Got this through the Wine Society of Nashua and it seems to be quite a find. Note the year on this Bordeaux. It’s twelve years old and for some reason you can still buy it. Twelve to fifteen years is about the right resting time for this Bordeaux so this is perfect timing for tasting. The bottle and label look like an old French wine too, very cool. Deep cherry in color, it has an earthy smell. It’s a medium, maybe even medium-lightweight wine with ripe cherry and black tea flavors. There’s also a strong tannic structure that you get full blast if you swish it around a while before swallowing. It’s an interesting wine. I think maybe I don’t so much dislike French wines, it may be that I drink them too early. This is far from my favorite wine ever, but it’s definitely among my favorite French wines ever.

Nice deep color, really sticks to the sides of the glass as you swirl it. Smells a bit like tobacco and leather. The flavor is mild at first but then pops into a rather complex finish. There is some clove and rather a lot of smoke. It isn’t good smoke in my estimation, more like bacon bits than anything else. It’s almost as if the smoky flavor is artificial. All in all, I can see how some would like this wine, but I just don’t care for this particular combination of flavors.

Check out Wine.com’s Most Popular Wines Under $20.