December 16, 2019 - Not quite hot but definitely loads of alcohol. Plenty of ripe plum fruit to go with the wonderful black pepper and mint. Moderate length to the finish.
July 9, 2019 - This bottle better than the last. More depth, didn't seem "maybe flawed". Solid. Second day began to show some really interesting stuff. Almost minty, but still lots of plush red fruit. But time to drink this one.
June 6, 2019 - What happened to the Quintessence I used to love? This vintage has lots of dark fruit, oak, sharp tannins and some alcohol burn. What happened to the charm and loveliness of the ‘99-‘01 vintages?
This wine seems generic and over extracted. Disappointing.
May 21, 2019 - Slipping a bit. Some good non-fruit flavors here from the mostly-Syrah blend. However there's not enough fruit to back up those flavors and the very present acidity. In this case I feel the CT window is right on. Probably better last year, and even better 2-3 years back.
November 7, 2018 - Dark a fruity still though with perhaps a bit of an alcohol burn...though this dissipated after it been open a while. Bramble flavours with perhaps a hint of raspberry at the start. Also darker smokier flavours that worked well with the chili!
July 28, 2017 - Just keeps getting better, suspect it is in its prime now. Glad I have one more bottle!
Smooth and refined on initial impression. Longer complex finish then I recall.
April 12, 2017 - very nice, pnp, still young
March 26, 2017 - A pleasant surprise, drinking really well right now and showing off the really delicate Ventoux Syrah. Wish I had a couple more bottles.
January 2, 2017 - Tannins are resolved. Nose is berry, some spice and garrigue. Mainly very nice balance and finish. In its zone.
December 27, 2016 - Fruit forward. Round and ripe, but years in the bottle have helped tame the big Syrah fruit. I found this wine a little too flabby to really give it a higher rating, although I think it may be a pretty good example of a reasonably built Ventoux.