2003 Château Clos de Sarpe
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Tasting notes
Medium garnet-brick colored, the 2003 Clos de Sarpe has quite an opulent nose with notes of powdered cinnamon, cloves and fenugreek over a core of baked cherries and dried mulberries with a waft of dusty soil. Medium-bodied, finely crafted and surprisingly elegant, it has a chewy frame and loads of perfumed fruit, finishing long and refreshing.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Fresh nose but horrid stewed fruit on the palate. Pinched finish. (JR)
This offering was unusual when I first tasted it from barrel, seemingly over-extracted, massive and so colossal that I wondered if it could ever come around. Well, within eleven years it has. A blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc made from yields of 13 hectoliters per hectare, this beautiful 2003 moves ever so slightly toward an Italian Amarone because of the fig, roasted herb and jammy blackberry and cherry fruit notes, but it pulls back before becoming a full-scale Amarone. Full-bodied, ripe, rich and impressively endowed, it is not for everybody, but it is a stunningly big, spicy, meaty, exotic Bordeaux to drink over the next 5-7 years. Wine Advocate.August, 2014
About the producer
This small Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé estate is a FINE+RARE favourite. Run by Maylis Marcenat, the fourth generation of her family to do so, the 3.7-hectare vineyard has old vines and limestone soils, producing wines of incredible freshness and great ageability.