July 14, 2023 - Probably a bit past prime but still delicious. Unfined with slight cloudiness, cork in good shape. Brioche, butter and white peach on noses. Fabulous mouth feel, butterscotch and white peach and long, lingering finish with a hint of anise.
March 31, 2023 - Just way too much much oak. At 15yrs of age I would have thought the oak would calm down or integrate better. The acid was also lacking to balance this out. Others thought is was a N Rhone because of the weight/mouthfeel.
February 25, 2023 - My last bottle and boy so I feel lucky to have tasted this wine a few times. One of the best white wines I have ever tasted. Murky gold color despite standing up and decanting. The nose is incredible with mature fruits and cream corn. The palate is rich, full and filled with life. Feels like a vandage tardive Chardonnay that is totally dry. It’s got so much extract. Wow. (98)
January 21, 2023 - Nose: lemon tart, cream, caramel, white flower, banana, waffles
Notes: My second time drinking this vintage. As usual this is a heavy, full bodied but absolutely aromatic white. With 14.9% ABV this would certainly put this wine on the slightly sweeter side. Certainly this top heavy wine can endure more time and I would predict another 5 years to reach its max potential. In fact after drinking so many vintages I would say that Marcassin wines are delicious yet probably too consistent and a little too heavy. Some wines are perhaps a little too oily and Marcassin I would say is one of them. One need not debate whether this is a great wine but what's debatable is whether it's worth the price tag attached to it.
Drink: 2028+
Rating: 91
December 3, 2022 - What bottle variation. Still not Marcassin that memories are made of but at least drinkable. In-your-face butterscotch. Decanted two hours.
November 27, 2022 - Totally undrinkable. Shame there are more in the cellar. All cooking wine?
November 11, 2022 - Purchased direct from winery and properly stored. Popped and poured. Paired with butter poached monkfish and enjoyed over several hours.
Pale golden hay yellow color. Nose is a bit reticent with white flower notes and white peach scents. Palate has great acidity. Figs, toasted bread , wet stones, white flower honey and immense depth and concentration. Super long finish, 60 seconds+.
A tour de force in California chardonnay and one of the best white wines I have had rhe pleasure to drink. Could last several more years but absolutely no reason to wait.
Perfect and one of a handful of white wines I have given a perfect score.
October 23, 2022 - Drank this over 3 nights (opened Friday, finished Sunday) and this bottle showed absolutely no decline between the first day and this evening, when we finished the bottle. As such, I believe this wine has lots of years remaining. Agree with other recent TNs. This wine is hard to surpass.
September 21, 2022 - Deep yellow coloration which I've come to learn not necessarily indicator of a bad Marcassin bottle but this one way, way off the mark. Odd totally off-putting burn on the finish. Choked down a glass hoping for improvement over time but no. Remainder going into marinara ragu.
September 7, 2022 - Dinner at Pelagos, Astir Palace, Athens (Pelagos, Astir Palace, Athens): Tasted blind.
At the start while coldish the wine was more of a Rhône variety ( we guessed California Rhône Blend) but made in the US style but once it came to its own the notes were definitely of an oaky Chardonnay albeit a harmonious balance of oak and depth of flavour from the wine. 15yr young wine, lots of life ahead too. 94-95