This needs a minute and aeration helps. Really tart and somewhat sour out of the gate but it settles down after a bit. Little to no fruit left, some tannins still lingering, mild secondary notes of some tobacco and leather but that’s about it. Definitely drinkable but past it’s prime.
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My best of these yet (as far as I can remember). Medium/dark color. Alluring nose of red fruit and cedar, this is finally showing some age. Slightly smoky charred attack. Bright red fruit. Acidity is holding up. Tannins are soft. Finish is long- fruity and tertiary. This keeps me wanting to grasp for more. It is wonderfully aged yet there's no sign of it being "old". Yum. I wish I had saved more of these! $13!! What? No way. Fuck's sake.
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Dark ruby, no bricking. Nice but not abundant black fruits, with classic graphite, leather and blackberry notes. Modest but good tannins, slightly drying out into a 20 second finish. Quite enjoyable and not likely to improve a lot. More likely to get thin, and the acid to become astringent over the next few years. Lovely nose dominated by graphite and dark cherry.
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Was concerned that this might be past its best but it was drinking nicely. The fruit is still lively and youthful and it is starting to mellow and develop . Good energy. Suspect it will better in 3 years . 4
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Last bottle drank was 2014. This from a batch bought at release in 03, in my cellar since. Looking for something to pair with a cassoulet. PnP, drank over 90 minutes.
Medium garnet color, some thinning at the rim. Nose of cherry, cedar, leather, mild graphite. Palate showing some brambly cherry, cedar, earth, vanilla, mineral. Lithe texture, secondary notes of blackberry/cherry. Medium body and medium/light finish.
Enjoyable, nice fruits and texture. Lacks depth, would drink up from here
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Nose of black berry, cigar box, and barnyard, more of the same on the palate, big body, mouth filling fruit, lots of leather and richness, a long, long, flavorful finish, enjoy a bottle yourself. 2 Photos uploaded, one of back label and one of front label.
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On the nose leather, liquorice, brambles and earth with slight blackberry, spice and plain chocolate notes. In the mouth it's fresh but a little soft, brambly and leathery with talc textured tannins that prove silky and embracing. Medium plus length. Nice.
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Coravin fun - Bordeaux + ring in (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Baked brambles, toasted bread, earthy, mushrooms, a little pyrazine and crushed rocks With time a little cream and vanilla. Quite fleshy, fresh and juicy with toast and coffee on the palate and a little warmth. Fruit fairly absent and it drops quickly compared to the Baron de brane. Drink up for me.
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From one of the first lots of wine I purchased, so close to 15 years in the cellar. Showing very well for what it is, a sub $20 Bordeaux from a great vintage. Deep dark ruby core with slight bricking. Cedar, violets, blackberry, cassis, earth. Tremendous balance with crunchy dark fruits and subtle tannins. Punching above the expected density for a wine in this category. Quite a charming wine that showcases why you want to age value Bordeaux from classic vintages.
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This is a thoroughly delicious cru bourgeois with a crimson red colour and classic nose of blackcurrants, dark plums, cedar and dark chocolate. The palate is mid-weight with lovely spherical fruit and a very fine tannin finish that finishes nicely albeit without great length. While not especially complex this is a lovely 2000 that is perfect for unfussy evenings.
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Several days later from memory. To say this bottle didn't owe me a thing is an understatement. Maybe a $15 price tag and now on its 18th birthday. But it's one of the crazy and ineffable qualities of a few pedigreed types of wine (to include Burgundy, Piedmont, some Old World rieslings and chenins for example) that you just don't know until you open the bottle. You also can't necessarily predict where the wine is on the arc of its drinking life cycle until you try, to say nothing of how it was stored, bottle variation etc. My own experience is that I have opened many bottles too early to see their maximum expression, but really, this one had every right to be over the hill.
And that's exactly what I thought for the first half of the bottle. It was a little soupy in texture, with spiky notes of menthol, earth, and some plummy fruit. i only drank about two glasses and half-heartedly put the rest in the fridge, just thinking I'd have a glass the next night and then toss it.
Then the unexpected alchemy took place. On day 2 it had seemingly resurrected itself. There was more balance and structure, the aromas and flavors somehow seemed to compose themselves into more "traditional" Bordeaux components, the fruit a little brighter and all in all express itself as a fully mature and enjoyable glass of claret. Neat trick.
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Nose of black berry, black cherry, currents, and cigar box, more of the same on the palate, very tasty, last tasted nearly three years ago and it is even better tonight, medium/big body, mouth filling fruit, at its best, suggest you enjoy it now, and a long finish.
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Lovely brick red. Mature nose. Sweet generous fruit still remaining. All nicely coming together. Good length. Does best with some food to deal with the remaining tannins.
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Dark garnet color with little signs of age. Fresh rain and earthy aromas. Dark berry flavors with some tar and charcoal but finishes very long and pleasant.
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A fairly deep colour; elegant blackcurrant fruit, with a slight creaminess, medium weight, nicely mature and with good length. This is very attractive for current drinking.
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A bright, deep colour; pure, elegant, blackcurrant fruit, with good weight and balance, a little tannin and some length. A very good cru bourgeois, drinking well now but not at all old.
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Touch of sousbois and graphite on the nose. Nice red fruit and cassis initially on the palate with some minerality developing. Acids are soft and tannins well integrated. A nicely made tuesday night bordeaux.
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Medium red colour; quite attractive plum/blackberry fruit, with modest depth and perhaps a little rustic. Enjoyable though. Now at its peak, but should hold for another year or two.
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My favorite bottle of this yet. I never thought this wine was capable of being as good as it is now. The fruit is sweet with a hint of spice, the body is much more full than ever before, and the finish leaves me wanting more. Nothing hard or harsh. What a terrific wine, finally. I gladly drank 3/4 of this bottle alone tonight. What a waste of a quarter of an excellent bottle of wine!
Lovely cedar, blackcurrant and plum nose with a round palate of fruit that became more discernible with breathing. There's fine structure and balance with a fine tannin finish. This is a very well made wine with age adding some distinction yet staying with the limits of the appellation. A great Monday night red !
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Medium crimson red colour. This is a very neat and finely made 'Thursday night Bordeaux'. The nose is classic cassis, graphite and touches of cedar and plum. The palate is medium weight with a lovely balance and mouth feel without striking complexities. A delicious outcome at 16 years with plenty of refinement and balance.
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well-knit together and silky, with classic Left Bank cassis and graphite with a little smoke and caramel; restrained, old-school 13% alcohol makes for medium body; drinks well above modest price; same owners as Pichon Lalande (though sold in 2007)
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Glass-decanted 60 minutes before pairing with grilled lamb chops, inspired by Bevetroppo's note. A dark garnet in the glass, with a touch of bricking to the thinning meniscus. The nose features rich dark cherry and blackberry, strong initial garrigue that slowly cleared, pencil lead, and a light melange of spices. Dry on the palate, medium-bodied, tannins mostly resolved, this was really appreciated with the lamb chops. My wife was skeptical, but was fully converted by the time we finished this excellent bottle.
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I think I paid between $12 and $15 for this back in the day and sat on it for a decade at least. There's no reason to think it won't be ok after 16 years, but not much cause for optimism either. Surprise! It offers a supple nose of graphite, subdued cassis, cedar and mint. Medium bodied at best, tannins fleeting, but gamy graphite laced flavors that paired perfectly with some pan-broiled and equally gamy lamb chops on a Tuesday evening. It feels like it's starting to crumble a little after being open for 90 minutes, but on the other hand, it doesn't owe me a thing.
Quick edit: Per my usual practice, I didn't scan the database to see if I rated this wine previously before entering the note. Whoa-rated it 6 years ago and didn't think much of it. Bottle variation? Taster variation? Fruit day? Strange magic.
A very refined wine in a bit of a leaner style. Taken on its own you wouldn't think this has much age, but I've had this wine enough to know that it has lost all of its hard edges over the years. I still wish it had a little more umph, but it was a pleasant drink without anything wrong per se.
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Better than the last bottle. Deep color with little settlement. A little smoke an dust on the nose and palate. Leather too. A bit more lush than the last bottle. Still four left. Drying a tiny bit but attractive.
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This wine is still in very good condition and it should be, being a 2000. The vintage is excellent and this wine is very good also. The wine is quite dark and concentrated, at least by sight. The nose is very large, Pauillac like, with tobacco, leather and cedar. There is definitely still a lot of life. However, the wine has more size and intensity than fruit. While the secondary flavors are wonderful, it lacks a bit in lushness and fullness of body. It ends up a bit dryer and leaner. I am one who likes austere wine but this one was a bit too much on that side for me. It is still completely pleasure giving but more mid-range body would be better. The body and lushness is a bit short for the very large structure it has.
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A continuation of my tasting series: "Are the 2000 left bank ready to drink"?
A little sharp and tannic acid remains, pleasant cassis nose - it needed a decant but it opened up over time. The taciturn/closed core issue I've seen on a lot of 2000s was there at the start but mellowed with about an hour decant. That distinct 2000 left bank deep cassis cabernet nose came back. Palate is simple and straightforward, but not unpleasant. It's an 87-88pt wine maybe but drinking like an 89 if you take your time and the bottle is in a good mood. Definitely a fantastic value for the $20 or so I paid somewhere along the way, it will outperform many $30 or more wines.
It did not answer the question whether the better 2000s are ready, but this label definitely is so drink up any you have. However, it also showed this dry/closed/taciturn palate core that I've tasted on many better 2000 left bank cab driven wines (but not all). It's hard to describe but distinct in my mind - I've only really experienced it with 2000. It was more muted than others, and went away with time. I do think that is a feature of 2000, they are drinking better lately but I just don't know if that's it or in a few years suddenly they really open and wow. I will say that as each year passes since maybe 2012 on average they are drinking better it seems. I'll try another next month. I'm not willing to say accelerate your drinking, but definitely the lesser wines like Bernadotte drink up, the better GCC or equivalent take a cautious approach.
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Why you should love bordeaux. The mid tier wines are just great for the price. Definitely in its drinking window and worth opening if you have in the cellar. No formal not sadly as consumed with friends at theirs for dinner but smooth with well integrated tannins. Drink now to 2018
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Nose of dark fruit, black cherry, currents, cigar box, and tea leaves, more of the same on the palate, delicious (but bitter as I am writing checks to the IRS and Tax Franchise Board, there goes 30 cases of wine, dammit) very delicious fruit on the mid palate, medium body, well worth the $25 spent a few years ago.
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What a lovely wine. great balance of bramble berry fruit, spice and leather. also I noticed some hint of tobacco. Like a fine cuban cigar, this wine sings with alot of secondary flavors. some, almost floral like. This wine is at it's prime. Can't imagine it getting any better than this. Allow a little time to open up. At first it had a little hint of funk, but faded away with time.
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1st bottle of a case bought on release, professionally stored in the Napa Valley. Medium garnet color, clear at the rim. Delicate nose of tobacco and cedar. Medium bodied and elegant in the mouth, very pretty with grilled chicken with a good sense of balance. Medium finish, drink now though 2024.
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Casual dinner on the porch tonight, before a busy week...after a Ridge Chardonnay, served with London broil and herb potatoes on the patio - turned out to be a spot on pairing.
Decanted for about 45 minutes - needs the air to get going and was much richer after 90 minutes than when first opened. Vegetal notes fade and fruit opens up.
Consistent with prior notes. Bought these at release in early 2000s, well kept in my cellar...it's really aged nicely. Medium garnet color, mild bricking, orange at the rim. Nose of berries, lavender, spices...barnyard more prevalent when first opened
Palate repeats with dusted red fruits, cedar, graphite. Medium finish
Nothing really profound here but really fit the bill for a casual dinner. Better than last bottle - would drink over the next 5 years.
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This opens up to a relatively balanced wine with blackberry in abundance. The complexity and the finish didn't match the Branaire 2000 that Charlie brought.
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I let this air out in the glass for an hour. Garnet color with orange rim. The nose evolves over time - currant, berries, herbs, licorice, cigar box, earth, dark cherry. Strong green pepper on the palate, along with the fruit, earth, cedar. High acidity, medium+ tannin and body. Given the herbal, green pepper notes, I would have guessed significant Cab Franc in this, vs. 60% Cab and 40% Merlot. I like the vegetal notes in this, along with the nice complexity. Maybe the vegetal notes are not for everyone, but it works for me.
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At home with fajitas, an unlikely pairing but not much spice in the dinner...we were in the mood for Bordeaux
Bought these at release in early 2000s, well kept in my cellar. Opened and slow oxed for about 30 minutes, started to show after about an hour. Medium garnet color, mild bricking. Nose of berries, lavender, spices. Palate repeats with dusted red fruits, cedar, graphite. Medium finish.
Nice elegant Bordeaux, has aged nicely. Probably won't improve much, should be in a good zone for the next 5 years. Not exceptional but enjoyable
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Decanted and poured after only half an hour - needed longer. Starting to show some reasonable quality after another hour. Still just OK, unbalanced lacking significant backbone. Reasonable fruit. Not bad, not great
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Wonderful. Let this one open up over four hours before pairing with grilled steaks. Some graphite and damp earth upon cork pop, settled into tobacco, earth and cedar notes. Very smooth and very pleasant but not incredibly long finish. Three more in the cellar and eagerly looking forward to the rest.
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Lovely nose of cedar, heavy cigar box, and dark fruit, more of he same on the palate, medium body, tasty, and mouth filling, medium/long finish, lovely value.
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At first the nose seemed a little vegetal, but that changed into a smoky slightly charred characteristic with really nice deep rich fruit in the back ground, not unusual for medoc. Over the course of 24 hours it evolved into a lovely round bordeaux, I still feel like it's got some years to really peak, but it drinks much better than its $13 price tag.
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Maybe this one was suffering from bottle shock but after a while it started to reveal its heritage, with good cedar and cigar box savoury aromas, a touch of licquorice, cassis, inky violet. Medium palate, still fresh black fruit, tobacco. Long, balanced finish. Very nice. Old school claret, hitting its stride.
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Consistent notes the last eighteen months. Lovely nose of black cherry fruit with hints of currents, cedar and cigar box, more of the same on the palate with better bouquet, leather and richness, lovely aftertaste with a medium/long finish, should improve two points during the next two years.
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Had with Easter lunch/dinner with butterflied leg of lamb on the grill (coated for several hours with crushed garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage olive oil mixture with a touch of smoked paprika - worked nicely on NZ lamb). Solid, clean, no nonsense Bordeaux, not a lot of complexity, but good fruit and texture, solid mid palate, right for a Sunday afternoon feast.
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My fourth bottle of this wine in the last eighteen months. Consistent notes. Lovely nose of black cherry fruit with hints of currents, cedar and cigar box, more of the same on the palate with richness, easy drinkability and fairly complex, lovely aftertaste with a medium/long finish, should improve two points during the next two years, but why wait, enjoy a bargain in the fabulous 2000 vintage of Bordeaux today.
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Opened and poured. Very dark. Only showing a hint of age on the colour (less than my last note would indicate). A few tears on the side of the glass. Black currant and Cherry on the nose with smoke and cedar. Faint earthiness as well (a bit of barn yard coming through as it opened up consistent with last bottle). Palate is medium to full bodied and has good fruit, relatively low acidity, but soft and well integrated tannins. The earthyness is more pronounced on the palate. The after taste is medium long and it does feel a bit soft on the mid palate (it feels slightly thin if you will). It is drinking very well. The lack of acidity and mid palate force leads me to believe it will have limited improvement potential, but it drinks really well without being astonishing in any way and will probably last another 2-4 years. 2 = Good
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A case study in why to cellar and why 2000 really might live up to the hype. This under $20 wine showed beautifully. 1 hour splash decant prior to the meal, served with a lamb shank and au gratin potato meal that allowed the earthy notes of the wine to really shine through. "Classic" notes of cedar, cigar box, good 'ol Left Bank aromatics. This was well made and right in the zone. Nice mouthfeel and right amount of currant type fruit to tie it all together.
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Surprised how much I liked the wine the first night. Smooth integrated fruit with a lingering finish. On night two, the nose was a wonderful old world musk but the wine had faded considerably. Does not have much time left.
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Lovely barnyardy nose with some pencil shavings, smooth slighly austere palate at first, which broadens out with a little airing; cleaner on the palate than on the nose; medium intensity; a classic food-friendly Bordeaux with a touch of Pauillac-like class. No fireworks but very nice and great value.
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Glass has tears on the side with colour showing maturity with a bit of brown added to the violet core. Nose has red fruit and earthy notes, coffee, and with a bit of barnyard tones. Not 100% clean. On the palate it is very pleasant. Consistent with the nose. Tannins are present but pleasant and slightly sweet. Medium bodied. Not overly complex. Clearly showing some maturity, but I would not rule out that it can go another few years. 2 = Good
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Best bottle of this yet. Balanced, showing great pedigree despite its lack thereof! Not overly rich or flashy, but has nice fruit combined with tannin that is starting to soften and an acidity that holds this wine up well. I'm finally seeing the value of this little guy.
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This wine needs lots of time to open up. It should be decanted well in advance of drinking. Right off the bat it was pretty terrible, but after about an hour of breathing it came to life.
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This wine was surprisingly good, thanks to Pichon longueville. Purple color with a fruity, dusty nose. Black currants, dust and tobacco on the palate with a medium body and a medium finish. Still lot of tannins left that integrate really good after decanting. Decanted for 1 hour. Drink now - 2014.
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Very impressed with the next magnum of this wine. Thought it might be passed its best but still showed great flavours and depth. 1 hour decant before drinking and opening up fully after 2 hours.
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Lovely nose of black cherry fruit with hints of currents, cedar and cigar box, more of the same on the palate with richness, easy drinkability and fairly complex, lovely aftertaste with a medium/long finish.
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This is very good. A lesson on what inexpensive wine from good vintages in bordeaux can become in 10 or more years. Deep violet color, solid to the rim. Bright aromas of tobacco early on and spicy tomatos with earth as time in the glass passes...dare I say V8? Good balance. The palate is medium in body. There is a little structure that fades over an hour in the glass. Mildly dry. Could be good with red pastas and all meats. Great QPR!
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Surprisingly good, and much better than my last bottle four years ago. Matched much better with the steak than the worn and softer 1998 Fox Creek Reserve Cabernet. This wine shows a palate full of dark fruit, good heft to the palate and presence in the mouth, with nicely rounded tannins. Nothing profound here, but a good showing. Blackstone's Steakhouse with the Westport guys.
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I had forgotten I had this left in the cellar and discovered that I had three bottles. This note is from the last bottle, but all three were consistent. I didn't expect much from these given the relatively humble estate this far out from the vintage, but I was pleasantly surprised. While lacking the power and complexity of one of the marquis wines from this vintage, there's plenty to enjoy here. This opens up well with 10-15 minutes in the glass. Nice smokey/earthy component to go with some secondary fruit and smooth tannins. An absolute lesson in why petite chateau from great vintages can be excellent bargains.
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This has a really lovely perfume, very floral with some allspice and cherry liquer. On the attack, it's light (not much concentration), bright (good acids) and simple (no complexity). Almost seems chianti classico (normale) in style. Still, drinking nicely... very pleasant, elegant, fairly forgettable. It begins to fade with an hour or so of air, so time to drink.
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Nose of tobacco, cedar and underbrush. Earth and mushrooms on the platae. Tannins have outlived the fruit, but a pleasant wine still. Fully mature. Drink up. Not a bad QPR.
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Retains good colour; blackcurrant lozenge, briary fruit, tar, an attractive nose; dry, robust fruit, rustic, an astringent edge - tannins & acidity poke through on a diffuse finish. Best to drink up. Reflects its status?
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18c; no decant; clear ruby-red; nice nose of cassis, earth, tobacco; balanced structure, well integrated tannins, but fruit is weakening; touch of minerals, red and black currant, with a smooth finish; drank w/ Hermann, who noted that I shouldn't sit on these; 16.5.
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Mid/dark red. Curiously astringent and funky when first tasted over dinner. Surprisingly redeemed itself a week later (having been vac-u-vin-ed and kept in the fridge) - by this time it had developed into a beautifully full and rounded glass of mature claret which was thoroughly enjoyed by Mrs H (who is by no means a fan of aged claret).
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This wine, when first opened, is a bit out of balance with acidity and very present sweet tannins dominating; however, with two hours of aeration it begins an ever-changing transformation first into a well balanced tobacco, earthy, and sweet tannin-braced wine with some coffee and bold saddle leather on the nose, followed by the emergence of menthol notes as dark fruit and raspberry begins to come out more. It ends up losing its complexity after 3-4 hours as the fruit comes to the forefront.
Went very well with rare filet butterflied into 3 layers with sauteed portabellos between them and red/yellow peppers as garnish, along with French style mashed potates made with milk, garlic, nutmeg, and egg yolk. On its own, however, I don't know if it would be outstanding -- but would still be very good. Unsure if it will evolve further, and I think that all of the great components that show themselves at different points as this wine aerates will never be in perfect harmony. Still, this is so much better than so many similarly-priced bdx'es from '04 and '05 at this point...
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I'm pretty sure I've rated this before and that this note is less complimentary than previous. Nose is attractive enough, showing pronounced evolved bouquet coffee, leather, iodine and cedar though with no apparent fruit. The fruit is largely MIA on the palate as well, and as such, the impression is that the wine is drying up. It's hard to complain when I bought this for around $15 but I was hoping for a little more. Unless it's bottle variation I'd drink now.
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I liked this wine. Not spectaculor, but by no means did I need to pour it down the drain. Day 2 tasted better than day 1, as some of the edges had smoothed out.
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Opened and aired in the cellar for 2 hours, this Cru Bourgeois poured a dark ruby with light edges, and featured a maturing nose of currant, tobacco and leather. 60% cab 40% merlot with traces of both cab franc and petit verdot, the palate features pleasing red currant and blackberry fruits, with prominent sweet tobacco, with excellent buttressing acidity and nearly resolved tannins. This was an excellent match for grilled top sirloin steaks with red beans and rice.
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Purplish ruby. Strong scents of caramel and barbaque smoke, with nuts and bell pepper, haut-medoc merlot-ish. Palate is a a litte diluted, some cream and black fruits, medium-bodied, with a grape-skin-like rusty medium finish with a little oak. The character of Bordeaux slowly piled up after decanted. Nose of cassis, forest, mint and liquorice with trace of biscuits, fruity palate which was richer and medium finish. Maybe good with food. I like 2002 more.
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Overall, a disappointment. I don't know why this wine has so rarely lived up to the expectations set in WA's reviews of the 2000s. This is definitely not a sleeper of the vintage. It's a clunker of the vintage.
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An excellent wine. More depth than the 2001, and softer, less focused than the 2003. This 2000 is more generous than both. A sweet Bordeaux nose showing early signs of maturity. Almost Merlot-ish flavors that are kept in check with Haut Medoc typicity and flavor profiles. Perhaps a little diluted on the palate. The finish is a little short after the awesome nose, which keeps this wine from achieving a 90+ score in my opinion. Is this the best Bernadotte?
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Excellent dusty nose of red fruits, oak/wood, and some vegetables. Palate has good structure, tannins that will last a few more years but that don't detract from the wine. Some fruit, but the nose certainly outperforms the palate. Decent everyday drinker. I don't have any more, but if I did I would estimate the other bottles would last another 2 years before declining.
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Retail purchase, held for 7 years. Decanted 1 hour. Dark red, lightly coating the glass. Warm and inviting nose of red fruit (lingonberry, to quote my wife!), tobacco, and bell pepper. Medium-full, pleasant if a tad under-ripe, but an under $20 bottle showing well 10 years on is a sign of the quality of the 2000 vintage. Not a deep wine, but it is has staying power. This wine can last a few more years.
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Dark ruby. Classic mature Bordeaux nose coming through of earth, wet rocks, and dark fruit. Beautiful balance of dark lack fruits, cedar, and earth. Still dry and grippy with high acidity but drinking very well right now. Paired with a ribeye. Good stuff and a great value.
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I've had enough of this to suspect this last experience was the result of bottle variation or something but this bottle showed its age more than others we've had and would absolutely indicate the beginning of the end if taken alone. Will need to have another bottle soon as point of reference. May be time to drink up.
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I keep hoping for more out of this wine after good early reviews from Parker. I opened this a couple of nights ago knowing I wouldn't drink it right away. It hasn't changed much over the last 48 hours- structured but lean and lacking fruit. My hope is that it's asleep & will wake up with another few years. This hope is buoyed by the fact that it hasn't changed much in 48 hours- no real signs of oxidation. It's not flawed, just lacking real charm and any roundness. Maybe the fruit is underneath, I will keep trying.
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Finally. After two clunkers, a decent bottle of this. Phew. Perhaps the whole case is not damaged. Showing well this time, with early signs of tertiary notes combined with still lively fruit, medium body and structure. I see little upside to holding these.
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Another off bottle. Was the last one corked, or has this wine begun to fall apart? Or was it damaged somehow? I could have had two corked bottles in a row, and the last one certainly seemed to have the telltale aromas and tastes of TCA. But this bottle too was showing off flavors and yet did not have the same TCA profile. Hmmmmm . . . I am beginning to lean toward a combination diagnosis--TCA and damage in the last bottle, just damage in this one. Not a good sign either way.
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Youthful purple/black color. Creme de cassis and saddle leather with some bell pepper notes. Nose is very nice, and hints at what I love about aged bordeaux, but its on the palate that this one really sings. Nicely textured, almost syrupy with hints of grippy tannins on the back end, reminding you of what this was like as a baby. Incredible value--picked this up on winebid for $10/bottle. Four more left. This should improve with a few more years, but is drinking nicely now
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A little closed. Earth, spice and red raspberry with some basil. Finish - basil and raspberry for 20 seconds. This is going to be great in 5 more years.
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Tight and acidic at first, but softened after a six hour decant. Decent cabernet fruit, but not much stucture an fairly one-dimensional. Went well with a steak, though.
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Great deal for short money. Impenetrable at the outset, this settles into a very pleasing Bdx. Interesting fruit and complexity below the tannin - even some tar reminscent of Piedmonte. Much better with air - give this 1-2 hours air minimum.
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Bricking just a bit but very deep color. There is a bit of herbal streak to this wine, but not in a detracting way. Full body that fills out the whole palate, Still finishes with some tannin, but drinking pretty well right now.
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Dark ruby with some bricking. Decanted 1/2 hour before tasting, but it really opened up over the evening. Muted dark fruit, leather, and a hint of mint on the palate. Nice balance with decent finish.
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Drinkable now but should last another decade. Medium-level dark fruits and flowers both in the nose and on the tongue. We enjoyed it with chicken and a Mexican green chili sauce and brown rice. It was wonderful. This has to be one of the best values in the Bordeaux world.
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Dark ruby with bricking at rim. Not overly powerful, but mature Bordeaux nose of dark fruit and saddle leather. Dark fruits dominate the palate with leather and hints of mint and chocolate (from the merlot in the blend?). Could still shed some tannin, but on the whole this was very well resolved. Long finish. Very nice; elegant if not overpowering. Drinking well right now.
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This followed Brane Cantenac on thanksgiving night. It was a hard act to follow, but my impression of this wine is that it is quite hard and charmless. I'm not sure if it'll really flesh out or not, but there's no harm in giving it a few more years before trying again.
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This wine, more than many others, really opens up with two hours in the decanter - although it is still interesting at the pop and pour stage, it jumps several points after that time open. If there was just a hint more in terms of complexity, this would be 90+. 89+ as it is. Our top QPR right now and a fantastic food wine.
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Really nice Bordeaux profile with toasted oak, herb and some acid. Has a very classy nose. Nobody's definition of complex but a nice maturing bottle. Has some green notes and some fine chewy tannins. Tastes like a lot of Cab Franc to me, which is a good thing. All in all a nice wine from a distinctive vintage and a pleasure to drink. Wish I'd bought a case. B/B-
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This wine deserves more credit than it gets - this is very nice. Upon open, the fruit does not jump out at you but, after an hour in the glass, it really finds you. Perhaps this wine is what some of the older Bordeaux vintages tasted like young - back before they worked so hard to make them accessible young. I suspect this wine has a good long life ahead of it and, probably, is still too young to be enjoyed by many. If the '00 has to sit this long, I'm guessing the '05 will need 15 years.
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A dark plum in the glass, this Bordeaux was initially quite stout straight out of the bottle, with roasted meat, cassis, dark chocolate, a mix of red and black berries, and a touch of menthol amidst decent acid and tannins. Subsequently, this was double-decanted for 30 minutes and opened up and smoothed out a bit; that is, until it was back in the bottle for 10 minutes when it again picked up strength. No brickiness to the rim at all, this was an excellent match for medium-rare top sirloin steaks with cracked pepper and kosher salt. Indeed, the whole family also perceived of the pepper spice in this bottle, consistent with prior reviewers' notes. The finish was on the order of 15-20 seconds, in keeping with this property's station in the classification. All in all, this was considerably better than its lowly 82-point Wine Spectator score would indicate, and I'm glad to have two more bottles of this!
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18c; one and half hour decant; clear ruby-red; delicate nose of cassis, some earth, tobacco; balanced structure, with assertive, but integrated tannins and expressive fruit; touch of minerals, solid red and black currant, with a tart, cranberry finish (curiously enjoyable), but which settled down with time--subtle floral and spice notes; did not deepen with time, but given the full tannins should hold up for a few more years; 16.5.
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Firm wine night, Karam's donation. I thought this was rather good for its price, and that it showed off what a good vintage 2000 was for Bordeaux. Deer purple colour, with a clear, light red rim still. Started off rather leafy and savoury, with loam, mushroom and some meat. The flavours took on slightly plummy tones after time, with a nice, high overtone of dark blueberry. The palate was very fresh, but just a bit too astringent. Good and grippy, but still fine tannins though, and concentrated cherry/berry flavours with a flourish of peppery spice at the tail. Simple, but pleasant wine, styled in a very modern way.
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Herbal some very light color on the legs. Chocolate nose, viscous. Soft and sweet. Good length and complexity. There are sour cherries and maybe some black raspberry.
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Mineral and fruit, as would be expected, without the layers of complexity or the lasting power of the classified growths. Quaffable, but not spectacular, perhaps not even an impressive QTP ratio. Average.
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Decanted and consumed over 3 hours. Deep garnet-red color with a bit of brickiness at the rim. Lovely, classic, mature Medoc nose of earth, cedar and cassis. Lacks a bit of complexity. Very good on the palate as well with plenty of ripe fruit, still a bit tannin and an elegant mouthfeel. Good, moderate finish. All in all this was a surprisingly nice Medoc that clearly came from a ripe vintage. The only thing it lacked was secondary interest in the aroma or on the palate.
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Well, a few more years of cellaring have smoothed this one out, but it still comes off as a polished, bright, blue/black fruited, fairly modern styled Bordeaux, only one that is a bit smoother, and perhaps longer in the mouth. Decent and pleasurable, but falls short in terroir or roots or complexity. B/B-
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Dark color. Sweet and fresh nose, with tobacco leaf, black currants, cassis, and later developed a hint of barnyard. Rich, good length, cabernet fruit shows, tobacco, black currants. Medium to full bodied, this has gained weight since last I tried about 6 months ago. Nice finish, barely tannic, drinking well now. The wine does seems a bit one-dimensional, but an awesaome QPR Bdx at about $20 that is better than many California Cabs at twice the price. My wife thought it had personality.
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I’ve tasted this wine together with Chateaux Maucaillou ‘01, Forcas Hosten ‘99 and La Reservé de la Leoville – Barton ’96. This one could be everybody’s darling. It is a kind of hyper modern Bordeaux wine which is sweet, fleshy and fruity. The colour was quite dark and showed a very strong red. It smelled like incinerated almonds, first aid bandages and rum chocolate. The taste was very dominated by cherry aromas which got weaker after some hours and typical Cabernet Sauvignon aromas of paprika developed. In résumé this wine had every aspect of a modern Bordeaux I don’t like. From time to time it can be interesting to taste a wine like this. But not more than once a year. I think it could be a hit on a high class Tupperware party. I hope this style will not establish in too many Bordeaux wineries, because this is leading to nowhere.
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Very dark color. Lead pencil nose with some spicyness and dark fruit hiding underneath. On the palate this is very very tight still. This bottle was left open for >24hrs and never really opened up. It was a good enough drinker, but the tannins still dominate and the fruit hasn't come out yet. I'm hoping that with a few more years this becomes a better wine.
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G8 - França (Ilha das Flores): (375ml) Nariz retraído, com um traço herbáceo e um toque sutil de feno, quase estrebaria. Mineral, seco, média acidez, taninos numerosos, tostado e boa fruta, embora um pouco fluido no final, sumindo na boca. 88-89pts. E.
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Nez très typé et charmeur, de cassis, cèdre et poivron. Un cliché du Médoc! En bouche il a ce coté joufflu, le fruité irrésistible du millésime béni. Souple et très agréable, il est plutôt léger et pas très long, un grand charmeur sans réelle profondeur. Très bel achat à ce prix, il pâlirait dans un concour mais se révèle un bel accompagnement pour la bouffe. 88 pts
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Off red coloring fading a bit at the edges. The nose was earth and black cherries. The first taste was tight as a wedge. The last barely moved from the initial tasting. The fruit and earth remained from the nose but I don't think this is going to get much better over time.
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The additonal 2 years in bottle (last tasted 9/2/2005) has made a tremendous difference. This wine is open for business and ready to drink now. Nice QPR.
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Great nose of blueberry, cassis and mocha. The beginning was a bit acidic but as it was getting more air, the wine got better. I thoroughly enjoyed it with my family.
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Showing some tarnish on edge of glass, med ruby - currants and caramel and saddle with some florals - cassis, some saddle/cedar but well integrated soft tannins, med concentration very soave. Fruit dissipated after 4 hours.
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Very good for price. Decanted for 4 hours. Barnyard and some hidden strawberry on the nose. Some earth and leather, a little smoke (smoked almonds?). Good value.
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Nice deep red color and lotsa legs (whiich usually does not mean that much); first night it seemed a bit tight-- by the second tasting the next day it had opened up and was slightly smokey nose with rich black fruit taste and tannins in the mouth. I enjoyed this wine, and believe it will get even better with age. A bargain at this price.
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Pretty good wine after it was decanted for about 3 1/2 hours. Up until then, this was pretty tight and stingy with the fruit. We tasted this up against a $65+ Pomerol and it faired well amongst those doing the tasting.
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Best showing of this in a while, seems like it's starting to shed it's tannins. Lots of earth, smoke and some coffee, but there's some brambly fruit showing in there now too. My guess is that this will really start to sing in another year or two...
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Mostly Cabernet at Eden: 6 - Smoky damp underbrush nose - clearly more Bordeaux. Somewhat sweet attack with high-toned mid palate. Some weediness. Suffered from being last after the Karl Lawrence and Pride.
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Now showing very well - slightly smokey with rich black fruits on the nose and fine tannins in the mouth. The attack is clean and brisk with plenty of sweetness. This is a great Bordeaux which will age well for 5+ years
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Not bad. Given some the reviews, I thought it would not be great. However, it had some firm tannins and was nice with the steak. Certainly did not have a California Cab "oomf" or a lot of complexity.
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Served single blind: Dark, full bodied, blackcurranty, woody nose, confirmed on palate, nicely persistent. Still a bit tight, but pretty impressive for this level.
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This was completely closed down. Nearly 4 hours of decanter air and lots of glass swirling, but it just wouldn’t budge. I’ll try again in a couple years.
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This wine is well structured and will develop at least another five years or more. The nose was filled with dark cherries and earthiness. Tannins and acid were still present in the taste but did not disrupt the showing of earthy ripe fruit. This is the kind of wine you can chew on.
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Not decanted. Just some quick notes on this as I served this to friends to go with home made pizza. Deep red color, clean earthy loamy smell, ripe fruit, with a hint of hops(!), firm tannins but softens quickly. Very good.
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Decanted for about an hour prior to dinner. A very enjoyable Bordeaux, standard casis, underlying chocolate notes, in the mouth was firm, tannins well integrated and the length surprisingly persistent. I wish I had a few more. Very good.
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Finishing off the second half of this bottle tonight as I type this, and I am pleasantly surprised by the staying power. I didn't gas it just to see how it would do, and it stood the test. By this, I would definitely say that it will just get better. If you like good Bordeaux with a little barn surrounded by berries and leather, for a good price, this is a keeper.
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Don't even think about opening one of these! Decided it was time to try a low-end B2K and popped this for dinner tonight with short ribs (thanks to a recipie from the food and wine forum). Now, three hours later, it's just starting to come around. The initial taste was green, tanic, herbacious, and acidic. There was some fruit there, but buried way deep. The nose was shut tight.
As the evening progressed, it became a bit softer, modestly more approachable, less herbacious, and now I'm starting to pick up some fruit.
I won't touch one of these for another two years. Or I'll decant for 8 hours ahead of time. And if that's so for a wine at this level, I wonder what the bigger guns are like?
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This was the third bottle of this I'd drunk in the past couple of months. This was less aromatic than the last bottles, and seemed somewhat chunky and inarticulate. A solid bottle of claret.
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Very good table Bdx - Barnyard, cassis, hint of chocolate. Good lingering length. Wait till 2007 to consume the rest.
The wine opened up more second night. Chocolate more noticable, just a hint of graphite. Bright "cabernet cherry" kind of flavor. Tannins prominant, but not intrusive. Seems less earthy.
Great, great value.
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Bright disc. Opaque black robe with purple rim. Clean nose, showing moderately intense coffee, meat and black fruit. Medium-bodied on the palate, with liberal oak and firm, well-integrated tannins. Medium finish.
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11/20/2023 - The Wine Monkeys Likes this wine: 90 Points
Talk about bottle variation. This bottle was FAR better than our first. Much more in line with previous reviews.
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5/4/2023 - The Wine Monkeys wrote: 85 Points
This needs a minute and aeration helps. Really tart and somewhat sour out of the gate but it settles down after a bit. Little to no fruit left, some tannins still lingering, mild secondary notes of some tobacco and leather but that’s about it. Definitely drinkable but past it’s prime.
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3/15/2023 - grossie Likes this wine: 92 Points
My best of these yet (as far as I can remember). Medium/dark color. Alluring nose of red fruit and cedar, this is finally showing some age. Slightly smoky charred attack. Bright red fruit. Acidity is holding up. Tannins are soft. Finish is long- fruity and tertiary. This keeps me wanting to grasp for more. It is wonderfully aged yet there's no sign of it being "old". Yum. I wish I had saved more of these! $13!! What? No way. Fuck's sake.
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11/18/2022 - kzkpt Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark ruby, no bricking. Nice but not abundant black fruits, with classic graphite, leather and blackberry notes. Modest but good tannins, slightly drying out into a 20 second finish. Quite enjoyable and not likely to improve a lot. More likely to get thin, and the acid to become astringent over the next few years. Lovely nose dominated by graphite and dark cherry.
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7/20/2022 - Chris Davies Likes this wine: 90 Points
Was concerned that this might be past its best but it was drinking nicely. The fruit is still lively and youthful and it is starting to mellow and develop . Good energy. Suspect it will better in 3 years . 4
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12/15/2021 - CamWheeler wrote: 89 Points
SLDS December 21: Blackberry, blueberry and plum on the nose. Sweet edged on the palate, but does hold up with some backbone still. Drink now.
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3/1/2021 - walkerjfw wrote: 88 Points
Last bottle drank was 2014. This from a batch bought at release in 03, in my cellar since. Looking for something to pair with a cassoulet. PnP, drank over 90 minutes.
Medium garnet color, some thinning at the rim. Nose of cherry, cedar, leather, mild graphite. Palate showing some brambly cherry, cedar, earth, vanilla, mineral. Lithe texture, secondary notes of blackberry/cherry. Medium body and medium/light finish.
Enjoyable, nice fruits and texture. Lacks depth, would drink up from here
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10/24/2019 - ThalesGaspar Likes this wine: 91 Points
Really good, drink soon.
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8/9/2019 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose of black berry, cigar box, and barnyard, more of the same on the palate, big body, mouth filling fruit, lots of leather and richness, a long, long, flavorful finish, enjoy a bottle yourself. 2 Photos uploaded, one of back label and one of front label.
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6/9/2019 - chatters wrote:
On the nose leather, liquorice, brambles and earth with slight blackberry, spice and plain chocolate notes. In the mouth it's fresh but a little soft, brambly and leathery with talc textured tannins that prove silky and embracing. Medium plus length. Nice.
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12/15/2018 - SkyCellar Likes this wine: 90 Points
Finally coming into its own.
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12/10/2018 - chatters wrote:
Coravin fun - Bordeaux + ring in (My place, Kent Street): From Coravin. Baked brambles, toasted bread, earthy, mushrooms, a little pyrazine and crushed rocks With time a little cream and vanilla. Quite fleshy, fresh and juicy with toast and coffee on the palate and a little warmth. Fruit fairly absent and it drops quickly compared to the Baron de brane. Drink up for me.
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11/29/2018 - Badfish Likes this wine:
From one of the first lots of wine I purchased, so close to 15 years in the cellar. Showing very well for what it is, a sub $20 Bordeaux from a great vintage. Deep dark ruby core with slight bricking. Cedar, violets, blackberry, cassis, earth. Tremendous balance with crunchy dark fruits and subtle tannins. Punching above the expected density for a wine in this category. Quite a charming wine that showcases why you want to age value Bordeaux from classic vintages.
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9/4/2018 - drjb Likes this wine: 88 Points
This is a thoroughly delicious cru bourgeois with a crimson red colour and classic nose of blackcurrants, dark plums, cedar and dark chocolate. The palate is mid-weight with lovely spherical fruit and a very fine tannin finish that finishes nicely albeit without great length. While not especially complex this is a lovely 2000 that is perfect for unfussy evenings.
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5/17/2018 - grossie Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drinking very nicely right now, really shows that clean pure 2000 character. Strong fruit, tannin is balanced. Great value.
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4/8/2018 - bevetroppo Likes this wine: 87 Points
Several days later from memory. To say this bottle didn't owe me a thing is an understatement. Maybe a $15 price tag and now on its 18th birthday. But it's one of the crazy and ineffable qualities of a few pedigreed types of wine (to include Burgundy, Piedmont, some Old World rieslings and chenins for example) that you just don't know until you open the bottle. You also can't necessarily predict where the wine is on the arc of its drinking life cycle until you try, to say nothing of how it was stored, bottle variation etc. My own experience is that I have opened many bottles too early to see their maximum expression, but really, this one had every right to be over the hill.
And that's exactly what I thought for the first half of the bottle. It was a little soupy in texture, with spiky notes of menthol, earth, and some plummy fruit. i only drank about two glasses and half-heartedly put the rest in the fridge, just thinking I'd have a glass the next night and then toss it.
Then the unexpected alchemy took place. On day 2 it had seemingly resurrected itself. There was more balance and structure, the aromas and flavors somehow seemed to compose themselves into more "traditional" Bordeaux components, the fruit a little brighter and all in all express itself as a fully mature and enjoyable glass of claret. Neat trick.
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2/22/2018 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose of black berry, black cherry, currents, and cigar box, more of the same on the palate, very tasty, last tasted nearly three years ago and it is even better tonight, medium/big body, mouth filling fruit, at its best, suggest you enjoy it now, and a long finish.
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12/22/2017 - RN wrote: 89 Points
Lovely brick red. Mature nose. Sweet generous fruit still remaining. All nicely coming together. Good length. Does best with some food to deal with the remaining tannins.
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12/11/2017 - davidspieker wrote: 89 Points
Dark garnet color with little signs of age. Fresh rain and earthy aromas. Dark berry flavors with some tar and charcoal but finishes very long and pleasant.
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11/14/2017 - La Grappe Likes this wine: 89 Points
A fairly deep colour; elegant blackcurrant fruit, with a slight creaminess, medium weight, nicely mature and with good length. This is very attractive for current drinking.
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10/19/2017 - Captain Haddock Likes this wine: 90 Points
This is still in its prime and over-delivers for its modest appellation.
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10/3/2017 - La Grappe Likes this wine: 89 Points
A bright, deep colour; pure, elegant, blackcurrant fruit, with good weight and balance, a little tannin and some length. A very good cru bourgeois, drinking well now but not at all old.
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9/5/2017 - Smatk Likes this wine: 88 Points
Touch of sousbois and graphite on the nose. Nice red fruit and cassis initially on the palate with some minerality developing. Acids are soft and tannins well integrated. A nicely made tuesday night bordeaux.
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8/27/2017 - Smatk wrote: flawed
Corked
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8/21/2017 - La Grappe wrote: 88 Points
Medium red colour; quite attractive plum/blackberry fruit, with modest depth and perhaps a little rustic. Enjoyable though. Now at its peak, but should hold for another year or two.
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2/28/2017 - grossie wrote: 92 Points
My favorite bottle of this yet. I never thought this wine was capable of being as good as it is now. The fruit is sweet with a hint of spice, the body is much more full than ever before, and the finish leaves me wanting more. Nothing hard or harsh. What a terrific wine, finally. I gladly drank 3/4 of this bottle alone tonight. What a waste of a quarter of an excellent bottle of wine!
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12/19/2016 - drjb Likes this wine: 89 Points
Lovely cedar, blackcurrant and plum nose with a round palate of fruit that became more discernible with breathing. There's fine structure and balance with a fine tannin finish. This is a very well made wine with age adding some distinction yet staying with the limits of the appellation. A great Monday night red !
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12/18/2016 - drjb wrote: flawed
Corked
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9/7/2016 - drjb Likes this wine: 88 Points
Medium crimson red colour. This is a very neat and finely made 'Thursday night Bordeaux'. The nose is classic cassis, graphite and touches of cedar and plum. The palate is medium weight with a lovely balance and mouth feel without striking complexities. A delicious outcome at 16 years with plenty of refinement and balance.
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8/13/2016 - Patnman wrote: 90 Points
Barnyard in traditional Bordeaux sense. A little thin at this stage but still some complexity. Strawberry, cocoa, some tannins.
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5/25/2016 - bklynwine wrote:
well-knit together and silky, with classic Left Bank cassis and graphite with a little smoke and caramel; restrained, old-school 13% alcohol makes for medium body; drinks well above modest price; same owners as Pichon Lalande (though sold in 2007)
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4/4/2016 - wicozani Likes this wine: 89 Points
Glass-decanted 60 minutes before pairing with grilled lamb chops, inspired by Bevetroppo's note. A dark garnet in the glass, with a touch of bricking to the thinning meniscus. The nose features rich dark cherry and blackberry, strong initial garrigue that slowly cleared, pencil lead, and a light melange of spices. Dry on the palate, medium-bodied, tannins mostly resolved, this was really appreciated with the lamb chops. My wife was skeptical, but was fully converted by the time we finished this excellent bottle.
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3/22/2016 - bevetroppo Likes this wine: 88 Points
I think I paid between $12 and $15 for this back in the day and sat on it for a decade at least. There's no reason to think it won't be ok after 16 years, but not much cause for optimism either. Surprise! It offers a supple nose of graphite, subdued cassis, cedar and mint. Medium bodied at best, tannins fleeting, but gamy graphite laced flavors that paired perfectly with some pan-broiled and equally gamy lamb chops on a Tuesday evening. It feels like it's starting to crumble a little after being open for 90 minutes, but on the other hand, it doesn't owe me a thing.
Quick edit: Per my usual practice, I didn't scan the database to see if I rated this wine previously before entering the note. Whoa-rated it 6 years ago and didn't think much of it. Bottle variation? Taster variation? Fruit day? Strange magic.
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2/6/2016 - grossie Likes this wine: 88 Points
A very refined wine in a bit of a leaner style. Taken on its own you wouldn't think this has much age, but I've had this wine enough to know that it has lost all of its hard edges over the years. I still wish it had a little more umph, but it was a pleasant drink without anything wrong per se.
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1/27/2016 - DaleW wrote:
Fully mature (but no hurry), sweet black plums and a little black currant, tannins resolved, moderate finish. B
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1/21/2016 - jcoleman wrote: 85 Points
this has improved against expectations. it is now a very pleasant everyday bordeaux. Should be drunk soon
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10/26/2015 - Wineteacher Likes this wine: 90 Points
Better than the last bottle. Deep color with little settlement. A little smoke an dust on the nose and palate. Leather too. A bit more lush than the last bottle. Still four left. Drying a tiny bit but attractive.
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9/22/2015 - Wineteacher Likes this wine: 88 Points
This wine is still in very good condition and it should be, being a 2000. The vintage is excellent and this wine is very good also. The wine is quite dark and concentrated, at least by sight. The nose is very large, Pauillac like, with tobacco, leather and cedar. There is definitely still a lot of life. However, the wine has more size and intensity than fruit. While the secondary flavors are wonderful, it lacks a bit in lushness and fullness of body. It ends up a bit dryer and leaner. I am one who likes austere wine but this one was a bit too much on that side for me. It is still completely pleasure giving but more mid-range body would be better. The body and lushness is a bit short for the very large structure it has.
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7/19/2015 - brich wrote: 88 Points
I'd like to say it is getting better with age, but alas, it is not.
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7/8/2015 - greenbe33 Likes this wine: 88 Points
A continuation of my tasting series: "Are the 2000 left bank ready to drink"?
A little sharp and tannic acid remains, pleasant cassis nose - it needed a decant but it opened up over time. The taciturn/closed core issue I've seen on a lot of 2000s was there at the start but mellowed with about an hour decant. That distinct 2000 left bank deep cassis cabernet nose came back. Palate is simple and straightforward, but not unpleasant. It's an 87-88pt wine maybe but drinking like an 89 if you take your time and the bottle is in a good mood. Definitely a fantastic value for the $20 or so I paid somewhere along the way, it will outperform many $30 or more wines.
It did not answer the question whether the better 2000s are ready, but this label definitely is so drink up any you have. However, it also showed this dry/closed/taciturn palate core that I've tasted on many better 2000 left bank cab driven wines (but not all). It's hard to describe but distinct in my mind - I've only really experienced it with 2000. It was more muted than others, and went away with time. I do think that is a feature of 2000, they are drinking better lately but I just don't know if that's it or in a few years suddenly they really open and wow. I will say that as each year passes since maybe 2012 on average they are drinking better it seems. I'll try another next month. I'm not willing to say accelerate your drinking, but definitely the lesser wines like Bernadotte drink up, the better GCC or equivalent take a cautious approach.
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5/21/2015 - _water.into.wine_ Likes this wine: 89 Points
Why you should love bordeaux. The mid tier wines are just great for the price. Definitely in its drinking window and worth opening if you have in the cellar. No formal not sadly as consumed with friends at theirs for dinner but smooth with well integrated tannins. Drink now to 2018
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4/6/2015 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nose of dark fruit, black cherry, currents, cigar box, and tea leaves, more of the same on the palate, delicious (but bitter as I am writing checks to the IRS and Tax Franchise Board, there goes 30 cases of wine, dammit) very delicious fruit on the mid palate, medium body, well worth the $25 spent a few years ago.
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3/12/2015 - Dr. Claret Likes this wine: 93 Points
What a lovely wine. great balance of bramble berry fruit, spice and leather. also I noticed some hint of tobacco. Like a fine cuban cigar, this wine sings with alot of secondary flavors. some, almost floral like. This wine is at it's prime. Can't imagine it getting any better than this. Allow a little time to open up. At first it had a little hint of funk, but faded away with time.
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9/27/2014 - stealthman_1 Likes this wine: 90 Points
1st bottle of a case bought on release, professionally stored in the Napa Valley. Medium garnet color, clear at the rim. Delicate nose of tobacco and cedar. Medium bodied and elegant in the mouth, very pretty with grilled chicken with a good sense of balance. Medium finish, drink now though 2024.
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8/24/2014 - walkerjfw wrote: 89 Points
Casual dinner on the porch tonight, before a busy week...after a Ridge Chardonnay, served with London broil and herb potatoes on the patio - turned out to be a spot on pairing.
Decanted for about 45 minutes - needs the air to get going and was much richer after 90 minutes than when first opened. Vegetal notes fade and fruit opens up.
Consistent with prior notes. Bought these at release in early 2000s, well kept in my cellar...it's really aged nicely. Medium garnet color, mild bricking, orange at the rim. Nose of berries, lavender, spices...barnyard more prevalent when first opened
Palate repeats with dusted red fruits, cedar, graphite. Medium finish
Nothing really profound here but really fit the bill for a casual dinner. Better than last bottle - would drink over the next 5 years.
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8/16/2014 - edjBoca Likes this wine: 91 Points
This opens up to a relatively balanced wine with blackberry in abundance. The complexity and the finish didn't match the Branaire 2000 that Charlie brought.
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6/10/2014 - budh wrote: 91 Points
I let this air out in the glass for an hour. Garnet color with orange rim. The nose evolves over time - currant, berries, herbs, licorice, cigar box, earth, dark cherry. Strong green pepper on the palate, along with the fruit, earth, cedar. High acidity, medium+ tannin and body. Given the herbal, green pepper notes, I would have guessed significant Cab Franc in this, vs. 60% Cab and 40% Merlot. I like the vegetal notes in this, along with the nice complexity. Maybe the vegetal notes are not for everyone, but it works for me.
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4/6/2014 - walkerjfw wrote: 87 Points
At home with fajitas, an unlikely pairing but not much spice in the dinner...we were in the mood for Bordeaux
Bought these at release in early 2000s, well kept in my cellar. Opened and slow oxed for about 30 minutes, started to show after about an hour. Medium garnet color, mild bricking. Nose of berries, lavender, spices. Palate repeats with dusted red fruits, cedar, graphite. Medium finish.
Nice elegant Bordeaux, has aged nicely. Probably won't improve much, should be in a good zone for the next 5 years. Not exceptional but enjoyable
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3/16/2014 - Michael P Likes this wine: 87 Points
Decanted and poured after only half an hour - needed longer. Starting to show some reasonable quality after another hour. Still just OK, unbalanced lacking significant backbone. Reasonable fruit. Not bad, not great
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2/15/2014 - Harry Cantrell Likes this wine: 88 Points
deep garnet. Nose of dark berries, spicey. Mouth had a touch herbs, light fruits and acid that needed resolving. Good, but just.
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1/23/2014 - petenich Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very much better than first bottle, much less vegeatal nose with a better mid and good finish.
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12/25/2013 - theguy Likes this wine: 86 Points
A bit weak. No major faults. No major strengths.
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11/30/2013 - joehwpg Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wonderful. Let this one open up over four hours before pairing with grilled steaks. Some graphite and damp earth upon cork pop, settled into tobacco, earth and cedar notes. Very smooth and very pleasant but not incredibly long finish. Three more in the cellar and eagerly looking forward to the rest.
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11/10/2013 - fbbjim wrote: 90 Points
Perfect to drink now. Went great with a grilled steak. Good, basic bordeaux.
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11/9/2013 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points
Lovely nose of cedar, heavy cigar box, and dark fruit, more of he same on the palate, medium body, tasty, and mouth filling, medium/long finish, lovely value.
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10/23/2013 - grossie Likes this wine: 89 Points
At first the nose seemed a little vegetal, but that changed into a smoky slightly charred characteristic with really nice deep rich fruit in the back ground, not unusual for medoc. Over the course of 24 hours it evolved into a lovely round bordeaux, I still feel like it's got some years to really peak, but it drinks much better than its $13 price tag.
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10/8/2013 - peternelson wrote: 89 Points
Crustacean: soft, earthy, dark spice, leaves, notes illegible.
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7/24/2013 - petenich Likes this wine: 88 Points
Nice enough, opens up after about 1.5 hours. Just don't see enough backbone and fruit to keep this much longer.
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7/12/2013 - Timbalimba wrote: 89 Points
Maybe this one was suffering from bottle shock but after a while it started to reveal its heritage, with good cedar and cigar box savoury aromas, a touch of licquorice, cassis, inky violet. Medium palate, still fresh black fruit, tobacco. Long, balanced finish. Very nice. Old school claret, hitting its stride.
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4/29/2013 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points
Consistent notes the last eighteen months. Lovely nose of black cherry fruit with hints of currents, cedar and cigar box, more of the same on the palate with better bouquet, leather and richness, lovely aftertaste with a medium/long finish, should improve two points during the next two years.
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3/31/2013 - Bistrobro2 wrote:
See Easter lunch review
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3/31/2013 - Bistrobro2 wrote: 88 Points
Had with Easter lunch/dinner with butterflied leg of lamb on the grill (coated for several hours with crushed garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage olive oil mixture with a touch of smoked paprika - worked nicely on NZ lamb). Solid, clean, no nonsense Bordeaux, not a lot of complexity, but good fruit and texture, solid mid palate, right for a Sunday afternoon feast.
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2/20/2013 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points
My fourth bottle of this wine in the last eighteen months. Consistent notes. Lovely nose of black cherry fruit with hints of currents, cedar and cigar box, more of the same on the palate with richness, easy drinkability and fairly complex, lovely aftertaste with a medium/long finish, should improve two points during the next two years, but why wait, enjoy a bargain in the fabulous 2000 vintage of Bordeaux today.
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2/20/2013 - Chris Davies Likes this wine: 86 Points
Has potential. Everything in place, will try again in a year or two.
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1/30/2013 - thirstyman wrote:
Smooth, nice nose, not overly complex. Great Wednesday night wine
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1/20/2013 - Sjontoft Likes this wine: 89 Points
Opened and poured.
Very dark. Only showing a hint of age on the colour (less than my last note would indicate). A few tears on the side of the glass.
Black currant and Cherry on the nose with smoke and cedar. Faint earthiness as well (a bit of barn yard coming through as it opened up consistent with last bottle).
Palate is medium to full bodied and has good fruit, relatively low acidity, but soft and well integrated tannins. The earthyness is more pronounced on the palate.
The after taste is medium long and it does feel a bit soft on the mid palate (it feels slightly thin if you will).
It is drinking very well. The lack of acidity and mid palate force leads me to believe it will have limited improvement potential, but it drinks really well without being astonishing in any way and will probably last another 2-4 years.
2 = Good
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1/19/2013 - btock Likes this wine: 89 Points
A case study in why to cellar and why 2000 really might live up to the hype. This under $20 wine showed beautifully. 1 hour splash decant prior to the meal, served with a lamb shank and au gratin potato meal that allowed the earthy notes of the wine to really shine through. "Classic" notes of cedar, cigar box, good 'ol Left Bank aromatics. This was well made and right in the zone. Nice mouthfeel and right amount of currant type fruit to tie it all together.
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1/11/2013 - Winopig wrote:
Earthy fruit, got to like that.
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12/30/2012 - ogres3 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Surprised how much I liked the wine the first night. Smooth integrated fruit with a lingering finish. On night two, the nose was a wonderful old world musk but the wine had faded considerably. Does not have much time left.
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12/24/2012 - chokkon wrote:
Ok, but fading. 16
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12/8/2012 - Captain Haddock Likes this wine: 90 Points
Lovely barnyardy nose with some pencil shavings, smooth slighly austere palate at first, which broadens out with a little airing; cleaner on the palate than on the nose; medium intensity; a classic food-friendly Bordeaux with a touch of Pauillac-like class. No fireworks but very nice and great value.
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12/4/2012 - Sjontoft wrote: 88 Points
Glass has tears on the side with colour showing maturity with a bit of brown added to the violet core.
Nose has red fruit and earthy notes, coffee, and with a bit of barnyard tones. Not 100% clean.
On the palate it is very pleasant. Consistent with the nose. Tannins are present but pleasant and slightly sweet. Medium bodied. Not overly complex. Clearly showing some maturity, but I would not rule out that it can go another few years.
2 = Good
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10/13/2012 - grossie wrote: 89 Points
Best bottle of this yet. Balanced, showing great pedigree despite its lack thereof! Not overly rich or flashy, but has nice fruit combined with tannin that is starting to soften and an acidity that holds this wine up well. I'm finally seeing the value of this little guy.
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9/19/2012 - SkyCellar Likes this wine: 88 Points
This wine needs lots of time to open up. It should be decanted well in advance of drinking. Right off the bat it was pretty terrible, but after about an hour of breathing it came to life.
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7/28/2012 - MJ_777 wrote: 88 Points
This wine was surprisingly good, thanks to Pichon longueville.
Purple color with a fruity, dusty nose.
Black currants, dust and tobacco on the palate with a medium body and a medium finish. Still lot of tannins left that integrate really good after decanting.
Decanted for 1 hour.
Drink now - 2014.
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7/13/2012 - aaronwine wrote: 90 Points
the other notes say it well - this was worth storing and wish I had more.
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5/22/2012 - ALuff wrote: 92 Points
Very impressed with the next magnum of this wine. Thought it might be passed its best but still showed great flavours and depth. 1 hour decant before drinking and opening up fully after 2 hours.
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4/26/2012 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points
Lovely nose of black cherry fruit with hints of currents, cedar and cigar box, more of the same on the palate with richness, easy drinkability and fairly complex, lovely aftertaste with a medium/long finish.
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4/11/2012 - davidspieker wrote: 88 Points
Dusty dark fruit with nice acidity. Might just be starting to express itself.
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4/2/2012 - edjBoca wrote: 90 Points
This is very good. A lesson on what inexpensive wine from good vintages in bordeaux can become in 10 or more years. Deep violet color, solid to the rim. Bright aromas of tobacco early on and spicy tomatos with earth as time in the glass passes...dare I say V8? Good balance. The palate is medium in body. There is a little structure that fades over an hour in the glass. Mildly dry. Could be good with red pastas and all meats. Great QPR!
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3/12/2012 - Pknut wrote:
Surprisingly good, and much better than my last bottle four years ago. Matched much better with the steak than the worn and softer 1998 Fox Creek Reserve Cabernet. This wine shows a palate full of dark fruit, good heft to the palate and presence in the mouth, with nicely rounded tannins. Nothing profound here, but a good showing. Blackstone's Steakhouse with the Westport guys.
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3/11/2012 - mikecase00 wrote: 90 Points
I had forgotten I had this left in the cellar and discovered that I had three bottles. This note is from the last bottle, but all three were consistent. I didn't expect much from these given the relatively humble estate this far out from the vintage, but I was pleasantly surprised. While lacking the power and complexity of one of the marquis wines from this vintage, there's plenty to enjoy here. This opens up well with 10-15 minutes in the glass. Nice smokey/earthy component to go with some secondary fruit and smooth tannins. An absolute lesson in why petite chateau from great vintages can be excellent bargains.
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2/9/2012 - WineAggregate Likes this wine: 89 Points
Cedar, barnyard, dark plum on the nose, medium body, very nice overall, good bordo.
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12/12/2011 - davidspieker wrote: 88 Points
Must be some bottle variation in the case. This bottle is nicely balanced with dusty dark fruit and pleasent finish.
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11/6/2011 - blanquito wrote: 87 Points
This has a really lovely perfume, very floral with some allspice and cherry liquer. On the attack, it's light (not much concentration), bright (good acids) and simple (no complexity). Almost seems chianti classico (normale) in style. Still, drinking nicely... very pleasant, elegant, fairly forgettable. It begins to fade with an hour or so of air, so time to drink.
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9/25/2011 - cookie7 wrote: 87 Points
Nose of tobacco, cedar and underbrush. Earth and mushrooms on the platae. Tannins have outlived the fruit, but a pleasant wine still. Fully mature. Drink up. Not a bad QPR.
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9/5/2011 - davidspieker wrote: 82 Points
Significant decline in fruit and quite acidic. Going downhill fast.
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8/7/2011 - chbeaumont wrote: 84 Points
Retains good colour; blackcurrant lozenge, briary fruit, tar, an attractive nose; dry, robust fruit, rustic, an astringent edge - tannins & acidity poke through on a diffuse finish. Best to drink up. Reflects its status?
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8/6/2011 - cellarid wrote: 89 Points
2 years more I thinks
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7/13/2011 - DNABog wrote: 88 Points
Still drinking well. Very earthly, mushroom notes. very balanced and polished.
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7/1/2011 - chokkon wrote:
18c; no decant; clear ruby-red; nice nose of cassis, earth, tobacco; balanced structure, well integrated tannins, but fruit is weakening; touch of minerals, red and black currant, with a smooth finish; drank w/ Hermann, who noted that I shouldn't sit on these; 16.5.
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5/21/2011 - SyrahQueen wrote: 80 Points
Did not enjoy this bottle at all. Thought it was beyond it's shelf life.. Definitely not an age worthy Bordeaux. But then what did I expect for $20..
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5/14/2011 - Duncan H wrote: 87 Points
Mid/dark red. Curiously astringent and funky when first tasted over dinner. Surprisingly redeemed itself a week later (having been vac-u-vin-ed and kept in the fridge) - by this time it had developed into a beautifully full and rounded glass of mature claret which was thoroughly enjoyed by Mrs H (who is by no means a fan of aged claret).
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5/1/2011 - davidspieker wrote: 87 Points
Musty and chalky with medium body and tannic finish.
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2/25/2011 - PFra wrote: 88 Points
Still a little tight but plum, earth, resolving tanning, getting close
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2/12/2011 - davergny wrote: 89 Points
Good bottle, similar to previous note. Medium body, simple, but nice light berry flavors, surprising length and lively finish. Excellent QPR.
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1/28/2011 - dmalcolm wrote: 88 Points
Fully mature and medium bodied with dark berries, plums and some smoke.
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12/25/2010 - Rossodio wrote: 88 Points
This wine, when first opened, is a bit out of balance with acidity and very present sweet tannins dominating; however, with two hours of aeration it begins an ever-changing transformation first into a well balanced tobacco, earthy, and sweet tannin-braced wine with some coffee and bold saddle leather on the nose, followed by the emergence of menthol notes as dark fruit and raspberry begins to come out more. It ends up losing its complexity after 3-4 hours as the fruit comes to the forefront.
Went very well with rare filet butterflied into 3 layers with sauteed portabellos between them and red/yellow peppers as garnish, along with French style mashed potates made with milk, garlic, nutmeg, and egg yolk. On its own, however, I don't know if it would be outstanding -- but would still be very good. Unsure if it will evolve further, and I think that all of the great components that show themselves at different points as this wine aerates will never be in perfect harmony. Still, this is so much better than so many similarly-priced bdx'es from '04 and '05 at this point...
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12/25/2010 - bwillia wrote: 88 Points
Actually quite bright for a left bank. Pleasant nose of dark plum and earth. Palate is pleasing and somewhat resolved and evolved.
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12/23/2010 - lshantz wrote: 88 Points
Plenty of tannins & earth, hints of coffee, cherry, raspberry & wood.
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12/1/2010 - bevetroppo wrote: 85 Points
I'm pretty sure I've rated this before and that this note is less complimentary than previous. Nose is attractive enough, showing pronounced evolved bouquet coffee, leather, iodine and cedar though with no apparent fruit. The fruit is largely MIA on the palate as well, and as such, the impression is that the wine is drying up. It's hard to complain when I bought this for around $15 but I was hoping for a little more. Unless it's bottle variation I'd drink now.
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11/27/2010 - cellarid wrote: 88 Points
Good classic flavor. Needs some decanting but very approachable. Just starting to show tertiary flavors.
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9/19/2010 - Malia Ten Yulna wrote:
nothing great
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8/3/2010 - dkhale4 wrote: 88 Points
I liked this wine. Not spectaculor, but by no means did I need to pour it down the drain. Day 2 tasted better than day 1, as some of the edges had smoothed out.
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7/12/2010 - tomandlu wrote: 85 Points
Ditto my note of two years ago. Tasty but not special.
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6/27/2010 - wicozani wrote: 88 Points
Opened and aired in the cellar for 2 hours, this Cru Bourgeois poured a dark ruby with light edges, and featured a maturing nose of currant, tobacco and leather. 60% cab 40% merlot with traces of both cab franc and petit verdot, the palate features pleasing red currant and blackberry fruits, with prominent sweet tobacco, with excellent buttressing acidity and nearly resolved tannins. This was an excellent match for grilled top sirloin steaks with red beans and rice.
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5/16/2010 - Ambrose wrote: 84 Points
Purplish ruby. Strong scents of caramel and barbaque smoke, with nuts and bell pepper, haut-medoc merlot-ish. Palate is a a litte diluted, some cream and black fruits, medium-bodied, with a grape-skin-like rusty medium finish with a little oak.
The character of Bordeaux slowly piled up after decanted. Nose of cassis, forest, mint and liquorice with trace of biscuits, fruity palate which was richer and medium finish.
Maybe good with food. I like 2002 more.
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4/18/2010 - SteveHyde wrote:
Overall, a disappointment. I don't know why this wine has so rarely lived up to the expectations set in WA's reviews of the 2000s. This is definitely not a sleeper of the vintage. It's a clunker of the vintage.
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4/5/2010 - jcoleman wrote: 80 Points
as before
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4/1/2010 - THA wrote: 89 Points
An excellent wine. More depth than the 2001, and softer, less focused than the 2003. This 2000 is more generous than both. A sweet Bordeaux nose showing early signs of maturity. Almost Merlot-ish flavors that are kept in check with Haut Medoc typicity and flavor profiles. Perhaps a little diluted on the palate. The finish is a little short after the awesome nose, which keeps this wine from achieving a 90+ score in my opinion. Is this the best Bernadotte?
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3/5/2010 - aagrawal wrote: 88 Points
Excellent dusty nose of red fruits, oak/wood, and some vegetables. Palate has good structure, tannins that will last a few more years but that don't detract from the wine. Some fruit, but the nose certainly outperforms the palate. Decent everyday drinker. I don't have any more, but if I did I would estimate the other bottles would last another 2 years before declining.
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2/27/2010 - jcoleman wrote: 80 Points
lightweight wine with no sophistication. should be drunk soon as it is not going to get any better!
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2/8/2010 - City Wine Journal wrote: 86 Points
Retail purchase, held for 7 years. Decanted 1 hour. Dark red, lightly coating the glass. Warm and inviting nose of red fruit (lingonberry, to quote my wife!), tobacco, and bell pepper. Medium-full, pleasant if a tad under-ripe, but an under $20 bottle showing well 10 years on is a sign of the quality of the 2000 vintage. Not a deep wine, but it is has staying power. This wine can last a few more years.
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1/24/2010 - dwoody wrote: 90 Points
Dark ruby. Classic mature Bordeaux nose coming through of earth, wet rocks, and dark fruit. Beautiful balance of dark lack fruits, cedar, and earth. Still dry and grippy with high acidity but drinking very well right now. Paired with a ribeye. Good stuff and a great value.
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12/24/2009 - TimBoDo wrote: 88 Points
I've had enough of this to suspect this last experience was the result of bottle variation or something but this bottle showed its age more than others we've had and would absolutely indicate the beginning of the end if taken alone. Will need to have another bottle soon as point of reference. May be time to drink up.
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12/12/2009 - brich wrote: 88 Points
Fair to midland. I don't think it is going to get much better with age; it's classic in it's nature but unexceptional.
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11/21/2009 - Rupert wrote: 89 Points
Mature, cedary fragrance, a graphite edge to the palate, which is light, floaty, savoury - this is superb mature mid-weight claret
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10/19/2009 - grossie wrote: 86 Points
I keep hoping for more out of this wine after good early reviews from Parker. I opened this a couple of nights ago knowing I wouldn't drink it right away. It hasn't changed much over the last 48 hours- structured but lean and lacking fruit. My hope is that it's asleep & will wake up with another few years. This hope is buoyed by the fact that it hasn't changed much in 48 hours- no real signs of oxidation. It's not flawed, just lacking real charm and any roundness. Maybe the fruit is underneath, I will keep trying.
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9/26/2009 - SteveHyde wrote:
Finally. After two clunkers, a decent bottle of this. Phew. Perhaps the whole case is not damaged. Showing well this time, with early signs of tertiary notes combined with still lively fruit, medium body and structure. I see little upside to holding these.
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9/13/2009 - SteveHyde wrote:
Another off bottle. Was the last one corked, or has this wine begun to fall apart? Or was it damaged somehow? I could have had two corked bottles in a row, and the last one certainly seemed to have the telltale aromas and tastes of TCA. But this bottle too was showing off flavors and yet did not have the same TCA profile. Hmmmmm . . . I am beginning to lean toward a combination diagnosis--TCA and damage in the last bottle, just damage in this one. Not a good sign either way.
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9/10/2009 - SteveHyde wrote: flawed
Corked.
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8/22/2009 - cellarid wrote: 90 Points
delish
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8/8/2009 - Brsed wrote: 92 Points
A little light on the nose. Tastes predominantly of earth and cedar with some fruit. Long finish.
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8/2/2009 - SteveHyde wrote:
lovely. Showing exceptionally well. Medium bodied, with simple, straighforward fruit, little evident tanin, and very pleasant mouthfeel.
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7/23/2009 - davidspieker wrote: 89 Points
Consistent with previous notes.
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7/10/2009 - bbrantley wrote: 89 Points
Youthful purple/black color. Creme de cassis and saddle leather with some bell pepper notes. Nose is very nice, and hints at what I love about aged bordeaux, but its on the palate that this one really sings. Nicely textured, almost syrupy with hints of grippy tannins on the back end, reminding you of what this was like as a baby. Incredible value--picked this up on winebid for $10/bottle. Four more left. This should improve with a few more years, but is drinking nicely now
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7/6/2009 - spacewrangler wrote: 90 Points
Best bottle of the trio - great match for beef tenderloin, tannins weren't obtrusive and the fruit was at the forefront.
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6/17/2009 - stormygirl wrote: 80 Points
still really tight, used an "instant" ager poured into the decanter which helped. good qpr
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2/22/2009 - jakob.krummenacher@gmail.com wrote: 88 Points
High acidity. A bit disjointed and not much aftertaste. Drink now.
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2/19/2009 - spacewrangler wrote: 88 Points
A little tighter than the previous bottle, but also showing more fruit. Smoked meats and bbq - very nice wine for the $.
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1/23/2009 - eliotfagley wrote: 90 Points
A little closed. Earth, spice and red raspberry with some basil. Finish - basil and raspberry for 20 seconds. This is going to be great in 5 more years.
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1/8/2009 - marc d wrote:
I didn't like this too much. Smoky toasty oak nose, and drying tannins at the back end.
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12/25/2008 - bbrantley wrote: 86 Points
Tight and acidic at first, but softened after a six hour decant. Decent cabernet fruit, but not much stucture an fairly one-dimensional. Went well with a steak, though.
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12/11/2008 - spacewrangler wrote: 87 Points
Great deal for short money. Impenetrable at the outset, this settles into a very pleasing Bdx. Interesting fruit and complexity below the tannin - even some tar reminscent of Piedmonte. Much better with air - give this 1-2 hours air minimum.
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12/10/2008 - Ekoostik wrote: 88 Points
Bricking just a bit but very deep color. There is a bit of herbal streak to this wine, but not in a detracting way. Full body that fills out the whole palate, Still finishes with some tannin, but drinking pretty well right now.
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12/9/2008 - davidspieker wrote: 89 Points
Dark ruby with some bricking. Decanted 1/2 hour before tasting, but it really opened up over the evening. Muted dark fruit, leather, and a hint of mint on the palate. Nice balance with decent finish.
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12/6/2008 - TinMan wrote: 92 Points
Drinkable now but should last another decade. Medium-level dark fruits and flowers both in the nose and on the tongue. We enjoyed it with chicken and a Mexican green chili sauce and brown rice. It was wonderful. This has to be one of the best values in the Bordeaux world.
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11/30/2008 - cellarid wrote: 88 Points
drinking pretty well already. decent.
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11/30/2008 - bbrantley wrote: 92 Points
Dark ruby with bricking at rim. Not overly powerful, but mature Bordeaux nose of dark fruit and saddle leather. Dark fruits dominate the palate with leather and hints of mint and chocolate (from the merlot in the blend?). Could still shed some tannin, but on the whole this was very well resolved. Long finish. Very nice; elegant if not overpowering. Drinking well right now.
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11/28/2008 - grossie wrote: 86 Points
This followed Brane Cantenac on thanksgiving night. It was a hard act to follow, but my impression of this wine is that it is quite hard and charmless. I'm not sure if it'll really flesh out or not, but there's no harm in giving it a few more years before trying again.
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11/26/2008 - UrenLuren wrote: 89 Points
A bit thinner than expected. Very round. Short.
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11/3/2008 - TimBoDo wrote: 89 Points
This wine, more than many others, really opens up with two hours in the decanter - although it is still interesting at the pop and pour stage, it jumps several points after that time open. If there was just a hint more in terms of complexity, this would be 90+. 89+ as it is. Our top QPR right now and a fantastic food wine.
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11/1/2008 - MRichman wrote:
Really nice Bordeaux profile with toasted oak, herb and some acid. Has a very classy nose. Nobody's definition of complex but a nice maturing bottle. Has some green notes and some fine chewy tannins. Tastes like a lot of Cab Franc to me, which is a good thing. All in all a nice wine from a distinctive vintage and a pleasure to drink. Wish I'd bought a case.
B/B-
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10/21/2008 - TimBoDo wrote: 89 Points
This wine deserves more credit than it gets - this is very nice. Upon open, the fruit does not jump out at you but, after an hour in the glass, it really finds you. Perhaps this wine is what some of the older Bordeaux vintages tasted like young - back before they worked so hard to make them accessible young. I suspect this wine has a good long life ahead of it and, probably, is still too young to be enjoyed by many. If the '00 has to sit this long, I'm guessing the '05 will need 15 years.
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10/14/2008 - d'Artagnan wrote: 86 Points
Médoc souple, rond, agréable mais un peu mince. Bon équilibre, vin correct mais assez banal. À boire sans tarder
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9/27/2008 - TimBoDo wrote: 88 Points
Very enjoyable - an excellent food wine. Agree point by point with reviewer chokkon bellow.
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8/21/2008 - wicozani wrote: 87 Points
A dark plum in the glass, this Bordeaux was initially quite stout straight out of the bottle, with roasted meat, cassis, dark chocolate, a mix of red and black berries, and a touch of menthol amidst decent acid and tannins. Subsequently, this was double-decanted for 30 minutes and opened up and smoothed out a bit; that is, until it was back in the bottle for 10 minutes when it again picked up strength. No brickiness to the rim at all, this was an excellent match for medium-rare top sirloin steaks with cracked pepper and kosher salt. Indeed, the whole family also perceived of the pepper spice in this bottle, consistent with prior reviewers' notes. The finish was on the order of 15-20 seconds, in keeping with this property's station in the classification. All in all, this was considerably better than its lowly 82-point Wine Spectator score would indicate, and I'm glad to have two more bottles of this!
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7/28/2008 - chokkon wrote:
18c; one and half hour decant; clear ruby-red; delicate nose of cassis, some earth, tobacco; balanced structure, with assertive, but integrated tannins and expressive fruit; touch of minerals, solid red and black currant, with a tart, cranberry finish (curiously enjoyable), but which settled down with time--subtle floral and spice notes; did not deepen with time, but given the full tannins should hold up for a few more years; 16.5.
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5/30/2008 - Paul S wrote: 89 Points
Firm wine night, Karam's donation. I thought this was rather good for its price, and that it showed off what a good vintage 2000 was for Bordeaux. Deer purple colour, with a clear, light red rim still. Started off rather leafy and savoury, with loam, mushroom and some meat. The flavours took on slightly plummy tones after time, with a nice, high overtone of dark blueberry. The palate was very fresh, but just a bit too astringent. Good and grippy, but still fine tannins though, and concentrated cherry/berry flavours with a flourish of peppery spice at the tail. Simple, but pleasant wine, styled in a very modern way.
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5/20/2008 - mebydef wrote: 87 Points
Herbal some very light color on the legs. Chocolate nose, viscous. Soft and sweet. Good length and complexity. There are sour cherries and maybe some black raspberry.
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5/19/2008 - mmyette wrote: 85 Points
Mineral and fruit, as would be expected, without the layers of complexity or the lasting power of the classified growths. Quaffable, but not spectacular, perhaps not even an impressive QTP ratio. Average.
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5/11/2008 - tomandlu wrote: 88 Points
Decanted and consumed over 3 hours. Deep garnet-red color with a bit of brickiness at the rim. Lovely, classic, mature Medoc nose of earth, cedar and cassis. Lacks a bit of complexity. Very good on the palate as well with plenty of ripe fruit, still a bit tannin and an elegant mouthfeel. Good, moderate finish. All in all this was a surprisingly nice Medoc that clearly came from a ripe vintage. The only thing it lacked was secondary interest in the aroma or on the palate.
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3/6/2008 - Pknut wrote:
Well, a few more years of cellaring have smoothed this one out, but it still comes off as a polished, bright, blue/black fruited, fairly modern styled Bordeaux, only one that is a bit smoother, and perhaps longer in the mouth. Decent and pleasurable, but falls short in terroir or roots or complexity. B/B-
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2/13/2008 - davergny wrote: 90 Points
Dark color. Sweet and fresh nose, with tobacco leaf, black currants, cassis, and later developed a hint of barnyard. Rich, good length, cabernet fruit shows, tobacco, black currants. Medium to full bodied, this has gained weight since last I tried about 6 months ago. Nice finish, barely tannic, drinking well now. The wine does seems a bit one-dimensional, but an awesaome QPR Bdx at about $20 that is better than many California Cabs at twice the price. My wife thought it had personality.
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1/21/2008 - hebe wrote: 85 Points
This was less inspiring now than a year ago. Deep garnet colour, a bit one-dimensional on the nose and on the palate: earth & leather. Medium length.
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1/20/2008 - scxt wrote: 89 Points
Pleasant, drinkable now. Some structure and fruit. A nice drinking wine.
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12/12/2007 - Oh Dae-su wrote: 80 Points
I’ve tasted this wine together with Chateaux Maucaillou ‘01, Forcas Hosten ‘99 and
La Reservé de la Leoville – Barton ’96.
This one could be everybody’s darling. It is a kind of hyper modern Bordeaux wine
which is sweet, fleshy and fruity. The colour was quite dark and showed a very
strong red. It smelled like incinerated almonds, first aid bandages and rum
chocolate. The taste was very dominated by cherry aromas which got weaker after
some hours and typical Cabernet Sauvignon aromas of paprika developed. In
résumé this wine had every aspect of a modern Bordeaux I don’t like. From time to
time it can be interesting to taste a wine like this. But not more than once a year. I
think it could be a hit on a high class Tupperware party. I hope this style will not
establish in too many Bordeaux wineries, because this is leading to nowhere.
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11/4/2007 - grossie wrote: 87 Points
Very dark color. Lead pencil nose with some spicyness and dark fruit hiding underneath. On the palate this is very very tight still. This bottle was left open for >24hrs and never really opened up. It was a good enough drinker, but the tannins still dominate and the fruit hasn't come out yet. I'm hoping that with a few more years this becomes a better wine.
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11/2/2007 - Harry Cantrell wrote: 87 Points
deep garnet. Nose of dark berries, spicey. Mouth had a touch acid that needed resolving. Good, but just.
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9/21/2007 - Vinho wrote: 88 Points
G8 - França (Ilha das Flores): (375ml) Nariz retraído, com um traço herbáceo e um toque sutil de feno, quase estrebaria. Mineral, seco, média acidez, taninos numerosos, tostado e boa fruta, embora um pouco fluido no final, sumindo na boca. 88-89pts. E.
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9/17/2007 - d'Artagnan wrote: 88 Points
Nez très typé et charmeur, de cassis, cèdre et poivron. Un cliché du Médoc! En bouche il a ce coté joufflu, le fruité irrésistible du millésime béni. Souple et très agréable, il est plutôt léger et pas très long, un grand charmeur sans réelle profondeur. Très bel achat à ce prix, il pâlirait dans un concour mais se révèle un bel accompagnement pour la bouffe. 88 pts
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9/16/2007 - jrglm wrote: 86 Points
Off red coloring fading a bit at the edges. The nose was earth and black cherries. The first taste was tight as a wedge. The last barely moved from the initial tasting. The fruit and earth remained from the nose but I don't think this is going to get much better over time.
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9/9/2007 - vinosean wrote:
The additonal 2 years in bottle (last tasted 9/2/2005) has made a tremendous difference. This wine is open for business and ready to drink now. Nice QPR.
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8/24/2007 - daramg wrote: 88 Points
Great nose of blueberry, cassis and mocha. The beginning was a bit acidic but as it was getting more air, the wine got better. I thoroughly enjoyed it with my family.
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7/8/2007 - eksata wrote:
Showing some tarnish on edge of glass, med ruby - currants and caramel and saddle with some florals - cassis, some saddle/cedar but well integrated soft tannins, med concentration very soave. Fruit dissipated after 4 hours.
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6/15/2007 - chbeaumont wrote: 86 Points
Mid Garnet, to rim; singed, cedar, tarry, typically Medocian; old fashioned, foursquare, burly, too much oak? Yet attractive. Now & next 5 years. 15
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5/12/2007 - jasonrsa wrote: 88 Points
Very good for price. Decanted for 4 hours. Barnyard and some hidden strawberry on the nose. Some earth and leather, a little smoke (smoked almonds?). Good value.
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3/1/2007 - TinMan wrote: 90 Points
A great nose and an outstanding wine...this has room to get better. What a superb value for the money!
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2/14/2007 - Coach wrote: 88 Points
Nice deep red color and lotsa legs (whiich usually does not mean that much); first night it seemed a bit tight-- by the second tasting the next day it had opened up and was slightly smokey nose with rich black fruit taste and tannins in the mouth. I enjoyed this wine, and believe it will get even better with age. A bargain at this price.
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11/22/2006 - jrglm wrote: 88 Points
Pretty good wine after it was decanted for about 3 1/2 hours. Up until then, this was pretty tight and stingy with the fruit. We tasted this up against a $65+ Pomerol and it faired well amongst those doing the tasting.
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10/13/2006 - mikecase00 wrote: 88 Points
Best showing of this in a while, seems like it's starting to shed it's tannins. Lots of earth, smoke and some coffee, but there's some brambly fruit showing in there now too. My guess is that this will really start to sing in another year or two...
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9/1/2006 - eksata wrote: 88 Points
really tasty med-full, cassis, coco, some fine tannins, very solid and balanced
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5/3/2006 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
Mostly Cabernet at Eden: 6 - Smoky damp underbrush nose - clearly more Bordeaux. Somewhat sweet attack with high-toned mid palate. Some weediness. Suffered from being last after the Karl Lawrence and Pride.
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3/9/2006 - bendrew wrote: 89 Points
Now showing very well - slightly smokey with rich black fruits on the nose and fine tannins in the mouth. The attack is clean and brisk with plenty of sweetness. This is a great Bordeaux which will age well for 5+ years
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3/4/2006 - magnord wrote: 88 Points
Decanted for 2 hours. Very nice Bordeaux nose, wood, blackcurrants, marzipan, still plenty of tannins. Could do with some more age.
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2/23/2006 - ctwino wrote: 89 Points
For a $15 wine (when purchased), the wine was very pleasant. Nothing blockbuster here, or overwhelming, just a nice wine to drink with a simple meal
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10/30/2005 - lumber1 wrote: 85 Points
Not bad. Given some the reviews, I thought it would not be great. However, it had some firm tannins and was nice with the steak. Certainly did not have a California Cab "oomf" or a lot of complexity.
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9/28/2005 - mmyette wrote: 85 Points
Tight, tight, tight. This opened up after about 6 hours, and began to taste better, it is better to wait at least 3-6 years for this one.
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9/11/2005 - Rupert wrote: 89 Points
Served single blind: Dark, full bodied, blackcurranty, woody nose, confirmed on palate, nicely persistent. Still a bit tight, but pretty impressive for this level.
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9/2/2005 - vinosean wrote:
This was completely closed down. Nearly 4 hours of decanter air and lots of glass swirling, but it just wouldn’t budge. I’ll try again in a couple years.
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8/17/2005 - johnwine wrote: 90 Points
This wine is well structured and will develop at least another five years or more. The nose was filled with dark cherries and earthiness. Tannins and acid were still present in the taste but did not disrupt the showing of earthy ripe fruit. This is the kind of wine you can chew on.
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3/26/2005 - tanglenet wrote:
Not decanted. Just some quick notes on this as I served this to friends to go with home made pizza. Deep red color, clean earthy loamy smell, ripe fruit, with a hint of hops(!), firm tannins but softens quickly. Very good.
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3/17/2005 - TashNYC wrote: 85 Points
It is much too early to drink this wine. It appears closed down, and needs more time.
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2/26/2005 - jump wrote:
Decanted for about an hour prior to dinner. A very enjoyable Bordeaux, standard casis, underlying chocolate notes, in the mouth was firm, tannins well integrated and the length surprisingly persistent. I wish I had a few more. Very good.
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12/7/2004 - Pinotlover wrote: 89 Points
Finishing off the second half of this bottle tonight as I type this, and I am pleasantly surprised by the staying power. I didn't gas it just to see how it would do, and it stood the test. By this, I would definitely say that it will just get better. If you like good Bordeaux with a little barn surrounded by berries and leather, for a good price, this is a keeper.
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10/28/2004 - SteveHyde wrote:
Don't even think about opening one of these! Decided it was time to try a low-end B2K and popped this for dinner tonight with short ribs (thanks to a recipie from the food and wine forum). Now, three hours later, it's just starting to come around. The initial taste was green, tanic, herbacious, and acidic. There was some fruit there, but buried way deep. The nose was shut tight.
As the evening progressed, it became a bit softer, modestly more approachable, less herbacious, and now I'm starting to pick up some fruit.
I won't touch one of these for another two years. Or I'll decant for 8 hours ahead of time. And if that's so for a wine at this level, I wonder what the bigger guns are like?
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8/20/2004 - Rupert wrote: 86 Points
This was the third bottle of this I'd drunk in the past couple of months. This was less aromatic than the last bottles, and seemed somewhat chunky and inarticulate. A solid bottle of claret.
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4/4/2004 - TomH wrote: 89 Points
Very good table Bdx - Barnyard, cassis, hint of chocolate. Good lingering length. Wait till 2007 to consume the rest.
The wine opened up more second night. Chocolate more noticable, just a hint of graphite. Bright "cabernet cherry" kind of flavor. Tannins prominant, but not intrusive. Seems less earthy.
Great, great value.
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2/21/2003 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 88 Points
Bright disc. Opaque black robe with purple rim. Clean nose, showing moderately intense coffee, meat and black fruit. Medium-bodied on the palate, with liberal oak and firm, well-integrated tannins. Medium finish.
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1/11/2003 - chokkon wrote:
Tokyo Wine Society blind tasting: ranked it 8th of 9 wines, but was against Gruaud Larose, Puy Lacoste, Gaja, etc. 16
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