Note: I use the recommended scale, so 85 represents a very good wine.
Not quite as outstanding as the bottle I had six years ago, but still damn good. Improved meaningfully after an hour in a narrow bottomed decanter. Fruit still present. Tannins smooth.
Alas, my last.
No reason to hold.
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I was seduced by the great press garnered by these modern, right bank wines. Ugh. There is nothing wrong here but there is also not a lot right. Deep color for a Bordeaux from this vintage. The nose is probably it’s best feature: big fruit and a bit of stony earthiness. The palate is rich, bland, boring and short. Lacks interest. Fancy bottle, Generic wine. Silly me. (86)
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PnP, thought it would be good to go right out of the gate. It was not. It took 2 hours for this wine to wake up. Initially cool dark fruit with an espresso bitterness. After two hours more red fruit (cherry) and secondary aromas and flavors, dry leaves, tobacco, roasted red pepper. The mid palate was pleasant but the finish remained short.
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Red ruby color, no decant, mature right bank wine, not overly complex but good black fruit, mostly cherries, and currants, with earth floor, dry leaves, chocolate aromas on the nose. Palate is medium, dark fruits, some tobacco and earthy flavors, good acidity, soft tannins. Mature St. Emilion. Finish is medium. At the peak. Good buy for around $40.
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New Year's Eve, 2019 Pokai Parera (Pokai Parera, Ekatahuna, New Zealand): The first of a brilliant flight of 2001 Bordeaux wines, this was the essence of Merlot. Leather, cedar, dark plums, feathery tannins. A warm bouquet is followed by a broad entry that becomes more intense and focused in the mid palate. This is a gentle wine (drinking perfectly now) that is complete, complex and delicious. Softly layered mid midpalate that invites another sip!
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Talk about a tale of two bottles....other's notes lead me to believe there may be some significant bottle variation. First bottle back in 2010, at 9 years, was borderline terrible, but drinkable.
This bottle: Bright, clear ruby color, medium plus texture. After a short decant showed a very aromatic, perfumed nose, along with some red fruits: cherries and red currant; with sweet tobacco. Complex palate, dried red berry, tart cherry, powered cocoa, and chewy tobacco. Dry in the mouth which sets up up a huge long finish. Tannin and acidity in perfect balance. Worked wonderfully with grilled boneless pork chops, garlic, loaded mashed potatoes, and sautéed vegetables. Great example of how bottle age can completely change the character of a wine...a very pleasant surprise!
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Slow ox for two hours and decanting for 30 minutes seem to have worked better than the decanting I did over several hours with my previous two bottles. Restrained style with limited secondary and minimal tertiary notes, but I still enjoyed it. Drink up soon; this is unlikely to improve further, most likely it's past its peak already.
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Purchased last minute and drunk the next day w/o taking notes or paying much attention but enjoyed very much. Complex but w finesse. Pleasurable. Better than the community notes or JR review, I thought.
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Bordeaux bought at the chateau in 2005 . Nice and easy drinking. Wasn t expensive with 20 € , but it isn t worth more !! Mature bordeaux . Not huge complex , not so long , but nice !!! Drink up
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Friday night Hotpot ritual with poached Akabuta (Japanese RED pork), Chinese grass-fed beef (a lean yellowish-brown cattle with little marbling, slightly chewy in texture but a beefy taste; a far cry from tender mushy marbled fatty grain fed beef), veal liver and sliced French duck breast, in a Cantonese style broth made from coriander, shiitake mushroom, green onions, garlic, daikon and fermented eggs. Nose of blackberries and some vanilla oak, some chocolatey sweetness but neither full reaching nor finishing as great Right right banks do, it was nevertheless satisfying to match the simple yet tasty meat morsels. Drink up.
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Less impressive than the previous bottle from 2/2016. Still plenty of acidity. On the nose, wet forest notes. Even after 3 hours of decanting fruit remained restrained on the palate.
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This offers much pleasure and still has plenty of life. I was surprised by noticeable tannins that are admittedly very well integrated but not entirely seamless. Drinks very well with a brief decanting. Notes of cedar and black fruit on the palate. A bit too much oak/wood.
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Simply perfect. This bottle is why I like Bordeaux and have about 1300 in the cave at this time. No edges, perfectly integrated "sweet tannins" as some would say (including me). I cold drink this for breakfast.
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Drunk from a 375 ml bottle. This is really singing tonight. Classic perfumed aromas that are rewarded by a wine that has aged effortlessly. Loads of cedar & leather. Expected this bottle to have faded but I am proved incorrect.
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Consumed from a 750 ml. Now rather rustic, herbal (in a good way) and drying tannins without much fruit to express. A bit past peak and chewy. Would pair best with grilled pork. Enjoy the aromatics and the classic expression but I fear that 2001 is beginning to fade away from us.
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From magnum. Decanted about 45 minutes, this showed well and was good with food. Nice, elegant wine that still has some good fruit to it and is just maybe a little short on the finish. Was fine but outdone by a couple of better (and more expensive) wines. Drink now. A-
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Decanted for 1 1/2 hours. Deep crimson. Nose had chocolate, cherries, earth and a hint of cedar. Top notes were of blackberries, cherries, chocolate and a hint of raisin. The deeper earth tones of wet stone, toast, tobacco and mint came out in the finish, which was a little shorter than the wine seemed to promise. Drinking well.
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Drank from magnum. Very faded, and tasted as this was 20 years old. Elegant style of the vintage, but I am skeptical of the storage before I purchased this in 2010.
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Nice wine, but age has left some of the veneer missing. There is a distinct dirt/earthy element that has started to dominate the palate. Not bad, but I feel this may on a quick downward spiral as the sweet fruit that is so prevalent in this bottling when young is fading a bit too fast. (88)
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From magnum. Not sure how long the decant was, but probably 30-60 minutes. Dark color did not show it's age, but the wine was soft and open. Good fruit, and easy to drink over a long dinner, this wine is fully mature with no hard edges. Not the complexity of a great Bordeaux, and short of the concentration I remember from the '99, but still pleasant for the price and a good dinner wine. Drink now. A-
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Nice bottle, better on 2nd night than on first. Smooth. Plum and red berry fruits, a little tobacco, a little smoke, but some vegetal flavors come out on the finish that are a little unpleasant.
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From 375, served w beef roast. Tight, slightly hot nose, lovely tarry fruit. Little bit of cedar on the finish. Tannins are well integrated but there is still an edge.
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Decanted for a couple of hours. This is still young and primary. The fruit and structure is reasonably balanced. It opens somewhat over a few more hours. This is young and will likely improve in 3-5 years. Wait.
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Juicy, fruity, some minerality; drinking really well now, but may loosen up a little over the next couple of years. Very clean. Reinforces that fact that 2001 has produced some really nice wines.
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Not bad but nothing exciting either. The age is starting to show - mature leather, some cigar notes. Fruit absent upon sipping, but tasted better after accompanying it with some parmigiano reggiano stravecchio. Lots of bottom sediment.
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Very nice nose of leather. Open up a bit in 1 hour and after 90 mins, some noticeable sweetness of cherry along with some plum. Finished the bottle before 2 hour mark so not sure if it is really better after such time. Tannis are gone and now is ready to drink.
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Early still but drinking well. Medium to full weight. Opened up after 3 hours. Very balanced. Tanins mostly integrated......should evolve for a decade.
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Decanted 4 hours. A rich and dark color- almost a violet black. Dense but not inky. This threw off a fair amount of sediment while decanting. Lots going on in the bouquet- blackcurrant, black cherry, and blueberry fruit all stand out, and all with a little sweetness that reminded me of fruitcake. Earthier notes then began to emerge- a scent of forest floor along with tea and violets. It switches direction on the palate with cedar, espresso, and bitter chocolate notes that were highlighted with redcurrant fruit. This glides along the palate, gaining weight and density through the middle before closing with firm and dusty tannins. The finish highlights the earlier cedar notes with a little herb-tinged fruit. Nice and long too. Very nice.
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A bit disjointed and off balance. Good wine, the tannin are a little harsh. The fruit wasn't as prevalent as it should be. I'd suggest holding a little longer in hopes that it would improve, but i'm not sure it will.
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Minty and herbal on the nose with hints of dark fruit. Medium body weight. Palate is slightly oxidized and may be beyond peak. Hints of chocolate on the finish. Very disappointing.
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Ultra-strong brett nose--undrinkable even after a three-hour decant. Two-days later, brett still imposing on the nose and palate. So...is this terroir or just an off bottle? :)
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Excellent ! Decanted for 4 hours, opened up amazingly. This wine should peak in 2 years, will last for another decade for sure. Big nose, medium to full body, long finish, A LOT of elegance. MUCH better than 1 yr ago ! ready to drink if properly decanted. Lots of very dark sediment.
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on opening a punch in the nose with cassis. After decanting 3 hours, this intensified and became more complex, with hints of dried cherries, tobacco, leather, and pencil coming out. The palate was similar, medium bodied, though the cassis was much less prevalent than the nose. Medium finish, integrated tannins but lacking punch. Perhaps this is in a sleepy phase.
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Vinum Annual Sale @ Caveau (Caveau): Nice red. I basically got a lot of wood on this. I though the palate was also overdone by the oak. However, it could be that my palate had been killed by the very sweet CDPs had before this.
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Yes--I also got a lot of cherry on the nose--but more like Ludens cherry cough drops (sweet, not mentholated). Odd, but very enjoyable. Also herbs and dirt and stones. I liked the nose a lot. On the palate, muted berries and prunes, more herbs--interesting. Very acidic on the back end--would have preferred a smoother finish. Nevertheless, a pleasant surprise.
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Dry. Very dry. Muted fruit. Strong tobacco flavors. Afterthought- after reading my prior note, this appears to be the bottle I was going to retry in 5 years (!) - typical American style.
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Decanted for 4 hours. BIG cherry nose. In the mouth is FULL bodied, long finish. Very different from the bottle I opened a few days ago. Was it the decanting time difference or my palate (tired after a long wine-drinking week ?). Could use a couple more years in the bottle.
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The label and everything is totally in french which is a promising sign. The importer has a strange sticker pasted on the back. This happens to be bottle 31659. Comprised of 70% Merlot, 20% cabfrac, 5% cabsauv, 5% malbec (if I understand correctly). nose - plum, tar, purple ink pen mouth - sour plum and tartness. good acidity, more so than I had anticipated. no tough tannins so to speak. probably will go well with food. lacking the deep fruit punch I was guessing it would have. An interesting bottle. I will have to leave it open overnight and try it again for breakfast and see if it changes -- retried after 24 hours opened in the bottle, on the counter. Ironically seems almost more tannic than before. No new insights. Will try again tomorrow. --- Seems deeper in flavor after 48 hrs, and quite enjoyable, but overall the same and wont budge on the score. I have another bottle that I'll hold onto for another 5 years a try again
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Decanted 1+ hours. Big smoky, oaky nose initially. After more time in the glass, it developed dark fruits, minerals and some herbs. Full-bodied wine with enough acidity to keep it from feeling jammy. Rich red and blue fruit and earth on the palate. Fairly tannic on the finish. Should get better as it settles down a little more. Decant longer next time.
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Plum red in colour with a few signs of aging. Oak-shavings on the nose, dark stone fruits, stewed plums, leather, some attractive herbal notes (sage, rosemary, marjoram). Youthful in the mouth, mouthcoatingly rich, with some hefty but fine-grained tannins. Good finish. Showing very well now, but will certainly improve over the next few years. Very pleased with this new purchase!
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This wine was somewhat of an enigma to me. It seems to have potential, but it just wouldn't show me a whole lot. Perhaps it is too young. It is wound very tight, but the balance appears to be there. Even after 2-3 hours of decanting the tannins are stubborn to let go of their grip. Everything is somewhat muted at this point by the wine's tightness. The wine is so dark and concentrated it appears purple in the glass. The nose is mostly wet stone, with a dash of mint and faint anise and cassis. The palate has a tangy cherry quality with a lot of mineral flavor and the tannins are still quite green. Nice finish in spite of the tannin and nice length on the finish, but those tannin leave an aftertaste like you licked some cedar chips, the oak is a bit overwhelming and stifling on the finish. In my opinion this wine needs a couple more years in the cellar and I think the fruit will finally come out and it should drink quite nice, but it is not ready. It seems to have great potential, but I do not score on potential. With a couple years of cellaring, it should be a 90+ pointer.
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This was incredibly tight and shut down the night that I opened it. It was clearly balanced, with no obvious flaws, but I simply couldn't get anything out of it. The next night, with coaxing, it started to reveal some of it's aromatics, but it took until the second night after opening to really show it's stuff. Lush, captivating nose, with great minerality. Great balance and complexity on the palate. Loads of dark fruit, gravel, and just the right amount of oak. The finish was long, but still rather clenched. I would give this a minimum of ten more years, but it will be a stunner.
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Popped and poured. Dark crimson purple. Nose of char and coffee stands out more than red and black fruit. On the palate, tannins are firm and the charred oak is a bit much. There is good fruit but it's overshadowed at this point. I hope this will come into better balance, but I wonder. I've had similar experience with 2 bottles of the '98: good, concentrated wines, but a bit too much dry, charred oak.
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2001 Bordeaux (Virginia): Part of a 2001 Bordeaux tasting. I would like to have tried this along side more wines from the right bank, but the group concentrated more on the left today... I got chocolate covered cherries from this one. Nice, but for me not as impressive as a number of the other wines today. Sorry for the short TN.
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Dark, plush and backward at this point. This was interesting to try. Tons of leather, coffee on the nose. Has enormous potential but not an entirely enjoyable drink right now. Perhaps going into hibernation.
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Purple in color, almost opaque. On the nose, chocolate, oak, and a touch of tobacco (surprising for a Right Banker perhaps), but also that telltale aroma of wax or crayon which I associate with strongly extracted (perhaps cold maceration?) wines. In the mouth, clearly a well-made wine in the balance of acidity and tannins, but again perhaps slightly over-extracted for my taste. Might merit a higher score later, but hard to predict its evolution right now. 90-91 points.
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Splash decanted, then recanted (is that a word?) into bottle 5 hours before dinner. Color offers dark purple with bright edges. Nose displays aromas of currant, coffee, Pepsi cola and violets with medium length finish. Not sure why, but this reminded us of CdP with subtle pepper and herbs in the finish. Medium to full bodied in the mouth with silky tannins - no hard edges. In comparison it is mildly lighter than the 2000, but has the profile to match. Not too bad a pick up from Costco at $45. Glad I got three, well...now 2 left.
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12/10/2022 - Harry Cantrell Likes this wine: 88 Points
Garnet. Dried herbs, hint of BO. Taste of licorice and a strong acid finish.
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4/1/2022 - John Nezlek wrote: 91 Points
Note: I use the recommended scale, so 85 represents a very good wine.
Not quite as outstanding as the bottle I had six years ago, but still damn good.
Improved meaningfully after an hour in a narrow bottomed decanter.
Fruit still present. Tannins smooth.
Alas, my last.
No reason to hold.
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10/30/2020 - dbkitc wrote: 86 Points
I was seduced by the great press garnered by these modern, right bank wines. Ugh. There is nothing wrong here but there is also not a lot right. Deep color for a Bordeaux from this vintage. The nose is probably it’s best feature: big fruit and a bit of stony earthiness. The palate is rich, bland, boring and short. Lacks interest. Fancy bottle, Generic wine. Silly me. (86)
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2/8/2020 - tzelmer wrote: 89 Points
PnP, thought it would be good to go right out of the gate. It was not. It took 2 hours for this wine to wake up. Initially cool dark fruit with an espresso bitterness. After two hours more red fruit (cherry) and secondary aromas and flavors, dry leaves, tobacco, roasted red pepper. The mid palate was pleasant but the finish remained short.
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12/23/2019 - advinm41 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Red ruby color, no decant, mature right bank wine, not overly complex but good black fruit, mostly cherries, and currants, with earth floor, dry leaves, chocolate aromas on the nose. Palate is medium, dark fruits, some tobacco and earthy flavors, good acidity, soft tannins. Mature St. Emilion. Finish is medium. At the peak. Good buy for around $40.
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12/31/2018 - Marc wrote: 90 Points
New Year's Eve, 2019 Pokai Parera (Pokai Parera, Ekatahuna, New Zealand): The first of a brilliant flight of 2001 Bordeaux wines, this was the essence of Merlot. Leather, cedar, dark plums, feathery tannins. A warm bouquet is followed by a broad entry that becomes more intense and focused in the mid palate. This is a gentle wine (drinking perfectly now) that is complete, complex and delicious. Softly layered mid midpalate that invites another sip!
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3/21/2018 - gajalaa Likes this wine: 89 Points
Ruby color, Cherry on the nose, Berry and Cocoa on the palate. Great finish
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3/12/2018 - gajalaa Likes this wine: 90 Points
Ruby color, Cherry on the nose, Berry and Cocoa on the palate. Great finish
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2/14/2018 - Slaz Likes this wine: 91 Points
Mature St. Emillion notes, with still impressive acidity. Benefited from a brief decanting. Unlikely to evolve further, drinks well right now.
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12/20/2017 - libero wrote: 91 Points
Typical a good FRENCH wine. Strong aromas, pleasant at palate, while the after taste is on in the dry side.
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11/12/2017 - gajalaa Likes this wine: 91 Points
Ruby color, Cherry on the nose, Berry and Cocoa on the palate. Great finish
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7/17/2017 - khmark7 wrote: 90 Points
Very good tonight. Tannins are bright and there is quality classic character, no fading in this bottle.
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6/3/2017 - wmccone54 wrote: 92 Points
Talk about a tale of two bottles....other's notes lead me to believe there may be some significant bottle variation. First bottle back in 2010, at 9 years, was borderline terrible, but drinkable.
This bottle: Bright, clear ruby color, medium plus texture. After a short decant showed a very aromatic, perfumed nose, along with some red fruits: cherries and red currant; with sweet tobacco. Complex palate, dried red berry, tart cherry, powered cocoa, and chewy tobacco. Dry in the mouth which sets up up a huge long finish. Tannin and acidity in perfect balance. Worked wonderfully with grilled boneless pork chops, garlic, loaded mashed potatoes, and sautéed vegetables. Great example of how bottle age can completely change the character of a wine...a very pleasant surprise!
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4/30/2017 - Slaz Likes this wine: 90 Points
Slow ox for two hours and decanting for 30 minutes seem to have worked better than the decanting I did over several hours with my previous two bottles. Restrained style with limited secondary and minimal tertiary notes, but I still enjoyed it. Drink up soon; this is unlikely to improve further, most likely it's past its peak already.
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12/25/2016 - kronfeld Likes this wine: 90 Points
Purchased last minute and drunk the next day w/o taking notes or paying much attention but enjoyed very much. Complex but w finesse. Pleasurable. Better than the community notes or JR review, I thought.
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8/28/2016 - Frank Schneider wrote: 91 Points
Bordeaux bought at the chateau in 2005 . Nice and easy drinking. Wasn t expensive with 20 € , but it isn t worth more !! Mature bordeaux . Not huge complex , not so long , but nice !!! Drink up
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8/19/2016 - fokker wrote: 88 Points
Friday night Hotpot ritual with poached Akabuta (Japanese RED pork), Chinese grass-fed beef (a lean yellowish-brown cattle with little marbling, slightly chewy in texture but a beefy taste; a far cry from tender mushy marbled fatty grain fed beef), veal liver and sliced French duck breast, in a Cantonese style broth made from coriander, shiitake mushroom, green onions, garlic, daikon and fermented eggs.
Nose of blackberries and some vanilla oak, some chocolatey sweetness but neither full reaching nor finishing as great Right right banks do, it was nevertheless satisfying to match the simple yet tasty meat morsels.
Drink up.
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8/5/2016 - Indybond Does not like this wine: 83 Points
PnP. A big disappointment. Muddy and way past peak.
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7/1/2016 - Slaz Likes this wine: 91 Points
Less impressive than the previous bottle from 2/2016. Still plenty of acidity. On the nose, wet forest notes. Even after 3 hours of decanting fruit remained restrained on the palate.
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2/11/2016 - Slaz Likes this wine: 92 Points
This offers much pleasure and still has plenty of life. I was surprised by noticeable tannins that are admittedly very well integrated but not entirely seamless. Drinks very well with a brief decanting. Notes of cedar and black fruit on the palate. A bit too much oak/wood.
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1/3/2016 - John Nezlek wrote: 93 Points
Simply perfect. This bottle is why I like Bordeaux and have about 1300 in the cave at this time. No edges, perfectly integrated "sweet tannins" as some would say (including me). I cold drink this for breakfast.
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9/18/2015 - paschan Likes this wine: 85 Points
Very enjoyable bottle of wine, excellent with roast wild duck.
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8/29/2015 - khmark7 wrote: 92 Points
Drunk from a 375 ml bottle. This is really singing tonight. Classic perfumed aromas that are rewarded by a wine that has aged effortlessly. Loads of cedar & leather. Expected this bottle to have faded but I am proved incorrect.
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8/20/2015 - khmark7 wrote: 89 Points
Consumed from a 750 ml. Now rather rustic, herbal (in a good way) and drying tannins without much fruit to express. A bit past peak and chewy. Would pair best with grilled pork. Enjoy the aromatics and the classic expression but I fear that 2001 is beginning to fade away from us.
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4/11/2015 - MC wrote:
From magnum. Decanted about 45 minutes, this showed well and was good with food. Nice, elegant wine that still has some good fruit to it and is just maybe a little short on the finish. Was fine but outdone by a couple of better (and more expensive) wines. Drink now. A-
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10/4/2014 - PDavisMarble wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for 1 1/2 hours. Deep crimson. Nose had chocolate, cherries, earth and a hint of cedar. Top notes were of blackberries, cherries, chocolate and a hint of raisin. The deeper earth tones of wet stone, toast, tobacco and mint came out in the finish, which was a little shorter than the wine seemed to promise. Drinking well.
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7/17/2014 - khmark7 wrote:
Very elegant but fading, from a 375 ml.
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3/16/2014 - rhh wrote:
Berry and raisin up front, smooth finish
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2/21/2014 - joishscellar wrote: 90 Points
Pruned leather on the nose but short on taste and finish..perhaps on its way down?
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12/31/2013 - khmark7 wrote: 85 Points
Drank from magnum. Very faded, and tasted as this was 20 years old. Elegant style of the vintage, but I am skeptical of the storage before I purchased this in 2010.
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7/2/2013 - khmark7 wrote: 88 Points
I still find sweet fruit and nicely integrated tannins mixed with well balanced herbal character. Drank from a 375ml.
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4/15/2013 - dbkitc wrote: 88 Points
Nice wine, but age has left some of the veneer missing. There is a distinct dirt/earthy element that has started to dominate the palate. Not bad, but I feel this may on a quick downward spiral as the sweet fruit that is so prevalent in this bottling when young is fading a bit too fast. (88)
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3/12/2013 - meatman wrote: 89 Points
Less fruit than I expected, but overall a nice dry balanced wine that went well with a steak.
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2/23/2013 - MC wrote:
From magnum. Not sure how long the decant was, but probably 30-60 minutes. Dark color did not show it's age, but the wine was soft and open. Good fruit, and easy to drink over a long dinner, this wine is fully mature with no hard edges. Not the complexity of a great Bordeaux, and short of the concentration I remember from the '99, but still pleasant for the price and a good dinner wine. Drink now. A-
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1/7/2013 - chitowncdpguy wrote:
Nice bottle, better on 2nd night than on first. Smooth. Plum and red berry fruits, a little tobacco, a little smoke, but some vegetal flavors come out on the finish that are a little unpleasant.
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12/25/2012 - Chrisinroch wrote:
From 375, served w beef roast. Tight, slightly hot nose, lovely tarry fruit. Little bit of cedar on the finish. Tannins are well integrated but there is still an edge.
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11/13/2012 - plitton wrote: 91 Points
This is still pretty young. Lots of primary fruit and nice structure. Drink next bottle in 2014-15.
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10/22/2012 - chapel hill wino wrote:
VGOOD, Lots of stuffings left for a few more years/ WAIT
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8/26/2012 - edjBoca wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for a couple of hours. This is still young and primary. The fruit and structure is reasonably balanced. It opens somewhat over a few more hours. This is young and will likely improve in 3-5 years. Wait.
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8/12/2012 - patrickrains wrote: 91 Points
Tastes a bit more new world (in a good way) than French St Emilion, but great wine never the less.
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7/3/2012 - Lordswood wrote: 90 Points
Juicy, fruity, some minerality; drinking really well now, but may loosen up a little over the next couple of years. Very clean. Reinforces that fact that 2001 has produced some really nice wines.
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6/19/2012 - AtoZ wrote: 91 Points
Better than prior. Big new world style wine. Faded to more earth as night went on. Would not give long decant but has lots of sediment.
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12/30/2011 - winolee wrote: 88 Points
Not bad but nothing exciting either. The age is starting to show - mature leather, some cigar notes. Fruit absent upon sipping, but tasted better after accompanying it with some parmigiano reggiano stravecchio. Lots of bottom sediment.
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11/24/2011 - plitton wrote: 94 Points
This was singing. Wonderful, soft, mature, earthy tannins. At $45, a great value.
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11/14/2011 - europat55 wrote:
JJ Buckley's 3rd Annual Monday Night Bordeaux @ La Folie (San Francisco): Generous nose with fair amount of leather. Well integrated tannins. B+
80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
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9/18/2011 - dexterng wrote: 90 Points
Very nice nose of leather. Open up a bit in 1 hour and after 90 mins, some noticeable sweetness of cherry along with some plum. Finished the bottle before 2 hour mark so not sure if it is really better after such time. Tannis are gone and now is ready to drink.
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9/7/2011 - Vinomarcus wrote: 91 Points
Really good, well built, lots of great fruit, well balanced. Refined. Notes of sage, shoe leather, pine cones, black cherry.
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9/4/2011 - edjBoca wrote: 92 Points
Early still but drinking well. Medium to full weight. Opened up after 3 hours. Very balanced. Tanins mostly integrated......should evolve for a decade.
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4/12/2011 - gfavarato wrote: 92 Points
Fruit comes out after 1 1/2 hour decant nice oak and lead pencil component become less evident with air. I don't think it will get any better.
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2/6/2011 - AtoZ wrote: 90 Points
Really oaky and pencil leady. Try again with a two hour decant. Finally blew off after rhdt much time.
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11/28/2010 - edjBoca wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for 3 hours. Layered cherry and currants with a smooth finish. Early maturity.
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10/9/2010 - MattMauldin wrote: 94 Points
Decanted 4 hours. A rich and dark color- almost a violet black. Dense but not inky. This threw off a fair amount of sediment while decanting. Lots going on in the bouquet- blackcurrant, black cherry, and blueberry fruit all stand out, and all with a little sweetness that reminded me of fruitcake. Earthier notes then began to emerge- a scent of forest floor along with tea and violets. It switches direction on the palate with cedar, espresso, and bitter chocolate notes that were highlighted with redcurrant fruit. This glides along the palate, gaining weight and density through the middle before closing with firm and dusty tannins. The finish highlights the earlier cedar notes with a little herb-tinged fruit. Nice and long too. Very nice.
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9/10/2010 - jorgerunfast wrote: 89 Points
A bit disjointed and off balance. Good wine, the tannin are a little harsh. The fruit wasn't as prevalent as it should be. I'd suggest holding a little longer in hopes that it would improve, but i'm not sure it will.
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9/6/2010 - wmccone54 wrote: 84 Points
Minty and herbal on the nose with hints of dark fruit. Medium body weight. Palate is slightly oxidized and may be beyond peak. Hints of chocolate on the finish. Very disappointing.
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4/7/2010 - trevor wrote: 93 Points
Really enjoyed this wine. Decanted for 30 min - drinking very well.
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3/21/2010 - Rieslingfan wrote: 89 Points
Spicy & generously fruity. This is Bordeaux in a California styleb that still retains some sense of structure and grace.
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1/1/2010 - khmark7 wrote: 92 Points
Wonderful nose with good structure and balanced finish. Classic Bordeaux....good stuff.
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11/2/2009 - rockguit wrote: flawed
Ultra-strong brett nose--undrinkable even after a three-hour decant. Two-days later, brett still imposing on the nose and palate. So...is this terroir or just an off bottle? :)
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9/3/2009 - mkelson wrote: 92 Points
Suprisiingly nice
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9/1/2009 - khmark7 wrote: 90 Points
Well balanced and good all around. Drinking very well right now. From 375 ml
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4/7/2009 - Kamikaze wrote: 94 Points
Excellent ! Decanted for 4 hours, opened up amazingly. This wine should peak in 2 years, will last for another decade for sure. Big nose, medium to full body, long finish, A LOT of elegance. MUCH better than 1 yr ago ! ready to drink if properly decanted. Lots of very dark sediment.
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3/1/2009 - chapel hill wino wrote: 92 Points
on opening a punch in the nose with cassis. After decanting 3 hours, this intensified and became more complex, with hints of dried cherries, tobacco, leather, and pencil coming out. The palate was similar, medium bodied, though the cassis was much less prevalent than the nose. Medium finish, integrated tannins but lacking punch. Perhaps this is in a sleepy phase.
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2/22/2009 - gsquireh wrote: 92 Points
Lovely nose of sweet coffee mingling with raspberries on this pure purple medium bodied excellent value for a classy St. Emilion.
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9/15/2008 - Alex H wrote: 74 Points
Vinum Annual Sale @ Caveau (Caveau): Nice red. I basically got a lot of wood on this. I though the palate was also overdone by the oak. However, it could be that my palate had been killed by the very sweet CDPs had before this.
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9/6/2008 - rockguit wrote: 91 Points
Yes--I also got a lot of cherry on the nose--but more like Ludens cherry cough drops (sweet, not mentholated). Odd, but very enjoyable. Also herbs and dirt and stones. I liked the nose a lot. On the palate, muted berries and prunes, more herbs--interesting. Very acidic on the back end--would have preferred a smoother finish. Nevertheless, a pleasant surprise.
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6/28/2008 - soyhead wrote: 88 Points
Dry. Very dry. Muted fruit. Strong tobacco flavors.
Afterthought- after reading my prior note, this appears to be the bottle I was going to retry in 5 years (!) - typical American style.
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5/4/2008 - Kamikaze wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 4 hours. BIG cherry nose. In the mouth is FULL bodied, long finish. Very different from the bottle I opened a few days ago. Was it the decanting time difference or my palate (tired after a long wine-drinking week ?). Could use a couple more years in the bottle.
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4/29/2008 - Kamikaze wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 6 hours. BIG cherry nose. In the mouth is medium bodied. Short finish. I was expecting more. Could use a couple more years in the bottle.
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4/4/2008 - soyhead wrote: 89 Points
The label and everything is totally in french which is a promising sign. The importer has a strange sticker pasted on the back. This happens to be bottle 31659. Comprised of 70% Merlot, 20% cabfrac, 5% cabsauv, 5% malbec (if I understand correctly).
nose - plum, tar, purple ink pen
mouth - sour plum and tartness. good acidity, more so than I had anticipated. no tough tannins so to speak. probably will go well with food. lacking the deep fruit punch I was guessing it would have. An interesting bottle. I will have to leave it open overnight and try it again for breakfast and see if it changes
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retried after 24 hours opened in the bottle, on the counter. Ironically seems almost more tannic than before. No new insights. Will try again tomorrow.
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Seems deeper in flavor after 48 hrs, and quite enjoyable, but overall the same and wont budge on the score. I have another bottle that I'll hold onto for another 5 years a try again
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3/14/2008 - meatman wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 1+ hours. Big smoky, oaky nose initially. After more time in the glass, it developed dark fruits, minerals and some herbs. Full-bodied wine with enough acidity to keep it from feeling jammy. Rich red and blue fruit and earth on the palate. Fairly tannic on the finish. Should get better as it settles down a little more. Decant longer next time.
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12/6/2007 - rsepulve wrote: 90 Points
Smokey dark fruit, raspberry, and dark chocolate. Disappoints a bit on the mid-palate but finishes with a long juicy finish. Food friendly.
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10/31/2007 - Rania wrote: 94 Points
Wonderful wine. Took to French restaurant in DC and everyone loved it. I cannot wait for the 2005 and 2006!!
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8/22/2007 - wineamateur wrote: 88 Points
Plum red in colour with a few signs of aging. Oak-shavings on the nose, dark stone fruits, stewed plums, leather, some attractive herbal notes (sage, rosemary, marjoram). Youthful in the mouth, mouthcoatingly rich, with some hefty but fine-grained tannins. Good finish. Showing very well now, but will certainly improve over the next few years. Very pleased with this new purchase!
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6/18/2006 - boxwine_in_hell wrote: 87 Points
This wine was somewhat of an enigma to me. It seems to have potential, but it just wouldn't show me a whole lot. Perhaps it is too young. It is wound very tight, but the balance appears to be there. Even after 2-3 hours of decanting the tannins are stubborn to let go of their grip. Everything is somewhat muted at this point by the wine's tightness. The wine is so dark and concentrated it appears purple in the glass. The nose is mostly wet stone, with a dash of mint and faint anise and cassis. The palate has a tangy cherry quality with a lot of mineral flavor and the tannins are still quite green. Nice finish in spite of the tannin and nice length on the finish, but those tannin leave an aftertaste like you licked some cedar chips, the oak is a bit overwhelming and stifling on the finish. In my opinion this wine needs a couple more years in the cellar and I think the fruit will finally come out and it should drink quite nice, but it is not ready. It seems to have great potential, but I do not score on potential. With a couple years of cellaring, it should be a 90+ pointer.
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5/16/2006 - Spencer wrote: 93 Points
This was incredibly tight and shut down the night that I opened it. It was clearly balanced, with no obvious flaws, but I simply couldn't get anything out of it. The next night, with coaxing, it started to reveal some of it's aromatics, but it took until the second night after opening to really show it's stuff. Lush, captivating nose, with great minerality. Great balance and complexity on the palate. Loads of dark fruit, gravel, and just the right amount of oak. The finish was long, but still rather clenched. I would give this a minimum of ten more years, but it will be a stunner.
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1/26/2006 - Wineosseur wrote: 91 Points
Popped and poured. Dark crimson purple. Nose of char and coffee stands out more than red and black fruit. On the palate, tannins are firm and the charred oak is a bit much. There is good fruit but it's overshadowed at this point. I hope this will come into better balance, but I wonder. I've had similar experience with 2 bottles of the '98: good, concentrated wines, but a bit too much dry, charred oak.
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5/8/2005 - Ben Andersen wrote:
2001 Bordeaux (Virginia): Part of a 2001 Bordeaux tasting. I would like to have tried this along side more wines from the right bank, but the group concentrated more on the left today... I got chocolate covered cherries from this one. Nice, but for me not as impressive as a number of the other wines today. Sorry for the short TN.
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1/1/2005 - winefool wrote: 89 Points
Really puckering acidity, but needs more fruit. 1/05
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12/26/2004 - Dteng wrote: 90 Points
Dark, plush and backward at this point. This was interesting to try. Tons of leather, coffee on the nose. Has enormous potential but not an entirely enjoyable drink right now. Perhaps going into hibernation.
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9/5/2004 - CSteefel wrote: 90 Points
Purple in color, almost opaque. On the nose, chocolate, oak, and a touch of tobacco (surprising for a Right Banker perhaps), but also that telltale aroma of wax or crayon which I associate with strongly extracted (perhaps cold maceration?) wines. In the mouth, clearly a well-made wine in the balance of acidity and tannins, but again perhaps slightly over-extracted for my taste. Might merit a higher score later, but hard to predict its evolution right now. 90-91 points.
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7/17/2004 - Eric wrote:
Garagiste tasting of 2001 Bordeaux (Seattle, WA, USA): Char, cassis, big and tannic. Monolithic, almost unforgiving. 88pts
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7/3/2004 - Dteng wrote: 93 Points
Splash decanted, then recanted (is that a word?) into bottle 5 hours before dinner. Color offers dark purple with bright edges. Nose displays aromas of currant, coffee, Pepsi cola and violets with medium length finish. Not sure why, but this reminded us of CdP with subtle pepper and herbs in the finish. Medium to full bodied in the mouth with silky tannins - no hard edges. In comparison it is mildly lighter than the 2000, but has the profile to match. Not too bad a pick up from Costco at $45. Glad I got three, well...now 2 left.
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