France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet
Vanilla, tropical, chalk and herbal with time in the glass, plus coconut, marshmallow and violets - lots going on with the nose. Rich and full bodied, there is plenty of punch and controlled structure. Maybe not the most thrilling wine but it is very good.
Orange, mango, straw and some light oak. Immediately appealing on the palate, with some nice restrained but lightly sweet fruit, there is good length and texture.
Herb, mint, straw, lemon and pear. Palate is a little bit up and down, it doesn't seem to have settled at this point. Decent length, but I wonder where this is going?
Ginger, oak, smoke, popcorn and vanilla. Big fruit and while the texture is good, I was left hoping for a bit more spark to counter the weight of the fruit. Good but not as impressive as it maybe should have been.
Spice, melon, butter and honey. Full and rich on the palate, quite mouthfilling and while it is bold, there is a good acid freshness that kicks in early and persists across the length. Nice blend of power and spark. Very good.
Floral, mandarin, pineapple, passionfruit and lemon - a very lifted and bright nose. Good balance, it is clean and quite lithe. Composed and has poise, but while I like it, it isn't nearly as impressive as a previous bottle.
Earth, mint, tomato, licorice and tea tree oik. Dark fruit on the palate, lots there but not all that interesting and some acid that sticks out a bit on the palate. Not showing all that well.
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Piccadilly Valley
Toast, mint, bark and some mulchy notes with a light red fruit note in the background. Sweeter fruit on the palate, I like the texture and there is good flow. Not hugely long, but decent enough.
Cola, stalk, cherry, some herb and medicinal notes. Has some good grip on the palate that counters the sweeter fruit element. Thought this was probably Felton Road and was right. Has good length. Will drink well over the next 4-5 years for sure.
Matchstick, pine, wool, toast and plum. The palate is lifted and round, but then feels way too sharp throughout the mid palate. Finishes short. Pretty awful.
Cherry, strawberry, orange, chocolate and cola. Palate is quite mild, there is a line of acid that does its best to lift this up, but it just wasn't very interesting or appealing tonight.
Violet and plums, bubblegum, orange, redcurrant and earth. Bright flavours on the palate, there is a nice tannic grip throughout. Good length and I like the fruit restraint. Good stuff.
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
Plum, vegetal, some rubber and cranberry - a bit 50/50 about this nose, it doesn't quite feel right. The palate has more fruit and good texture. The palate is good but the nose is a little bit too weird for me at this stage.
Spice, bacon, pepper and floral notes. Really good balance on the palate, and fine length as well, the fruit shows restraint and I like the style here.
Brett dominates the nose, there is some blood, tin and ash. The palate is unfortunately also metallic, with the brett taking over. Probably even more brett than a previous bottle that has too much of it.
NV Jean-Jacques Lamoureux Champagne Brut Réserve 87 Points
France, Champagne
Autolytics, lemon and ash. Medium bodied with decent length. Good enough.
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2013 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 89 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet
Vanilla, tropical, chalk and herbal with time in the glass, plus coconut, marshmallow and violets - lots going on with the nose. Rich and full bodied, there is plenty of punch and controlled structure. Maybe not the most thrilling wine but it is very good.
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2012 Lethbridge Wines Chardonnay 90 Points
Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Geelong
Orange, mango, straw and some light oak. Immediately appealing on the palate, with some nice restrained but lightly sweet fruit, there is good length and texture.
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2010 Kumeu River Chardonnay Maté's Vineyard 88 Points
New Zealand, North Island, Auckland, Kumeu
Herb, mint, straw, lemon and pear. Palate is a little bit up and down, it doesn't seem to have settled at this point. Decent length, but I wonder where this is going?
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2010 Ramey Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard 87 Points
USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
Ginger, oak, smoke, popcorn and vanilla. Big fruit and while the texture is good, I was left hoping for a bit more spark to counter the weight of the fruit. Good but not as impressive as it maybe should have been.
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2007 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne Domaine Flawed
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Premox.
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2006 Kumeu River Chardonnay Maté's Vineyard 91 Points
New Zealand, North Island, Auckland, Kumeu
Spice, melon, butter and honey. Full and rich on the palate, quite mouthfilling and while it is bold, there is a good acid freshness that kicks in early and persists across the length. Nice blend of power and spark. Very good.
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2006 Chanson Père & Fils Corton-Vergennes Blanc 85 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru
Light nose, lime, banana and pear. The palate has round fruit but it really isn't very interesting. Medium length.
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2004 Mount Mary Chardonnay 90 Points
Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
Floral, mandarin, pineapple, passionfruit and lemon - a very lifted and bright nose. Good balance, it is clean and quite lithe. Composed and has poise, but while I like it, it isn't nearly as impressive as a previous bottle.
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2006 Curlewis Pinot Noir 86 Points
Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Geelong
Earth, mint, tomato, licorice and tea tree oik. Dark fruit on the palate, lots there but not all that interesting and some acid that sticks out a bit on the palate. Not showing all that well.
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2006 Ashton Hills Pinot Noir Piccadilly Valley 89 Points
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Piccadilly Valley
Toast, mint, bark and some mulchy notes with a light red fruit note in the background. Sweeter fruit on the palate, I like the texture and there is good flow. Not hugely long, but decent enough.
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2006 Felton Road Pinot Noir Block 3 90 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago
Cola, stalk, cherry, some herb and medicinal notes. Has some good grip on the palate that counters the sweeter fruit element. Thought this was probably Felton Road and was right. Has good length. Will drink well over the next 4-5 years for sure.
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2008 Michel Magnien Gevrey-Chambertin Les Seuvrées Vieilles Vignes 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin
Meat, spice, slate, graphite and kirsch. Bright on the palate, with good lift and the tannins come in and cut a little into the finish.
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2011 Friedrich Becker Heydenreich Pinot Noir 89 Points
Germany, Pfalz
Violet and spice with some stem and earth. Palate is bright but has good structure as well. Good length and flow. Has plenty of potential.
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2012 Yann Durieux Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Les 1er Ponts 77 Points
France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits
Matchstick, pine, wool, toast and plum. The palate is lifted and round, but then feels way too sharp throughout the mid palate. Finishes short. Pretty awful.
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2013 Pyramid Valley Pinot Noir Angel Flower 87 Points
New Zealand, South Island, Canterbury, Waipara
Cherry, strawberry, orange, chocolate and cola. Palate is quite mild, there is a line of acid that does its best to lift this up, but it just wasn't very interesting or appealing tonight.
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2015 Commune of Buttons Pinot Noir Gloria 88 Points
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
Raspberry, lavender, laundry powder, olives and oak. Medium length palate, decently composed and has some decent texture. Not bad drinking now.
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2010 Sandlands Syrah Amador County 90 Points
USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
Violet and plums, bubblegum, orange, redcurrant and earth. Bright flavours on the palate, there is a nice tannic grip throughout. Good length and I like the fruit restraint. Good stuff.
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2012 John Duval Wines Shiraz Entity 87 Points
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
Plum, vegetal, some rubber and cranberry - a bit 50/50 about this nose, it doesn't quite feel right. The palate has more fruit and good texture. The palate is good but the nose is a little bit too weird for me at this stage.
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2012 Domaine Duclaux Côte-Rôtie La Germine 90 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Spice, bacon, pepper and floral notes. Really good balance on the palate, and fine length as well, the fruit shows restraint and I like the style here.
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2013 Ata Rangi Syrah Juliet 87 Points
New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough
White pepper, floral lift, earth and spice. The palate is short unfortunately, it doesn't carry the flavours well and it feels like it lacks presence.
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2007 Salinia Syrah Heintz Ranch Flawed
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Corked.
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2005 Chain of Ponds Shiraz The Ledge 89 Points
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
Meat, floral, brambly and violets. Medium bodied, with a nice touch of sweetness to the fruit. Lingers well and has good poise throughout. Nice stuff.
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1998 Tyrrell's Shiraz Vat 9 Flawed
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Scalped/corked.
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2001 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 85 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Brett dominates the nose, there is some blood, tin and ash. The palate is unfortunately also metallic, with the brett taking over. Probably even more brett than a previous bottle that has too much of it.
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