| Wine Type | Vintage Name Variety Locale | Date Posted Score Helpful Comments More... |
|---|---|---|
| Red |
2010 Château CantemerleHaut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend more |
6/28/2016 - SimonG wrote: 91 pointsCantmerle @ RSJ (RSJ, London): Way too Young. Hugely coconuty nose, that with time morphs to burnt rubber. Then becomes more mute and after 45mins or so, more classical albeit padded. Difficult to judge — seems ever so slightly out of kilter cf the 2009 and certainly the 2005. Needs to calm down. After a while it does take on the dried rose petal nose of earlier vintages. Benefit of the doubt here, but suspect it will be a few years behind the 09 and probably at about the same level despite its current spikiness. *(***)? 9 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1) |
| White - Sparkling |
2002 Bollinger Champagne La Grande AnnéeChampagne Blend more |
1/21/2017 - SimonG wrote: 94 pointsDinner at B&A: Blind. Palest straw. This is very fine and refined, elegant. Feels quite Chardonnay rich, possibly even b de b. 2004 possibly. Gosh, when revealed this is a revelation. I was nowhere near Bolly, and this is so, so fresh. None of the oxidative notes or worse that 02 appeared to be heading towards. This takes me back to when I first tasted it shortly after release when it struck me as atypically fresh, bright and lively. With a bit more air, this does fill out somewhat whilst retaining its poise and line. Power with elegance. This is seriously good. ****1/2 would be ***** with a touch more developmental complexity. |
| White - Sparkling |
2008 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal BrutChampagne Blend more |
9/4/2020 - SimonG wrote: 95 pointsPalest straw. A purity on the nose, all clean elegance. A touch more creamy development on the attack than was evident a year ago, just staring to show signs of relaxation before the tight, zesty and very mineral back end of the mid-palate gets you, followed by a fine and dry extract packed long finish. If you have lots of this no crime to enjoy one now, but really it needs another decade of slumber and development to be close to showing its full potential. ***(**) |
| Red |
1995 Château Léoville Las CasesSt. Julien Red Bordeaux Blend more |
6/22/2019 - SimonG wrote: 95 pointsDinner@BA: Blind. Deep, and quite dense ruby. Very Pauillac on the nose. Combines a richness and a firmness with a sense of the aristocratic. Similar on palate, rich, tannins have melted but there’s a straightness of spine keeping everything just where it should be. This is lovely, and quite a surprise in the context of 95. Very fine. Not the same level of easy balance and sweetness of fruit as the 82 a couple of weeks ago, but comfortably ***** nonetheless. |
| White - Sparkling |
2002 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée RareChampagne Blend more |
6/17/2023 - SimonG wrote: 93 pointsA celebration with friends (Home): Mid to full straw. Rich, toasty and above all buttery on the nose. Similar on palate, rich, rounded and mellow, but perhaps now starting to lose some energy through the mid palate and finish. Having followed this over a number of bottles and years, I think this is ever so gently starting to decline in bottle format. **** |
| Red |
2007 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Ile des VergelessesPinot Noir more |
11/19/2017 - SimonG wrote: 93 pointsThis is gorgeous. A clear step up from previous bottles. Lovely silky but glassily dense red fruit. Perfectly spherical. Long and complex mid-palate with some development starting to show itself but adding complexity to the glorious fruit rather than surplanting it. Just beautiful. The remaining half left in the fridge for the next day is merely very good, but it's lost it's beauty. **** |
| Red |
1999 Chateau MusarBekaa Valley Red Blend more |
10/29/2022 - SimonG wrote: 93 pointsBlind. Opened and poured straight away. Really bright and vibrant mid ruby. Different on the nose (cf the old Rioja). Slightly sweeter, more lifted with a herby edge and a touch of VA providing lift and complexity without being overdone. First thought is a Garnacha based on the texture, but then a couple more sniffs take me to 98 Musar. Oh well! This 99 is in a lovely spot in bottle format if this one is representative. Fully resolved, complex, very drinkable and good to go from the off. Bright long finish with some acidity and glycerin in perfect harmony. **** with upside potential. 5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (3) |
| Red |
1999 Chateau MusarBekaa Valley Red Blend more |
3/2/2020 - SimonG wrote: 93 pointsHawksmoor steak (Hawksmoor, Air Street): Mid ruby to full garnet. Very Musar on the nose with that slightly lifted, not quite VA, sweetness of fruit cut through with a hint of garrigue and something smoky. Very smooth on the palate. Sweet-fruited but fresh and long, nothing cloying. Quite restrained by Musar standards, a lovely clean bottle. Really lovely. **** |
| Red |
2004 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more |
10/27/2016 - SimonG wrote: 93 pointsSteak wines @ Lurra (Lurra, London): Very plush and smooth. A little warm (temp). Dark fruited with good acidity. Enjoyable now in its youth, but best left a few years for the purist's palate. All there. ***(*) |
| White - Sweet/Dessert |
2003 Château RieussecSauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend more |
1/17/2019 - SimonG wrote: 93 points2003 Bordeaux (Piccolino, Liverpool Street Stn, London): This bottle improves on a couple of halves and another bottle in the last six months and confirms that we’re out of the difficult medicinal phase of the past few years. Bright gold. Sweet, slightly creamy marmelade fruit with a touch of coconut. Lip-smacking. Lovely. **** |
| Red |
2005 Château CantemerleHaut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend more |
6/28/2016 - SimonG wrote: 93 pointsCantmerle @ RSJ (RSJ, London): Decanted 5hrs. Ripe, dark-fruited with blackberry and dense blackcurrant. Lots of wine here but needs years. Raspberry in the top notes. Moderately tannic, good acidity, dense fruit. Come back in a decade. **(**) |
| White - Sparkling |
2002 Dom Pérignon ChampagneChampagne Blend more |
7/3/2020 - SimonG wrote: 94 pointsThis is getting there. Some development starting to show from behind the classic reductive toasty attack. Very poised and focused and precise. Classic DP just starting to unfurl. ****1/2 |
| Red |
2021 Pax Syrah Sonoma HillsidesRussian River Valley more |
1/19/2024 - SimonG wrote: 93 pointsPlastic cork. Vibrant purple-red. An incredibly intense and pure bright raspberry fruit, the absolute essence of raspberry that would make a raspberry coulis seem dilute. A pinch of white pepper too. Reminded me of the purity and brightness of young Chave. It’s clearly very young, if there is any tannin it’s completely covered initially by the fruit and acidity, both of which give it a joyous and fresh feel and make it very easy to drink. Nothing confected or cloying here at all. Despite the cork, the back label suggests ageability (and no sign of the back-label-mentioned sediment yet), and I imagine some complexity will develop over the years. It’s gorgeous now though, and refreshingly, 12.5abv. After a couple of hours the tannin does start to become more noticeable albeit still very well mannered. Holds well overnight in ETO/fridge, but the air reveals the obvious structure for future ageing. **** |
| White - Sparkling |
NV Gosset Champagne Brut Grande RéserveChampagne Blend more |
12/21/2022 - SimonG wrote: 93 pointsMag. Believed 08 base, purchased April 2015. Pale to mid straw. Wow, the magnum effect really to the fore here, just a gorgeous combination of creamy fruit and lovely line balancing the developing richness. When Gosset gets it right, it’s superb. **** |
| White - Sparkling |
2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs BrutChardonnay more |
9/25/2021 - SimonG wrote: 93 pointsBlind. Very distinctive smoky reductive nose, immediately makes me think of DP. Rich and creamy on the palate, feels relatively high dosage and shows a rich crème pat element. Quite weighty and full in the mouth. Manage to convince myself this is weighty enough to be a blend, though there isn’t a PN element discernible, so when revealed as Comtes, the 06 is obvious from the richness. Lovely wine, and still pretty young on this showing. **** |
| White - Sparkling |
2009 Dom Pérignon ChampagneChampagne Blend more |
11/9/2018 - SimonG wrote: 93 pointsPale straw. Quite assertively reductive and CO2-laden nose. Smoky. Clean, fresh, finely creamy and moderately open, fruity attack. Smooth. In one sense approachable, but at the same time restrained and needing years. Promising, no crime now, but lots more to come. **** |
| White - Sparkling |
2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs BrutChardonnay more |
11/14/2019 - SimonG wrote: 92 points1991 Burgundy (Chez Bruce, London): Mid straw. Good stream of fine bubbles. Quite taut on the nose. Creamy attack. Nicely rich mid-palate. Opening nicely. A touch of smoke. Fresh finish. Coming together nicely. **** 5 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (8) |
| White - Sparkling |
2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs BrutChardonnay more |
9/14/2018 - SimonG wrote: 93 pointsNigel P in Bath (Clayton’s kitchen, Bath): Rich and rounded. More evolved and generous than I’d expected despite the vintage. A good whiff of reduction. Really quite rich and with a generosity. Lovely, and more convincing than previously. **** |
| White - Sparkling |
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande CuvéeChampagne Blend more |
9/16/2016 - SimonG wrote: 94 points2006 base, reserves back to 1990, disgorged Autumn 2013. Mid straw. Very Krug, rich, rounded, mellow but bright, fresh and long. Really really lovely, this is a super bottling. ****1/2 |
| White - Sparkling |
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande CuvéeChampagne Blend more |
6/9/2017 - SimonG wrote: 92 pointsPrevious label, so approx 95-04 for the base vintage. Deep colour, burnished copper with old gold highlights. Quite broad and a little evolved, but only the slightest hint of anything more than a little oxidative, and it pulls together and freshens up a little with air. Really comes in to its own with food and after a weaker start isn't too far from the 89 Krug. **** |
| White - Sparkling |
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande CuvéeChampagne Blend more |
8/30/2017 - SimonG wrote: 94 pointsA Medlar Dinner: Modern label but pre-ID or name. Really poised and fresh on the nose with lovely, slightly honeyed aromas indicating some bottle age. So poised and fresh, really lovely line. I wonder if this is 02 base. Takes on a smokies character with air. Complex and really good. ****1/2 |
| White - Sparkling |
NV Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut RéserveChampagne Blend more |
12/28/2020 - SimonG wrote: 92 points08 base, disgorged 2016. Pale to mid straw. Rich and open, brioche and crème pat. Good weight. Lovely wine, but perhaps just a little loose knot, though it does pull itself together overnight. Very good NV. **** |
| Red |
2015 Bodegas Muga Rioja ReservaTempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more |
3/1/2019 - SimonG wrote: 91 pointsBodegas Muga (Muga, Haro, Rioja): Crianza for the domestic market, Reserva elsewhere. dark and dense. Plush and deep on the nose. Plum. and curiously, stilton. Full and firm through to the finish but with a plush suppleness. Plenty of grip here too. Dense and long. **(**) |
| White - Sparkling |
NV Charles Heidsieck Champagne Brut RéserveChampagne Blend more |
12/30/2015 - SimonG wrote: 91 pointsGorgeous. 2008 disgorgement. Rich and toasty and complex. Super stuff. No more than gently fizzy now, but creamy, smooth and complex. Hard to envisage a better nv (apart from Krug on a good day) **** |
| White - Sparkling |
2002 Pol Roger Champagne Cuvée Sir Winston ChurchillChampagne Blend more |
12/9/2016 - SimonG wrote: 93 pointsMedlar lunch (The Medlar, London): Nicely rich. Smooth, bready, biscuit nose with a touch of ginger spice. Nicely balanced, rich rather than mature, this is fresher and more poised than a recent bottle of the straight vintage that felt quite evolved. After a couple of hours the remains in a glass start to crack a little with a bruised red apple character, but while fresh in the glass it is lovely. Should age nicely for a few years, though probably not a long term prospect. Lovely. **** |
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