Updated: Sep 12, 2024
It is a deep, ruby colour with a tight pink rim. This wine has a dense, dark-fruited sweetness and balanced acidity, showing exceptional quality. It is slightly smaller and softer than the 2014 vintage we offered for sale six months ago, but its beautiful balance ensures an enjoyable drinking experience. The forward style lets you appreciate the supple texture, and the multi-layered sweetness, with hints of ripe, dark red, juicy fruits, mocha, chocolate, and dark cherries, is sure to intrigue your taste buds. This wine represents the modern international style, with partial oak fermentation, new oak storage, and high alcohol, but lacks a bit of terroir character at this stage. However, if you look past the alcohol content and the extract (14% ABV from St Emilion!), you'll find a wine of exceptional quality.
Rated RP93, this flagship wine from the Decoster family blends 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. It has been consistently successful since the family acquired the 58-acre estate, raising the level of quality. The 2012 vintage displays pure, striking aromatics of blueberry, black raspberry, minerals, and flowers. With a beautiful texture, medium to full-bodied, ripe, and multi-dimensional, this wine dominates its classification and delivers exceptional quality. Drinking well for ten years, this wine promises an exciting future development, ensuring a long-lasting and rewarding experience. The modest yields of 34 hectoliters per hectare from an unusually late harvest (October 22 to November 2) further promise an exciting future development.
Andreas Larsson also awarded it 93 points, describing it as dark ruby-purple with meaty and leathery notes, dry spices, and dark berries in the nose. The palate is dense and structured, featuring dark floral fruit, blackberry, plum, cassis, plenty of grainy tannins, discreet oak, and a long, dark fruity finish. This wine's excellent ageing potential means it will continue to develop and improve over time, making it a valuable addition to any collection.
A blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, the de Fieuzal Rouge is a wine that delivers a deep rubied hue and a delightful dark plum and blackcurrant nose, elegantly wrapped in the embrace of creamy vanilla new oak. Its soft(maybe too soft) palate mirrors the nose, is ripe and round, and finishes with a smooth, satisfying mineral finish. We accord it with a DD91, a mark of its excellence.
Awarded it RP 87, Parker writes, "The 2013 De Fieuzal has an open, quite sensual bouquet with scents of black cherry, wild strawberry and wet stone, an attractive floral aspect developing with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, succulent in the mouth with good acidity, and polished with a smooth, harmonious finish. This is commendable for the vintage, even if it lacks a little personality." Edited.
Awarded it WS89, Wine Spectator writes, "A prickly spine, a term used to describe the wine's acidity and structure, provides some energy to the core of plum and pomegranate flavours, with a light bay leaf hinting in. Reve, a French term for 'dream ', is a light snap of anise at the very end."
Upon revisiting this bottle, we were again captivated by its unique deep rubied hue, with a tight garnet rim and a bright, violet-filled core. Despite 13 years of bottle age, the youthful character is evident in its ripe dark berry and red cherry fruit notes, delicate plums and figs, and a hint of nougat. The profile is a delightful blend of juicy red forest berry confit, fresh, fine tannins, and a lively, easy-to-drink nature. The cherries on the finish, the excellent balance, the careful handling of wood, and its light-footed food companion status all contribute to its unique charm.
The 2011 vintage, while more structured than 2013, exudes a unique charm and truly pleasing elegance. Its style, reminiscent of La Fleur and le Gay, is a testament to the influence of Stephane Derenocourt and the Robin sisters. Falstaff's 91-point rating is well-deserved, as the wine presents fine black wild berry fruit, delicate herbal spices, and a hint of nougat. It is juicy and complex and offers a delightful interplay of dark fruit, firm tannins, a pleasant nougat touch, a mineral finish, elegance, and good length. The other scores include RP90, WS91, and Andrea Lasson 90.
Chateau Rol Valentin's modern history tells a lot about its transformation and evolution, which is marked by the dedication and passion of its owners. It debuted with the challenging 1994 vintage under Clos Valentin, a vision of the former European soccer star Eric Prissette. In 2009, a new chapter began for Chateau Rol Valentin, as it was acquired by the daughter of Leclerc's chief wine buyer, Jean-Luc Roche, and her husband, Nicolas Robin, the nephew of the illustrious Robin sisters of the Right Bank. These sisters were the previous owners of Chateau Lafleur and Chateau Le Gay in Pomerol. Under the new ownership, the small vineyard was expanded to its current size, a testament to their commitment and passion for the craft.
