Château des Charmes Pinot Noir Old Vines

I remember this wine being very big and needing time and now it has that time under its belt and maybe I'm thinking that is not what it needed; sadly it is an over-oaked mess with no Pinot character, in fact it tastes more like liquid wood than anything else, "sandpaper in my throat" was one comment noted down, and it lacks fruit. Thankfully it had no volatile acidity but then I don't think it had room for it. We …

Still a nice medium-deep purple colour, with just a hint of ruby at the edges. The nose here is the stand-out part of the experience for me. Woodsy, floral & mossy with concentrated red berry fruit (cherry, raspberry) coming through as it opens up. This screams cold-climate character, but has a great ripeness from a very dry year. Medium-bodied, subdued smooth tannins & solid acidity giving it structure & firmness. The palate doesn't totally give in to the complexity of …

OntarioWineReview - 06/01/2011 ... The nose speaks of Pinot here while the palate doesn't speak at all. Smells of sour cherry, raspberry and smoked cranberry lead the charge, but the flavours are smoky, hiding dark fruit behind rustic tannins. Give it a couple of years to come into its own, and at this price you can afford a couple of bottles to test it out from year to year till it becomes what Goldilocks would think of as 'just right'. …