I really can't see the 2005 Grande Reserve from Domaine de Mourchon getting any better than it is now. The tannins have fully integrated and the wine is now like a thick, plush velvet chocolate bar only better because it's wine, not chocolate. It wasn't really the right wine to go with the Thai curry I had made but it went surprisingly well. That said, the rest of the bottle, enjoyed after the meal showed what this wine really can do.
2005 was undoubtedly a great vintage but some of the wines were quite hard initially and I would include the Mourchon wines in this group - the 2005 Tradition seemed almost impenetrable until it was about four years old (then it all sold out, of course!). The oak ageing of the Grande Reserve always helps to make it a little more accessible in its first flush of youth but this wine shut down to the point where, at a two day tasting this time last year, it wasn't until day two that I was happy showing this to anyone. I think you have to be interested enough in wine to be reading blogs like this to have the appreciation and understanding of wine's ability to develop with age. I suspect that, for many, this is just an urban legend. Before I get slapped on the wrist for this, the facts bear me out with the vast majority of wines being consumed within eight hours of being purchased (or is this just another urban legend?)
This wine is now appearing at Cafe 103 in Norwich - or you can still buy it here!
2005 was undoubtedly a great vintage but some of the wines were quite hard initially and I would include the Mourchon wines in this group - the 2005 Tradition seemed almost impenetrable until it was about four years old (then it all sold out, of course!). The oak ageing of the Grande Reserve always helps to make it a little more accessible in its first flush of youth but this wine shut down to the point where, at a two day tasting this time last year, it wasn't until day two that I was happy showing this to anyone. I think you have to be interested enough in wine to be reading blogs like this to have the appreciation and understanding of wine's ability to develop with age. I suspect that, for many, this is just an urban legend. Before I get slapped on the wrist for this, the facts bear me out with the vast majority of wines being consumed within eight hours of being purchased (or is this just another urban legend?)
This wine is now appearing at Cafe 103 in Norwich - or you can still buy it here!
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