5/26/2024 - weinreiter Likes this wine:

Im Glas hellgolden, Bukett nach gelben Früchten, leichte Zitrusnote, am Gaumen harmonisch, elegant, eingebundene Säure, Pfirsich, Birne, Schiefermineralik, schöner Trinkfluß

5/26/2024 - PSPatrick wrote:

Light medium golden colour. Floral notes, pear, melon, vanilla tart, light spice, and light smoke, with fresh acidity and superb length. Medium-bodied and well balanced, with a lightly creamy texture and discrete, well-integrated oak. Quite lovely. Drink now and over the next six or seven years. 90(+)

5/25/2024 - PSPatrick wrote:

The 2021 Polish Hill needs an hour to open up to fresh fruit, peach, mango, lime, apple, and some gasoline, supported by underlying minerality, with great, fresh acidity, and superb length. Medium-bodied and very fresh, with great concentration and great persistence. Drink now (with aeration) and over the next 10(+) years.

5/27/2024 - Puteljen! wrote:

Good but nothing special. Good acidity, fresh fruit, light bitterness.

5/26/2024 - RGCM Gananda Likes this wine:

Previously tasted almost three years ago at the winery, this wine is showing quite well. Not as intensely tropical on the nose, but more balanced with white pineapple, citrus and apple and a slate/mineral quality. A bit above medium bodied with peach, pineapple and apple the primary flavors initially with lemon and other citrus notes behind providing both contrast as well as a juiciness. Depth is very good and along with the citrus, there's acidity providing structure and length through the finish. Develops more depth as it warms, but the citrus and acidity do keep pace nicely. Still think it shows best chilled which allows the citrus notes and white fruit qualities to play off the richer notes more effectively. Clearly has a number of years ahead of it, so I may wait on my next bottle until Q2 2025.

5/27/2024 - Jpaar wrote:

Almost deep ruby with little signs of maturity. Leather, balsamic, oak, tar, cherry, earthy, bilberry, violet, burnt sugar, forest mushroom, rosehip, butter, perfume. Cola and raisin on palate. High acidity, high tannins, medium+ body. Elegant and powerful. Fantastic.

5/26/2024 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine:

Very good for the very low price; I liked this better than the 2020 Pinot for sure. Simple and delicious. Fairly expressive nose with lemon zest, some vague floral tones, a bit of salinity- same on the palate. It never changes much, not super deep or complex, but really good value and I could be underrating it when considering that.

5/26/2024 - juffer Likes this wine:

Nose of Lebkuchen. Medium weight. Pleasant impression of sun dried apricots on the finish with more than enough acidity to still keep it lively. Definitely turned out to be the right call to hold this and see what develops. Twelve years later it's not a particularly exciting wine, but definitely has become much more interesting and enjoyable.

5/18/2024 - Niall Conlon Likes this wine:

Superb wine. Still very young, but drinking well.

5/18/2024 - Niall Conlon Likes this wine:

Years left in this wine. Needs another 10 years or open at least 3 hours before drinking.

5/26/2024 - Totor13 wrote:

Encore très bon.
Doit être décanté 3 heures avant de boire

5/26/2024 - acyso wrote:

Served double blind; immediately identified as Huet. Clean fruit with moderate sweetness, I was thinking this was more Moelleux than 1ere Trie. Relatively clean with just a slight fur note here. Floral and bright, and certainly balanced. Racy with its acidity too, and very much in keeping with the relatively lighter style of modern Huet. Nevertheless, very delicious.

5/18/2024 - Niall Conlon Likes this wine:

WOTN. Went up against a 2008 Bouchard Montrachet and absolutely blew it away. Got better and better in the glass as it opened up. Years left in it.

5/26/2024 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine:

As usual this is a small step up from many other producers when it comes to "entry level" Gigondas. This felt like a particularly high-toned expression, less plummy and thick than others; this had a lot of fresh red fruit, ripe but still pretty crunchy with wild raspberry and strawberry faintly rising from the nose, and a good dose of that classic southern Rhone garrigue, with thyme and bay leaf accents. Touches of smoky incense somewhere too, and even fainter salty/meaty tones. The generally red-fruited, vibrant character continues on the palate, with good length and freshness, and the dark herbal twinge comes around again on the finish. Tannic for sure, a little rustic, but it's amazing now with food, and could age for a little while easily. It's rare that Southern Rhone wines "grab" me in the way the Northern Rhones do, but this was still obviously well-made.

5/26/2024 - acyso wrote:

Served double blind. The profile of this right at the beginning wasn't anywhere as close to syrah as I would have guessed (not least from such a traditionalist mainstay), and with the tannins, I guessed this was some sort of very nice barbera instead. But the olive notes did emerge with some more air. Very, very clean for Levet, but almost too much structure and fruit here, hiding the more traditional syrah aspects. Likely better with time.

5/26/2024 - acyso wrote:

Served double blind. Clearly Rioja, but I thought this showed a bit older than the vintage. Dark fruit and leather, but more of a structural wine than straight up enjoyment. It feels a bit like it's drying out, which is surprising given the relative youth and great vintage.

5/27/2024 - Grenik wrote:

Dark fruit, chocolate, pipe tobacco, black berry. Good balance and depth. Big and bold.

5/26/2024 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine:

My second Chappellet, after an excellent experience with the '18 Mountain Cuvee (which I think represents even better QPR for nearly half the price, but this was a great bottle too.) For me, this pretty clearly leaned toward the "modern" style of Napa, very lush and rich with fruit, but still showed fantastic balance and restraint in its use of oak, and a beautiful sense of "elegance" even though it was more about power than nuance.

Plenty of immediate ripe fruit on the nose; not "baked" or jammy at all, but very intensely ripe- a gentle, persistent perfume with an unusually broad range of "color" for Napa fruit, with some of the more typical blackcurrant, but a big dose of "brighter" fruit also with raspberry or even blueberry liqueur. Perhaps this is due to the relatively high percentage of non-cab-sauv grapes in the blend. There's a kiss of oak, baking spices and whatnot, but this was mostly about the voluptuous fruit, for sure. Not explosively perfumed yet but quite expressive.

The palate was extremely similar- a rising crescendo of rich red and black fruit dancing around with really surprisingly silky tannins, thick and velvety without the slightest bit of coarseness. The acidity is also in a great spot; it's not even remotely flabby, let alone hot or cloying, but just a really harmonious experience.

It seemed to take an interesting turn on day two, with a notably earthy, almost piney accent emerging that reminded me of old school Pinot from the Santa Cruz Mountains. It could be that it was finished alongside a different Cab from Red Mountain that seemed to accentuate the "softer" and perhaps earthier qualities of this Chappellet; hard to say. It was still really beautiful. I don't know if this is built for seriously long aging given the already-super-soft nature of the wine, but I'd still love to see just how expressive it gets after a short cellar nap.

5/26/2024 - LiteItOnFire Likes this wine:

Damn no notes only impressions but this wine rocks for a Bourgogne - albeit an expensive one. This has all the stuffing and mouthfeel you would expect from a 1er cru of an average or better producer, the price point of a good to better Village wine yet it is a Bourgogne from a top producer - and they did wonders with this wine. Lemon, lime, grapefruit, pear, minerals, lush yet good acid to keep everything in line. What a great wine even as expensive as it is. Delicious!

5/27/2024 - Doc Malvern Likes this wine:

Fruit has toned down slightly in the last couple of years. Classic nose with vanilla and hints of leather. Red fruited with cherry, raspberry, redcurrant. Fresh and quite tingly in the mouth, with fine acidity.

5/26/2024 - thalver wrote:

darker than I had expected, a deep golden, but the wine didn't seem too be advanced on either the nose or palate. expressive nose, lush mouth-feel and only a hint of sweetness

5/26/2024 - Whitelion wrote:

Drank too late, I guess.

5/26/2024 - Raywilliams420 Likes this wine:

Some floral notes on the nose as well as red fruits. Smells light an fluffy ( light on its toes ) taste pretty light as well. Easy drinking for sure. Tannins are soft Finish goes toward a more purple fruit flavor I wish it had a longer finish. I feel that’s all it needs. Good wine for sure. Would drink again

5/26/2024 - LiteItOnFire wrote:

No Noyes, only impressions. The wine needs time but may improve with time. Nose better than the palate, closed, juicy red & black fruit lots of structure
.

5/26/2024 - kevin h wrote:

Showing its age a bit. Meaty nose with a little eucalyptus and damsons. Gravy flavours, tastes old but still healthy with density and a bit of fruit complexity developing over 2.5 hours. Drink soon on this showing.

5/26/2024 - Rote Kappelle Likes this wine:

I have, with a little hesitation decided to rate this as 'Outstanding', but a rating of 'Excellent' would be fine as well. I note that this wine has been very well received by professional writers, Stormy Daniels and the late Marshal Rokossovsky. Cavalry officers understand good juice.

My note is made across 2 days of increasingly desperate attempts not to guzzle. The wine is under the noble screw cap, so no TCA, oxidation or other issues associated with the baleful cork.

2021 was a really special vintage throughout SE Oz. It was a long, cool, dry ripening season that produced wines with wonderful acidity, lacking the harsh character that I find in so many Oz whites, truly ripe but not baked fruit and a hard to define sense of energy and zest. This wine reflects the vintage.

For me, the downside is that the fruit is still that awful grapefruit dominant stuff, but the bitter, white pith element is missing (a good thing) and there are some whispers of mandarin and, if you squint and stand on your head (better still, kick someone else' and then stand on theirs) you may see some white peach. Oatmeal, nougat and marzipan are strong components. It is a very attractive package.

I can also see some minerality/chalkiness that is attractive. This wine is much more open and complex on day 2, so give it air and give it time before you start to drink. It will, of course, cellar for many years but it does not need to be cellared.

Expensive by Oz standards but fairly priced in the international context.

Definitely Paul McCartney's 'Come On People' from the really good album 'Off the Ground' and I say that as someone who far prefers the Stones to the Beatles. Oddly, I prefer McCartney to Lennon in the solo years. The less said of the recent 'Beatles' chimera the better.

Paul and Ringo cover a Lennon outtake. I don't really buy the cashing in argument, I accept it was genuine but I just can't see the Beatles as being the drummer and Paul, even if they were my favourite Beatles and I don't see the creative process that John and Paul engaged in working via Ouija board. Even the late Beatles tracks like 'Ballad of John and Yoko' that were basically John and Paul alone featured a living creative process. But we digress. Must be good wine if it gets one thinking about this sort of stuff.

5/26/2024 - OldHick95 Likes this wine:

Aromas of cooked blueberries and mint. Vibrant fruit core: blackberry and black cherry, layered with Andes Chocolate Mints and white pepper. Big bodied with drying tannins. Powerful but not at all heavy-handed.

5/26/2024 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine:

Straightforward but also delicious; maybe I'm overrating it, and it's certainly a great buy if you're looking for that thicker modern style of Barbera, ripe and round, with plenty of acidity for rich foods. A burst of raspberry and cherry, plump, gently jammy, with a leathery accent and salinity on the slightly tannic palate. For the price, I lightly preferred the '21 Corsini "Armujan" Barbera Superiore, while this was VERY slightly better than my last couple of experiences with the Vietti Tre Vigne.

5/26/2024 - SadEdjo Likes this wine:

medium colour; obvious but deft oak; broad chalky lemon with good energy. Polished

5/22/2024 - soyhead wrote:

rather maderized but with time much of this resolves leaving a dried fruit character reminding me of a sauternes. with air seemed to transition from a rot to a noble rot. interesting but really well past prime no mattter how much you love old.

5/26/2024 - Raywilliams420 Likes this wine:

Decanted for 2 hours. Put back in bottle for 2 hours. Let it sit at room temp. Put in reg fridge for 5 min then tasted. Tannins aren’t too grippy or forward but are there. Good flavor. Red an dark fruits Alcohol kicks in ten seconds after swallowing. Acidity is there also but takes a backseat to the tannins. Nose smells of dark fruits an oak presence. Lil bit of that mountain cali cab vibe on the nose an palate ( just a lil ). Can be drank with or without food. Light red meat pairing I’m sure would do this wine some good but ok on its on. Im sure a couple to a few years would do this wine some good

5/26/2024 - Genghis88 Likes this wine:

** See previous notes

A little less excited about this showing. Still great. Lively and fresh, but a little thin on taste. Don't drink this one too cold. A very nice closing wine after a long, boozy Sunday.

5/22/2024 - soyhead wrote:

lots of complexity here. cherry, mixed floral bouquet, great

5/27/2024 - Doc Malvern Likes this wine:

Enjoyable Barbera. Smooth, warming and rich. An initial sour note gives way to a smoother and more balanced body with a bit of air.

Balsamic, black cherry, blackberry, melted milk chocolate and baking spice. High acidity and soft unobtrusive tannins.

5/26/2024 - LokYee Likes this wine:

Ready to drink.

5/26/2024 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine:

Really lovely; not the most expressive of the young PG Pinots I've tasted, but really precise and showing some interesting complexity to boot. The fruit is gently perfumed on the nose, tiny wild raspberries and red mulberry with a bit of a savory edge; black licorice, salinity, thyme- drinking it outside seemed to really "activate" the nose (I notice this more and more with good wine), significantly expanding the fruit to a darker red cherry tone and revealing a subtle vanilla bass note. Pretty complex, even if it's not hyper-perfumed right now. On the palate, the salty mineral tones really pick up the pace, not super "tart" thankfully but coming close, and buckets of wild red berry fruits all the way down. The faint black licorice and vanilla tones return at the very end. Tannins are really elegant- it's structured and very punchy without feeling gritty whatsoever. Beautiful and ageworthy, and an excellent price.

5/22/2024 - soyhead wrote:

burgundian. black tea, forest floor, savory, complex. back -to-back better than the '11 cuvee marcel

5/26/2024 - LorenzoIlMagnifico Likes this wine:

Rich, complex red blend. Tannin, spicy. Tart cherries.

5/26/2024 - boillatm Likes this wine:

PnP. Fully tertiary. Brick color. Aromas of toffee and cinnamon. It held up well over the afternoon but I would see no reason to keep this longer if you have any bottle left.

I discovered this producer through an Australian friend that served us once a delicious Filsell 2009 (?). This bottle confirmed the quality of the winemaking. I wonder how the more recent vintages of this cuvée taste like.

5/26/2024 - EastBayPhil Likes this wine:

Delicious. Great patio/deck wine.

5/26/2024 - BradleyL Likes this wine:

Martellini apple juice is a great descriptor as mentioned from the other reviewer below - have a hard time believing it is only 10 g/L of residual sugar, this feels very ripe but perhaps it will settle down with age. Definitely chill this more than you think is appropriate, but would be a great bottle with spicy food (given this is also more full bodied and would likely stand up to most spicy food you can throw at it).

5/26/2024 - Paschap Likes this wine:

Светлый гранатовый цвет, прозрачное. В аромате красные ягоды, сухая трава, дерево, сливки, ваниль, вяленное мясо, чуть железо, бальзамик, замша. Во вкусе среднее тело, ягодное, кислотность выше среднего, интенсивные танины. 89/100

5/26/2024 - EastBayPhil Likes this wine:

Very nice, true to type for Anderson Valley. Probably peak drinking window. Nice color, bouquet and aromatic profile on point. A nice bottle. Drank over two nights and it showed well on night two (no gas).

5/26/2024 - soyhead wrote:

nose - raspberry, black cherry
mouth -loads of fruit, and pretty though without much weight. in some senses this is in fact a complement. good but not great

5/26/2024 - acyso wrote:

Served double blind. Corked.

5/26/2024 - Cailles wrote:

No notes taken. Another stunning bottle of this remarkable producer. Expressive and intense from start to finish with layers and layers of aromas, centered a perfectly delineated red berry core and so much pinoté. Ever so slightly changing and with an ultra fine structure. Grand Cru Burgundy in style and quality level. While 2018 might have been too warm in Burgundy, it was perfect in Neuchâtel. 96pts.

5/26/2024 - acyso wrote:

I liked this a fair bit more than the 1986 Comtesse alongside. The fruit profile is rich and rounded, while the tannic profile is getting towards being fully resolved. Leathery, but in a good way thanks to all the counterbalancing fruit. Not as effusively perfumed as Comtesse can be and not quite as well put together as the brilliant 1990 (which I prefer based on a very limited sample size at separate points in time).

5/26/2024 - soyhead wrote:

nose- grappa. high alcohol, boozy
mouth - firing on all cylinders, sexy, great fruit, still quite tannic and structured. hold.

5/26/2024 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine:

Really great- solid value too for right around $40. Pretty high and tight with a lot of fresh, crunchy raspberry and even some pomegranate, woodsy/peppery brightness, and echoes of minerally petrichor. The raspberry fruit gradually fills out with time in the glass, gaining a sense of ripeness and density while remaining totally vibrant and fresh. It's not extremely perfumed at this early stage, but definitely not closed either. Great balanced acidity, and the fruit plays beautifully with the mineral/savory tones, really harmonious. Will age really easily for a little while.

5/26/2024 - acyso wrote:

I wanted to like this more, as Comtesse is among my favourite Bordeaux houses, but sadly even it could not overcome the charmlessness and mediocrity of the 1986 vintage. Leathery and dull on the palate, despite some hints otherwise on the nose thanks to the classic Comtesse perfume.