Back in 2011 I had to taste this wine a number of times before it finally "spoke to me" and then I rated it pretty high thinking it was finally on its way to mellow and settle down - I'm not quite sure it's ever going to get there now: lots of rough and rugged tannins from the get-go here ... there is some dark fruit skins that seem to cause a gritty texture to the wine, think tannic-blueberries but there is also a ton of wood notes. Will this resolve? At an hour or more opened it's still having problems shaking those rugged tannins. Continuing this experiment further into the night I continued to sniff and sip ... I finally pulled the plug at the 3.5 hours mark ... tannins still had not mellowed but the dark / blue fruit was showing much better.
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Vraiment à un stade intéressant. Pourrait sûrement progresser encore. Le style bordelais indéniable. Le cassis du Cab est bien présent et le merlot complète à merveille le panier de fruit mûrs qu'on retrouve en bouche. Belle longueur, tannins assouplis et agréables, délice.
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Nose is on dark plums with a hint of cedar on the finish. The palate is velvety smooth with again dark plums, a touch of molasses, and a cedar finish with fine tannins and medium acidity. Nothing extravagant but a solid wine nonetheless. Drink now, I only see things going downhill from now.
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This wine starts off quite lovely with aromas of spiced plum, black cherry and roasted coffee; the palate takes that and turns it into spicy-plum and black cherry, but then air does its evil job on old wines and within about two hours all that lovely spiced fruit has become overly woodsy and spicy with the fruit barely a memory. Sigh.
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Quand on dit qu'un vin peu parfois s'apparenter à l'ancien monde (Bordeaux dans ce cas-ci) mais qu'il a une petite touche de nouveau monde, c'en est un parfait exemple.
En bouche rien de très complexe ni de très long, mais c'est équilibré à plusieurs niveaux: longueur moyenne, corps moyen, tannins présents mais assouplis, un peu de fruits. L'utilisation de chêne français y est pour beaucoup à mon avis (en finale, bien que ça ne soit pas déplaisant, les tannins sont présents et avec de l'américain ça aurait peut-être gâché le tout).
Difficile de préciser des dates mais je pense que ça peut encore vieillir plusieurs années.
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This wine is a medium bodied blend of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc and Merlot. The blend is complex and well structured. There is a hint of smoke and spice in the mixture of black cherries and berries. The style here is more old world Bordeaux left bank.
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Tonight it did not show its best, incredibly smoky and woodsy with black fruit backing, but still incredibly smoky. The wine came off as harsh, especially on the finish but it did pair well with the BBQed meat. Still needs time? I think. And with a few bottles left in the cellar I'm happy to give it.
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Dense nose, with cassis and cedar dominating. The palate echoes the nose somewhat, with a strong tannic structure. This wine is still very young and, barring a couple hours of decanting, should be left in the cellar 2-5 years.
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Excellent vin entre l'amérique boisé et sucré et le français tannique et profond. Une très belle découverte et un vin canadien très au dessus de mes attentes.
Il est triste qu'il ne s'achète qu'au château.
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A quick review today, the first of at least 4 consecutive Canadian Bordeaux style blends. This is the Chateau des Charmes flagship red, the Equuleus (if you want my take on the 2002 click here).
First of 6 out of the cellar, this wine is still big and strong. Solid tannins, a well-balanced and hardy Bordeaux style blend with a long finish. Fruit is still very apparent with cassis and blackberry evident; while spices like vanilla and chocolate make their appearance.
Overall this is a tremendous wine and you would be hard pressed to put this next to a solid Bordeaux Grand Cru or Napa institution without ranking it high on your list. At $40 (the usual price for the Equuleus) it is a steal.
The CWG Subjective Rating is 91 out of 100.
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Decanted & drank over two hours, including dinner with grilled porterhouse.
Opaque purple. The nose, big & alluring, shows lots of smoky, almost charred, cedar up front. Dark black fruits are jumping out of the glass as this opens up. Juicy on entry, medium-full in the mouth. There is a nice firm grip that is refreshed by a good dose of acidity. Black olive, cedar, smoke, cassis. This is continually evolving. Nice, medium+ finish. Of the vintages I've tried (98, 02, 05), I think this is the best. While approachable & tasty now with its juicy fruit & savoury notes, this has the potential to sleep for at least 5 more years.
This begs for something from the grill at this age!
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10/29/2019 - owr wrote:
Back in 2011 I had to taste this wine a number of times before it finally "spoke to me" and then I rated it pretty high thinking it was finally on its way to mellow and settle down - I'm not quite sure it's ever going to get there now: lots of rough and rugged tannins from the get-go here ... there is some dark fruit skins that seem to cause a gritty texture to the wine, think tannic-blueberries but there is also a ton of wood notes. Will this resolve? At an hour or more opened it's still having problems shaking those rugged tannins. Continuing this experiment further into the night I continued to sniff and sip ... I finally pulled the plug at the 3.5 hours mark ... tannins still had not mellowed but the dark / blue fruit was showing much better.
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7/20/2018 - Tige Likes this wine: 90 Points
Vraiment à un stade intéressant. Pourrait sûrement progresser encore. Le style bordelais indéniable. Le cassis du Cab est bien présent et le merlot complète à merveille le panier de fruit mûrs qu'on retrouve en bouche. Belle longueur, tannins assouplis et agréables, délice.
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1/4/2018 - pcarmich Likes this wine: 89 Points
Nose is on dark plums with a hint of cedar on the finish. The palate is velvety smooth with again dark plums, a touch of molasses, and a cedar finish with fine tannins and medium acidity. Nothing extravagant but a solid wine nonetheless. Drink now, I only see things going downhill from now.
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5/14/2017 - owr wrote: 84 Points
This wine starts off quite lovely with aromas of spiced plum, black cherry and roasted coffee; the palate takes that and turns it into spicy-plum and black cherry, but then air does its evil job on old wines and within about two hours all that lovely spiced fruit has become overly woodsy and spicy with the fruit barely a memory. Sigh.
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8/20/2016 - Tige Likes this wine: 90 Points
Quand on dit qu'un vin peu parfois s'apparenter à l'ancien monde (Bordeaux dans ce cas-ci) mais qu'il a une petite touche de nouveau monde, c'en est un parfait exemple.
En bouche rien de très complexe ni de très long, mais c'est équilibré à plusieurs niveaux: longueur moyenne, corps moyen, tannins présents mais assouplis, un peu de fruits. L'utilisation de chêne français y est pour beaucoup à mon avis (en finale, bien que ça ne soit pas déplaisant, les tannins sont présents et avec de l'américain ça aurait peut-être gâché le tout).
Difficile de préciser des dates mais je pense que ça peut encore vieillir plusieurs années.
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10/24/2015 - johnwine Likes this wine: 89 Points
This is a very interesting, complex Bordeaux style wine of light to medium body.
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9/19/2015 - johnwine Likes this wine: 88 Points
This wine is a medium bodied blend of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc and Merlot. The blend is complex and well structured. There is a hint of smoke and spice in the mixture of black cherries and berries. The style here is more old world Bordeaux left bank.
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7/21/2014 - owr wrote: 87 Points
Tonight it did not show its best, incredibly smoky and woodsy with black fruit backing, but still incredibly smoky. The wine came off as harsh, especially on the finish but it did pair well with the BBQed meat. Still needs time? I think. And with a few bottles left in the cellar I'm happy to give it.
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5/10/2014 - pcarmich wrote: 88 Points
Dense nose, with cassis and cedar dominating. The palate echoes the nose somewhat, with a strong tannic structure. This wine is still very young and, barring a couple hours of decanting, should be left in the cellar 2-5 years.
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10/23/2012 - rouge vin wrote: 88 Points
Excellent vin entre l'amérique boisé et sucré et le français tannique et profond. Une très belle découverte et un vin canadien très au dessus de mes attentes.
Il est triste qu'il ne s'achète qu'au château.
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8/13/2012 - bdg55 wrote: 91 Points
A quick review today, the first of at least 4 consecutive Canadian Bordeaux style blends. This is the Chateau des Charmes flagship red, the Equuleus (if you want my take on the 2002 click here).
First of 6 out of the cellar, this wine is still big and strong. Solid tannins, a well-balanced and hardy Bordeaux style blend with a long finish. Fruit is still very apparent with cassis and blackberry evident; while spices like vanilla and chocolate make their appearance.
Overall this is a tremendous wine and you would be hard pressed to put this next to a solid Bordeaux Grand Cru or Napa institution without ranking it high on your list. At $40 (the usual price for the Equuleus) it is a steal.
The CWG Subjective Rating is 91 out of 100.
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4/27/2012 - Tige wrote: 88 Points
Flaveurs de terre humide et de poivre blanc. Tannins très présents. Bonne dose d'acidité.
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6/1/2011 - Dandiophile wrote: 94 Points
Decanted & drank over two hours, including dinner with grilled porterhouse.
Opaque purple. The nose, big & alluring, shows lots of smoky, almost charred, cedar up front. Dark black fruits are jumping out of the glass as this opens up. Juicy on entry, medium-full in the mouth. There is a nice firm grip that is refreshed by a good dose of acidity. Black olive, cedar, smoke, cassis. This is continually evolving. Nice, medium+ finish. Of the vintages I've tried (98, 02, 05), I think this is the best. While approachable & tasty now with its juicy fruit & savoury notes, this has the potential to sleep for at least 5 more years.
This begs for something from the grill at this age!
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6/30/2010 - RKBergman wrote: 89 Points
Very good tasting wine, very smooth, exelent fruity flavors with appropriate tannin finish.
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