Pop and pour. Incredible aromatics of red fruit, dried floral notes, earth and spice. There was a nice touch of oak on the nose that seemed, in this case, to add some character to the wine instead of subtracting from it. The palate was airy and lithe, but boy oh boy was it elegant and flavorful. Endless red fruit...pomegranate, cherry, cranberry tones were so pure and precise. Nice meaty and earthy underbelly to this wine too. Complete package.

Powerful nose of oak, sulphur and red fruit. Usually Cecile's wines are nuanced and feminine, but I found this to be decidedly more masculine, powerful and raw. The fruit was really nice on the palate and after a couple of hours of air, the oak seemed to back down a bit revealing a darker core of fruit than I would have expected. There's a lot of structure to the wine too with lip-smacking acidity and drying tannins on the finish that say to me, "wait another 10 years before drinking me again." Will do.

Beautiful bottle that was drinking in a great place. Combined a nice meatiness with elegant red fruit, leather, and earth. Pleasantly acidic, I think this is drinking close to peak.

Beautiful perfume of rich, sappy red fruit and earthy, forestal tones. Had a nicely rustic edge to it displaying underbrush, mushroom, spice and game notes. Seemed to have a little funk in the background that I enjoyed too.

Beautiful aromas of dill, sweet cherry, fallen leaves and balsamic. There was some funk going on too...but wasn't too distracting to me. Really bright and vibrant red fruit, dried floral, tobacco, and leather tones blend together incredibly well. Thought this showed incredibly well.

Tasted blind. Nice energetic gamay that had good spice notes, cool fruit and nice mineral tones. I was certainly surprised when the bottle was revealed...my first Gamay from Canada!

A really nice Cabernet Franc. While this doesn't have the green notes that many Loire/Bordeaux cab francs may have this did have nice, pure, cool red fruit. Very silky, and totally gulpable!

Raw and young this should round into a really nice Coudoulet. Has that spicy red fruit note to it with firm tannins and subtle earthiness. Would venture that this will drink well for 20-25 years. Aged Coudoulet's can be a thing of beauty and I think this vintage is a candidate for some long-term cellaring.

Really sappy and brawny at such an young age. The funkiness from the Mourvedre seemed to really come through giving it some gamey, earthy and funky notes. Nice, but young.

Like this a lot more than the Valiere. This was more spicy, elegant and lithe on the palate. Had good structure and stuffing and should age very nice.