4/8/2024 - Papies wrote:

Kendrick’s Wine Club (67 Pall Mall, London): Double decanted for a good hour and a half. Some decanting advisable at this age. Quite the restrained wine and at time had a dry feel but also quite aromatic and will very well assimilated oak. Felt like they did not get the ripeness right , touch under ripe especially for a Napa Cab , savory at times too. Nose is good with nice dark fruit notes but all and all ( we don’t thing is the age) the wine felt like it was missing something. 91-92

4/8/2024 - Papies wrote:

Kendrick’s Wine Club (67 Pall Mall, London): A very pretty surprise and way off the overdone expressions of Napa Oaky Chardonnay, don’t get us wrong this is a Napa Wine for sure with the ripeness and the weight to go along but the wine is made with a light hand , the oak is there to complement and kudos to the winemaking at age 14 now drinks effortlessly beautiful and with an elegance. In a way a richer feel of a Chablis at times or maybe a bolder Meursault? Either way very good and worthy 93. The wine has easily another 10 years of life.

12/26/2023 - Papies wrote:

This is really winning us over and albeit last time we rated it as much maybe then it was a bit romantic of a vote to todays actual full on test. And the wine passed well enough to the point we are sure we will add a few more and looking forward to the 1999 being release later in 2024.
Well matured , evolved and earthy soft with a light Pinot style colour . Very pretty wine and albeit the prices are starting to be over hyped in Greece well priced bottles are worth it. 93-94

3/24/2024 - Papies wrote:

We actually decanted this ( but accidentally) and it sort of worked. Our 4th exposure to this beautiful wine over the last 5 years ( Papies 94-95) and this is now evolving a beautiful secondary side, the oak is well assimilated ( was quite pronounced in its youth) and it’s just ever so elegant and an effortless beauty. Still a bit powerful for a Clos St. Denis, truthful to the style of the producer but maybe that’s the right dimension to this . Proper 94-95 again .

2/7/2024 - Papies wrote:

Our third tasting of this wine in 6 months and very little to add to this high hitting consistent beauty. The right amount of oak to polish the acidity and add a different dimension to the usually steely results if top end Assyrtiko and another side of the noble grape. Easy 93 again

10/13/2023 - Papies wrote:

The Papies join the 13,000 Tasting Notes Club (Paris, France): Decanted and really needs it at this stage.
This wine is like you are in 1801 and u just met 5yr old Mozart. Mind blown , but also you are like wait , what happens in 5,10, 20 years . And that’s exactly it , as exceptional as this wine is now in its youth , perfect rich fruit, still mostly primary it is a case of where this goes and could well be a perfect wine in 10years . For now a 96-97 and what a joy! Pointless to discuss more.

1/6/2024 - Papies wrote:

The Return to the Ledbury (The Ledbury, London): Dare we say we finally found a Grange that has evolved beyond the fruit phase?
Indeed this was it and felt like a softer, lighter vintage result which ( similar to 90s Napa) Well secondary, soft smoky, leathery almost and with soft spice . Well evolved beauty and a joy and nice to see it with low alcohol level too ( 13.5%) .96 easy

9/7/2022 - Papies wrote:

Dinner at Pelagos, Astir Palace, Athens (Pelagos, Astir Palace, Athens): Tasted blind. We said SQN 10yrs old Syrah.
This made by the son of the Krankls is in a way the apple that has not fallen away from the tree. The style is very similar, very much a big wine but also a harmonious wine with everything elevated and albeit with a lot of alc the alcohol is not out of place or rules the wine. To us this harmony of the big alcohol with the rest of the big and elevated elements of the wine is a key sign of SQN ( and this baby SQN) vs others who try to make the style. This was a touch sweeter too and softer than the SQN style and even at times made us think it was a younger Grenache. Impressive 94

11/24/2023 - Papies wrote:

From Paris with Love, 2023 Edition; 11/24/2023-11/25/2023 (Paris): A light decant definitely helps here but avoid a long one.
We worried about it given the 1996 Margaux was a bit showing too much age last time we had it ( Papies 95-96) but oh no… This was still one might argue ( and we all agreed) on the developing side of its life. The fruit is ever so alive and firm, evolved of course but showing no signs of letting go. Same with the nose which it felt just about turning the real secondary chapter with still rich ( for an elegant Margaux ) fruit, soft dark fruits and ever elegant balance. This is a magnificent wine through and through, on point, in harmony and does not scream or shout, more lets you discover its graceful Beauty with a capital B. Nicol 99 - Andreas 100 > 99. Drink now but with another easy decade of great drinking.

We discussed this wine being like the ever stoic but magnificent ballerina , and Andreas mentioned the bit in the performance of the Chinese state ballet with the ballerina performing the main act on the Ballerino’s shoulders. Ever so magical scene. Frankly this wine is not the girl, but the boy making it ever so effortless and still exhibiting a strength and elegance but without ever braking character. And here is the link - https://youtu.be/O6CRB_dLTYo?si=isMcz985UMNWUc0R

11/13/2023 - Papies wrote:

Not an Ordinary Monday (Lorenzo's , London): Not sure here. Either the bottle was off or this wine is sufferings from a voluptuous and over ripe youth of the 2005 vintage. ad a bit of VA on the nose all along, the palate was harsh and unwelcoming and the fruit felt burnt. The notes below don't seem to agree with our experience so we will not rate and blame it on the bottle rater the wine but if indeed this was the right experience we would worry dearly or this wine. NR from us but it we had to 85

11/9/2023 - Papies wrote:

It was really hard work (Bentley's , London): Decanted for a good hour and really needed at this stage. 2 very consistent bottles.
We haven't crossed paths with this for 10years! ( Papies 92) and so nice to revisit it with a bit more evolution. Still though on the young side.
The wine followed in the wake of the beautiful and more evolved 1996 Lagrange ( Papies 94) and thus all came at a high bar for it. Still it was like looking at a younger expression of the Lagrange in many respects as the wines were very similar just the G-L was younger with less of an evolved/earthy side and definitely bigger tannin. Nice rich St Julien fruit, juicy almost in context of left bank Bordeaux, soft spice. Beautiful 92 now and with another 20years of useful life.

10/28/2023 - Papies wrote:

Glorious Waterside Inn (The Waterside Inn, Bray): Vintage in vintage out this wine delivered and was a great choice for aperitif to kick off our lunch at The Waterside Inn.
Young and very energetic still, bright, elegant as always and so polished across. Soft toast, rich but not heavy wine, soft nutty and full of depth of flavour. Proper 93-94

6/9/2023 - Papies wrote:

A pre-50 pre Birthday Celebration; 6/9/2023-6/11/2023 (Around Zurich Area): Sourced pristine from the impeccable cellar of Sonne Seuzach , Switzerland . In neck level and solid cork albeit fully wet.
Impressively young and would have guessed 1990 Pauillac if we did not know. Firm wine , soft austerity that draws you in and this is not a wine that advertises and screams but a wine one need to search beauty as if behind a veil. Soft dark fruit, light liquorice kiss, very little earthy touch . Impressive and an experience to say the least . 95-96

2/21/2023 - Papies wrote:

On the oxidative side and probably past its better days, touch bitter too and with a richness. But it’s the oxidative side of if that betrays it and really at the end of its life we felt. 89

8/29/2023 - Papies wrote:

Followed in the wake of the most beautiful 2016 Dalamara VV ( Papies 95) which was not an easy one for this otherwise beautiful wine. We believe this has 10% Barbera in the blend. Rich, modern but well modern. We managed and assimilated oak, soft tar edge, spice, touch floral, sweet fruit. Modern for sure but at this stage has a beauty to it and for sure with a lot of life ahead. 92-93

7/25/2023 - Papies wrote:

Never does this fail , even on a warm Athens night at the excellent Oinoscent this just soared above it all.
Intense , rich and muscular almost 16% but still with a completeness that carried it with no issues of being heavy or tiring. Expressive of course , elevated nose , energy on the palate and special. An easy 95 and with many summers ahead of it.

3/25/2023 - Papies wrote:

We love his off vintage wines probably more than the top vintage ones. And this 1993 ( a special vintage for us and one we hunt down great examples of it. Which is not easy or cheap) was no exception. Well evolved, earthy, still very much alive and with a nice leather feel. Round, silky tannin but also presence and all brought together by a classic and singing nose. Excellent especially its a 1993. 94 from us and a joy now and we would not wait for more.

7/17/2023 - Papies wrote:

The first time we try one of the “younger” ones of these , last one we had was the 1995 5 years ago ( Papies 93) and this had a very similar profile, rich and round well welcoming and with a rich yet composed palate. A very pretty wine and much like its older siblings thoroughly underpriced. 92-93

5/1/2023 - Papies wrote:

Very much the new world Shiraz this aims to be and works very well in that style. We liked it at this young age with the freshness prominent. Dark color with purple rim, rich dark fruit and spice all working well. Not a shy wine and a very good 91 from us.

1/4/2023 - AndrewSGHall wrote:

Man, Papies nailed this shit again. I don't know what it is, but while this is beautiful and correct but something is wrong and missing here. That said, this was also super cross over into Puligny in its vibe.

6/24/2023 - Papies wrote:

Our 5th note on this 16yr old barrel aged version of the 2004 ( some are 14) and frankly very little to add that we haven’t said before . Exceptional albeit rustic beauty and an easy 94

6/13/2023 - Papies wrote:

Surprisingly or Not a very pretty wine and grated lacks the depth and energy of their better bottlings still the humble village delivers. Round and polished, soft but with a solid core. Good fruit and a very happy wine. 91 and drink sooner than later.

6/9/2023 - Papies wrote:

A pre-50 pre Birthday Celebration; 6/9/2023-6/11/2023 (Around Zurich Area): Sourced from the impeccable cellar of Sonne Seuzach , Switzerland . Top shoulder level and with fully wet but solid cork.
Where does one begin to describe this and even more how does one rate it. Dark in colour and shines through the early century whiter than normal bottle with all the hand made flaws ( the bottle is itself a story) . Rich but with impressive acidity, rich apricot, honey. An exceptional experience and albeit one can argue about the wine the experience and the emotion it invokes can only be described as perfect. 100

5/13/2023 - Papies wrote:

Energetic and polished, elegant but also on the young side and could really use a few more years to evolve more. Bright, soft mineral and light toasty feeling. Proper 92

10/15/2022 - Papies wrote:

Annual Pilgrimage to Piedmont - 2022 Edition; 10/14/2022-10/16/2022 (Piedmont, Italy): Opened and served. The wine ticks a lot of boxes of good Barolo, good ripe too, cherry feel, less tar, starting to show secondary touches. Good brightness too and time should help albeit not sure how much better this gets vs today. For sure a good 91-92

12/17/2022 - Papies wrote:

Young and rich and quite the modern expression of brunello with a decent helping ( not overdone) of oak. Round and fleshy, welcoming and definitely a crowd pleaser so long u some does not overpay for the appellation. 90

3/28/2023 - Papies wrote:

Milan Wine Event 2 - AKA F It Dinner (Il Ristorante Trussardi alla Scala (Ristorante Trussardi by Giancarlo Perbellini), Milan): ** Our advice is open this on its own in isolation**
Opened and left to rest for a good hour and we chose not to decant ( correctly) . The wine is elegant to the point of fragility so one needs to be careful with it not to disturb the fine sediment.
The memory we will always have from this wine is one of " what more could we have asked from a wine?" And frankly we would have rated it 100 if it wasn't for the fragile feel of it. Exceptional and magnificent, a ballerina of a wine, effortlessly elegant. Soft spice, light leather and earthy feel. Frankly the notes are irrelevant the Wine is an experience and lets just say this. It drinks perfectly now and it will last for sure but really now its just perfect. Pointless to rick unless one has a few bottles. Luckily we do. 98 PUNTO.

11/9/2019 - Papies wrote:

29 July 2019 Disgorged, No Malolactic and bottled at Extra Brut Dosage.
Quite the solid offering here and a very nice to cross paths with grower champagnes like this. Extra brut but quite round and with a nice rich profile. Less of a yeasty champagne more of a riper fruit , less sharp more giving. Very good 91

3/9/2023 - Papies wrote:

From Magnum.
Well hyped by the sommelier at Botrini, Athens and albeit a solid wine we found it slightly lacking expression. Maybe it’s young but we wanted a bit more of everything without specifically having something to fault it. 90

12/2/2019 - Papies wrote:

Fake bottle but recalled by merchant at least. Tiny little cork with superglue under the capsule.

12/8/2022 - Papies wrote:

By the glass at the BA lounge , LHR. Opened for some time ( overnight) .
Soft but not poor, light but not without presence and actually drinks pretty well at this youthful stage. Pretty wine and a very good 88-89

11/21/2022 - Papies wrote:

This is the 16yr old version of the 2004 recently bottled at the domain (vs 14yrs in past bottling)
What more can we add to for this wine that we haven’t said before. Rich and nutty, touch rustic, light caramel, dried fruits, lovely noble oxidation, bright and full of charming acidity.
Another 94 from us.

11/16/2022 - Papies wrote:

The Last Dinner at Dinner (Dinner by Heston Blumenthal): Our third time with this wine over the last 10 years or so and definitely the wine is on the way down. At first we really liked it when it was younger and brighter and could hold the a bit overripe fruit. Back then was a 96 now is a 93 at best as the lack of freshness post the evolution just highlights that the winemaker lost control of it and now its paying the price. Its not porty or burnt but lacks elegance and beauty that one would expect from this level of pedigree. The 1996 for example that we tried recently that comes from a less ripe year was an exceptional 97 from us . This 1994 is at best 93 and better drink now.

11/13/2022 - Papies wrote:

Dinner with Nicola Biasi (The Papies, Elizabeth St, London): its been a long time since we crossed pats with the old friend. 8 whole years (Papies 92) and now this albeit still youthful and energetic is at the plateau of its peak.
We all said this is young! impressively so too. But its also a magnificent wine, with all the hallmarks of the classic 1996 left bank and that ever beautiful soft austerity and minerality of St Estephe. This is not a loud wine this is elegance personified for those who like us love the style of classic well aged St Estephe. Its no bellarina either as it has presence and strength. A magnificent wine and a privilege. 95-96

10/30/2019 - Papies wrote:

By the glass at the BA lounge, LHR and probably opened for sometime . Definitely a much better experience than the 88 we gave this a few weeks back and to us this means it needs a good decant to let it open.
The nose is of a 92-93 wine open, soft leather, dark fruits, lightest kiss of oak and some pepper. The palate it is is where it is not following but still not as h rash or pushed as last time , more elegance and style. Solid 90 maybe a touch more and a good value wine to drink now and over the next few years.

9/15/2022 - Papies wrote:

Dinner at Les 110 de Taillevent , London (Les 110 de Taillevent , London): Dead bottle.. 4 in total dead bottles all low level and so so corks. painful

8/29/2022 - Papies wrote:

Second bottle in as many days and once again a consistent 93.
Not more what we can add to our previous TN other than this is a confirmation of what a magnificent wine this is and one of the unsung flag bearers of purity, elegance and beauty that this noble grape can achieve in Santorini.

8/26/2022 - Papies wrote:

Tasted blind and we guessed young super Tuscan.
Very young and albeit very elegant and the quality is very much present it is also buttoned down and only shows but a small side ( sparingly so where this can develop to…) of its beauty. We are very happy to have crossed paths with it and we hope to do so again once this is 15yrs old.. 92-93 for now but with a lot of capacity to grow further of course as this develops with age.

8/13/2022 - Papies wrote:

Dinner at The Ledbury , London (The Ledbury, London): In Raveneau we trust, vineyard after vineyard , vintage after vintage and while the rest of his southern neighbours with their fanfare struggle with freshness and premox, here one only gets class and beauty.
Fresh still albeit well evolved, energetic, soft honey, light kiss of vanilla from the oak . Bright still, coasting along nicely delivery a masterclass of elegance and effortless beauty. Does not scream or shout just dances softly to gold. Superb wine and an easy 96.

7/4/2022 - Papies wrote:

Decanted for a good hour. This is a mike drop moment as the kids these days say . 10 whole years since we had this last ( Papies 92) and now is bang on the plateau of greatness in terms of drinking window and is effortlessly beautiful wine. We ll mature, well secondary and just joyful well aged top end Pomerol. 94-95

6/10/2022 - Papies wrote:

After a bad bottle from the batch that broke our heart this came to reward us for not loosing faith.
Requires decanting for sure and a good hour here helped. Post that it was a recital of greatness that old school classic Napa of the 90s ( a bit of a soft spot there) only delivers. It’s as we always say like a 1er Cru from Bordeaux at the top of the range plus an extra dollop of ripeness and that ever present juiciness that Napa has. We can go for ever here but this was a masterclass and an easy 97 maybe more and frankly could well have been a perfect wine if we have never had tasted perfect wines before. 97 ++

6/8/2022 - Papies wrote:

For lovers of rich oaky , big cali chardonnay things don't get better than this barring maybe The Judge or Montebello.
Even for people like us that usually shy away from these this was a class act and was very much a wine of the moment and time. Buttery, vanilla, rich fruit. All the hallmarks barring none. 93

5/17/2022 - Papies wrote:

Limited to 1,997 bottles available world-wide

4/8/2022 - Papies wrote:

Another great 1996 left banker and for lovers of well aged classic bdx this wine is now at peak or should we say the peak plateau as it does have a few years in the tank maybe 5?
Nicol who tried this blind went directly for left bank bdx but was surprised it was PC as this wine estate only really hit its great stride post 2000. But this delicious and excellent 96 PC has been delivering for us for the last 11 years ( Papies 91-93) and this evening was probably the best experience we have had yet with it. Very solid 93+

4/2/2022 - Papies wrote:

Dinner at the Papies (The Papies, Elizabeth St, London): Base of next and bottle 3 of 3 of the same batch.
Dark in color of course , dark glossy caramel, liquid gold as only Yquem can be and albeit this not being the best representation of this noble wine ( Bottle was not the best looking) still had all the hallmarks of the class and nobility that this wine brings. Last few times we felt it was 94-98 and this time was not exception. We will not score however as one should not and must not try and put a number on what this wine is and means. We will just tip our hat and say thank you for the honor.

4/2/2022 - Papies wrote:

Dinner at the Papies (The Papies, Elizabeth St, London): Opened and left to open up in the bottle but we should have decanted.
Another magnificent show ( Especially following the misfiring 1996 we opened earlier Papies NR) , soft smoky. dark fruited, light herby and with sot spice. Elegance and class in a bottle and worthy once again of the hype. 95-96 and with good life ahead.

9/18/2021 - mullins.ryan@gmail.com wrote:

My wife's drunk friend went in my cellar and drank this while I was away from the home. She thought it "tasted old and weird." She is an idiot and if Molly McFall is ever in your home lock your cellar!

3/26/2022 - Papies wrote:

A pretty and well rounded champagne, good energy , soft toast , light brioche feel. A solid champagne for sure but scores very low on the memorable side and that is never a good thing. 92

3/6/2022 - Papies wrote:

Decanting will be well rewarded here and even though the wine is open and singing from the pop it still improves with decanting. In a great place now but it will only get better.
Soft smoky, nice dark fruits, touch of herby, spicy edge. So elegant and effortless and really a masterclass of a wine that only Chave can deliver. Very impressive. 96 and with lots of life ahead

6/11/2018 - Papies wrote:

Delas Hermitage Masterclass with Steven Spurrier (Handford Wines, London): Dark red in color still. Very nice nose, what we would call classic hermitage in a way (albeit less smoky here as Delas uses less oak) , very welcoming nose, dark fruit, elegant touch of spice, succulent and mouthwatering wine. Very nice balance, still on the young but inside its drinking window albeit we would still wait a few more years to harness the full potential of this wine. Polished and elegant wine.92 and with potential for more