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Press-book
Château La Vieille Cure 2007
DECANTER
Awkward at the tasting but the track record is good. Medium-bodied, supple with a certain persistence. Drink 2009-2014. (14.5 points)
Jancis ROBINSON
Château La Vieille Cure 2007 : 15
Drink 2012-16
Sweet intense chocolate orange aromas. Dry powdery tannins and not much flesh in the middle. The overall balance is not bad but finishes dry.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
April 2008
87-89
Jean-Marc QUARIN
April 2008
86
Lovely dark color of medium intensity. Fruity, fresh and very ripe nose. Well structured on the palate, with a suave taste of merlot. The body is present and caressing. Fat, tannic and aromatic on the finish.
Château La Vieille Cure 2006
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
89-91
The 2006 is another outstanding effort from this Fronsac estate.
Dominated by its ripe Merlot component, the wine possesses a dense ruby/purple color as well as notes of sweet mulberries, black cherry liqueur, underbrush, and subtle oak. Fleshy, plump, pure, and richly fruity, this medium to full-bodied sleeper of the vintage will be at its finest between 2010 and 2020.
DECANTER - April 2007
Château La Vieille Cure 2006 *****
Open, fruity, easy style. Tannins a touch angular on the finish.
2009-16.
Jancis ROBINSON
Château La Vieille Cure 2006 : 16
Drink 2010-15
Full, rich and very winning even if not for me the very long term. Quite a bit of refreshing acidity but this is so much more exciting than most other wines sold by the UK supermarket group Sainsbury’s!
Pretty dry finish for the moment but there is broad, solid fruit here.
Château La Vieille Cure 2005
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
(April 2008)
93
A Bordeaux Blend Dry Red Table wine from Fronsac, Bordeaux, France
La Vieille Cure’s amazing 2005 is even better than their terrific 2003 and 2000. The 2005 boasts an inky/ruby color as well as a gorgeously sweet perfume of charcoal, black cherries, black currants, and spring flowers as well as an underlying mineral component. Superb concentration, full-bodied power, wonderful symmetry, purity, and texture, and a multidimensional mouthfeel are all found in this fabulous sleeper ot the vintage. Anticipated maturity : 2010 – 2020+
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
89-91
While the 2005 does not equal the prodigious 2003 (the finest La Vieille Cure to date), this Merlot dominated effort was fashioned under the guidance of Michel Rolland. It is a dense powerful, cork ruby/purpletinged offering a big structure, loads of substance as well as extract, and high tannin. Give this sleeper of the vintage 2-3 years of bottle age and consume it over the following two decades.
DECANTER
16
Open, dark fruit and floral fragrance. Harmonious fruit and tannins. Good medium-bodied wine. Drink 2009-2018.
Jancis ROBINSON
Château La Vieille Cure 2005 : 16
Drink 2009-14
Deep crimson. Healthy depth. Up to the limit of ripeness – very sweet and not at all overworked on the point of tannin. Fresh acidity and a very neat touch of dryness on the finish. Perfectly straight, slightly countrified wine that is not fatally ambitious and should provide enormous pleasure to countless customers at Sainsbury’s and elsewhere. What more could you ask?
Château La Vieille Cure 2004
Robert PARKER WINE ADVOCATE : July 2006
Château La Vieille Cure 2004
88-90
This sleeper of the vintage strongly suggests that La Vieille Cure is becoming one of Fronsac’s two or three finest estates. This beautiful effort offers sweet licorice, crème de cassis, and cherry jam notes along with a hint of minerals, superb definition, decent acidity, ripe tannin and a nicely textured mouthfeel. Because of its high percentage of Merlot, it can be drunk early, or cellared for 10-15 years.
L'AMATEUR DE BORDEAUX
June 2005
Class !
Château La Vieille Cure 2003
James Suckling: WINE SPECTATOR : February 2006
Château La Vieille Cure 2003
90
This is really beautiful and balanced, with berry and light vanilla character. Full-bodied, densely balanced yet refined and caressing. Beautiful wine.
From American owner Colin FERENBACH
Best after 2006.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE 2005
90-93
This estate, owned by an American consortium, has been doing spectacular work over the last half dozen or so vintages. The wine is 2003 is one of the sleepers of the vintage. A dense ruby/purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary perfume of kirsch liqueur, spice box, incense, and earth. With a superb texture, full body, and loads of glycerin as well as fruit, it is a hedonistic, satisfying, mouthfilling red that can be drunk young or cellared for 10-12 years.
La Vieille Cure's finest effort to date, the remarkable, opulent, rich elegant offering displaying notes of cedar, underbrush, black cherries, currants, and subtle new oak. This tasty, medium-bodied wine possesses a seambless texture with no hard edges. It stood out in my tasting of 2002 Fronsacs as one of the two or three finest wines of the appellation. Consume it over the next 7-10 years.
Robert PARKER THE WINE ADVOCATE April 2004
89-90
This estate has been on a roll since 1988. A larger-framed, more substantial effort than usual, it posses broad, heady flavors, elevated alcohol, high tannin an sweet kirsch liqueur-like fruit intermixed with notions of raspberries and black currants. Once the tannin falls away this will be an opulent, medium to full-bodied, mouth-filling Fronsac.
Château La Vieille Cure 2002
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
87
In a more difficult vintage, La Vieille Cure has turned out an primarly Merlot that has been picked ripe and vinified impeccabely.
DECANTER
May 2003
Fresh, spicy bouquet, good ripeness, medium bodied, perhaps a touch light in the middle, fresh finish. Drink 2005-2008
BORDEAUX NEW-YORK MAGAZINE
N° 6 - 2005
GC: opaque, sawdust, butterscotch, blueberry, violets, vanilla, very dry, needs aging.
CF: pratically inky, nose slightly closed, might need more age, graham crackers slathered in blueberry and black raspberry jam.
TW: rich, chocolate, black fruits and spice, well rounded, oaky but well integrated.
AB: deep rich color, good extraction, rich vanilla spice, powerful attack, short finish
Note : 90.25 (Excellent)
Château La Vieille Cure 2001
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE, June 2004
90
Over recent years La Vieille Cure has become one of the leading estates of Fronsac. Its style is one of opulence, complexity and sexy, up-front fruit, but with enough tannin and fruit to age for a decade. The 2001 is a worth successor to their brilliant 2000. A deep ruby/purple color is followed by dense aromas of incense, kirsch liqueur, black currants and spice box. Low acidity, ripe tannins and a plump, fleshy texture all add to the allure of this beautifully-made, pure wine.
Château La Vieille Cure 2000
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE, April 2003
90
Wow, what a sexy wine ! Deep ruby/purple, with a glorious nose of kirsch liqueur, caramel, and toast, this sweet, expansive, medium to full-bodied wine marries elegance and power brilliantly. The acidity is low, the fruit ripe, the tannins integrated, and the impression one of sumptuous, concentrated fruit. Drink it over the next decade. This is the best La Vieille Cure made to date.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
This parennial over-achiever has fashioned its finest wine to date. The sweet, opulent-textured, dense, dark ruby/purple-colored 2000 possesses applicable jammy berry sweetness infused with mocha, cola, and subtle toast. Layered and pure, with considerable depth as well as size, this realistically priced Fronsac is a sleeper of the vintage. Anticipated maturity : 2004 – 2015
DECANTER
James LAWTHER - February 2003
Rich, dark fruit on the nose and palate. Good weight and density. Sweet attack, full and supple. Well rounded tannins. 2004-2008
Château La Vieille Cure 1999
Robert PARKER: THE WINE ADVOCATE
One of the finest Fronsac estates, La Vieille Cure is producing wines of a Pomerol-like lushness and savory fruit.
WINE INTERNATIONAL
October 2003
This is a real gem from the often underrated Fronsac. It has a very expressive nose full of cassis and black berry fruit and a touch of spice. It is beautifully ripe with a layered complexity on the palate and fleshy fruit balanced by tight tannins and crisp acidity.
THE NEW-YORK TIMES
Franck Prial - February 2002
A wine worth getting to know
LA REVUE DU VIN DE FRANCE
September 2003
(*****) Outstanding Quality
Château La Vieille Cure 1998
THE VINE
Clive Coates - June 2004
This is very good plus. Another fine example from this now splendidly consistent estate.
Robert PARKER : January 2001
91
Subtle aromas of mineral, berry, cherry and licorice. Full-bodied, with wonderfully-polished tannins and a long-long finish. Amazing quality for this estate.
WINE
Most Exciting Wines of 2001
91/100
The Fronsac appellation is on the Right Bank of the Dordogne, northeast of Bordeaux. Away from the bright lights of the better-known appellations, this 46-acre estate is quietly producing some of the region's best wines, using a high percentage of Merlot in its blend, and a little new oak aging. 5,000 cases made.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
April 2000
88
Deep, ruby colored with purple nuances...structure, rich, ripe and medium-bodied,...it possesses the capacity to age well for 10-12 years.
WINE INTERNATIONAL
December 2002
Deep colour with bold, toasty, chocolate aromas. Certainly delivers on flavour, with real depth and good balance overall. Still young but pretty serious in a bold style. RB
Nice sweet fruit on the nose, good weight of fruit and flavour. Ripe mid-palate with length of flavour and well balanced. DS
Very complete harmonious nose with fruit and oak in fine proportion. A tannic, serious wine with fresh acidity and good concentration. AH
DECANTER
The wine displays a fragrant black fruit and plum fruit almost sweet with some oak. It is a rich, full-body style with a chewy texture and a good concentration.
Château La Vieille Cure 1997
LE GUIDE HACHETTE DES VINS
2001
This estate, ideally placed on clay and limestone slopes, produces excellent wines every year. This is proved once again by a '97 of deep garnet color, with aromas of toasted oak, wild game and tobacco. The substance of the wine is evident in the mouth, accompanied by hearty yet elegant tannins. The winemaker here knew how to extract the best from his grapes. This excellent bottle will be perfect in two to six years.
Note: The Hachette Guide is the world's best-selling wine guide and has great influence throughout Europe.
Château La Vieille Cure 1996
THEWINEDOCTOR.COM
(tasting all things vinous and fine)
Plums, cherries and coffee on the nose of this youthful wine. There is also evidence of smoky new oak. This has a bigger, more evident structure than the 1995, although it seems somewhat more impressively put together. There are firm tannins, full body and a big, mouthfilling texture. A great spectrum of youthful flavours, with morello cherries and plums reflecting the nose, but also some fine, bitter chocolate and a touch of tobacco. There's plenty of acidity to keep it fresh. Approachable now, but really needs a few more years to show its best. Very good.
Château La Vieille Cure 1995
THEWINEDOCTOR.COM
(tasting all things vinous and fine)
A lovely nose here, with ripe and crunchy blackcurrants backed up by edge to the bouquet. With aeration the wine really opens out developing great, intense and classic Bordeaux fruit. The structure is immediately apparent on the palate, with some good tofee-edged fruit and a hint of creamy richness playing second fiddle to slightly hard tannins and good acidity. Quite classic and mouthfiling, especially after extended aeration. Good potential for future development. Very good.
Château La Vieille Cure 1990
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
April 2001
(1990 & 1989) 89 and 87 points. Two glorious wines...They are fleshy, almost Pomerol-like in their rich, sumptuous textures and sweet, expansive flavors. It will be hard to decide which of these two attractively-priced wines one prefers.
THE NEW-YORK TIMES
June 1997
This consistently good claret has featured here before and the 1990 is the best this property has made. Right-bank Fronsac delivers some...of the charm of its neighbors Pomerol and St Emilion with a much reduced price and often with a less rustic result.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
2-28-93 - Issue 85
The delicious 1990 is a dead-ringer for a top Pomerol. Deeply colored, ti displays a fragrant black fruit scent, and plump, almost sweet, supple, rich, full-bodied flavors that suggest a high Merlot content. It has excellent color, a chewy texture, and a velvety yet well-delineated finish. Drink it over the next 7-8 years. Impressive and well-priced.
Château La Vieille Cure 1989
WINE INTERNATIONAL
March 2005
This [is] serious wine...evolved sweet fruit, good complexity and a long, excellent finish..."
DECANTER
December 1994
(*****) Oustanding Quality. Deep red colour, with a full, ripe black, fruit nose. Fat, full and rounded tannins and structure. A top wine.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
2-28-93 - Issue 85
The 1989's open knit, fragrant nose of sweet fruit, earth, and vanillin is followed by a fleshy, chewy wine with excellent richness and a Pomerol-like succulence and intensity. Drink this delicious, well-made, well-balanced wine over the next 10-12 years.
LA REVUE DU VIN DE FRANCE
Michel BETTANE
We have especially liked Château La Vieille Cure, intense color, velvety texture, splendid ripeness of the grapes.
Château La Vieille Cure 1988
Hugh JOHNSON'S Pocket Wine Guide
A leader of the Appellation
DECANTER
November 1992
Highly Recommended
David ROSENGARTEN - "Wine at the Table"
February 12, 1992
"...sometimes young winemakers on the rise can craft magnificent wines in unglamorous Bordeaux satellite regions. Such a region is Fronsac, just past the Pomerol border, and such a wine is the 1988 Chateau La Vieille Cure. It's an elegant, beautifully balanced wine,... filled with the haunting flavor of raspberries...this beauty is probably at its best now".
Château La Vieille Cure 1986
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
April 1989
80
It's nice to see this American owned property turning out some very elegantly crafted, attractively flavored wines from Fronsac. The succulent, supple 1985 has been followed by the 1986, a powerful, medium-bodied wine, with good color, plenty of tannin in the finish, yet aging potential of at least decade. Yet, I kept my score modest because of my concerns about the high level of tannins. This property has immense potential, and there has been enormous investment seem to be in place for this to become one of the up and coming strars of Fronsac. Anticipated maturity: 1992-2000.
Jancis ROBINSON - FINANCIAL TIMES
December 21, 1990
Plump, attractive, by no means standoffish and would go very well turkey.
Château La Vieille Cure 1985
WINE & SPIRITS
December 1988
Deep garnet; "rich overlay of oak, chocolate" wrote Matt Siegel; chewy with tanins layered leathery fruit; medium body, "dusty" with good length. Though the chateau and vineyards are not new, the 1985 vintage is the first release from this estate, which, prior to its purchase by an American syndicate in 1986, sold the production of its nearly 40 acres of vines in bulk and to negociants.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
April 1987
Good, deep color with a moderately intense berry fruit aroma complemented nicely by spicy oak, this well made wine has heaps of juice, soft fruit, medium to full body, and quite a good finish. Anticipated Maturity : 1988-1994. Tasted twice, consistent notes.
Château La Vieille Cure 2006
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
89-91 points
The 2006 is another outstanding effort from this Fronsac estate.
Dominated by its ripe Merlot component, the wine possesses a dense ruby/purple color as well as notes of sweet mulberries, black cherry liqueur, underbrush, and subtle oak. Fleshy, plump, pure, and richly fruity, this medium to full-bodied sleeper of the vintage will be at its finest between 2010 and 2020.
DECANTER - April 2007
Château La Vieille Cure 2006 *****
Open, fruity, easy style. Tannins a touch angular on the finish.
2009-16.
Jancis ROBINSON
Château La Vieille Cure 2006 : 16
Drink 2010-15
Full, rich and very winning even if not for me the very long term. Quite a bit of refreshing acidity but this is so much more exciting than most other wines sold by the UK supermarket group Sainsbury’s!
Pretty dry finish for the moment but there is broad, solid fruit here.
Château La Vieille Cure 2005
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
89-91 points
While the 2005 does not equal the prodigious 2003 (the finest La Vieille Cure to date), this Merlot dominated effort was fashioned under the guidance of Michel Rolland. It is a dense powerful, cork ruby/purpletinged offering a big structure, loads of substance as well as extract, and high tannin. Give this sleeper of the vintage 2-3 years of bottle age and consume it over the following two decades.
DECANTER
16 points
Open, dark fruit and floral fragrance. Harmonious fruit and tannins. Good medium-bodied wine. Drink 2009-2018.
Jancis ROBINSON
Château La Vieille Cure 2005 : 16
Drink 2009-14
Deep crimson. Healthy depth. Up to the limit of ripeness – very sweet and not at all overworked on the point of tannin. Fresh acidity and a very neat touch of dryness on the finish. Perfectly straight, slightly countrified wine that is not fatally ambitious and should provide enormous pleasure to countless customers at Sainsbury’s and elsewhere. What more could you ask?
Château La Vieille Cure 2004
Robert PARKER WINE ADVOCATE : July 2006
Château La Vieille Cure 2004
88-90 Points
This sleeper of the vintage strongly suggests that La Vieille Cure is becoming one of Fronsac’s two or three finest estates. This beautiful effort offers sweet licorice, crème de cassis, and cherry jam notes along with a hint of minerals, superb definition, decent acidity, ripe tannin and a nicely textured mouthfeel. Because of its high percentage of Merlot, it can be drunk early, or cellared for 10-15 years.
L'AMATEUR DE BORDEAUX
June 2005
Class !
Château La Vieille Cure 2003
James Suckling:WINE SPECTATOR : February 2006
Château La Vieille Cure 2003
90 Points
This is really beautiful and balanced, with berry and light vanilla character. Full-bodied, densely balanced yet refined and caressing. Beautiful wine.
From American owner Colin FERENBACH
Best after 2006.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE 2005
90-93 points
This estate, owned by an American consortium, has been doing spectacular work over the last half dozen or so vintages. The wine is 2003 is one of the sleepers of the vintage. A dense ruby/purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary perfume of kirsch liqueur, spice box, incense, and earth. With a superb texture, full body, and loads of glycerin as well as fruit, it is a hedonistic, satisfying, mouthfilling red that can be drunk young or cellared for 10-12 years.
La Vieille Cure's finest effort to date, the remarkable, opulent, rich elegant offering displaying notes of cedar, underbrush, black cherries, currants, and subtle new oak. This tasty, medium-bodied wine possesses a seambless texture with no hard edges. It stood out in my tasting of 2002 Fronsacs as one of the two or three finest wines of the appellation. Consume it over the next 7-10 years.
Robert PARKER THE WINE ADVOCATE April 2004
89-90 points
This estate has been on a roll since 1988. A larger-framed, more substantial effort than usual, it posses broad, heady flavors, elevated alcohol, high tannin an sweet kirsch liqueur-like fruit intermixed with notions of raspberries and black currants. Once the tannin falls away this will be an opulent, medium to full-bodied, mouth-filling Fronsac.
Château La Vieille Cure 2002
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
87 points
In a more difficult vintage, La Vieille Cure has turned out an primarly Merlot that has been picked ripe and vinified impeccabely.
DECANTER
May 2003
Fresh, spicy bouquet, good ripeness, medium bodied, perhaps a touch light in the middle, fresh finish. Drink 2005-2008
BORDEAUX NEW-YORK MAGAZINE
N° 6 - 2005
GC: opaque, sawdust, butterscotch, blueberry, violets, vanilla, very dry, needs aging.
CF: pratically inky, nose slightly closed, might need more age, graham crackers slathered in blueberry and black raspberry jam.
TW: rich, chocolate, black fruits and spice, well rounded, oaky but well integrated.
AB: deep rich color, good extraction, rich vanilla spice, powerful attack, short finish
Note : 90.25 (Excellent)
Château La Vieille Cure 2001
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE, June 2004
90 points
Over recent years La Vieille Cure has become one of the leading estates of Fronsac. Its style is one of opulence, complexity and sexy, up-front fruit, but with enough tannin and fruit to age for a decade. The 2001 is a worth successor to their brilliant 2000. A deep ruby/purple color is followed by dense aromas of incense, kirsch liqueur, black currants and spice box. Low acidity, ripe tannins and a plump, fleshy texture all add to the allure of this beautifully-made, pure wine.
Château La Vieille Cure 2000
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE, April 2003
90 Points
Wow, what a sexy wine ! Deep ruby/purple, with a glorious nose of kirsch liqueur, caramel, and toast, this sweet, expansive, medium to full-bodied wine marries elegance and power brilliantly. The acidity is low, the fruit ripe, the tannins integrated, and the impression one of sumptuous, concentrated fruit. Drink it over the next decade. This is the best La Vieille Cure made to date.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
This parennial over-achiever has fashioned its finest wine to date. The sweet, opulent-textured, dense, dark ruby/purple-colored 2000 possesses applicable jammy berry sweetness infused with mocha, cola, and subtle toast. Layered and pure, with considerable depth as well as size, this realistically priced Fronsac is a sleeper of the vintage. Anticipated maturity : 2004 – 2015
DECANTER
James LAWTHER - February 2003
Rich, dark fruit on the nose and palate. Good weight and density. Sweet attack, full and supple. Well rounded tannins. 2004-2008
Château La Vieille Cure 1999
Robert PARKER: THE WINE ADVOCATE
One of the finest Fronsac estates, La Vieille Cure is producing wines of a Pomerol-like lushness and savory fruit.
WINE INTERNATIONAL
October 2003
This is a real gem from the often underrated Fronsac. It has a very expressive nose full of cassis and black berry fruit and a touch of spice. It is beautifully ripe with a layered complexity on the palate and fleshy fruit balanced by tight tannins and crisp acidity.
THE NEW-YORK TIMES
Franck Prial - February 2002
A wine worth getting to know
LA REVUE DU VIN DE FRANCE
September 2003
(*****) Outstanding Quality
Château La Vieille Cure 1998
THE VINE
Clive Coates - June 2004
This is very good plus. Another fine example from this now splendidly consistent estate.
Robert PARKER :WINE SPECTATOR,January 2001
91 points
Subtle aromas of mineral, berry, cherry and licorice. Full-bodied, with wonderfully-polished tannins and a long-long finish. Amazing quality for this estate.
WINE
Most Exciting Wines of 2001
91/100
The Fronsac appellation is on the Right Bank of the Dordogne, northeast of Bordeaux. Away from the bright lights of the better-known appellations, this 46-acre estate is quietly producing some of the region's best wines, using a high percentage of Merlot in its blend, and a little new oak aging. 5,000 cases made.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
April 2000
88 points
Deep, ruby colored with purple nuances...structure, rich, ripe and medium-bodied,...it possesses the capacity to age well for 10-12 years.
WINE INTERNATIONAL
December 2002
Deep colour with bold, toasty, chocolate aromas. Certainly delivers on flavour, with real depth and good balance overall. Still young but pretty serious in a bold style. RB
Nice sweet fruit on the nose, good weight of fruit and flavour. Ripe mid-palate with length of flavour and well balanced. DS
Very complete harmonious nose with fruit and oak in fine proportion. A tannic, serious wine with fresh acidity and good concentration. AH
DECANTER
The wine displays a fragrant black fruit and plum fruit almost sweet with some oak. It is a rich, full-body style with a chewy texture and a good concentration.
Château La Vieille Cure 1997
LE GUIDE HACHETTE DES VINS
2001
This estate, ideally placed on clay and limestone slopes, produces excellent wines every year. This is proved once again by a '97 of deep garnet color, with aromas of toasted oak, wild game and tobacco. The substance of the wine is evident in the mouth, accompanied by hearty yet elegant tannins. The winemaker here knew how to extract the best from his grapes. This excellent bottle will be perfect in two to six years.
Note: The Hachette Guide is the world's best-selling wine guide and has great influence throughout Europe.
Château La Vieille Cure 1996
THEWINEDOCTOR.COM
(tasting all things vinous and fine)
Plums, cherries and coffee on the nose of this youthful wine. There is also evidence of smoky new oak. This has a bigger, more evident structure than the 1995, although it seems somewhat more impressively put together. There are firm tannins, full body and a big, mouthfilling texture. A great spectrum of youthful flavours, with morello cherries and plums reflecting the nose, but also some fine, bitter chocolate and a touch of tobacco. There's plenty of acidity to keep it fresh. Approachable now, but really needs a few more years to show its best. Very good.
Château La Vieille Cure 1995
THEWINEDOCTOR.COM
(tasting all things vinous and fine)
A lovely nose here, with ripe and crunchy blackcurrants backed up by edge to the bouquet. With aeration the wine really opens out developing great, intense and classic Bordeaux fruit. The structure is immediately apparent on the palate, with some good tofee-edged fruit and a hint of creamy richness playing second fiddle to slightly hard tannins and good acidity. Quite classic and mouthfiling, especially after extended aeration. Good potential for future development. Very good.
Château La Vieille Cure 1990
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
April 2001
(1990 & 1989) 89 and 87 points. Two glorious wines...They are fleshy, almost Pomerol-like in their rich, sumptuous textures and sweet, expansive flavors. It will be hard to decide which of these two attractively-priced wines one prefers.
THE NEW-YORK TIMES
June 1997
This consistently good claret has featured here before and the 1990 is the best this property has made. Right-bank Fronsac delivers some...of the charm of its neighbors Pomerol and St Emilion with a much reduced price and often with a less rustic result.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
2-28-93 - Issue 85
The delicious 1990 is a dead-ringer for a top Pomerol. Deeply colored, ti displays a fragrant black fruit scent, and plump, almost sweet, supple, rich, full-bodied flavors that suggest a high Merlot content. It has excellent color, a chewy texture, and a velvety yet well-delineated finish. Drink it over the next 7-8 years. Impressive and well-priced.
Château La Vieille Cure 1989
WINE INTERNATIONAL
March 2005
This [is] serious wine...evolved sweet fruit, good complexity and a long, excellent finish..."
DECANTER
December 1994
(*****) Oustanding Quality. Deep red colour, with a full, ripe black, fruit nose. Fat, full and rounded tannins and structure. A top wine.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
2-28-93 - Issue 85
The 1989's open knit, fragrant nose of sweet fruit, earth, and vanillin is followed by a fleshy, chewy wine with excellent richness and a Pomerol-like succulence and intensity. Drink this delicious, well-made, well-balanced wine over the next 10-12 years.
LA REVUE DU VIN DE FRANCE
Michel BETTANE
We have especially liked Château La Vieille Cure, intense color, velvety texture, splendid ripeness of the grapes.
Château La Vieille Cure 1988
Hugh JOHNSON'S Pocket Wine Guide
A leader of the Appellation
DECANTER
November 1992
Highly Recommended
David ROSENGARTEN - "Wine at the Table"
February 12, 1992
"...sometimes young winemakers on the rise can craft magnificent wines in unglamorous Bordeaux satellite regions. Such a region is Fronsac, just past the Pomerol border, and such a wine is the 1988 Chateau La Vieille Cure. It's an elegant, beautifully balanced wine,... filled with the haunting flavor of raspberries...this beauty is probably at its best now".
Château La Vieille Cure 1986
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
April 1989
It's nice to see this American owned property turning out some very elegantly crafted, attractively flavored wines from Fronsac. The succulent, supple 1985 has been followed by the 1986, a powerful, medium-bodied wine, with good color, plenty of tannin in the finish, yet aging potential of at least decade. Yet, I kept my score modest because of my concerns about the high level of tannins. This property has immense potential, and there has been enormous investment seem to be in place for this to become one of the up and coming strars of Fronsac. Anticipated maturity: 1992-2000.
80 points
Jancis ROBINSON - FINANCIAL TIMES
December 21, 1990
Plump, attractive, by no means standoffish and would go very well turkey.
Château La Vieille Cure 1985
WINE & SPIRITS
December 1988
Deep garnet; "rich overlay of oak, chocolate" wrote Matt Siegel; chewy with tanins layered leathery fruit; medium body, "dusty" with good length. Though the chateau and vineyards are not new, the 1985 vintage is the first release from this estate, which, prior to its purchase by an American syndicate in 1986, sold the production of its nearly 40 acres of vines in bulk and to negociants.
Robert PARKER : THE WINE ADVOCATE
April 1987
Good, deep color with a moderately intense berry fruit aroma complemented nicely by spicy oak, this well made wine has heaps of juice, soft fruit, medium to full body, and quite a good finish. Anticipated Maturity : 1988-1994. Tasted twice, consistent notes.
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