“This 2010 is a spectacular wine.” – Wine Advocate

With that, I wish y’all a Happy Friday Appy Hour from Bordeaux WITH a fine, fine Bordeaux deal!

Been to many wine bars here and there’s no comparison to how appealing this 2010 is with 15 years of age on it, and perfect provenance direct from the Château. 2010 was a stupendous vintage here, and by the few select bottles I came across this week, it drinks like a dream, with very little development on the primary fruit department.

Corbin is one of the under-the-radar St.-Émilion Grand Crus, in a neighborhood of legendary Châteaux such as Cheval-Blanc and Figeac, just a stone’s throw away. The dirt is precious around here for sure! Decanter adds that “you can be constantly surprised by the wine, a reminder that it is so different from much of St.-Émilion, with a clay subsoil replacing the limestone, and sandy-gravel in parts of the vineyard that remind you of just how close Pomerol is.”

Triple 93 points, but those scores are from WAY long ago when it was a baby. With the benefit of aging, it’s past the mid-90s if you ask me. Heck, the best treats this week were Bordeaux from 1985 and 1990, so these wines can age and age and age… As Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate attests to for a recent retrospective of the vintage, “there are indeed a number truly incredible 2010s, giving me pause at times even to want to stretch the 100-point scale to 101.” Aromas of rich, darker berry fruit and nicely integrated creamy new oak here lead to a medium to full-bodied palate that’s broad and fleshy, with ripe tannins and lively acidity bringing it all together in the long, powerful finish.

Which brings us to the simple fact that a 2010 of this caliber is UNHEARD OF at $77, you can add a zero or two to most wines in the same vicinity these days, and that’s even before the tariffs hit.

Got less than 20 cases. Will. Not. Last.

93 Points – Decanter “There is a beautiful texture to this and it has real depth of flavour. Plus it has the wonderful mark of the 2010 vintage in its freshness and upward curve through the palate. There are some fresh mint notes against the ripe black fruits, which you might expect to find more on the left bank than the right bank. This is well balanced even at 15% abv — and I am not normally a fan of Merlot heading so high. The 2010 was harvested two weeks later than the 2009, as pickers had to wait for the skins to get fully flexible and ripe. Matured in 50% new oak. Drink 2021-2028.”

93 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate “This 2010 is a spectacular wine from Annabelle Cruse-Bardinet from her 33-acre vineyard in the lieu-dit of Corbin (hence the name of the Château). Lush, concentrated black currant and kirsch-like fruit, a hint of licorice, and some floral notes and subtle background oak jump from the glass of this blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The purity, sumptuous texture, and seductive nature of this wine will endear it to most readers. It’s certainly a sleeper of the vintage, as Corbin has rarely made a wine of this intensity and richness, at least not in many a year. Drink it over the next 15+ years.”

93 Points – Falstaff “Deep dark ruby, dark core, purple reflections, delicate bright rim. Subtle floral underlay, intense black berry fruit, some prune in the background, candied orange zest. Powerful, fruity, vivid tannins, lots of alcohol, a powerful wine with a chocolaty finish, it can hardly walk for its sheer power, it is for friends of friendly giants.”