Another wine I picked up at Sandy’s, this time I think it was one we actually tasted that afternoon. I remember thinking “Wow! This is a steal for $13!”. I drank this wine over two days, so I’ll give my notes for the 2 days. This wine is from the Cotes De Castillon, as you can see from the label and claims to be 14% alcohol. I don’t get any fun label notes like with the previous wine, though.
Day 1: This was a “pop and pour” situation. I needed some wine to drink with dinner, so I opened it up and let it sit for 10 minutes before pouring it.
The nose is pretty tight, just a little hint of mustiness through the alcohol.
The fruit on this wine is not overpowering, which I really appreciate right now. The tannins on the back end are medium strong and it has a decent mid-palate with no drop-out in the middle.
Given that it is day 1, I’m not getting much more out of it right now. Overall, I like it quite a bit and would give it an 89 points. I think quite a good deal for $13! Very pleasant, although not outstanding.
Day 2: I put this wine in the refrigerator overnight, to keep it cool in the summer heat. I took it out at lunch time and tasted it at 3:30 in the afternoon, after deciding I could take off a bit early from work on the day before a long weekend.
Now the nose has opened up a bit and I am getting a bit of ripe fruit and some smell of cool herbs. After smelling this, I went to our spice cabinet and started smelling everything to see if I could figure out what it was. I think it was some strange combination of lavender, thyme and a little hint of oregano. Please understand that these smells were not strong, just little hints below the fruit and alcohol.
My impression on first tasting this wine today is that the alcohol is a little strong, even at 14%. It still has good mid-palate strength and a nice long finish. There is some fruit, but not much more than yesterday. I get a little bit of black cherries and maybe some raspberries and some other fruit that I can’t put my finger on. There are some non-fruit components that my palate isn’t really able to identify at this point, but something a little richer than just fruit flavors.
All in all, I’d still give this wine an 89. It is really enjoyable to drink and there’s nothing overtly negative going on. The nose isn’t rich enough to put it up into the 90 range for me. I enjoy it quite a bit and at $13, I think it’s a great steal. I might have to see if I can pick up another bottle or so the next time I’m in the shop.
