A Late Sunday Lunch With A Bottle Of 2001 Clos de l´Oratoire

With a tender fillet of pork, red cabbage coleslaw and a mustard sauce, I opted for a bottle from  Stephan von Neippberg empire.
Clos de l´Oratoire was bought in 1991. The estate is 10,3 ha big and the vines grow on Fronsac molasse covering a layer of sand with a clay subsoil. The wine consists of 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc and it gets 18 months in 80% new wood.

2001 Clos de l´Oratoire
This beauty has a dense, taut and focused nose with notes of ripe plums, ashes from a wood fire, black currant jam, forest floor and some dark coffee aromas. A very fine depth. A few signs of maturity but this has a long way to go. Really, really good. Opens up nicely throughout the evening.
The taste is finely tuned, velvety yet with a good backbone, with notes of plums, black currants, woodsmoke, dried figs and coffee powder. The finish is long and balanced. Very, very good. A lovely sweetness to the fruit. This will get even better with 5+ years in the cellar.
92p   (tasted 2015/12)