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The 2021 Calicem turned out well, but it is also quite a bit more exotic and floral than I recall en primeur. Dark red cherry/plum fruit, kirsch, blood orange, mint, cinnamon, cedar and new leather build nicely. Calicem, 100% Merlot, is usually a darker wine. The 2021 very much reflects the personality of the cool year. Tasted two times.
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James Suckling
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
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Ripe, sweet brambly berries on the nose, exhibiting rich dark raspberries, sweet, dried strawberries and hints of black licorice and chocolate. Medium-bodied on the palate with silky tannins and a long, juicy finish. Drink or hold.
Deeply colored, the wine shows off its espresso, smoke, chocolate, coffee bean and black cherry character easily. Sweet, lush, fruity and floral, you can drink this opulently-textured wine on release. Produced from 100% old vine Merlot planted in 1961. Drink from 2024-2038.
The 2021 Calicem is hugely promising. It offers up copious black cherry, blueberry, new leather and cloves. Naturally in 2021 Calicem is not quite as flamboyant as it can be, but that is not a bad thing at all. There is plenty of the textural depth and raciness that makes this 100% Merlot Saint-Émilion so alluring.