The color is a dark ruby with a nose of big dark fruit, spice, licorice and smoke. A complex and forward nose. This wine has a light body with ripe dark fruit and a burst of cedar and black pepper. There are moderate tannins and good acidity. The finish is a moderately long with fruit and pepper and a little leather.
We enjoy wine, food and travel. Pull That Cork is a chronicle of our wine adventures, the food and wine pairings we create and our travels which are increasingly organized around wine.
The Mont-Redon was pretty good but next time I’ll decant it. After being open about an hour the nose and the flavors really intensified. I’ll be headed down to wine shop today for another bottle.
Ah, yes, decanting the wine does help some. One of my readers will experiment with opening a bottle of wine, trying it, then let is sit for a day, try it again, then it sits for another day or two and tries the wine again to see if it got better or it went in the other direction. I can cellar a wine for 10-15 years with out a problem in the world but once I open a bottle of wine it usually doesn’t last long. I don’t have that kind of discipline.
I think it really depends on the wine if you are going to decant it. I rarely decant an old wine unless I think there will be a lot of sediment and I am serving it right away. I think 15 plus year old wines lose the nose quickly when decanted and maybe some flavor. Younger wines, particularly some 2004 through 2006 Oregon Pinot Noir’s really open up when decanted. I always taste the wine as soon as I open it so I can compare it to how it is after decanting 30 to 60 minutes.
I have had some wines where we only finished half a bottle that were better the next day and others that were noticeably oxidized. I don’t think I would ever keep an open bottle more than one day. I just don’t see it getting better.
I have a friend that likes cheap wines, the bulk house wines in restaurants. Several years ago one of his friends who owns a winery gave him a bottle. It was so bad that neither of us could drink it. I would have poured it out but he put it in a bowl on the counter. Later he told me that after a couple of weeks he could drink it 🙂
Fortunately his friends now make some very good wines so we don’t have that problem anymore.
I do enjoy a good Chateauneuf du Pape. And it goes well as a stand-alone wine or with just about anything you decide to pair it with. I have not had this particular vintner but will stop at the wine merchant and peruse their selections.