Drank at WWS final Fall tasting. Nose shows feint white fruit. Very crisp acidity, nice creaminess with lots of fruit. The wine is quite tight right now, though still quite delicious. Bottle age will settle it down and allow for better integration of the wine's many fine elements. Give it some time as this will only get better over the next several years. A sign of great things to come

Drank at final WWS tasting of the Fall. Reticent nose shows a bit of citrus and flintiness. Medium bodied, good acidity though not overpowering. Nice salinity to this wine, with a bit of oak in the mix but not too much...This isn't new wood, so no toastiness here. Finish is a bit flabby. Nice chablis overall, and not over-oaked as so many grand crus tend to be.

Drank at final WWS tasting of the Fall. Very generous nose exudes petrol, along with some floral notes. Huge petrol! Smells sweeter than the palate would demonstrate. Crisp acidity, quite dry but with a tinge of sweetness as well. Quite long, great concentration and very distinctive. I loved this wine, though the many in our crowd felt otherwise.

Drank at WWS tasting. Oak on the nose but not particularly noticeable on the palate. Slightly brownish in glass. Black fruit, tar, tobacco, leather and earthiness. A rustic old rioja. I notice molasses too. Good length. Interesting wine but not my style tonite

Drank at WWS final tasting of Fall season. Slight nose shows some tobacco and black pruny fruit. Medium body, plenty of fruit with a good acidity level. Still tannic suggesting the wine still needs bottle age. Drank vs. 2010 Valbuena blind and this was clearly the prettier, more elegant, preferred wine. Good concentration of fruit, along with notes of leather, tobacco and earth. Would love to taste this wine in 10 years.

Drank at final WWS tasting of the Fall season. Dark purple in color. Sweet black fruit--black current and black cherries--and wood on the palate, along with leather, tobacco and some clove. Drank this wine vs a 2007 Unico and this wine was rounder, oakier and more closed. Much more of a new world style, with jammy fruit and a bit of heat. If blind, I might have mistaken this for a more subtle Napa wine.

Supplied and drank at WWS final tasting of the year. Funky, barnyard, mushroom nose--reminiscent of dirty socks! Still some red fruit here but more tertiary notes: earthy, savory, forest floor qualities more dominant. A bit spicy, but subtle. Some felt the wine was a bit over the hill. Perhaps slightly so, but I enjoyed it for its maturity and earthiness. No reason to wait any longer for this one

Drank at WWS tasting. Purple/red in color. Roses on the nose, along with aromas of black cherries. Crisp acidity, and still quite tannic. This wine needs substantial decanting before drinking. Lovely black fruit, great depth and concentration, with nice length. The wine's still a bit on the young side but a lovely, if bigger than usual barbaresco.

Drank blind at final WWS tasting of the year matched vs. Clos L'eglise 2000 and 1998 Pomerols. Fascinating matchup, and certainly the most interesting flight of the evening. I've had this wine earlier this year and enjoyed it, but def liked it more this time around. In fact, the vast majority of our group--myself included--thought this was the 2000 Pomerol. Nose exuded plums and earthiness. On the palate, soft, resolved tannins and lovely black fruit, with some barnyard elements. Great length too. I recall this wine seeming more rustic the first time around, whilst this time it seemed fresher. A prime example of how good the 2000 Bdx vintage was across the board, and this was a great bargain.

The 2000 Pomerol, on the other hand, might have been a bad bottle as it did not show well. Nose had some sweet fruit, but feintly. Some black fruit on the palate, along with coffee, tobacco and chalky tannins. Finished a bit sour, and seemed a bit thin and lacking concentration and depth. Disappointing.

The 1998 Pomerol was my contribution, and I pinned it out immediately as I'd recently tasted it. Very generous nose of espresso, tobacco and some black fruit. Similarly, the palate duplicated what I picked up on the nose, along with some chocolate notes. Lots of merlot here, resulting in a soft, elegant, if a bit plummy wine. Perhaps not as well-structure or graceful as it could have been, but still quite enjoyable. This was my WOTN, though not of the crowd in general.

Drank blind at final WWS tasting of the year matched vs. Clos L'eglise 2000 Pomerol and 2000 L'eglise from Cote des Castillon. Fascinating matchup, and certainly the most interesting flight of the evening. I've had this wine earlier this year and enjoyed it, but def liked it more this time around. In fact, the vast majority of our group--myself included--confused the two 2000s.

The 1998 Pomerol was my contribution, and I pinned it out immediately as I'd recently tasted it. Very generous nose of espresso, tobacco and some black fruit. Similarly, the palate duplicated what I picked up on the nose, along with some chocolate notes. Dark fruit, boysenberry, and forest floor notes. Lots of merlot here, resulting in a soft, elegant, if a bit plummy wine. Perhaps not as well-structured or graceful as it could have been, but still quite enjoyable. This was my WOTN, though not of the crowd in general.

The 2000 Castillon E'glise nose exuded plums and earthiness. On the palate, soft, resolved tannins and lovely black fruit, with some barnyard elements. Great length too. I recall this wine seeming more rustic the first time around, whilst this time it seemed fresher. A prime example of how good the 2000 Bdx vintage was across the board, and this was a great bargain.

The 2000 Pomerol, on the other hand, might have been a bad bottle as it did not show well. Nose had some sweet fruit, but feintly. Some black fruit on the palate, along with coffee, tobacco and chalky tannins. Finished a bit sour, and seemed a bit thin and lacking concentration and depth. Disappointing.

Drank blind at final WWS tasting of the year matched vs. a 2000 Clos L'eglise from Cotes de Castillon and the 1998 version of this Pomerol. Fascinating matchup, and certainly the most interesting flight of the evening. This 2000 Pomerol might have been a bad bottle as it did not show well. Nose had some sweet fruit, but feintly. Some black fruit on the palate, along with coffee, tobacco and chalky tannins. Finished a bit sour, and seemed a bit thin and lacking concentration and depth. Disappointing.

I've had the 2000 Castillon L'eglise earlier this year and enjoyed it, but def liked it more this time around. In fact, the vast majority of our group--myself included--thought this was the 2000 Pomerol. Nose exuded plums and earthiness. On the palate, soft, resolved tannins and lovely black fruit, with some barnyard elements. Great length too. I recall this wine seeming more rustic the first time around, whilst this time it seemed fresher. A prime example of how good the 2000 Bdx vintage was across the board, and this was a great bargain.

The 1998 Pomerol was my contribution, and I pinned it out immediately as I'd recently tasted it. Very generous nose of espresso, tobacco and some black fruit. Similarly, the palate duplicated what I picked up on the nose, along with some chocolate notes. Lots of merlot here, resulting in a soft, elegant, if a bit plummy wine. Perhaps not as well-structure or graceful as it could have been, but still quite enjoyable. This was my WOTN, though not of the crowd in general.

Drank blind vs 2 other younger bordeaux at final WWS tasting. Obvious to me from its appearance that this was the 1986. Generous nose of pencil shavings, cedar and mushrooms. Still some red fruit here, along with cedar, tobacco & forest floor notes. Nicely aged, mature bordeaux that was clearly enjoyed by all.

Drank blind at final WWS tasting of the Fall. Dark purple in color. Nose is a bit closed, though I picked up some blackberrites. Big wine, tight and quite tannic. Loads of fruit and wonderfully structured wine, but it's simply too young to drink right now. Might be in its dumb phase as it was hard to decipher its many nuances that always come to the fore in this great wine over time. I wouldn't touch this wine for at least 5-10 years.

Supplied by J$ and drank blind at WWS tasting, final event of the year. Nose exudes coffee beans, wet or damp forest floor, and plums. On the palate, plums, cedar, spicy wood and leather. Tannins are soft, the wine is nicely structured and quite elegant--all elements nicely in place. Great length & rich finish. Voted overwhelmingly the WOTN, tho was my number two wine. Very enjoyable and drinking great right now.

Interesting wine. Dark amber color. Nose exudes brown sugar with some orange peel. Tropical fruits, pineapple, orange rind and maple syrup.

Finished off at our final WWS tasting of the Fall season. I've had this wine before and my notes are consistent. As always, drank blind and no one could guess. 100% botrytized viognier. Dark amber in the glass, honey and ripe apricots on the nose. Very viscous, very decadent. Rich apricots, orange marmalade, golden raising with perhaps a hint of butterscotch, some almonds, and quite vibrant acidity. Delicious and in a great place right now.