Some date character on the nose that blows away. Mature fruit still recognizable as black currant and chokeberry. Bell pepper, incense, sichuan pepper, pencil shavings and hints of dark chocolate. The pretty full bodied palate is dusty and slightly gripping with balanced mid-level acidity. Some fruit richness balancing the structure out and filling the mid-palate. Lilacs and leather towards the long finish.
A very complete wine. Not mind blowing but for the price (some 12€ back in the day in our awfully expensive retail monopoly) definitely a stellar showing. Glad I bought this. Should have bought more.
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This was so much better than the bottle I had in 2012. Almost immediately on opening, this showed classic Medoc character, with muted cassis, old leather and slightly astringent tannins. I'm glad I kept this bottle around and gave it enough time to mature, as the previous bottle may have been in a dumb phase. Surprisingly, the wine still had a hint of purplish youth to it, making me think that it could still develop a few more years. Alas, I have no more. (Note: 2nd night was even better.)
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Decanted for about 40 mins. Just for kicks, I left this cheap Bordeaux in the cellar for 5 years, and why not? The nose has aged cassis notes to it with a slight hint of barnyard in the background. The palate shows nice cassis, mellowed by age, with nice tannins and good acidity. Not a very big wine, rather petite and tasty. Has held up fine in the cellar, but won't get any better than this!
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After 1 hour decant, smells of bright red and black fruits with a bit of menthol and a nice woodsy element.....quite nice. Tastes of nuts/bark on entry, dark fruits mid pallet, and drying tannins/leathery finish with repeating flavors similar to the nose. Just enough going on with this wine to make it interesting. Nice mid-week pour.
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The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow (which is good). It smells like Blueberry, Black currant (cassis), Stoniness, and Light toast. The body is Light. The wine has Narrow texture. The wine finishes Short. 13%. Estate bottled. Cab S
Lighter than 1/19/13 Bordeaux from St Emilion which has more Merlot. Strange that a Cab S-based wine would seem lighter than a Merlot-based wine
Ate with Pasta & Italian Bacon Haut Medoc Cru Bourgeous Importer: USA Wine West, Sausalito, Ca
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Unimpressive. Nice nose but little body or flavor. Mid-palate was thin and watery. Little finish. I suspect I should have drunk this a couple years ago.
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ChTR kokous 7.4.2010 (SKO-toimisto): Decanted for an hour. A really dark purpley red, almost black. The nose has cassis, but is not very expressive, also a hint of vanilla, nice. On the palate more of the same, subdued cassis, almost watery in the beginning, but picking up substance with airtime, lots of tannins. Perhaps this could get better with cellaring, but perhaps not, I tried to think about this as I tasted it, but my impression was that it probably won't get much better than this. 50+4+10+15+8=87
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Dark and red fruit on the nose: chokeberry, cassis and raspberry. Slightly leathery with hints of pencil shavings, herbs and spices. Discreet enough oak. Medium bodied on the palate with refreshing acidity and astringent tannins. Rather concentrated fruit and a dusty oak finish with decent length. Enjoyed over two days with slight improvement. The past vintages have been quite delicious at this age. Somehow this -05 doesn’t do the trick. Well on the other hand it just might take a few years longer.
EDIT: I still left some for the third day - lucky I did, since now the wine is delivering all I hoped for: nuanced fruit, barnyard, strong herbaceous notes, bell pepper, asian spices, liquorice and refined chocolate notes. Bright and layered with good potential. Now this feels like what I was expecting: a bargain Cru Bourgeois on a good year.
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Purple rim with sediment. Very blackcurrant with pencil shavings. elegantly oaked wine with black pepper as main spice aroma. Nice fruit intensity and not overripe. Tastes fruity with same aromas acting as flavors. Pepper more pronounced. High tannin level that are softening to velvet but still woody , medium high acidity, medium high alcohol level but nicely balanced with the spice from the oak and the fruitiness.
This is very well made bordeaux which welcomes beginners to the world of bordeaux and let's more experienced bordeaux enthusiast appreciate the modern touch. What's there not to like about? Tastes like a 25 euro wine (sold in alko)
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Many people seem to like this wine, but i don't really see why. It is a technically good cru bourgeois, but i find it quite closed and unidimensional. Very shy nose with some dark fruit and earthy tones. Tight tannins and a bit of chianti like acidity on the palate. I had it over 3 days, but there was only very slight improvement with air, the nose revealing a bit of oaky vanilla on the third day.
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What a joy to drink such a wine. At first the wine felt closed and tannic. However, over an hour or so the wine started to change, showing a wonderful palette of fruit together with an intensive stable aroma. Very lively and very enjoyable.
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6/2/2018 - avp wrote:
Getting better and better while breathing.
Some date character on the nose that blows away. Mature fruit still recognizable as black currant and chokeberry. Bell pepper, incense, sichuan pepper, pencil shavings and hints of dark chocolate. The pretty full bodied palate is dusty and slightly gripping with balanced mid-level acidity. Some fruit richness balancing the structure out and filling the mid-palate. Lilacs and leather towards the long finish.
A very complete wine. Not mind blowing but for the price (some 12€ back in the day in our awfully expensive retail monopoly) definitely a stellar showing. Glad I bought this. Should have bought more.
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9/3/2016 - Quarked wrote: 89 Points
This was so much better than the bottle I had in 2012. Almost immediately on opening, this showed classic Medoc character, with muted cassis, old leather and slightly astringent tannins. I'm glad I kept this bottle around and gave it enough time to mature, as the previous bottle may have been in a dumb phase. Surprisingly, the wine still had a hint of purplish youth to it, making me think that it could still develop a few more years. Alas, I have no more. (Note: 2nd night was even better.)
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7/26/2015 - NiklasW wrote: 87 Points
Decanted for about 40 mins. Just for kicks, I left this cheap Bordeaux in the cellar for 5 years, and why not? The nose has aged cassis notes to it with a slight hint of barnyard in the background. The palate shows nice cassis, mellowed by age, with nice tannins and good acidity. Not a very big wine, rather petite and tasty. Has held up fine in the cellar, but won't get any better than this!
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4/16/2013 - epiphany Likes this wine: 87 Points
After 1 hour decant, smells of bright red and black fruits with a bit of menthol and a nice woodsy element.....quite nice. Tastes of nuts/bark on entry, dark fruits mid pallet, and drying tannins/leathery finish with repeating flavors similar to the nose. Just enough going on with this wine to make it interesting. Nice mid-week pour.
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1/21/2013 - lbatina wrote: 87 Points
The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow (which is good). It smells like Blueberry, Black currant (cassis), Stoniness, and Light toast. The body is Light. The wine has Narrow texture. The wine finishes Short. 13%. Estate bottled. Cab S
Lighter than 1/19/13 Bordeaux from St Emilion which has more Merlot. Strange that a Cab S-based wine would seem lighter than a Merlot-based wine
Ate with Pasta & Italian Bacon
Haut Medoc Cru Bourgeous
Importer: USA Wine West, Sausalito, Ca
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10/2/2012 - Quarked wrote: 85 Points
Unimpressive. Nice nose but little body or flavor. Mid-palate was thin and watery. Little finish. I suspect I should have drunk this a couple years ago.
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12/23/2011 - mmh wrote: 88 Points
This will not improve anymore. Drink up if you have any.
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12/22/2011 - mmh wrote: 87 Points
A very decent inexpensive bordeaux from a good vintage. Nice mature nose, but a bit short and anonymous on the palate. .
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5/22/2011 - mmh wrote: 88 Points
Has improved and gained complexity since last time I had this (in 2009). Will keep and might even have some room for improvement.
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8/21/2010 - Viini-Viren wrote: 91 Points
Rough on the edges. very tannic. Still enjoyable. Nice fruit, some stable aromas. Lots of sediment in the bottle.
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4/25/2010 - Viini-Viren wrote: 91 Points
Barnyard aromas and wood mix with nice fruit and well developed tannins. Very smooth indeed. A bargain Bordeaux.
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4/7/2010 - NiklasW wrote: 87 Points
ChTR kokous 7.4.2010 (SKO-toimisto): Decanted for an hour. A really dark purpley red, almost black. The nose has cassis, but is not very expressive, also a hint of vanilla, nice. On the palate more of the same, subdued cassis, almost watery in the beginning, but picking up substance with airtime, lots of tannins. Perhaps this could get better with cellaring, but perhaps not, I tried to think about this as I tasted it, but my impression was that it probably won't get much better than this. 50+4+10+15+8=87
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2/11/2010 - avp wrote:
Dark and red fruit on the nose: chokeberry, cassis and raspberry. Slightly leathery with hints of pencil shavings, herbs and spices. Discreet enough oak.
Medium bodied on the palate with refreshing acidity and astringent tannins. Rather concentrated fruit and a dusty oak finish with decent length.
Enjoyed over two days with slight improvement.
The past vintages have been quite delicious at this age. Somehow this -05 doesn’t do the trick. Well on the other hand it just might take a few years longer.
EDIT: I still left some for the third day - lucky I did, since now the wine is delivering all I hoped for: nuanced fruit, barnyard, strong herbaceous notes, bell pepper, asian spices, liquorice and refined chocolate notes. Bright and layered with good potential. Now this feels like what I was expecting: a bargain Cru Bourgeois on a good year.
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1/21/2010 - bodulations wrote:
Purple rim with sediment. Very blackcurrant with pencil shavings. elegantly oaked wine with black pepper as main spice aroma. Nice fruit intensity and not overripe. Tastes fruity with same aromas acting as flavors. Pepper more pronounced. High tannin level that are softening to velvet but still woody , medium high acidity, medium high alcohol level but nicely balanced with the spice from the oak and the fruitiness.
This is very well made bordeaux which welcomes beginners to the world of bordeaux and let's more experienced bordeaux enthusiast appreciate the modern touch. What's there not to like about? Tastes like a 25 euro wine (sold in alko)
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1/18/2010 - Viini-Viren wrote: 92 Points
Impressive. Strong smell of horse manure together with intensive fruit. Very tasty. Lots of sediment in the bottle. Decant!
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11/19/2009 - mmh wrote: 87 Points
Many people seem to like this wine, but i don't really see why. It is a technically good cru bourgeois, but i find it quite closed and unidimensional. Very shy nose with some dark fruit and earthy tones. Tight tannins and a bit of chianti like acidity on the palate. I had it over 3 days, but there was only very slight improvement with air, the nose revealing a bit of oaky vanilla on the third day.
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11/13/2009 - Viini-Viren wrote: 92 Points
Amazing. Full bodied, intense fruit and lots of manure. Needs 1-2 hours of decanting to tame the aggressive tannins.
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11/8/2009 - Viini-Viren wrote: 92 Points
What a joy to drink such a wine. At first the wine felt closed and tannic. However, over an hour or so the wine started to change, showing a wonderful palette of fruit together with an intensive stable aroma. Very lively and very enjoyable.
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