Clos De Sarpe 2003 (1.5L)

93 WA

This offering was unusual when I first tasted it from barrel, seemingly over-extracted, massive and so colossal that I wondered if it could ever come around. Well, within eleven years it has. A blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc made from yields of 13 hectoliters per hectare, this beautiful 2003 moves ever so slightly toward an Italian Amarone because of the fig, roasted herb and jammy blackberry and cherry fruit notes, but it pulls back before becoming a full-scale Amarone. Full-bodied, ripe, rich and impressively endowed, it is not for everybody, but it is a stunningly big, spicy, meaty, exotic Bordeaux to drink over the next 5-7 years. Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate