4/26/2024 - Sanlucar Likes this wine:

A very quirky wine that can stand up to anything. But upon opening, it smelled strange and we were concerned about cork taint or some other contaminant, but the odd nose quickly blew away and we were left with a deeply delicious, perfectly balanced and incredible rosé. Comparisons were made to Domaine Tempier and other Bandol producers but this is in a category of its own. Very fruity. Herbal tea notes with cinnamon, cardamom and allspice. Fun to drink something so quirky.

4/20/2024 - Sanlucar Likes this wine:

Massive fruit bomb, very jammy, with rugged tannin and high alcohol (15.7%). It's just been released; time will soften and round out the sharp edges. Difficult to consume on day 1, so I drank most of it on day 2 (very wise move). Rated 92 points because of the super intense flavors of Mourvedre (40%) (wild herbs, violets, sage, lavender and roasted thyme) and the balance of Syrah (31%) and Grenache (29%). Oak & smoke are evident but under control and not excessive; solid wine.

3/17/2024 - Sanlucar wrote:

Lacking ripeness and a bit acidic; flavors of red raspberries and American oak. Difficult to pair with any foods; tannin was a little aggressive. Average but under performing in general.

4/23/2023 - Sanlucar Does not like this wine:

The worst Bordeaux in existence. Terrible structure (acidic and flabby) with under developed fruit, followed by a very weak cork. Avoid this garbage!

9/30/2023 - Sanlucar Likes this wine:

This was good but too young to drink. And it seemed more than just temporarily closed, it was stunted; as if not developing properly. Day one; it released very little fruit and only mildly attractive nose. Day two was better but not by very much. Darker fruit like blackberry and cassis, along with some oak, smoke and tannin. This producer has lost a step or 2 over the years. Another overhyped wine with wildly inflated scores from RP and others.

11/12/2022 - Sanlucar Likes this wine:

Anisette, clover honey, yellow raisin and wildflowers are really evident. Tawny brown color and very thick on the palate; plus burnt butter and orange peel with layers of middle-eastern spices. THIS NEEDS 2 DAYS TO OPEN!!! So please be patient.

Excellent value. For smoking; this Port pairs very well with a hand-rolled stogie sporting a Connecticut shade wrapper.

9/8/2023 - Sanlucar wrote:

Too sweet and sticky for me, although after 2 days it seemed to balance out a bit. It tastes of sweet apple cider and looks nearly like "big city" tap water.
The high scores from RP and so many others are baffling and total BS. I appreciate Riesling wines but never with so much sugar! For $50, I'd say this has a terrible quality-to-price ratio. IMHO, it's worth less than half that amount; perhaps $20. Serve it only slightly chilled, otherwise the fruit disappears, then it tastes like Gatorade.

1/1/2023 - Sanlucar Does not like this wine:

This is the most boring, insipid, lame and weak Oregon Pinot Noir I've ever had the displeasure of paying for... and I paid way too much for this swill which makes me rather angry. It's terrible in so many ways... but lets focus on the Positive for now: it tastes like a very poor New Zealand Pinot Noir -- the type of crap you'd find in a gas station or drug store. Now for the Negatives: no structure, no earthiness, no sense of terroir, slightly bitter and the acids are far too high. I've bought 6 bottles based upon a recommendation which proved to be a horrible decision. I've opened 4 bottles and all have been dreadful and nearly worthless. DO NOT BUY THIS JUNK!!!

1/4/2021 - Sanlucar Likes this wine:

Phosphorus scents of gun powder and wet leather which transitioned to dramatic flavors of Cajun / Creole black pepper, cayenne pepper, black tea, and Asian spices. T’was a savage little beast for the first couple of hours, then it quickly melted into luxurious CdP opulence. Caveat: I’ve sampled several bottles with mainly positive but varied results. Cheers!

4/28/2021 - Sanlucar Does not like this wine:

Now I know what failure tastes like. This wine offers so little in flavor, provides too much alcohol, and demands so much in price. It's the worst quality-to-price ratio of any California Pinot I've ever had.

4/2/2021 - Sanlucar wrote:

Blueberry & black raspberry fruit bomb. Very high alcohol and surprisingly high acid. This wine will not live long - drink it now.

3/17/2021 - Sanlucar Does not like this wine:

Horribly corked - poured straight down the drain!

11/16/2020 - Sanlucar Likes this wine:

Gorgeous CDP with strong aroma of wild game, leather & tobacco, and with deep plum / raspberry flavors. Accompanied by a very long finish (30-45 sec).

11/5/2020 - Sanlucar Likes this wine:

Very impressive for its age (almost 40). This is still alive but probably not for very much longer. Lots of pencil lead, dark cassis fruit, moderate oak and with plenty of tannin. Beautiful deep red color although beginning to fade a little. Best of all; the fragrant nose is pure St. Estephe. I was very lucky to find this bottle.

5/23/2020 - Sanlucar Likes this wine:

A very good example of 100% Syrah from southern France but it's not what I expected given the hyperbolic 96-point score from Parker, Inc. I found this wine to be a bit hollow (very limited mid-palate) and deficient in its expression of terrior. Also, this wine's profile is entirely "new world" with exceedingly ripe fruit and very high alcohol (15.5%), but it can stand on its own as a big, brawny, muscular beast with flavors of road tar, roasted herbs, sweet-tasting glycerin, and dripping with beef blood. I give it 2 - 3 more years before it fades away quickly.

3/1/2020 - Sanlucar Does not like this wine:

Huge disappointment; especially considering the vintage and the region. I bought 2 bottles of this wine and both were very poor examples of what this wine should be. It is the most insipid and weak Barolo I've ever consumed!!!
I've had many other bottles of Massolino that were so much better than this - so I hope this is just a fluke.

12/27/2017 - Rackit Likes this wine:

Shared with friends before the holidays over 1.5 hours. Base neck/vhs fill. Cork was half soaked, but intact.
This bottle was an impulse buy as a single bottle lot at auction. Honestly, it exceeded my expectations as it showed really well. PNP after opening without a decant. Surprised to see minimal sediment when the bottle was drained.
I do love an older Bordeaux! Nice bit of funk on the nose that blew off after a bit with forest floor and wet leather. Wonderful brightness from the acidity with a solid core or plum, blackberry fruit still showing. This also had a nice streak of mint and mild green pepper that kept things interesting. No real tannin left and it had a medium finish. Lovely wine that confirms my view that Lynch Bages needs time before it's more sophisticated personality shows through. Will be on the lookout for more.