2012 WILIXL Cuvée No. 4

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 92 points

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  7/9/2019 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points

  "Cuvée No. 4": a 100% Carignan from Minervois-La Livinière. Aged for 12 months in neutral oak barrels. 13% alcohol.
  
  Moderately translucent dark red color with a slightly developed maroon hue towards the rim. The nose feels concentrated and slightly creamy with aromas of ripe blackcurrants, some red plums, a little bit of blueberry and light sunny note of jammy red berries. The wine is medium-bodied, savory and quite crunchy on the palate with intense, dry flavors of redcurrants, sanguine iron, some savory wood spice, a little bit of blueberry, light bitter notes of sour cherries, an angular hint of stony minerality and a touch of ripe blackcurrant. The with is noticeably structure-driven with its high acidity and firm, assertive tannins, yet still the mouthfeel is wonderfully silky and textural. The finish is ripe, juicy and noticeably grippy with long flavors of blueberries, some ripe blackcurrants, a little bit of stony minerality, light lactic notes of creaminess, a hint of crunchy redcurrants and a touch of savory wood spice.
  
  A very stern, serious and wonderfully crunchy Carignan made in a wonderfully transparent, fruit-driven style. It's weird how the wine retains a subtly lactic MLF note of creaminess even at the age of 7 years, but fortunately it's only a mild distraction and nothing too dominant. All in all, the wine is still very tightly-wound and while showing a little bit of development now, it feels like it is still miles away from its peak. I'd let it wait for many years more. Lovely stuff.

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