2008 Clos de l'Oratoire

Community Tasting Notes (35) Avg Score: 90.0 points

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  3/23/2023 - WojteG Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Wow! I think I have a pleasure to drink this wine at its peak. Full harmony, perfect balance. But, wait, there's a few more surprises. Color - 14 years old wine with very dark red. Smell - mostly sweet aromas of black and red fruits. Lovely, but no coffee or black chocolate ( is this a Merlot?. Yes it is. 95% M and 5%CF, no CS). I can detect cedar also. Taste - thick, syropy texture with ripe black fruits ( is it a Merlot made in USA?). Still no coffee, no black chocolate. Hmm...But wait for the biggest surprise
  Spice!
  It starts somewhere in the middle, gently, slowly, and increases like a sine wave at the end. It's hard to describe the feeling, but you forget about all the other flavors, you just want to savor the spice.
  Incredible!
  
  Why 'only' 95 pts ?
  I guess you guessed!
  No coffee
  No black chocolate
  RP - 91
  JS - 91
  WCI - 91
  CT - 90
  
  2008 was outstanding vintage according WA Vintage Guide - 92 pts.

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  11/5/2021 - pjaines wrote:

  Sitting halfway between youth and maturity - and not really firing on all cyclinders right now. It has lost the sheen of youth but feels a bit clunky right now. Black fruits, some cocoa notes and fine grained tannins. Not bad, just a bit unmemorable right now.

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  6/14/2021 - Dj6544 wrote: 94 Points

  Ripe, sweet plum, raspberry fruit and chocolate notes. A dry, puckering and savoury finish with notes of saline and liquorice sweets. Fresh, mouthwatering but some fairy woody tannin. Still pretty primary given where the ‘06 is, I guess this shows promise for cellaring. Really liked this. 94

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  2/25/2019 - pjaines wrote: flawed

  Gah! Probably a slightly flawed bottle in that this was plummy and a touch brown on the finish. Air helped, but knowing these wines this was probably a duff bottle.

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  10/3/2018 - Dj6544 wrote: 92 Points

  This has come on brilliantly. Dark chocolate fruit, with mint leaf and the maturity yielding a lovely aged bresaola. Soft tannins and a subtle but complex rich, full and morish flavour, I’ll definitely be keeping these. 92

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View all 35 Community Tasting Notes

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