Theresa LoCrasto

9.3

Classic Bordeaux red — 8 years ago

Isaac Pirolo

9.4

Villa Symposia is the Languedoc label from Éric Prissette, the founder of Château Rol Valentin. The winemaking is overseen by Stéphane Derenoncourt. And from what I gathered, L'Origine is the flagship, or at least 'the' high-end cuvée here. The importer label indicates it's 95% Syrah, 5% Grenache (but a blog post from Taste Languedoc mentioned Carignan was added to the blend in 2012). The Syrah comes from the oldest vines of the estate, ~50 years old.

Opens with a noticeable amount of Brett, which can go either way for me. I view Brett like abstract art... done well and it's a beautiful lens to which to view a wine. However, when it's done poorly it's shit (literally). This was done very well. The pungent barnyard, stinky cheese, and saddle leather arrive heavily seasoned with baking spices, noticeably cinnamon, and herbs, including rosemary and tarragon. Ripe, dark bramble fruit, lavender oil, and pine resin pervade the palate and continue through the lengthy and structured finish. An extraordinary mix of the old and new world, while maintaining a clear sense of terroir, and providing an intensely vivid experience. It really hits its stride after 1.5 hours. Fair warning, if you don't like Brett at all then I wouldn't recommend this wine... however if you've ever liked a wine because of Brett, I suspect you'll enjoy. — 9 years ago

Alex Bonafé

9.1

Rosso granato intenso, prugna e cuoio, robusto ma molto elegante e ben bilanciato. — 10 years ago

ja ramos

9.0

De momento el mejor francés,que he probado .con cuerpo, tanico y paso largo por boca .me gusta — 10 years ago

Colin Rudy

9.5

Beautifuly complex - flowers, spice, bright, balanced. A revelation. — 10 years ago

Sean Smith

9.6

Context counts — 12 years ago

Rudy Van De Water

9.4

Very long after taste — 8 years ago

Brayden Winkler

9.5

Earth wine, cherry notes, mint, pinefruits, mushroom... quite a complex, robust flavour — 9 years ago

Shun Nagao

9.2

Fruity and great after note — 9 years ago

Cyrus

9.5

A modern style Cru Bourgeois exactly as it should be. Bravo. — 10 years ago

Carlos Chiti

9.1

20/OUT/2015 — 10 years ago

Tom Riley

8.9

Despite the cool red and black fruit and hints of damp earth, there is no escaping the element of new oak. Now I wonder if I should have left this vibrant, tightly coiled wine for a few more years. Dang it. — 11 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

On the nose, bright, lean, ripe cherries, dark cherries, strawberries, cranberries, pomegranate juice, vanilla, cinnamon, very light spice, wood shavings, loamy soils, dry stones, and bright red fragrant florals. The mouthfeel is lean for Bordeaux. The tannins are lighter than dusty...so resolved. You can tell this is 70% Merlot & 20% Cab Franc as the cherries are singing in harmony better than the group America on the album "Horse with No Name" or for you kids "Fifth Harmony." The rest of the fruits are equally amazing, bright, lean, ripe; cherries, dark cherries, strawberries, cranberries & pomegranate juice. Vanilla, cinnamon, very light spice, wood shavings, loamy clay soils, dry, crushed, fine powdery rocks, dry stones & bright red roses/florals. This wine is pictured in the dictionary under pure elegance. The soft, round, acidity pours over the palate. The fruit driven finish goes on and on. I'm not sure this is going to continue to improve. I think it has about 5 years of good drinking left. Producer notes...Chateau Fleur Cardinale was purchased by Dominique and Florence Decoster in 2001. Prior to buying their first Bordeaux wine estate, they were in the fine porcelain and China business in the Limoges region of France. Chateau Fleur Cardinale is located next door to Valandraud & Rol Valentin & near Chateau Faugeres. Fleur Cardinale takes its name from the myriad of roses and other flowers that are planted around the estate. The 24.5-hectare St. Emilion vineyard of Fleur Cardinale is planted to 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc. The oldest Merlot vines are 60 years old and vineyard average is 40 years. The soils of their terroir are clay over limestone. Since 2013, the vineyard is farmed using organic, self-sustainable techniques. For the vinification, the juice undergoes a cold maceration at 5 degrees Celsius for 5 or 6 days. This is followed by alcoholic fermentation and a warm maceration for 2 to 3 weeks. All the pumping over is done by gravity, which avoids stirring the musts and stressing the yeasts. Chateau Fleur Cardinale is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised and grilled dishes. It is also good paired with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms and pasta. Photos of, the Chateau and estate vines, beautiful fruit waiting to be delivered to the Chateau and pressed, the gate entrance and barrel room. The 05 vintage is as beautiful as advertised and drinking better than the 2000's I've had in the last two years. This 05 is a steal for just under $50 when I purchased it in 2007.
#SteakandClaretNight — 8 years ago

EatSommThings (Jimmy)

9.2

Chalky black fruit and a fair amount of development but maintains quite a bit of fruit. Showing well — 10 years ago

with Howard and Diana

J McBudd

9.3

Drinking the 2007 (half bottle size) but date wasn't an option. Light peppery taste and great choice to start the evening. — 11 years ago

Brian Cronin

Master Sommelier & Educator

9.7

Ba-rol- OH! — 13 years ago