot fruits filled the plummy mid-palate with Cabernet providing the robust structure and depth for further aging. Medium to full bodied. Transitions from entry to finish is already quite seamless. Finish is still somewhat tannic and dry for now. Let this sleep for a while more and it should bloom beautifully over the next 5 years and many more years thereafter.
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10/27/2019 - CarpeDiem! wrote: 89 Points
Possibly in full reduction phase now. Very dark, almost impenetrable on the palate, with fresh dark berries, massive roasted, herbal, mentholic and earthy aromas and the typical youth vanilla in the background. Judging by the (unsurprisingly) very present tannins you better forget this bottle somewhere in your cellar for another 10 years and hope that it follows the law of this otherwise excellent vintage.
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6/19/2019 - justkeeprunin' wrote: 91 Points
a good effort - obviously too young now
good potential, drink after 10+ years
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5/22/2019 - maxima wrote: 89 Points
Bu en succ.
Une valeur sure avec un prix encore honnête.
Fruit primaire et tanins charnus.
Finale longue et persistante.
Très bon, voir excellent avec quelques années dans le corps!
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10/24/2018 - Francois Le Mouel wrote: 90 Points
Very young, albeit with rather soft tannins. Currently offering a lot of primary (red berries) and secondary (French oak) aromas. This Grand Cru Classé should improve over the next 8-10 years and reach its peak around 2023-2025. Cellar or decant for at least 2-3 hours.
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6/16/2018 - rossi.wine wrote: 89 Points
Ripe fruit, oak, spices. Not very complex on the palate. Grippy tannins, good acidity. A little angular, decent length. 88-90
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3/22/2018 - Motz wrote: 90 Points
From a half, tasted over two days, and next to a 2014 vintage bottle. Clearly from the same place as the 2014, though compared to it, this did not show as well. And, this assessment is not based on excessive power, reticence, or edginess, none of which were present.
A solid wine, typical of varieties in place. Quite ripe, and thus not showing the power typical of this Chateau. Might it add power and weight, turning more traditional? Certainly. Would I expect it to? No.
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3/19/2018 - Collector1855 wrote: 92 Points
Bordeaux 2015 in bottle (Zurich Arvi / Singapore UGCB): A lovely wine, lots of forest notes, with blackberry, good mid mouth volume. Tannins could be a touch finer.
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3/12/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 Points
Much better from the bottle than from the barrel, the round textured, forward wine provides a plummy, licorice, espresso and dark cherry nose. Polished, lush, ripe fruits, licorice and espresso complete the experience.
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2/21/2018 - AWBryce wrote:
Brine, northern rhone nose, earthy; Reminded me of a hermitage. Enjoyable, but not typical of the region.
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2/5/2018 - Zweder wrote: 90 Points
UGCB 2015 tasting (Amsterdam): Somewhat perfumed and smoky. Juicy fruits and acidity. Pleasant touch of sweetness. Beautiful and harmonious wine. 90+
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2/5/2018 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 90 Points
Amsterdam UGCB Tasting and Winemakers' Dinner (Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky / Café De Klepel): Tasting, brief note. Very Magrez in style, sweet fruit, easy but attractive.
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1/29/2018 - aero Likes this wine: 90 Points
Quite sweet with red fruit and showing some new oak. Somewhat Californian in that sense, though much more minerally. Enjoyable but not a notable wine. Appropriately priced at $40 USD, though for a better value and more traditional BDX consider 2014 or 2015 Cantemerle also located in Haut Medoc.
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1/27/2018 - Lipsman wrote: 88 Points
A light bodied 2015 with cherry and licorice flavors. I wouldn't lay any down in the cellar, but it may be enjoyable if found on a wine list in 3-5 years. The tannins are grippy. Overall unbalanced.
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1/25/2018 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 88 Points
Union Des Grand Crus de Bordeaux Tasting of the 2015 Vintage, blend of 60% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, nose of cigar box, cherry fruit, and earth, same on the palate, medium body, tasty, ready to enjoy now with a two hour decant, and over the next eight years, rich fruit, tasty, touch simple, and a medium/long finish.
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1/25/2018 - kmacSF wrote: 90 Points
Brick Color. Delightful crescendo into baking spice and coriander.
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11/2/2017 - PanosKakaviatos wrote: 88 Points
Assessing Bordeaux 2015 from bottle, part I; 11/2/2017-11/3/2017 (Bordeaux): There is lots of fruit here but the oak factor overwhelms... It depends on what style you seek because it has substance. I prefer wines like Belgrave over this one, but you pays your money and you takes your choice.
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10/24/2017 - englishman's claret wrote: 87 Points
Fresh, bright, fairly clean again but on the herbal, mineral end of the spectrum. Yes, it is sitting between the open-hearted loveliness of a barrel sample and the presence of a wine that has been in bottle for a few years, but this is not particularly compelling.
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6/21/2016 - Monkeygrape Likes this wine: 90 Points
New packaging since 2013, very nice big shoulder bottles. The 2015 is balanced, it's body is masculine, and it's body is somewhat muscular. You could say it's like a cross trainer with cut muscles, not too strong but quick and agile. Going by Jeffs tasting note it could be a dark flavored person. ;)
Anyway, big improvement over older vintages. The wine is a lot more precise, and easier to approach, with a good balance. Can be drunk young or old
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4/26/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 88 Points
With 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, the wine is full bodied, showing espresso bean, smoke, licorice, vanilla, spice and black cherries. Round, open and flashy, the wine finishes with dark chocolate and spicy, dark red fruits. 87 - 89 Pts
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