2013 Domaine des Tours Vaucluse

Community Tasting Notes (33) Avg Score: 91.1 points

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  11/1/2023 - benjamin96 Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Un stunner, C'est parfumé sans bon sens, Fruite vif, Succulent.

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  8/3/2023 - Putnam Weekley Likes this wine: 94 Points

  12/12. ten year rule, last bottle from a case mostly drunk in 2018-19. (<$30/b.) I made every effort to decant it clear, though ~5 oz. remained in the bottle—and they shall not be wasted!*
  
  NOSE: perfumed. Roses. Charred ginger. Cinnamon verum. Deep and involved. Iron. Tumbled gravel. I can't say I'm stunned, or even 'taken aback,' but it IS a gorgeous object. MOUTH: leads in sweet and juicy, entraining musk and tar. A complicated, active dialog takes place as it crests, between scorpion acidity and bitter, subterranean tannins. This structural contest carries on with apparent disregard for more tender botanical virtues: sinewy floral saps, mulled sage, raspberries. The abundance of the latter keeps the argument effective, or rather, irresistible. I do wonder about the slow curve of diminishing returns. I have little doubt this wine would survive another 10 years in a proper cellar, but I'm satisfied that this represents its utmost accomplishment.
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  *what's up with that? Consistent with other bottles, there is a solid material stratum that appears like discontinuous turbidity. The slightest agitation raises it into suspension. 1) I'm not afraid to drink it, but for purposes of documentation I wanted to keep it separate. 2) I interpret this as a marker of perhaps dogmatically minimal handling in the way of racking and filtering. 3) Whereas hard, crusted sediment in old Rhônes have demonstrated an effect of occluding flavor, often dramatically, I don't suspect this sort of buoyant, presumably leesy substance will act in the same way.
  
  TIME: bottle residuum tasted just like the clear decant. If I were forced to serve this, I would dismiss objections to inclusive sediment

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  4/23/2022 - JerM wrote: 93 Points

  Beautiful aromatic florals on the nose - rose petal, sandalwood as patchouli incense, forest berries. Silky structure, pronounced tea-leaf and balanced. Elegant, translucent, inviting, lifted. Some development, probably doesn’t need more time. Yums!

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  10/15/2021 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:

  Back to the auctions (Bar Bould Sud): Man I love these wines. Baby Rayas. Of course not as complex as the main event, but there's a lovely elegance and tea leaves and fruit and I just very much enjoy these. Unfortunate they've jumped so much.

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  4/13/2020 - Eudemis Likes this wine:

  13.5% alcohol. G, S, Counoise, Cinsault, Merlot and more, this seems to be a real fruit salad ! Good dense cork of average length with no wine penetration. I decided to experiment and open this bottle 24h ahead, as advocated by some devotees of the producer. Very light colour, barely deeper than a sustained rosé, with some fading at the edge of the rim.
  The nose is probably less intense than I remember (from previous vintages), but it shows the usual characteristics of infused dried rose petals and macerated red berries.
  The mouth is better with a lively feel; grenadine in addition to the pot-pourri. No strawberry fortunately. This has some of the characteristics of a ruby Port (and I don't imply any oxidation). I wonder if the alcohol is not a good deal more than advertised; it seems to protrude a bit in the final.
  Probably more disjointed and less harmonious than on previous encounters, but I don't know how to apportion the responsibility between the vintage, the bottle preparation and an element of fatigue with the style now that the novelty is wearing off.
  Certainly distinctive, and I would not be without it, but a little goes a long way.

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