Saturday, November 29, 2008

Domaine du Vieux Chene Cuvee Haie aux Grives, 2004

This is my favorite cuvee of Vieux Chene, although I'll admit that I have not yet tried the estate's Plan de Dieu bottling which was initiated, I believe, with the 2005 vintage. The Cuvee Haie aux Grives ordinarily takes a bit longer to start showing its charm than the Cuvee Capucines, which has a higher proportion of Grenache in the blend. In the 2004 vintage, however, the Haie aux Grives showed beautifully right from the start.

It's still deep and dark, just beginning to turn. Grenache red raspberry fruit is also beginning to develop a fruit-cake-like concentration, similar to that of a 10 to 12 year old Chateauneuf du Pape. It's very full bodied and velvety on the palate with a good range of ripe fruit flavors that are just beginning to develop secondary characteristics. Very nice.

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