With Hart, T, Liz, Sloke and YZ
Wine from T.

This. Is. A. Rare. Pokemon. Years ago when I was learning about CDPs, someone once mentioned the name Henri Bonneau, and Domaine de la Vieille Julienne. I never got to try the latter, so I never bothered. They are pricey af and annoying to source for. I read the reserves were made with 60-100 year old vines, and that average out maybe 150 cases a year or smth ridiculous like that.

In the glass: I don’t quite remember, aside from the mid+ body. Dark ruby perhaps. Don’t recall signs of age.

On the nose: this is Grenache town. Sweet red cherries and red plums. A touch savory. Very earthy undertones. Intense blackcurrant. Leather, with a touch of pepper. Sweet, and very aromatic. Low Syrah blend

On the palate: a touch of residual sugar that I loved. Surprisingly grippy tannin’s that’s well integrated. Mid body, palate coating and mid acidity. This was a juicy fun wine.

The magic of this wine was….. the integration of its alcohol. This is an absolutely diabolical and obnoxious 16/16.5% abv. I don’t know what the magic is in here – while it was clearly a higher alcohol wine, I would never have guessed anything above 14.5%. Sure, it has great fruits but that alone can’t be able to “mask” that ridiculous 16+%! Magical.