St Prefert ‘Auguste Favier’ CDP 2011
Honeyed strawberry jam, prunes, strawberries, raspberries, dried cherry, underbrush, white pepper and cinnamon tinged orange peel spew off of this medium bodied, full throttle delight. It has some VA on it, so be warned, but it has great delineation and poise. It undoubtedly is an alcoholic beverage, so be warned it throws off some heat. At 16% it probably isn’t for the faint of heart, but it is quite well made. It will definitely be better as it gains weight in the bottle over the coming 12 or so years, but should please the dare Devils in the meantime. Awesome juice for the style, I would highly recommend it. After tasting this 3-4 times over the last 2 months, I would recommend this slow oxed on day two for the time being. It has a personality all its own.
91+ PTS
2012 Saint Estephe de Montrose
The third wine of the famed estate, the St Estephe brings more in the phenolic a department than fruit. Cherry driven with slight cassis underneath, rested atop new leather, spice and a bit of blahness, this is well made and gives the slight noble impression that this estate can produce. A good value for under $30 and representative, but a far cry from the blockbuster 2010 that saw quality go so deep as to catapult this 3rd wine into a blockbuster. I’d still grab it again, I just wouldn’t drink it for the coming year or 2 (so yeah, for a cheapish 3rd wine it’s serious).
88 PTS (with another 6 mos)