Lively red fruit-nose (strawberry, raspberry) bogged down a bit by strong oak influency (clove, vanilla, coconut). On the palate, there's high acidity, low tannin, good freshness. Strawberry meets black liquorice in a slightly simple flavour combination. To me, this is like a well-made but unassuming CDR, probably excellent with rustique dishes.
Very fresh and true to the Rhone, though perhaps a bit leaner and more nervy than what you'd find over in the Southern Rhone. Fragrant cherry and berry fruit with just a hint of crunchiness, alongside some red liquorice and bramble. Very nice, well put together, with character a plenty. Needs more time to fully integrate, but certainly accessible and enjoyable to a variety of palates.
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2018 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant (California) This Rhone-style red blend of 52% Grenache, 35% Cinsault and 13% Syrah has an enticing aroma of kirsch, raspberry, plum and leather. A leaner more tart style than most past releases (since 1986!), probably due to the cooler vintage, but still has juicy flavours of cherry and roasted plum with a steep of back tea. The soft tannins and good length are finessed by a sense of restrained yet lush sweetness. Some progressive clouding in the glass by bottle’s end (with a residual crust of tartrates) was somewhat surprising for such a recent vintage of a popular standby. This once original and fun blend for pouring has now become a tad boring, or may just be snoring but isn’t worth storing. Overall, an inoffensive crowd pleaser, the Tom Hanks of fermented grape juice. Note: Innovative and quirky winemaker Randall Grahm, one of California’s original Rhone Rangers, sold his majority interest in Bonny Doon Vineyard last year and has recently partnered with the E & J Gallo Wine company to produce Central Coast wines under a new label, The Language of Yes. More to come.
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Pink tinged dark purple. Nose is medium red berry fruit and flowers, fresh and pretty. Fruit forward, light weight with the right structure for early and frequent dinnertime drinking. Impressively long finish. It’s My first glass of this well known wine and I am perturbed with myself I haven’t had it earlier! $20 on sale in Calgary - it’s a mouthwatering deal.
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Quite CdR like on the nose, juicy, bramble fruit with something a bit darker and peppery; fresh entry, nice style, very easy drinking. Good refreshment here. Delicious.
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Strawberry jam and light tobacco on the nose. The strawberries continue on the palate, where they blend into a balanced, soft flavor, with mild tanins towards the end.
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This would be a super exciting wine... without the VA issue that ruins it unfortunately. If we put the fault aside for a moment, then there is a lot to be adored here. Grenache blend in Burgundy mode. Definitely Old World. Savory, finessed, whole bunch style. Surprising freshness for a such a blend, no raisins, just a bit of pretty hibiscus sweetness gives a clue about the main varieties. So pure and sensitively made, with real, beautiful tannins. But at the end the volatile acidity is distracting.
A good bottle, but not what I expected. This blend is fairly light, just a touch more body than a Pinot noir imho. I enjoyed it, but don’t expect a bunch of density.
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Impulse purchase. Opened & served at room temperature with sliced Roast Beef. Red Rhône blend of Grenache (52%), Cinsault (35%) & Syrah (13%), 13.5% abv. Clear red on the pour with a hint of tobacco on the nose. Light-bodied, plum with a hint of sweetness on the palate. Not a lot of acid, rather short finish. Won't go out of my way to purchase again. Spouse liked better than I did.
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Big and fruity and spicy and alcoholey and, did I mention big and fruity? Because it has a screw top it hung around for about a week. Was too big to be really interesting. Toned down the more air, but became less interesting as a result. Decent QPR though.
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Pleasant and approachable but nowhere near the style of wine it was just a few years ago. It used to be a serious imitator of a big / dense Rhone blend, but now it's made to be chugged rather than savored; what a shame.
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Light bodied. Perfumed aroma of cranberry and perhaps a hit of lavender and spice. Lip smacking tart cherry with a little spice on the palate. Enjoyable, interesting wine. Love the label.
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A real change for this wine: cheaper, lighter, and can be drunk now (a decant helped, though). Lots of sour cherries, with a bit of Rhone-like spice. Nice, and will probably improve over the next few years.
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Served with beef roast, baked potatoes, roast carrots. Medium cherry with moderate depth, reminiscent of Pinot Noir to the eye. Nice fruit on the palate with mild acid and tannin. Really nicely quaffable. Stood up to a tasty meal. This Boony Doon Le Cigare Volant was reminiscent of the Bonny Doon Contra wine of happy memory. For the price I would buy more.
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Retail $20. 52% Grenache, 35% Cinsault and 13% Syrah. Just last vintage, this wine was more than double the price and I believe closed with a cork. Now, a $20 screwtop seemed like the perfect wine to take to the community pool for the first "First Friday" of 2020. Fruity and spicy on the nose with raspberry coulis, a bit of mincemeat, and even clove. The palate is fruity and inviting with a zingy tartness and a hint of tannin on the finish. It will no doubt be a crowd-pleaser unless I decide to keep it all to myself. thedrunkencyclist.com
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Plum and dark cherry fruit with good acidity. Nicely developed for so young a wine. Not sure wassup with the pricing--$19 in my area where I've paid around $30 for past vintages.
12/4/2023 - kryelvine Likes this wine: 88 Points
Lively red fruit-nose (strawberry, raspberry) bogged down a bit by strong oak influency (clove, vanilla, coconut). On the palate, there's high acidity, low tannin, good freshness. Strawberry meets black liquorice in a slightly simple flavour combination. To me, this is like a well-made but unassuming CDR, probably excellent with rustique dishes.
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10/28/2023 - A1002 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Herbal and flowery on the nose with a light spicy and licorice note on the end.
Juicy, cool fruit on the medium-bodied palate.
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8/30/2023 - happygrayhair Likes this wine:
A lighter weight fruit forward quaffer. Not the Cigare of yore
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4/9/2023 - Sammy Shark Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good value for dollar
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9/13/2022 - MikeBrno Likes this wine: 84 Points
Light red, acidic with low tannins. Strawberry/raspberry with tobacco.
Excellent for asian and seafood
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8/6/2022 - davidspieker wrote: 88 Points
Murky lighter red color. Burnt fruit aromas. Red fruit flavors with some juicy acidity for food. Lengthy pleasant finish.
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12/2/2021 - depechemoroder Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very fresh and true to the Rhone, though perhaps a bit leaner and more nervy than what you'd find over in the Southern Rhone. Fragrant cherry and berry fruit with just a hint of crunchiness, alongside some red liquorice and bramble. Very nice, well put together, with character a plenty. Needs more time to fully integrate, but certainly accessible and enjoyable to a variety of palates.
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9/29/2021 - noblerot23 wrote: 87 Points
2018 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant (California)
This Rhone-style red blend of 52% Grenache, 35% Cinsault and 13% Syrah has an enticing aroma of kirsch, raspberry, plum and leather. A leaner more tart style than most past releases (since 1986!), probably due to the cooler vintage, but still has juicy flavours of cherry and roasted plum with a steep of back tea. The soft tannins and good length are finessed by a sense of restrained yet lush sweetness. Some progressive clouding in the glass by bottle’s end (with a residual crust of tartrates) was somewhat surprising for such a recent vintage of a popular standby. This once original and fun blend for pouring has now become a tad boring, or may just be snoring but isn’t worth storing. Overall, an inoffensive crowd pleaser, the Tom Hanks of fermented grape juice.
Note: Innovative and quirky winemaker Randall Grahm, one of California’s original Rhone Rangers, sold his majority interest in Bonny Doon Vineyard last year and has recently partnered with the E & J Gallo Wine company to produce Central Coast wines under a new label, The Language of Yes. More to come.
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9/6/2021 - wdlohr wrote: 88 Points
rich dark color and ripe aroma, mixed blend with interesting tannin, easy to drink
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8/15/2021 - KVM wrote:
Pink tinged dark purple. Nose is medium red berry fruit and flowers, fresh and pretty. Fruit forward, light weight with the right structure for early and frequent dinnertime drinking. Impressively long finish. It’s My first glass of this well known wine and I am perturbed with myself I haven’t had it earlier! $20 on sale in Calgary - it’s a mouthwatering deal.
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8/4/2021 - Matteo1 Likes this wine:
Dry, on the lean side, clearly going in an old world direction with new world cleanliness. Good midweek sipper.
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6/5/2021 - ravikalaga Does not like this wine: 50 Points
Meh. This used to be better a few vintages ago.
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4/24/2021 - JimEaton Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Very acidic, almost vinegar.
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4/2/2021 - LKTillman wrote:
Nice fruit. A little acidic.
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3/25/2021 - vespasian wrote: 90 Points
Quite CdR like on the nose, juicy, bramble fruit with something a bit darker and peppery; fresh entry, nice style, very easy drinking. Good refreshment here. Delicious.
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3/15/2021 - sjlutterbie Likes this wine: 88 Points
Strawberry jam and light tobacco on the nose. The strawberries continue on the palate, where they blend into a balanced, soft flavor, with mild tanins towards the end.
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2/7/2021 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Best rendition I have ever had of this wine. Good stuff indeed.
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2/1/2021 - Zoltán Németi wrote: 83 Points
This would be a super exciting wine... without the VA issue that ruins it unfortunately. If we put the fault aside for a moment, then there is a lot to be adored here. Grenache blend in Burgundy mode. Definitely Old World. Savory, finessed, whole bunch style. Surprising freshness for a such a blend, no raisins, just a bit of pretty hibiscus sweetness gives a clue about the main varieties. So pure and sensitively made, with real, beautiful tannins. But at the end the volatile acidity is distracting.
Read more: https://screwcapped.com/bonny-doon-vineyard-le-cigare-volant-2018/
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1/31/2021 - ebert wrote: 87 Points
A bit raw with flavors not well integrated.
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1/10/2021 - ScubaSommelier Likes this wine: 86 Points
A good bottle, but not what I expected. This blend is fairly light, just a touch more body than a Pinot noir imho. I enjoyed it, but don’t expect a bunch of density.
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12/12/2020 - aero Does not like this wine: 87 Points
No formal note -- unusually thin palate for color, with difficult but short finish. An experiment gone poorly?
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11/25/2020 - red freddy wrote: 85 Points
Impulse purchase. Opened & served at room temperature with sliced Roast Beef. Red Rhône blend of Grenache (52%), Cinsault (35%) & Syrah (13%), 13.5% abv. Clear red on the pour with a hint of tobacco on the nose. Light-bodied, plum with a hint of sweetness on the palate. Not a lot of acid, rather short finish. Won't go out of my way to purchase again. Spouse liked better than I did.
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10/31/2020 - CocoChanel Likes this wine: 93 Points
Love this, and a fun label. Wish it was less expensive!
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9/9/2020 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
with some fresh evergreen.
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8/21/2020 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Smells a touch medicinal and green. Palate is lively, red fruited and fresh but without much depth.
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7/19/2020 - theebigjuan Likes this wine: 88 Points
Big and fruity and spicy and alcoholey and, did I mention big and fruity? Because it has a screw top it hung around for about a week. Was too big to be really interesting. Toned down the more air, but became less interesting as a result. Decent QPR though.
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6/24/2020 - davidspieker wrote: 88 Points
Needs some air. Murky lighter red color. Burnt fruit aromas. A mess of red fruit flavors with some juicy acidity for food. Lengthy pleasant finish.
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6/23/2020 - Sanlucar wrote: 87 Points
Pleasant and approachable but nowhere near the style of wine it was just a few years ago. It used to be a serious imitator of a big / dense Rhone blend, but now it's made to be chugged rather than savored; what a shame.
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6/22/2020 - Scottwhipp Likes this wine: 89 Points
Light bodied. Perfumed aroma of cranberry and perhaps a hit of lavender and spice. Lip smacking tart cherry with a little spice on the palate. Enjoyable, interesting wine. Love the label.
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6/9/2020 - R2-D2 wrote: 91 Points
This was a big hit amongst the staff when poured by the sales rep. Earthy, fruity, leathery, but in balance and a touch of tannin. Ready to go.
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6/8/2020 - cjsadler Likes this wine: 90 Points
A real change for this wine: cheaper, lighter, and can be drunk now (a decant helped, though). Lots of sour cherries, with a bit of Rhone-like spice. Nice, and will probably improve over the next few years.
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4/5/2020 - bjschmitt Likes this wine: 90 Points
Served with beef roast, baked potatoes, roast carrots.
Medium cherry with moderate depth, reminiscent of Pinot Noir to the eye.
Nice fruit on the palate with mild acid and tannin. Really nicely quaffable. Stood up to a tasty meal.
This Boony Doon Le Cigare Volant was reminiscent of the Bonny Doon Contra wine of happy memory. For the price I would buy more.
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3/6/2020 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 90 Points
Retail $20. 52% Grenache, 35% Cinsault and 13% Syrah. Just last vintage, this wine was more than double the price and I believe closed with a cork. Now, a $20 screwtop seemed like the perfect wine to take to the community pool for the first "First Friday" of 2020. Fruity and spicy on the nose with raspberry coulis, a bit of mincemeat, and even clove. The palate is fruity and inviting with a zingy tartness and a hint of tannin on the finish. It will no doubt be a crowd-pleaser unless I decide to keep it all to myself. thedrunkencyclist.com
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2/21/2020 - fmginc Likes this wine: 87 Points
Soft garnet color and on the light side with a tart cherry note. No tannins to speak of and great price point for this blend
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2/15/2020 - BVelazq wrote:
93WE? will open one of mine and see.
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1/23/2020 - Montana Chancellor Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice
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1/5/2020 - APWilliams wrote:
Meh?
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12/19/2019 - jmcmchi Likes this wine:
Lovely spice on nose and palate
Pale grenache colouring, nice acidity, reminds me what Ihave been missing for 10-15 years
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12/13/2019 - geoffreychambertin Likes this wine: 89 Points
Solid value at $16. Plums and stony high toned red fruits on the nose and palate. Medium body, medium plus acid. Medium finish. Good steak/roast wine.
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12/7/2019 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Plum and dark cherry fruit with good acidity. Nicely developed for so young a wine. Not sure wassup with the pricing--$19 in my area where I've paid around $30 for past vintages.
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11/29/2019 - Twopawsup Likes this wine: 90 Points
Purple color with slow legs. Nose of cigar, black fruit and cassis. Plum, black cherry and a bit of earth on the palate. Medium leathery finish.
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