A 'Lost Cellar' wine found deep in a corner of my cellar this wine opened in good shape with a still deep colour and a mature nose of dark plums, blackberry and dark raspberries with touches of charcoal and liquorice. The palate is nicely rounded and while the finish is a little attenuated it remains a very pleasant bottle of Merlot.
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Deep dark ruby, dense. Sweet berries, plums, fruitcake, chocolate. Soft and silky up front, notable acidity and fine tannins on the finish. Black, red and blue berries, plums, sweet cherry, chocolate, lightly earthy, hints of tar spice, smooth and beautifully balanced. Delicious drinking, definitely ready now.
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Improved since 2013. a very nice St Emillion but not exceptional, good structure, still nice tannins and Very nice nose - Cassis licorice blueberry. A little bit smokey? What will this do in 6 months?
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Great out of the bottle improving only marginally with air. Some complexity. Very chalky on the palate. Medium palate. Enjoyable. Faded the second night. Drink now.
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Last bottle and the best of them all by a good margin. Purplish maroon color didn't give away the age. And a good solid core of fruit (which other bottles lacked to this degree) held up throughout the two hours it took us to consume this. The finish only barely started to crack toward the very end. Love that the back label advises to "drink within five years".
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Drank last night. Decanted for about 45 minutes. Very nice mellow, classic right bank merlot. Light subdued tannins, nice mellow hints of berry and good color. My guess is this wine will be fine for 3 to 5 more years.
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Unfortunately this bottle wasn't showing as well as the one last year. I'm a bit concerned that it might be heading a bit downhill. Never really gave much on the nose and the finish was particularly bitter. I'm not all that sensitive to TCA so I suppose it's possible that this was just a touch affected, though the telltale signs of cardboard and wet basement weren't present.
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Consumed last night at a local italian fine dining establishment. 100% Merlot, pruney with light tobacco and graphite notes. Opened a little with time. Tannins are fairly mature and somewhat subdued with a fine grained texture. Overall, not complex or all that concentrated, but just nicely aged right bank Bordeaux. I'll drink my last two bottles over the next few years.
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Purchased on release for $18. Popped and poured at Kiki's Bistro. This was a wonderful little surprise. A nice mature Merlot-based claret that has attractive small-berry fruit and fine-grained tannins. Well-balanced. Assertive enough to to stand up to a smoky cassoulet and steak au poivre, but delicate enough to make you linger over each sip. Makes me want to seek out some more lesser-known Right Bankers from '98.
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Didn't have time to decant, and that was a mistake. Started out failry lightweight, but gained weight with time. A shorter finish than I'd hoped for, but a reasonable though unexciting wine overall (B+).
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Opaque mulberry with purple rim. Intense nose of currants, oak, cedar, blackberries and plum. Full-bodied with massive, mouth-puckering tannins. Plummy and jammy mid-palate, long tannic finish. This is an outstanding wine, especially for the price. It has the "stuffing" to age very well.
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7/25/2023 - drjb wrote: 89 Points
A 'Lost Cellar' wine found deep in a corner of my cellar this wine opened in good shape with a still deep colour and a mature nose of dark plums, blackberry and dark raspberries with touches of charcoal and liquorice. The palate is nicely rounded and while the finish is a little attenuated it remains a very pleasant bottle of Merlot.
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4/2/2021 - Vini Ciclismo Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep dark ruby, dense.
Sweet berries, plums, fruitcake, chocolate.
Soft and silky up front, notable acidity and fine tannins on the finish. Black, red and blue berries, plums, sweet cherry, chocolate, lightly earthy, hints of tar spice, smooth and beautifully balanced. Delicious drinking, definitely ready now.
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8/25/2016 - bottlewasher wrote: 90 Points
Improved since 2013. a very nice St Emillion but not exceptional, good structure, still nice tannins and Very nice nose - Cassis licorice blueberry. A little bit smokey? What will this do in 6 months?
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7/12/2016 - RN wrote: 90 Points
Chunky on opening. Still holding together. Nice Merlot dominating the palate.
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6/15/2015 - RN wrote: 96 Points
Great out of the bottle improving only marginally with air. Some complexity. Very chalky on the palate. Medium palate. Enjoyable. Faded the second night. Drink now.
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6/4/2015 - Neecies Does not like this wine:
Dead wine.
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4/2/2015 - mnoljo wrote: 84 Points
Thin and fading wait too long
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10/27/2014 - RN wrote: 89 Points
Interesting. More complexity than last tasted but fruit starting to fade even though length still good. Still delicious for the price
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1/8/2014 - Neecies Likes this wine: 90 Points
Last bottle and the best of them all by a good margin. Purplish maroon color didn't give away the age. And a good solid core of fruit (which other bottles lacked to this degree) held up throughout the two hours it took us to consume this. The finish only barely started to crack toward the very end. Love that the back label advises to "drink within five years".
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5/19/2013 - bottlewasher Likes this wine: 89 Points
Drank last night. Decanted for about 45 minutes. Very nice mellow, classic right bank merlot. Light subdued tannins, nice mellow hints of berry and good color. My guess is this wine will be fine for 3 to 5 more years.
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1/30/2013 - Neecies Likes this wine: 88 Points
Excellent bottle that held up perfectly over two hours of drinking; and it showed better than some more exalted right bank 98's have recently.
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11/24/2012 - dkeyes wrote: 88 Points
Surprised to find this wine still very much alive. Fruit is nearly gone but structure is still there. Not very complex, but well balanced.
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5/21/2012 - Wine Canuck wrote: 86 Points
Unfortunately this bottle wasn't showing as well as the one last year. I'm a bit concerned that it might be heading a bit downhill. Never really gave much on the nose and the finish was particularly bitter. I'm not all that sensitive to TCA so I suppose it's possible that this was just a touch affected, though the telltale signs of cardboard and wet basement weren't present.
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9/6/2011 - bigjoe wrote:
Très beau vin, un fruit encore très présent et une bouche soyeuse. Tout est là...un vin à point. presque Wow
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9/5/2011 - bigjoe wrote: 91 Points
Très beau vin, un fruit encore très présent et une bouche soyeuse. Tout est là...un vin à point. presque Wow
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4/6/2011 - Wine Canuck wrote: 89 Points
Consumed last night at a local italian fine dining establishment. 100% Merlot, pruney with light tobacco and graphite notes. Opened a little with time. Tannins are fairly mature and somewhat subdued with a fine grained texture. Overall, not complex or all that concentrated, but just nicely aged right bank Bordeaux. I'll drink my last two bottles over the next few years.
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1/30/2010 - RN wrote: 87 Points
Big tannins, but fruit was either missing or restained/'sleeping'. Gained some complexity over time but not great.
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2/28/2009 - otisabdul wrote: 90 Points
Purchased on release for $18. Popped and poured at Kiki's Bistro. This was a wonderful little surprise. A nice mature Merlot-based claret that has attractive small-berry fruit and fine-grained tannins. Well-balanced. Assertive enough to to stand up to a smoky cassoulet and steak au poivre, but delicate enough to make you linger over each sip. Makes me want to seek out some more lesser-known Right Bankers from '98.
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5/20/2007 - Prissytraveller wrote: 85 Points
Classic bordeaux flavours of leather and currant, great value wine - a step up from your every day bottles, wish I had bougth more.
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11/19/2005 - JohnSh wrote: 88 Points
Didn't have time to decant, and that was a mistake. Started out failry lightweight, but gained weight with time. A shorter finish than I'd hoped for, but a reasonable though unexciting wine overall (B+).
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8/22/2002 - cigar52 wrote: 85 Points
not as good as a St. Emilion - a little weaker (this is a satellite wine)
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7/2/2001 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 92 Points
Opaque mulberry with purple rim. Intense nose of currants, oak, cedar, blackberries and plum. Full-bodied with massive, mouth-puckering tannins. Plummy and jammy mid-palate, long tannic finish. This is an outstanding wine, especially for the price. It has the "stuffing" to age very well.
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