Noilly Prat Rouge Vermouth

A very full bodied beautiful vermouth. Gaz Regans favorite for Negronis. Very Jammy and Berry flavored with a deep roundness

Rating: 13/23 N: Quite an interesting nose. I get spices (largely baking spices, but I might also be getting a hint of garam masala and/or ras el hanout?) immediately, followed by some bitter fruitiness a la Campari. There's a combination of juiciness with a rich (but tamed) sweetness to the fruit and a bitter citrus zest. It's a decently complex and balanced result. It's a very enjoyable nose. P: Quite sweet, but immediately tempered by the bitter, tart fruit. The spices do a great job of stepping in to bridge the cap between the two. I think I'm really just tasting baking spices, but when combined with the fruit, I do get suggestions of ras el hanout from the bitterness. The complexity and balance are both very solid. I get blood orange juice, blood orange peel, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, some sort of sweet fruit (maybe straight-up grape juice?), corriander, carraway, a hint of turmeric. The only real problem I find here - though it isn't insignificant - is that the sweet fruit tastes fairly immature, kind of like somebody just dumped some grape juice right into the mix. Still, it's a nice palate, and I expect that many cocktails will hide that character well. It reminds me a lot of Campari (go figure), but it's more balanced and not as strong. F: The finish is fairly mild, with some pervading grape sweetness counterbalanced by plentiful bitter peel and spices. I prefer the palate, but this is totally fine too. There's a lot to like in this. I could totally sip it and might even choose to do so in the right circumstance. I certainly wouldn't actively seek it out, but for its price, it's already in an impressive position. I would use it confidently in a cocktails and enjoy the result. I don't think that this is a 15, but I could kind of imagine it. Similarly, I could imagine a 12, but I don't really think so. So a 13 or 14 it is. There's something a bit weird here that's bothering me. Perhaps the mineral flavor is giving this a lack of fullness? Whatever it is, it nags at me enough that I think I need to go for a 13 rather than a 14.

The nose has that vermouth character to it with that bitter, fermented tartness and brininess. The palate has hat astringent vermouth character to it with some sweetness giving way to a sweeter, fruitier profile. Yeah, that brine is there on the palate too, lingering throughout. This is borderline sippable, but it falls just on the wrong side. I could drink it, but I'd prefer not to. It's kind of its own thing, but I'm not a big fan of the flavor profile and it isn't super complex (though it isn't totally bland either). I think I'll be giving it an 11 or 12. There's quite a pomegranate flavor and a little bit of raspberry and strawberry too. The nose is generally spiced with some sweetness and bit of fruit. The palate is similar, with some caraway and ginger flavors coming out amidst some cranberry and a faint hint of brown sugar. There's not a ton of fruit to it really though. The spiced flavor really does come through, but the fruit definitely doesn't have the fullness and depth of red wine. The palate is solid enough and this is great for mixing, but the complexity is not all that much - it definitely doesn't taste like a red wine was used. The amount of sweetness is pretty nice, but the canpari-oike bitterness could be a fair bit much for many. I don't think this is better than a 15, but it could be a 14 or lower. I'm dropping it to a 14 for now.