critic reviews
The home estate of Chantal and Gerard Perse, the 2001 Monbousquet (a 7,500-case blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon bottled unfined and unfiltered) is a big, flamboyant, sexy offering with a dense ruby/purple color as well as a big, sweet nose of licorice, dried herbs, smoke, black currants, and blackberries. Beautifully textured, medium to full-bodied, opulent, and forward, this is a juicy, succulent, seductive claret to drink over the next 10-12 years.
(60% merlot, with 30% cabernet franc and 10% cabernet sauvignon) Deep red-ruby. Expressive, in-your-face aromas of black raspberry, plum, game, leather and chocolate. Sweet and sexy on the palate, with complex flavors of plum, raspberry, tobacco, minerals, leather and chocolate. Finishes with sweet tannins and excellent length. This seems remarkably open and accessible today but has solid underlying structure for mid-term aging.