9/8/2022 - Pooogles Likes this wine:

Nose caught me off guard. Lots of oak, is it fermented in oak? Super rich and complex on the nose. Based upon the colour I'd of thought this had a higher percentage of Pinot than 57%?

Tasting it, yeah tastes like what I have expected based upon where it's from. Reminds me of the Bollinger house style, not too surprising considering how Bollinger is from Montage de Reims and this is from Ambonnay. Fruits were obviously picked very ripe as I wouldn't of guessed blind that this was 0 dosage. Apple and pear flavours, wonder if this went through malo? Think this was €57 from 520 Epernay, at that price it's a drink all day for me.

6/7/2022 - Pooogles Likes this wine:

Nose is green apple and brioche. This is a dense, rich and complex wine that begs out for food. It's 100% barrel fermented and aged, that really comes through. Very oxidative to me, similar to Bollingers house style.

12/23/2021 - Pooogles Likes this wine:

Tasty Borba. Very classic in it's stylings, lots of texture and oak. At €16 this is great value.

12/23/2021 - Pooogles Likes this wine:

Crunchy, juicy, fruity and tons of acidity. All you'd expect from what the label says. Buy this if you're into that sort of thing and you'll not be disappointed. In 5 years this might have some more complexity going on, but right now it's still super youthful. Drank en magnum so this may have skewed my review slightly.

5/16/2021 - Pooogles wrote:

Cork looks to have given way on this. There was a delicious wine in here at some point but that day has long gone.

1/31/2021 - Pooogles Likes this wine:

Dark colour, similar to that of a decent pint of bitter. Not quite fully black yet.

Lots of caramel on the nose.

Palate is pure Bual Madeira flavours at this point. Dried cherries, stonefruits and caramel. Most of all you notice the acidity, it's HUGE and really does help balance out the tremendous amount of sugar.

This is 25 years old and still great, I'd not want to put an end date on this and I certainly wouldn't be in a hurry to drunk up. Bit too sweet for me personally though.

2/6/2021 - Pooogles Likes this wine:

Nose is exiting, green apple and some tropical fruits. Touch of petrol as per the norm.

Palette is delicious. Still some fruit around but oh god this is so balanced. Delicious minerality like the very best Chablis. Great finish, all round delicious.

This wine has such a fabulous sense of place. Wish I had more at the price I paid.

1/24/2021 - Pooogles Likes this wine:

Deep gold appearance. Nose is pure Tondonia Blanco at this point.

Palette is baked apples and nuts. Waxy texture. Medium length finish that tails off slowly leaving you remembering more the texture than the flavour.
Modern Guigal Hermitage is a Marsanne/Rousanne blend, I can't find any specifics on this but later wines are 90-95% Marsanne.

Not an unpleasant experience at all, would've been nice to have a younger one to taste back to back.

12/29/2020 - Pooogles Likes this wine:

Nose is dried currants and fruit cake.

Pallette is quite simple actually, more of the things found on the nose really. Dried currants out the wazoo. Tannins well integrated and barely detectable at this point. Finish goes on for a long old while though which is pleasant as you don't have to come back as often (ideal for 9pm on Christmas day).

Honestly much more of a simple port compared to the 77 Dow and Graham's I've drunk recently. I don't see any more upside from here but I don't think you're in a rush to drink. For the £65 I paid I'd garner more pleasure from a 30YO tawny. This might not be the best showing bottle so YMMV.

7/21/2020 - Pooogles Does not like this wine:

Popped and poured. Can't say I was that much of a fan; very flabby with not near the acidity required to stand up to the sugar content. Bit of a shame as I've had this before and really liked it. Might be a duff bottle.

6/3/2020 - Pooogles wrote:

Solid wine that does everything you'd expect it to and nothing more.

4/5/2020 - Pooogles Likes this wine:

Passion fruit and a bit of botrytis on the nose. Stone fruit on the palette. Not much complexity here, I'm not sure if this is going to improve. Very one dimensional.

Not bad in any way, just hoped for better.

12/16/2018 - Pooogles Likes this wine:

Very hot year and it shows. Raisiny flavours, not surprising. Primary/secondary flavours well balanced.

7/31/2018 - Pooogles Likes this wine:

Decent tannins and acidity left which still tied everything together. Very short finish sadly.

We left it open for probably too long before drinking. Next bottle I'll definitely pop and pour.

5/13/2018 - Pooogles Likes this wine:

Just a hedonistic shower of dark fruits on the pallette. Tanins aren't overpowering, and it somehow all feels balanced even at this early age. If you've got a bottle "spare" I beg of you to try this. Utterly insane wine for drinking today.

12/21/2017 - Pooogles wrote:

Hardly any fruit left. Mostly tobacco and some leather coming through now. Pretty smooth on the finish but not much complexity.