Right O. £8 or £9 now, after the Feb price increase.
In common with decent libournais clarets, the fruit on this one does become a little sweeter and fuller when it opens. So dont rush to judgement.
The cork was very well stained for a wine that was bottled in 2008. it is the best Yvon Mau collaboration wine at £8 with discount that I've tasted. Normaly her involvement is too oaky for the quality of the fruit. Fortunately the wine was bottled at the chateau, so I think her intervention was purely marketing
The wine is over extracted for a 2007, had this deep colour been achieved from the riper and more tannic '05 vintage, the wine would be exceptional for the price. I like it though, it just doesn't have enough lift to make it a Wow.
Lovely smokey flavour to the herbs that Mel has mentioned, gentle spice........ If you were to make a garden bonfire from old raspberry canes, some sweeter shrubs and prunings of fruit bushes and dry fig tree / vine stems; then, that smoke in the air and the flavour on your lips would be exactly the mix of nuances you get with this 80% + Merlot & Cab franc Libournais wine - Canon "Fronsaccy" bits in there
.
So if the fruit had been riper, (2007 was difficult everywhere in Bordeaux and Burgundy) then this wine would get a Big star.
I like it. A gentle and interesting herbal smoke ! A good 4 out of 5 from me, and as Mel says, "Fair Price. Good".