2013 Château des Erles Fitou

Community Tasting Notes (2) Avg Score: 88 points

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  2/4/2019 - forceberry wrote: 85 Points

  Aged in a combination of barriques and 600-liter demi-muids (1/3 new, 1/3 once used and 1/3 older). 13,5% alcohol.
  
  Dense, fully opaque blackish-red color with a hint of developed maroon hue. The bold nose feels dense and concentrated with dark-toned aromas of sweet, raisiny fruit, some mocha oak, a little bit of peppery spice, light gamey meaty tones and a hint of extracted savory wood. The wine is ripe, quite full-bodied and somewhat concentrated on the palate with slightly sweet-toned flavors of toasty oak spice, some raisiny dark fruit, a little bit of chocolatey mocha oak, light peppery notes, a hint of gamey meaty character and a touch of dried date. The wine feels very sunny and pretty soft-structured with its medium acidity and quite mellow, ripe tannins. The finish feels slightly higher in acidity with juicy, long flavors of strawberries, raisins, some dark-toned oak spice, a little bit of chocolatey mocha oak, light strawberry marmalade tones and a hint of fresh, stony minerality.
  
  A very ripe and quite powerful Fitou with a lot of emphasis on extracted, toasty oak. It feels like the wine could really use a lot more aging to integrate that oak better with the fruit, but the structure really doesn't promise that much aging potential and overall the wine is drinking really nicely now, if you don't mind the rather obfuscating oak. Probably at around 10 years of age the wine will be at its peak - the oak hopefully having integrated a bit better with the fruit, but the structure still retaining some of the firmness. All in all, a nice everyday red, but nothing thrilling by a long shot.

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  8/8/2017 - Double-A Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Peppery, savoury nose with blackberry, and pumpernickel toast. Med-full; flavourful and distinct; complex and well balanced finish.
  4/5

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