A sexy, full-bodied, very drinkable style of 2005, Eric Prissette’s 2005 Rol Valentin displays loads of black cherry fruit, licorice, Christmas fruitcake and spice. Full-bodied and opulent, it can be drunk over the next 10-15 years.

Deep, bright ruby. Highly aromatic nose offers liqueur-like notes of blackberry, violet, licorice and spices. Fat, sweet and dense; fleshy and very ripe, but with excellent supporting structure. Very broad, large-scaled wine with sexy flavors of black raspberry, minerals and bitter chocolate. Strong and fresh on the back end, finishing with building tannins and noteworthy grip. This will evolve slowly in bottle and last well. Prissette included 75% of his press wine, and noted that the final blend is 92% merlot, the rest cabernet franc and sauvignon. The alcohol here is 14+% but the pH is a moderate 3.7.

Former rugby player Eric Prissette consistently fashions excellent wines from various parcels in St.-Emilion. At the urging of consultant Stephane Derencourt, Prissette keeps crop yields low (27 hectoliters per hectare), and practices such winemaking techniques as cold soaks, month-long macerations, malolactic in barrel, and aging on lees. The 2,000 cases produced each year are gobbled up by enthusiastic consumers looking for wines that will be drinkable during their first 10-15 years of life. The 1995 is just now hitting its peak, so I suspect Rol Valentin’s aging potential is even longer. The 2005 reveals sweet black cherry notes intermixed with espresso roast, black currants, dried herbs, and spice. The vintage’s fresh acidity and moderately high tannin come through in the mouth, but they are well-integrated, and the wine’s admirable concentration balances out the formidable structure. However, this effort will not be as charming in its youth as other recent vintages. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2020+.

Tasted blind. Very dark crimson. Some sweet, coconut notes on the nose – the sort that put me off – but I’m sure the owners thought they were lavishing extra care on this wine that seems a little overdone, in the idiom of the immediate yesteryear in St-Émilion. Aggressive tannins. Hot finish. The half point is for effort. (JR)