4/14/2024 - theraredram Does not like this wine:

Well this is…not great.
There’s some nice crisp pear and crème brûlée on the nose, but the palate is pure battery acid and overall rather flat. It’s just very boring in truth.

4/13/2024 - theraredram Likes this wine:

A tonne of blue fruit upfront alongside thick wafts of Christmas baking spices. Someone’s accidentally put dried blueberries in my gingerbread men. There’s an absolutely crystal clear note of damson too which I find fascinating.

Juniper berries and damson rule supreme on the palate alongside a yellow fruit note which given the furry tannin really does remind me of peach skin. Finish has excellent length with waves of black fruit and leather.

This was spectacular. With such power there’s no way I would have ever have guessed this to be 20 years old, however it clearly has had time to soften and I speculate that the shift from your typical black to blue and yellow fruit is a sign of age? My only criticism, is that it is a little port like, particularly in its thick viscosity and I struggled to finish it.

4/5/2024 - theraredram wrote:

Can’t quite make my mind up about this one. The nose has ample cassis, blueberry, honeysuckle, earth, nutmeg and some stereotypical Pauillac pencil. The palate has much the same with a herbal and mint note that somewhat reminds me of Fisherman’s Friends.
I’m a little surprised by how soft this is. There’s not a lot of tannin and the acidity is quite low which leaves the fruit tasting a little stewed. The finish is short lived but leaves a cloying texture which for some reason reminds me of rillettes.
I think this is just fine, if a little boring given the lack of “ooomph”. To be honest I think I’d rather just have the standard Batailley, although my notes are strikingly similar to the 2015 vintage.
It’s fine, glad it was just a half.

3/17/2024 - theraredram wrote:

The more I revisit Pegasus Bay, the more I realise how damn good their wines are. A dense earthy pinot full of luscious blackberry, tobacco and bramble. I was surprised to find this has not aged a day, it tastes as fresh as their 2020. This is now my go to red. What a stellar wine.

3/17/2024 - theraredram wrote:

It's worth mentioning that out of the two halves we had, the darker was atrocious. It was petrol fumes and plastic. The second lighter however was an absolute delight. Apricot forward with quince and white flower, nectar running all the way through. Spectacular.

3/17/2024 - theraredram wrote:

Loved this. Brilliantly mature with some bricking. Palate was all earth, tobacco and luscious vine fruit. Brilliant.

3/17/2024 - theraredram wrote:

All the cassis and tobacco you could ever wish for. Truly a stunning wine, yet I feel we are still a while away from peak drinking window. Will revisit in 2027.

3/17/2024 - theraredram wrote:

Acidic and whacky.

3/17/2024 - theraredram wrote:

Fresh, crisp, powerful, ridiculous. It's so brilliantly bright, full of citrus and orchard fruit. Stunning.

3/17/2024 - theraredram wrote:

Absolutely stunning. Big, rich and brioche forward while still retaining a plethora of dark fruit. I'm unsure how you could improve on this.

3/17/2024 - theraredram wrote:

Absolutely stunning, opulent English sparking. I'd wager this could match up to several vintage Champagne.

3/17/2024 - theraredram wrote:

Solid English sparking. Bright acidity, fine bubbles, excellent mouse. Extremely happy for the price.

3/17/2024 - theraredram wrote:

At this point in time, we are slightly over the hill. The wine starts to die off after a couple of hours but within those two hours, it's very enjoyable. Pebble, graphite and some green foliage on the nose, more of the same on the palate but with a much more pronounced blackberry and tobacco. Tannins are near silky, ever so slight astringency.

3/16/2024 - theraredram Does not like this wine:

Bloody hell, what a wine.
The nose is near non-existent before becoming baby sick and bile after an hour. The palate is akin to trying to eat a thicket, along with iodine, iron and raspberry leaf. The finish is a horrible mess of curdled blood, anthracite and dirt. If I could choose between this and being stabbed, I'd take the stabbing twice.

3/10/2024 - theraredram wrote:

Really good fun! A light, easy approach to a sherry style wine. Much more bruised apple than oxidative, but it is there. I think this could be the perfect summer aperitif.

2/16/2024 - theraredram Likes this wine:

Incredibly distinct note of guava on the nose alongside wet stone, white flowers and cacao butter. The palate is as creamy as it is electric, owing to the rather high acidity which cuts through absolutely everything. There’s also yellow apple, quince, grapefruit and just one or two 9v batteries. Finish is immense and powerful, similar to the palate with a touch of lanolin and flint.

Compared to the Dog Point 94, I think this is the clear winner. It may not be as boisterous, but is less savoury with welcome sweetness to (almost) balance the acidity. That said, I’m really struggling to finish an entire bottle. These wines are immensely powerful, too much for a single sitting. I imagine that for a dinner party this would be the perfect white with practically anything, but to sit and savour I think I’ll be returning to chardonnay. There’s only so much acid orientated sadomasochism one can take.

2/11/2024 - theraredram wrote:

Bafflingly mace and nutmeg heavy on opening, little else. Eventually opens up with leather, strawberry and an almost Barolo like tar. Bitter chocolate on the finish. Returning five hours later, I see little improvement.
Clearly opened very early but even so, very unforgiving and rather lacklustre.

(Before you all have a strop, I use much more of a score range than your redundant 89-95)

1/13/2024 - theraredram wrote:

The nose has a good helping of blackberry, a little cherry, some cedar and pencil case. A lot of reviews say graphite but for me it’s certainly more remnant of the pencil, rubber and protractor set you had when you were 12. It doesn’t dominate too much however unlike some other Pauillac classroom collages I’ve had.

The palate has prominent underripe green fig with black cherry, tobacco, pencil case and a distinctly herbaceous character. It’s very much dry and in fact borderline bitter, which along with any green notes I attribute to me knowingly infanticiding the bottle. The tannin is grippy and aggressive yet the fantastic structure is clearly evident and I find myself enjoying this very much indeed.

Leather, flint and rose on the finish, like a bouquet bought fresh from the quarry by a miner in chaps.

I’ve had Batailey before but can’t quite remember enjoying it anywhere close to this one. Good vintage was it? I would absolutely love to revisit this in say half a decade’s time, if not a little longer. Great stuff.

1/13/2024 - theraredram wrote:

Fascinating wine. It started off abysmally; heavy tannin and grip yet diametrically thin with no body whatsoever. Half an hour in and it was lusciously thick. I’ve never experienced that of a wine before.

The nose is full strawberry and cranberry while the palate is incredibly juicy and insatiably moreish. There’s a herbal aspect as well as some leather and earth. It may not be the most complex of wines but what does exist is assertively powerful.

This is a clash of titans. The laid back nature of Pinot Noir meets the full force of Nebbiolo tannin. Brilliant wine. I have immediately ordered another three.

1/13/2024 - theraredram Likes this wine:

I find this extremely similar to the 2015, too young to discern any notable differences at this stage. It may be better by a hair's width, time will tell.

1/13/2024 - theraredram Likes this wine:

Clearly young however immensely concentrated and sensationally rich. All the black fruit, leather and tobacco you could ever hope to wish for. Profound stuff. Very much excited to revisit down the line.

1/13/2024 - theraredram Does not like this wine:

I really wanted to love this but just couldn't. Typical Coutet marmalade was present but overall rather dull and smothered by an unordinary gasoline note. Not great.

12/20/2023 - theraredram Likes this wine:

One of the most fascinating and exciting wines I’ve had in recent times. Served at cellar temp but actually much more characterful at room temperature.

From the nose, it’s clearly spent a number of years under flor, yet nowhere near as assertive as oxidised sherry. It’s as much fresh as it is oxidised with orange blossom, oversteeped tea, fresh apricots and oxidative funk.
The palate has more apricot, hide leather, vase water, heather honey, chestnuts and almond. It’s dry but certainly not unilaterally so with the fruit carrying through some sweetness.
A finish of dry walnut, orange peel, leather and hay.

To my surprise, I get absolutely no Tokaji from this, instead I find it rather a handshake between Sauternes and a well aged Palo Cortado or drier Oloroso. I would very happily pay £30+ for this, I’ve certainly paid a lot more for well aged oxidised wine in the past so I find the price of £9.95 simply staggering. For me, the ultimate cheese and cured meats wine and easily takes its place in my top 3 wines of the year. A sensation.

12/20/2023 - theraredram Does not like this wine:

I just didn't get this in the slightest. A nose so sweet it may as well have been candied.

The palate had dense blackberries, heavy tannin...and essentially nothing else. Boring is an understatement.

11/25/2023 - theraredram Likes this wine:

An unbelievably spectacular wine and for the price quite possible the bargain of the century.

The nose opens with benchmark oxidation, salinity, white flower, blanched apricot and olive. Utterly mouthwatering.
The palate is buttery with walnut, underripe gage, floral honey, lanolin, grapefruit and white flower. The oxidation and salinity reappears on the finish complemented by dried lavender, hay and marmalade.

It's the freshness in age, complimented by such refined salinity that makes these wines so great. Others have already mentioned that the palate of this vintage is ever so slightly thin, but considering the price point and incredible character, it really does little to spoil the experience. A sensation.

11/25/2023 - theraredram Likes this wine:

I have to say for Central Otago Pinot, this has almost everything I look for. It's a step above your standard blackberry jam (and nothing else) forward pinot with wet stone, leather, earth, tobacco and good mineral character. A beautiful example of what the region is capable of.

Admittedly the finish is somewhat blunt and it may not quite have the depth of the flagship PN from Burn Cottage, but for the price it's a bargain if ever there was one. Great stuff.

11/25/2023 - theraredram wrote:

I tried, I really tried with this, but even after a whole second day decanted, the wine was still not at all approachable. The tannin is more akin to getting punched in the mouth by a train, rather than your more conventional iron fist in a velvet glove. If you can see past that, there is some lovely blackberry, leather, tobacco and glove. Like noticing your attacker is wearing nice clothes as you're being assaulted. One to revisit in a decade, or century perhaps.