Once again, the cork is a complete mess with the worm stripping the core of the cork, but the Durland saved the day. Once beyond the cork, the wine was strained into a decanter. There the magic began. Red brick in color and primary notes of plum and cedar. After a bit, the wine takes on a more muscular plum hue. The nose is rich with plum, cassis and graphite. Cherry demi-glace develops and enriches the wine as is broadens across the palate. Saddle leather and licorice adds to the long finish. This is why we buy Bordeaux. A heavy dose of sediment rests on a quarter of the shoulder. 12.8% alc. With grilled duck breast. Highly Recommended.
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"not trying to be perfect and delicious; just woke up that way" is my half-hearted descriptor for these old-school "little" Bordeaux when they reach their wheelhouse.
bought second-hand/retail recently. cork was soft but intact and easily removed. failed to leave the bottle upright long enough (one day) and a bit of fine sediment remained dispersed throughout every pour.
very apparent mustiness mostly blows off if you give it time in the decanter. medium nose of unmistakable mature bdx. eggplant in color with bricking throughout and slight translucence at the rim.. very melded and soft in the mouth but structure remains. fruit is still present. not a ton of "secondaries" but it has clearly aged beautifully.
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This wine is exciting to smell, and taste: Authentic tannins, suitably high acidity, complex open nose of tar, sandalwood and florals. At nearly 24 years old, the palate is effortless and integrated; remaining fresh and engaging. Challenging in the best possible way.
On paper, this is a 2nd class Bordeaux, but I’d drink this every time over any hot mess of a modern Cru Classe. This is real wine.
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The cork on this was a complete mess. The worm stripped out the center. Then the cork just collapsed, twisted and finally disintegrated between collapsing and breaking under the Ah-so. What remained of the cork has to be pushed into the wine. Staining the wine into a decanter some smaller chunks of cork were caught but the last half inch of the cork just bobbed around in the bottle. Not a lot of sediment poured out with the detritus of the cork, but the wall of the bottle and neck were thick with sediment.
On the initial pour, the wine was brick red with notes of plum and cedar. A couple of hours later, the wine had darkened to a rich plum color. The bouquet was in full swing with plum, cassis and graphite. The cedar had given way to a rich and satisfying saddle leather. The finish is long.
12.8% alc. With Christmas dinner of Flannery beef tenderloin simply prepared served on a bed of country ham and cognac sauce on the side. Highly Recommended.
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Malgré un décantage de 2h, il faut un moment pour qu'il s'ouvre. Mais quand c'est le cas, vraiment intéressant. Bon match avec un rack d'agneau. Je pense qu'il a atteint depuis quelques année son pic, donc à boire!
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Three hours in decanter. Perfectly balanced with good backbone and freshness of acids for the earthiness and dark berries. Spices and leather complete this wine. Good length. Not only just as reliable as ever, this time really something extra!Excellent value for money.
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Found this bottle in our vacation house in Bretagne. What a surprise. What is that? About 20 years of age. Travelled from home back to France, stayed there for years in a rather lousy cellar, stayed another 2 years in a container during renovation and - an amazing trouvaille. No signs of age, perfect color, perfect cork, nice decent nose, full palette and a rather long and intense finish. Unbelievable what this wine did support.
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Slow oxygenation for about 4 hours. A deeper red than the Bourgueil with more magenta than maroon on the rim and a deeper ruby at its core. Blackberry, raspberry, cherry and graphite with some tobo leaf and cinnamon with no change or budge between the nose and palate. As the lengthened, the amount of the cinnamon seemed to increase on the finish. But this wine changed less than the Bourguiel did, with the Bourguiel coming closer to the profile of this wine over time (a good thing for the Bourguiel). 12.8% alc. With huge grilled (beef) ribeyes for special day. Recommended. See also druet vaumoreau 96 which was opened with this wine.
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Weekly tasting group RWP #237: Bordeaux blends worldwide (@ BS): The bouquet is still a bit locked with cherries, dark berries, leather, chocolate and tobacco. On the palate blackberries, chocolate, some herbs and spices and pepper. Firm acidity, a touch of sweetness, pleasant oak and a good length. 90 – 91 for tonight.
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Was afraid that we missed the ideal time but the bottle was perfect. Very deep floral notes, a good, well-balanced body. Glad we opened it because next year it might have not been the same pleasure. Served with a filet de canard from the BBQ (marinated with lemon and sage).
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Dark ruby red and quite viscous. Cherry, vanilla, wood and some earthy aromas. In the mouth it is fruity, but more woody. Actually, the wood is so dominating that I wonder what it would be without the oak. That said, the oak is remarkably well integrated and the wine is wellmade. The style is polished and modern, and quite different from the rustique wines I think of with Moulis and Listrac. Kept well in the glass.
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Ruby color. Very good nose with perfume and red fruits. The palate revealed ripe cherries, blue currants, vanilla, leather and toast. Very soft and sweet tannins. Found it a bit light bodied -- had good nose and good/elegant finish but the mid palate lacked the intensity and muscle. Overall very decent wine.
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Wonderful fruit of Cherry fromboise - vanilla- ripe tanins, soft and typical for this Terroir ! a lovely wine for a easy summer mid day drink - not any exhausting like some other 1998 er ...
lovely !!!°
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Nice nose with blueberry and currents; wine was well-balanced and ready to drink with soft tannins, a little tar or something slightly bitter, and some fruit. It was a little light on the fruit for my tastes. Overall very enjoyable.
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Silky wine, almost ready to drink but it will be much better in ther next 3-5 years. It was decanted and inmediatly served. A good match for traditional food (fishes and meat), including creamy cheeses.
Un vino que denotaba su procedencia de forma inmediata: un color perfecto y un aroma donde la amdera resultaba demasiado evidente: quizás unos años más en botella le sirviesen para domarse un poquito más pero, en mi opinión, hay que ser un poco conservador con esta añada. Se desenvuelve perfectamente con quesos cremosos y suaves y con toda clase de comida tradicional no muy especiada.
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Impressive density with powerful oak tannins. Ripe cassis with a roasted earth character. Slightly disjointed but still enjoyable. I'd leave for another 2 years.
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nice strong black liqourice in the nose, and well balanced classic Bordeaux structure. Currents and blackberry taste. Not the longest aftertaste, but a very good wine.
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Perfumed bouquet with black currants and a little glue. Juice of black fruits, mostly currants, liquorice and an enormous amount of bitter. Try again in 2008 or later. When it all softens nicely the score can be higher.
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10/7/2023 - timewithwine Likes this wine:
Once again, the cork is a complete mess with the worm stripping the core of the cork, but the Durland saved the day. Once beyond the cork, the wine was strained into a decanter. There the magic began. Red brick in color and primary notes of plum and cedar. After a bit, the wine takes on a more muscular plum hue. The nose is rich with plum, cassis and graphite. Cherry demi-glace develops and enriches the wine as is broadens across the palate. Saddle leather and licorice adds to the long finish. This is why we buy Bordeaux. A heavy dose of sediment rests on a quarter of the shoulder. 12.8% alc. With grilled duck breast. Highly Recommended.
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12/3/2022 - FiggySmalls Likes this wine:
"not trying to be perfect and delicious; just woke up that way" is my half-hearted descriptor for these old-school "little" Bordeaux when they reach their wheelhouse.
bought second-hand/retail recently. cork was soft but intact and easily removed. failed to leave the bottle upright long enough (one day) and a bit of fine sediment remained dispersed throughout every pour.
very apparent mustiness mostly blows off if you give it time in the decanter. medium nose of unmistakable mature bdx. eggplant in color with bricking throughout and slight translucence at the rim.. very melded and soft in the mouth but structure remains. fruit is still present. not a ton of "secondaries" but it has clearly aged beautifully.
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1/28/2022 - digitalis Likes this wine: 92 Points
Real Bordeaux
This wine is exciting to smell, and taste: Authentic tannins, suitably high acidity, complex open nose of tar, sandalwood and florals. At nearly 24 years old, the palate is effortless and integrated; remaining fresh and engaging. Challenging in the best possible way.
On paper, this is a 2nd class Bordeaux, but I’d drink this every time over any hot mess of a modern Cru Classe.
This is real wine.
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12/25/2021 - timewithwine Likes this wine:
The cork on this was a complete mess. The worm stripped out the center. Then the cork just collapsed, twisted and finally disintegrated between collapsing and breaking under the Ah-so. What remained of the cork has to be pushed into the wine. Staining the wine into a decanter some smaller chunks of cork were caught but the last half inch of the cork just bobbed around in the bottle. Not a lot of sediment poured out with the detritus of the cork, but the wall of the bottle and neck were thick with sediment.
On the initial pour, the wine was brick red with notes of plum and cedar. A couple of hours later, the wine had darkened to a rich plum color. The bouquet was in full swing with plum, cassis and graphite. The cedar had given way to a rich and satisfying saddle leather. The finish is long.
12.8% alc. With Christmas dinner of Flannery beef tenderloin simply prepared served on a bed of country ham and cognac sauce on the side. Highly Recommended.
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11/26/2020 - Hans Lukas wrote: 85 Points
Damaliger Subskriptionspreis 35 DM
Getrunken in 10/2014
schwärzlich, dünn, säuerlich, abweisend, enttäuschend.
Am zweiten Tag nicht besser.
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7/12/2020 - DontPanic Likes this wine: 89 Points
Malgré un décantage de 2h, il faut un moment pour qu'il s'ouvre. Mais quand c'est le cas, vraiment intéressant. Bon match avec un rack d'agneau. Je pense qu'il a atteint depuis quelques année son pic, donc à boire!
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5/24/2020 - maaike2 wrote: 92 Points
Three hours in decanter. Perfectly balanced with good backbone and freshness of acids for the earthiness and dark berries. Spices and leather complete this wine. Good length. Not only just as reliable as ever, this time really something extra!Excellent value for money.
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10/2/2019 - Snru Likes this wine: 94 Points
Found this bottle in our vacation house in Bretagne. What a surprise. What is that? About 20 years of age. Travelled from home back to France, stayed there for years in a rather lousy cellar, stayed another 2 years in a container during renovation and - an amazing trouvaille. No signs of age, perfect color, perfect cork, nice decent nose, full palette and a rather long and intense finish. Unbelievable what this wine did support.
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4/25/2019 - Comte Flaneur wrote: 84 Points
Austere and touch of green but developed an alluring truffly note. Modestly endowed.
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8/5/2018 - timewithwine wrote:
Slow oxygenation for about 4 hours. A deeper red than the Bourgueil with more magenta than maroon on the rim and a deeper ruby at its core. Blackberry, raspberry, cherry and graphite with some tobo leaf and cinnamon with no change or budge between the nose and palate. As the lengthened, the amount of the cinnamon seemed to increase on the finish. But this wine changed less than the Bourguiel did, with the Bourguiel coming closer to the profile of this wine over time (a good thing for the Bourguiel). 12.8% alc. With huge grilled (beef) ribeyes for special day. Recommended. See also druet vaumoreau 96 which was opened with this wine.
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11/28/2016 - Zweder wrote: 91 Points
Weekly tasting group RWP #237: Bordeaux blends worldwide (@ BS): The bouquet is still a bit locked with cherries, dark berries, leather, chocolate and tobacco. On the palate blackberries, chocolate, some herbs and spices and pepper. Firm acidity, a touch of sweetness, pleasant oak and a good length. 90 – 91 for tonight.
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7/14/2016 - LIE-user wrote: 90 Points
What a nice surprise! No signs of age (out of a rather cold cellar), very classic bordeaux style.
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2/20/2016 - Mameitagin wrote: 83 Points
Still alive! Und das nicht mal so schlecht.
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6/28/2015 - LWI wrote: 86 Points
Mellow, but quite a bit tired.
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6/14/2015 - Biddy wrote: 96 Points
Was afraid that we missed the ideal time but the bottle was perfect. Very deep floral notes, a good, well-balanced body. Glad we opened it because next year it might have not been the same pleasure. Served with a filet de canard from the BBQ (marinated with lemon and sage).
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9/18/2014 - Mameitagin wrote: 83 Points
Durchaus noch trinkbar. Weine mit Altersbeschwerden sind aber einfach nicht mein Ding!
Nachtrag: Der Wein ist erstaunlich lebendig!
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9/11/2014 - Mascalese Likes this wine: 89 Points
Solid classic bordeaux in great form. with moose tartar
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1/10/2014 - AudunG wrote: 87 Points
Dark ruby red and quite viscous. Cherry, vanilla, wood and some earthy aromas. In the mouth it is fruity, but more woody. Actually, the wood is so dominating that I wonder what it would be without the oak. That said, the oak is remarkably well integrated and the wine is wellmade. The style is polished and modern, and quite different from the rustique wines I think of with Moulis and Listrac. Kept well in the glass.
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10/1/2013 - igaf wrote: flawed
Mildly corked, though looked quite nice in the beginning. Pity.
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8/8/2013 - laetulos Likes this wine: 90 Points
A solid wine, drinking well right now, improved with a few hours of air.
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12/15/2012 - CotedeProvince Likes this wine: 88 Points
Classic smooth Bordeaux lacking subtlety but enjoyable after 10 years in my cellar. Probably past its peak.
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12/11/2012 - Dr_Bob wrote:
!!!!! Get more!
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8/19/2012 - RKwok wrote: 88 Points
Ruby color. Very good nose with perfume and red fruits. The palate revealed ripe cherries, blue currants, vanilla, leather and toast. Very soft and sweet tannins. Found it a bit light bodied -- had good nose and good/elegant finish but the mid palate lacked the intensity and muscle. Overall very decent wine.
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5/29/2012 - GlöckliWein wrote: 92 Points
Wonderful fruit of Cherry fromboise - vanilla- ripe tanins, soft and typical for this Terroir !
a lovely wine for a easy summer mid day drink - not any exhausting like some other 1998 er ...
lovely !!!°
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1/13/2011 - meinweinkeller wrote: 91 Points
Wow, ripe, classic with modern touch, wood, coffee, dark chocolate, cremy and good harmonie
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11/28/2010 - Outplaying wrote:
Dinner at Catherines - French Theme (Unionville, PA): Nice mature bordeaux with some pencil shavings, cigar box, a touch of bell pepper. Went will with Filet. Enjoyable.
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4/24/2010 - timewithwine wrote:
modified note to pvt.
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12/15/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:
Decent structure, nice fruit forward nose and palate, showing currants and red fruits.
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12/12/2009 - Kathamo wrote: 89 Points
Nice nose with blueberry and currents; wine was well-balanced and ready to drink with soft tannins, a little tar or something slightly bitter, and some fruit. It was a little light on the fruit for my tastes. Overall very enjoyable.
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9/3/2008 - Henman wrote: 85 Points
The nose a little restrained with some fruitiness.On the palate fruit had almost faded,with some licuoriqe and tannins left.Not really impressing.
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8/20/2008 - Serralunga wrote: 91 Points
Excellent wine, silky, fresh fruit still, elegant, basil...
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8/8/2008 - gellie wrote: 90 Points
which i had another case
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4/19/2008 - Serralunga wrote: 90 Points
excellent wine....especially price vs quality....
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1/6/2008 - Harley1199 wrote:
Silky wine, almost ready to drink but it will be much better in ther next 3-5 years. It was decanted and inmediatly served. A good match for traditional food (fishes and meat), including creamy cheeses.
Un vino que denotaba su procedencia de forma inmediata: un color perfecto y un aroma donde la amdera resultaba demasiado evidente: quizás unos años más en botella le sirviesen para domarse un poquito más pero, en mi opinión, hay que ser un poco conservador con esta añada. Se desenvuelve perfectamente con quesos cremosos y suaves y con toda clase de comida tradicional no muy especiada.
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12/16/2007 - gellie wrote: 89 Points
Just ok, getting a bit lost
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9/16/2007 - Art_Vandelay wrote: 89 Points
Impressive density with powerful oak tannins. Ripe cassis with a roasted earth character. Slightly disjointed but still enjoyable. I'd leave for another 2 years.
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5/29/2007 - Morten Kiernan wrote: 90 Points
nice strong black liqourice in the nose, and well balanced classic Bordeaux structure. Currents and blackberry taste. Not the longest aftertaste, but a very good wine.
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7/2/2006 - gellie wrote: 88 Points
still a bit closed
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12/30/2004 - Zweder wrote: 88 Points
Perfumed bouquet with black currants and a little glue. Juice of black fruits, mostly currants, liquorice and an enormous amount of bitter. Try again in 2008 or later. When it all softens nicely the score can be higher.
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