2005 Alain Voge Cornas Cuvée Vieilles Fontaines

Community Tasting Notes (23) Avg Score: 92.1 points

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  7/30/2023 - cweiss Likes this wine:

  75th Birthday party. Purchased at the Marché d'Ampuis on release. More ready to drink than a 1999 Juge, and a delight, but still young. I'll try to save the other bottle for 5 years.

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  7/28/2023 - viniferatu Likes this wine:

  Didn't take a note, but this had a notably beautiful creme de cassis note, plus nice subtle roasted and spicy tones, meat and olives too. This needs another 5 to 10 years I think, though it is certainly complex, intense and enjoyable now.

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  10/3/2021 - kuumies wrote:

  En magnum. Very much open on the nose with obvious yet well integrated wood, generous ripeish blackberry fruit, a hint of VA and beef jerky. Classic and very respectable, of not the most detailed or bright. On the palate powerful and forward with abundant ripe fruit and quite a bit of spicy oak. Tons of structure, the tannins are big, plentiful and grippy. Very dry and savory, craves for food. Has not reach maturity yet but still I'm left wondering how much it will improve from here. Doesn't showcase the softest of winemaker's touch.

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  10/2/2021 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points

  From a magnum. Some sources say this wine comes solely from Voge's lieu-dit La Fontaine (planted in the 1920's), others say this is a cuvée of La Fontaine fruit and fruit sourced from Les Côtes. At least the current iteration of the wine is solely sourced from La Fontaine and made only in exceptional vintages. Fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, macerated for three weeks in stainless steel. Aged for a minimum of 24 months in 228-liter pièces (25-30% new, 70-75% once or twice used). Bottled filtered. 13% alcohol.
  
  Very dark and somewhat translucent blackish-red color with a slightly evolved russet hue. Attractively evolved, moderately sweet-toned and slightly meaty nose here with aromas of ripe blackberries and mulberries, some juicy blackcurrant tones, a little bit of pruney tertiary fruit, light toasty woody notes suggesting some new oak, a hint of raisin, a touch of leather and a whiff of sweet fruit liqueur. The wine feels ripe and moderately sweet-toned yet relatively fresh and lively on the palate with a medium-to-moderately full body and quite evolved flavors of pruney dark fruits, dry old leather, some raisiny tones, a little bit of juicy blackberries, light mocha notes of toasty new oak, a lifted hint of sweet VA lending a slightly liqueur-ish edge to the fruit, supported by a touch of savory wood spice. There's lots of structure here, although the high acidity feels to be much more to the fore, while the ample but ripe and relatively smooth tannins contribute more to the structure, only slowly piling up on the gums. The finish is nevertheless moderately grippy and also less sweet-toned than the midpalate with a long aftertaste of fresh, brambly blackberries, some mocha oak tones, a little bit of evolved pruney fruit, light ferrous notes of blood, an umami hint of raw meat and a peppery touch of savory spices.
  
  A very ripe and still somewhat oaky but also a very sophisticated Cornas with a lot of stuffing. Although the oak still shines a bit through, the overall wood influence has integrated pretty nicely with all the fruit - basically the wine appears oaky just because it was drank along with a big handful of Northern Rhône Syrah wines that didn't show any obvious oak influence. All in all, the wine feels like it is quite close to its peak, but not yet sitting firmly on its plateau of maturity. However, I doubt there's going to be much noticeable evolution from here; this wine will keep for a long time, but any development is going to be quite limited. Great balance between the ripe fruit and hefty structure. As the ample tannins feel quite resolved at this point, the wine doesn't call any more aging to soften it up, just to integrate that remaining toasty oak character better with the fruit.

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  8/21/2020 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:

  Aerated to decanter 45 minutes; certainly helped. Still remarkably fresh, with profound notes of grape and place. I don't drink so much from this region any more, but does this ever bring me back to when I did. Really long, layered finish. On point just now, don't wait. Brilliant. highly recommended

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