Nose: All dirt with some spent fireworks, charred dark cherries, faintest hint of blue cotton candy. Palate: Gritty bay leaf, sandy tannins that mask, dirty dark cherries and smoked blueberries. Tried this next to the 2017 and this was much thicker, balanced, and enjoyable. On day two, the dark weightiness gives way to spiced red plum and a mildly tangy tomato puree. Preferred on day one.
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Well based on past experience, and needing to drink down my cellar, I tried decanting this about 19 hours before drinking.
As a result what we have is a rather smooth deep, dark wine; dark blue fruit on the nose and the palate, tannins now pretty much in balance, although this is still a "dry" food wine, not a ripe fruity one. All very clean, but now to my palate all just a bit thin.
I'm still not sure what best to do with this wine - maybe 8 hours or so would have been ideal. It's still very good, and very decent QPR at ~ US$17. But still not what I had hoped.
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Another 9 months on this bottle got 9 hours in the decanter and still it was best towards the end. Excellent dark red fruit. In line with my previous note from February, but a little smoother and with perhaps less tannin.
Looking forward to seeing how my remaining couple of bottles evolve over the next year or two.
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18 months on from my last note I think this is now in a better place.
Decanted for 5 hours. The nose is dark: blackberry, leather, blood, but also somehow a touch of menthol. The palate is mouth-filling with rich smooth tannins ("jaw-clapping" perhaps), a mixture of dark fruits, some leather, a little vegetation, acidity in good balance. It all hangs together well. The finish is long, drying, and meaty in some way.
This is a wine that requires food, preferably of an umami-rich type; it is far too robust to drink on its own. And at ~US$17 it is pretty good value.
EDIT (28/2/2021): another bottle tells me that 2-3 hours air is not enough - this still really needs 5+ hours of air.
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Dark purple. Nose: Tart blackberry and bramble, vanilla, leather, maybe even blood? Green leaf. Palate: blackberry, tart black cherries. Quite balanced for a younger tannat/cab franc blend, and very reasonably priced ($14)
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Great depth on nose, layered and full of interest, with blackberry jam, cassis followed by bay leaf and green pepper, even touches of violet making an appearance. Palate is saturated and gives a mouth filling presence of ripe dark berries, with a bristling rustic tannic and acid structure, super fresh and finishes on a pleasing herbal note. Day 2 acidity was a little more shrill but on day 3 this took on more depth on palate. Folks on the LPV forum were singing praises for the Labranche Laffont 2016 reds and this certainly lived up to the hype IMHO
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14%. Diam3 cork. A mixture of tannat, 20% cab sauv, and 20% cab franc. Organic certified. Dark red core, ruby rim. Fragrant. Firm grip, fine mouth coating tannins backed by just the right amount of acidity. Bready/ yeasty note in the mouth. 10-15 sec. finish.
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I know this is young, so I decanted and drank between 4 and 6 hours later. Intially, strong tannins. Over the 2 hours dark fruit comes more to the fore, as does some acidity. But it seems to me that this never really settles down. I shall put my other bottle at the back of the fridge and forget about it for a couple of years.
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3/1/2024 - stamperb Likes this wine: 88 Points
Nose: All dirt with some spent fireworks, charred dark cherries, faintest hint of blue cotton candy. Palate: Gritty bay leaf, sandy tannins that mask, dirty dark cherries and smoked blueberries. Tried this next to the 2017 and this was much thicker, balanced, and enjoyable. On day two, the dark weightiness gives way to spiced red plum and a mildly tangy tomato puree. Preferred on day one.
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6/21/2022 - Paul852 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Well based on past experience, and needing to drink down my cellar, I tried decanting this about 19 hours before drinking.
As a result what we have is a rather smooth deep, dark wine; dark blue fruit on the nose and the palate, tannins now pretty much in balance, although this is still a "dry" food wine, not a ripe fruity one. All very clean, but now to my palate all just a bit thin.
I'm still not sure what best to do with this wine - maybe 8 hours or so would have been ideal. It's still very good, and very decent QPR at ~ US$17. But still not what I had hoped.
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12/3/2021 - Paul852 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Another 9 months on this bottle got 9 hours in the decanter and still it was best towards the end. Excellent dark red fruit. In line with my previous note from February, but a little smoother and with perhaps less tannin.
Looking forward to seeing how my remaining couple of bottles evolve over the next year or two.
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2/8/2021 - Paul852 Likes this wine: 89 Points
18 months on from my last note I think this is now in a better place.
Decanted for 5 hours.
The nose is dark: blackberry, leather, blood, but also somehow a touch of menthol.
The palate is mouth-filling with rich smooth tannins ("jaw-clapping" perhaps), a mixture of dark fruits, some leather, a little vegetation, acidity in good balance. It all hangs together well.
The finish is long, drying, and meaty in some way.
This is a wine that requires food, preferably of an umami-rich type; it is far too robust to drink on its own.
And at ~US$17 it is pretty good value.
EDIT (28/2/2021): another bottle tells me that 2-3 hours air is not enough - this still really needs 5+ hours of air.
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1/19/2021 - stamperb Likes this wine: 89 Points
Dark purple. Nose: Tart blackberry and bramble, vanilla, leather, maybe even blood? Green leaf. Palate: blackberry, tart black cherries. Quite balanced for a younger tannat/cab franc blend, and very reasonably priced ($14)
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10/24/2020 - Yannis B Likes this wine: 90 Points
rapport qualité-prix imbattable; fin, élégant et racé; idéal pour accompagner une selle de chevreuil
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8/22/2020 - GL Rhone Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great depth on nose, layered and full of interest, with blackberry jam, cassis followed by bay leaf and green pepper, even touches of violet making an appearance. Palate is saturated and gives a mouth filling presence of ripe dark berries, with a bristling rustic tannic and acid structure, super fresh and finishes on a pleasing herbal note. Day 2 acidity was a little more shrill but on day 3 this took on more depth on palate. Folks on the LPV forum were singing praises for the Labranche Laffont 2016 reds and this certainly lived up to the hype IMHO
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2/13/2020 - Nico P. Likes this wine:
14%. Diam3 cork. A mixture of tannat, 20% cab sauv, and 20% cab franc. Organic certified. Dark red core, ruby rim. Fragrant. Firm grip, fine mouth coating tannins backed by just the right amount of acidity. Bready/ yeasty note in the mouth. 10-15 sec. finish.
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8/19/2019 - Paul852 wrote:
I know this is young, so I decanted and drank between 4 and 6 hours later. Intially, strong tannins. Over the 2 hours dark fruit comes more to the fore, as does some acidity. But it seems to me that this never really settles down. I shall put my other bottle at the back of the fridge and forget about it for a couple of years.
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