What a fantastic wine. Deep golden in color. Very pretty. On the nose, there is honey, sea air, and apricots. On the palate, this is very complex. Apple, honey, some citrus (almost a burnt sugar-ish citrus if that makes sense). With air, some creme brulee emerges. Long finish. This is sweet but not as sweet as I expected and no where near cloying. Good acidity. The wine has decades left.
Purple in color. The nose is dusty and warm. With air, it opens to show cassis and some tobacco. On the palate, this is medium bodied. Black cherry fruit. Light tannins. Juicy acidity. At $80, this will hopefully be better with some cellaring. Not a lot of value at the moment, but it is a very pleasurable wine that is good with food.
Purple in color. The nose is very nice with cassis, tobacco and spice. On the palate, this has a nice texture. A lot of depth but the wine is very tight now. It kept improving all night long and probably needs at least a decade. But, that patience will be rewarded with at least a few points of upside potential. In the glass it shows nice cassis fruit, cigar box and earth. Good balance. $75
At this point in my life (almost 60), this is what I am really looking for in great Bordeaux vintages. That is to say, wines that are affordable, drink with out requiring a decade or more of cellaring and provide pleasure. This one is $23 and is drinking quite well today. However, unlike most of the wines on the table this night, this started strong, held out for a while and faded. Based on that, it would seem prudent to drink these up in the next few years. And that's OK. Purple/ruby in color. The nose has leather, black cherries and slight cassis. Also a bit of tobacco and oak spi
This winery as been on a roll, certainly over the last twenty years, but especially, the last 10. This is the best 2015 I have tasted so far. Purple in color. The nose has great cassis, some char, tobacco and cedar. On the palate, this has soft black cherries while still having firm tannins. Cassis, earth and tobacco. Some spice. It is big and bold, yet accessible in the glass. Improved all night long. Certainly a few points of upside if cellared for a decade or two. $130 is expensive but for this quality, probably fair.
Purple in color. The nose is very tight at first. Eventually, it opens with a perfumed nose of cassis, slight menthol and cigar notes. On the palate, this is very tannic. Boysenberries with some earthiness. Nice finish. This kept improving all night. It is an expensive wine at $130. There is no reason to open this for at least a decade to justify the price. The potential is there but it will take time.
This has been one of the best values in Bordeaux and continues to be. Great showing for the money. Purple in color. The nose is tight at first but then opens to cherries and dark cherries. It starts out bitter and tannic, but with some air, the cherry and dark cherry fruit explode. Nice depth. Some oak but integrated. Good finish. Right now it could use a decant. It will continue to improve for a decade or more. $30.
Purple/Ruby in color. The nose is dusty with dark cherries, cedar and slight dill. On the palate, there is black cherries and tobacco. Firm tannins. Juicy acidity. This is the second wine of Pape Clement and cost $35. It did keep improving as it opened with air. Probably needs some cellaring for a while to hit peak. It is good now but should improve.
Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose is dusty with tart cherries. Seemed quite tight. On the palate, cassis fruit. Medium bodied. A fair amount of oak. OK finish. I am hoping this is just shut down at this point as it did not seem to give up too much. At $50, this is not inexpensive. It is good, but under expectations. At this point, it should be cellared for a decade and then checked in on.
Gold/silver/copper in color. The nose has lemon and minerals with a bit of a metallic quality to it. On the palate, this has good acidity. Full bodied. Green apples especially on the finish. Slightly oily texture. This is a very nice, relatively inexpensive white Bordeaux that is drinking fine right now. I doubt it makes old bones, but that is fine. Food friendly as well.
