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| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.6 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 45 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by APS2 on 11/8/2023 & rated 94 points: 3 hour decant. Enjoyed this one immensely over a two day period. Full bodied and intense jammy plum with earth and tobacco notes. Very lush from start to finish. Still has room to go. (928 views) | | | Tasted by cliffkol on 10/23/2023 & rated 94 points: Coravin - Very bright, still fresh red fruits, supreme depth of flavors, mature tannins. Great structure (1014 views) | | | Tasted by ZekeBoston on 1/20/2022 & rated 82 points: I’d say this wine is flawed but it is the exact same experience I had with a bottle at a restaurant and it had the same issues. Someone earlier said it came across as a “dirty old wine” which I agree with. There are oxidative features that are hard to get past. RP points pointed this out and said it might haunt owners at a future date and gave it 95? With the dread ? LPB and JD gave it very high scores. Wonder if there are different bottles out there. Love right bank wines. Not this one. The 2000 was quite nice. Not sure what happened with some of these bottles. (2910 views) | | | Tasted by Kierkegaard on 1/8/2022 & rated 93 points: Decanted three hours before, which did it good (2564 views) | | | Tasted by Smoky86 on 1/31/2021 & rated 94 points: (Almost dried) plum, spices, tobacco, hints of earth. Tannins prominent, velvety. Gorgeous long finish. More expressive with time, would decant for 1h at a minimum. (3850 views) | | | Tasted by JuzMaintain on 1/29/2021 & rated 94 points: The time had come. The single bottle I purchased on a whim almost a decade ago had been picked for a Bordeaux tasting.
And so it was that I began the 5 hour decant, hesitant to take in the first hint of a nose I was frightened of after reading a few of the less than positive reviews... the "stewed prunes" and "indescribable" aroma.
I needn't have worried.
From the first blast of fruit upon the initial opening, it was gorgeous plum and velvety deep cherry for days. The nose was so decadently pungent as to take your breath away. Full beast mode.
Came upon the grit at the bottom of the bottle and decided to pour the small remnant into a glass for a quick assessment.
Unbelievable! Superb depth of fruit, melded seamlessly with almost mature tannins and a laser-precise structure of acidity set against the backdrop of the rare earth of Western France. The harmony unleashed between the Merlot and Cab Franc is smooth as silk and the characteristic tartness of Bordeaux is tempered here with extraordinary craftsmanship of flavor and focus.
This, along with a 2005 Rauzen-Segla (also fantastic!) and two other notable offerings, were my first foray into Bordeaux in quite some time so it was VERY nice to have nothing but winners in the bunch that memorable evening.
If you have properly stored your lot, the '05 Clos de Sarpe is only now beginning to hit its stride. Those with the luxury of several bottles should try at least one or two before too long. I will likely be dead before this bottle is undrinkable, it has that much life left.
Don't miss it! (3195 views) | | | Tasted by acheng on 11/1/2020: This has not aged well at all and is a mess of a wine. Reminiscent of their 95. A soupy high tone nose and devoid of pleasure. What a shame. (3500 views) | | | Tasted by travelculture on 8/29/2020 & rated 94 points: Really enjoyed this wine. In my view, perfect to drink now after an hour decant. Nose is intense but the wine is balanced with fruit under control. Harmonious. (2371 views) | | | Tasted by Wine MOB on 11/3/2019 & rated 95 points: This wine has been open for 8 hours in a decanter. The mondemnsional, drab nose just started to cede it’s dominance. There is a lot there is you are not in a rush.
The nose was indescribable. The color was gorgeous, deep red and not a wif or age. The wine is so tight and youthful that you cannot believe it is 14 years old. Great velvety mouth feel
Black current, black plums, espresso, spice, chocolate( this wine refuses to evolve and release!
And btw, when I started this note I was noncommittal as far as liking, and the nose so awkward and strange that I had difficulty even trying to be positive, as strange as it sounds, once it opens up the wine jumps in quality. (3289 views) | | | Tasted by Purple Tooth on 4/11/2019 & rated 93 points: From Magnum: This wine, like so many other 05' St. Emilions, is a beast. It needs 2 hours of air and will keep growing for the next 2 hours....At first,I thought that it was overpacked to the point of uncrecognition with its deep dark red and black fruit. Then it started unfurling slowly and reveling itself with lots of pomegranate pith and spice.Turned more dense and deep and later bloomed into a rich wine, throwing hints of espresso and truffle while being anchored in enough acidity to keep all heavy components suspended in a floating freshness. Needs about 7 years or more, but this is just a monster. HOLD (3674 views) | | | Tasted by Miceri on 12/29/2018 & rated 93 points: Medium to dark red; spice box, lots of spices, caramel, little pepper, wet forest ground; well balanced, well rounded, slightly acidic (but not too much), bit tannic and dry ending (3237 views) | | | Tasted by thesternowl on 8/21/2018: Popped and poured; consumed over a five hour period. This bottle came from my cellar. Two immediate reactions were 1) the inside of the bottle looked like it had a patina (sediment) coating the side it had been laying on and 2) the fruit smelled stewed and overripe. However, it tasted nothing like that. Instead, it was much brighter with dark and red fruits, earth and baking spices with a hefty bit of acid lifting everything up. After about 90 minutes, the nose became much more vibrant with red-rope licorice, old leather and cedar chest. Close to the end of the bottle, this was showing its best but it was also beginning to exhibit more structure with tannin and acid taking a more central role. Somewhat strange experience. Not sure what to make of the future for this. Wishing I had more clarity...and another bottle (maybe??) to see if these become something more special with additional age...or perhaps this is it. One thing is for sure, it's not a boring wine. (3711 views) | | | Tasted by Fateful Destiny on 6/3/2017 & rated 75 points: Agree with many of the others. The wine is off in a bad way. I may pour it down the drain (6063 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 3/19/2017 & rated 93 points: Powerful, full-bodied, concentrated and showing saline character from all its stony qualities, herbs, tobacco, ripe, tannic black raspberries, plums and a hint of florality. This is quite young and fresh, it will take at least another decade to soften and pull all its qualities together. (6165 views) | | | Tasted by tzelmer on 11/26/2016 & rated 88 points: This is a strange wine. On the nose there is oxidative tones, stewed or dried fruit, prunes, raisins, etc.. You expect a big ripe fruit forward wine. However the acidity is so high there is no fruity pleasure on the plate at all. With 2 hours of air you begin to see some sweet red fruit, peppery spice, and chalky minerality underneath the stewed fruit quality. The aroma stays the same, prune and stewed fruit. The acid and tannin are substantial. I am not sure where this can go from here. I wonder if this is how it tasted when Parker gave it such a high score? (5536 views) | | | Tasted by Fiorano on 10/27/2016 & rated 72 points: Fairly coarse tannins and a residual stewed quality seriously detracted from this wine. Purchased on release, but I have no earlier data points by which to judge it. Poured down the drain. A second bottle was no better. (5314 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 10/19/2015: A private tasting (Jan-Dirk Taams' residence, Groot-Ammers, Netherlands): Stewed fruit on the nose, oxidative, overripe; rather raw tannins, hint of dried cocoa, over-extracted, disjointed; black cherries on the finish and lots of drying oak. Not sure what the producer was trying to achieve here, but I do not like it. Not rated. (8049 views) | | | Tasted by Hazevedo on 6/7/2015 & rated 89 points: Over the time. It should be consumed before. The color has no brighter (5088 views) | | | Tasted by StefanAkiko on 7/8/2014 flawed bottle: It was a plummy, deep noted wine upon decanting. At the restaurant it had developed a veil of "dirty old wine". Not corked, cooked or oxidized, just OLD. Think: biological experiment...
However, behind its fault, is a young, fullbodied wine with snappy acids and high grade tannins. The concentration alone vouches for this wine having a grand and splendid future...
5 btls to go, next one around 2020, still expecting a very young wine, hoping to have a more thorough experience than tonight though. (7146 views) | | | Tasted by farinas on 5/18/2014 & rated 92 points: Consistent with previous note (5127 views) | | | Tasted by Miceri on 3/16/2014 & rated 90 points: Dark to black red; fresh dark berries, slightly subdued expression; deep fruit, some green tannins, more lean than volumnious; a nice glass with lots of fruit but also quite some tannins and a bit tree-like (6080 views) | | | Tasted by farinas on 3/8/2014: Coravin sample. This Clos Sarpe has evolved a good amount showing a nose of sweet fruit and new oak. Fleshy palate of mouth staining ripe raspberries with plenty yet soft tannins. Need a bit more time to show some tertiary notes. Hold for another 3 years. (4851 views) | | | Tasted by eschaefer on 1/27/2014 & rated 92 points: Beautiful in the glass. Fully body, Inky dark purple with brick edge. Young with ample tannin this wine has longevity written all over it. Rich dark plum and blackberry with earth, saddle and tobacco. Long finish but texture didn't linger mid palate. It tasted leaner than it looked but Very good. Recommended. (4676 views) | | | Tasted by Cheungtp on 4/19/2013 & rated 93 points: Opaque, dark purple color with long legs. Young, primary with some green notes, with time, aromas of sweet currants, licorice, minerals, wet wood, earth and cream reveal themselves. Juicy attack on the palate, loads of dark and purple fruits and berries, vanilla, oak and a hint of cigar. Behind the ripe, juicy mouth feel is that big wall of tannins, firm but rather round and tasty. The wine is in its odd stage, but you can definitely feel the potential of greatness when it reaches the drinking window.
Big thanks to DP for this nice bottle. (5550 views) | | | Tasted by TMacpherson on 10/23/2012 & rated 94 points: We opened this bottle by mistake - but didn't regret it for a moment. The nose was quite subdued and didn't prepare you for what was coming next at all. From start to finish this wine was about dark fruit such black raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. The tannins still had a strong grip on this wine but not nearly as much as you would think on a Clos des Sarpe. The finish was multilayered with some oak vanillin, figs, and a hint of smoke. It will be amazing to see where this winds up over the next 10 to 20 years. (6149 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Clos de Sarpe: 1952 – 2015 (3/18/2020)
(Chateau Clos De Sarpe) Login and sign up and see review text. | By John Szabo, MS
WineAlign (10/7/2009)
(Château Clos De Sarpe, Ac St émilion Grand Cru red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2006, IWC Issue #126
(Clos de Sarpe Saint Emilion) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jon Rimmerman
Garagiste (12/30/2008)
(CLOS DE SARPE) Overnight Dear Friends, Here are a few specials at great prices to wrap up the year. None of these are cast-offs, they are first-run wines that should cost a lot more. All would have been offers in their own right but quantities are too small. As always, all have impeccable provenance. Please limit requests to 6/each wine and we will allocate accordingly: 2006 Nicolas Cole Syrah "Dauphine" (Walla Walla) Last year's "Dauphine" was highly rated by the national press and given a nice review by Paul Gregutt - the 2006 should trump that wine by a wide margin as it's the first Dauphine to incorporate a majority of estate fruit in the blend. You can check pricing on the 2005 to see how good of a tarriff this is. This parcel is directly from the winery cellar. EXTREMELY LIMITED at this pre-release price (will be available early in the new year). 2005 Clos de Sarpe 750ml (St. Emilion) This incredible wine reminds me of what the 1900 Margaux must have been like on release - it is so old-school and layered with a tannic, gritty presence that it has the chance to last for 50-100 years (I'm not kidding). In addition, this price is less than the first tranche offer 2-3 years ago (but we don't have much so I'm burying it here in this offer)... 2002 Bodegas Alion (Vega Sicilia) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Bord8570 WA5990 Spain6620 | By Jon Rimmerman
Garagiste (5/5/2008)
(CLOS DE SARPE) 2005 Clos de Sarpe Dear Friends, I've only got one shot at this - Monday night or nothing so here goes... Those of you that missed out on 1945 Mouton when it was released may want to take a look at this – one of the highest scoring wines of the vintage and an outright bargain at this stage for a top 2005 (Lafite, Latour, Mouton and Cheval Blanc only received one additional point from Parker, 96, and I’m sure they all cost far more at this point). If you are looking for a wine that will undoubtedly appreciate in value and complexity over the next 30-50 years, this is your wine. If you have a birth year in 2005, this would be an excellent candidate for a 21st or 30th birthday. This wine has impressed everyone I know that has tasted it from bottle and the Chateau knows they’ve got a potential 1990 Beausejour-Duffau of a wine on their hands - a legend among wine collectors. Not only has Clos de Sarpe has been far more consistent than Beausejour Duffau has over the last decade, I would argue that Clos de Sarpe has been one on the top 5-10 properties in all of Bordeaux since 2000 and their wines have not increased in price exponentially with their success - refreshing indeed. We have one parcel of this wine at this price. It is coming as direct from the Chateau cellars as possible with perfect provenance: VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - THIS IS NOT VIA THE GREY MARKET: 2005 Clos de Sarpe - STRICT LIMIT 24/person until we run out Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Bord7770 |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JebDunnuck.com and WineAlign and Vinous and Garagiste. (manage subscription channels) |
| Château Clos de Sarpe Producer website - Read more about Chateau Clos de SarpeRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanLibournais Libournais (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux) - Read more about St. Emilion and its wines - Read more about Pomerol and its wines
Saint Emilion Grat Classified Growth, Classified Growths, Grands Crus Classes, GCC
In 1954, while the "Graves" growths had just published their own classification, the wine syndicate of Saint-Emilion, composed by wine growers, brokers and wine traders with the approval of the INAO - Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (A.O.C), decided to work on a classification for the wines of Saint Emilion. Initially, four grades were defined. These were reduced to two - First Great Classified Growth (A and B) and Great Classified Growth - in 1984.
As of Medoc's 1855 historical grading, the Saint-Emilion Great Classified Growth classification is not only based on qualitative criteria by tasting the wines on a ten years period previous to the assessment, but also on commercial considerations such as:
- sales price levels
- national and international commercial distribution
- the estate's reputation on the market
Properties who don't manage to join the club of about sixty Classified Growths are given the denomination of Great Growth ("Grand Cru"), while the remaining wineries of the A.O.C are simply reported as "Saint-Emilion". It is to be noted that the owners must officially apply to appear in the official classification. Thus for example the famous Chateau Tertre-Roteboeuf, whose quality and reputation would easily justify to be listed among the First Great Classified Growths, does not appear here by the will of its owner, François Mitjaville.
The Saint-Emilion Great Growth classification was revised in 1969, 1985, 1996 and 2006. The only two guaranteed vintage (A.O.C) who can apply to the classification are the "Saint-Emilion Grand Cru" and "Saint-Emilion" areas.
By grading 61 properties, the 2006 revision confirmed many growths from the former classification, but also caused a number of surprises and a few inevitable disappointments. Many observers thought that the impressive progression of Perse's Chateau Pavie since 1998 would be rewarded by an upgrade into the First Great Classified Growths (A) category, but finally such was not the case.
Among the estates promoted to the First Great Classified Growths B category are Chateau Troplong-Mondot and Pavie-Macquin, whose efforts made since the Nineties fully justify their new grade. It should be noted that no First Great Classified Growth was relegated to the lower Great Classified Growth class.
Promoted growths from the status of Great Growth ("Grand Cru") to Great Classified Growth ("Grand Cru Classe") are: Chateaux Bellefont-Belcier, Destieux, Fleur Cardinale, Grand Corbin, Grand Corbin-Despagne and Monbousquet.
The demoted growths from the status of Great Classified Growth to Great Growth are: Chateaux Bellevue, Cadet Bon, Faurie de Souchard, Guadet Saint-Julien, La Tour du Pin-Figeac (Belivier), La Tour du Pin-Figeac (Moueix), Lamarzelle, Petite Faurie de Soutard, Tertre Daugay, Villemaurine and Yon-Figeac. If the recent samples of some of the above mentioned properties may justify their current downgrade, there are great chances that estates like Bellevue, Tertre Daugay or Yon-Figeac will be upgraded to their previous rankings by the next revision in 2016 as the progresses noted after 2000, but not entering in the range of vintages (1993 - 2002) appointed for the criteria of selection for the 2006 classification, are noticable.
The two following estates have completely disappeared from the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classification: Curé-Bon-la-Madeleine (integrated meanwhile to Chateau Canon) and La Clusière (integrated meanwhile to Chateau Pavie).
Finally, no estate considered as "garagiste" has integrated the classification. Valandraud, Mondotte, Le Dome, Bellevue-Mondotte or Magrez-Fombrauge have, for the least, the potential to be ranked as Great Classified Growths. In sight of the very fine quality reached by the above mentioned estates in recent vintages as well as all the innovative wine making methods used by the "garagistes", it remains to be seen whether the authorities will dare to cross the line in 2016..?St. Émilion Grand Cru Les Vins de St. Émilion (Syndicate Vitocole de Saint-Emilion) – Read about St. Emilion
Vins de Bordeaux:
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot
Soil: Sandy soils with alluvial gravel deposits
Surface Area: 4,160 ha |
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