With Shaun and James at Grand Cru.

Wew. Fresh off the bottle, this was a fresh waft of cedar, peppery spice, oak, and a hint of dark fruits that was just. Idk, compelling. You could just tell smth was there. I was super reluctant to pick this wine, mainly because I’ve generally enjoyed St Emilions but raaaarely ever found anything impressive, and this was (at least in 2002) a fairly lowly classified right bank. In the glass, this was a rich bright purple red body, which transition to brick nearer to the rim.

This wine surprised me. It was the first time I had an initial sniff and immediately thought there was gonna be a promising development ahead. As the wine aerated in the body and glass, it held on to its wood and spice on the nose, but distinctly developed a rich but delicate dark fruits (blueberries and blackberries; so glad we ate some the other day) emerged and deepened. A nice oaky vanilla also came forward, and was most pronounced at the end of the inhale.

On the palate, this was a very mild and delicate wine. Mid to mid- acidity (I suppose it has to do with the Merlot, or the vintage), mild tannins, mid finish, and very well integrated alcohol. The wine also has surprisingly medium body, instead of what seemed like would’ve been a heavy wine. The wine deepened and got richer as we went into the 2 hours mark where I thought it peaked.

In general, I much prefer wine with just a touch more acidity. But I think tons of people would fine this wine to have a ton of finesse. I enjoyed it. That said, I highly doubt this has the legs to go any older. Solid!