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Domaine des Anges' new wine: "Seraphin"

In stock at last, the new Chateauneuf lookalike from Ciaran Rooney. 95% old-vine, tank-aged Grenache (the label says 100% but who's counting?) with 5% Syrah from the cask. It's a wine that needs some bottle age to shine: just now the slightly shy nose has youthful qualities such as candy sweets which really need to take on some secondary characters. On the pallet, there is more to interest just now: a well-structure wine with lovely tannins and sweet, red berry, quite spicy fruit. The finish is good:  more of the same really but, as with the nose, I think there is more to come with a bit more age. This is really good news because, frankly, the wine is rather nice right now.

How will it evolve? Difficult to tell with any debut vintage since there is nothing direct to compare with it, only similar wines made by rival winemakers using slightly different techniques. My guess is that, whilst it is enjoyable now, it really needs an extra year or two to flesh out, develop that nose, lengthen the finish and gain some secondary fruit characteristics that will indicate whether this really is a wine to give Chateauneuf a run for its money.

Check in in two years time!
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