Château Cos Labory
St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2010
Mocha, tar, cedar, tobacco, even bread, black currant, black berry too. Very intense and concentrated nose. The palate is well balanced with a very strong acid drive, some cedary, minty notes, some bright red, dark fruit all along, a creamy touch on the sides, a bit coffee too there in mid palate before very lively tannins kick in. This is 10 years old and so young! Finish with a bit of coffee, a bright forest fruit and some meat juice with a kind or final thickness that stick to palate and tongue and dry it a bit. It has at least a decade ahead and a great structure. It's a bit bragging and showing off but the acid structure underneath makes it a good tasting experience. I like that! — 7 days ago
Château Croizet-Bages
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2010
Meat juice, pencil lead, black currant, menthol, cedar. The palate is well balanced but rather thinner than what I expected. Very strong acid backbone, bright black currant all along, very strong grip, dusty tannins that open a finale with black currant, coffee and meat juice. Some bitterness in the end makes for a very nice, rather complex finish. It lacks a bit of depth and width but it's well done and already enjoyable. Given the dusty texture of the tannins I wouldn't wait much longer to pop up and pour! — 5 days ago
Château Lestage
Listrac-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend 2009
Very nice nose which started to evolve into a nice integrated blend of primary and secondary aromas. Some tertiary discreetly appear too. Black currant and black pepper, some cedar and leather, a bit of wet forest soil and fresh mushrooms too. It might well be at its peak now. The palate shows, as always with Lestage a very strong acid backbone and a rather vertical, thin matter with a strong grip. Black currant notes and black pepper make way to fully integrated tannins. The finish is not intense nor very long but black currant and pepper finish up a good tasting experience with a pinch of bitterness. It will never be better than that and it's perfect this way, in a subtle, delicate manner not in the usual Parker standards of the early 00's. — 12 days ago
Château Gruaud Larose
Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2011
Cedar, tar, toast, black currant, this is very young and needs a lot of time to open. I opened it 2 hours and a half ago and it still needs to breathe. The palate is very fresh and lively. There is a very strong acid backbone that makes it easy to sip on, a good width with some thick matter on the sides, there is still some oak and a radiant, aristocratic black currant layer everywhere. The tannins are pointy and still very intense and prepare for a long finish with yet again this radiant black currant but also some meat juice and salt and a tiny bit of bitterness toward the end. This a grand cru in a rather overlooked vintage, this is still very young but it delivers what is should. I like it very much and will keep my other bottles on the side for at least 5 more years. — 20 days ago
Bodegas AGE
Siglo Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2014
Vanilla, blackberry, cherry, black currant, chocolate and a bit of leather too. The palate is good with a nice balance. A very strong acid backbone which makes it very easy to sip on. A bright black fruit all along, some grip on the sides and a milky thing on the sides. Some tannins that spice up everything before a very fresh finish with these black fruits. This is surprisingly easy and fresh. I like it — 6 days ago
Domaine A.-F. Gros (Anne & Francois Gros)
Maizières Vosne-Romanée Pinot Noir 2011
Rose, cherry, hay, a bit of toast, a bit of black pepper and some violet too. This is a nice burgundy nose! The palate is wonderful with a strong acid backbone, some bright cherry and other forest fruits, a nice velvetty touch on the sides, round tannins that kick off a very long finish with pepper and cherry. I LOVE IT!!! — 14 days ago
Château Malartic-Lagravière
Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2013
Very nice nose of black currant and cherry and a bit of caramel and brown sugar. The palate is a very good with strong acid and a bright fruit, a great width, a thick matter with a silky touch on the sides. Some tannins spice things up before a fruity finish. It's in a great place now! — 19 days ago
Daniel Maquin
A fully soaked cork starting to pop out was making me fear a corked / dead wine. But it's not! Cherry, iron, hay, earth on the nose. Typical burgundy pinot noir from a nice terroir. The palate is fresh and acid driven but shows some width and density with cherry notes and a subtle, almost silky touch on the sides. Some lovely tannins too spice things up before a very long finish with fruit and that fresh, acid consistent marker. Other bottles turnt out better recently and the cork issue might have accelerated the aging process but it's still very good and tasty! — 5 days ago