6/14/2021 - jjedema Likes this wine:

Dark garnet red colour. Some sediment in the bottle. Nose with ripe black and blueberries. Intense fruit flavours of largely black fruits with some complexity of cedar and spices. Velvety tannins very polished with balanced acidity and medium to long finish. Its really a joy to drink this already, and has a good future ahead. I am really happy I bought a full case of this.

5/18/2020 - tomoem wrote:

Ok so I will reduce my prior score. With that excitement restrained I still don't get some CT folks looking at this in the context of an 85 score. Punishing and inconsistent especially without any backup notes.

I find this wine an exceptional value with notes of plum and compote. Aromatics focused around blueberry. Nothing exceptional but I challenge wine lovers to find a similar $20. Bottle.

2/4/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote:

Boysenberry, espresso, black cherry and licorice scents kick off the nose. Medium bodied, with a touch of too much oak at the moment, this needs time to develop, and integrate. While this is already better in bottle, than it was in barrel, in time, this should be an even better wine, as it continues to come together.

12/26/2018 - Francois Le Mouel Likes this wine:

I was tempted to use the tasting note assistant, just to see the outcome. So here we go...ok, this wasn't a great experience and I feel the assistant is quite incomplete, so I'm only going to rely on my tasting experience...no assistant:)

The wine is showing a young purple colour and a nose very typical of St-Estèphe's wines (blackberries, leather, spices). Blind, I would have called a Pagodes de Cos or even a Cos d'Estournel. Well structured, balanced and showcasing the typical austerity of the appellation, this wine will benefit from 5-7 years in the cellar. Length is medium+. Excellent QPR in my opinion, I'm very surprised to see scores under 90 points by other tasters.

11/3/2018 - joseph120 Likes this wine:

Took a chance and got a case of the 2016 vintage, after being consistently wowed by the stellar 2013 vintage. Had the first 2016 bottle tonight. Wifey and I agreed that the 2016 was not nearly as fruit forward and intense as the 2013 vintage. Only mild acidity here (completely disagree with a prior poster that there this mod-high acidity - how many bottles of Italian and other old world wines have they had?). Finish smooth, moderate in length. Although I was not as impressed, compared to the 2013 vintage, it was a very drinkable wine, very BALANCED, and completely reasonable for the price. I do not regret having eleven more of these in the wine cabinet.

Addendum/Comment on jjedema's comment to this review:
Wine Folly lists the acidity of Malbec as low to medium. Acidity is generally something I have not cared for in wines, and in my experience, many other people share that perspective. But with gradual and consistent consumption of European wines (I live in the U.S.), and Italian wine specifically, I have acclimated to acidity in wine. (I hated feta and kalamata olives as a kid, but then acclimated and now love 'em.) As we all experience the taste of wine differently, jjedema's assessment is valid for him. But I fear his assessment would scare away potential tasters who don't like acid. I have to wonder how jjedema experiences the mod-high acidity in Sangioveses for example. So in this case, with my having experienced so many more moderate to highly acidic wines, I would rate the acidity on this particular wine as low.
The debate is now open for others. That's why we subscribe to this crowd-sourced review site, with reviews by real people. Time to chime in!

10/17/2018 - SommJourney05 Likes this wine:

Medium garnet. Cherry, raspberry, sage and tar with leather, anise and eucalyptus. Firm tannins and medium body. On the palate black tea with some earthiness. Lovely Barolo.

6/19/2018 - jjedema Likes this wine:

Beautiful aromas on the nose with cassis, black currant, cedar and cigar box. On the palate it’s medium bodied and quite light in style. The tannins have almost entirely resolved in the wine, which result in a perfectly balanced wine. It probably lost some of its fruit, but it is still outstanding, with a fabulous finish. Absolutely recommended!