25th of 36, opened an hour, perfect cork and level, slightly odd, fruit partly stripped but not obviously corked, fine structure as ever, nice enough but nevertheless an outlier and well off normal standard. VGI (17)......more normally F+.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
24th of 36, opened 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, this wine remains after 21 years on the upward curve with integration of tannins and fruit continuing apace, silkier, "sweaty saddle" mourvedre notes more prominent, entering peak drinking with scope to improve over next 10 years and hold for 10 thereafter if properly cellared. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Especially when you get to wines that are more than 20 years old, there can be quite a bit of variation. This wine was as beautiful a rendition of Migoua as I can recall. Truffly, earthy nose. Dark plum fruits, silky texture, nuance, complexity, length -- it's all there. Cellared since original release.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Not really given the attention it deserves because of collateral factors, but lovely Mourvèdre funkiness, medium-weight, fresh, still lots of tannins. Will be even better in 5-10 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A private dinner with friends (Restaurant De Lage Vuursche, Lage Vuursche, NL): Magnum. Classic left bank nose (mirabile dictu); lovely structure and fruit, gentle and rounded, wonderful salinity, spicy depth and cool minerality; honeyed red berries, friendly and energetic, elegant and refined, tannic and firm, excellent resonance and length. Amazing stuff, at perfect peak but at least another ten years in it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Classic La Migoua -- animal with cherry and other red fruits, silky texture. Fruit still fresh, but after an hour or so in the decanter, the wine does very slowly begin to fade, so begin to drink up. Cellared since original release.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Gave this wine about an hour decant and it was back to top form tonight. The beautiful smooth texture and earthy dark fruit aromas and flavors of La Miguoa -- all that one could ask.
A frustrating wine because there is so much here to recommend it -- recalling the great bottle from a year ago. Deep, dark, earthy, mineral fruit, but just not quite the structure and depth in this bottle. Cellared since original release.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
AB Christmas Bash (Chez Bruce, London): Still a full ruby; a fraction lighter than the 06, but still far deeper than the 05 tasted earlier in the day. Similar to the 06 as one would expect, but a little lighter, the fruit less dense, and a savoury sous bois character that hints at a little brett-boost. Not quite up to the 06, but probably a more complete drink currently. ****
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
19th of 36, decanted 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, significant step up since my last bottle in 2014 having now largely absorbed the tannins revealing cherry, bramble, garrigue and saddle leather, unexpectedly harmonious, if appropriately wilder but no less lovely than CDP Beaucastel '99 on same night which was silkier and subtler. Long life predicted. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Farmhouse aromas with dark earthy appeal. Nice wine showing black fruit flavors with a charcoal edge. Actually fairly impressive and on the young side of its drinking window.in prime, but lots of life left. Great value for a $30 wine. shhh
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Once again, those "in the know" who said that Tempier wasn't producing good wine at this time have been proved ludicrously wrong (as they have been about von Schubert in the early 2000s and F. Haag in the mid-1990s). Indeed, this is easily the best bottle yet with ripe, pure, rich, spicy dark fruits and perfect balance. This wine is nothing short of great. It's drinkable now, but no hurry to drink it as there is still some tannic backbone here. Cellared since original release.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Absolutely great aged Bandol. Beautiful color: crytal clear ruby, slight bricking. The aroma was very clean, gorgeous: candied cherry and red fruits, slightly meaty/earthy. The tannins were fully resolved, still plenty of sweet ripe fruit, no alcohol heat. Great mid-palate presence: silky and smooth, nice acidity for lift. Good length.
Beautiful old school Tempier the likes of which aren't made these days with the new wine maker who seems to strive for bigger and riper wines. This beauty was perfectly aged and balanced.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Absolutely terrific juice. Beautiful ruby color with a rustic nose of dark fruits, rubber and burning vines. Beefy, yet red in character. There is good heft but also great acid - a food wine. This screams for a piece of meat off the grill. (93)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pretty great. It's possible that I waited too long as the power of the wine had thinned, especially in comparison to a 2007 Bandol Rouge that we drank alongside. We decanted the bottle for about an hour before drinking it. Still, it what it had lost in power it had gained in character, which at times was up in the finest Burgundy or Bordeaux realm - each sip a kind of moment to be savored. All in all a superb wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Something not quite right here. There's fair bit of bretty funk and and also some noticeable nail polishy VA. Not undrinkably flawed, but clearly not what it's supposed to be.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
18th from 3 cases, all good notes but improving all the time, deep red, surprisingly fragrant, floral notes now added to usual meat, leather and sweat, good mouthfeel, intensity and drive, knitting together nicely with more to come. Very good indeed (17/20).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
in a good spot….this wine has real interesting balance of the mouvedre funk, earth and smoke secondary flavors but combined with more plush fruit than I recall in other vintages (definitely 2000) which I had recently. I personally would probably prefer a bit more tannin and texture but this will appeal to a broad audience.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wow, I'd completely forgotten drinking this a few years ago, but apparently that's the time it needed to get itself in the zone. The tannin is now fully integrated but there's still a trace of it left that gives this a refined, velvety texture. The aromas are the opposite of refinement, a huge rustic stench of horsey barnyard - but I like it. Honest, old-school, funky stuff. With the structure harmonized, the wine reveals beautiful fruit that still shows a vividly red, ripe veneer but also features some iron-like earthiness underneath. And it just keeps getting more harmonious and refined in texture with air - it's almost too sophisticated for a country wine, but ultimately that means it's got it all.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Typical La Migoua sensuality on palate with dark fruit and some animality and leather. A good showing considering that this was the end of the supposed down period for the estate, and very typical example of La Migoua. No rush to drink remaining bottles.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A good wine, but didn't stand out enough for me, given it's reputation and pedigree. Nicely balanced, good perfume, but not enough wow or Mourvedre "wildness" for me.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted with 98, 03, and 05 Migoua's... clearly the best of the 4 wines... my tasting note was identical except the wine was less cloudy... its a lush version of the 98 with riper tannins, more midpalate weight, and more textural balance. I think its at its peak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cloudy with lots of sentiment, appropriately bricked... aromatically funk (more mouvedre than brett but both are there) > earth (wine has that mushroom tertiary aroma)... still has a nice core of fruit aromatics, any oak is completely integrated aromatically to me. On the palate moderate to high acidity, firmish midpalate, rustic but ripe and integrated/mostly resolved tannins, low to moderate alcohol. Wine is on the firm side of the balance spectrum , good length, great intensity and complexity. Wine is losing a bit of finesse with just a little bit of muddling of flavor and texture, coarse and rustic texture one expects, great expression of place. This bottle was in the latter half of its peak drinking window... if you have these you should check on them as I suspect most are ready to drink.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Given my reasonably comprehensive exposure to Tempier wines I think this shows precisely what one seeks in mature Miguoa – it has soft, scented fruit, that has a hint of dirtiness to it (thanks to the Brett) and a powerfully rich earthiness. There are shades of leathery, meatiness to it, but in Miguoa these are always more subdued than in the other single vineyard wines thanks to its lower proportion of Mourvedre. For all its ‘unwashed animal’s rude bits’ aromas, this is a real charmer of a nose, giving, open and really complex. I love the palate, too, which has soft, ripe tannins showing not a hint of toughness, brilliantly mature fruit and that powerful earthiness that these wines showed so well before the 2001 style shift. This is absolutely a point, top-hole kit that reminds me of many happy experiences in the past.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Beautiful and complex bouquet with herbs and spices, leather, animals and black fruits. Same on the palate; a lot of tastes through the whole mouth. A delicious and rustic wine of which the bouquet is the most impressive at the moment. Still holding back on the palate a little, so I trust that in a few years the taste will be even a little better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tempier Tasting @ Joost B. (Netherlands): Double-decanted 4 hrs prior to tasting. Beguilingly complex nose of horsestable, ink, tar, hot rocks, blackberries, prunes and dates. Open and flattering, clear, pure and elegant. Rusticity adds depth and interest to this wine, but is not overbearing. Very good. 17,5/20. Drink now - 3 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 1/2 an hour. Medium/deep garnet core, medium pale garnet rim. Developed and reasonably complex nose showing dark fruit, spice, earth and animal notes. Full bodied on the palate, dark fruit, spice, earth, good fresh acidity, slightly chewy, but not overly intrusive, tannins providing plenty of grip on the good length finish. Very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
starting to reach the evolution where it releases secondary flavors but still pretty tightly wound...would give a solid decant or give it a few more years
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
After a couple hours in the decanter it had largely shed its abrasive tannins leaving an incredible bottle of wine. Dark ruby color, wild mix of plum, dust, wet cement and underbrush on the nose followed by complex flavors of garrigue that made me want to drop it all and head for Bandol.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dinner @ Fringale (San Francisco, CA): This had all the secondary "stinky" (in a good way) flavors you would want in a mature Bandol. Wet earth, sous bois, dried mushrooms and dried black fruits.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Abrasive tannin contributes to the rustic profile here, but the longer it sits the more the fruit sweetens and fattens up. It doesn't have much youthful gloss left and still has too much tannin to shed to put it in the drinking zone, though.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
opens with some air, the nose hints at liquorish and plum, dark fleshy fruit on the mid-palate, beautifully balanced, finishes earthy leaving a slight impression of chocolate
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium ruby core, pale ruby rim. Complex, deep, pungent animal nose, with spice, earth, minerals even a hint of chocolate. Big but well balanced on the palate with chewy, but digestible tannins and decent acidity, a complex, interesting and fresh mid-palate, then a hint of bitterness on the good length finish. Overall a lovely, characterful wine, deep and complex but at the same time unfabricated and honest - a sense of it being happy in its skin. Drinking now but no hurry.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A little muted with a slightly funky, dirty nose - some brett? Highish acidity and still fairly tannic. Some black pepper in the background but not a lot of fruit. Certainly better with food. The last glass - after 2.5 hours - was much the best, with subtle notes of tobacco coming through and the acidity and tannins subsiding. Some fruit showing through to give a sweeter palate. Rather tasty.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted at McCarthy & Schiering. This was a very brief impression of a just a few ounces, but I was impressed. A very barnyardy, animal nose. On the palate this is pure garrigue with explosive fruit and a chewy finish. While somewhat coarse, it is a simply awesome mouthful!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
9/27/2022 - liber Likes this wine: 90 Points
25th of 36, opened an hour, perfect cork and level, slightly odd, fruit partly stripped but not obviously corked, fine structure as ever, nice enough but nevertheless an outlier and well off normal standard. VGI (17)......more normally F+.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/14/2021 - liber Likes this wine: 94 Points
24th of 36, opened 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, this wine remains after 21 years on the upward curve with integration of tannins and fruit continuing apace, silkier, "sweaty saddle" mourvedre notes more prominent, entering peak drinking with scope to improve over next 10 years and hold for 10 thereafter if properly cellared. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/27/2020 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
23rd of 36, opened 3 hours, perfect cork and level, as June bottle and fully ready but no rush. Just F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/4/2020 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
22nd of 36, opened 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, lovely, on long maturity plateau, little changed from my July 17 note. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/6/2020 - cfk49 wrote: 96 Points
Especially when you get to wines that are more than 20 years old, there can be quite a bit of variation. This wine was as beautiful a rendition of Migoua as I can recall. Truffly, earthy nose. Dark plum fruits, silky texture, nuance, complexity, length -- it's all there. Cellared since original release.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/27/2019 - cfk49 wrote: 92 Points
Not really given the attention it deserves because of collateral factors, but lovely Mourvèdre funkiness, medium-weight, fresh, still lots of tannins. Will be even better in 5-10 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/30/2019 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 94 Points
A private dinner with friends (Restaurant De Lage Vuursche, Lage Vuursche, NL): Magnum. Classic left bank nose (mirabile dictu); lovely structure and fruit, gentle and rounded, wonderful salinity, spicy depth and cool minerality; honeyed red berries, friendly and energetic, elegant and refined, tannic and firm, excellent resonance and length. Amazing stuff, at perfect peak but at least another ten years in it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/28/2018 - cfk49 wrote: 93 Points
Classic La Migoua -- animal with cherry and other red fruits, silky texture. Fruit still fresh, but after an hour or so in the decanter, the wine does very slowly begin to fade, so begin to drink up. Cellared since original release.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/1/2018 - WarnerNL Likes this wine: 89 Points
very nice subtle mourvedre, maybe not the best price/quality anymore ve
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/14/2018 - cfk49 wrote: 95 Points
Gave this wine about an hour decant and it was back to top form tonight. The beautiful smooth texture and earthy dark fruit aromas and flavors of La Miguoa -- all that one could ask.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
1/8/2018 - cfk49 wrote: 91 Points
A frustrating wine because there is so much here to recommend it -- recalling the great bottle from a year ago. Deep, dark, earthy, mineral fruit, but just not quite the structure and depth in this bottle. Cellared since original release.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/17/2017 - WarnerNL Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fabulous qualitative wine, mourvedre has become very velvety, tannins have melted!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/5/2017 - SimonG wrote: 91 Points
AB Christmas Bash (Chez Bruce, London): Still a full ruby; a fraction lighter than the 06, but still far deeper than the 05 tasted earlier in the day. Similar to the 06 as one would expect, but a little lighter, the fruit less dense, and a savoury sous bois character that hints at a little brett-boost. Not quite up to the 06, but probably a more complete drink currently. ****
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/15/2017 - liber Likes this wine: 93 Points
19th of 36, decanted 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, significant step up since my last bottle in 2014 having now largely absorbed the tannins revealing cherry, bramble, garrigue and saddle leather, unexpectedly harmonious, if appropriately wilder but no less lovely than CDP Beaucastel '99 on same night which was silkier and subtler. Long life predicted. F+ (18).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/5/2017 - dbkitc wrote: 93 Points
I really like this wine. Warm earth, hot stones and mature berry fruit. Sawdust shavings and tobacco. Smooth yet still rustic - fun fun fun. (93)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/29/2017 - jim dixon wrote: 91 Points
Very nice. A bit of VA but not enough to be a problem. The brett you expect. With air it tastes increasingly classy.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/10/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote: 89 Points
Pre-Tasting Lunch, Rhone Varietal Edition (Happ Inn - Northfield IL): Tasted double blind. Meaty and earthy with just enough barnyard to be enjoyable and not dominating. Good enough concentration and structure that this should drink well for another decade.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/10/2016 - KenK Likes this wine: 92 Points
Farmhouse aromas with dark earthy appeal. Nice wine showing black fruit flavors with a charcoal edge. Actually fairly impressive and on the young side of its drinking window.in prime, but lots of life left. Great value for a $30 wine. shhh
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/4/2016 - cfk49 wrote: 95 Points
Once again, those "in the know" who said that Tempier wasn't producing good wine at this time have been proved ludicrously wrong (as they have been about von Schubert in the early 2000s and F. Haag in the mid-1990s). Indeed, this is easily the best bottle yet with ripe, pure, rich, spicy dark fruits and perfect balance. This wine is nothing short of great. It's drinkable now, but no hurry to drink it as there is still some tannic backbone here. Cellared since original release.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/28/2015 - WineDuq wrote: 94 Points
Absolutely great aged Bandol. Beautiful color: crytal clear ruby, slight bricking. The aroma was very clean, gorgeous: candied cherry and red fruits, slightly meaty/earthy. The tannins were fully resolved, still plenty of sweet ripe fruit, no alcohol heat. Great mid-palate presence: silky and smooth, nice acidity for lift. Good length.
Beautiful old school Tempier the likes of which aren't made these days with the new wine maker who seems to strive for bigger and riper wines. This beauty was perfectly aged and balanced.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/18/2015 - dbkitc wrote: 93 Points
Absolutely terrific juice. Beautiful ruby color with a rustic nose of dark fruits, rubber and burning vines. Beefy, yet red in character. There is good heft but also great acid - a food wine. This screams for a piece of meat off the grill. (93)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/7/2015 - Tranquility Base Likes this wine: 94 Points
Pretty great. It's possible that I waited too long as the power of the wine had thinned, especially in comparison to a 2007 Bandol Rouge that we drank alongside. We decanted the bottle for about an hour before drinking it. Still, it what it had lost in power it had gained in character, which at times was up in the finest Burgundy or Bordeaux realm - each sip a kind of moment to be savored. All in all a superb wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/7/2014 - coremill wrote: flawed
Something not quite right here. There's fair bit of bretty funk and and also some noticeable nail polishy VA. Not undrinkably flawed, but clearly not what it's supposed to be.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/6/2014 - Neecies wrote: 93 Points
Gav lunch, Drew's bottle. Not so funky, more Bordeaux-like and elegant, especially on the nose and long finish. Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/26/2014 - liber wrote: 91 Points
18th from 3 cases, all good notes but improving all the time, deep red, surprisingly fragrant, floral notes now added to usual meat, leather and sweat, good mouthfeel, intensity and drive, knitting together nicely with more to come. Very good indeed (17/20).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/8/2014 - JBVino wrote:
in a good spot….this wine has real interesting balance of the mouvedre funk, earth and smoke secondary flavors but combined with more plush fruit than I recall in other vintages (definitely 2000) which I had recently. I personally would probably prefer a bit more tannin and texture but this will appeal to a broad audience.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/17/2013 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wow, I'd completely forgotten drinking this a few years ago, but apparently that's the time it needed to get itself in the zone. The tannin is now fully integrated but there's still a trace of it left that gives this a refined, velvety texture. The aromas are the opposite of refinement, a huge rustic stench of horsey barnyard - but I like it. Honest, old-school, funky stuff. With the structure harmonized, the wine reveals beautiful fruit that still shows a vividly red, ripe veneer but also features some iron-like earthiness underneath. And it just keeps getting more harmonious and refined in texture with air - it's almost too sophisticated for a country wine, but ultimately that means it's got it all.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/22/2013 - cfk49 wrote: 90 Points
Good Mourvèdre earthiness with Miguoa suave texture.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/10/2013 - cfk49 wrote: 91 Points
Typical La Migoua sensuality on palate with dark fruit and some animality and leather. A good showing considering that this was the end of the supposed down period for the estate, and very typical example of La Migoua. No rush to drink remaining bottles.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/25/2013 - king-bing wrote:
A good wine, but didn't stand out enough for me, given it's reputation and pedigree. Nicely balanced, good perfume, but not enough wow or Mourvedre "wildness" for me.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/7/2013 - markjanes Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasted with 98, 03, and 05 Migoua's... clearly the best of the 4 wines... my tasting note was identical except the wine was less cloudy... its a lush version of the 98 with riper tannins, more midpalate weight, and more textural balance. I think its at its peak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/7/2012 - markjanes wrote: 90 Points
Cloudy with lots of sentiment, appropriately bricked... aromatically funk (more mouvedre than brett but both are there) > earth (wine has that mushroom tertiary aroma)... still has a nice core of fruit aromatics, any oak is completely integrated aromatically to me. On the palate moderate to high acidity, firmish midpalate, rustic but ripe and integrated/mostly resolved tannins, low to moderate alcohol. Wine is on the firm side of the balance spectrum , good length, great intensity and complexity. Wine is losing a bit of finesse with just a little bit of muddling of flavor and texture, coarse and rustic texture one expects, great expression of place. This bottle was in the latter half of its peak drinking window... if you have these you should check on them as I suspect most are ready to drink.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/22/2011 - David Strange Likes this wine:
Given my reasonably comprehensive exposure to Tempier wines I think this shows precisely what one seeks in mature Miguoa – it has soft, scented fruit, that has a hint of dirtiness to it (thanks to the Brett) and a powerfully rich earthiness. There are shades of leathery, meatiness to it, but in Miguoa these are always more subdued than in the other single vineyard wines thanks to its lower proportion of Mourvedre. For all its ‘unwashed animal’s rude bits’ aromas, this is a real charmer of a nose, giving, open and really complex. I love the palate, too, which has soft, ripe tannins showing not a hint of toughness, brilliantly mature fruit and that powerful earthiness that these wines showed so well before the 2001 style shift. This is absolutely a point, top-hole kit that reminds me of many happy experiences in the past.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/29/2011 - Zweder wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful and complex bouquet with herbs and spices, leather, animals and black fruits. Same on the palate; a lot of tastes through the whole mouth. A delicious and rustic wine of which the bouquet is the most impressive at the moment. Still holding back on the palate a little, so I trust that in a few years the taste will be even a little better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/29/2011 - jkoenen wrote: 90 Points
Tempier Tasting @ Joost B. (Netherlands): Double-decanted 4 hrs prior to tasting. Beguilingly complex nose of horsestable, ink, tar, hot rocks, blackberries, prunes and dates. Open and flattering, clear, pure and elegant. Rusticity adds depth and interest to this wine, but is not overbearing. Very good. 17,5/20. Drink now - 3 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/7/2011 - Paul D wrote: 88 Points
Decanted 1/2 an hour. Medium/deep garnet core, medium pale garnet rim. Developed and reasonably complex nose showing dark fruit, spice, earth and animal notes. Full bodied on the palate, dark fruit, spice, earth, good fresh acidity, slightly chewy, but not overly intrusive, tannins providing plenty of grip on the good length finish. Very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/2/2010 - JBVino wrote:
starting to reach the evolution where it releases secondary flavors but still pretty tightly wound...would give a solid decant or give it a few more years
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/25/2010 - brucegrayseattle@gmail.com wrote:
After a couple hours in the decanter it had largely shed its abrasive tannins leaving an incredible bottle of wine. Dark ruby color, wild mix of plum, dust, wet cement and underbrush on the nose followed by complex flavors of garrigue that made me want to drop it all and head for Bandol.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/9/2009 - mdefreitas wrote: 92 Points
Dinner @ Fringale (San Francisco, CA): This had all the secondary "stinky" (in a good way) flavors you would want in a mature Bandol. Wet earth, sous bois, dried mushrooms and dried black fruits.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/22/2008 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 83 Points
Abrasive tannin contributes to the rustic profile here, but the longer it sits the more the fruit sweetens and fattens up. It doesn't have much youthful gloss left and still has too much tannin to shed to put it in the drinking zone, though.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/12/2008 - whits wrote: 91 Points
opens with some air, the nose hints at liquorish and plum, dark fleshy fruit on the mid-palate, beautifully balanced, finishes earthy leaving a slight impression of chocolate
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/11/2008 - Paul D wrote: 90 Points
Medium ruby core, pale ruby rim. Complex, deep, pungent animal nose, with spice, earth, minerals even a hint of chocolate. Big but well balanced on the palate with chewy, but digestible tannins and decent acidity, a complex, interesting and fresh mid-palate, then a hint of bitterness on the good length finish. Overall a lovely, characterful wine, deep and complex but at the same time unfabricated and honest - a sense of it being happy in its skin. Drinking now but no hurry.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/18/2007 - king-bing wrote:
A little muted with a slightly funky, dirty nose - some brett? Highish acidity and still fairly tannic. Some black pepper in the background but not a lot of fruit. Certainly better with food. The last glass - after 2.5 hours - was much the best, with subtle notes of tobacco coming through and the acidity and tannins subsiding. Some fruit showing through to give a sweeter palate. Rather tasty.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/23/2005 - Rupert wrote: 90 Points
Seriously pongy; dense, fragrant, opening out nicely. For those who like bags of brett.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/16/2004 - Rupert wrote: 88 Points
Dense, brooding. The spicy aromatic tones developed after a while. Once this opens out will probably merit a 90.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/30/2003 - Eric wrote: 89 Points
Tasted at McCarthy & Schiering. This was a very brief impression of a just a few ounces, but I was impressed. A very barnyardy, animal nose. On the palate this is pure garrigue with explosive fruit and a chewy finish. While somewhat coarse, it is a simply awesome mouthful!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment