Clos de l'Oratoire 2001

A terrific sleeper value, Stephan von Neipperg’s 2001 Clos de l’Oratoire boasts a deep blue/purple color as well as a rich nose of melted licorice, espresso roast, black currants, minerals, smoke, and earth. This opulent, medium-bodied St.-Emilion exhibits abundant quantities of fruit and glycerin along with a fleshy, ripe, expansive finish with no hard edges. Some tannin lurks beneath the surface, but this is a beautiful wine to drink now and over the next 10-12 years.

Dense. Sweet and concentrated and in the modern idiom on the nose but with some freshness. This wine works even if it’s not desperately bordeaux – like theh Gracia in some respects but in this case with some juice. Dry finish.

The deep blue/purple-colored 2001 offers sweet aromas of blackberries, raspberries, incense, licorice, and toasty oak. It is sweet and medium-bodied, with an intense attack. It narrows out displaying rough tannin in the finish. If it continues to flesh out and the tannin sweetens, it will be outstanding. I tasted this wine on four occasions and the question mark is due to the austere, aggressively tannic finish in one sample. Aside from that, it is an impressively made St.-Emilion, although not up to the quality level of 1998, 1999, and 2000. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2015.