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Chateau de Laubade SMWS A5.1 Fruit Shop Raid 1989 61.3%

Nose: Subtle and gentle, soft nuttiness, stone fruits, tobacco, leather. tiny hint of chlorine. Toast with orange marmalade.

Palate: Insipid warmth with a sprinkle of herbs and spices, fleeting notes of the stone fruit, and cheap hair spray. The crystal folgers of armagnac. Wild spearmint. Pool water. The finish trails off into nothingness.

Rating: 5 / 10 – whatever. All the core components are here for this to be great, but they don’t quite come together to pull it off.