Tasted blind – light yellow in colour. Nose of toasty oak, soft and sour citrus with hints of development. In the mouth there’s some richness but with good acidity and flavours of lemon and nice minerality. Medium length finish which has notes of lemon zest. Overall this is a really nice blend of richness, acidity and freshness with a little bit of development. Drinking very now and will likely continue to develop for another 3-5 years. Excellent. 90+
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges
Tasted blind – beautiful mature colour of light red/orange with slight browning near the rim. Gorgeous nose of barnyard, spice and traces of red fruits. Delicate in the mouth with good acidity. Flavours, like the nose, are mainly secondary/tertiary with just hints of mature red fruits. There’s some tartness on the finish. This started to fade in the glass and my last sip finished with nothing but acid. This was easy to identify as Burgundy. While this had a fantastic mature Burgundy nose and was still very nice to drink today, I think this might have been better 3-5 years ago. Very good.
Italy, Trentino Alto-Adige / Veneto, Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT
Tasted blind – Dark and very youthful looking, deep red, almost purple. Nose of blackberries and dark fruits with velvety and soft mouthfeel. Dusty tannins, decent acidity and a polished profile make this quite drinkable now but this should improve and develop nicely over the next 3-5 years. Excellent. 90+
Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
Decanted for 1 hour. Dark red. A few recent notes here on CT suggest this wine needs to be drunk soon, but not one of the 10 tasters that tasted this today would agree with that. This is still quite youthful and far from being over the hill. It’s approachable now with fairly resolved structure and average acidity with a smooth and refined mouthfeel. I didn’t find it over the top either. Nice notes of dark fruits and well balanced considering the label says 15% abv. This should develop and improve over the next 3-5+ years. Very good. 89+
Tasted blind – this took a bit to open up, but once it did it gave notes of black licorice, dark cherries and tobacco. In the mouth it’s well balanced with good acidity and powdery tannins. Drinking well now. Very good.
Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
Tasted blind – medium to dark red. Notes of nutmeg, cinnamon spice, sweet red fruits and hints of mint. Slightly hot in the mouth and with more structure than the ’02 Two Hands Shiraz. This is much too young now…give it 3-5 years and this should be a very nice Aussie cabernet that’s not overdone. Very good. 88+
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Tasted blind – developing nose of dark red fruits, spice and hints for cedar/wood. As it sat in the glass it started to show some Bordeaux-like aromas and flavours. This is drinking very well right now. Excellent.
Tasted blind – light to medium red with some bricking at rim. Beautifully mature nose of bell pepper, spice and soft red fruits. Nice acidity on the back end keeps the finish from drying out. This is at peak and fully mature, and while it’s not too old, it should be drunk sooner rather than later. This was even more Bordeaux-like than the L'Ecole 41. Excellent.
Tasted blind – medium red with some bricking at rim. This, unfortunately, was slightly past its prime. Still enjoyable for its mature profile and traces of fruit, but there’s no doubt this would have been better 5 years ago. Good.
Tasted blind – medium to dark red. Nose of sweeter dark red fruits, orange pekoe tea and white pepper with hints of earth. Really nice nose on this one that offers a great mix of sweet and earthy. In the mouth it’s smooth and generous with great acidity keeping the rich and round profile in check. Firm tannins and some spicy notes on the finish. While approachable and very enjoyable now this should be even better in 5+ years. Excellent. 91+
2005 Domaine Laroche Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume Vieilles Vignes 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Tasted blind – light yellow in colour. Nose of toasty oak, soft and sour citrus with hints of development. In the mouth there’s some richness but with good acidity and flavours of lemon and nice minerality. Medium length finish which has notes of lemon zest. Overall this is a really nice blend of richness, acidity and freshness with a little bit of development. Drinking very now and will likely continue to develop for another 3-5 years. Excellent. 90+
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1985 Maison Leroy Nuits St. Georges 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges
Tasted blind – beautiful mature colour of light red/orange with slight browning near the rim. Gorgeous nose of barnyard, spice and traces of red fruits. Delicate in the mouth with good acidity. Flavours, like the nose, are mainly secondary/tertiary with just hints of mature red fruits. There’s some tartness on the finish. This started to fade in the glass and my last sip finished with nothing but acid. This was easy to identify as Burgundy. While this had a fantastic mature Burgundy nose and was still very nice to drink today, I think this might have been better 3-5 years ago. Very good.
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2004 Foradori Granato 90 Points
Italy, Trentino Alto-Adige / Veneto, Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT
Tasted blind – Dark and very youthful looking, deep red, almost purple. Nose of blackberries and dark fruits with velvety and soft mouthfeel. Dusty tannins, decent acidity and a polished profile make this quite drinkable now but this should improve and develop nicely over the next 3-5 years. Excellent. 90+
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2002 Two Hands Shiraz Lily's Garden 89 Points
Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
Decanted for 1 hour. Dark red. A few recent notes here on CT suggest this wine needs to be drunk soon, but not one of the 10 tasters that tasted this today would agree with that. This is still quite youthful and far from being over the hill. It’s approachable now with fairly resolved structure and average acidity with a smooth and refined mouthfeel. I didn’t find it over the top either. Nice notes of dark fruits and well balanced considering the label says 15% abv. This should develop and improve over the next 3-5+ years. Very good. 89+
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1999 Tenuta Roccaccia Rosso di Toscana Toscana IGT 89 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
Tasted blind – this took a bit to open up, but once it did it gave notes of black licorice, dark cherries and tobacco. In the mouth it’s well balanced with good acidity and powdery tannins. Drinking well now. Very good.
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2008 Bowen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 88 Points
Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
Tasted blind – medium to dark red. Notes of nutmeg, cinnamon spice, sweet red fruits and hints of mint. Slightly hot in the mouth and with more structure than the ’02 Two Hands Shiraz. This is much too young now…give it 3-5 years and this should be a very nice Aussie cabernet that’s not overdone. Very good. 88+
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2001 L'Ecole No. 41 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley 90 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Tasted blind – developing nose of dark red fruits, spice and hints for cedar/wood. As it sat in the glass it started to show some Bordeaux-like aromas and flavours. This is drinking very well right now. Excellent.
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1990 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 91 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Tasted blind – light to medium red with some bricking at rim. Beautifully mature nose of bell pepper, spice and soft red fruits. Nice acidity on the back end keeps the finish from drying out. This is at peak and fully mature, and while it’s not too old, it should be drunk sooner rather than later. This was even more Bordeaux-like than the L'Ecole 41. Excellent.
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1990 Château Clarke 85 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Listrac-Médoc
Tasted blind – medium red with some bricking at rim. This, unfortunately, was slightly past its prime. Still enjoyable for its mature profile and traces of fruit, but there’s no doubt this would have been better 5 years ago. Good.
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2004 Terredora di Paolo Taurasi Fatica Contadina 91 Points
Italy, Campania, Taurasi DOCG
Tasted blind – medium to dark red. Nose of sweeter dark red fruits, orange pekoe tea and white pepper with hints of earth. Really nice nose on this one that offers a great mix of sweet and earthy. In the mouth it’s smooth and generous with great acidity keeping the rich and round profile in check. Firm tannins and some spicy notes on the finish. While approachable and very enjoyable now this should be even better in 5+ years. Excellent. 91+
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