Cave de Roquebrun – Golden Wines 2012 – Saint-Chinian Roquebrun

Youthful dense colour, purple, blue-black centre, not a lot of evolution. Youthful nose, very modern polish with some roasted new oak, dark fruity with really dark berries, plum, some floral hints, but more primary fruits still, needs some more time to develop. Very concentrated palate, dense core, ripe dark fruit, very inky, with almost a hint of blackberry liqueur. Dried plum, roasted notes. The tannins are quite present but I would call them quite grainy and fairly integrated. Opening up in the glass gives a quite good drinkability. Very dense and ripe, still with a good balance thanks to the tannin and the acidity. Oak is less noticeable on the palate and we get this very ripe juicy dark peppery fruit with some meaty notes, some spicy notes, and a very long warm finish. A very concentrated and ripe wine but always with a balance in place; and obviously a wine that can be kept for many years in a cellar, depending on what style of wine that one likes, but I would happily pour it in a decanter and drink it with a nice big juicy steak today.

Tasted by the Best Sommelier of the World, Andreas Larsson.