2010 Girolate
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Tasting notes
This sensational 100% Merlot (production is under 1,000 cases) is the flagship and probably best wine made by the outstanding producers of Petit Chateaux Bordeaux, the Despagne family. Lots of toasty, chocolaty notes intermixed with black fruits, mocha, espresso and oak jump from the glass of this modern-styled, in-your-face, wonderfully exuberant and flamboyant Bordeaux. It is impeccably well-made and should drink well for 5-6 years possibly longer.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeannie Cho Lee MW
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
Very informative back label. [I wrote about Girolate in 2006.] Picked 8, 9. 12 Oct. 8,500 bottles. Very dark. Sweet, dried-fruit aromas but there is energy here too, and still quite a bit of tannin. (This is the first time I have really felt the presence of tannins in my tastings of AC Bordeaux.) Very intense and vibrant. I can see how they think it should really belong to the class of St-Émilion... Much livelier than the Ad Vitam 2010 tasted alongside. (JR)
The deep ruby 2010 Girolate offers up a nose of cedar, plums and blackberries, followed by precise fruit flavours with good definition, great intensity and depth, and a seamless oak integration. Vinification and aging is in barrels, grapes are 100% Merlot, planted 10,000 vines per hectare, and 8,500 bottles are produced per year. Jeannie Cho Lee MW asianpalate.com
This is bio-dynamically made. This is fascinating with celery, apple and melon character. Full body and a bright acidity. jamessuckling.com