Wonderful Bordeaux blend. Open with a big bouquet of spice, gentle wisps of cedar and touches of eucalyptus. Fruit galore on the palate. Boysenberry, spice and subtle earthy tones. Full bodied with a layered finish.
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Deep ruby rich color. Tight earthy nose, plums, mushrooms too. Tightly knit on the palate where the plum and earth shine. Tannins are a tad overpowering now but aside from that, a silky long finish. Pretty wine and a few more years may present a jewel.
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Nose: sweet thick cherry, scorched earth mixed with barrel char, floral dung. Palate: Oak makes a quick appearance and then fades to a robust fruit-forward palate of barely ripe mixed berries (raspberry, blackberry and blueberry), barely tart red plum; sweet tobacco; heavily polished tannins and good acidity. Day two, the nose picks up some nice dark chocolate covered cherry notes. Overall, pretty straightforward one-note wine.
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Dark reddish-purple garnet in color. Full, forward & fragrant nose of ripe fruits aromas of dark cherries, blackberries & cassis with overtones of floral notes of violets & dusty/earthy notes, spices, cocoa, coffee, tobacco, minerals & vanilla/oak. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blackberries & plums with herbs, minerals, spices & vanilla/oak. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting & extended airing but should develop further with additional aging at which time it may merit a higher score. An indicative blend of 45% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot & 1% Cabernet Franc.
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Decanter Fine Wine Encounter (The Landmark, London): medium minus intensity aromas of blackcurrant, sweet spice, a little graphite. Juicy, fleshy, lots of woody, chalky tannins…in fact too much (currently) for the fruit. Alcohol warmth on the finish.
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After my first bottle being oddly flawed (not rancid, just very bitter) I was afraid to drink this one worried my case was a bad purchase. But it actually is quite good. Lots of grip, good fruit though maybe a bit more to the oaky/smokey side than I usually like. I think with age it will show quite well so now I am glad for that case.
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Will need to try a second bottle, hopefully this was off somehow. Nose was nice but upon tasting there was immediate bitterness That lingered enough for me to ignore the finish. Enough tannins to make me feel like the Cyrptkeeper. Will report back after bottle 2 next week
Edit: Bottle was definitely flawed. Not sure how, it wasn't corked or rancid, it was just very bitter. Second bottle still showed a slap of tannins but definitely tasted like wine should
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Blasphemy opening this wine , but at least it's not fully opened because I used a coravin.
Beautiful floral aromas with hints of plum, cassis and oak . Palate is wonderful & balanced with herbs, black cherry, plum, cassis, oak, red fruit, graphite & violet.
This will be a fantastic & elegant wine in five years,right now the tannins are tight and dry. But I still had the urge to just pour out the full bottle, that's because it's nice & supple just before the tannins reminds you it's not. Definitely will grab a few more
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Just wow for $30. pop, decant, and pour. Extreme concentration. Violets and lilacs. Frame of medium plus tannin and acidity. Luscious blackberry and Crème de cassis. Earl grey tea, pencil lead, black coffee. Buy it up. Heading back to buy more if there is any left.
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Primary and jammy, a Margaux smoothie. Blueberry and boysenberry jam, oak polish and creme de cassis, the latter in dessert supply. When (and if) this emerges from its primordial cocoon, it will be very special.
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Similarly awful as the same vintage Phélan Ségur, with the main flaws reversed. The St. Estèphe features heavy oak treatment and ridiculous extraction. This Margaux, features offensive oak treatment and heavy extraction.
There is no sense of place here. This is not built for the long haul. The clinching, chalky, greenish bite at the back, and throughout the finish, is not tannic structure. It is the result of overpowering wood tannin and very heavy extraction.
More power to all who find pleasure in such artificial monoliths. Bordeaux aficionados should avoid this. Choke down any time. It took me three days to do, as I hoped for any redeeming quality to reveal itself. None emerged. A spectacular waste of pure Margaux fruit.
P.S. Just read that WE designated this its WOTY. Really!? Yuck!!!
I have probably had this 5 times one bottle had a tainted cork so back to costco. I hate to say for 30 bucks you should buy 2 cases or more but yeah buy all you can. Definition of QPR! Excellent wine with great fruit, solid mid palate. Black and red fruits but due to scheduling issues the last bottle was open for 3 days and damn it was better. Nice blast of black rasberry along with a gorgeous nose. Another wine that was killing me at the end because of it hitting such a high note. Not experienced enough to predict 95 pts. but I wont be surprised. I love costco. please someone tell me about a better wine for 30 bucks!
2018 BDX Blind (Chapel Hill, NC): 2018 BDX blind tasting dinner, wine #5. Decanted 6h before serving. 45% cabernet sauvignon, 44% merlot, 10% PV, 1% cab franc; 14.5% ABV. This was one of the surprises of the tasting, and was very popular despite its modest price and pedigree. I have some familiarity with this estate as I bought their '95 at release, but haven't followed them closely. Perfumed, herbal nose with lost of flowers, star anise and crushed gravel. Rich at the front end, tart cranberry in the middle, with a long tannic, slightly tarry finish. Revisiting the leftovers on day 3, this is still going strong, with a gorgeous nose of boysenberries and wild strawberry, accented by mineral and Asian spices. Doesn't quite deliver the goods on the palate (at least with 48h of air), with tart cranberry/red currant fruit and a dry, tannic and slightly hot finish. Very good value at $35.
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New to Margaux AOC but enjoyed this wine. Upon opening felt the wine was tight and not quite balanced, so gave about an hour decant to open up this young vintage. Opened wonderfully and leads me to believe this will be a stellar wine in 3yrs or so. Nose of leather, figs, cedar, chaulk...tastes of raspberry, rust and leather. Will cellar and look forward to 2024-2030??
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Nose: blackberries, cassis and oak, traces of cocoa. Palate: barely ripe cassis, a lot of wood grain and oak, but everything is pretty well balanced; hint of dusty earth and pretty big, unresolved tannins, which mellow with time. Promising future and will certainly be able to lay down for a while, there's a lot of structure here.
The 2018 UGCB tasting Amsterdam 6/21/2021 (Amsterdam, Amstel Boathouse): The depth of colour is like the best on this UGCB tasting, a powerful bouquet with deep down black fruit, very good backbone with the necessary citrus and persistence in the aftertaste, has a good future; effortless GCC level.
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Drank at Robinsons party, Margaux,(45% Cab, 44% merlot, 10% franc) RP 93+, Vinous 92, med-full body, nice aromatics, deep garnet color, cherry/dark fruit is very nice, velvety tannin. Nice to drink now but good fro 20 yrs.
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Showing a good depth of color, the wine kicks off with flowers, forest floor, espresso, tobacco leaf, spice and a hint of truffle. On the palate the wine is round, lush, full-bodied and carries its multiple-layers of sweet fruits nicely. There is depth, length and energy here. You can enjoy this for at least 20 years or more. The wine blends 45% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, 14% ABV.
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(2/28/21) From a 375ml bottle purchased at a local retail wine shop. This was very open and quite accessible and enjoyable already. There were masses of dark fruits on the nose, along with some well-handled oak. The palate was full of the same. The balance was exceptional, as were the concentration and intensity.
The score I gave this young wine might seem ludicrous to some tasters, but I try to rate wines for what they are, not what they are not. Where young wines are concerned, this means I don’t judge them against exactly the same criteria I would use for an aged wine. To do otherwise is to say that only aged wines are worthy of high scores. I guess if there is nothing you like about young wines, then that might be true—for you—but there are things I enjoy in young wines, so I don’t dock them for lacking tertiary charactersitcs or for having unintegrated oak and unresolved tannins. That wouldn’t make any sense. I might ask whether the oak is overdone, even at this stage, or the tannins are unripe and harsh or the intensity is good enough and the concentration appropriate. These seem like fair questions for a young wine. Whether the wine elicits excitement and satisfaction for what it is right now are also fair questions.
So much for the apology. 14.5% (****/17/94)
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With considerable color and silky tannins, this wine is rich, polished, lush and round. The fruit is ripe, sweet, fresh and long with a spicy, dark cherry and mocha finish. Made from blending 45% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the harvest took place from September 20 to October 13, reaching 14% alcohol. 92-94 Pts
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3/9/2024 - Cove Haven Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fresh fruit of blueberry's and plums. med body decanted for two hours
young and will improve with 3 years of cellaring
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2/23/2024 - Berms Likes this wine: 90 Points
Deep purple. Tannin forward. Cedar, black fruit and eucalyptus. Fresh and long finish.
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2/2/2024 - mpstaley Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wonderful Bordeaux blend. Open with a big bouquet of spice, gentle wisps of cedar and touches of eucalyptus. Fruit galore on the palate. Boysenberry, spice and subtle earthy tones. Full bodied with a layered finish.
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1/18/2024 - Hiker4life70 wrote: 87 Points
Ok but not my fave. Had it with a burger and fries
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12/19/2023 - BryonD wrote: 88 Points
Deep ruby rich color. Tight earthy nose, plums, mushrooms too. Tightly knit on the palate where the plum and earth shine. Tannins are a tad overpowering now but aside from that, a silky long finish. Pretty wine and a few more years may present a jewel.
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10/15/2023 - stamperb Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nose: sweet thick cherry, scorched earth mixed with barrel char, floral dung. Palate: Oak makes a quick appearance and then fades to a robust fruit-forward palate of barely ripe mixed berries (raspberry, blackberry and blueberry), barely tart red plum; sweet tobacco; heavily polished tannins and good acidity. Day two, the nose picks up some nice dark chocolate covered cherry notes. Overall, pretty straightforward one-note wine.
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8/5/2023 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark reddish-purple garnet in color. Full, forward & fragrant nose of ripe fruits aromas of dark cherries, blackberries & cassis with overtones of floral notes of violets & dusty/earthy notes, spices, cocoa, coffee, tobacco, minerals & vanilla/oak. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blackberries & plums with herbs, minerals, spices & vanilla/oak. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting & extended airing but should develop further with additional aging at which time it may merit a higher score. An indicative blend of 45% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot & 1% Cabernet Franc.
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6/9/2023 - dera wrote: 90 Points
Modern medium bodied Bordeaux. Not much character or personality, just high quality modern red wine.
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3/26/2023 - ras2006 Likes this wine:
medium body - drinking over three days - tannins starting to smooth out
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2/24/2023 - ras2006 wrote:
the current bottle I'm tasting is pretty heavy on tannin, especially the 2nd and 3rd day
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12/2/2022 - Francois Le Mouel Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fantastic value! This is concentrated and layered, with amazing aromas of biscuit and blackberries. Lots of fun and significant length. Bravo!
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11/5/2022 - chatters wrote:
Decanter Fine Wine Encounter (The Landmark, London): medium minus intensity aromas of blackcurrant, sweet spice, a little graphite. Juicy, fleshy, lots of woody, chalky tannins…in fact too much (currently) for the fruit. Alcohol warmth on the finish.
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7/5/2022 - hadukla wrote: 87 Points
After my first bottle being oddly flawed (not rancid, just very bitter) I was afraid to drink this one worried my case was a bad purchase. But it actually is quite good. Lots of grip, good fruit though maybe a bit more to the oaky/smokey side than I usually like. I think with age it will show quite well so now I am glad for that case.
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7/2/2022 - hadukla wrote: flawed
Will need to try a second bottle, hopefully this was off somehow. Nose was nice but upon tasting there was immediate bitterness That lingered enough for me to ignore the finish. Enough tannins to make me feel like the Cyrptkeeper. Will report back after bottle 2 next week
Edit: Bottle was definitely flawed. Not sure how, it wasn't corked or rancid, it was just very bitter. Second bottle still showed a slap of tannins but definitely tasted like wine should
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6/8/2022 - Jonnhy99 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Blasphemy opening this wine , but at least it's not fully opened because I used a coravin.
Beautiful floral aromas with hints of plum, cassis and oak . Palate is wonderful & balanced with herbs, black cherry, plum, cassis, oak, red fruit, graphite & violet.
This will be a fantastic & elegant wine in five years,right now the tannins are tight and dry. But I still had the urge to just pour out the full bottle, that's because it's nice & supple just before the tannins reminds you it's not. Definitely will grab a few more
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5/29/2022 - kidsmurf2000 wrote: 92 Points
Very nice, ready to drink Bordeaux. Look forward to seeing how this develops.
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4/25/2022 - DrJazzyWine Likes this wine:
Great QPR, curious to see how it grows in the next 5-10yrs.
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3/3/2022 - ras2006 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank it over 3 days, and was nice all three days. Balance of fruit, tannin, acid, a little chalk, dry.
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2/5/2022 - tgrout Likes this wine: 94 Points
Just wow for $30. pop, decant, and pour. Extreme concentration. Violets and lilacs. Frame of medium plus tannin and acidity. Luscious blackberry and Crème de cassis. Earl grey tea, pencil lead, black coffee. Buy it up. Heading back to buy more if there is any left.
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1/2/2022 - Henry Miller wrote: 93 Points
Primary and jammy, a Margaux smoothie. Blueberry and boysenberry jam, oak polish and creme de cassis, the latter in dessert supply. When (and if) this emerges from its primordial cocoon, it will be very special.
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11/17/2021 - Motz wrote: 87 Points
Tasted over three days.
Similarly awful as the same vintage Phélan Ségur, with the main flaws reversed. The St. Estèphe features heavy oak treatment and ridiculous extraction. This Margaux, features offensive oak treatment and heavy extraction.
There is no sense of place here. This is not built for the long haul. The clinching, chalky, greenish bite at the back, and throughout the finish, is not tannic structure. It is the result of overpowering wood tannin and very heavy extraction.
More power to all who find pleasure in such artificial monoliths. Bordeaux aficionados should avoid this. Choke down any time. It took me three days to do, as I hoped for any redeeming quality to reveal itself. None emerged. A spectacular waste of pure Margaux fruit.
P.S. Just read that WE designated this its WOTY. Really!? Yuck!!!
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9/30/2021 - Zoso Likes this wine: 93 Points
I have probably had this 5 times one bottle had a tainted cork so back to costco. I hate to say for 30 bucks you should buy 2 cases or more but yeah buy all you can. Definition of QPR! Excellent wine with great fruit, solid mid palate. Black and red fruits but due to scheduling issues the last bottle was open for 3 days and damn it was better. Nice blast of black rasberry along with a gorgeous nose. Another wine that was killing me at the end because of it hitting such a high note. Not experienced enough to predict 95 pts. but I wont be surprised. I love costco. please someone tell me about a better wine for 30 bucks!
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9/13/2021 - rao38 wrote: 87 Points
This wine is a long way down the table from Chateau Margaux. I did not see any depth in the wine or any distinguishing features.
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9/5/2021 - GrapeScott wrote: 92 Points
2018 BDX Blind (Chapel Hill, NC): 2018 BDX blind tasting dinner, wine #5. Decanted 6h before serving. 45% cabernet sauvignon, 44% merlot, 10% PV, 1% cab franc; 14.5% ABV. This was one of the surprises of the tasting, and was very popular despite its modest price and pedigree. I have some familiarity with this estate as I bought their '95 at release, but haven't followed them closely. Perfumed, herbal nose with lost of flowers, star anise and crushed gravel. Rich at the front end, tart cranberry in the middle, with a long tannic, slightly tarry finish. Revisiting the leftovers on day 3, this is still going strong, with a gorgeous nose of boysenberries and wild strawberry, accented by mineral and Asian spices. Doesn't quite deliver the goods on the palate (at least with 48h of air), with tart cranberry/red currant fruit and a dry, tannic and slightly hot finish. Very good value at $35.
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8/28/2021 - CoramCritter Likes this wine: 91 Points
New to Margaux AOC but enjoyed this wine. Upon opening felt the wine was tight and not quite balanced, so gave about an hour decant to open up this young vintage. Opened wonderfully and leads me to believe this will be a stellar wine in 3yrs or so. Nose of leather, figs, cedar, chaulk...tastes of raspberry, rust and leather. Will cellar and look forward to 2024-2030??
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8/17/2021 - stamperb Likes this wine: 89 Points
Nose: blackberries, cassis and oak, traces of cocoa. Palate: barely ripe cassis, a lot of wood grain and oak, but everything is pretty well balanced; hint of dusty earth and pretty big, unresolved tannins, which mellow with time. Promising future and will certainly be able to lay down for a while, there's a lot of structure here.
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6/21/2021 - FransS wrote: 93 Points
The 2018 UGCB tasting Amsterdam 6/21/2021 (Amsterdam, Amstel Boathouse): The depth of colour is like the best on this UGCB tasting, a powerful bouquet with deep down black fruit, very good backbone with the necessary citrus and persistence in the aftertaste, has a good future; effortless GCC level.
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4/24/2021 - StoneRidgeCellars Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank at Robinsons party, Margaux,(45% Cab, 44% merlot, 10% franc) RP 93+, Vinous 92, med-full body, nice aromatics, deep garnet color, cherry/dark fruit is very nice, velvety tannin. Nice to drink now but good fro 20 yrs.
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3/9/2021 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Showing a good depth of color, the wine kicks off with flowers, forest floor, espresso, tobacco leaf, spice and a hint of truffle. On the palate the wine is round, lush, full-bodied and carries its multiple-layers of sweet fruits nicely. There is depth, length and energy here. You can enjoy this for at least 20 years or more. The wine blends 45% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, 14% ABV.
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2/28/2021 - Jake Barnes Likes this wine: 94 Points
(2/28/21) From a 375ml bottle purchased at a local retail wine shop. This was very open and quite accessible and enjoyable already. There were masses of dark fruits on the nose, along with some well-handled oak. The palate was full of the same. The balance was exceptional, as were the concentration and intensity.
The score I gave this young wine might seem ludicrous to some tasters, but I try to rate wines for what they are, not what they are not. Where young wines are concerned, this means I don’t judge them against exactly the same criteria I would use for an aged wine. To do otherwise is to say that only aged wines are worthy of high scores. I guess if there is nothing you like about young wines, then that might be true—for you—but there are things I enjoy in young wines, so I don’t dock them for lacking tertiary charactersitcs or for having unintegrated oak and unresolved tannins. That wouldn’t make any sense. I might ask whether the oak is overdone, even at this stage, or the tannins are unripe and harsh or the intensity is good enough and the concentration appropriate. These seem like fair questions for a young wine. Whether the wine elicits excitement and satisfaction for what it is right now are also fair questions.
So much for the apology. 14.5% (****/17/94)
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2/14/2021 - gjolbo Likes this wine: 91 Points
Masse af koncentreret frugt og tydelig grafit/blyant, bliver spænende at følge.
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4/19/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
With considerable color and silky tannins, this wine is rich, polished, lush and round. The fruit is ripe, sweet, fresh and long with a spicy, dark cherry and mocha finish. Made from blending 45% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the harvest took place from September 20 to October 13, reaching 14% alcohol. 92-94 Pts
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