4/6/24, 1:15 PM - I would have but I dumped it down the drain. Will try another bottle in then next month or two and try next day if it's an off bottle.
1/12/24, 1:52 PM - have you had this recently? This is the first bottle of Bordeaux that I have had that could have been a fake - only say that given it drank like a much younger wine. Or, it has just aged beautifully. It was a gift to a friend of mine that he got a few years ago. We tasted this blind so if it was a fake it was a very good fake!
1/12/24, 1:51 PM - At $125 that is an excellent value. I loved this wine.
1/7/24, 6:13 PM - Sorry for delayed response - the 750ml was at peak but not over the hill. The 3L would likely drink beautifully now and go for 5-10 more years. This is a special wine. The CT window shows 2035 as end date so take your time!
10/23/23, 7:25 PM - 30 minute decant, but needed 1 - 1.5 hours. I bought this randomly from JJ Buckley in 2021 and pulled it on a whim - I had been on a streak of drinking okay wine so this was a treat! This drank beautifully but given how it improved with air, clearly better with a little more time but it was not infaticide by any means. Given comments from you guys I will likely buy a 6-pack or case from a more recent vintage.
10/23/23, 7:29 PM - Random question given some of you have had multiple vintages of this wine - how would the '19 vintage of this be for a birth year wine?Thanks for any feedback.
10/24/23, 6:24 AM - Thanks for follow-up. Will likely get the base Produttori Barberesco and some Bordeaux. I'll keep the '19 Castellare for myself...
10/19/23, 10:39 AM - Sorry for long delayed response. La Ragnaie (base wine), Pertimali (Livio Sassetti), Uccelliera, and the Casanova di Neri - Tenuta Nova.Prefer all of those to this wine and all are same price or cheaper. don't get me wrong, the Il Poggione is a good wine, I just prefer the flavor profile of the previously mentioned wines.
10/19/23, 10:33 AM - Should have read CT - the wine had all the elements of structure you would expect. I didn't think a Chianti Classico went through a dumb phase like Bordeaux but I was wrong.
2/21/23, 2:59 PM - I can't recall which other Pax Mahle wine I purchased from Garigiste (believe it was a Cab blend) but it was also a terrible buy - my guess is attention to detail may have been lacking in this vintage given sale of the winery (could be wrong on that).
2/21/23, 2:58 PM - Personal preference - it's a well made bottle of wine, but for cost I can find Rhones (particularly Gigondas) that I like better. My guess is in 2-3 years it will show much better.
7/17/22, 6:40 PM - Paid $75.00 for wine - thought that was a little pricey but bought in a beach town so pricing makes sense. Frankly this wine would be better in 3-5 years. Thanks for the note.
4/13/22, 6:47 PM - Thanks for the follow-up. Surprised PH was 3.72 as I thought there was more acidity.
1/5/22, 4:22 PM - Thanks for the technical details - I was wondering the % of new Oak.
11/2/21, 5:14 PM - Thanks for the notes - the vacu-vin is a simple pump / cork system that sucks the air out of a bottle for storage (stick plastic cork in bottle and suck out air to get a tight seal). I have not had issues with this on any wine (Burgundy through Brunello) in the past. To respond to other comment, I may try this bottle again with just a cork in overnight. I was really surprised this fell apart overnight - wine was great on night 1 so doesn't really matter, except for showing the wine won't age well - (overnight exposure shows ability to age) - pro's think wine will age for longer so I'd go with the their opinion vs. mine.
11/2/21, 6:31 PM - Totally agree- I loved this wine on night 1- it will be interesting to see how fast the '15 Brunello's age given the heat of the vintage. I rated the Capanna a 93 on night 1 so I'm a fan of the wine - how long it will be tasty, is the question.
9/23/21, 5:15 PM - Thanks for the note and the link. Funny how Larner was not a fan of this wine. Usually I agree with her.
7/11/21, 5:18 AM - Excellent wine. Have a great Summer as well.
4/29/21, 6:27 PM - Tim-Thanks for the note on this and read the longer description on your blog - excellent.Got 4 bottles of this left - 2x I really enjoyed this (drank two bottles in 2017 and one in '18 and '19) Last bottle was shut down on night 1.Curious what you think the window to drink is - now to '25? Given price I'd be willing to go longer.Thanks.
3/6/21, 10:53 AM - Interesting. If Red Burgundy was 1/4 the price maybe I'd enjoy them but not at today's prices. Don't get what has happened to Barolo - I still love Red Bordeaux and Brunello so maybe just a change in palate over time - thanks for the post. I don't have experience with Barolos earlier than '99.
3/2/21, 6:37 AM - Thanks for the link - this wine carried it's high alcohol level well.
2/3/21, 6:21 AM - Sorry for delayed response. No decant on night 1 (it would need it) but did drink over 3-4 hours so it got air. If drinking now a 3-4 hour decant would be recommend. Even a second wine from Bordeaux needs a few more years of age (in my opinion). Nice steak wine but enough fruit to go with burgers. Hope that helps.
11/16/20, 6:40 PM - I usually don't let my CDPs (granted this a Cote Du Rhone) age for more than 10 year from vintage (fruit tends to get stewed in my opinion). The exception to that is Pegau, Rayas, Vieux Telegraphe, other old school producers and Beaucastel! Given this is the little brother of the big CDP, it should be able to go 10 years easy. After that it's more a function of taste preference. Hope that helps.
11/30/20, 7:04 PM - Hopefully will bode well when I retire and work in wine store...
11/10/20, 12:59 PM - Agree with you- this was a disappointment - I think I had a mid 2000s of this wine , years ago, and thought it was okay - not so this one. Glad to know it was not bottle variation.
9/14/20, 11:27 AM - It was too good to leave any and sample the next night (what I usually do). I think we have a few years left but don't see it getting better!
9/9/20, 10:32 AM - Unlike other CDPs, this wine needs age. I've only had a couple of vintages of Clos des Pape and was not impressed - but I never let them age. Letting the wine sit under vacu-vin is roughly equivalent to 10+ years of oxygen exposure and the wine was excellent 72 hours later. Money no object, would buy and cellar - and if drinking now decant for 5+ hours. "Not a rebuy" based solely on night 1 tasting, but given tasting 3 nights later, would remove that comment. Hope that clarifies my note.
9/7/20, 7:04 AM - I think it's just bottle variation - last bottle I had in 2018/2019 needed a 3 hour decant- if you open and it smells ready to go don't decant. Only advice I could give. It's a very nice bottle of wine.
8/11/20, 7:23 AM - My first bottle was better. I think Pax Mahle sold this winery and maybe he was not focusing as much. The cab from 2015 ( Garagiste purchase as well ) is worse than this.Hopefully age treats this well as Syrah needs time.
7/23/20, 2:16 PM - I really enjoyed this - I love Italian reds and have recently started drinking their white wines. 95% of my cellar is red so my notes on whites are not that descriptive - in any case, this is a very nice bottle of wine. Cheers.
5/27/20, 9:09 AM - Tim-thanks for the follow-up. On 2015 Chianti Riserva's from traditional producers, how long are you recommending to age before opening? This wine in particular needed 9-10 years.I love your wine blog by the way. Keep up the good work.
4/28/20, 8:43 AM - Wines from this producer need years to come around - see Tim Heaton's notes and website for more details.Cheers.
12/6/19, 8:05 AM - I have some '07 Saint Damiens that I have been cellaring to test aging ability. I have been disappointed with some '07 and '09 Rhones that did not age well. Setting aside the price, I'd prefer a Gigondas to a CDP most of the time. Don't get why these wines don't get more respect but the wine nerds benefit I guess.
9/2/19, 12:50 PM - I could have had an off bottle - the flavor on the nose was an odd metallic one when that I would not associate with fruit. In any case as I noted, with airtime I really enjoyed the wine - my note was from 2 years ago so I don't remember exactly, but if others have had a different experience with the wine mine is one opinion (and probably an off bottle).
7/28/19, 12:05 PM - This really needed air- PNP would have the same comment on a very tight nose.
4/16/19, 5:14 AM - This wine had 5 full years from harvest. That is plenty to show it's potential and I agree that wines from this region do better with 5-10 years of age. Aalto drinks great when released and can also age 15-20 years from vintage. Costco could have just gotten it in and maybe it was suffering from bottle shock and it calmed down overnight - that is probably what happened with hindsight
3/3/19, 10:59 AM - Yep. It was as good or better on night 2 and still good on night 3. It's fine now with a 1 hour decant and will be even better with some age - 1-5 years.
1/27/19, 5:35 PM - Agreed - We had the 2004 (with a 30 minute decant) and it rocked. I'll treat this like an Old school Barolo that you get into with 10 years from the vintage+
1/27/19, 5:34 PM - $27.00 - It was an enjoyable wine and I may have had it 1-2 years before it was in it's drinking window to be fair.
10/13/18, 12:13 PM - I first had the '04 or '01 vintage purchased from WTSO. This is a nice traditional Rioja to lay down at a killer price. I threw this in a ringer in a high end Spanish tasting and while not of the same caliber of the other wines, it did not stand out as a "cheap" wine. Enjoy!
7/15/18, 6:43 PM - Last I saw (could be wrong) was 90 with a lot of variability across the region - point taken that "90" is not terrible but in a relative sense it was not a strong vintage. In any case, The Uccelliera is an excellent wine!
5/11/18, 8:13 AM - I just tried (small sample) the 2001 of this wine - it has aged at a glacial pace and confirms my (and yours) assumption that this wine is way too young to drink now. The 2001 had more typicity of Cab Franc than the very young 2013.
1/21/18, 8:10 PM - Just not her style - this was a note for me to not get it for her in the future. I thought this was an excellent wine.
11/13/17, 6:17 PM - It was better on night 2 (in cellar, under vacu-vin) so I'd say it's still not at the peak (as of 11/2017). Probably 1-2 years away but that is a guess. This wine had good structure so drinking in 2020-2022 should not be crazy.
8/24/17, 5:49 PM - Ha! It would be fine with a long decant but best to let it sit for a year or two.
8/24/17, 5:48 PM - I look forward to buying the '12 as well. Curious if anyone has had the '11 Le Ragnaie BDM.Also, I enjoyed the link to your website. Thanks for sharing.BB
4/12/17, 7:29 PM - Bankers and a golf guy...
2/8/17, 7:11 PM - Winedupe - good catch on my poor spelling - I meant "pyrazine." I agree with you that a fair amount of wines from Chile share this characteristic (especially in cooler vintages). This bell pepper aroma was over the top and would be a flaw - the palate was nice on this wine though. I disagree that the presence of pyrazine's (bell pepper aroma) is always a flaw - it's really the degree of the aroma - in minor amounts it can be described as "herbaceous" and provides complexity.
6/1/16, 6:45 PM - response to xxquadxxYou are right - I probably should have given this an even lower numerical rating - say, 79 - but the wine improved over the night and I gave it the benefit of the doubt. This wine was not good (to my palate and this score is my rating not yours). I rated this an 85 given it was drinkable but the oak / vanilla was off-putting to me. Others at the table really enjoyed. There is a large variation in bottles & people's opinions of them - look at the variation between Parker, Suckling or Galloni (or Burghound for that matter) for the same bottle of wine. I would not recommend this wine to others - maybe you would - fine. As a side note, I don't go into wine stores looking to pay $20 to $25USD for an 85 point wine - overall wine score inflation is a topic for another day.
12/21/15, 5:31 PM - I've had good luck with aged Riojas (old school style) and Syrahs with grilled salmon - I use a salt / Italian seasoning / brown sugar rub and that matches up nicely - you need a wine with acidity & the old school Riojas have that in Spades.
11/22/15, 5:58 PM - I thought it drank well - it was the same or better on night 2 (in cellar, under vacu-vin). If you like more earthy / tertiary characteristics I would wait 3-4 years but this wine is in it's drinking window now. This bottle was more mellow than a bottle I had earlier this year so it could be a little bottle variation. I really enjoyed it but it would pair better with a filet than a NY Strip as this is a pretty elegant wine. Hope that helps.
11/23/15, 4:55 PM - If seafood only (I know you don't match for food) this would be really good with seared tuna steaks (salt / olive oil only).Just a thought! This is one of the more elegant Bordeaux I have had in some time.
3/12/15, 6:59 PM - Great to see you posting notes again. You were missed.
3/3/15, 2:31 PM - Costco perimeter - next to the home depot near mt. Vernon highway
12/6/14, 7:09 AM - I'd hold off for a few years or if you want to try one, open in the AM (don't decant) and then pour into a decanter 1-2 hours before dinner.When I first had this wine a few years ago it was a fruit / oak monster so I was a little surprised. Bordeaux wines shut down but I did not expect the same from a Super Tuscan (cabernet so probably my error). If you can hold off, you should.
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