Pauillac

A big surprise on the upside drinking this wine.  It was much younger and better than I expected (and I had high expectations).  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is young with cassis, cedar, a bit of graphite and slight roasted herbs.  On the palate, what a lovely lush texture.  Still a lot of primary and secondary flavors.  Cassis, chocolate and then with air an underneath of dry forest floor.  Medium tannins.  Nice balance.  Long finish.  This bottle anyway, still needs around five to seven more years to peak, but again, at age 37, all bottles are different.  It would go great

Thrown into a tasting of First Growths from this vintage, that probably wasn't fair, but it held it's own even if not one of the top wines.  And, to top it off Inky purple in color.  The nose is very nice with liqueur-like notes of cassis and cherries along with some cedar and spice.  On the palate, this has a lot of cassis fruit with firm tannins.  It will need another five to ten year to maturity.  It is delicious as pop and pour right now.  Considering this is available for around $90 right now, it is hard to justify the prices of some of the other "better" wines.  

Probably, this may be the best wine from Bordeaux in this vintage, but it is going to take a long, long time.  In any event, this is a wine that needs a week to decant now or just wait.  94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc.  Purple in color to the rim.  The nose has cassis, licorice, tobacco and heavy roast coffee.  On the palate, this is very concentrated and takes some time to open in the glass.  Firm tannins.  Lots of cassis fruit but packed densely, it is hard to get more than that, but at the same time, the fruit goes on forever.  There is some obvious oak at this p

In a tasting of the top 2008's from Bordeaux, this was the WOTN (and mine) for drinking right now.  Of course, none of them are fully mature and need at least a decade.  This is a very special wine.   83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc.  Deep purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is classic with cassis, graphite, cedar, and cigar box.  On the palate, this is intense.  Lots of great cassis fruit intertwined with earthiness and cedar, it unwinds in layers in the glass.  The finish is very persistent and even seems to grow on the palate.  Great balance.  This is a w

This is 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Merlot.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is very strong with cassis, plums, graphite, and cedar.  On the palate, this is deep and tight.  Not giving up a lot of details but the total package is delicious and gorgeous.  Firm tannins.  Lots of cassis and "purple" fruits.  Great balance.  An underlying cigar box earthiness.  Long finish.  Like a lot of the 2008's, it seems just a hair behind the "great" vintages which makes this less expensive and more available and still a great vintage.  Cellar this for a decade or three, and it will certain

It's always fun to try older Bordeaux's.  This one still had something to offer if a bit past its prime.  Ruby in color, with slight browning at the rim.  The nose offered cherries, dried cherries, slight stewed fruits and a nice tobacco funk.  On the palate, this has a nice complexity with cherry fruit over forest floor.  Good acidity.  If you own any, drink up soon.  It went well with all kinds of food.  

Part of a 40th Birthday party celebration.  I am not sure if this was a great example of this wine, but the wine was sound if old and still with plenty of life left.  Pop and decant for sediment, it took about 30 minutes to blow off the bottle stink.  Purple in color, ruby/brown at the rim.  The nose has leather, some funk, cherries and dried cherries and dust.  On the palate, there is still some cherry fruit left.  Also some underlying earthiness.  A nice bit of acidity is keeping it lively without being over the top.  Fades at the finish.  It's always fun to drink older wines and this one

An issue with Bordeaux is how long do they need to be cellared before opening.  I saw a tasting note saying this was drinking great, so I opened a bottle.  Pop and pour.  Uh, no.  At least not for my tastes.  It was tight, closed up and tannic.  No harm though, the cork went back in and it was left for the next night.  Again, pop and pour on Night 2.  Much better although the last glass was certainly then best (by far).  If I was doing it again, I would wait a couple of years but if I really wanted it htat evening, a six hour decant seems about right.  As for the wine, it is inky purple in

Nice wine.  From an easy to drink vintage that may have been the last reasonably priced vintage across the board in Bordeaux.  Even the best ones should be drunk sooner than later and while this is in that category, at age 16, it offered up a very nice wine.  Purple/ruby in color.  The nose is clean with some cassis and slight herbal note.  On the palate, nice one dimensional cassis fruit.  A bit shallow but still fresh.  Not a lot of development here and no funk, tobacco, or other tertiary qualities but what is here is quality.  

This seems to be at peak at this point.  It won't get any better not discounting bottle variation.  Ruby in color, slight browning at the rim.  The nose has cassis, cherries, slight baking spice, slight dried craisins, On the palate, there is good acidity here.  Tart cherries, cassis with underlying dry forest floor notes.  Nice finish.  This will work nicely with meet based dishes.  Give it 30 miutes of air to blow off the bottle stink and it is good to go.