Saint Emilion

Tasted from two bottle, one seemed off due to heat/poor storage while the other was fine.  The off bottle had raisin notes, brown sugar and balsamic.  The better bottle was purple with ruby swirls, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is peppery with black cherries and char.  Tannic.  On the palate, the black cherries and char come thru.  This is tight and needs some air right now.  A bit of warmth on the finish.  Drink over the next ten years.  This will work better with food although it can be drunk on its own. 

This is drinking great right now.  Mature, but absolutely no hurry.  Decanted for sediment and served.  Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  No browning.  The nose is classic with cherries, cassis, tobacco, leather, slight funk and cigar box.  Full bodied.  Light but present tannins.  On the palate, lots of cherries, black cherries and cassis with earthiness and spice underneath.  Layers of complexity.  Great balance.  Long finish.  Contemplative.  Great on its own, this would work great with slow braised beef.  Based on this bottle, at least a decade left.  

 This is the second wine of Château Tour Baladoz.  It is produced made from the youngest vines and consists of 90% Merlot.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, slight milk chocolate and spice.  Full bodied.  On the palate, there are light tannins.  The cherries and chocolate come thru with slight earthiness.  Nice finish.  Not profound but tasty and easy drinking.  Drink over the next five to ten years.  This drinks well on its own and would be a nice match with stuffed peppers.  

This is the second wine from Cheval Blanc, but that doesn't mean it is not a quality wine nor is it inexpensive.  It is one of the better second labels out there.  Purple in color with ruby swirls.  The nose has cherries, tobacco, black cherries, slight mint and cedar.  On the palate, this is drinking well.  There are slight tannins.  A nice complexity with cherries and black cherries over tobacco/earth.  Nice finish.  This won't get better but should be in this window for another seven to ten years.  It works better with food but drinks nicely on its own.  It would pair well with lamb.  

This was tasted non-blind at the conclusion of tasting a group of 16/17 Bordeaux blind.  A great place to try this wine as it showed well in that spot.  This is a big wine that is drinking quite well at the moment, perhaps due to the large amount of Merlot.  It is a blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

This is the second wine of La Gaffelière.  It is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc.  Dark purple in color.  The nose has nice plums, black cherries and spice.  On the palate, this has nice plums, some cherries with an earthiness underneath.  This is drinking well now.  It won't get better but should make excellent drinking for the next ten to twelve years. It should go well with roasted fowl or lighter dishes as well as on its own.  

Pleased to see the heavy use of oak is much less than it used to be.  There is still some present but not as much as I remember.  This is a blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is dusty with plums.  Also some cherries and a bit of char.  On the palate, this is easy drinking.  Black cherry fruit with some cherries.  A note of black olives/oak underneath.  Medium bodied.  Nice finish.  This needs a few years to sort itself out and should drink well for ten more.  It drinks well on its own but would go better with roas

Another wine that has been consistently over performing expectations for a while now.  In a group blind tasting, this finished first, and although I did not have it that high, it is a great wine that will age well.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, mint and slight bell pepper (just a hint).  Medium bodied with medium weight tannins.  This has ripe/sweet fruit on the palate.  Cherries and black cherries.  A more moderate finish.  This continued to improve in the glass all evening.  It is drinking well on its own but would be better with some

This is a blend of 85% Merlot.

A blend of  70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has black cherries with slight dill.  On the palate, this has a pretty, soft texture.  Black cherries with slight black olives.  A slight complexity.  Light tannins.  This is open and drinking well.  Very up front fruit.  Moderate finish.  This seems to be about as good a it will get.  It should be at this level for five to ten more years.  It will go well with roasted fowl and drinks easy on its own.