[Commanderie holiday gala] Wonderfully soft and sweet nose, lots of chocolate and melted black fruits, soft and silky nose with hints of herbs and spices to balance the rich fruit aromas; sweet and very ripe on first taste, although to me there is a slightly dilute quality to the flavors; still pretty good though and picks up some depth in the mid-mouth with earthen and spicy fruit flavors; there is a dried fruit character to the flavors, but not drying out; clean, earthen and peppery at the finish. (17)
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A big, deep nose opens this wine, layered with aromas of chocolate and earth, tar, black fruits and sweet Asian spices, quite deep and complex and at the same time powerful aromas push back on the senses right from the beginning; big and sweet in the mouth on entry with a rush of black fruits; earthen and tannic still, but with balanced flavors and appealing richness; in some ways this wine seems like a younger and less developed version of the ’82 noted below; there are still evolving flavors of dry red fruits in the form of crabapple and cranberry, but there is a lot of volume to this wine at the same time; long finish, sweet and citric with spicy notes at the end. (18+)
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[Commanderie Branaire tasting] This has always been a surprising wine for me, in that it is much better than the vintage might otherwise suggest; deeply scented, perfumed with elements of cassis and chocolate, but never far from the earthen tones that define these wines, herbs and pepper, quite complex; rich and full in the mouth; there is a powerful presence of ripe black fruits that shifts gradually toward the lighter and fresher red fruits; clean and fresh; nicely balanced with a nice finish. (17+)
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1988 Château Léoville Barton
10/11/2011 - JLG wrote:
[Commanderie holiday gala] Wonderfully soft and sweet nose, lots of chocolate and melted black fruits, soft and silky nose with hints of herbs and spices to balance the rich fruit aromas; sweet and very ripe on first taste, although to me there is a slightly dilute quality to the flavors; still pretty good though and picks up some depth in the mid-mouth with earthen and spicy fruit flavors; there is a dried fruit character to the flavors, but not drying out; clean, earthen and peppery at the finish. (17)
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1989 Château Léoville Barton
10/11/2011 - JLG wrote:
A big, deep nose opens this wine, layered with aromas of chocolate and earth, tar, black fruits and sweet Asian spices, quite deep and complex and at the same time powerful aromas push back on the senses right from the beginning; big and sweet in the mouth on entry with a rush of black fruits; earthen and tannic still, but with balanced flavors and appealing richness; in some ways this wine seems like a younger and less developed version of the ’82 noted below; there are still evolving flavors of dry red fruits in the form of crabapple and cranberry, but there is a lot of volume to this wine at the same time; long finish, sweet and citric with spicy notes at the end. (18+)
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2001 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru)
10/11/2011 - JLG wrote:
[Commanderie Branaire tasting] This has always been a surprising wine for me, in that it is much better than the vintage might otherwise suggest; deeply scented, perfumed with elements of cassis and chocolate, but never far from the earthen tones that define these wines, herbs and pepper, quite complex; rich and full in the mouth; there is a powerful presence of ripe black fruits that shifts gradually toward the lighter and fresher red fruits; clean and fresh; nicely balanced with a nice finish. (17+)
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