Chateau Patache d'Aux, Medoc

Dark color. Nose blackberry and ink. Palate leather and more blackberries. Toasty finish.

A nice afterparty Medoc made from CS based blend with Merlot, CF and PV. Aged for 14 months in stainless steel and oak, 33% new. Deep garnet colour. Intense aroma of farmyard, smoky plums, cassis, raw meat, toasted hints. Medium body, medium intensity funky flavours mirroring notes of aroma, integrated high acidity, medium+ fine tannins.

Deep garnet colour. Medium and developing nose with cassis, dark plum, eucalyptus, leather, potting soil, licorice, wet stone, wet leaves and fig. Medium taste of cassis, dark plum, leather chairs potting soil, tobacco, cedar and dried fruit. Medium long and dry finish. Medium acidity. Medium tannins. Medium body. A very good Medoc that has matured well. Part of a vertical, this being the vintage most ready to drink. Drink now or over the next five years. Goes well with beef …

D+0h: no deposit in the filter, but a tiny bit in the bottle, smells of blackberry D+3,5h: dark as ink, on the rim a little bit purple red, smells of blackberry and a little bit of smoke, medium body, smooth in the mouth, has a certain residual sugar, so not completely dry, in the mouth blackberry and leather, in the aftertaste blackberry, leather and acidity, good length (30 sec), tasty wine, but quite simple.

Delicious

I wasn't expecting much after my first 5 bottles. However, This bottle was enjoyable from start to finish. Good weight and balance. Cherry dominant with smooth tannins and just a hint of #2 pencil. A pleasant surprise.

rather nondescript

Better than my first two bottles. Not too much oak and not too tannic, but a little thin in the mid-palate.

Corked. The wet newspaper smell from TCA made it undrinkable. I used some in sautéed mushrooms and that was fine.

My first bottle was corked but gave a hint to some nice blackberry fruit. However this bottle didn't reveal much to get excited about, even after extensive time in the glass.

Forward, medium bodied, classic, but in good way, blending cassis, spice, earth, coffee bean and blackberries.

Cru Burgeois Bordeaux (Ripple - Washington, DC) : Interesting nose of violets and black tea on top of black cherries. Vibrant acid frames the wine, firm tannic backbone, but this has some vibrant red fruit in here. Anise, gravel, smashed rocks and black tea flavors. Minerals and freshness on the finish; a few years in the cellar for sure. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot aged a year in 1/3 new French oak.

From 375 ml. Medium carmine colored. Nose dominated by oaky/vanilla aromas. With some aeration, this begins to take on a bit more of a rocky and herbal character. The palate remains largely one-dimensional, with a melange of indistinct red fruit flavors. This hasn't got a ton of tannic support, so it should probably be consumed within 3 years or so. A decent sipper to accompany food, but you can do much better at the Cru Bourgeois level.