Man this is good stuff - great QPR. Shows well even on pnp and develops nicely over the next couple hours. If you don’t finish it, it will be great the next day, and still tasty on the third. The nose evolves quite a bit as it opens up - dark brambly berries, black currant, cocoa, tobacco, mushroom, earth, graphite. Powerful tannins on the palate with a pleasing, complex, long finish.
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Wine continues to improve. Drank over 2 nights and no degredation on night 2. On nose, black currants, cassis, tobacco, blackberry and charred oak. On palate, medium body, medium tannins and very long finish. Fruit was richer on palate than nose suggested. 92+/-
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This is drinking well...good balance, some bordeaux character, structure without the tannins being overwhelming. A finish. I think this can hold for a while, maybe improve in the short term, but I'll drink my remaining bottles soon-ish.
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Grizzlywine is spot on. Nose is blueberries, sweet oak and pipe tobacco. Tannins hit mid palate, nicely balanced and not too aggressive. Finish is decently long, warm, and echoes all the same flavors. This seems like exactly what I picture a young right bank Bordeaux to taste like. Where I may differ is in its future. Will it age? Sure, the tannins are just enough to support it. But why? It’s pretty damn awesome now and really doesn’t require aging— save that for less opulent years on the left bank. Looking over tasting notes, this is in a good spot for new world and old world Bordeaux blend folks, so I say drink up now— but don’t sweat it if you have a few bottles leftover.
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Nose wafts ample blue fruit, young oak, and a nice touch of cigar character. Good structure, merlot soft tannins, medium+ acid. Palate delivers on the nose, not revelatory but very good. Outstanding value with a decade of life. Would rebuy as house Bordeaux.
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Dense and primary still. Interesting nuances on the nose, but needs time to settle in bottle and gain elegance to match the power. Read and black fruits on the palate, but somewhat overpowered by fine, dusty tannins that leave a slight bitter finish. Will improve with time. Drink 2025+
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I have been playing "guess the vintage/region/grape variety" game with my wife. She thought this was 2018 Napa Blend. It is very Napa-esque. which isn't a bad thing for us.
Prominent merlot, great acidity and decent structure to make this a satisfying experience.
A solid weekday wine.
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I've enjoyed this producer in the past, which is a good QPR for the region. This vintage, while not as promising as the '15 to my palate, is solid though, with molasses, licorice and dark fruits giving some pleasure after a vigorous double decant and even better the next day. Not sure if it will ever get much complexity, but a very good weeknight claret for sure. Rating:90+
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Even after 4 days Nose is not expressive, Lift, some smoke, crushed gravel with barely discernable fruit. Palate entry dense with up front flash of Ripe black fruit quickly over powered by terroir (how do you describe the flavor of tannin), wet coffee grinds, tree bark, and wet soil. Drying black fruit with some bitterness, green pips, Monolithic, Tongue completely covered with thick black Tannins and Extract. Wanted to like this more but, if there’s any fruit here its buried under tannic charge. May drink well after 6-7 years in a cold cellar but, this feels over extracted. Too many punch downs or too much press juice. Mine could be an off bottle but, Pro scores of 93-94 have me befuddled.
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Drank over 3 nights -still rocking on night 3. Didn't note color. On nose, gravel, coffee grinds and red currants (strawberry on day 2/3). Medium body, medium acidity, dark cherry and tart cherry on palate. 91+
Excellent value.
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Pop and pour yesterday. Unyielding for the first 3 hrs open, giving only dark graphite and muted black fruit. On the counter unrefrigerated overnight. On the nose: black fruit, soft vegetal notes, some va, loads of savory. On the palate: excellent acidity, some heat, loads of dark red and black fruit, good density and finely grained tannin on the finish. Excellent for the price and plenty of upside. ABV is huge at 14.5%, but we'll see how this ages.
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Medium-bodied, soft, fresh, elegantly-textured, forward wine with loads of sweet, ripe, red fruits, touches of spice, cherries, plums, espresso and cocoa on the palate and in the finish. Drink from 2022-2033.
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Warm bread, apricot and black fruit on the nose. Bitterness and rough tannins on the palate. Has potential but needs time obv. Just wanted to open one and try.
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92 vvPunkte (14.5%, verkostet im Dezember 2021 in Windisch) Krautige, rotfruchtige Nase, frisch und von Kirschen und Brombeeren dominiert. Der Auftakt ist gradlinig, straff, der Wein hat eine sehr gute Struktur und ordentlich Körper, bleibt dabei elegant, die Gerbstoffe sind fein verwoben, die Säure stimmt, zeigt Rasse und hat Energie. Im Abgang von sehr guter Länge und mit viel Würze. Ein sehr gelungener, frischer St-Emilion. 2024-2038 vvWine.ch
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Flowery, with a basket of fresh picked raspberries, licorice and smoke, this wine is medium-bodied, forward, soft and fruity. You can enjoy this on release and over the next decade easily. The wine blends 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc, reaching 14.8%. The wine should sell for roughly $25 making this one of the top value wines of the vintage. This is worth buying by the case. 89-91 Pts
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1/28/2024 - bschucha Likes this wine: 92 Points
Man this is good stuff - great QPR. Shows well even on pnp and develops nicely over the next couple hours. If you don’t finish it, it will be great the next day, and still tasty on the third. The nose evolves quite a bit as it opens up - dark brambly berries, black currant, cocoa, tobacco, mushroom, earth, graphite. Powerful tannins on the palate with a pleasing, complex, long finish.
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9/21/2023 - CWilliam wrote: 92 Points
Wine continues to improve. Drank over 2 nights and no degredation on night 2. On nose, black currants, cassis, tobacco, blackberry and charred oak. On palate, medium body, medium tannins and very long finish. Fruit was richer on palate than nose suggested. 92+/-
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8/26/2023 - thalver wrote:
This is drinking well...good balance, some bordeaux character, structure without the tannins being overwhelming. A finish. I think this can hold for a while, maybe improve in the short term, but I'll drink my remaining bottles soon-ish.
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4/6/2023 - SeattleKen wrote:
Grizzlywine is spot on. Nose is blueberries, sweet oak and pipe tobacco. Tannins hit mid palate, nicely balanced and not too aggressive. Finish is decently long, warm, and echoes all the same flavors. This seems like exactly what I picture a young right bank Bordeaux to taste like. Where I may differ is in its future. Will it age? Sure, the tannins are just enough to support it. But why? It’s pretty damn awesome now and really doesn’t require aging— save that for less opulent years on the left bank. Looking over tasting notes, this is in a good spot for new world and old world Bordeaux blend folks, so I say drink up now— but don’t sweat it if you have a few bottles leftover.
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2/2/2023 - grizzlywine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nose wafts ample blue fruit, young oak, and a nice touch of cigar character. Good structure, merlot soft tannins, medium+ acid. Palate delivers on the nose, not revelatory but very good. Outstanding value with a decade of life. Would rebuy as house Bordeaux.
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12/30/2022 - Texas Jerky Likes this wine: 89 Points
Dense and primary still. Interesting nuances on the nose, but needs time to settle in bottle and gain elegance to match the power. Read and black fruits on the palate, but somewhat overpowered by fine, dusty tannins that leave a slight bitter finish. Will improve with time. Drink 2025+
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12/28/2022 - Be.Lee Likes this wine: 92 Points
I have been playing "guess the vintage/region/grape variety" game with my wife. She thought this was 2018 Napa Blend. It is very Napa-esque. which isn't a bad thing for us.
Prominent merlot, great acidity and decent structure to make this a satisfying experience.
A solid weekday wine.
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12/11/2022 - Everything Ahead wrote: 90 Points
I've enjoyed this producer in the past, which is a good QPR for the region. This vintage, while not as promising as the '15 to my palate, is solid though, with molasses, licorice and dark fruits giving some pleasure after a vigorous double decant and even better the next day. Not sure if it will ever get much complexity, but a very good weeknight claret for sure. Rating:90+
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11/20/2022 - Be.Lee wrote: 88 Points
Better than before. Tannins are mellowing. Plenty of acid to feel confident that i can age this a bit longer. revisit 2024
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10/13/2022 - Oechsle Does not like this wine: 86 Points
Even after 4 days Nose is not expressive, Lift, some smoke, crushed gravel with barely discernable fruit. Palate entry dense with up front flash of Ripe black fruit quickly over powered by terroir (how do you describe the flavor of tannin), wet coffee grinds, tree bark, and wet soil. Drying black fruit with some bitterness, green pips, Monolithic, Tongue completely covered with thick black Tannins and Extract. Wanted to like this more but, if there’s any fruit here its buried under tannic charge. May drink well after 6-7 years in a cold cellar but, this feels over extracted. Too many punch downs or too much press juice. Mine could be an off bottle but, Pro scores of 93-94 have me befuddled.
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10/2/2022 - CWilliam wrote:
Better on night 2 - consistent with my note from 8/22 but would be more 90+/- tonight - maybe shutting down.
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8/26/2022 - CWilliam wrote: 91 Points
Drank over 3 nights -still rocking on night 3. Didn't note color. On nose, gravel, coffee grinds and red currants (strawberry on day 2/3). Medium body, medium acidity, dark cherry and tart cherry on palate. 91+
Excellent value.
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7/26/2022 - LoireFan wrote:
Great value.
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5/29/2022 - Aravind Asok wrote:
Pop and pour yesterday. Unyielding for the first 3 hrs open, giving only dark graphite and muted black fruit. On the counter unrefrigerated overnight. On the nose: black fruit, soft vegetal notes, some va, loads of savory. On the palate: excellent acidity, some heat, loads of dark red and black fruit, good density and finely grained tannin on the finish. Excellent for the price and plenty of upside. ABV is huge at 14.5%, but we'll see how this ages.
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3/29/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 Points
Medium-bodied, soft, fresh, elegantly-textured, forward wine with loads of sweet, ripe, red fruits, touches of spice, cherries, plums, espresso and cocoa on the palate and in the finish. Drink from 2022-2033.
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3/7/2022 - LoireFan Likes this wine:
Pleasing.
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2/22/2022 - Be.Lee Likes this wine:
PnP.
Warm bread, apricot and black fruit on the nose. Bitterness and rough tannins on the palate. Has potential but needs time obv. Just wanted to open one and try.
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1/13/2022 - vvWine.ch wrote: 92 Points
92 vvPunkte (14.5%, verkostet im Dezember 2021 in Windisch) Krautige, rotfruchtige Nase, frisch und von Kirschen und Brombeeren dominiert. Der Auftakt ist gradlinig, straff, der Wein hat eine sehr gute Struktur und ordentlich Körper, bleibt dabei elegant, die Gerbstoffe sind fein verwoben, die Säure stimmt, zeigt Rasse und hat Energie. Im Abgang von sehr guter Länge und mit viel Würze. Ein sehr gelungener, frischer St-Emilion. 2024-2038 vvWine.ch
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6/8/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Flowery, with a basket of fresh picked raspberries, licorice and smoke, this wine is medium-bodied, forward, soft and fruity. You can enjoy this on release and over the next decade easily. The wine blends 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc, reaching 14.8%. The wine should sell for roughly $25 making this one of the top value wines of the vintage. This is worth buying by the case. 89-91 Pts
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