cooking School and Washington Wines (Loretta Paganini School fo Cooking): This is in a very good spot right now. Purple core, ruby at the rim. The nose is dusty with cassis and slight cigar box notes. On the palate, there is a nice complexity here. Good mouth feel. Nice balance. Long finish. No hurry, but I am not sure this gets better.
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Checking in on one of my perennial favorites. It's showing well, however took a while to develop, and I think I might wait a while on the rest of ours.
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very nice - bummer it was only a half bottle. Medium bouquet, typical Sineann ripe fruit, decent backbone and reasonably balanced. Despite alcohol I didn't think it was hot. Great with filet and plain steamed veggies.
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As previous comments suggest, this is a vey bright and juicy version of the varietal. Dark fruit up front, some pencil lead, clove, cinnamon, and light hints of pepper. I also noticed the dusty characteristic mentioned by others. The tannin structure and acidity are smooth and light. There is a touch of heat on it, even served chilled and after a solid 1 hr. decant. The heat never really seemed to completely blow off, but it didn't really detract from the experience either. I would say this still has at least 3-5 years of life. My guess is that prime drinking would be in the next 1-2 years. Even in so-called bad vintages, I don't think Champoux fruit ever disappoints.
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Some Cab Francs on a Saturday afternoon: Purple/ruby in color. The nose was a bit different here than the others. It had an iodine and dusty quality along with the black cherries. This is nice and more restrained than the others. There is some development and complexity. Nice acidity that added a juicy quality to it that helped cut thru the tannins. Slight heat on it. Still some upside to its development.
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375ml bottle. Similar to my 9/23 notes. Perhaps a little less complex than what I remember, tending more to the cinnamon and clove side while still showing strong red currant and cherry fruit. Other than that it was showing some nice mineral and floral notes. The tannins and structure seemed to have softened somewhat, but integrity was still there. Medium finish. After tasting a Sineann Baby Poux Cab Sauv 06 recently, I'm not sure this winery's style in their Bordeaux varietals lends itself to aging, so I would probably drink this now.
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Decanted for an hour. Dense and dark color with lightening garnet edges. Aromas of violet, gingerbread, red currant, black pepper. Dense and tight as it hits the palate; it opens up to notes of clove & cinnamon flavored tea, red cherry & currant, and leathery peppery vanilla notes. Bright and full flavored and developing through the palate. Plush feel with dusty tannins and a big lingering finish.
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Really nice, still a baby. Lots of grip and great acid to keep this nice and focused. Good extraction, oak is nicely integrated. Not a ton of varietal character in the aromatics, more so in the flavor. Nice punch in the front palate and good length in the mid and back. Can't wait to see what this will do with a few more years in the cellar.
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Notes from day 2. Dark red to purple color. Nose of blackberry damp earth, and faint jalapeno pepper. On the palate there was lush blackberry, a little earth, a hint of green pepper, and a little chocolate mixed in towards the end. The finish is above average in length and there is good structure and acidity to the wine. Much more toned down than I recall the previous bottle being. Hold. 50+5+12+17+6
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Notes from day 2. Dark red to purple black color. Nose of purple paint, blackberry, black raspberry, little earth. Palate was dark black fruit, blackberry, black raspberry, little earth, minerality, chocolate and white pepper heat. Finsih is above average in length and there wais decent balance to this "new world" styled wine that may be a llittle over the top. Hold. 50+5+12+17+6
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7/22/2016 - jhieb Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fantastic blueberry fruit, with fine tannin. There is an almost Rutherfordesque dustiness to the texture.
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10/25/2015 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 91 Points
cooking School and Washington Wines (Loretta Paganini School fo Cooking): This is in a very good spot right now. Purple core, ruby at the rim. The nose is dusty with cassis and slight cigar box notes. On the palate, there is a nice complexity here. Good mouth feel. Nice balance. Long finish. No hurry, but I am not sure this gets better.
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5/5/2014 - suburbanfrog Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very well balanced between the fruit, acidity, oak and tannins. Well made. This wine never disappoints!
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1/29/2014 - SeattlePaul Likes this wine: 92 Points
Checking in on one of my perennial favorites. It's showing well, however took a while to develop, and I think I might wait a while on the rest of ours.
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4/12/2013 - philastem Likes this wine: 92 Points
very nice - bummer it was only a half bottle. Medium bouquet, typical Sineann ripe fruit, decent backbone and reasonably balanced. Despite alcohol I didn't think it was hot. Great with filet and plain steamed veggies.
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5/10/2012 - sellerscellar wrote: 91 Points
As previous comments suggest, this is a vey bright and juicy version of the varietal. Dark fruit up front, some pencil lead, clove, cinnamon, and light hints of pepper. I also noticed the dusty characteristic mentioned by others. The tannin structure and acidity are smooth and light. There is a touch of heat on it, even served chilled and after a solid 1 hr. decant. The heat never really seemed to completely blow off, but it didn't really detract from the experience either. I would say this still has at least 3-5 years of life. My guess is that prime drinking would be in the next 1-2 years. Even in so-called bad vintages, I don't think Champoux fruit ever disappoints.
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2/26/2012 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 90 Points
Some Cab Francs on a Saturday afternoon: Purple/ruby in color. The nose was a bit different here than the others. It had an iodine and dusty quality along with the black cherries. This is nice and more restrained than the others. There is some development and complexity. Nice acidity that added a juicy quality to it that helped cut thru the tannins. Slight heat on it. Still some upside to its development.
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12/21/2011 - Zinlady wrote: 89 Points
Had at Champoux tasting as the aperitif - had with pate and with cheese pastry. Lovely wine - typical cab franc. Not big - Mellow
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12/9/2011 - MattMauldin wrote: 90 Points
375ml bottle. Similar to my 9/23 notes. Perhaps a little less complex than what I remember, tending more to the cinnamon and clove side while still showing strong red currant and cherry fruit. Other than that it was showing some nice mineral and floral notes. The tannins and structure seemed to have softened somewhat, but integrity was still there. Medium finish. After tasting a Sineann Baby Poux Cab Sauv 06 recently, I'm not sure this winery's style in their Bordeaux varietals lends itself to aging, so I would probably drink this now.
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9/23/2011 - MattMauldin wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for an hour. Dense and dark color with lightening garnet edges. Aromas of violet, gingerbread, red currant, black pepper. Dense and tight as it hits the palate; it opens up to notes of clove & cinnamon flavored tea, red cherry & currant, and leathery peppery vanilla notes. Bright and full flavored and developing through the palate. Plush feel with dusty tannins and a big lingering finish.
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7/10/2011 - kanab ram wrote:
Extremely tight even after decanting and two hour meal. Let lay or decant 8+ hours at this stage to fully appreciate.
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1/28/2011 - KC Bloodlines wrote: 92 Points
Really nice, still a baby. Lots of grip and great acid to keep this nice and focused. Good extraction, oak is nicely integrated. Not a ton of varietal character in the aromatics, more so in the flavor. Nice punch in the front palate and good length in the mid and back. Can't wait to see what this will do with a few more years in the cellar.
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12/30/2009 - manonthemoon wrote: 90 Points
Notes from day 2. Dark red to purple color. Nose of blackberry damp earth, and faint jalapeno pepper. On the palate there was lush blackberry, a little earth, a hint of green pepper, and a little chocolate mixed in towards the end. The finish is above average in length and there is good structure and acidity to the wine. Much more toned down than I recall the previous bottle being. Hold. 50+5+12+17+6
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10/10/2009 - manonthemoon wrote: 90 Points
Notes from day 2. Dark red to purple black color. Nose of purple paint, blackberry, black raspberry, little earth. Palate was dark black fruit, blackberry, black raspberry, little earth, minerality, chocolate and white pepper heat. Finsih is above average in length and there wais decent balance to this "new world" styled wine that may be a llittle over the top. Hold. 50+5+12+17+6
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