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Tasting Notes for DonalOB

(740 notes on 659 wines)

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Red
8/31/2022 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
94 points
A great bottle of wine. Lots of cedar and plum and the nose, equaled on the palate. This is early drinking - it needed at least an hour to develop. Should be good for decades.
4 people found this helpful Comment
Rosé - Sparkling
9/1/2022 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
94 points
This was on great form right from the open. Opened even more after an hour, if you can wait that long.
Red
8/31/2022 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
93 points
Drinking very well. Up against a Vacqueyras Chateau des Tours 2000 (Rayas) and compared well. Split opinion on preference. Drink up.
Red
1961 Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
6/11/2018 - DonalOB wrote:
92 points
Drank at Crown with '61 Margaux which was authentic and outclassed it on the night. This bottle was 'reconditioned' at the chateau in the '90s and they clearly topped up liberally with the vintage at hand. Far too young with little of the '61 character remaining. Pleasant enough but disappointing.
Red
2001 Château Figeac St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
9/22/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
92 points
In Guilin, China.
Pop and pour. Quite closed initially. Took an hour to open. Red currants, blackberries and leather, developing to cigars. Still plenty of structure with firm tannins and acidity. Complexity on the palate with med length.
Red
2007 Château Cos d'Estournel St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
9/19/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
91 points
Cos Dinner
A bit stewed on the nose. Not particularly intense but pleasant.
Red
1989 Château Cos d'Estournel St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
9/20/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
91 points
Cos Dinner
Quite a bit tighter than the '82. Still quite primal, not particularly evolved. Not a lot visible at this showing.
Red
1982 Château Cos d'Estournel St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
9/19/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
94 points
Cos dinner
Mature Bordeaux nose. Mushroom and leather. Low acid, bit thin but plenty of complexity.
Red
2000 Château Cos d'Estournel St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
9/19/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
93 points
Great nose - spiced blackcurrant. Interesting and long but a bit thin currently. May fill out with age.
Red
2007 Les Pagodes de Cos St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
9/19/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
88 points
Spiced plum, raspberry. A little jammy. Med fruit on palate but rather bitter tannins.
White
2009 Château Cos d'Estournel Blanc Bordeaux Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend (view label images)
9/19/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
89 points
Cos dinner
Smoked gooseberry on nose. Melon, grass. Spiced oak notes. Med acid, clean - oak seemed to dominate more with time in glass.
Red
9/8/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
91 points
Wonderful deep nose of leather and blackberry. No alcohol evident (13%). Gentle on the palate with Med+ acid and granular tannins. Not big yet on the on the mid palate - may fill out but the acid is a little out of balance. Got fuller with time in glass.
Red
9/8/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
97 points
Dinner with Ray
Huge complex nose of leather, blueberry, dry roast veges and beef. Floral. Quite noticeable alcohol though (a claimed 15%). The palate is very impressive too filling the mouth with deep glycerol flavours of dark fruit. The acidity was medium - actually higher than I expected but probably not enough for a long life. There were quite a few bitter notes which acted as a good counterpoint to the dense fruit. There was some dried fruit fruit and figs on the length.
Our sommelier tried this with us and compared it to an Amarone which I thought to be spot on. This will stimulate lots of debate but everyone will have fun - I certainly did.
White - Sweet/Dessert
8/22/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
94 points
VC dinner
All the notes of a classic vin santo. Very dark, looks like a special bottle. Rich nutty nose with lots of raisins and caramel. On the palate this is well developed with intense raisins, figs and dates. Some prunes. Enjoyed this with cigars.
White - Sparkling
8/22/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
94 points
VC Dinner
Full lemon curd. Some smoke and vanilla. Intense citrus and acid. Some bitterness still. Anise on the aftertaste. Needs more time to integrate and settle but great intensity.
1 person found this helpful Comment
White - Sparkling
8/22/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
92 points
VC Dinner
Citrus, slight peach, pear and apple curd. Dry with slight bitterness (quite ice). Improved in glass - became quite nutty. Good length.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2009 Château Suduiraut Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend (view label images)
9/6/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
94 points
Botrytis honey nose. Very deep colour. Lively balanced acidity, rich stone fruit but overall a bit one dimensional. This needs some time to lose a little pf the bitterness and to create some complexity.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2005 BOND Vecina Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
9/6/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
90 points
Spicy blackberry but dominated by alcohol. Low acidity on the palate. Nice but almost cliched Napa.
Red
2005 Ridge Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
9/6/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
94 points
Still deep colour with smoked black and blueberry fruit. A bit thin on the palate especially on the mid at the moment but huge potential. Assume it will fill out.
White - Sparkling
9/3/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
94 points
Lemon sponge cake on nose (no really). Intense on palate with bracing acidity, small mousse and lovely bitter notes.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2003 Ridge Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
9/2/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
94 points
BBR Informal dinner
Gentle blackcurrant nose. Some smoke. No alcohol visible. Lovely long palate. Got better with time in glass.
Red
1999 Frederic Esmonin Griotte-Chambertin Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru Pinot Noir (view label images)
9/2/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
91 points
BBR Informal dinner
Animale nose, slightly cloudy. Quite sweet fruit on the palate.
Red
9/2/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
94 points
BBR Informal dinner
Fabulous nose of blackberry briar and smoke. Very smooth on the palate with smoke and leather - keeps going. Plenty of acid and fine tannins give this lift.
White
2006 Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux Bordeaux Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend (view label images)
9/3/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
86 points
BBR informal dinner
This is 100% Sauvignon. A lot of oak on the nose with some citrus showing through. More of the same on the palate with some bitterness towards the finish (oak tannins ?). Don't enjoy this expression of SB (contract with the Dagueneau Silex wines which I love)
White
2006 Fattoria La Monacesca Mirum Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva Verdicchio (view label images)
9/2/2013 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
92 points
BBR informal dinner
Fantastic nose. Deep colour. Lemon, Lime, some apricot and a nutty flavour (spent a long time on lees). This divides opinion but I love it, so did most of the table.
Rosé - Sparkling
8/22/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
90 points
VC dinner
Much darker pink than the NV. Lighter mousse and nose - slight cherry and toast. Strawberry and vanilla on mouth.
Rosé - Sparkling
8/22/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
89 points
VC dinner
Small but persistent mousse. Light strawberry, again with digestive biscuit flavours.
White - Sparkling
8/22/2013 - DonalOB wrote:
87 points
VC dinner
Pale yellow. Light biscuit with clean citrus.
3 people found this helpful Comment
Red
8/8/2012 - DonalOB wrote:
94 points
Deep ruby, quite opaque. Intense blackberry nose.Thick and glycerol on the palate with quite hidden tannins. and good acidity. Not overdone at all, plenty of development left on this one.
Red
5/31/2018 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
96 points
Drinking beautifully right from the open. At last an LLC that's open!
White
5/19/2018 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
91 points
Definitely on the higher end of the spectrum of PGs. Lovely lemony rind nose matched with big fruit on the palate. Nice acidity makes it great with food. Has quite a lot of depth and length.
Red
5/13/2018 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
92 points
Slightly reserved nose still but already a big palate. Plenty of cherry braced with nice refreshing acids. This has length finishing with an interesting back of tongue bitter note. Likely to improve considerably with a few years.
2 people found this helpful Comment
Red
2/24/2018 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
93 points
Wonderful cherry nose with some mushroom already. A fair grip from the tannins but not coarse. This had a great finish and we were savouring it for quite a while. Clearly this will hang around for quite a while but given depth and balance should become more elegant in a few years.
Red
1995 Château Gruaud Larose St. Julien Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
6/10/2017 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
95 points
Bought at a restaurant in HK. Took an hour to open up. Plenty of black fruits opening to leather and smoke. Lovely finish with excellent acidity and perfect tannic bite all throughout.
This remains one of my favourite '95s especially left bank.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red - Fortified
8/15/2016 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
100 points
I left this stand for over 24 hours and it was decanted for around 3.
Another wonderful '63, huge intensity of fruit over still present tannins. The alcohol barely noticeable on either the nose or throat.
We sipped this over a couple of hours and it got better and better. Glorious.
2 people found this helpful Comment
White
7/16/2016 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
91 points
Big nose but initially a touch of oak. That receded after a few minutes in the glass leaving some well defined tropical and citrus fruit. Nice acidity, could probably mature a bit yet. Round texture in the mouth with good length. We often have the standard Pinot Grigio from these guys, good but expensive. This is better but very expensive.
White - Sparkling
4/9/2016 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
96 points
Again a beautiful bottle of Dom just entering maturity. Complex and nutty without being over oxidised.
White - Sparkling
6/16/2015 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
96 points
Fantastic nose, nuts and brioche - so elegant. On the palate, very complex, rich with huge length.
1 person found this helpful Comment
White - Fortified
10/20/2014 - DonalOB wrote:
93 points
Nutty nose with figs on the palate. Very complex savoury in the mouth.
White
7/10/2015 - DonalOB wrote:
Drank with Ray in Ireland - quite oxidised
Sake
11/7/2015 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
96 points
Lovely as always with hints of plum and flowers. Refreshing and smooth, even more delicate than the '39'. Had it with varied Chinese dishes, some quite hot - heavenly.
Red
8/23/2015 - DonalOB wrote:
92 points
This took a day to open properly but nice earthy tones alongside plum.
Red
1998 Château Figeac St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
7/3/2015 - DonalOB wrote:
93 points
On pointe. Lovely nosed wine reaching plateau.
Red
7/3/2015 - DonalOB wrote:
flawed
This was the third flawed bottle in a row we opened. Hmm!
Red
7/3/2015 - DonalOB wrote:
flawed
Brilliant fill level but cloudy and dead.
White
7/3/2015 - DonalOB wrote:
87 points
Adequate. Improved in glass but ridiculous price.
Red
1969 Château Cheval Blanc St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
7/4/2015 - DonalOB wrote:
flawed
Amazing fill level for a bottle this old. However the fruit fell off a cliff after a few short minutes with nothing to replace it leaving just acidity. We didn't finish the bottle.
Red - Fortified
7/1/2014 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
100 points
This bottle was wonderful right from the open some hours before the official tasting. It already was on a level over the other '63 ports. It opened even more at the meal after 3-4 hours in the decanter and completely outclassed the other wines. We had expected it to be better but not by that margin.
Still had vibrant red and black fruit to go with the tertiary complexities on a finish that seemed to go on for ever.
A big score not given lightly - one of the finest wines I've ever tasted.
2 people found this helpful Comment
White
4/29/2015 - DonalOB Likes this wine:
92 points
Wonderful wine with extraordinary QPR. The and the Rocca are our favourites in hot weather.
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