December 14, 2023 - This bottle was on fire tonight. Mineral and cherry, sharp and juicy. Big, mature, but still lively and alluring. Full of character.
October 24, 2020 - Waited too long. This appears to be shot.
February 19, 2018 - This is drinking beautifully right now. Still has lots of power, but has lost that youthful roughness. Showing tart strawberry, extremely spicy, vivacious acidity, muscular structure and juicy, cranberry fruit. Just keeps getting better. I think this is finally peaking, and should drink well for at least a few years. Time to enjoy this classic!
July 29, 2016 - That's more like it. This bottle was great, with very well delineated flavors and excellent depth. Probably at the top of its form I'd guess. Very serious juice, and needs serious decanting, as there is loads of chunky sediment. Drink now and over the next few years.
July 27, 2016 - This bottle did show very well. Hopefully just an off bottle, and I think I'll open another one soon.
February 19, 2015 - Will this ever come around? I opened this bottle two days ago, and it was super tightly wound, fiercely tannic, and was just approachable alongside a big fat steak. I didn't drink much of it, but went back to it tonight (48 hours later), decanted it, left it for an hour or two, then filtered out the sediment and poured back into the bottle, and decanted again using an aerator, and finally drank it with another big fat steak. (Yeah, I love steak.) The wine finally started to show some sweetness and charm. It still had a massive tannin and mineral backbone, but now there was enough dark cherry and plum fruit shining through to make it a quite enjoyable wine. This stuff still needs cellaring and/or extended decanting.
April 12, 2014 - Decanted, but still did not show its best for a few hours. Still very young and intense. Simply awesome value. Watch closely.
April 16, 2013 - Initially tight and compressed, thought maybe something was wrong though I could not pinpoint any particular defect. It wasn't until after dinner that the wine opened up, and alongside some roasted/salted almonds it was magic. Perhaps the saltiness and bitterness of the almonds provided just the right contrast for the wine, which was melodramatically minerally, almost severe, and wound up with dense fruit and tannins. This just needs some time, and I'd recommend decanting for a couple of hours before drinking, but it shows signs of greatness.
August 7, 2009 - Full bodied and delicious. Better after being opened for 24 hours.
August 12, 2008 - Still tannic and young. Try again in a year or two.