13% Blackcurrant and black plum fruit, some graphite, plenty of forest floor, damp smoke. Rustic, some savoury notes, and there is some raisining of the fruit flavours, but still enough primary to balance the tertiaries. Not quite fresh enough for 90 points. Won’t improve, but clearly not falling off a cliff. Bottle from case bought en primeur.
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12% Bright, pale lemon, fresh, with intense bitter lemon, lime, lemon pith, apple, white flowers, a touch of herbs, wet slate and lively acidity, this had a surprisingly creamy, smooth texture. With no evident oak, this was presumably lees ageing. Medium + body, medium alcohol, and a long slightly bitter almond finish. Young, fresh, but with complex aromatic, fruit, floral and creamy elements, all in balance, it is high quality, and has the acidity and weight to last a few years, but it’s fresh, aromatic style demands immediate drinking, and it’s delicious, so why wait?
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Last bottle of case bought when first released and cellared. Fresh red and black cherry, a touch of spice and some garrigue and dry brush herbs. Not particularly intense, or well defined, but a great value, easy drinking Rhone style wine. It may have lost some of the energy of its youth, but it was well balanced and actually improved over several hours.
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2005 Château Charmail
4/10/2024 - WhoNose Likes this wine: 89 Points
13% Blackcurrant and black plum fruit, some graphite, plenty of forest floor, damp smoke. Rustic, some savoury notes, and there is some raisining of the fruit flavours, but still enough primary to balance the tertiaries. Not quite fresh enough for 90 points. Won’t improve, but clearly not falling off a cliff. Bottle from case bought en primeur.
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2022 La Scolca Gavi di Gavi
3/4/2024 - WhoNose Likes this wine: 90 Points
12% Bright, pale lemon, fresh, with intense bitter lemon, lime, lemon pith, apple, white flowers, a touch of herbs, wet slate and lively acidity, this had a surprisingly creamy, smooth texture. With no evident oak, this was presumably lees ageing. Medium + body, medium alcohol, and a long slightly bitter almond finish. Young, fresh, but with complex aromatic, fruit, floral and creamy elements, all in balance, it is high quality, and has the acidity and weight to last a few years, but it’s fresh, aromatic style demands immediate drinking, and it’s delicious, so why wait?
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2013 M. Chapoutier Domaine de Bila-Haut Occultum Lapidem
1/7/2024 - WhoNose Likes this wine: 88 Points
Last bottle of case bought when first released and cellared. Fresh red and black cherry, a touch of spice and some garrigue and dry brush herbs. Not particularly intense, or well defined, but a great value, easy drinking Rhone style wine. It may have lost some of the energy of its youth, but it was well balanced and actually improved over several hours.
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