11/23/2023 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

PnP. Golden yellow color. No obvious (sugar) crystal sediments.
Nose: ginger, rose petal, tropical fruits and a hint of smoke.
Palate: big, ripe, kaleidoscope of tropical fruits and mandarin zest.
Sweetness: ZH clearly labels its wines Indice 1 (dry) to 5 (sweet). Dessert wines Vendange Tardive (VT) and Selection de Grains Nobles (SGN) are separate classification. This wine is Indice 3.
Paired with: Vietnamese egg roll w/ a thin slice of Vietnamese pepper and gâteaux salés. Yum!
If you want fruit, drink it now. Mature ZH sheds its fruits and residual sugar as it develops secondary aromatics.
It is a matter of taste preferences among white wine drinkers (esp. level of acidity), but I cannot find flaws to this gewurztraminer. It is what it is.

4/24/2022 - HJImperial wrote:

From a Sotheby's auction: Labelled "Aulden Cellars (from the cellar of Thomas O. Rider. September 7, 2007)".
Update: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_O._Ryder

I would admit, better than the original (on-release) purchase I consumed years back. At that time, I thought Kangarilla was better than Romas, better than Blewitt Springs (all Clarendon Hills Grenache).

This 21-year-old bottle?
New world style? Definitely Yes. (Do not expect Rhone style). But no bretts (riskier with mature Rhones)
Well-extracted? Definitely Yes (served at 57-60 degrees F, I did not notice the 14.5% ABV).
Fruit still alive, with hardly any bricking? Yes. I was surprised.
Tannin well-integrated? Yes.
Did I like it? Yes. My wife and I are impressed. (Proves nothing, except to say we appreciate new world wines). Paired with lamb steak.
Has a hint of bitter chocolate after-taste.

1/3/2022 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

Finally enjoyable to drink! At 5 years old, my guests were too modest to spit it out. At 15 years, tannins had softened but took 2 days to open up. At 20 years...
Nose initially closed (even after a 2-hour decant). Then something earthy, leather, stone and a faint hint of herbs.
Minimal bricking. My wife thought I opened a Brunello or Barolo, but heavier body than both.
Tart black cherry and some other dark fruits. Tannins soft and integrated. Has not develop much secondary (aging) aromatics or taste. Tannin structure could last another 5 years, but I do not know what else I will be waiting for. Prime for drinking. My last bottle.

12/23/2021 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

As usual with older Ch Musar, careful with the crumbling cork.

Decanted just to clear the sediments (I don't like its bitter taste). I planned a 30-minute aeration; but, of boy! My wife and I cannot wait. We started drinking it by itself while preparing pesto pasta dinner. "Excellent aperitif", LOL. My wife cannot guess the grape except to say: "We had this before". I said: "Think Ch-du-Pape with cab added" (Cab-Cinsault-Carignan).

Only slight browning on the rim (amazing for a 19+ year old wine!). Terrific nose of dark and red fruits, and that certain umami from an aged wine.

Good acidity to match the pasta (and to drink on its own). Beautifully integrated tannin. Red fruits predominate at cooler temp. Then Cab kicks in as it warms in the glass, with dark fruits and a hint of saddle leather (that pleasant small amount of brett). Savory. Velvety.

That lone star on the bottle says it all: "Gaston & Serge Hochar, you belong with the stars in the heavens". I salute you.

3/13/2021 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

Medium body. Mostly red fruits on the palate (cherry, raspberry, strawberry). Silky tannins. Mouth watering acidity, making it very food friendly. It was paired with steak churrasco and herb-crusted salmon. Truly defines Russian River pinot noir.

12/27/2020 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

Recently, my "go to" sparkling wine for both regular daily drinking; and special occasions (if I don't have to impress my guests with "certain brands and price"). Proof: I opened this for my wedding anniversary yesterday. My daughter made a mimosa out of her serving.
While I have also tasted V. Vernay's Ice Vin Mousseux, this demi-sec version still has a small residual sweetness (not brut). While it calls for it, my wife and I do not add Ice to it.
It is so overtly inexpensive, that it is "covert". Pssst...I do not tell anyone in my town about it. People ignore it because of its low price.

12/27/2020 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

I gambled on this wedding anniversary ('97) wine for this special day, not knowing if it is still drinkable. My wife initially compared it to a "light tawny Port" (it is labeled 16.3% ABV); I was afraid I messed up. But I found out she finished the whole bottle later last night.
Paired with surf & turf ribeye and lobster, I was surprised to find it match both. The secret: its acidity.
Mouthful, with surprisingly still plenty of fruit (Aussies call it "fruit bomb"), & wood; reminded me of the 1969 Ch La Nerthe CdP I opened last year for my wife's 50th b-day. Is this how an old Grenache-Shiraz-other CdP varieties taste?
Cautions:
1. decant (has 1 cm sediment)
2. serve at a cooler temp (lest you feel the 16.3% heat)
3. delicate cork (after standing up the bottle) may crumble.
Conclusion: still (biased?) good, for my special occasion. But drink now.

4/26/2020 - HJImperial wrote:

Agree with Cadamson, right now in its closed window period between youth and maturity. I had an excellent glass sampling few years back to compare.
Decanted 4 hours. Mature red fruits, hint of leather and earth. A wiff of balsamic vinegar initially. Good acidity to match food. Saved a glass serving leftover for the next day, no discernable improvement.
I love a mature Cote Rotie, but this was a disappointment, considering its price. It has enough tannins, so I will try my next bottle in 5 years.

9/1/2019 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

Decanted 1 hour. Better as it sits in the glass after 2-3 hours. Crimson with light bricking from age. Medium body and length. Ample acidity to be food friendly (paired with Moroccan rabbit stew). Silky tannin backbone, enough to support structure for another 1-2 years of drinking. Claret style.

4/20/2019 - HJImperial wrote:

Made in Burgundian style. For many Cali Pinot fans like me, this might be a disappointment, esp. for the price. Paired with seafood paella and decanted for 1.5 hours (as AGELVIS suggested). The nose is muted. Good acidity, red fruits and subtle fine-grain tannins on the mouth. Did not start to sing until after 3 hours. Perhaps, as DJM/LTM said, "wait another 5 years". Refine, but not my type.

2/17/2019 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

Opened for my wife's 50th birthday. What a fifty-year old ! (the wine I mean). Stand upright for 24 hours to "loosen cork" and drop sediment, then decanted. Took 10 minutes to clean the bottle for a "presentable" pouring (see images 1-2 of 80), because my wife insisted on serving it to guests in the original bottle. Brick orange. Woody. Hint of dried fruits. And that "bouquet of aging" I don't know how to describe. No brett. Excellent acidity to actually match spicy Southeast Asian cuisine, including green papaya salad. Past prime. But was my wife's favorite bottle for the evening (that also included BV's 1969 George de Latour Reserve and a 1997 (anniversary) Hermitage. Any CdP drinkable at 50 is a cause for celebration. How do you rate this bottle? - vis a vis current vintages or compared with another 50-year old?

1/18/2017 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

Honestly, how do you pair this gorgeous wine with any food? My wife accidentally opened this V.T. thinking it was a dry ZH to pair with chicken curry. I had to buy an Amish Blue Cheese the next day to see how it will work. Made in heaven.
I tend to drink my V.T. & SGN older (esp. ZH wines), to "melt the baby fat" (sugar). Layers of preserved tropical fruits on the palate, with a certain saltiness and honey aftertaste. The typical gewurzt aromatics (rose or jasmine) are but a whiff. Drink as an aperitif or after-dinner with a salty blue cheese. Outstanding !

11/6/2016 - HJImperial wrote:

I am a Santa Lucia pinot fan, but this one tasted unusual to me. Big, bold, highly extracted (tastes "sweet") cherry and other berry flavors. Additional flavors of cola (I remember sucking on cola candies when I was young), tobacco or some tropical leaf, and a certain seaweed(?) salty after-taste. I have also noticed this in the later Meiomi vintages. Not quite as elegant as the 2012.

3/13/2016 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

Note: allowed to "warm" from 57 F to room (serving) temp for a week. Decanted for 6 hours. Paired with Italian spice-rubbed Rib eye.

Decanting phase: wonderful nose of red berries & flowers. But sample sip had intrusive tannins.
After 6 hours decanting: less fruit aroma, but tannin softened.
Color: brick and orange (aging) hue
Nose: hints of cedar, flowers.
Body: smooth, medium body
Taste: only hints of berries, good acidity, integrated tannins.

12/7/2015 - HJImperial wrote:

In addition to chardonnay, small portions of aromatic grapes were added to the final cuvee. Pale yellow in color, medium body, noticeable oak. You may also notice the alcohol when it gets warm. Two bottles tasted a week apart, with consistent tasting profile. White fruits on the palate, but none predominates. None of the tropical fruit notes usually associated with aromatic grapes. Did I miss something? I also did not taste any residual sugar, this is dry.

12/5/2015 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

My last bottle. Followed this wine since release. The 35 g/L residual sugar makes it viscous on the glass (probably better to taste it by the spoonful - a la Tokaji Essencia). Has evolved into medium reddish mahogany color. Taste of preserved apricot jelly, honey and caramelized raisin. The low alcohol (9.5%) and low acidity may make this cloyingly sweet to some tasters, but I like to drink wines like this once in a while. Expected of a viognier. If you like more acidity, try a Quartz de Chaume. If you prefer more alcohol, drink an Australian sticky. The last bottle I tasted had a slight bitter almond aftertaste, so I aerated/decanted this bottle for 5 minutes. It worked.
I love this wine even more today. I know of no other better-tasting late harvest viognier I could buy for this price.

11/27/2015 - HJImperial Does not like this wine:

Dark fruits that opened up on day#2. I cannot appreciate it on day#1, after only 30 minutes of decanting. Good acidity. Alcohol noticeable at warmer temperature. Enough fine tannins to keep it for another few years; but I agree with so many of the CT reviews - it does not have firm legs to stand on for "further evolution" (improvement). Am I waiting for a miracle here? I will consume my remaining bottles soon.

11/1/2015 - HJImperial wrote:

Decanted for 30 minutes; paired with Texas moist (untrimmed) brisket and baby pork BBQ ribs. Full Disclosure: I like my Claret mature and I prefer pairing Texas BBQ with Zin. Dark fruits & berries with good tannin structure, hints of tobacco. It does not taste raisiny ("fruity" or "sweet"), as some reviewers perceived and as exemplified by the controversial Caymus 40th anniversary cab. Wine Spectator rated this 89 points out of 100 ("Top Value") - WS 11-15-2015. Question is: "Would you cellar more bottles for future drinking; in the hope it will redeem itself in 3-5 years?" I won't.

9/26/2015 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

This bottle is at its peak. Decanted immediately prior to drinking (some sediment). Loads of black fruits and sweet vanillin. Has enough tannin to preserve for another 1-3 years, but why wait? Balanced acidity, making it very food friendly. The elegance that aging brought it reminded me of a mature P. Jaboulet-Aine's La Chapelle.

4/28/2015 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

Decanted an hour after the MollyDooker shake. A split decision between me and my wife. She does not like the "raisiny" character of this big, bold, new-world-type shiraz. Indeed, feels like drinking an Amarone. Coats the wineglass purple like a port. Blueberry and other black/blue fruits described as "fruit weight" by the Marquis, coating your whole mouth. White pepper (or is it the 16% alcohol?) at end-palate. A lot better as a leftover (vacuum-preserved) 2 days later; more balanced, acidity more prominent, and the alcohol more integrated. For a more restraint taste, I suggest a longer decanting.

2/6/2015 - HJImperial wrote:

This is my favorite entry-level Alsatian Gewurztraminer. Lychee, spices, ginger, rose petal water & tons of white fruits. "Classic Gewurztraminer" (in-your-face) profile. You either love or hate this wine. Cuvee Laurence is more restraint and elegant, but this is it for me when I eat Thai, Indonesian, Indian & other spicy Southeast Asian food. Amazing mouth-feel & palate cleansing after a chili-sauce. Residual sugar at about Indice level 3 out of 5 (Indice 5 being sweetest, below a Vendage Tardive). Residual wine in the bottle still tasted great the next day without vacuum preservation. I prefer the 2011 to the 2012.

12/24/2013 - HJImperial Likes this wine:

Decanted, but served directly from 57 degrees F cellar. Complexity actually improved as it warmed and aired during drinking period, so decant two(?) hours I guess. Well-balanced, no hard edges, but subtle nose. Other less-experienced wine drinkers in our group actually were able to tell the difference in overall quality between this and other slightly "lower rated" but still critically-acclaimed pinot noir. Globs of raspberry, cherry, mocha: and excellent well-integrated acidity & tannin to match salmon dish. Finesse, finesse, finesse. Perhaps, I could have been more patient, with a year or two of cellaring for more elegant (Burgundian) complexities to develop. But who waits another day?

5/18/2013 - HJImperial wrote:

A souvenir bottle from our 10th wedding anniversary trip to Languedoc-Roussillon in 2007, paired with grilled New York strip a Provence. Initial whiff of blackberry, cassis (my wife initially thought it was a cab), coffee and leather. Has enough tannin for another 3-5 years of cellaring. Unfortunately as wine gets warmer, saddle leather aromas started overwhelming the wine (brettanomyces). The finely-integrated "fruit bomb" I was expecting did not materialize, I think the wine is still hibernating as Christoffer78 described. A disappointment, esp. after 2 superlative bottles of Janasse 2007 Ch.d.Pape last month. A muted "Viva la Catalonia".