2003 La Gomerie

Good medium ruby color. Burnished nose dominated by chocolate and sexy oak tones. Sweet and silky on entry, then a tad spiky in the middle palate, conveying an impression of irregular ripening. Not bad but I marked it down for some rather evolved notes and a lack of personality. Not a fleshy style of merlot and thus a tad dry on the back. The broiling summer of 2003 clearly posed a challenge for these merlot vines planted on sand.

Dark red. Cool aromas of raspberry, minerals, licorice, dark chocolate and mint. Offers good texture but only moderate density and sweetness; comes off as a bit clenched today. Finishes with dusty, slightly drying tannins. These merlot vines on sand really suffered during the extreme heat and drought of August, noted Gerard Becot.

Extremely deep and dense but very little nose. Full, sweet red wine that is taxing to the palate. Extremely raw and extracted. Difficult to see this wine's relationship to red bordeaux. (JR)