Dominik Mueller

Tasting note

For this year’s Christmas, I picked four wines to pair with a down to earth broth fondue. For aperitif, we started with a champagne by Henri Giraud. From there we went to Burgundy, then Bordeaux, and ended up at the Saar in Germany. Originally, I’d chosen a 1996 Sauternes to wrap things up but we decided to keep that bottle for another time. 2026 Christmas, perhaps?

From a perfect bottle with good, clean cork. Medium ruby red with no apparent age notes whatsoever. On the nose, plenty of primary aromas of dark and red berries, blackcurrant, black cherry, red plum. There are also aromas of vanilla and cedarwood. Leather, too, hinting at the time spent in bottle and giving the wine some complexity. In the mouth, alcohol is medium, as are the tannins at this point. Acidity is still high, however, which should provide enough structure for more development in future. The finish is dry and medium in length. Really good Bordeaux red wine with a rather balanced mix of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which is a little more pronounced in this vintage. Still younger than expected, this Citran should easily keep for another five to ten years, depending on cellar conditions.

Drink through 2028.

Tasted by Dominik Müller on Sunday, 24 December 2023.