Score: 89/100
This wine is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, and 13% Cabernet Franc.
The different grapes and batches were harvested late September and early October, after difficult 2011 vintage conditions, a warm spring but rainy summer.
Aging took place in French oak barrels for 16 months.
Tasting Notes:
The wine is of quite a dark red with black hues in the center, and purplish red on the rim.
The nose is dominated by toasted notes of cocoa, dark chocolate, and coffee. So it feels oaky with the vanilla and clove complementing the picture.
The fruit is quite shy on the nose. There’s jammy notes of blackberry and strawberry jam and perceptible alcohol that makes the whole feel rather fruity. But fresh fruit characters are missing a little. A slight vegetal tone.
On the palate, the wine is of medium body, with a nice jammy texture surrounded by granulous tannins that finish on a dry feel. The flavors are spicy (clove, nutmeg, a touch of black pepper) and oaky (vanilla, toasted hazelnut, caramel).
Overall
A good Bordeaux wine showing plenty of concentration, tannic texture and flavors. It feels it is made in a modern style with ripe fruit and plenty of quality oak.
Small Tip –> Aerate
Open in advance and let it breathe or decant prior to tasting. The wine opens up greatly after some aeration and reveals further fruit and spices complexity as oak and vegetal characters are tempered down by some oxygen.
Please let me know your thoughts