Domaine Les Grands Bois, Cotes du Rhone Villages, Cairanne Maximilien

Still dark, mostly opaque. Garrigue nose. I might almost think it's from spain with the power and boozy quality, like a big garnacha. It's still a beauty after all these years. So much fruit and power and the structure is holding it up very well.

2007 vintage

Still a joy to drink. Has age but doesn't taste old. Full of great granache fruit and garrigue character. A bit of a hard edge in there, but overall this is really wonderful

2007 vintage

Oaky and without character. Liquid mush. (or mushy liquid?). I tried this wine in 2018 and didn't like it then either.

2007 vintage

Still showing nicely. Not hot or baked, just good strong fruit. Ready to drink now. Went really well with grilled lamb chops.

2007 vintage

Creamy root beer, menthol, and over-ripe blue plums immediately evident upon opening. More blue fruit in the mouth. Masculine and chewy. Just enough acid left to balance the density and keep things on the fresher side. Enjoyable with cheeseburgers and spicy fries. Drink up.

2007 vintage

Interesting experience. On the first night I started to get a stewed fruit sort of thing, it wasn't pleasant after a while. On the second night it came around as a really nice mellow rhone wine with garrigue, and licorice. It was very pleasurable on the second night. I have no idea what this all means.

2007 vintage

This tasting compounds on my last note, this wine is now falling off the edge with the fruit, structure, and alcohol all out of balance. Prunes, vegetal tannins, and bourbon are rearing their ugly heads. There is a possibility my palate has not changed as much as I think and this wine was much sexier in youth. Probably a combination of both factors. Certainly gives credence to the theory that these type of wines should be drank young. I clearly …

2007 vintage

Very hedonistic fruit bomb of a CDR. I had bought a number of these years back hoping they would evolve more complexity but it seems they never will. Still, some kirschy powerful grenache goodness here, but I would suggest to drink up soon ...

2007 vintage

Still a gorgeous slutty wine. Gobs of fruit but structure is holding up very well. No rush to drink the rest, it's still quite primary.

2007 vintage

Looking back on my notes I marvel at how much my palate has changed. This is so huge and ripe, exuberant fruit yes, but such a loose blockbuster. I'm looking for the garrigue, the tension, the complexity, but this is all brackish kirsch. There is still some structure so I will continue to enjoy this as a novelty and hope for some positive movement. Would probably be a disaster if this domaine were in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

2007 vintage

Ready to go now. Still a bit of a bear but no hard edges.

2007 vintage

Man it is almost impossible to believe that I drank my first bottle of this almost 5 years ago! This is in a pretty nice spot right now. The fruit is toned down a bit and there are more savory elements which are right up my alley. The leather is still there but now with some tobacco. The blue and black berry fruit is still there and and not feeling tired at all. Nice burst on the mid palate and …

2007 vintage

Super powerful black ripe fruit, licorice, characoal... very black fruit, loads of integrated tannins, very cold and pure wine, a bit too heavy and too dry at this point...

2007 vintage

Black pepper and black fruits on the nose. Medium bodied with a very black fruit profile of flavors. Nice minerality, still a bit of bitter tannins on the medium long finish. Balanced acidity, one could get very creative with pairing food with this wine.

2009 vintage

Venturi & decanter made a world of difference. Typical of the great 2007 vintage in the Southern Rhone.

2007 vintage

A spicy fruit driven wine that might improve with another few years. Not the 93 pts. given by Parker?

2007 vintage

Nice structure with a good balance of fruit and tannins. It's going to be hard to find a better wine at this price point. Great wine and even better QPR.

2009 vintage

Consistent with my note of 5/12/2012. The tannin has softened even more. The tannin has softened even more and the wine is lovely to drink now (and probably into 2015).

2007 vintage

Beau vin bien fruité, expressif et bien fait....bémol pour la chauffe en finale!

2007 vintage

No brainer at 22 $ Best Q/P I've found IMHO in the 20-50 $ range. Better with a bit of age. Maybe 4-7 years aging. Wish I had more of these 2007s.

2007 vintage

Consistent notes. Good shape great qpr.

2007 vintage

Day 2. Deep red, almost black. Pepper, black cherry, nice balance to tannins. Complex. Will buy again.

2009 vintage

Consistent with my note of 5/15/2012. Still a lovely wine to drink now and next year.

2007 vintage

Best bottle yet. Dark fruited for a Southern Rhone, with a pleasant game note and some mineral traces. Still, this bottle was about the very tasty fruit. I think this wine is now in its prime drinking zone (and will be likely to stay there for a few years. (I wish that I had held off on previous bottles).

2007 vintage

Consistent wine. Drink it now....

2007 vintage

Dans une superbe phase...encore tout plein de fruit, des épices à la baisse (mieux balancés tant qu'à moi), de la mâche et une finale bien honnête. M'en reste une dernière que je prévois ne pas trop attendre.

2007 vintage

Sans notes

2007 vintage

Wow. Nice. Really nice. For the $$s this is starting to strut its stuff

2007 vintage

Dark red color. Deep berry and cocoa notes. Medium to full bodied. Moderate tannins. 90 points.

2009 vintage

This is the first wine I've had that managed to produce a complex array of bitterness. There is an initial assault of sharp bitterness on the palate, followed by an oily like mouth feel on the mid palate, ending with a long lasting dull like bitterness. This wine was like liquid tylenol plus FD&C purple # 6 added to it. The bouquet was enjoyable and the color was striking. If you are an unfortunate soul that has had their tongue …

2009 vintage

PnP after drinkin a bottle of the "regular" cuvee les trois soeurs. Dark purple up to the rim. Upon opening a very unique nose of harbour/sea food. Full bodied wine with a much smoother palate than the regular cuvee but also has this slight bitterness. Not very long finish. Overall a notch better than the regular cuvee: 89-90.

2009 vintage

My last bottle, and a great value wine at $11. Consistently juicy, floral and stoney. Medium bodied and fabulous with food. Wish I could find more at the sale price.

2009 vintage

Another consistently good bottle. Fresh, cool-toned fruits, violets and crushed rocks. Lovely balance and easy to drink.

2009 vintage

So easy to drink. Lovely crisp red fruits, violets, crunchy minerality, precise acids.

2009 vintage

Superb value at $11. Cool, minerally bathed cherry, plum and raspberry fruit; floral notes. Lip smacking acidity, medium weight and fine length. This can age in the short term.

2009 vintage

Popped and poured. Another good showing. Bright red fruits. Chalky, powedery minerals. Medium finish. Good cut. Delicious bargain.

2009 vintage

Another outstanding showing for this wine.

2009 vintage

Splash decanted for five hours. Lovely raspberries and plum fruit. Edging closer to fresh red fruits rather than brooding black fruits. Nice spice and mineral elements with fine grain tannns. Juicy, chalky and delicious.

2009 vintage

This was a pretty nice wine in 2007, particularly for the price, so I had to pick one up when I saw it. Well, it's still pretty good, though to my memory it's even a bit riper than the 07 model. Some nice structure in the deep, plummy, raspberry fruit, with touches of loamy earth, and nice overall balance. A little bit grape-y at the moment. If that settles out, this will do well for those who like this style …

2009 vintage

Another wonderful showing. Aromatic, with crushed violets and plums. A chewy, chalky, lingering finish. Lovely stuff.

2009 vintage

Reminiscent of the outstanding 2007. This is less overt and extracted than its counter part, the 2009 Rasteau Cuvee Marc.

2009 vintage

Crushed dark fruit and stone. What was most impressive was the refreshing minerality on the mid-palate to the finish. almost bordering on chalkiness. I could drink this all day.

2009 vintage

The nose on this immediately grabbed me. Violets, plums, baking spices and stones leapt out at me. Loads of purple fruits, flowers and crushed stones cascade over the palate. Dense, yet well cut, with very noticable tannins. Next time I need to decant this more to smooth it out -- but this is a fabulous QPR wine; a worthy successor to the 2007.

2009 vintage

Inspite it's young age this wine is quite ready to serve. Delivers loads of liqourice, leather, nutmeg, blood & herbs. Good dencity and balance. Close to Gigondas in style. Outstanding QPR with 12 euros!

2009 vintage

Very nice! Lots of licorice all the way through, with some stony minerality. Long finish. Smooth. Get more.

2009 vintage

Respectable Cairanne wine with a varietal composition of 55 % Grenache, 35 % Mourvèdre, 5 % Syrah and 5 % Carignan. Only the Mourvèdre part was aged in oak barrels (for six months). Deep dark red color with tints of purple and a gorgeous nose of ripe berries, nuts, sour cherries, garrigue-tones and a good shake of pepper. Ample, full-bodied palate, plenty of attractive red fruit, with some chocolate notes, harmonious tannins and quite a long finish. This wine is …

2009 vintage

Wow this was wonderful for the price. Excellent balance and fruit. Overtones of raspberry with cherry and other red fruits with some spice. Perfect qpr.

2009 vintage

Sans notes

2009 vintage

Un vin puissant, plein de fruit, aux tanins un peu rustiques. Gourmand et savoureux mais loin de l'excellent 2007 Authentique et chaleureux, bon équilibre, très bien, avec un bon potentiel de garde. À revoir dans 3 à 5 ans, il pourrait aussi étonner en 2019. 88-89 pts

2009 vintage

It was OK but not close to the 2007's from this producer. Floral, wanting for berries, has some herbs and a touch of spice. Not a winner in my book. I'll try some of their other releases, the phillipine and rasteau next time.

2009 vintage

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Domaine Les Grands Bois, Cotes du Rhone Villages, Cairanne Maximilien

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