3/26/2017 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Decanted for 2 hours, you get a sense for a great core and balance, in spite of the concentration, was not giving up a lot. Started opening up after about 3 hours with some aromatics, but we had to move on to other wines. This bottle needed more air, or probably more time, may be shut down a bit right now?

3/25/2017 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Obviously mature, but surprisingly holding on to a core of red fruit (A bit muddy), classic notes of graphite and cedar, moderate acidity.....PnPd, opened up after about a 1/2 hour, then began to decline after 1.5 hours or so, would not decant this for very long, quite good

3/25/2017 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Bought in Italy for 40,000 lira, still holding on mixed muted red and black fruits decent acidity a bit tannic, definitely time to drink up

3/18/2017 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

The balance between sweetness and acidity gives it a light texture, the age gives it complexity overall in a good spot now drink up

2/14/2017 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

AP number 2 606 319 013 98. 11% ABV

Surprising how fresh this is, great acidity and citrus infused minerality, but everything fairly integrated. Only ding is the acidity and somewhat hard edges, but overall quite nice.

12/21/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Red fruit nose with a hint of maturity in some infer the radar secondary elements of sousbois and a touch of allspice. Very elegant and balanced, It's hard for me to imagine this getting any better. Really bright red fruits at the front, give it a dynamic palate. While I'd be drinking these now, no rush,

11/19/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Intense, almost bracing acidity out if the bottle. Took about 30 minutest in a decanter to open up. intense flavors of orange rind, lemon curd, roasted walnuts and bright tropical notes. Incredible stuff....

10/19/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Saturated inky purple, good crisp black fruit and depth of flavor with surprising balance given the concentration.

4/24/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Overall interesting as it was a anniversary wine for my parents 50th, but not a great wine as a standalone. Reticent nose, some black fruit and a touch of earthiness. Sill some fruit on the palate, but fairly muted, good balance, no bad notes, just leaves you a bit flattered

4/24/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Very elegant, a real wallflower, but interesting. Fresh cut strawberries and raspberries, moderate acidity, decent balance but I found myself wanting a bit more acidity. Disgorged Juin 2013.

4/24/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Quick Note, great nose, lemon zest and oxidative notes of nuts, but well integrated. Great balance on the palate with forgiving bright fruits and good acidity. Good stuff

4/16/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Great, but restrained right out of the bottle. Really opened up after about an hour of slow O, surprising depth of tight, red fruit, aromatics of red flowers, red cherry and a dusty bright raspberry note. Hung in there for several hours, never really fell apart. Cork was in great shape too.

3/12/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Similar to the last bottle, drank over two days and was still showing great depth of tart red cherry, with a touch of earthiness. Great elegance in body with diverse character, good stuff.

2/26/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Bright red cherry with a hint of earthiness and Brett like notes. Cherry cola on the palate, a bit muted and lacking expression, there's a density and weight that belies a void in the way it shows, may just need more air or in a dumb phase??

2/22/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Mixed fruit nose with secondary olive and leather notes dominate. Some muted black fruit on the palate, roasted meat and graphite with a touch of cedar. Not bad given the vintage, doesn't seem like it will be getting any better, drink up.

1/30/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

A bit of a dank nose, not corked, but the muddled red undertones are muted. Palate is balanced and is holding on to a nice red fruit character, but a bit of a wallflower, some Asian spice which is interesting, I would definitely drink up

1/16/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

For me this was stunning: very tight out of the bottle, dark fruits, skewing towards black fruit and olive on the nose....open and expanding mixed black red fruits on the palate, very refined with integrated tannins, after a few hours in a wide bottom decanter, it was still holding together nicely, we tasted this alongside the 1995 reserve and the Maxim was a bit more open out of the bottle and decidedly darker fruit than the reserve. Also, 14% alcohol versus 13.5% for the same year reserve

1/14/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Very hard to believe, how great this was, pure lemon and lemon zest with a slight smokiness and decent minerality. It opened up and improved significantly, over a few hours, and became more expressive. Really great

1/9/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Incredible classic profile with surprisingly vibrant mixed red and black fruits with
Smokey leather elements, olive and dried cassis notes. This changed a lot over three hours, a bit closed at first, really opened up in the first hour, only to go more secondary pretty quickly. Overall, the density of fruit is impressive, given the age

1/7/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Mature black fruit nose with hints of olive and dried fig. Surprisingly fruit driven palate predominately black fruits with black cherry, currant, dried green herbs and red fruit undertones. .

1/3/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Quick note, lemon nose with a interesting nutmeg component. The palate is surprisingly disparate in that it has a creamy, medium plus mid-palate, with a mineral stone fruit finish. A bit too rich on the palate, given the citrus and mineral qualities, but overall not bad

1/1/2016 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Muted nose, mildly expressive notes of macerated ripe red cherries, red currants and red flowers. Surprisingly acidic and red fruit driven, red cherry and cranberry, pomegranate and lychee, small oak component, but refreshingly lean, good stuff.

12/31/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Bottle to bottle this wine is very consistent, similar to the last few bottles, great expressive black fruit nose, with hints of brightness. Blackberry fruit on the palate with rich complementary notes of olive and roasted herbs.

12/31/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Lemon zest and oil with a salinity on the nose. A great fleshiness to the palate with richer notes of blood orange, lime and a expressive minerality. Great stuff

12/27/2015 - Bill Bucklew Likes this wine:

Similar to the last bottle, great purity of black fruit, with some secondary elements, including fresh herbs and pomegranate. This will improve, but hard to wait..

12/26/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Showing as would be expected, complex nose of black and blue fruits with secondary notes of cassis and earthy bramble. A ripe style without the alcohol, good stuff

12/26/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Very shutdown and disappointing, I revisited after 5 hours and still not showing much, nothing off putting, but a lack of anything substantive. I think this was an off bottle

12/26/2015 - Bill Bucklew Likes this wine:

What a wonderful wine, after opening out of magnum, 6 hours later it still has incredible balance between great sharp red fruit and a secondary profile that is lean and green herbal, with a sharp finish that leaves you energized, wow, what a surprise

12/26/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Horrifically corked...

12/24/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Quick note: this bottle had a bit more lift to the wine, than the previous bottle. It shows great blackberry fruit with a concentrated core.. I still don't think these are going to evolve into anything better, I'd drink up.

12/24/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Dark, lucid dark ruby with red tinged edges. Classic and expressive nose, muted and mixed red and black fruit, saddle leather and olives. Elegant palate, great balance and lift, bright red fruit, roasted beef / gamey elements and a cherry cola finish that is subtle but provides some additional lift. This may continue to improve, but in a really good spot right now. 12.5 % ABV

12/17/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

This did skew very old world and was a good surprise, with 13.3% alcohol and a decent acidity, it is decidedly restrained for a 1998 and while clearly a cab blend, exhibited a atypical restraint. This wine singlehandedly disproves the thought of the expected saturated Aussie wines from warm vintages.

12/17/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Young and expressive nose of redolent red cherry and dried raspberries. Great balance on the palate with the right red cherry, sous bio and a hint of dried dill. The acidity was a bit prominent at the finish but overall a wonderful wine.

12/12/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Great open nose of bright clean red fruit, generous palate of raspberry and red cherry, talc and wet stone. Very open style

12/12/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

In a great spot right now, rich red and black fruits, with integrated secondary notes of roasted herbs and a touch of oak. Very polished mid-palate, it skews darker, time to drink up

12/10/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Great dark ruby color, not corked, very stewed and likely just past its prime, undrinkable

12/3/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Wow, don't judge this out of the bottle, PnP'd and fairly muted and un-expressive. After about two hours in a decanter it really opened up exhibiting a predominately dark fruit nose with macerated blueberries and red currants. The palate is so fruit driven and youthful, bright red fruits supported by a medium acid backbone with blackberry and vanilla. This was a great surprise.

12/3/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

The nose is somewhat muted and has a slight dank dark fruit note with a prominent cedar note. The palate is much more expressive and bright, blackberry and red cherry, there's definitely an oak component here, but it's better integrated on the palate.

12/2/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

I was a bit disappointed in this wine very very light in structure and aromatics not showing much when popped n poured, then decanted it for an hour or so and it still wasn't giving up much. I'm not sure if it needs more time or it's just a wallflower?

11/29/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Really surprised by how well this showed, tropical notes, tempered by a slightly fat and sweet mid-palate with a finish that has an acidic lift and vibrancy that contrasts well. Checked in on it an hour plus after opening and it was still holding on...

11/29/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Similar to the last bottle in that it had a great mix of classic secondary elements and a modicum of fruit that is still hanging on. Definitely drink up, but I was slightly more happy with this bottle than the last,

11/29/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Predominately muted ripe, dark fruit notes, with a somewhat dominate finish of dark chocolate, without the acidic lift I've had in this wine before. Overall subdued (want to say elegant) style, but this bottle is more subtle than previous.

11/26/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Bright and expressive nose of red cherry, mascerated cranberries and a note of vanilla. Pure red fruit on the palate, Asian spices and blood orange that belies what is a decent acidity. Not profound and a bit of oak influence showing, but decent balance and expression.

11/26/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

I always fear the worst with these older Vergets, with respect to oxidation, but not the case here at all; pale, straw color, very clear. Great aromatic nose, muddled lemon rind, lanolin, sea shell minerality and subtle orange blossom. A paradox of a palate, fat open mid-palate with rich notes of lemon curd, Crete brûlée, but finishing with a brighter citrus and intense minerality. Really in a good spot.

11/21/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Very ripe, dark fruit nose with a good balance on the palate, black cherry with an underlying acidity that finishes with red tones. Holding on...

11/20/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

A bit more approachable out of the bottle, expressive nose of crushed red berries and red floral tones. Edmund body and medium acidity, pure strawberry on the palate, good tension between sweet riper fruit and a modicum of acidity. Very primal at this stage

11/19/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Extremely bright nose, with high-toned red fruit, subtle earthy notes with a smokiness, but the acidity really comes through even on the nose. The palate was wound up tight to start, but opened up after a few hours in the decanter. Vibrant notes that border citrus favors of blood orange and mandarin, tart red cherry and pomegranate. I like this style but it may not be for everyone.

11/17/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

same as last bottle, great open nose and palate, almost candied red fruit, concentrated core, great balance, good medium plus acidity,, what's not to love?

11/16/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Very open nose of stewed red fruits, the palate has good acidity and a more delineated red cherry core. The nose elicits a riper style than the palate delivers,.

11/16/2015 - Bill Bucklew wrote:

Wow, really showing well to some surprise, a great depth of black fruit with notes of chocolate and dried green herbs.