2018 Domaine du Bel Air (Pierre et Rodolphe Gauthier) Bourgueil Clos Nouveau

Community Tasting Notes (5) Avg Score: 93.3 points

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  4/1/2024 - Klugi Wine Likes this wine: 96 Points

  Wow, really amazing CabFranc from Bourgueil.
  The bouquet convinces with sour cherries, but also some darker fruit, dark chocolate, slight blood orange zest and smoky characteristics.
  Extremely intense incorporating freshness and richness.
  Really young but enjoyable right now, I would give this beautiful wine 1-2 decades of development.

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  5/8/2023 - grafstrb wrote:

  -- decanted approx. 75 min. before initial taste --
  -- tasted non-blind over 1.5 hrs on Day 1; revisited on Day 2 --
  
  NOSE: rich, dark red fruits; creosote; tight/brooding; cocoa powder.
  
  BODY: black-violet color of great depth; medium-full to full bodied.
  
  TASTE: ripe; oaky; plush feeling; medium-low acidity; no funk; no pyrazine; needs time; unclear what's laying beneath all this gloss --- yes, it's big and glossy. Although this is big/soft/ripe, it doesn't come across as alcoholic (labelled at 13.5%); raspberry jam in the background. Drinkable now, in a *big wine* kind of way, but best to Hold for at least a couple years. Day 2: still big, but leaning-out , or going more classical, *a little bit*; Blind, I may very well call this a Cab. Franc-heavy R Bank Bdx.. I don't regret having a few of these in the cellar, but I'm not adding any more, either.

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  4/30/2023 - cct wrote: 90 Points

  Pop and pour , drunk over several nights
  
  At first a pretty wood driven nose to the point of distraction. Drinking glass over around a half hour that night, it's redder fruited than the Grand Mont and pretty polished, modern feeling.
  
  Day two after being recorked and cellared overnight. More varietal character, redder fruited than the Grand Mont, with stone fruit, bitter chocolate, and some leafy savory notes. It's large scaled structured but with a bit more savory and interesting. Still way too young and I suspect this will integrate more.Leafy notes and some pepper come out at the back end. Not for Loire purists, but I think it may end up being really good in a decade plus. I do not love this vintage. Let's see what happens tomorrow.
  
  Day 3,It's still large scaled and young with bitter chocolate stone fruit but there is more red fruit, florals, and leafiness, but the wood is still relatively prominent. Excellent structure and overall textural balance but still not my favorite vintage of this bottling.

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  11/13/2022 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine:

  Impressions from "Perspektive Wein" fair (Wagenhallen, Stuttgart): Glass: Universal
  *** brief notes for my own memory from tasting sip. No rating ***
  Very salty, mineral, wonderful grip. Deep and dense, fine cassis, long. Great potential 93++

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  8/20/2022 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Bought a bottle of the 2017 and 2018 out of curiosity given the raving Vinous review. Was a bit worried this might be overripe and heavy given the hot vintage but that’s not the case.
  Poured into decanter and drank over 90 min. Dark garnet. Plenty of oak on the nose, blows off a bit with more air. A sweet attack and then excellent concentration on the slightly tight mid palate, which is dry and medium bodied. alcohol at 13.5% still well in check. Very good length.
  Really promising Cab Franc that needs at least 5 years to relax a bit and integrate the oak.

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