Christophe likes this vintage. The aromas are ripe though not obviously 2003, that said the aromas are dense and less focused than the wines that went before, though still red-fruited. Plenty of grainy tannin, though they it’s not particularly astringent. An interesting and quite pronounced licorice flavour as you head into the mid-palate. This has quite a decent balance overall.
A few hints of oxidation on the nose, but it’s largely fresh and interesting. In your mouth this wine is all over the place and despite evident complexity and some additional dimension – not just oxidation! – in the mid-palate it’s frankly a mess. Poorly judged acidification or just an impossible vintage? I don’t know but it seemed to have plenty of acidity.
Deep colour. The nose is an impressively wide and sweet affair tempered by a faintly spicy and understated vanilla, slowly it releases flashes of red and black fruits. In the mouth it’s less sweet than the nose suggests, even just a little tart. The tannin is well textured but perhaps in the finish is just a little bitter. Understated acidity still leaves your mouth watering and there’s reasonable length too. This wine seems to have a miss-match of parts, but might be worth a bottle or two in the cellar.
At first glance and sniff, this looks and smells like a 2003 – blind tasting to that level of accuracy need hold no fears! Medium-plus cherry-red with not a hint of lightening or ruby colour. The nose starts very ripe with plenty of powdery red fruit, but time opens quite a distinct coffee note and eventually a very well defined and intense red cherry/cranberry impression. In the mouth this is concentrated, soft, intense with a good burst of fruit on the mid-palate – it’s a very ‘worthy’ 1er Cru – the finish is quite long and the only part that hints of some oak. The tannins are very well covered. This is a great success for the vintage, and even if you are just a little agnostic about the character of 2003, I think you will find plenty of fun here – and that’s not to say there is no longer-term serious side to this well-priced wine.
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