Sunday, February 11, 2024 - The stalwart delivers (from a 375 ml half bottle). Good purple/red core with rim fading to crimson.
Hard to say whether I like the nose or the palate more. Both impress, given the modest price tag.
Dry spice, pepper and char mingle with (Grenache) raspberry, strawberry hovering in the background. Composed.
A similarly dry, savoury palate. Touch of liquorice to the above characters. Not only avoids the porty excess of some (many?) CdRs but better still exhibits fine tannins and good line - especially for the price, back in the day (it seems Guigal have cottoned on to ‘international pricing’ and adjusted upwards, alas). Drinking agreeably well now but a few extra years wouldn’t hurt.
Ever since tasting a 1997 Jaboulet Parallele 45 CdR with 20 odd years or so age, I’ve been on the hunt for a good value CdR to buy in bulk and consign most to the cellar. This would have been a reasonable candidate. Me thinks the 2015 even more so. A good Komrade bought a stash of the 15s. I must remind him of what a good deserving pal I am.