With the crew at the NYE celebration.
Wine from my stash.

I don’t know how I came across Manuel Olivier, but I’ve had a few of their more budget burgs, and they’ve always been a very pleasurable drink!

In the glass: light bodied, and just this bright ruby. Clear.

On the nose: fresh off the bottle, it was slightly but distinctly reductive. Again, strawberry candy. Touch of vanilla beans. Tiny oak. Tons of black cherries. Spices. That said, I found that the wine shut down within minutes of landing in the glass, and took a while to open up. Perhaps the bottle was a little starved of air. But when it did breathe, my did it bloom. The cherries intensified. Cranberry. Tons of spices. Stems.

On the palate: mid- body. High intensity of fresh bright fruits. Mid++ acidity. So much minerality on the exhale. Delicious and lively.

Cheap-ish? Yes. But delicious.