ON THE NOSE:
Excellent cream aspect rising from this wine, almost like authentic vanilla ice-cream poured into a cedar box surrounded by wild Maine blueberries, sweetened sour-cherries (if that makes any sense), and a little bit of smoky bacon; hmmm, OK, maybe quite a bit of that bacon aroma surrounding the outside of the glass as you inhale. There is also a blend of herbs here, perhaps thyme, oregano, and coriander (?). This is a very nice nose; a veritable French nose. There is something here that reminds one of the ambient odor of a dentist’s office. There’s more here too, which means that this is a complex wine, and THAT, my friends, always makes us smile and happy once again to be drinking something good. DAMN I like smelling this wine. I can always tell it’s going to be a good wine if the bouquet this wonderful from the get-go, and this Saint-Emilion sure smells great.
ON THE PALATE:
This Saint-Emilion offers an excellent attack of sour cherry, very acidic on the front of the palate. This acidity, however, is not like an Italian Chianti, up in the roof of the mouth in the mid-palate, no, this affects the tip of the palate then rounds out sweetly and smoothly around the tongue. Extremely pleasant dusty, fine tannins then spread across the tongue and mid-palate and a balanced combination of tannin chalkiness and subtle, yet present, acidity explode to the top and sides of the mouth. It’s funny because this wine is both dry and not; the tannins are fine and dense and get into your gums and dry out your cheeks, but the mouth – actually the tongue – waters at the fruit and intriguing complexities offered on the tastebuds. It’s fun. Bring some air into your mouth as you enjoy a swallow and then experience the burst and the different things that happen in your mouth, with the dryness around the circumference and the mouth-watering goodness left on the tongue. Good stuff.
The finish is smoky and bacony, as announced by the nose, with a definite mineral essence to round out the slightly sweet, sour fruit. The finish lingers for a time, somewhat more in the feeling than in the taste, however. There is something about this wine that threatens to bite you, but backs away quickly, and mellows in its execution to almost say this is a well polished wine, yet I wouldn’t quite go that far. There is a bitterness that feels out of balance just at the point where mid-palate turns to the finish, but, you know what? I can’t really complain about that, so I won’t. This is a really good bottle of French wine for $20. In California a wine this well made would cost at least twice this, so that alone makes this a very good value. As a final testament to what we think of this wine I will tell you that I have already placed two bottles of it in my basket at winelibrary.com for my next case! If you knew how little extra money I have to spend on wine you would realize just what a compliment this is. Thanks for reading. Eat hearty and drink only the good stuff (bring the bad stuff to parties).
(Click here for an explanation of our ratings ...)
Our Rating: 91
Would we drink it again? 
You betcha!
Would we buy it again?
Already have! We wish we could afford it by the case, but a few bottles in the "cellar" is a comfortable feeling.
