2003 Château La Confession (France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion) (91 pts)

Garnet red color. Great, generous old-school St. Emilion nose of rustic plum, sweet tobacco and a good dose of coffee grinds and earthiness. On the palate, I taste mocha, tobacco, earth and boysen- and gooseberries. Finish is excellent and has good length.

This wine is surprisingly good...I thought this was going to be a full-blown super high octane right-banker with little sense of where it came from...wrong...this is a very typical and maybe even old-school St. Emilion wine that shows off its finesse and aromatic qualities. Excellent and for the $23 per bottle I purchased it, it was an absolute steal. Highly recommended for fans of old school style St. Emilion wines such as Beausejour Duffau, Magdelaine and Belair.