August 19, 2023 - Opened and decanted 2 hours ahead of mixed grill kabobs and veggies. Dark purple with a crimson hue. Floral nose of cherry blossoms, lavender, cassis, pipe tobacco, and mint. The palate is full, square, and rich, bringing a strong core of black and blue fruit mixed with scattered red cherry and raspberry notes, milk chocolate, espresso bean, and hints of a green pepper note into the finish. Excellent QPR and will be best 2025-2035. Technical score: 90. Enjoyment score: 90.
March 6, 2022 - Classic Bordeaux But tannins are dominant. As others have noted, it did not soften after opening. Two days later and it was still stiff.
December 23, 2021 - Here we are, almost 3 years since the last taste of this wine. Stored in the basement at 63 degrees with 65% humidity.The bottle has a light layer of sediment. The cork is in great shape, wet, deep red/purple, no cracks, even and minimal penetration. The wine? Very slight browning on the edge with a deep red/purple color. Long, slow moving legs. Strong nose.Really nice, fruity nose. My wife says, "Wood. That's all. Wood. Maybe a dark cherry." Few words, no BS. An hour later (4 hrs open) she says that it is better - "bigger." She adds that this is a wine that makes her think of being at a fine restaurant, relaxed, and having the time and distance from daily life to savor and enjoy the wine. "There's a lot there. Almost too much for me." That means it is really big. I agree with her. There's a lot in this wine. After 4 hours it continues to develop in a very nice way. Smooth, round, no sharp edges, nothing off putting. 5 hours: starting to drop the fruit and the wood is starting to dominate. I get the wood now: in the nose, on the palate. My wife is fast asleep after a couple glasses of Charles and Charles Rose'. This is a very good wine. Superior to most California Merlot. I like it, and I'm glad to have a few more.
December 19, 2021 - Double decanted, first w/micro-filter which stopped up pretty well, rinsed out lots of throw from bottle...really good balance here, sweet tobacco aromas with classic cassis and crunchy red fruits. Chalky tannins still somewhat coating but not obtrusive, this seems past any hibernation and open for business. Plesant chocolatey-coffee notes linger on the solid finish. Should be really good and peaking in 2 - 4 years.
September 17, 2021 - Opened, decanted and drank straight away. Amazing bouquet literally leapt from the glass and all-round a very good wine and super good to drink now
May 8, 2020 - An excellent, good-value St. Emillion from a brilliant vintage. Young, but approachable, with soft tannins. Not for the long haul, but will definitely last another 10 years imo. Good concentration and fruit. 2015 really is the vintage to look for in St. Emillion.
November 9, 2019 - Needed 3hrs to open up. Great w food. Slightly tart. Will wait 2yrs before I open my other bottle.
March 21, 2019 - Aromas of violets and candle wax (ok, I know), finishes with a tart metallic finish.
March 2, 2019 - I've had this twice in a 5 month period. When first opened and tasted it was really good. Not just good, it was really good. A really nice, complex bouquet, a distinct taste that made me think I was drinking a wine of distinction. We drank it slowly, wanting to fully enjoy it. Sometime around the 2 hour mark it had begun to taste sharp and angular. By the 3rd hour it seemed to have fallen apart and was unrecognizable compared to when we first opened it.
August 29, 2018 - I really liked the first sip of this, very characteristically merlot fruit, soft and plummy and classically restrained while still having a nice plumpness to it. Unfortunately it soon got marred by very raw and woody oak.