2005 Domaine de Bellivière Coteaux du Loir Le Rouge-Gorge

Community Tasting Notes (22) Avg Score: 89.9 points

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  10/17/2022 - Putnam Weekley Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Restrained aromas, deeply stained of red berries and spice. Convergent on practical experience with mature Nuits St Georges and Asili. Currant, boysenberry, and morello cherry appear milled and formed into a dense, earthy ceramic. Animated citron, pressed arugula, and other elusive botanical sensations tease the object on the margins. A mouthful is succulent, streaked with pepper. A wash of lemon seed and blue stone govern a transparent meander of sweet berry juice, before dry birch-scented tannin gathers to firmly grip the finish. Imagine aromatic vine resin dried to the consistency of soot. The effect is appetizing, causing one drink to lead effortlessly to another—this in spite of its sultry, relaxed texture and 15% reported abv. Seed oil flavors turn to tar. FWIW, other examples of 2005 I've opened since ~2018 have been even better than this one, something I attribute to random variation among bottles.
  After a gelatinous, pot roast dinner, this wine glides into something like stiff, vintage port-mode, or Banyuls. It works well during all meal stages; as a digestif it excels!

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  7/28/2015 - cweiss wrote:

  Definitely on the downslope but still with nice pepper spiciness and an enjoyable match for Hoisin-grilled chicken breasts. One bottle left that needs to be consumed soon.

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  4/28/2013 - cweiss wrote:

  Not the best bottle. Mildly sherried. Nonetheless, completely drinkable and a nice match with Cuban food. Pepper still in evidence but not prominent.

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  1/10/2012 - erikdahlin wrote:

  Nutty nose. Bit of an off taste initially.

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  9/5/2010 - PMDias wrote: 91 Points

  Fascinating nose, profoundly herbal, vegetal, loamy; On the palate thos same characteristics are balanced by good tart cherry fruit, and light well-integrated tannin. Long finish. Surprisingly good pairing for a salad of field greens with almond-crusted goat cheese, yet held it's own with grilled lamb chops until the Bordeaux was poured. Fun, unusual wine.

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View all 22 Community Tasting Notes

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