Nose is slightly metallic on open. Fruits are there, but the astringency on the finish is way too much. Poured through Venturi and decanted for one hour. This opened the wine to a stunning bouquet of fruit and a mix of sweet/rich earthy elements. Very silky on the palate. Med-full bodied. Paired with mixed grill. Loved it.
Remarkable: showing huge bottle age. Dark nose with feral farmyard notes. Still very tannic. High notes and almost astringent on the palate. Elegant and still quite tight and acidic. However with slow cooked briased beef, it was magical. The acidity and the tannins cut though the fats of the beef: just magical,
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I didn't decant this before drinking and should have! Initially it tasted of alcohol. The label reads 15.5% and I think if showed that alcohol even after it had opened and dark red fruit showed up. It seems well crafted and should improve with more time in the cellar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is full of raspberry jam, garrigue and kirsch liqueur. Full bodied and extremely opulent the wine delivers waves of jammy raspberry fruit , bbq smoke, scorched earth and bacon fat. Tannins are abundant, ripe and grippy and acidity is quite pronounced as well. However the wine still feels massive and rather heavy. Very good, but not really outstanding . Drink now and in the next 3-5 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I like this wine, showing all essential hallmark components of mature C9P: garrigue, hints of bret, earthy tones, and layers of dark fruit. Still, there are some green components of the fruit that prevent me from giving a higher score. But still a great effort! 93?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
sb Hard to place initially. Very funky nose, slightly turbid appearance with stiff acidity. With an hour of air this is quite nice. Sweet kirsch, funk blown off. Fruit covers the alcohol. Light tannic finish. Drink or hold
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Courtesy of R&D, popped and poured. Dark berry fruit with garrigue and pepper. Well-balanced; soft tannin. The palate is more red-fruited than dark, and shows plenty of the garrigue and spice as well. Long finish. Gorgeous.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Josh Raynolds review nails it. This is lush with black cherry, graphite and oak notes. The finish is a little clipped. Still somewhat dry and tannic, but showing pretty well.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened Christmas Eve with extended family and finished on 26th. Well, this might make a nice port. The Alc is all over it and for my palate unbearable. Also, seemed to lack energy likely burdened by the 15.5% alc. Crossing another CDP producer off my list. Dang it, I still one of these to get rid of to boot. I know a couple local guys who may enjoy this more than I.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is starting to come in to its own. Sweet red berry nose. You can really taste the grenache with quite a bit of cherry on the palate but also red berry flavors, especially raspberry. A nice almost graphite beam of oak. The flavors are already well integrated and it will only get better.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is starting to come in to its own. Sweet red berry nose. You can really taste the grenache with quite a bit of cherry on the palate but also red berry flavors, especially raspberry. A nice almost graphite beam of oak. The flavors are already well integrated and it will only get better.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
BBQ night at Changi. From magnum bottle. Drank after 1.5 hours of air already. Appearance medium intensity, ruby colour with fine sediments. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of sweet candy, raspberry jam, strawberries, kirsh, Provencal herbs, garrigue. Developing. On the palate, dry, medium+ acidity, high alcohol (15.5%), soft high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of sweet raspberries, red cherries, strawberries, kirsch, Provencal herbs. Long finish. Very good quality. Intriguing CdP, as it suggests jamminess on the nose, but on the palate it is comparatively lighter-footed, exuding elegance of soft and pure sweet red fruit without any sense of alcohol heat or jamminess. Could seem to be lacking depth of flavour. Well, but it all works out to be a satisfying CdP to me nonetheless. Will be interesting to follow this and see how it evolves with more age. 85% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre. Aged in 10% concrete, 60% foudre, 30% demi-muids for 12-18 months. Fruit from the CdP lieu-dits of Barbe d’Asne, Mont Redon, Pignan, Busquières.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Thick, rich and rustic. Cassis and undergrowth, some leather. Lovely acidity, silky and thick on the tongue, with a very long finish. Drinking with a good decant.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Grabbed from the cellar having forgotten that I had racked this. Pulled the cork and served cool, the wine has real class and immediately grabs ones attention - still nascent, but lovely definition and density, lots of promise for the future but already has lovely accessible fruit and well covered structure. I don't drink Kirsch but I assume this black high tone fruit is the idea - either way a lovely glass of wine and a naughty treat for a night home alone. Long and enticing.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Un superbe nez et une belle attaque de fruits rouges en bouches.Une belle explosion de saveur mais avec une finale un peu sur la chauffe. Très floral et une belle profondeur.Beaucoup aimé ! 17/20
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dégustation horizontale Châteauneuf du Pape 2012 (Igloo Laurier): Un nez de fruit noir et d'épices. La bouche est gourmande, fruitée, bien mûre, avec de la profondeur et un bel équilibre. Un style aérien et savoureux, élégant mais possédant tout de même une bonne structure, de la fraicheur. 92-93 pts
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Big ripe red fruit, but to me this really comes off quite hot, "only" 15.5%, but this almost tastes like a kirsch cocktail. Drink now for the gushing fruit, or hold and maybe(?) this will come together a bit better?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The trick with CdPs seems to be knowing when to open them. Either do so when the wine is still young, vibrant and showing primary fruit, or wait years for secondary characteristics to develop. Open an expensive bottle during a dormant phase and you will be disappointed. This one did not disappoint!
Aerated and decanted for 1 hr. (more time would have been ideal). While the nose was somewhat muted, the palette was anything but muted. A truly gorgeous wine. Love the combination of fresh raspberries with dried herbs and earthy notes on the finish. Liquid silk on the palette.
Hard to say how long before this begins to shut down but our bottle was right where I was hoping it would be. This is one of those wines that you reminisce about months or even years later. A truly memorable drinking experience.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Open for business and delicious. Loved the first aroma's from the decantor. Garrigue, lavender & fresh red fruit on the nose. Balanced with more red fruit and garrique on an elegant silky medium weight frame. Only knock is the 15.5% Alc but you can mostly mute it by drinking around 55-60 degrees tops. I'm rapidly falling off the CDP bandwagon but this wine is still worth seeking out and a pleasure to drink with hearty food like our grilled chops tonight. Decanted about 90 minutes before dinner and made sure the temp stayed cool. Paid $60 and worth that. I'll try to hold off on my other 2 btls for at least 3yrs but no harm to drink these now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The nose was, at first, restrained, yet opened with time in the glass to show deep layers of tart cherry, wild herbs, dried twigs, graphite, orange zest a hint of animal musk and black pepper. On the palate, velvety textures set the stage for a mélange of rich dark-red fruit, plum, dark chocolate, and herbs. Long and tense on the finish with tart berry saturating the senses, offset by gorgeous inner floral notes.
This was so beautiful, with a perfect integration of herbs and dried twigs from the whole cluster fermentation. Be warned however, at this young age, it can take an hour or two in decanter before showing its true potential.
Had a vertical tasting with Chante le Merle from four vintages: 07, 09, 11 and 12.
A lot like the -07 but isn't as complex and mature. Cassics, orange and white pepper on the nose. The most perfyme dominated vintage of the four.
Slightly heady, soft and smooth. Gets a bit short on the finish (time will probably solve this). Mushrooms, wild straw berries and thyme on the palate. Rated as the second best of the four.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Sweet floral nose with notes of lavender, garrigue, and dried cherries. On the palate, nice balance with Provençal herbs, cherries, chocolate, and a bit of strawberry. I couldn't help but try one young given the string of great wines from this estate over the last few years and am happy I have many more. This should benefit from a few more years of age but I found it to be fairly accessible right now
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Sensuous layers of sweet red fruits, spice and kirsch lay the groundwork for the elegant, ripe, spicy, round finish. Using 85% Grenache, 10% Syrah and 5% Mourvedre, the wine reached 14.5% alcohol.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
3/26/2024 - Decanthor Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose is slightly metallic on open. Fruits are there, but the astringency on the finish is way too much. Poured through Venturi and decanted for one hour. This opened the wine to a stunning bouquet of fruit and a mix of sweet/rich earthy elements. Very silky on the palate. Med-full bodied. Paired with mixed grill. Loved it.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)
2/24/2024 - BobMcK wrote:
Remarkable: showing huge bottle age. Dark nose with feral farmyard notes. Still very tannic. High notes and almost astringent on the palate. Elegant and still quite tight and acidic. However with slow cooked briased beef, it was magical. The acidity and the tannins cut though the fats of the beef: just magical,
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/18/2024 - lvjohn wrote: 93 Points
I didn't decant this before drinking and should have! Initially it tasted of alcohol. The label reads 15.5% and I think if showed that alcohol even after it had opened and dark red fruit showed up. It seems well crafted and should improve with more time in the cellar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/24/2023 - IvanLi Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is full of raspberry jam, garrigue and kirsch liqueur. Full bodied and extremely opulent the wine delivers waves of jammy raspberry fruit , bbq smoke, scorched earth and bacon fat. Tannins are abundant, ripe and grippy and acidity is quite pronounced as well. However the wine still feels massive and rather heavy. Very good, but not really outstanding .
Drink now and in the next 3-5 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/20/2023 - Radboy wrote: 93 Points
Delicious wine and drinking quite well. Fruit and light tannins perfectly integrated.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/31/2023 - SLOFred wrote: 93 Points
Really nice wine. Grenache dominant. 1 hour decant. Delicious. Maybe not great QPR. but probably in line with real. No bargain.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/12/2023 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very Grenache dominant, in a good way. Classic CDP. One hour decant is a plus.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/7/2023 - winemaker Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful wine. Lovely fruits, garrigue, Provençal herbs. Complex. In a really good place.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/28/2022 - dsimmons Likes this wine: 94 Points
first of these drank with braised pork shoulder. Delicious with dark fruit and secondary flavors. Drink or hold.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/22/2022 - WilD wrote: 92 Points
Big and syrupy. Herbal and mushroom nose but black fruits - dates, prune, raspberry and still tannin for a while. Rich wine lots of life
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/4/2022 - swade wrote:
Spunky. Wet cardboard. Flawed. No score.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/18/2022 - Kent Cooper wrote: 94 Points
Fantastic wine! Earthy with caramel and tobacco undertones.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/11/2022 - Larre Likes this wine: 93 Points
I like this wine, showing all essential hallmark components of mature C9P: garrigue, hints of bret, earthy tones, and layers of dark fruit. Still, there are some green components of the fruit that prevent me from giving a higher score. But still a great effort! 93?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/8/2021 - twain Likes this wine: 93 Points
Big and syrupy. Herbal and mushroom nose but black fruits - dates, prune, raspberry and still tannin for a while. Rich wine lots of life.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/12/2020 - yasha Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very nice cdp. open for about one hour.my last bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/17/2020 - cos65 Likes this wine:
sb
Hard to place initially.
Very funky nose, slightly turbid appearance
with stiff acidity.
With an hour of air this is quite nice. Sweet kirsch, funk blown off. Fruit covers the alcohol. Light tannic finish.
Drink or hold
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
9/12/2020 - Mark van Delft Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wining with Bas: Earthy C9dP, balsamic note, fig, plum, black olives, medium to full body, touch of heat, strong long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/1/2020 - AllRed wrote: 94 Points
Courtesy of R&D, popped and poured. Dark berry fruit with garrigue and pepper. Well-balanced; soft tannin. The palate is more red-fruited than dark, and shows plenty of the garrigue and spice as well. Long finish. Gorgeous.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/18/2020 - winejnky Likes this wine: 93 Points
Josh Raynolds review nails it. This is lush with black cherry, graphite and oak notes. The finish is a little clipped. Still somewhat dry and tannic, but showing pretty well.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/24/2019 - chablis28 wrote: 82 Points
Opened Christmas Eve with extended family and finished on 26th. Well, this might make a nice port. The Alc is all over it and for my palate unbearable. Also, seemed to lack energy likely burdened by the 15.5% alc. Crossing another CDP producer off my list. Dang it, I still one of these to get rid of to boot. I know a couple local guys who may enjoy this more than I.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/10/2019 - WilD wrote: 94 Points
Agree with Mreinitz:
This is starting to come in to its own. Sweet red berry nose. You can really taste the grenache with quite a bit of cherry on the palate but also red berry flavors, especially raspberry. A nice almost graphite beam of oak. The flavors are already well integrated and it will only get better.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/21/2019 - Larre Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fine, but needs more time. 92+
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/8/2019 - Radboy wrote: flawed
Drinking well and starting to open up.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/10/2019 - mreinitz wrote: 92 Points
This is starting to come in to its own. Sweet red berry nose. You can really taste the grenache with quite a bit of cherry on the palate but also red berry flavors, especially raspberry. A nice almost graphite beam of oak. The flavors are already well integrated and it will only get better.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/23/2018 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely wine after a vigorous decant of several hours.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/8/2018 - Derek Darth Taster Likes this wine: 92 Points
BBQ night at Changi. From magnum bottle. Drank after 1.5 hours of air already.
Appearance medium intensity, ruby colour with fine sediments. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of sweet candy, raspberry jam, strawberries, kirsh, Provencal herbs, garrigue. Developing.
On the palate, dry, medium+ acidity, high alcohol (15.5%), soft high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of sweet raspberries, red cherries, strawberries, kirsch, Provencal herbs. Long finish.
Very good quality. Intriguing CdP, as it suggests jamminess on the nose, but on the palate it is comparatively lighter-footed, exuding elegance of soft and pure sweet red fruit without any sense of alcohol heat or jamminess. Could seem to be lacking depth of flavour. Well, but it all works out to be a satisfying CdP to me nonetheless. Will be interesting to follow this and see how it evolves with more age.
85% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre.
Aged in 10% concrete, 60% foudre, 30% demi-muids for 12-18 months.
Fruit from the CdP lieu-dits of Barbe d’Asne, Mont Redon, Pignan, Busquières.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/28/2018 - Niagara wrote: 84 Points
Dull as dishwater.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/23/2018 - Radboy wrote: 92 Points
I thought this was still a bit tight, bordering on austere. Re-try in a couple of years.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/16/2018 - la turque wrote: 93 Points
Thick, rich and rustic. Cassis and undergrowth, some leather. Lovely acidity, silky and thick on the tongue, with a very long finish. Drinking with a good decant.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/2/2018 - Larre Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very solid C9P, but needs time to gain complexity. 93+
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/21/2018 - ageverett Likes this wine: 91 Points
This was really just OK for us - was hoping for more depth and intrigue. Finish was lacking. Solid enough, but not anything to seek out.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/14/2017 - olalar wrote: 93 Points
Lots of dark fruit, spice, herbs and anice. Long long taste, superb acids and a tannic grip that suggest many more years. 45 min decant.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/2/2016 - Niagara wrote: 88 Points
i can't find anything special here, other than the QPR.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/2/2016 - Chimer wrote: 94 Points
Grabbed from the cellar having forgotten that I had racked this. Pulled the cork and served cool, the wine has real class and immediately grabs ones attention - still nascent, but lovely definition and density, lots of promise for the future but already has lovely accessible fruit and well covered structure. I don't drink Kirsch but I assume this black high tone fruit is the idea - either way a lovely glass of wine and a naughty treat for a night home alone. Long and enticing.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/10/2016 - Villon wrote: 93 Points
Parfumé, frais, charmeur, belle texture, bonne longueur
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/4/2016 - ludwigbpm wrote: 92 Points
Sans notes
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/26/2016 - phil the agony wrote: 92 Points
Un superbe nez et une belle attaque de fruits rouges en bouches.Une belle explosion de saveur mais avec une finale un peu sur la chauffe.
Très floral et une belle profondeur.Beaucoup aimé !
17/20
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/25/2016 - d'Artagnan wrote: 92 Points
Dégustation horizontale Châteauneuf du Pape 2012 (Igloo Laurier): Un nez de fruit noir et d'épices. La bouche est gourmande, fruitée, bien mûre, avec de la profondeur et un bel équilibre. Un style aérien et savoureux, élégant mais possédant tout de même une bonne structure, de la fraicheur. 92-93 pts
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/4/2016 - cos65 wrote:
Big ripe red fruit, but to me this really comes off quite hot, "only" 15.5%, but this almost tastes like a kirsch cocktail. Drink now for the gushing fruit, or hold and maybe(?) this will come together a bit better?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/18/2016 - brown57 Likes this wine: 94 Points
The trick with CdPs seems to be knowing when to open them. Either do so when the wine is still young, vibrant and showing primary fruit, or wait years for secondary characteristics to develop. Open an expensive bottle during a dormant phase and you will be disappointed. This one did not disappoint!
Aerated and decanted for 1 hr. (more time would have been ideal). While the nose was somewhat muted, the palette was anything but muted. A truly gorgeous wine. Love the combination of fresh raspberries with dried herbs and earthy notes on the finish. Liquid silk on the palette.
Hard to say how long before this begins to shut down but our bottle was right where I was hoping it would be. This is one of those wines that you reminisce about months or even years later. A truly memorable drinking experience.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/21/2015 - chablis28 wrote: 92 Points
Open for business and delicious. Loved the first aroma's from the decantor. Garrigue, lavender & fresh red fruit on the nose. Balanced with more red fruit and garrique on an elegant silky medium weight frame. Only knock is the 15.5% Alc but you can mostly mute it by drinking around 55-60 degrees tops. I'm rapidly falling off the CDP bandwagon but this wine is still worth seeking out and a pleasure to drink with hearty food like our grilled chops tonight. Decanted about 90 minutes before dinner and made sure the temp stayed cool. Paid $60 and worth that. I'll try to hold off on my other 2 btls for at least 3yrs but no harm to drink these now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/29/2015 - Gestalted Likes this wine: 96 Points
Absolutely stunning. Nose to finish, intense red raspberry, plum, saline, fine grain tannins, long finish. Cannot wait to drink this again!
--
Consumed at at cellar temp: 60°-65° F. Friends don't let friends drink red wine at room temp!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/19/2015 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 94 Points
The nose was, at first, restrained, yet opened with time in the glass to show deep layers of tart cherry, wild herbs, dried twigs, graphite, orange zest a hint of animal musk and black pepper. On the palate, velvety textures set the stage for a mélange of rich dark-red fruit, plum, dark chocolate, and herbs. Long and tense on the finish with tart berry saturating the senses, offset by gorgeous inner floral notes.
This was so beautiful, with a perfect integration of herbs and dried twigs from the whole cluster fermentation. Be warned however, at this young age, it can take an hour or two in decanter before showing its true potential.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (3)
12/29/2014 - Dovberg wrote: 90 Points
Had a vertical tasting with Chante le Merle from four vintages: 07, 09, 11 and 12.
A lot like the -07 but isn't as complex and mature. Cassics, orange and white pepper on the nose. The most perfyme dominated vintage of the four.
Slightly heady, soft and smooth. Gets a bit short on the finish (time will probably solve this). Mushrooms, wild straw berries and thyme on the palate. Rated as the second best of the four.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/22/2014 - J_Smallwood Likes this wine: 93 Points
Sweet floral nose with notes of lavender, garrigue, and dried cherries. On the palate, nice balance with Provençal herbs, cherries, chocolate, and a bit of strawberry. I couldn't help but try one young given the string of great wines from this estate over the last few years and am happy I have many more. This should benefit from a few more years of age but I found it to be fairly accessible right now
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/3/2014 - Sevencircles Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nose: strawberries in salmiac with garrique. Typical rhone valley
Attack: tannic salmiac not that intense
Midpalete: Spice, garrique, salmiac, tannins, strawberries, blackberries, mint, cherries, violets. Fullbodied and spicy.
Finish: Sour cherries and dry tannins, pretty long but not very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/17/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Sensuous layers of sweet red fruits, spice and kirsch lay the groundwork for the elegant, ripe, spicy, round finish. Using 85% Grenache, 10% Syrah and 5% Mourvedre, the wine reached 14.5% alcohol.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment