TN 2005 La Vieille Cure Fronsac

WINE TALK
#1

TN La Vieille Cure, Fronsac
In honor of the Berserker low low price offering by Max to our members yesterday and at the specific request of Father Sax who doesn’t mind spending $240 on a WA 93 rated bottle of aged Classified Bordeaux but does mind spending that much on a similarly rated case of Fronsac, I opened one of these puppies tonight. Decanted 2 hours in my cellar.

My experience with prior vintages of this wine has not been stellar. I thought that the 2000 was somewhat diluted and bitter and the 03 that was also admired by the “Palate” had a descriptor of dark cherries that I always thought was more like sour cherries. That flavor is nice in cherry juice but not a favorite in Red wines for my palate.

The nose of this wine is of dark fruits and a slight but still noticeable sour cherry. I let it sit in the glass for 10 minutes and the sourness has somewhat dissipated in the nose. There is some tannic grip to the wine that is to be expected from a wine from this vintage at this stage but it does have a nice soft floral /mineral element and lovely symmetry in the mouth. Fortunately, the sour cherry is not a descriptor of this vintage of the wine’s flavor. I think with a couple of years that this will be at a good place and a very lovely wine to enjoy and is well worth the $28 I had previously paid, not to mention Max’s low low low price of $20 a pop. Since Michel Rolland is the winemaker, I would advise our new member Keith Levenberg to avoid. [blush2.gif]
Buy away Sax. [cheers.gif]

#2

That sounds like a nice wine Jack. I bought a 1/2 case of the 2003s and have been disappointed with them to date. Way too tight and I think your sour cherry note is correct.

#3

Bruce, at this point even with the tannins it is a very lovely and soft Bordeaux. Not what I expected at all. I think Max should repeat his offer. The sourness is not in the mouth like the 03.

#4

Keith is in the house?

w00t [good.gif]

(p.s. Thanks for the note.)

#5

One of my favorite statements on the forum thus far.

#6

Yo Boss, youse knows we Philly Boyz aims to pleez.
Potato Chip Gangsta

#7

Jack,

I opened one of these yesterday also. Your impressions are very similar to mine. This wine screams cherries at every turn. Any sour cherry notes are not a turnoff for me. It seems pretty structured and I’ll be this will be ideal in about 5 years. The wine is not super complex, but it is very tasty and it pretty big to my palate. Very enjoyable and impossible to pass up at $20.

FWIW - I would love to put this in a blind right bank tasting of 05’s and see how it fares. I will guarantee you it would beat out a ton of the bigger names.

Chris

#8

Just an update - I opened this on Sun., so this makes Day 3 right? I didn’t have any yesterday as I was on call, but tonight this wine is really singing and not a bit oxidized. The best comparison I can make is to the 05 Monbousquet. No oxidation notes at all at Day 3. This has to be about the best value I’ve ever found from BDX at $20, although there aren’t many to compare it with in my repertoire.

Chris

#9

Can I still return mine for a refund, Max?

[dash1.gif]

#10

You need to receive it before you can return it [taunt.gif]

#11

Hey now! It’s just 1 man’s opinion and I ain’t no professional, so take that for what it’s worth. At 10-20 years, who knows?

FWIW, I have over 2 cases of the 05 Monbo. And, FWIW, I don’t plan to buy more unless a screaming deal shows up. Todd, you’ll love them both I’m sure.

#12

Notihng like a Monbo Todd. No fears. I had my last of the bottle last night (day 2) and it had gained weight and was singing. I may buy more.

#13

Guess I misunderstood Todd’s point. I thought he was upset at paying over 2X for the Monbo when LVC was similar. But, I read the other thread where Todd didn’t like the 03 Monbo.

Todd, I didn’t like the 03 Monbo either, but I did like the 05 - just not enough to add more. But, if you told me it was $20/btl., I’m liking it a lot more!!

Chris

#14

Cracked a bottle of this last night, having secured another case from Max with the ridiculous berserkers deal. Just an outright fabulous wine. Similar tasting notes as above-- once the considerable tannins subside a bit, this wine at $20/bottle will be one of my greatest purchases. I am actually tempted to get another case… [highfive.gif]