4/16/2020 - solana wrote:

Decanted two hours ( it was yummy earlier, but just kept improving! ).
Lovely, deep, ethereal aromas of ripe red cherries, a bouquet of flowers, violets, fine herbs and strawberry liquer. All full and floating by at once.
Palate reflects the aromas with much greater tactile presence as they coat the palate. So much flavor, so little weight. Sleek onto the rear palate where a touch of rhubarb compote enters and extends onto the very long finish, interwoven with creamy herbs and flowers. The biggest difference earlier and now was a band of acidity that came on at the rear palate and shut down the finish.
My only bottle. Glad I waited!

4/15/2020 - solana wrote:

Decanted two hours ( it was yummy earlier, but just kept improving! ).
Lovely, deep, ethereal aromas of ripe red cherries, a bouquet of flowers, violets, fine herbs and strawberry liquer. All full and floating by at once.
Palate reflects the aromas with much greater tactile presence as they coat the palate. So much flavor, so little weight. Sleek onto the rear palate where a touch of rhubarb compote enters and extends onto the very long finish, interwoven with creamy herbs and flowers. The biggest difference earlier and now was a band of acidity that came on at the rear palate and shut down the finish.
My only bottle. Glad I waited!

4/26/2019 - solana Likes this wine:

Today this wine defines A Point.

20 minutes open to blow off some funk and the wine is still singing
1 1/2 hours later. Rich dark fruits with so much earthy, herbal, meaty complexity, all in a silky long package, nary a bit of hardness to be seen. Lovely aromas, lovely flavors.

Enjoy! ( I know I will with my remaining bottles. )

12/11/2018 - solana wrote:

Compared to the bottle we had in January this is a completely different wine. Perhaps the additional inch of wine in the bottle made the difference.
Deep spicy aromas of mixed sweet spices, cardamon & a touch of black pepper around a rich core of black raspberry / boysenberry fruit.
Mouth filling yet bright flavors of black raspberry / black cherry fruit that deepens through the full range of blue and darker berries to a rich, spicy blackberry and plum finish. Meanwhile the entire spice and herb cabinet ( none of them green ) has been spilled into the wine along with a palpable richness like coconut milk without the coconut moves through the deep fruit flavors.
Bright, but never sharp, acidity frames and extends the flavors, fully masking the 15.6% alcohol.
No way this bottle is 26 years old! Sadly my last, and perhaps my best, of 4 bottles.

12/5/2018 - solana wrote:

Decanted 1 1/2 hours. The wine was pleasant upon opening, but unwound significantly by this point.
Lovely aromas of cassis and red cherry / berry fruit w/ a licorice note, fine herbs and fine earthy tones.
Charming and sleek for a Forman cab with no olive & less tobacco / earthiness than earlier vintages.
Sleek and luscious on the palate where more tobacco / earth appears, but the core of deep cherry / berry / cassis fruit dominates the flavors. Licorice gives a sweetness that interweaves all the way through the very long finish. Fine tannins frame the flavors, but it is the fine acidity that lifts and extends the finish, with no tartness, and gives this wine its lovely brightness. The tobacco / earth notes add complexity, but this is quite different from earlier Forman cabs in the way it exudes charm and deep fruitedness.

3 hours decanted and no more to pour the wine has meshed together fully & beautifully. All the flavors remain and have integrated seamlessly while the tannins have vanished. Delicious and very very long. No need to wait with a decant, no need to hurry either.

1/24/2018 - solana wrote:

Dark red color. There was a huge amount of sediment so I decanted it and put it back in the bottle.
Dull nose slowly opened to medicinal cherries, sweet spices and a bit of creosote like funk.
On the palate, a different story: Sleek, intense candied black cherry / purple berry fruit with a whole cabinet of baking spices with a clove & pepper bottom. Not very zin like, in fact blind I would have guessed a strange blend of pinot noir, aglianico, and maybe 20% zinfandel! 15% alcohol, but no heat and almost weightless considering the expected heft. Long, sleek and lovely, though also unusual.

1/19/2018 - solana Likes this wine:

A beautiful wine that has hardly budged since me review 2 years ago. One bottle left, when to drink it? On the aging curve of my experience there is no end point discernible, but I doubt I will wait that long!

Ruby colored with only the slightest orange at the edge,
Deep floral, violet, flower nectar aromas with cream of blueberry / cherry and cola fruit. Sweet baking spices hint around the edges.
The flavors fan across the palate in layers like waves overtaking each other on the beach. As it continues to open the berry flavors deepen from matching the aromas to a blueberry / boysenberry quality with creamy cola, baking spices and floral nectars weaving together. Initially the acids made themselves known on the sides of the palate, but grew less and less noticeable while still framing and extending the fruit. The finish is endless with the cream / cola flavor the strongest, but really all the flavors continue to weave together to the end. Anyone who is dissapointed in this wine and wishes to sell well stored bottles please send me a message!

12/12/2017 - solana wrote:

Lovely minerally aromas of mixed berry compote, oranges, sweet spice and a touch of oak, all with a deep nectar like plushness perfume.
Deep and full, rich, but not at all heavy on the palate. Rounding with a spiced berry flavor that carries from the start to the long finish. As it goes in the mouth the flavors grow less primary and more interwoven with the oranges, nectar, spice nuances integrating until they are all beautifully blended on the finish. Delicious and a point.
The only criticism I could make is I would have guessed a top Oregon pinot noir rather than Nuits St Georges if I tasted the wine blind. Not being a terroir purist that does not bother me at all. This note was written an hour after opening the bottle.

3/29/2017 - solana wrote:

Shiraz meets pinot noir. Beautiful fruit, but no pinot in sight. Its the wine I would expect if Grant Taylor made a Central Otago shiraz, but not what I expected from this master of pinot noir. Very enjoyable if you are seeking a tasty, well made red wine. Less so if you plan on drinking fine pinot noir.

3/29/2017 - solana Likes this wine:

No detailed notes, but the wine evolved in such an interesting way I wanted to share it here.
Initially the aromas were moderately reduced and funky. Needs oxygen! So I decanted and poured 2 glasses as well to speed the process. Still...1 3/4 hours later the funk was all gone and the aromas were dark fruit, spice, and a forest floor earthiness. The palate lost the sharp tang I associate with reduction and was rich and long, if a bit rustic.
But the wine was not done changing. Half an hour later it was as if a shell cracked and a new wine emerged. Sleek, silky and quite blue and red fruited with a creamy quality and a cinnamon spiciness that was simply delicious. The earthy quality grew more mineral and a wafting perfume of flowers and violets enticed both the nose and the upper palate.
The wine continued to sing for another hour before closing up shop a bit with some tartness intruding on the finish. So, this ones far from dead or over the hill. As for scores, I gave it an 88 early and 93+ at its best. Enjoy!

3/2/2017 - solana Likes this wine:

Very fresh and aromatic upon opening, but a bit sharp on the palate. I let it rest, open but no decant, for 40 minutes at which point it was singing. Over the next 2 hours the wine only grew more expansive and lovely, far more alive than my last bottle 2 years ago....

After 45 minutes: Beautiful floral aromas of flowers and sappy nectar, red berries, currants, violets and minerals.
Silky texture, a flavorful rush of red berries onto the palate, soon adding violets and then black raspberries on the rear palate and long finish. Just floats over the palate with an airiness belied by the sappy, building richness of the fruit flavors. Minerals are there throughout, but never dominate. A lovely wine and my last bottle; how often does that happen?
Interesting side note: this Cailles was consistently superior to my bottles of 93 Lecheneaut Clos de la Roche.

1/3/2017 - solana Likes this wine:

Wow. I always like this wine, but the 2001 vintage takes it to another level. I would not guess it is 15 years old; it seems half that.
No formal notes, but the impressions linger.
Aromas of honeyed ripe apples, Meyer lemons and intense minerality.
On the palate the honeyed quality is the scent of honey with no sweetness. The ripe apples and Meyer lemon are there too, joined by passion fruit and grapefruit. The minerals are intense with almost a spicy quality, like having a mouth full of the most delicious stone countering all the fruits. The finish is interwoven and endless.
Mann really hit it perfectly in 2001. I have no idea how long this wine will continue to grow and evolve. As delicious as it is now, there is the sense that it will grow more harmonious in years ahead. I am glad I have 2 more bottles, though I would like to have enough to drink one every year until it begins to slip off its plateau.

12/30/2016 - solana Likes this wine:

Rough and edgy upon opening, despite nice red fruit and earth notes. Decanted for 2 hours checking along the way. What a change!
At 2 hours 20 minutes back into the bottle and write this note.

Intense aromas of spicy, mineral laden black cherry and plum fruits, truffles, garrigue, and a touch of anis. Very complex and alluring.
Plump and svelte at the same time on the palate, with an incredibly long and fine finish. Spicy red plums, black cherries, stone and mineral flavors with notes of garrigue and anis.
Grows purer and deeper from the rear palate through the finish where the spicy red plums make the last impression. The mineral undertone carries throughout, most unusual in the Southern Rhone, giving the wine a great quality of finesse. Beautiful and improving!

12/23/2016 - solana Likes this wine:

Decanted 40 minutes and then back in the bottle. This note was written at that 40 minute point.
Expansive aromas of black cherries, spiced plum cake, minerals, fine earth, and dark flower nectar.
Liquid velvet on the palate with flavors of orange peel, spicy dark fruits, cola, fine herbs, earth, and a wild note both tangy and tinged with tar that I can't find a word for. Sleek, supple and framed by bright, yet fine acidity with a few tannins on the rear palate and very long, interwoven finish. My last and best bottle. It was tasty when opened, but really grew sleek and stretched out with the decant.
I drank the last glass after 3 hours and it was getting sauvage and gamey on the finish by then. Great now and probably for another 2 years. Wish I had another to check back on!

12/8/2016 - solana Likes this wine:

Decanted an hour; upon opening it was rather funky and disjointed.
Expansive aroma of red cherries, dried fruit mince, and garrigue with a wild high toned earthy note.
High toned flavors of sweet and tart cherry candy with a lot of garrigue and a fine earthy / spicy quality on the mid length finish. A brightness carried by both pleasant and volatile acidity gives the wine a wild feel, but never enough to be disturbing. Very good with hearty southern French food. I believe the wine has passed its peak, but is still on its plateau of tastiness. Drink up in the next year or so. A bit of heat comes on the finish after 2 hours open.

2/11/2016 - solana Likes this wine:

What an unusual wine experience. When I popped the cork I poured some in a glass to see if it needed decanting. It tasted pretty good at first; 10 minutes later the wine was lean and acidic. I tried again and gave the glass 15 minutes and the wine was even worse. So I vacuvinned the bottle since dinner was an hour away.

Ok, poured an hour later the wine tasted youthful and behaved like I would expect a youthful pinot to behave. Over the next hour it grew more complex while never losing its core of black raspberry fruit. The last sip was delicious, but still a bit rough around the edges. A strange experience, but I will wait a couple years before opening another bottle, hoping the rough edges disappear and the wine behaves like a rich, yet graceful 20 year old bottle!

2/8/2016 - solana Likes this wine:

Wow! I expected to enjoy this wine; I did not expect it to blow me away. A nice surprise. Drinking a point, if you have one give it a go. Sleek, smooth and long with a creme de casis character throughout. Notes of dried cranberry, milk chocolate, fine herbs and cinnamon weave in and out with a seductive sweet fruit sweetness I did not expect in a 25 year old cabernet.
Interesting note: this wine was clearly sterile filtered. Given the accepted thought of filtration today one would not expect such richness and beauty 25 years on. I also lean towards non interventive wine making, but its good not to get stuck on these things like some wine reviewers have done.
Enjoy!

4/13/2015 - solana wrote:

Leesy toasty aromas of green apple, citrus zest and tangerine.
Flavors of leesy toasty orange oil, ripe apples, lemon zest, & a note of carmelized peach. Long, but more linear than the flavors would indicate, with a sense of a bottom that prevented greater depth. My wife said it was excess acidity preventing the flavors from becoming expansive. Whatever the cause ( screw caps in the early days? ) it forms a frontier between very good and great wine. Enjoyable chardonnay that seems to have the potential to be more.

2nd day: 100 ml kept in the fridge opened up amazingly. Deeper, richer, and more complex with hazelnuts, orange and tangerine liqueur, and ripe peaches, all balanced with a fine minerality. Wow. Really makes me question screw caps for a wine that ages so well. Clearly this needs a few more years to reach its peak when virtually no one will have a bottle left to drink! 93 points

4/7/2015 - solana Likes this wine:

An amazing pinot noir. Two and a half hours after opening it I am enjoying the last glass while I type this.
Pure ruby color with a bit of lightening at the rim, but no orange, the wine looks as youthful as it tastes.
Expansive aromas of black cherry, blueberry, cola and a full cabinet of baking spices.
Silky, sleek, and endlessly long; this wine does not taste 20+ years old. A cornucopia of fresh berries and cola is completely coated by a creamy infusion of sweet baking spices. Mouth filling and full, yet also weightless, expanding to fill every niche of the palate.
Acids frame and extend the finish where a floral liqueur quality coats the core of fruit and spice. Delicious!

2/25/2015 - solana Likes this wine:

Yellow gold color, by no means "golden" considering its age.
Tight at first, began to slowly open after half an hour. Expansive, but ethereal, aromas of waxy tangerines and lemons, white flowers and chalk with masses of stoney minerality.
Dense, yet expansive, airy flavors that saturate the entire palate, cling, and extend into a very long finish. Chablis like in its stoney, calcerous nature there is also a deep undertone of Meyer lemon and tangerine fruit with a leesy-stoney nuance.
A unique wine that combines many diverse images into an expression of chardonnay that I have rarely encountered. Certainly does not seem 18 years old!

2/14/2015 - solana wrote:

Decanted one hour. It was a bit tight when opened with tannins clipping the finish and still delicious when the last drop was drained after 2 hours decanted. Notes at about 1.5 hours.
Lifted full aromas of blueberries, balsamic, creme de cassis, and fine herbs.
Deep sleek flavors expand to cover and coat the palate. Full flavored, but not at all heavy. Creme de cassis and bright blueberries form the core of the long deep flavors from fore palate to long finish with notes of balsamic, chocolate, earth, and herbs interweaving along the way. A delicious wine at its peak.

1/8/2015 - solana wrote:

Absolutely wonderful wine. Incredibly complex aromas and an endless finish. Between the two the flavors coat the palate with a liqueur like persistence, but with no weight. I did not take notes, but wanted to write here to stress the importance of a long decant. Kudos to NewFrenchClaret for his great note below, his observations are spot on: 3 hours in the carafe and the wine was singing. For me it improved for another hour, but my wife found the 3 hour expression perfect. The color was ruby almost to the rim, with only a little ring of tawny at the edge. So if your wine shows more mature when decanted perhaps a shorter decant is in order. Well stored bottles ( I have a normal, not temperature controlled, cellar that moves between low 50's and low 60's over the year, but has neither light nor vibration ) will certainly benefit from a good long decant. Enjoy.

12/9/2014 - solana wrote:

After reading the previous notes I was concerned this might be fading and initial impressions agreed with the previous notes. However all this wine needs is some air. After an hour in the decanter it was singing, after 2 hours it had unwound and the acidity was framing the deep flavors of cassis and dark berry, tobacco and black olives with a definite undertone of loamy earth. Very long with all the flavors interweaving and fading away together after a good minute. Certainly a style more akin to a ripe vintage Bordeaux than the cabs from Napa today, but has more fruit than most 24 year old Bordeaux. Best of both worlds.

12/3/2014 - solana wrote:

Wow, I did not expect such a youthful, delicious wine after reading the earlier reviews.
Ruby garnet color with slight orange rim.
Lovely aromas of earthy-truffly black cherry - plum fruits with notes of aromatic herbs and balsamic, soft and enveloping.
Mouth filling flavors of black cherry - plum fruits with notes of truffle, lavender, dark chocolate, and herbs. Fine, velvetty, and mouth coating, but never heavy. Bright and elegant and framed by fine acidity that extends the long finish. Last bottle and the best of 3. Wish I had more.

3/22/2014 - solana wrote:

Deep aromas of balsamic, black cherries, sweet herbs, and earth notes. Sleek, almost velvety, texture with just a touch of acidity at the edge of the palate and soft tannins on the finish. Flavors of dark berry / cherry fruits, anis, herbs, and balsamic with an earthy bottom. Medium length. The texture of this bottle stands out as so graceful in comparison to earlier bottles and also to this vintage of Tuscan wines in general. Pretty, deep, enjoyable.

2/18/2014 - solana wrote:

Wow, Grand Cru Alsatian Gewurtztraminer from Nelson. I drank an Alsatian Grand Cru last week and it would be hard to pick which was which based of country and appellation. Blackenbrook always makes great pinot gris and gewurtz, but this wine takes it to another level.
Upon opening rich Turkish Delight, nectarines, and ginger fill the nose and palate, but with some air the wine unfolds to a graceful and textural experience with rich poached nectarines with a bit of mango and spicy ginger, and Turkish Delight balanced with enough brightness and a touch of acidity to keep the sugars in line and the richness sleek rather than overt. Long and lovely, I am glad I waited to open my first of these and gladder still that i have 5 more to enjoy. The most amazing thing is that this wine was still available at Christmas at the winery!

1/18/2014 - solana wrote:

Pale yellow, 16 year old sauvignon blanc that is youthful, yet mature, and incredible. It in no way says sav blanc...there are only a few wines it could be. There is something magical about the Cotat Chavignols that allow them to defy wine sensibilities and gravity and grow into such beautiful wines. If you find a well cared for one of these seeking a home, enjoy. I have one more bottle from this vintage and it will be a guess when to drink it. This wine is a point, but in no danger of fading away.

1/2/2014 - solana wrote:

Frati Vineyard fruit.
Ruby to the rim. Deep, plush, intense and VERY spicy boysenberry aromas. Spices cover the whole spectrum from mace to cloves to black pepper.
Intensely spicy palate with a deep pool of boysenberry & purple plums at its center, and some garrigue like wild earthy notes. An unusual mineral quality, like the flavor of glacial melt water, grows with time. Very powerful, lively, intense zin with good acidity framing the flavors, though the tannins do come on mid finish to shut things down some.

12/30/2013 - solana Likes this wine:

Lemon yellow color.
Deep, rich aromas of minerals, tangerines, Meyer lemon, apricot and musky spice notes.
Full and sleek, rich and racy all at the same time. Meyer Lemon - tangerine flavors expand over the rear palate where they are joined by apricots. The finish is a crescendo of flavor with the musky spice notes growing along with the sense of richness. Minerals are there throughout and a fine acidity frames all the flavors. 1 1/2 hours after opening this wine continues to improve! The 6th of 8 bottles and the best so far. The 15 % alcohol, sometimes intrusive 4 to 7 years ago is completely hidden now.

12/28/2013 - solana Likes this wine:

Decanted 2 hours:
Expansive, enveloping aromas of red raspberry, cherry, currant leaf, licorice, a note of earth, and a big bouquet of flowers.
Sleek and subtle, deep and nuanced on the palate expanding and very, very long. Herb tinged raspberry and cassis fruit joined by tobacco, sweet spices, iron, earth, and a note of white pepper in the finish. Never heavy or full bodied, but full of flavor and almost Burgundian in its way. A lovely wine.

12/22/2013 - solana Likes this wine:

Wow. This bottle has been open for 2 hours now and I am tired of waiting for it to reach its best to write this note. So here goes.
Expansive, enveloping aromas of herbs, spice and earth all wrapped in a floral perfume like liqueur of violets around a core of black cherry / blue plum fruit.
Deep, pure palate again centered around black cherry / blue plum fruit, with a kaleidoscope of nuances. Floral violet liqueur sweetens the earthy, herb qualities and the spice notes tend towards white pepper. Black cherry skin acidity frames and extends the flavors into an endless finish where the black cherry and white pepper have the last say together.
A lovely fresh wine tasting half its age with great poise and intensity and little weight. I wish I had more!

12/20/2013 - solana Likes this wine:

Bottom of the neck fill and a completely soaked cork. Decanted 45 minutes then back into the cleaned bottle.
Expressive aromas of mushrooms, earth, and herbs around a core of deep cassis / black cherry fruit. The fruit grows deeper and more expansive with air. A quality like liquer of taragon & fine herbs binds all the aromas together beautifully.
Intense, bright casis fruit is the core flavor from the tip of the tongue to the end of the long finish. Along the way black cherries, herbs, earth / iron and a touch of spice weave in and out. A light leather / mushroom note enters on the rear palate and bright cherry skin acidity frames extends all the flavors without intruding.
Classic Laurel Glen straddling the borders of California and Bordeaux with elegance and depth. This has years of life ahead. I doubt it will improve further, though given the low fill and soaked cork of this bottle, you never know.

12/4/2013 - solana Likes this wine:

Ruby color with a lighter rim. Fine aromas of berry fruit, fine earth, bramble, black pepper, and sweet spices. Deep flavors of sweetly spiced red and black berries, black pepper, and licorice with a fine earth under tone throughout. Perfect acidity frames and extends the flavors. Grows very boysenberry on the rear palate though the black pepper has the last word on the finish. Less heavy than a few years ago, this has emerged from its rich and powerful stage and become sleek and bright. Pity its my last bottle.

12/2/2013 - solana wrote:

Ruby purple color to the edge. Earthy, brambly, herb tinged blackberry fruit with an ashy edge. Bright and deep flavors of ash - herb - leather spiced blackberry fruit with a dark cherry skin tartness and tannins coming in on the rear palate. Very good with food as it absorbs the rustic edges. This kept improving for several hours, growing more complex while never losing its deep fruit or edgy tannins. Hard to say where it will go, but I expect this wine to last several more years at this level and also to never fully resolve the edginess. It seems much younger today than 18 years.

11/29/2013 - solana Likes this wine:

Bright, pale yellow color.
A rich and spicy aroma of very ripe, but not over ripe, pears and stonefruit with a stewed fruit note balanced by its minerality.
Viscous, rich, and mouth filling flavors of cinnamon spiced pears, nectarines, and red cherries enter with a touch of sweetness perfectly balanced by a Meyer lemon acidity and touch of mineral tension. Full bodied and rich, but also clear and defined. The flavors cling and envelope the entire palate and go on and on with cinnamon present throughout. The finish lasts for a couple minutes at least.
An absolutely delicious wine that borders on excess, but never crosses that line. Perfect now, but I think there will be another 5 years of enjoyment to be had.

2/15/2013 - solana wrote:

Open 2 Hours.
Expansive deep aromas of plums, Oriental spices, minerals, earth, anis, and bacon fat. A kaleidoscope of rich and creamy flavors. Layers of black cherries, plums, minerals, earth, game, Oriental spices, anis, and bacon fat. From the fore palate to the endless finish they swirl and expand, filling the palate. There is a bottomless quality to this wine and a rich weightiness made expansive by perfectly framing acidity. Grows more minerally and spicy as the finish goes on ( and on ). I am sure it can be measured in minutes, but am too busy enjoying the wine to time it.
A Note Of Caution: Upon opening the wine was delicious, but simple and fragile feeling. I was concerned that it was either fading or a quick maturing bottle. It just needed a lot of time to fully emerge from its shell. It really began to shine after 90 minutes, but hit its peak about 15 minutes later. If in a hurry do decant.

1/1/2013 - solana wrote:

Opened for an hour, but not decanted. Lovely aromas of autumn leaves, wild mushrooms, black cherries and brown spices. Creamy red and black cherry flavors are quickly joined by a juicy burst of cranberry acidity ( this continued to diminish with further aeration ), herbs and a light earthiness. Bright, sleek, and mouth filling all at once. An earthy minerality leads into a long and interwoven finish. As it evolved the texture grew increasingly velvetty, the flavors richer, the finish more expansive. But the quality of juicy acidity framed and extended everything without intruding or feeling abrasive. A lovely wine that is at its peak, but in no danger of slipping away over the next few years.

12/29/2012 - solana wrote:

Decanted 1 hour. Deep, full, rich aromas of dark chocolate covered black plums w/ notes of sweet spices and garrigue + a hint of creosote. Powerful, deep flavors mirror the aromas and expand immediately over the entire palate before a wave of acidity and tannin arrives to frame a long parade of dark chocolate, licorice, deep, dark plums, and all sorts of spice flavors. Garrigue is everywhere, but not invasive, flowing along side all the other flavors.
As it continues to open black cherry liqueur fills the mid palate and the tannins continue to mellow as they and the balanced acidity extend the long finish. A youthful wine at age 17! I will wait another few years before popping another.
I would have a hard time guessing the origin of this wine; it is very different than what I have tasted from Rousillon / Languedoc / Southern Rhone. Bandol comes the closest. I begin to see why Muntada has cult status in southern France.

4/18/2012 - solana wrote:

Decanted half an hour and I don't find the horrible wine so often described in earlier notes. Given that the last few notes seem improved I wonder whether this wine has gone through a very strange evolution. Pure ruby color with little lightening on the edges, the aromas are neither pronounced nor particularly attractive: Roasted vegetables, cumin, and dried plums with a peppery note that tickles the nose. The flavors, however, are much more enjoyable. Round with enough acidity to give form and length, the very Bordelais flavors feature an earthy ripe red cherry with a plush soft center. Roast vegetables show the cab franc personna and an earthy spiciness lifts the flavors and carries them through a moderately long finish. Creamy red cherry fruit goes throughout, giving a soft counterpoint to the more unusual roast vegetable and earthy flavors. A bit of drying tannin finishes the finish. A great wine, no, but neither a woofer. Enjoyable with polenta and a wine sauce ratatouile.

3/10/2012 - solana wrote:

A really interesting wine, especially in light of most of the comments written here. As it turned out, far from being over the hill, all it needs is air.
Initially the aromas and flavors were all about barnyard, leather and earth. So I decanted the wine and it began to improve after about half an hour.
After one hour: Earthy aromas of saddle leather and barnyard mix with truffles and the smell of blackberries in a hot sun. Notes of camphor and licorice entice.
Sleek and dense on the palate with camphor earthy spiced blackberries and black currant flavors and notes of cherry skin and Asian spices. Sauvage flavors grow stronger on the rear palate and long finish.
The amazing thing is that I had an ounce of wine left in my glass. Before washing it 4 hours after opening and decanting I decided to taste it. Surprise! Blueberry cream flavor and a very sleek and dense texture filled my palate. So maybe this unusual wine is still getting better??

2/26/2012 - solana wrote:

Open one hour when the wine is showing its best.
Aromas of roasted nuts and lemon lime with great minerality. A note of almond paste underlies all the aromas. A pure focused wine that hits the palate with mouthfilling flavors of lemon lime, roasted nuts and tart peaches. Picks up density and focus on the mid palate and the sense of almond paste begins to mount until it dominates the long finish. Acids frame and extend the flavors while never intruding on the flavors. A well balance wine that deftly harmonizes the contrasts of tart and rich, elegant and full flavored beautifully. I love the finish that still lingers in my mouth while I type this note. Delicious stuff.

12/24/2011 - solana wrote:

The last of 4 bottles and the best. How often does that seem to happen? Opened and tasted and finding the acids prominent set the bottle aside to find its balance.
After an hour: Lovely aromas of violets and cherry plums with nuances of smoked meat, earth, herbs and licorice. Fresh and dried cherries and dried cranberries mix with herbs and smoke on the palate. Loads of inner mouth perfume. Sleek, smooth and almost dense without weight. The fruit sweetness and a nectar-violet quality carry through the entire taste from fore to finish with nuances of earth and herbs and meatiness. Delicious wine that certainly is at its peak, but I would not mind having a few more to check on down the road!

4/7/2011 - solana wrote:

A very pleasant surprise from a 375ml bottle. The nose was not substantial, a blend of walnuts, earth and violet atop a base of black cherries and mace, but fairly light. On the palate the wine was silky and long with lovely, complex flavors of black cherry, oranges, nuts, earth and notes of both savory and sweet spice. Just enough acidity to frame the flavors nicely and extend the finish. Right there, right now.

1/17/2011 - solana wrote:

Ruby garnet with a bit of lightening at the rim. Aromas of black cherry, oranges, and sweet and savoury spices. Plush liquid velvet textured, yet fine, on the palate. Flavors of black cherries, licorice and tar are joined quickly by a rich spiciness that lifts them all and adds a vibrance that carries the wine through its very long finish. A stunning wine that blends detail with depth and richness. Perfect today, but with such harmony and length that I don't see it diminishing for at least several more years.

1/15/2011 - solana wrote:

So very different from a bottle drunk one year ago that was soft and ready to go...The color was ruby garnet to the rim and when I decanted the wine there was only a bit of earth and tobacco on the nose. It opened very slowly, needing 1 1/4 hours in glasses and decanter to really start to show well. From then it unwound and improved until all was gone about 2 1/2 hours after opening. This note is 1 3/4 hours along the way:
Focused aromas of rich, dark cherries, tobacco, earth, and a dense beam of graphite ( pencil lead ). Sleek, yet densely packed on the palate with the same rich, dark cherry flavor from the start to the long finish. Tobacco and earth are major players in the flavor, but I have never tasted a wine that so well defined the flavor often called graphite or pencil lead in Bordeaux descriptors. It is this that lingers and lingers and lingers in the mouth after the cherries have left. A lithe, elegant wine, but elegant like a well muscled ballet dancer, not the elegance of ,say, a fine Burgundy.

1/12/2011 - solana wrote:

A sleek and tasty wine with cherry liqueur leading the way in both aromas and flavors. Notes of garrigue and anis join in along with bottom notes of tar. A very enjoyable medium weight wine that was a tad better a year ago so I will drink my last bottle within the next year, though I think it will hold nicely for a few more.

1/1/2011 - solana wrote:

Beautiful ruby garnet to the rim.A luscious aroma of mixed berry pie - blue, straw, and black - cinnamon and distinctive notes of black pepper and dried tarragon. Silky smooth mouth feel with the pie theme shifting darker to blackberries and figs, with an intense spicy mix of cinnamon and black pepper. Just enough acidity rides in on the rear palate to balance the impending opulence with a brighter touch. Really delicious wine, the best of about 6 bottles drunk so far. Perfect today, but I've never had a Scherrer wine go over the hill.
While it was very enjoyable from the pop of the cork, the wine showed its finest after an hour of air.

12/27/2010 - solana wrote:

Decanted and tasted ( tight and tannic ) and left for an hour. Marginal improvement so we poured from our syrah glasses into our biggest glasses, sort of like Burgundy glasses with less fat which helped a lot.
2 hours decanted: Garnet - ruby color to the rim. Rusty black cherries ans loamy earth aromas with a hint of vanilla. Austere flavors of rusty earth and dried black cherries that open in the mid palate to tart blueberries with notes of cream and fennel and loamy soil. Acids and moderate tannins close in on the rear palate and snuff out any richness or finesse. The finish is admirably long, but all rusty earth and tart cherries.
I would like to agree with the finer notes on this wine, but find a wine where the fruit was better some years ago, but the structure remains firm and unyielding. Another hour and the fruit faded further, but not the tannins and acids. Quite a disappointment given its pedigree. There were no signs of anything amiss with this bottle and I have owned it since release when I worked a mile from the winery, so no transport issues.

12/22/2010 - solana wrote:

1998 Font de Michelle Chateauneuf - Cuvee Etienne Gonnet
Aromas of Provencial herbs, rich black cherries, and hints of cream and charcoal. Liquid velvet on the palate, sleek, rich and medium full. Mouth filling black cherry liqueur like fruit with lots of garrigue. Prunes join in on the rear palate and mix with the charcoal-herb-cream blend on the medium length finish. A yummy wine that lacks some brightness compared to the 1999 version, but is quite delicious.

12/20/2010 - solana wrote:

1990 Vieux Chateau Certain
Decanted and tasted. While very enjoyable from the start, I wrote this note after 1 hour when the wine had unwound and settled into a delicious place that it maintained for the next hour at which time it had all mysteriously disappeared.
Aromas of blueberry liqueur, red plums, and cream with roasting coffee and earth notes. Mouthfilling, but with little weight. Creamy blueberry liqueur fills every niche of the palate. Semi tart red plums appear on the rear palate and stay through the medium long finish giving the wine energy and verve that nicely balances the creamy silkiness of the textural experience. Coffee, earth, and sweet spices weave throughout. Not a profound wine, but a very enjoyable one that seems half Burgundy in its weightless fullness. It is right there, right now, but I would not worry about it fading away during the next 3 to 5 years.