2008 Château les Cruzelles

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 90.3 points

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  6/10/2023 - Eudemis Likes this wine:

  14.5% alcohol. M 60%, CF 40%. The cork is long but it is hardly free of defects; in any case, it did its job and there is virtually no wine penetration. Decanted for an hour. The colour is quite dark with minimal thinning at the rim and no bricking.
  Dark wild berries on the nose, certainly very ripe with a hint of a cooked component; yet fresh too, go figure, but there is an unwelcome whiff of alcohol. The mouth is rich and ripe but very juicy with excellent acidity; however, there is a disturbing alcoholic note which kind of spoil the experience for me (well, not entirely, it is still pretty good).
  I enjoyed this bottle considerably less than the previous ones, but I cannot say if the variation is in the bottle or the taster, or even the season; it takes so little to upset the balance of perceptions in a wine...

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  4/2/2023 - Eudemis Likes this wine:

  14.5% alcohol. M 60%, CF 40%. The cork is not very long but is is free of defect and it shows no wine penetration whatsoever. Decanted an hour ahead. The colour is medium to dark with very limited fading at the edge of the rim.
  Rich nose with macerated fruit, both red and dark, and without undue sign of oak; very seductive. Similar profile in the mouth with excellent acidity and superb silky mouthfeel; there is reasonable grip but next to no tannins left. This wine is a charmer, and it certainly worked its magic on me and SWIMBO (especially so).
  Given the rich (including alcoholic) balance in a relatively lean year like 2008, I cannot help wondering wow the property manages hotter years which have become more frequent. But on the current encounter, this is a hugely enjoyable wine, and a superb partner for grilled lamb chops.

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  9/13/2022 - Brian Glas Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Tasted after 90 minutes of air. Medium garnet color with some fading at the edge. The nose was great when I popped and poured. It is more muted now. Sweet red berry fruit with decent grip. Some savory sage notes on the finish. Medium acidity provides balance. Very nice. This has plenty of life left.

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  10/15/2021 - bordeauxman777 Likes this wine: 91 Points

  In a perfect place right now. Excellent mouthfeel and elegance. The alcohol is well disguised, it seems the 14.5%alc. is on the label by printing error. Lovely!

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  5/18/2020 - Eudemis Likes this wine:

  14.5% alcohol. M 60%, CF 40% in the vineyard according to Jeff Leve who is usually reliable on the facts. Excellent long cork with no wine penetration at all. Decanted an hour ahead. The colour is dark with limited thinning at the edge of the rim.
  Vey good rich nose (better and more complex before swirling than after) with blackberries and a hint of dried fig. The mouth is extremely smooth but far from soupy; concentrated but not over-extracted, with good acidity in the finish and soft residual tannins. Silky too, and no direct sign of oak. The alcohol does not protrude, although you can feel its aftereffect. Nothing cooked or overripe here.
  A posterboy for civilised and refined Merlot; there are precious few of those in my book, and I have no doubt that the CF helps the balance considerably.
  Drank it to the memory of Denis Durantou who died prematurely last week. He certainly knew his trade.
  A repeat purchase in principle.

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