2012 Eric Texier Côtes du Rhône-Brézème Vieille Serine Domaine de Pergaud

Community Tasting Notes (9) Avg Score: 92.4 points

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  5/19/2024 - Bagwhat Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Popped and poured into a Glasvin Expression. Warmed from cellar to room temperature in the first glass.
  
  At 12 years of age, the nose was surprisingly blackberry bramble forward at first, but morphed quickly. First olive tapenade crept in at the edges, and then it took on full-fledged, funky charcuterie. By the time it hit room temperature, about 30 minutes in, the aroma was intoxicatingly complex, still with a hint of fruit but mostly gaminess as if the sausage had been cured in some cherry.
  
  The palate was also excellent but second fiddle to the nose. A silky entry leads to an herbaceous middle with a strong core of red to black fruit. The whole thing is underscored by rippling acid, bordering on too much almost but held in check, and a firm frame of tannin. The finish is medium, could be longer, but overall a really nice wine.

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  10/22/2023 - VDLT Wine Likes this wine:

  Another typical but impressive Texier. Compared to the bottle from 5 years ago, this one was similarly high-toned and edgy but it had more weight and balance. Definitely needs food.

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  9/23/2021 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  Made with organically grown Serine (a local Northern Rhône Syrah clone that is prone to diseases with unreliable yields, but producing higher-quality fruit) from +70 yo vineyards. Fermented spontaneously in whole bunches, macerated for 8-10 days, aged for +3 years months in neutral oak foudres. Bottled unfined and unfultered. 12% alcohol. Tasted blind.
  
  Very deep and almost fully opaque blackish-red color with a youthful, slightly purplish hue. Fragrant, pure and subtly wild nose that instantly reminds me of naturalist Bojo wines, before slowly turning towards more Syrah in style; slightly cool aromas of ripe dark forest berries, some fresh, brambly blackberry notes, a little bit of peppery spice, light feral notes, a floral hint of violets, a sweet touch of bilberry and a whiff of succulent dark fruits. Very fruit-forward overall impression, but not too sweet or sunny in any way. The wine is juicy, dry and quite cool on the palate with bright yet subtly feral flavors of fresh, brambly blackberries, peppery spice, some meaty umami, light inky tones, a little bit of crunchy crowberry, a floral hint of violets and a lifted touch of VA. Very high in acidity with rather easy tannins that don't really grip much. The finish is juicy, dry and crunchy with very little tannic grip and quite lengthy flavors of crowberries and blackberries, some inky tones, a little bit of sappy herbal spice, light bitter nuances of sour cherries or chokeberries and a touch of gamey meat.
  
  A wonderfully fresh, precise and slightly sauvage wine with lots of pure, dry and slightly tart berry flavors. My initial guess was a naturalist Bojo from a cooler vintage, due to the very dark-fruited, berry-driven flavors, high acidity and slightly sauvage overall character, but very soon afterwards I realized that despite the freshness and lightness, the flavors were more Syrah than Gamay in quality, so I went to Northern Rhône instead. First guessing Crozes-Hermitage and St. Joseph, it took me some time to go for Brézème, but I managed to go there eventually. Not really a bullseye, but at least I was in the ballpark almost all the time! A terrific, smashable Syrah from the lighter end that drinks wonderfully now, but doesn't show really much evolution at the moment, so in all likelihood the wine is going to keep, if not evolve, for many years more. Drink or keep. A very lovely Northern Rhône Syrah in a slightly naturalist yet Burgundian style.

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  3/5/2020 - vulgar little monkey wrote: 91 Points

  Strangely, not quite as showy or open as the magnum last month but similar in flavor profile though darker and denser seeming.

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  2/1/2020 - vulgar little monkey wrote: 93 Points

  From magnum. It's been really interesting to follow the evolution of Eric's thought through these vines. I was worried about a tannic wine, but this wasn't. It was lively and snappy with red fruits and herbal top notes that changed to flowers a hint of smoky earth and then a darker red fruit. Really stayed lithe and lively and the tannins had such a fine bead to them. The palate presence reminds me of a great Taiwanese Oolong in how it is both light and strong at the same time. That all sounds pretentious and the wine is intellectual but I think that anyone would love it (this is my novice wine drinking aunt's favorite wine). I have no idea what age will do to this wine as I don't know that it has a modern precedent. I bought a decent amount, so I plan on following it regularly.

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