Chateau de Sales, Pomerol

A very attractive wine with leather, licorice and earthy notes. Still dense and round.

2012 vintage

Wonderful nose, body starting to thin just a hair, still great. Probably a few years past peak

2000 vintage

Historic Elegance: Four Decades of Château de Sales in Magnums (Pomerol, France) : First visit to Château de Sales in Pomerol with Gonzague de Lambert and Marie-Laure Latorre. Gonzague shared memories of family tastings comparing 2000 and 2001 vintages, noting that sometimes the 2001 showed better—a reminder that great vintages are often followed by overlooked gems. He emphasized that while the 2000 is drinking nicely now, it will be fascinating to see how it develops over the next 20 years. …

2000 vintage

One only has to look at the colour to see this is not 'past it'. Incredibly deep red, good concentration but fruit a bit hidden by soft tannins. With air it opened up a bit and you woudl really hope the fruit, as with the 1975, finally comes to the show.

2005 vintage

Nez un peu tomaté, un peu de balsamique, un peu de fruit, matière interessante Intéressant comme expérience mais clairement un vin en fin de vie

1964 vintage

Weak and past. Blend or cook with it.

2005 vintage

Fully mature. Very good but not special - lacks finesse.

2005 vintage

Excellent but give it an hour or two in the decanter or a few more years. Really opened up over time and the last glass was the best.

2005 vintage

In a really nice place. Decanted for sediment and followed over a couple of hours. Nose was a little funky at first but quickly blew off. Blue and black fruit nicely integrated with cigar box and spice. I don’t think this is going downhill soon but open one if you have a few.

2005 vintage

Dark and red berries, soft spiciness, good acidity and round tannin with a pleasant bite. In its maturity stage and no hurry. Lovely wine to drink now.

2012 vintage

Opened and decanted one hour before serving. Jammy red fruits (cooked raspberry) with a hint of rose on first swirl in the glass. Freshly mowed hay. Quickly evolving to dark chocolate or coffee undertones. Linden flowers. Minty/eucalyptus on the palate. Then light leather. A bit hot on the alcohol after it opens up. But overall quite nice. However, drink it quickly. It shuts down FAST.

2012 vintage

I drank a Magnum yesterday, which is probably the best way to try it at this age. Fully mature, hints of bandaid that ride on the cusp of intrusive, but finally overcome by the sleeping fruit in the second half and definitely at the bottom of the mag. An earthy, complex wine that is the best it can be. Threw some good punches on exit...Drink!

2005 vintage

Perfectly typical right bank claret in all its comforting plummy, coffee, and leather glory. Nothing terribly polished or complex, but its honest and good value.

2012 vintage

Still drinks nicely

2012 vintage

Beautiful dark and red berries in the bouquet. On the palate dark berries, some sweet spices, beautiful acidity and round tannin with a soft bite. The wine is ready now and the next 2 – 3+ years.

2012 vintage

This is in a lovely mature spot right now, fragrant woods on the nose, forest floor and mushroom flavours in the mouth. Fully integrated fruit, but it seems to have a lot of time left.

2005 vintage

Coffee, spices, plum. Good QPR.

2012 vintage

Fabulous and in a good spot. Drink now.

2005 vintage

A bit beefy still but there is some nice plummy fruit starting to show. Youthful still, need about another 3 years.

2012 vintage

Quite a dense and sturdy wine, with plum and damson fruit and good length. This is very attractive to drink now but it has the substance to last for several years yet.

2011 vintage

Lovely bright purple color, subtle blue and cherry fruit on the nose. Excellent structure and balance, silky tannins and pleasant fruit, with a long finish. Served with a mushroom and chicken stew, it was most excellent.

2005 vintage

Quite attractive plummy fruit with a slight earthiness; medium weight, well rounded and a touch solid, but enjoyable, although lacking in polish. Seems reasonably mature but will keep.

2011 vintage

Vinturied into decant and consumed over several hours, Surprisingly youthful, powerful nose with anise and leather, smoke, easing tension but still slightly taunt. I will open my next one in 2025. Should be spot on then…still very interesting and enjoyable to drink now. Not sure how I ended up with 3 of these, but hey..

2005 vintage

Just another ordinary Thursday night (Two boys, three bottles, four steaks) : Lush and open in comparison to the 2000 Figeac, sweeter fruited and more generous.

2012 vintage

Excellent. Dark, old world funk, wet earth, leather.

2005 vintage

Medium depth of colour, starting to show middle age; medium weight, plummy fruit with reasonable length and some tannin. The overall impression is a little turgid, even lifeless. Madame La Grappe thought it might be suffering from over-extraction. It will probably be better in 2 to 3 years.

2011 vintage

Lebkuchen, Pflaumenmus, Würzig, Brombeere

2012 vintage

Fine classic claret, lush on the palate but a little lacking on the nose.

2011 vintage

Decanted/returned to bottle 3 hours prior to service. Clear, very minor fine sediment. Med ruby color. Initial nose/taste usual old wine funk of wet earthiness which blew off with time. Classic mid grade, old world Pomerol and so much different than the Napa cab served side by side. Still decent tannins and fully integrated, med body/finish. Mostly dark fruit profile. Drink now or soon. Nothing off. Gift.

2005 vintage

Rot bräunlich. In der Nase sehr würzig mit dunklen Früchten; Pflaumenmus, schwarze Kirsche, Pfefferminz und etwas Lebkuchen. Ok Trinkfluss, vielleicht etwas eindimensional und fehlende Eleganz und Finesse. Besser nach 30 Minuten im Glas.

2012 vintage

No formal notes but I remember well enough that I enjoyed it. Slightly evolved already this was open for business. No need to keep any longer. Nice, basic, well made Pomerol.

2011 vintage

Very nice. Still aging potential, still tannines left

2005 vintage

What a difference two years makes!! I initially purchased 6 bottles in 2016 and was eager to try them, so I consumed 3 in 2017 and enjoyed them, they were good, but not memorable. Tonight I decanted for 45 minutes, but this was not needed as this was ready to go upon pour. The nose was forest floor, mushrooms, blue fruit, and plum and fig. On the palate the wine was medium full bodied, extremely fine grained tannins just about …

2005 vintage

Had at the High Museum Wine Auction dinner and this wine merits a higher score than 87. Decanted the bottle and let it open for about 1.5 hours. It is in a great spot right now and should be consumed.

2000 vintage

With some rich Merlot fruit and a touch of greeness to it. Under coravin I bet it would flesh out as it was open longer.

2012 vintage

Rich, Iron, graphite, earth, dried herbs, 80/20 merlot/cab franc. Herbal, deep fruit, great for price.

2012 vintage

Decanted for one hour. Will be drinking well over the next five years.

2011 vintage

At Miriam's house for latkes which I always enjoy with Bordeaux blend type wines. Brickish red in color with a very pleasant (floral) nose. Plums and dark berries on the palate, but also seemed somewhat lean and disjointed. Some bitterness in the finish. I was hoping it would get better with more air, but it never did. Perhaps a flawed bottle, but I suspect I just held it too long.

2000 vintage

Excellent. At it´s top now. No more tanines after breathing

2005 vintage

Still tightly wound with brilliant cherry fruit. And lots of mineral on the back.

2012 vintage

Earthy clay notes. Licorice and forest floor. Balanced across palate with some grip.

2012 vintage

Very dark red color with mild bricking. PNP, drank 2 glasses over 90 minutes plus. This was mildly funky with pretty dark cherry and plum fruits, graphite, leather and soil. This is in a super spot now, the tannins are round and integrating and the fruit blends in nicely with the earthy soil and mineral notes. This has got a couple more good years left.

2005 vintage

Very simplistic Pomerol, quite young but doesn’t show potential. Nose is very Cab Franc like despite the Merlot predominance. Red fruit both on nose and palate, uninspiring finish.

2012 vintage

Slow ox over 2 hours. Nose: Initially very earthy and floral. After extended air tree moss, lilies, and other assorted sweet flowers. Fantastic aromas. Palate: Still good acid levels and some tannins providing ample lift with blue, purple and subtle red fruits. So balanced, pretty and feminine. Last and best bottle of the three (last notes on 5/21/15). Great to go out on a high note. 92+ points.

2005 vintage

Decanted for 2 hours. Soft tanins. Leather aromas. Pleasant to drink but no fruit left. I will drink my other bottle soon.

2005 vintage

Much as previous recent notes. Past its excellent best but nonetheless showing well in a lighter across-board mode with only a touch of leanness in the negative column. Drink up. My last.

2000 vintage

Family Sunday dinner. Two bottles decanted together with similar characteristics. Merest touch of truffle to add to the dark mellow plum and black cherry fruit. Earth, and a dash of dry spice. Finish just showing signs of leaning out. Whilst still very good would recommend drinking up (very) soon. One to go.

2000 vintage

Much as my last two notes but with the return of the truffle element. Still very good but but coming off its peak. Definitely for drinking up soon and have moved to the everyday/drink-up section of my cellar.

2000 vintage

As per my December note: continuing to show well much later than I expected although with distinct bottle variation. This one had a core of dark mellow berries and ripe cherry balanced with a good acidity. Earthy and spice elements but no truffles on this occasion. Am enjoying my bottles but clearly must reach the end of its reliable life soon - surely!??

2000 vintage

Jack is Back in Town (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)) : Bonus bottle, next to the '05 Bourgneuf. PNP, drank 1 small glass over 30 minutes. Also very dark, black fruits, very earthy, leather, funk, full bodied and firm round tannins. Very nice.

2005 vintage

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