All I got from this bottle was porty, overripe fruit and a very heavy impact on the palate. The alcohol didn’t stick out, but that’s about the only positive I can think of. A flawed bottle or just not my style anymore? I’m unsure, but I got little to no pleasure from this wine.
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J’avais peu d’attentes envers cette bouteille, jumelée à d’autres bouteilles que je convoitais à l’encan. Ce fut une belle surprise.
La robe montre des traces d’évolution certaine, orange presque brunâtre. Un nez très épicé, avec du kirsch, un peu d’orange sanguine. La bouche est mûre, sur les dattes et raisons de corinthe, quelques notes amères et une cuillerée de confiture de grand-maman. Fraîcheur adéquate, un peu trop d’alcool, mais une finale assez longue et savoureuse. Boire sans trop attendre. 90 pts
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Since my last bottle about five years ago, this has taken on some earthy, aged notes. Black and blue fruit tones, dark honey. There is a lot of fruit here, but it is restrained compared to the bigger vintages and there is a nice dose of balancing acidity. This is really drinking well. I like this vintage in CdP.
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Medium red Brown. Huge wad of sediment when decanted. A bit funky at first but then the nose opened up into a classic aged Rhône nose. Aged red fruit, beef broth, roasted meat and pepper. Not a hint of ripeness or heat. Delicious savoury broth and roasted fruit flavours and a very nice dry slightly tannic finish.
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Ruby red in color. 14.5% ABV. Savory nose of red fruits, cedar and grilled meats. Medium body with ample acidity. Powerful yet restrained. Emblematic of the '04 vintage with great, pure flavors but not in any way over the top. Cherries, garrigue, blood and kirsch on the palate. The finish is very long with silky tannins. This CdP has it all. Structure, fruit, tannins and acid. What a pleasure. Drink over the next 2-3 years.
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Friday Night Double Blind Tasting $40+ (Bin 75): Dark red core showing some clarity, dull garnet rim; funk right off the bat, sour cherry, raspberry, bitter, fig paste, slight vanilla, nori; old school on the palate, very tart and sour hard red fruit, cranberry, raspberry, less fig, strong bitter aspirin finish which could be austere for many, hot stone minerality, fresh, great mid-palate, Burgundian; a CdP for CdP purists, love the Grenache, very pure, great transparency; could go 10+ more years and probably improve, 92+.
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Needed a bit of time to open up. Still fairly primary and simple with shadings of crushed black pepper and a little dark honey to go along with mostly red and a little darker fruit. Silky and elegant. Ann loved it. I'll wait five plus years before opening another to see if it gains some complexity.
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Still tannic and taking >1 hour to open, the peak was complex and exciting but brief, giving way to dryness on the other side. With further bottle ageing the tannins are likely to dissipate but will there be any fruit left? This wine is in a tough spot.
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Decent wine served in a bad spot, it followed an 88 Mouton so it seemed sweet, simple and flabby. It was actually a nice CdP with nice raspberry and earth notes.
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An absolute beautiful wine. I personally didn't decant this long enough, it needed at least 3 hours before really showing itself. Tannins have been shed, leaving floral, strawberry, and scents of tar. This wine is at its prime.
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Drank side by side with the 2003. My personal preference was for the 2003 bottling.
Notes on the 2004: Decanted for 4 hours. Stunning nose; floral and strawberry. The wine itself was simple and understated, as mentioned in previous reviews. Not as complex as some of Isabel's wines that I have experienced from other vintages. Drank more like a Premier Cru Burgundy than a CDP. A little bit of heat and pepper on the finish. Drinking well now.
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A lovely integrated nose of licorice, potpourri, meat and lavender lead way to a full bodied wine with a dark raspberry cassis profile on the palate that finishes with a nice lingering spiced white pepper note. Drinking seamlessly at present.
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Dark ruby, almost purple color. Beautiful nose of plenty of dark cherries, some red fruits, minerals, licorice and some meat. On the palate there are again cherries, graphite, some spices and a touch of blood. Pretty full body, medium tannins (a little dry) and a medium-low acidity give this wine a a pretty lush, fruit-forward style. Long finish. It's surprisingly balanced for this average vintage. A beautiful, pretty dense Chateauneuf-du-Pape fruitbomb, but with the structure to age a few more years. I hope the tannins will still integrate a little more though...
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Very fresh and powerful. Fantastic from start to the very long finish. Loaded with framboise, strawberry, cranberry, the typical bitter pill, and some garrigue. Very grenachey and I agreed that it seemed to come from sandy soils because the ripeness was in check. The high acidity made this refreshing. Though this was accessible like many 2004s it was so well put together that I feel it could cruise in the cellar for much longer than others from the vintage. Need to seek this bottling out.
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Big red fruit, some meaty notes, and just a hint of garrigue on a full-bodied frame. Nice CdP in a style that straddles modern and traditional. Has several good years ahead of it, at least.
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Very nice CdP. Raspberry fruits complicated by minerals and maybe some smoke. Another clean style, without any funk. Went very well with a diverse meal of turkey, stuffing, and rich squash casserole.
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light red-brown color typical aroma at opening, changes to fruity-alcoholic after two hours, then changes to classical CDP in the glass after 5 min. Tannic, full-body, rich, balanced, structured, powerful, both mature and still kicking strong. Enjoyable already now and for another 5-10 years.
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This wine was an absolute pleasure. Big and complex nose of roasted meat, black cherries, licorice, pepper. Full bodied, complex palate of cherry and ripe sweet fruit and moderate extract with exceptional acidity and minerality keeping everything in check. Silky tannins and a long, pure finish. This is a strong effort and a good example of why the 2004 vintage should not be overlooked.
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Didn't peg this one as Cdp. Dark red. Rubber, pepper and dark fruit nose. Very rich dark fruit flavours, slightly sweet entry. Long dry finish. Excellent and will improve.
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Bill's Monthly Lunch - September 2010 (Vancouver, BC): Medium red showing some maturity with a slight brownish hue towards the rim. Ripe yet developing nose of black fruits, plums and some sweet funk. Sweeter dark fruits on the palate nice acidity and tannin. Drinks well for a first look but will leave my remaining bottles for 3-5 years before trying another. Excellent. 90+
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Grenache aromas of ripe strawberries, garrigue, and orange blossom. Same on the palate, add some licorice. A little bitterness shows, from oak maybe? Does this wine see any oak? Otherwise, fairly typical CdP, rich, ripe flavors, zesty but soft, chewy but good balance, food friendly wine. Drank with beef stew. Save 1/4 of the bottle for the next day, I thought the wine was a little more focused on day 2, more balanced also and the bitterness disappeared.
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at first, the grenache nose dominates with leather, licorice and black, sweet, cherry. ripe sweet fruit which makes the wine feel richer and heavier than it actually is.
After a few hours the nose is a pure miracle of integrated red berries and earth and cappucino. Also get something more light and ephemeral akin to more floral white wine fragrances - rose petals, tamarind perhaps. Silky tannins and just the right freshness. This is ready to be had with very little tannic structure; on the aromatic side, I am guessing that the grenache is being helped by the cinsaut. Compared to a more traditional violet pastilles and tar dominated Gour de chaules gigondas I had a week ago - for similar price btw - this was very nice.
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Nose: Bright aromatics featuring raspberry, strawberry and gravel Taste: The pure fruit on the palate echoes the nose and receives with a healtny dose of black pepper and minerality; a superb balance between fruit, acid and tannin; intense and delicious!
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Very modern in style. A powerful aroma of raspberry kirsch & mineral. On the palate, this wine shows tremendous extract but with a exceptional minerality that keeps the ripeness in check.
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Very enjoyable, young CdP. Continued to open over the 5 hours we took drinking the bottle. Bright red pinot noir in color. She thought orange rind and I thought cherry (the bright sweet side, not the 'dark forest' side) at first. The stucture was solid and if you held the wine in your mouth for the academic 3 seconds you saw the alchohol and tannins cooperating very nicely. Great QpR. I prefer the more tarry, darker, CdP...but this was a plaesant young (and approachable) bottle.
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3/21/2024 - rm97 wrote: 94 Points
Terric
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6/20/2020 - JohnSh wrote:
All I got from this bottle was porty, overripe fruit and a very heavy impact on the palate. The alcohol didn’t stick out, but that’s about the only positive I can think of. A flawed bottle or just not my style anymore? I’m unsure, but I got little to no pleasure from this wine.
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4/9/2020 - d'Artagnan wrote: 90 Points
J’avais peu d’attentes envers cette bouteille, jumelée à d’autres bouteilles que je convoitais à l’encan. Ce fut une belle surprise.
La robe montre des traces d’évolution certaine, orange presque brunâtre. Un nez très épicé, avec du kirsch, un peu d’orange sanguine. La bouche est mûre, sur les dattes et raisons de corinthe, quelques notes amères et une cuillerée de confiture de grand-maman. Fraîcheur adéquate, un peu trop d’alcool, mais une finale assez longue et savoureuse. Boire sans trop attendre. 90 pts
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4/7/2020 - rm97 wrote: 93 Points
Same as before. I need to find and buy more.
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3/31/2020 - Outplaying wrote:
Since my last bottle about five years ago, this has taken on some earthy, aged notes. Black and blue fruit tones, dark honey. There is a lot of fruit here, but it is restrained compared to the bigger vintages and there is a nice dose of balancing acidity. This is really drinking well. I like this vintage in CdP.
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3/26/2020 - rm97 wrote: 93 Points
This wine is so consistent. Wonderful with food. What more to say. Wont get any better but no rush.
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3/17/2020 - rm97 wrote: 93 Points
Can’t believe what a steal this is. Bought recently from Flickinger.
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3/15/2020 - rm97 wrote: 93 Points
Wow this just keeps on getting better
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12/25/2019 - paulst Likes this wine: 94 Points
Sweet supple plumy cherry and raisen; structured and hefty; sweet fruity finish.
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11/24/2019 - David J Cooper wrote: 93 Points
Medium red Brown. Huge wad of sediment when decanted. A bit funky at first but then the nose opened up into a classic aged Rhône nose. Aged red fruit, beef broth, roasted meat and pepper. Not a hint of ripeness or heat. Delicious savoury broth and roasted fruit flavours and a very nice dry slightly tannic finish.
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10/29/2019 - andtheodor wrote: 88 Points
Good, if boring but not showing overt ripeness or alcohol so I guess it's got that going for it.
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3/6/2019 - bobadopolis Likes this wine: 93 Points
Splash decanted. Drinking at it's peak.
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1/14/2019 - rm97 wrote: 93 Points
Wish I had more of this. Drinking so well right now. Rich silky full mouth feel. Wonderful fruit soft tannins and the right amount of acidity. Lovely.
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6/16/2017 - tomlee wrote: 93 Points
Ruby red in color. 14.5% ABV. Savory nose of red fruits, cedar and grilled meats. Medium body with ample acidity. Powerful yet restrained. Emblematic of the '04 vintage with great, pure flavors but not in any way over the top. Cherries, garrigue, blood and kirsch on the palate. The finish is very long with silky tannins. This CdP has it all. Structure, fruit, tannins and acid. What a pleasure. Drink over the next 2-3 years.
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11/5/2015 - beatles wrote: 90 Points
Smooth, well made and in harmony; very drinkable, but unexiting in this company of great wines.
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4/3/2015 - Rezy13 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Friday Night Double Blind Tasting $40+ (Bin 75): Dark red core showing some clarity, dull garnet rim; funk right off the bat, sour cherry, raspberry, bitter, fig paste, slight vanilla, nori; old school on the palate, very tart and sour hard red fruit, cranberry, raspberry, less fig, strong bitter aspirin finish which could be austere for many, hot stone minerality, fresh, great mid-palate, Burgundian; a CdP for CdP purists, love the Grenache, very pure, great transparency; could go 10+ more years and probably improve, 92+.
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3/1/2015 - Outplaying wrote:
Needed a bit of time to open up. Still fairly primary and simple with shadings of crushed black pepper and a little dark honey to go along with mostly red and a little darker fruit. Silky and elegant. Ann loved it. I'll wait five plus years before opening another to see if it gains some complexity.
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2/10/2015 - kurishin wrote: 90 Points
Still tannic and taking >1 hour to open, the peak was complex and exciting but brief, giving way to dryness on the other side. With further bottle ageing the tannins are likely to dissipate but will there be any fruit left? This wine is in a tough spot.
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1/11/2015 - David J Cooper wrote: 90 Points
Decent wine served in a bad spot, it followed an 88 Mouton so it seemed sweet, simple and flabby. It was actually a nice CdP with nice raspberry and earth notes.
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1/1/2015 - ScottPreston wrote: 93 Points
An absolute beautiful wine. I personally didn't decant this long enough, it needed at least 3 hours before really showing itself. Tannins have been shed, leaving floral, strawberry, and scents of tar. This wine is at its prime.
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1/12/2014 - BordeauxBuff Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank side by side with the 2003. My personal preference was for the 2003 bottling.
Notes on the 2004: Decanted for 4 hours. Stunning nose; floral and strawberry. The wine itself was simple and understated, as mentioned in previous reviews. Not as complex as some of Isabel's wines that I have experienced from other vintages. Drank more like a Premier Cru Burgundy than a CDP. A little bit of heat and pepper on the finish. Drinking well now.
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12/6/2013 - maxmanx wrote:
Served after Thankgiving dinner. Everyone enjoyed it- too bad it was my only bottle. A reserved, not overblown, CDP.
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11/27/2013 - David J Cooper wrote: 91 Points
Dark, medium red. Great CdP nose, animal, raspberry, smoke etc. Delicious balanced flavours and a long rich but dry finish.
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9/2/2013 - Donjcorleone Likes this wine: 93 Points
A lovely integrated nose of licorice, potpourri, meat and lavender lead way to a full bodied wine with a dark raspberry cassis profile on the palate that finishes with a nice lingering spiced white pepper note. Drinking seamlessly at present.
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8/4/2013 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark ruby, almost purple color. Beautiful nose of plenty of dark cherries, some red fruits, minerals, licorice and some meat. On the palate there are again cherries, graphite, some spices and a touch of blood. Pretty full body, medium tannins (a little dry) and a medium-low acidity give this wine a a pretty lush, fruit-forward style. Long finish. It's surprisingly balanced for this average vintage. A beautiful, pretty dense Chateauneuf-du-Pape fruitbomb, but with the structure to age a few more years. I hope the tannins will still integrate a little more though...
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12/22/2012 - Rezy13 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very fresh and powerful. Fantastic from start to the very long finish. Loaded with framboise, strawberry, cranberry, the typical bitter pill, and some garrigue. Very grenachey and I agreed that it seemed to come from sandy soils because the ripeness was in check. The high acidity made this refreshing. Though this was accessible like many 2004s it was so well put together that I feel it could cruise in the cellar for much longer than others from the vintage. Need to seek this bottling out.
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11/23/2012 - EMTAME wrote: 91 Points
Big red fruit, some meaty notes, and just a hint of garrigue on a full-bodied frame. Nice CdP in a style that straddles modern and traditional. Has several good years ahead of it, at least.
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12/17/2011 - 2Travel wrote: 93 Points
Very nice CdP. Raspberry fruits complicated by minerals and maybe some smoke. Another clean style, without any funk. Went very well with a diverse meal of turkey, stuffing, and rich squash casserole.
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10/28/2011 - Mingmong wrote: 91 Points
Sour plums, orange peel and eucalyptus nose. Spice, herb, kumquat, orange peel, blueberries.
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10/20/2011 - cpsmith33 wrote: 91 Points
Tasting of Isabel Ferrando's Portfolio (Union Square Wines): 80% Grenache, 20% Cinsault. Seems to be close to peak. Juicy strawberry. Nice minerality and fresh. Very nice.
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5/29/2011 - Yagil Likes this wine: 92 Points
light red-brown color
typical aroma at opening, changes to fruity-alcoholic after two hours, then changes to classical CDP in the glass after 5 min.
Tannic, full-body, rich, balanced, structured, powerful, both mature and still kicking strong. Enjoyable already now and for another 5-10 years.
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12/7/2010 - Ive Marx wrote: 93 Points
again excellent bottled. Has gained weight and complexity, yet has that typical 2004 elegance. very good stuff. probaly at peak.
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10/31/2010 - psi wrote: 92 Points
This wine was an absolute pleasure. Big and complex nose of roasted meat, black cherries, licorice, pepper. Full bodied, complex palate of cherry and ripe sweet fruit and moderate extract with exceptional acidity and minerality keeping everything in check. Silky tannins and a long, pure finish. This is a strong effort and a good example of why the 2004 vintage should not be overlooked.
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9/12/2010 - David J Cooper wrote:
Didn't peg this one as Cdp. Dark red. Rubber, pepper and dark fruit nose. Very rich dark fruit flavours, slightly sweet entry. Long dry finish. Excellent and will improve.
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9/10/2010 - godx wrote: 90 Points
Bill's Monthly Lunch - September 2010 (Vancouver, BC): Medium red showing some maturity with a slight brownish hue towards the rim. Ripe yet developing nose of black fruits, plums and some sweet funk. Sweeter dark fruits on the palate nice acidity and tannin. Drinks well for a first look but will leave my remaining bottles for 3-5 years before trying another. Excellent. 90+
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5/31/2010 - Ive Marx wrote: 93 Points
Has gained and drinking very well currently.
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4/18/2010 - paulst wrote: flawed
Like rusty water; dead.
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2/13/2010 - davergny wrote: 91 Points
Grenache aromas of ripe strawberries, garrigue, and orange blossom. Same on the palate, add some licorice. A little bitterness shows, from oak maybe? Does this wine see any oak? Otherwise, fairly typical CdP, rich, ripe flavors, zesty but soft, chewy but good balance, food friendly wine. Drank with beef stew.
Save 1/4 of the bottle for the next day, I thought the wine was a little more focused on day 2, more balanced also and the bitterness disappeared.
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12/1/2009 - thomasito2001 wrote: 93 Points
Big and complex wine, lots of material with a typical CdP aromatic profile. Loads of tannin, quite refined and integrated. Long length. Good stuff
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8/7/2009 - Omar Khayyam wrote: 91 Points
at first, the grenache nose dominates with leather, licorice and black, sweet, cherry. ripe sweet fruit which makes the wine feel richer and heavier than it actually is.
After a few hours the nose is a pure miracle of integrated red berries and earth and cappucino. Also get something more light and ephemeral akin to more floral white wine fragrances - rose petals, tamarind perhaps. Silky tannins and just the right freshness. This is ready to be had with very little tannic structure; on the aromatic side, I am guessing that the grenache is being helped by the cinsaut. Compared to a more traditional violet pastilles and tar dominated Gour de chaules gigondas I had a week ago - for similar price btw - this was very nice.
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10/11/2008 - carnyc wrote: 92 Points
Enjoyed at Cru for b-day
Nose: Bright aromatics featuring raspberry, strawberry and gravel
Taste: The pure fruit on the palate echoes the nose and receives with a healtny dose of black pepper and minerality; a superb balance between fruit, acid and tannin; intense and delicious!
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1/22/2008 - ed-d wrote: 92 Points
Very modern in style. A powerful aroma of raspberry kirsch & mineral. On the palate, this wine shows tremendous extract but with a exceptional minerality that keeps the ripeness in check.
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7/17/2007 - KevinS wrote: 93 Points
Loved this stuff. Big, brawny, chewy, spicy red, with lots of power and complexity. Excellent...
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5/11/2007 - Siggy wrote:
2007 France Trip - Bois de Boursan, St. Prefert, Roger Perrin (Southern Rhone): Lush, rich red fruits on the nose. Rich, silky, and concentrated. Massively scaled. Sweet, heavy, and hot.
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1/7/2007 - snaff wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for two hours which softened it nicely. A well-balanced wine with cherry, leather and earthy flavors.
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12/31/2006 - paulst wrote: 90 Points
Deep rich fruit dark rich color nice balance plum raspberry.
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11/11/2006 - VinoRico wrote: 93 Points
Very enjoyable, young CdP. Continued to open over the 5 hours we took drinking the bottle. Bright red pinot noir in color. She thought orange rind and I thought cherry (the bright sweet side, not the 'dark forest' side) at first. The stucture was solid and if you held the wine in your mouth for the academic 3 seconds you saw the alchohol and tannins cooperating very nicely. Great QpR. I prefer the more tarry, darker, CdP...but this was a plaesant young (and approachable) bottle.
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11/5/2006 - stevewine wrote: 93 Points
drinking very well now. Should do better with a year or two of aging
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7/24/2006 - MTC wrote: 93 Points
Very fruity on the nose and first taste. It seems a little hot on the finish.
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