March 26, 2024 - Canon vs. Duffau-Lagarrosse 2009-2020 tasted blind (Fribourg): Medium garnet. Good lord. This suffered from premox the most. Completely oderdone. Strong nose of oxidative Maggi seasoning. I think they tried to do more than the vintage could deliver.
March 14, 2024 - Bottle variation
November 24, 2023 - Too young
August 25, 2023 - Now we’re talking. Decanted for 90 minutes. Drank next to a 2015 Outpost Howell Mountain Cab. These two wines were polar opposites. This wine is a classic, black fruit St Emilion. No ripeness, no Sweetness & just the way I like it.
Lots of great flavor layers and extraction. Long lingering finish. This wine is far superior to many 2015 Vintage StE. Great depth of flavor with classic tar, chocolate, barnyard & earthy notes. The 15 Beasejour Becot get high scores but this wine is much better. It’s also better than 15 Villamaurine, Bellefont Belcier, Faugeres, Clos de L’Oratoire & Monbousquet.
April 25, 2023 - Was hoping for more from this. Had some richness, showed a bit of chalk and limestone that I sometimes find from right bank, which was welcome, but this missing any x-factor. Has some charm but feels expensive for the ~80 or so plus tax I paid upon release. I've two of the '18 - I trust they will be stronger showings, when the time comes. I once had a half bottle of the '89 and it was dreamy.
December 19, 2022 - Decanted two hours. Dark black color. Old World nose. 95% Merlot 5% Cab Franc. Still young but yummy. Melding of flavors. Forest floor, leather, tobacco and cassis. So great. Will only continue to improve.
September 28, 2022 - While young and primary, it drinks well with a 2 hour decant. Wonderful fruit concentration with some secondary notes starting to emerge on the finish. Grainy tannin but the fruit powers through on the finish. Really good juice. Hold for at least 5 more years to unleash this wine’s fullest potential.
February 13, 2022 - Real potential but needs to rest. Acidity is out of balance (high) compared to other aspects right now. Fruit has faded and not yet replace me by secondary flavors.
January 4, 2022 - Deep garnet, hazy
Nose: Cassis, singed applewood, warmed chestnut, liquid violet, tar.
Mouth: A lovely core of cassis, warmed fig, and black cherry sit atop a rigid carpet of graphite, applewood, and tar that take over into the midpalate/finish, enveloping the fruit and closing in on it, locking it down for now. A warmed chestnut note also runs throughout, which is noted on the nose upfront, and carries through to the extended finish where just a touch of bitter baking chocolate rings out at the very end.
Overall: A high-torque version, inlaid with ample structure that still commands the fruit completely for now. Burlier than I expected for both St. Emilion and for the property, this is a fine effort, but requires additional integration to allow the beautiful fruit to be able to hold center stage in the end. Shows ample character in the warmed fig and chestnut notes that are worth developing further. Drink 2024 - 2036.
95.
October 21, 2021 - Decanted 90 minutes but it could have used at least another 2 hours. Initial fruit was deeply suppressed but the wine opened up nicely later in the evening.