Decanted 2 hrs. Notes of dark fruit, minerals and spice. Well balanced with well integrated tannins. Paired nicely with grilled Wagyu steaks and lobster tails.
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"Baby are you okay? You've barely touched your Char-spookerie." (Chicago, IL): Served double blind. Sweet, juicy, and very ripe with a fair bit of tannin. A hint of strawberry here was the thing I seized onto to enable a GSM guess. Generally bigger and riper than I care to drink, with plenty of structure here for the long haul.
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Popped and poured, then drank over 4 hours. Ready to go out of the bottle. Riper fruits and earthy tones predominate. Super delicious. Began to fade a bit after hour 3. Drink now.
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The cork crumbled, annoyingly. Dark ruby colour. Vomity and medicinal nose. Raisiny red and dark berries, plum, pastille, toast, chocolate, mineral notes and plenty of spice as well as tarry notes on the palate, with supporting acidity, well-integrated tannin and good length. Warming alcohol on the finish. The fruit was burned and raisny and the alcohol was burning on the finish. Can’t wrap my head around how highly this wine is rated. Can’t stand this burned, raisiny, alcoholic style that produces wines that are only enjoyable in their youth when the fruit covers the structural flaws, but turn into a mess in these wine’s teenage years...
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Nose: mushroom, blueberry, chocolate, this is one of the best noses on a wine I've had in a long time Taste: blue berry, mushroom, dark chocolate in the midpalate, anise.
Low 90's solid wine.
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Transparent dark red, blackish core --- Nose shy and elegant, dark fruit, nice sourness, some tar, some rubber, some cardboard, black currant, some caribbean tobacco --- Palate fresh, nice acidity, fruity, nice tannins, nice tartness, watery and tart, green and black tea, earthiness, underbrush, nice sourness with cherry fruit followed by licorice and tar and some ash --- Finishes pretty long on fruity tartness accompanied by mineral as well as tar-rubber aspects. This vine is so tasty and captivating, still appears young. Gaining complexity with aeration.
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Dark transparent red --- Nose cardboard, shy elegant wood notes, red and black fruit, some sour cherries, some unripe plum --- Palate fresh, vibrant, nice acidity, watery, chocolate, some tar, some ash, pickled fruits, nice tartness, forest floor, some mushrooms --- Finishes on its fruity profile accompanied by nice tartness. Hmhh, what a tasty vine, matured but still so youthful, ageless, this is simply delicious and captivating. Not expressive at all, just balanced and elegantly intensive.
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Bought at the winery on our honeymoon in 2010. Cellared lovingly since then. Popped and poured for a $25 corkage at my wife's birthday dinner at Chambar in Vancouver. This was excellent - echo others on floral, dark fruit (especially cherries) and leather (according to her but I have a bit of a cold so...). Very little heat. Very well integrated tannins. I was worried I may be opening it too early but was thrilled within about 5 minutes of opening. I wish I had so very much more of this...
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This needed 90 minutes to open and soften. Over that time, there was high acidity and heat, and the wine appeared tightly wound. Hopefully this is just an indication that the wine needs more cellar time. But after 90 minutes the wine was singing, well integrated, silky with deep earthy background and flavors of dark fruits with touches of spices and leather. Medium tannins throughout. I was hoping for an amazing wine and although it did not deliver at that level, it was still a very nice wine.
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dark red in color. floral, pepper, blackberry, cherry, earth, on the nose. pepper, spice, blackberry, floral, earth, on the palate. medium acid, medium tannins, on the finish.
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Dark red color. Nice floral and dark fruit nose. On the palate, black and red fruits, spicy, slight earth with medium tannins. But heavy acidity with bitterness and heat. Will this resolve with more time? Not sure.
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Ripe black fruits in the bouquet. Round and fruity wine on the palate with soft tannin and bitterness. Definitely a more than ok and excellent wine, however not as special as expected. Probably wise to wait until 2016 or a bit longer.
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Game and Rhone Tasting @ Peggy's (Villa Reynart, Opoeteren): The nose is dominated by a floral, sweetish kind of smell. Lots of fruit too. Although it's good and lengthy, this wine doesn't do the trick for me. It's too polished, too sweet and too hot (for me). Tell-tale modernistic Ch9, slightly lacking in character and definition. 16.5/20
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Somehow foggy, nice cherry red --- Nose charming, cherry, violets, earthiness, some blackberry and raspberry, flowery notes, lilac, some licorice, some rubber and tar, licorice again --- Mouthfeel smooth and watery, then volumious, acidity and tannins adding agressiveness --- Palate smokiness, minerality, black fruit, some cherry, some plum --- finishes long on tar, smoke, minerality, dark fruit, dark chocolate. This vine was sold at high discounts in Germany in 2009 expecting CdP 2007 hype. Bought this wine at 25€, one of my best catches.
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WFA 2009; 10/22/2009-10/28/2009: Garrigue, stony minerality, dry with bitter tannins and lots of cold stony mouthfeel. In fact, it tastes like its name...Quartz.. and lots of it.
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North Berkeley Imports Tasting (Park Restaurant Dallas): Dark garnet, translucent. The nose is similar to the Les Quartz CdR - horse leather and cherry, but overall less funky. Sweet waxy cherry fruit attack with a suggestion of hard candy. Nice texture. This is pretty good, but at $95, I'd prefer the CdR at $34.
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Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the '80s and '90s (Tabla, Portland, OR): Decanted two and a half hours. Medium garnet color. Tons of heat coming through on the nose for me, along with a bit of oak. I can tell already this is a very extracted and modern approach. Again, lots of oak on the palate with the same extracted fruit. Spice and dark fruits on the finish, but again heat comes through and this is feeling a bit goopy. Simply too modern of a look at Chateauneuf for me. I'm sure others could love this, it's just not my style at all.
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Nose of smoke, roasted meat and black fruit... very powerfull in the month with ripe tannins, black fruit and roasted meat... the most "black fruit" of the night
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12/20/2022 - spendergast Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted 2 hrs. Notes of dark fruit, minerals and spice. Well balanced with well integrated tannins. Paired nicely with grilled Wagyu steaks and lobster tails.
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10/24/2021 - acyso wrote: 88 Points
"Baby are you okay? You've barely touched your Char-spookerie." (Chicago, IL): Served double blind. Sweet, juicy, and very ripe with a fair bit of tannin. A hint of strawberry here was the thing I seized onto to enable a GSM guess. Generally bigger and riper than I care to drink, with plenty of structure here for the long haul.
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4/22/2021 - bobadopolis Likes this wine: 93 Points
Popped and poured, then drank over 4 hours. Ready to go out of the bottle. Riper fruits and earthy tones predominate. Super delicious.
Began to fade a bit after hour 3. Drink now.
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11/15/2019 - PSPatrick wrote:
The cork crumbled, annoyingly. Dark ruby colour. Vomity and medicinal nose. Raisiny red and dark berries, plum, pastille, toast, chocolate, mineral notes and plenty of spice as well as tarry notes on the palate, with supporting acidity, well-integrated tannin and good length. Warming alcohol on the finish. The fruit was burned and raisny and the alcohol was burning on the finish. Can’t wrap my head around how highly this wine is rated. Can’t stand this burned, raisiny, alcoholic style that produces wines that are only enjoyable in their youth when the fruit covers the structural flaws, but turn into a mess in these wine’s teenage years...
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9/27/2019 - bubucap wrote: 91 Points
Was expecting more, Never Realy opened Up
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8/6/2019 - Porphyr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Gorgeous mix of 15%Syrah and rest Grenache. Dark and ruby. Fruit and spices. Drink now or keep for a bit longer.
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2/3/2019 - OpuMayaQuem Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drinking well now. Good balance and room to age further.
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6/16/2018 - familydoc Likes this wine:
Nose: mushroom, blueberry, chocolate, this is one of the best noses on a wine I've had in a long time
Taste: blue berry, mushroom, dark chocolate in the midpalate, anise.
Low 90's solid wine.
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11/20/2017 - mhensel wrote: 94 Points
Transparent dark red, blackish core --- Nose shy and elegant, dark fruit, nice sourness, some tar, some rubber, some cardboard, black currant, some caribbean tobacco --- Palate fresh, nice acidity, fruity, nice tannins, nice tartness, watery and tart, green and black tea, earthiness, underbrush, nice sourness with cherry fruit followed by licorice and tar and some ash --- Finishes pretty long on fruity tartness accompanied by mineral as well as tar-rubber aspects. This vine is so tasty and captivating, still appears young. Gaining complexity with aeration.
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4/16/2017 - wiscgrad wrote: 95 Points
MHENSEL nailed it. phenomenal CDP. probably near its peak, but showing no signs of slowing down.
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10/9/2016 - mhensel wrote: 94 Points
Dark transparent red --- Nose cardboard, shy elegant wood notes, red and black fruit, some sour cherries, some unripe plum --- Palate fresh, vibrant, nice acidity, watery, chocolate, some tar, some ash, pickled fruits, nice tartness, forest floor, some mushrooms --- Finishes on its fruity profile accompanied by nice tartness. Hmhh, what a tasty vine, matured but still so youthful, ageless, this is simply delicious and captivating. Not expressive at all, just balanced and elegantly intensive.
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12/31/2015 - Philippe_C wrote: 94 Points
Wow, nose of pure ripe red cherries, hint of eucalyptus... taste of ripe red cherries, loads of fresh and mineral.
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11/19/2015 - Philippe_C wrote: 93 Points
Very nice nose of pure ripe red cherries, hint of eucalyptus... taste ripe red cherries, loads of freshness and mineral
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6/5/2015 - Emmer Likes this wine: 94 Points
What a wine.
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10/20/2013 - Deputy wrote: 95 Points
Bought at the winery on our honeymoon in 2010. Cellared lovingly since then. Popped and poured for a $25 corkage at my wife's birthday dinner at Chambar in Vancouver. This was excellent - echo others on floral, dark fruit (especially cherries) and leather (according to her but I have a bit of a cold so...). Very little heat. Very well integrated tannins. I was worried I may be opening it too early but was thrilled within about 5 minutes of opening. I wish I had so very much more of this...
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9/18/2013 - cliffkol wrote: 91 Points
This needed 90 minutes to open and soften. Over that time, there was high acidity and heat, and the wine appeared tightly wound. Hopefully this is just an indication that the wine needs more cellar time. But after 90 minutes the wine was singing, well integrated, silky with deep earthy background and flavors of dark fruits with touches of spices and leather. Medium tannins throughout. I was hoping for an amazing wine and although it did not deliver at that level, it was still a very nice wine.
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5/16/2013 - affordableCollector wrote: 89 Points
dark red in color. floral, pepper, blackberry, cherry, earth, on the nose. pepper, spice, blackberry, floral, earth, on the palate. medium acid, medium tannins, on the finish.
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2/8/2013 - cliffkol wrote: 88 Points
Dark red color. Nice floral and dark fruit nose. On the palate, black and red fruits, spicy, slight earth with medium tannins. But heavy acidity with bitterness and heat. Will this resolve with more time? Not sure.
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2/18/2012 - Zweder wrote: 91 Points
Ripe black fruits in the bouquet. Round and fruity wine on the palate with soft tannin and bitterness. Definitely a more than ok and excellent wine, however not as special as expected. Probably wise to wait until 2016 or a bit longer.
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1/15/2012 - lsw_ff wrote: 95 Points
Berries and spice on the nose. Nice long finish. EXCELLENT wine! I gve it an hour in the decanter.
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11/19/2011 - jkoenen wrote: 88 Points
Game and Rhone Tasting @ Peggy's (Villa Reynart, Opoeteren): The nose is dominated by a floral, sweetish kind of smell. Lots of fruit too. Although it's good and lengthy, this wine doesn't do the trick for me. It's too polished, too sweet and too hot (for me). Tell-tale modernistic Ch9, slightly lacking in character and definition. 16.5/20
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7/23/2010 - mhensel wrote: 93 Points
Somehow foggy, nice cherry red --- Nose charming, cherry, violets, earthiness, some blackberry and raspberry, flowery notes, lilac, some licorice, some rubber and tar, licorice again --- Mouthfeel smooth and watery, then volumious, acidity and tannins adding agressiveness --- Palate smokiness, minerality, black fruit, some cherry, some plum --- finishes long on tar, smoke, minerality, dark fruit, dark chocolate. This vine was sold at high discounts in Germany in 2009 expecting CdP 2007 hype. Bought this wine at 25€, one of my best catches.
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10/27/2009 - Alex H wrote: 83 Points
WFA 2009; 10/22/2009-10/28/2009: Garrigue, stony minerality, dry with bitter tannins and lots of cold stony mouthfeel. In fact, it tastes like its name...Quartz.. and lots of it.
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9/29/2009 - OneLastSyrah wrote: 90 Points
North Berkeley Imports Tasting (Park Restaurant Dallas): Dark garnet, translucent. The nose is similar to the Les Quartz CdR - horse leather and cherry, but overall less funky. Sweet waxy cherry fruit attack with a suggestion of hard candy. Nice texture. This is pretty good, but at $95, I'd prefer the CdR at $34.
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2/8/2009 - Philippe_C wrote: 93 Points
Nose slightly closed, ripe red and black fruit... in the mounth, powerfull ripe peperonis, ripe red fruit, a bit tannic
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1/17/2009 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 87 Points
Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the '80s and '90s (Tabla, Portland, OR): Decanted two and a half hours. Medium garnet color. Tons of heat coming through on the nose for me, along with a bit of oak. I can tell already this is a very extracted and modern approach. Again, lots of oak on the palate with the same extracted fruit. Spice and dark fruits on the finish, but again heat comes through and this is feeling a bit goopy. Simply too modern of a look at Chateauneuf for me. I'm sure others could love this, it's just not my style at all.
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12/20/2008 - Philippe_C wrote: 95 Points
Nose of smoke, roasted meat and black fruit... very powerfull in the month with ripe tannins, black fruit and roasted meat... the most "black fruit" of the night
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8/1/2007 - blancdeblancs wrote:
lots of raspberries upfront otn, soft, slightly woody fruit with a touch of dried roses otp.
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