Bought a 12b case from Binny's 10+ years ago; I think this is the first bottle we've tried. I have the email but not the receipt so I don't have the price but expect it was well under 25/b. Decanted with normal sediment. Dark purple color with initial impression of fragrant red fruit nose, good fruit and mouthfeel. This followed a '04 Ch Duhart-Milon Rothschild and was noticably lighter in both nose and body--certainly pleasant but a lighter, simpler wine. I should have reversed the order, but we had not planned on opening this bottle. As my note on the Duhart for the same date indicates, the sweet braised pork hindered a proper evaluation of this so I am withholding judgement until I can give this a fair opportunity to show itself. Stored horizontally in a cool, dark basement since purchase. My evaluation: I've stopped giving scores on a "100-point scale" as I've become less convinced that they can be meaningful to others. I use a 4-category scale (perhaps with +/-)--not including flawed--which runs outstanding/notable/drinkable/poor. I'm withholding a final evaluation of this bottle but expect it is below outstanding-, though perhaps not far below; we'll see.
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Decanted for about 8 hours, the tannins were still surprisingly in evidence compared to prior tastings. Little bricking, not a lot of evolution in this bottle. Prior experience would have led me to expect this would have been a bit more evolved, I conclude I need more experience
Color: Opaque purple with very slight bricking at the rim. Aroma: Mint, licorice, herbal, oak and damp earth. Taste: At entry, high acidity with plush tannin. Mid-Palate: Licorice, jammy, thyme, cherry, plum and tobacco. Finish: Herbal, oak, soft tannin, very fruity, jammy, banana peel, pepper and cola. Very ripe, jammy, slightly alcoholic and opulent. A typical new style Bordeaux with more years ahead.
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My score as my wife would have scored differently. This followed a 2004 Togni which I preferred, but my wife preferred the bordeaux without knowing which was which. The Carnet is a beautiful wine, drinking well now, ready,many showing that this vintage was underestimated, and quite a value. I hope 2012 is a similar buying op
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Didn't manage to wait the two years I promised myself to wait when I had my last bottle in December 2013, but no regrets since this has changed dramatically. This is really starting to open up showing beautiful notes of cedar, liquorice and tobacco. Classic Médoc. Very good balance and delicate classical style. Really good now and should keep for some years yet.
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Red garnet colour , blackberry , cassis , pencil , quite complex , on the palate show the maturity , have entered the drinking window , savoury and with a good finish.
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Time...It's a patience thing. 10 years on and this wine has settled down into a very drinkable claret. The tannins are under control and there is still a solid fruit core with some secondary notes starting to emerge. This will drink nicely for another 5 years.
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In a very closed stage right now. Everything seemed to be in order - i.e. this was not a bad bottle, but it did not show much of anything. Comparing to how well it drank a few years back it was a disappointing. Hope and expect that it simply need a bit more time to mature. Will try a bottle again two years from now.
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This has settled down a bit since I last tried a bottle. The drying tannins are still present but seem more under control than before. Hopefully with a bit more time it will all integrate and then it will be a nice example of a modern fruit driven claret.
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This has developed very nicely - best bottle of this so far. Very approachable, with a new world touch to it, but with structure - tannins still present - has at least another 5 years to go. Tied for first place in recent 2004 BDX blind tasting at our house.
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Nose: cherries and violets, with lots of oak - quite pleasant; palate: good acidity with firm tannins which coat the mouth; not a lot of fruit but quite a bit of heat. Disappointing finish.
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A very pleasant surprise. Having loathed the previous 4 vintages, I approached this with some trepidation. On opening, there was the usual whiff of oak, but for once, there was also some black cherry and cassis. In the mouth, a lot of oak at first, but then some good ripe cherry and cassis, followed by blackberry and spicy plum flavours. That in itself is a first! Still a very modern style, with upfront fruit, slightly overdone, but the whole package is quite classic, almost elegant: it's a very enjoyable wine and good value.
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Big, full and extracted. Still rather closed and backward even after 2 hours decant. Some aromatics peeking out here and there but went back to hiding rather quickly.
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Appearance: Bright and clear, deep ruby in colour, with garnet rims and legs. Nose: Clean, with medium (+) intensity and developing aromas of blackberry, dark plum, black cherry, savory, cigarette, chocolate and cloves. Palate: Dry, with medium acidity. Medium tannin of ripe and velvety texture, the wine is of medium alcohol and medium bodied, with medium (+) intensity flavors of blackcurrant, black cherry, cloves, cedar and prune. Finishing with a medium (-) length. Conclusion: Good quality Bordeaux GCC with a fairly pronounced aroma of development characters. Overall of balance, it is soft and with less astringent tannin, pointing to a higher Merlot proportion in the blend. Fairly good concentration on the palate, though the complexity is much weaker than the nose and finishing with a fairly short length, affecting its overall quality. Ready to drink now and can age for another 2-3 years.
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Deep ruby, slight legs on the glass. Pronounced oak aromas with some sour cherry and spice. Dry, fresh in the mouth but tannins quite drying leading to a bitter end. Sour cherry fruit starting to fade , secondary flavours starting to develop. Long finish but marred by being bitter... Overall OK but to be honest a bit disappointing - difficult to say if it should have been drunk younger or if it needs more time to settle down - but I worry that the bitterness is there to stay.
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Color: Dark purple brown. Aroma: Fresh black cherry, gamy, damp earth, venison, black olive paste. Taste: Entry: Mild, smooth tannins. Mid-palate: Good acidity, prune, strawberry jam. Finish: maraschino cherry. Soft wine, little hollow, past prime or in the shut-down phase? Paired well with grilled trout.
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Well made Bordeaux in a modern style. Distinctive Cab aroma,some ripe fruit and also creamy oak, quite round on palate. Good for the vintage. After some time it's less interesting. Neither fruity and oaky enough to be truly modern nor restrained enough to be traditional. Could be a compromise wine between the two styles or perhaps not really pleasing anyone? Not particularly good qpr either.
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Aroma of dark ripe fruits, some liqorice, coffee, lavender, some vanilla oak . Big, bold and extracted. Decanter and food is required to tame the tannins. At this point, after 2-3 hours in the decanter, the tannins became harsh and overwhelming. Probably another 2-3 years would be required to round off the tannins.
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A very good wine. Juicy, modern, round and forward. Almost "un-Bordeaux" in its characteristics, which may be attributable to the M. Rolland influence. Reminds me a bit of Le Conseiller on the Right Bank. This is a crowd pleaser through and through.
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Deep red-black color and mighty legs in the glass. The nose is full of black currants and cherries interwoven with oak and grass. In the mouth, is a bit lacking (especially for the price) but still decent tannins with a subtle spice finish. Pretty solid Bordeaux at the price.
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Dark violet color. On the nose a bit of spice, tobacco and surprisingly little fruit. The mouthfeel is nice, good tannin. Nice but a bit underwhelming for the price.
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Dense cassis dominant dark fruit nose with a load of mochaish oak. Medium bodied dense palate with cassis, bell pepper and again quite some mocha character. Mid-length. A bit monolithic modern Bdx.
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a little underwhelming for the price. tasty, but light on body. the prescribed drinking window was after 2011, but the structure didn't seem to lend itself to much improvement. go ahead and drink 'em if you've got 'em.
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Det nye Bordeaux (Kokkens Vinhus, Glostrup Centret): Mørk, rød vin med en lukket aroma. Smagen er blød men har alligevel lidt syre og smag af træ og tanniner. Det er en vin, der skal gemmes. Pris: 250 kr. Karakter: 10
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1/17/2024 - Wine_in_HD wrote: 92 Points
Great at 20 years old!
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12/12/2021 - Kubiskisk Likes this wine: 90 Points
Same score as previous bottles, but this is more mature and pleasant to drink.
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12/10/2021 - "Rhône Rider" Likes this wine: 90 Points
2004 Moreller, plommer, blåbær, tobakk, fiken. Tydelig cab med en rikelig posjon Merlot. Nydelig nese. Tørket frukt, moreller, mineraler, en del urter, svart stein. Flott kompleksitet. Lang, litt mye grønt trekker ned. 90
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6/13/2019 - FransS wrote: 91 Points
Celebrating the 30 years relationship of Frans and Adriana, June 10th (Babylon, Alkmaar): A surprise with its charming and fruity bouquet, a whiff of leather, some vanilla, cream and ths impressions continue in the taste. This is a ripe and balanced wine, gaining more secundary notes (tea) with a couple of hours of aeration.
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1/5/2019 - Oenecnist wrote:
Bought a 12b case from Binny's 10+ years ago; I think this is the first bottle we've tried. I have the email but not the receipt so I don't have the price but expect it was well under 25/b. Decanted with normal sediment. Dark purple color with initial impression of fragrant red fruit nose, good fruit and mouthfeel. This followed a '04 Ch Duhart-Milon Rothschild and was noticably lighter in both nose and body--certainly pleasant but a lighter, simpler wine. I should have reversed the order, but we had not planned on opening this bottle. As my note on the Duhart for the same date indicates, the sweet braised pork hindered a proper evaluation of this so I am withholding judgement until I can give this a fair opportunity to show itself. Stored horizontally in a cool, dark basement since purchase. My evaluation: I've stopped giving scores on a "100-point scale" as I've become less convinced that they can be meaningful to others. I use a 4-category scale (perhaps with +/-)--not including flawed--which runs outstanding/notable/drinkable/poor. I'm withholding a final evaluation of this bottle but expect it is below outstanding-, though perhaps not far below; we'll see.
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7/26/2016 - "Rhône Rider" Likes this wine: 91 Points
Smakt blindt: Dyp rød. kirsebær, tobakk, parfymert, blyantspiss, noe grønt. Strukturert, konsentrert, frisk, brukbar lengde 91
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2/26/2016 - capacious Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted for about 8 hours, the tannins were still surprisingly in evidence compared to prior tastings. Little bricking, not a lot of evolution in this bottle. Prior experience would have led me to expect this would have been a bit more evolved, I conclude I need more experience
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12/27/2015 - Wijnand Kuijt Likes this wine: 89 Points
Classic Haut Medoc, fresh with beautiful notes and still lots of tannines. Probably will last another 10 years.
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11/20/2015 - KristianT Likes this wine: 92 Points
Last bottle. In a very good spot right now. Dark fruit, tobacco and cedar. Dark and intense. Balanced and elegant. Great classic left bank Bordeaux.
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7/12/2015 - KristianT Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still in a very good spot. Opened up very nicely after about 20-30 minutes. Classic Bordeaux. Quite dark and dense for the vintage.
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6/20/2015 - wihong wrote: 89 Points
Color: Opaque purple with very slight bricking at the rim. Aroma: Mint, licorice, herbal, oak and damp earth. Taste: At entry, high acidity with plush tannin. Mid-Palate: Licorice, jammy, thyme, cherry, plum and tobacco. Finish: Herbal, oak, soft tannin, very fruity, jammy, banana peel, pepper and cola. Very ripe, jammy, slightly alcoholic and opulent. A typical new style Bordeaux with more years ahead.
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5/20/2015 - capacious Likes this wine: 91 Points
My score as my wife would have scored differently. This followed a 2004 Togni which I preferred, but my wife preferred the bordeaux without knowing which was which. The Carnet is a beautiful wine, drinking well now, ready,many showing that this vintage was underestimated, and quite a value. I hope 2012 is a similar buying op
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1/16/2015 - KristianT Likes this wine: 92 Points
Didn't manage to wait the two years I promised myself to wait when I had my last bottle in December 2013, but no regrets since this has changed dramatically. This is really starting to open up showing beautiful notes of cedar, liquorice and tobacco. Classic Médoc. Very good balance and delicate classical style. Really good now and should keep for some years yet.
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1/4/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 88 Points
Still oaky, with licorice, tobacco and black fruits. Round textured and easy to drink, this is probably not going to get much better with age.
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10/12/2014 - Gian wrote: 88 Points
Red garnet colour , blackberry , cassis , pencil , quite complex , on the palate show the maturity , have entered the drinking window , savoury and with a good finish.
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8/2/2014 - ThMeyer Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great mature Bordeaux. Still considerable acidity, with secondary notes starting to come through. Lots of ripe red fruit (raspberry and cherry).
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6/8/2014 - Fat cat wrote: 88 Points
Time...It's a patience thing. 10 years on and this wine has settled down into a very drinkable claret. The tannins are under control and there is still a solid fruit core with some secondary notes starting to emerge. This will drink nicely for another 5 years.
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3/14/2014 - Connaître Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very fruit driven wine with a nice structure. The 2004 vintage does not get a 90 as the excessive barrel taste is overlaying the drinking experience.
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12/26/2013 - KristianT wrote: 87 Points
In a very closed stage right now. Everything seemed to be in order - i.e. this was not a bad bottle, but it did not show much of anything. Comparing to how well it drank a few years back it was a disappointing. Hope and expect that it simply need a bit more time to mature. Will try a bottle again two years from now.
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9/13/2013 - Fat cat wrote: 86 Points
This has settled down a bit since I last tried a bottle. The drying tannins are still present but seem more under control than before. Hopefully with a bit more time it will all integrate and then it will be a nice example of a modern fruit driven claret.
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7/13/2013 - ThMeyer Likes this wine: 91 Points
This has developed very nicely - best bottle of this so far. Very approachable, with a new world touch to it, but with structure - tannins still present - has at least another 5 years to go. Tied for first place in recent 2004 BDX blind tasting at our house.
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12/22/2012 - Michiel wrote: 86 Points
Nose: cherries and violets, with lots of oak - quite pleasant; palate: good acidity with firm tannins which coat the mouth; not a lot of fruit but quite a bit of heat. Disappointing finish.
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11/13/2012 - chatters wrote:
Discover Vin South West France & Provence and Bordeaux tasting (Fix St. James, 111 Elizabeth Street, Sydney): Nose Farmyard, struck match, meat, brambly black fruit, slightly perfumed top notes and hints of cedar
Mouth Juicy and savoury black fruit, supple tannins on the long finish. Very good.
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11/7/2012 - Julian Marshall wrote:
A very pleasant surprise. Having loathed the previous 4 vintages, I approached this with some trepidation. On opening, there was the usual whiff of oak, but for once, there was also some black cherry and cassis. In the mouth, a lot of oak at first, but then some good ripe cherry and cassis, followed by blackberry and spicy plum flavours. That in itself is a first! Still a very modern style, with upfront fruit, slightly overdone, but the whole package is quite classic, almost elegant: it's a very enjoyable wine and good value.
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10/13/2012 - sfqwino wrote: 89 Points
Big, full and extracted. Still rather closed and backward even after 2 hours decant. Some aromatics peeking out here and there but went back to hiding rather quickly.
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6/30/2012 - peterchoy wrote: 88 Points
Appearance: Bright and clear, deep ruby in colour, with garnet rims and legs.
Nose: Clean, with medium (+) intensity and developing aromas of blackberry, dark plum, black cherry, savory, cigarette, chocolate and cloves.
Palate: Dry, with medium acidity. Medium tannin of ripe and velvety texture, the wine is of medium alcohol and medium bodied, with medium (+) intensity flavors of blackcurrant, black cherry, cloves, cedar and prune. Finishing with a medium (-) length.
Conclusion: Good quality Bordeaux GCC with a fairly pronounced aroma of development characters. Overall of balance, it is soft and with less astringent tannin, pointing to a higher Merlot proportion in the blend. Fairly good concentration on the palate, though the complexity is much weaker than the nose and finishing with a fairly short length, affecting its overall quality. Ready to drink now and can age for another 2-3 years.
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3/14/2012 - Fat cat wrote: 84 Points
Deep ruby, slight legs on the glass. Pronounced oak aromas with some sour cherry and spice. Dry, fresh in the mouth but tannins quite drying leading to a bitter end. Sour cherry fruit starting to fade , secondary flavours starting to develop. Long finish but marred by being bitter... Overall OK but to be honest a bit disappointing - difficult to say if it should have been drunk younger or if it needs more time to settle down - but I worry that the bitterness is there to stay.
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10/14/2011 - Alex H wrote: 84 Points
Drinking now. Soft plummish black currant fruits with tinge of stalks.
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5/7/2011 - wihong wrote: 83 Points
Color: Dark purple brown. Aroma: Fresh black cherry, gamy, damp earth, venison, black olive paste. Taste: Entry: Mild, smooth tannins. Mid-palate: Good acidity, prune, strawberry jam. Finish: maraschino cherry. Soft wine, little hollow, past prime or in the shut-down phase? Paired well with grilled trout.
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9/9/2010 - rayq wrote:
Well made Bordeaux in a modern style. Distinctive Cab aroma,some ripe fruit and also creamy oak, quite round on palate. Good for the vintage.
After some time it's less interesting. Neither fruity and oaky enough to be truly modern nor restrained enough to be traditional. Could be a compromise wine between the two styles or perhaps not really pleasing anyone?
Not particularly good qpr either.
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6/5/2010 - sfqwino wrote: 90 Points
Aroma of dark ripe fruits, some liqorice, coffee, lavender, some vanilla oak . Big, bold and extracted. Decanter and food is required to tame the tannins. At this point, after 2-3 hours in the decanter, the tannins became harsh and overwhelming. Probably another 2-3 years would be required to round off the tannins.
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2/1/2010 - sfqwino wrote: 89 Points
A nice, straightforward bottle of bordeaux.
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10/3/2009 - THA wrote: 86 Points
A very good wine. Juicy, modern, round and forward. Almost "un-Bordeaux" in its characteristics, which may be attributable to the M. Rolland influence. Reminds me a bit of Le Conseiller on the Right Bank. This is a crowd pleaser through and through.
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9/14/2009 - marcellevi wrote: 88 Points
Deep red-black color and mighty legs in the glass. The nose is full of black currants and cherries interwoven with oak and grass. In the mouth, is a bit lacking (especially for the price) but still decent tannins with a subtle spice finish. Pretty solid Bordeaux at the price.
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8/13/2009 - ThMeyer wrote: 88 Points
Dark violet color. On the nose a bit of spice, tobacco and surprisingly little fruit. The mouthfeel is nice, good tannin. Nice but a bit underwhelming for the price.
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7/22/2009 - KristianT wrote: 89 Points
Dark and tannic, but a very good balance and lots of forthcoming fruit. Is drinking nicely now, but will definately improve over the years to come.
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4/27/2009 - avp wrote:
Dense cassis dominant dark fruit nose with a load of mochaish oak.
Medium bodied dense palate with cassis, bell pepper and again quite some mocha character. Mid-length.
A bit monolithic modern Bdx.
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12/2/2008 - Pinot Shea wrote: 87 Points
a little underwhelming for the price. tasty, but light on body. the prescribed drinking window was after 2011, but the structure didn't seem to lend itself to much improvement. go ahead and drink 'em if you've got 'em.
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5/9/2008 - spacewrangler wrote: 89 Points
Tasty bordeaux with dark black fruits and almost a charry/smoke note.
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3/30/2008 - ThMeyer wrote: 90 Points
Wow, great Bordeaux, new-world style, but not over the top, very balanced, good acidity, integrated oak, dark fruits. Very nice.
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2/16/2008 - grenache lover wrote: 89 Points
Good nose with a sense of place. Nice intensity and velvety mouth. Not mindblowing but great drinking.
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11/6/2007 - peterkj wrote:
Det nye Bordeaux (Kokkens Vinhus, Glostrup Centret): Mørk, rød vin med en lukket aroma. Smagen er blød men har alligevel lidt syre og smag af træ og tanniner. Det er en vin, der skal gemmes. Pris: 250 kr. Karakter: 10
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11/4/2007 - a.paul.smith wrote:
Excellent, classic rich Bordeaux. Bargin at < £20 a bottle!
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1/22/2007 - plitton wrote: 86 Points
Union Des Grand Crus de Bordeaux 2004 Vintage Tasting (Binny's Clark St.): Rich cassis but finishes short and bitter.
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