5/16/2024 - RGBurg Likes this wine:

Clemens Busch is always amazing, even in such a hot vintage like 2018. The concentration here is insane. Beautiful oily texture with searing acid and dense fresh fruits. Honeysuckle to Petrol, this has it all. Yum. Decent now with a 5 hour decant but will be much better in 4-6 years.

5/16/2024 - Purple Tooth wrote:

**Theres the good, the bad, and the ugly. But in the case of 1990 Lagrange, there the good, the great, and the gnarly! This one was great with some teeth showing through showing the gnarly snare of this wine when you get a good one. I am confident that there are still some gnarly bottles of this sleeping and slumming out there. Its just a matter of the noise in their bedrooms. As the tale goes, "In darkest, quietest, cold places under the earth, sleep the gnarliest, groggiest bottles of Lagrange 90".

I have no idea where this one came from, but definitely a cold cellar. The aromas of mature tobacco, beef blood, violets...the finish shows graphite and cold steel, like the vibe that comes from a big one from Pauillac. This is classy and muscular stuff in well treated bottles. A great mix of antique and fresh...Lovely...Drink

5/16/2024 - grapenomad wrote:

Decanted for an hour. Deep ruby in the glass. The Cab Sauv aromas dominate here quite a bit with notes of blackberry, blueberry, plum, capsicum. Full-bodied with ripe tannins and medium (+) acidity. Solid balance of all the elements, but not much depth. Drink right now or keep 5-6 years. Textbook SA Bordeaux blend:

5/16/2024 - Rangeldoug Does not like this wine:

Meh…thin, bland, and very underwhelming. When factoring in the cost of this bottle, this would qualify as one of my worst purchases.

5/16/2024 - Winance Tom Likes this wine:

Full bodied with Syrah, petit Verdot and Mourvèdre.

5/14/2024 - anderegg Likes this wine:

PnP and gave a couple of minutes for the wine to breathe.
Delicious before, with and after a dinner of savory sausage porcini red sauce over pappardelle with a tossed arugula salad. Finely integrated tannin balancing tart, red, aromatic fruit.
This bottle of wine was definitely in its prime.

5/16/2024 - NelsonMan Likes this wine:

Very fruit forward (blue berries) and not very complex, but nonetheless enjoyable at the price point as a cocktail wine. It's only 30% syrah but those notes are the most prevalent to me

5/16/2024 - tedcholl wrote:

I bought 2 bottles from the same store, first one I drank 10 months ago, loved it, and said it drank young. This was a bad bottle, almost brown, dried fig and dried prune, and vinegar. The cork was fine.

5/16/2024 - roelof.ligtmans@gmail.com Likes this wine:

At almost 10 years old, superbly fresh and complex white. Mineral, fairly full-bodied yet only 12,5% alcohol ! No hurry to drink up, in excellent form.

5/15/2024 - klezman wrote:

Was a bit closed down at first but this did open up toward the second half of the bottle. I guess it needed air. It was a nice red-fruited Zin and had plenty of acidity to keep it fresh. Not as much complexity as I'd expected from a 9 year old bottle, though. Carries the 15.9% abv well, although it was a bit bitter before the fruit came back.

10/6/2021 - VAGenius Likes this wine:

Nice balanced wine.

8/1/2020 - VAGenius Likes this wine:

Movie wine so no detailed notes. Quite smooth and juicy. I'm sure it will hold but it drinks well now.

5/17/2024 - RandalWA wrote:

A stunning Australian cool climate Chard, absolutely right up my alley. Right away the aroma leads you to Chablis with its purity, floral notes and flint, subtle almond meal too. The fruit is green pear and white nectarine with mandarin juice. The palate is so precise, linear and fresh. 12.5% ABV. Mouth watering, almost Riesling acidity. Yes it would cellar and possibly open up more with a couple more years but this drinks very well now. Superb concentration in both aroma & flavour. I'm yet to find a bad Stargazer wine.

5/14/2024 - Pinot_Geek Likes this wine:

Brief notes, from memory.
Fresh black fruits bancef by a tannic spine and medium acid, settled with 15+ years of age. Delicious with grilled ribeye and Spanish sausages.

I know it’s a cliché, but this for me was “Burgundian”.

5/17/2024 - Utminafrica wrote:

Would rather have waited but needed to clear room in the wine fridge. Very glad this lives up to the hype.

Decanted for two hours.

Tannins at the right level and not harsh, good amounts of fruit with finish of pepper..refined and very drinkable.

Haven't been a fan of Savage white but this is evidence of how good SA Syrah can be..

5/16/2024 - Chrysostomus wrote:

Alkohol, Nagellack, Schärfe, ohne jede Frucht und hinten heraus dann die Auflösung: schleichender Kork!

5/16/2024 - TBaylog Likes this wine:

Special occasion chard worth every cent. Beautiful nose, hint of hone and melon. My fav chard.

5/16/2024 - Sourdough Likes this wine:

Beautiful melon and apple nose. Round, full bodied mouth feel with good acidity. Lovely chard.

5/16/2024 - Dnordh wrote:

Excellent!

5/17/2024 - ggang wrote:

1

5/15/2024 - Pinot_Geek wrote:

Dense dark fruit, tarry, a touch of salty licorice. 13.5% Alc.

A big bruiser now, rough around the edges now and Barolo-like, but a promising future ahead I think. Give it time to mellow out and try it after 2030.

5/16/2024 - bryon m Likes this wine:

Once we opened this wine it did not smell good. Color also had a brownish tint to it. At first not pleasing but we air it out and let it sit for 30 minutes - totally different after that. Not complex, easy going medium body.

5/16/2024 - asparagus Likes this wine:

Very, very good. wow. And this was just the Côtes du Rhône!?!

5/16/2024 - Alfaro wrote:

exceptional 22 year wine!! Again gracefully

5/16/2024 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Bright cherry fruit on the nose. And good weight on the palate. And then with some drive across the palate. Mineral finish. Not the most oaked up thing.

5/16/2024 - SLOFred Likes this wine:

Another well done Still Waters wine. I still prefer Victor Hugo Zin from this AVA.

5/16/2024 - Hzak wrote:

H

5/3/2024 - NPBWineGuy Likes this wine:

This had a crystal clear taste of berries, cedar and earth. It opened up after an hour. Outstanding wine.

5/16/2024 - MaxM1991 wrote:

Farbe: Gold
Nase: Petrol, Vanille, Mango
Gaumen: Vanille, schwache exotische Früchte
Gesamt: wenig klassische Riesling-Frucht, blind fast New World Chardonnay wegen Vanille-Noten, Alkohol super präsent (13.5%), Länge gut aber dann leicht bitter

Getrunken im Beta KL

5/16/2024 - Yannou Likes this wine:

Beaucoup de gras, une belle tension mêlant un côté fumé, de la pierre, du miel, une amertume et un côté salin qui allonge à l’infini ce vin.
Légère évolution tertiaire

5/15/2024 - WineGuyFL Likes this wine:

Do not know how I ended up with only one bottle of this wine.......wish I had more. I really enjoyed. Classic Syrah.....deep, dark and fruity. Drinking very well right now.

5/16/2024 - MaxM1991 wrote:

Farbe: Tawny-Brown
Nase: getrocknete Früchte, Rosine, Backpflaume, Alkohol sehr präsent
Gaumen: Rosine, Backpflaume, hinten raus Nuss
Gesamt: gute Länge, viel Körper, fehlt etwas die Säure und Alkohol etwas zu präsent
Getrunken im Beta KL

5/16/2024 - mplsbruin Likes this wine:

I like it. TJoe's purchase. Seems right for zin taste.

5/16/2024 - Ralph_ wrote:

Leaking bottle

5/15/2024 - chablis28 wrote:

Heidi's Gang monthly @ StG. SS,CV,KB,DD,LI & CS. Thanks for organizing Siggy! Siggy's 2nd contribution tonight. Well this offered a contrast in producer style alongside Candace's 18 Lafon Meursault CdB. Darker gold but not moxed. Still refined and elegant but much bolder than the Lafon. The concentration here was impressive and mouthcoatingly sappy. What a fun flight! I give the edge to the Lafon but this is utterly delicious & compelling too. A nice study in producer style & white Burgundy terroir. This was more Batard than Chassagne (in a good way) for me. Loved it! A very nice btl right now but wouldn't sit on these for more than a year or 2 more. Thanks Steve, so fun to taste this! Last time I had the Ramonet Chassagne Ruchottes was at least a decade ago.

5/16/2024 - Flatrate Likes this wine:

Last bottle of 2015. Ripe and intense colour. Black fruits and violette in the nose. Matured. Taste excellent. Perfect ripe, black fruits, Merlot and Petit Verdot driven. Drink this wine now (in 2024). Good red but little to much Merlot driven for a typical Margaux. Do not wait to drink it.

5/16/2024 - pemazel Likes this wine:

I understand #Xavier Auerbachs note. But in the end, it is a beautiful wine which could easily go as mature Meursault

5/15/2024 - WineGuyFL Likes this wine:

As expected......delivers in line with the price point. Tart. A good wine for summer sipping.

5/16/2024 - Captguy66 Likes this wine:

Loved this wine. Golden color with beautiful vanilla and some pear notes. Wonderful body for a white wine.

5/16/2024 - dream Likes this wine:

Everything a mature Margaux should be with an amazing silky texture and a complex, refined finish. Not a blockbuster by any means but the great Margaux elegance shows here in spades. Fully mature and ready.

5/16/2024 - tony.domenico1@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Tasted a little hot to me. Pop and poured. Needs decanting. I’m going to wait 1-2 years on my other 16’s.

5/16/2024 - dream Likes this wine:

This is from a cooler vintage creating a leaner wine but if ever a wine showed the silkiness of what can be made from the grapes at Margaux, this is it. So fine and it flowed over the tongue like liquid silk with classic notes of violet spice and a touch of smoke. The finish is layered and refined if lacking some complexity. I preferred this 5-10 years ago when it had more fruit so time to drink but the texture remains on my mind the following day.

5/16/2024 - dream Likes this wine:

This vintage shocked to the upside as it seems perfectly mature with a great, complex finish. it doesn't have the depth of the '09 or the silkiness of the '99 but it's deeply satisfying to drink now. It does show a bit of the warmth of the vintage with slightly rustic tannins and that '03 hot crunch but I could simply drink this all night with steak as it paired like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

5/14/2024 - Winedog1 Likes this wine:

A follow-up to the 2015 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon The Reserve To-Kalon Vineyard. See the corresponding note from the previous night. I was interested in comparing the 2015 Mondavi to the 2016 Detert. The latter profile was very similar although not as ripe. In addition, there was a lot of graphite on the Detert. This was my last bottle of East Block, a knockout wine (albeit expensive). It reminds me of some Bordeaux. I tasted Detert for the first time at The French Laundry, and I have been buying from the mailing list since then (although not every allocation). I even laid down some 2013 birthyear bottles, although they may not make it (per the family); I will likely start evaluating some of those (two different labels) soon. I will also need to evaluate the 2008 Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - one of my highest QPR buys ever (winery direct during the Great Recession) - and also a birthyear wine. Anyway, these Mondavi and Detert bottles can go toe to toe with the best wines out there. Again, there is something about bloodlines; the terroir is American royalty.

5/16/2024 - antoniogrossi Likes this wine:

The colour is beyond onion skin, very light, but with a strong reddish reflex.
Needs a bit of time to open up in the glass.
Nose of strawberry cream, sour cherries, beeswax, appleskin.
Beautiful acidity, good volume, very slight and silky tannins, like an old Volnay.
Great persistence.

Great stuff, not your everyday rosé, more akin to a Tondonia or a Ch. Simone.

5/16/2024 - mterheijden Likes this wine:

So subtle and pure.

5/16/2024 - dream Likes this wine:

This wine shocked me a bit since I haven't tried it for several years. The nose is amazing but the soft and caressing character that I remember has moved to the background and it's now become more serious and brooding and fairly closed down. However, the material here is fantastic with great depth of dark black fruit and violet perfume with the warmth of the vintage peaking through. The tannins are quite firm at this point and this needs at least another 5-10 years to find itself again but when it does, watch out. 95+

5/16/2024 - Tmcquillen Likes this wine:

A bold and robust wine with a deep purple hue. On the nose, aromas of blackberry, plum, and hints of vanilla entice the senses. The palate is rich and full-bodied, with flavors of dark fruits, chocolate, and a touch of spice. The tannins are smooth yet structured, leading to a long and satisfying finish.

5/16/2024 - dream Likes this wine:

This is drinking so beautifully right now with very recognizable blue and red Margaux fruits and classic Margaux charm. The texture is silky and layered and the wine is perfectly balanced and ready with a fine finish that just flows softly over the tongue. As good an aged Pavillon Rouge as I've ever had.

5/16/2024 - dream Likes this wine:

A nice vintage here but the oak influence is very apparent so let this rest for several more years. Plenty of rich dark fruits with firm tannins which should allow it to age gracefully. 91+