December 17, 2021 - Cork soft. Excellent dark berry fruit. Tannins mostly resolved. Delicious has some years left
May 5, 2021 - Tiefe Heidelbeer- und Brombeerfrucht, Graphit, Menthol und ein Hauch Rumaroma sowie Zigarrenkiste; am Gaumen extraktreich, vollmundig, die feinkörnigen Tannine wenig abgeschmolzen, langer Abgang, etherisch.
June 12, 2020 - Cork came out perfect with end-rim staining only. Really alive with a dense, chewy, still fruit driven profile. Way better than my last bottle proving old adage "no great old wines, just great old bottles". Pretty drying tannins so this cries out for rare meat. Damn fine wine if your cork allows.
April 19, 2020 - The heat of that European summer is coming out in the wine. Complex heady over ripe nose of tar and berries. Concentrated over-extracted burnt quality to the fruit. Dry dusty tannins. Minerally graphite finish. Nose is great, gets let down a bit on the back palate. A somewhat different wine to the last time tasted, not corked. Needed an hour to come up, somewhat skeletal to start.
September 14, 2019 - A thick chewy red with smoky multifaceted flavours of earthy berries. There is a wardrobe of flavour hints here. Densely packed and with fine drying tannins (needs food). Very long finish with lip smacking to deal with the drying gums. Reminds me of mature Heathcote reds. This has the thumbs up from me. It's got at least 5 years at this plateau I reckon.
September 28, 2018 - Dinner at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons with family and friends for son's 30th. Limited notes.
Their last two bottles (we followed up with a couple of the 2009 - noted). Deep colour. Granitic mineral core, concentrated but mellowed mixture of dark red fruits of all types but particularly blackcurrant and damson. Leather, dry spice, truffle, integrated charred oak. Superb.
Fully mature, but with the structure to hold at this level for, say, up to 20yrs from vintage.
September 21, 2018 - Huge nose of strawberries, iodine, nice minerality, flint stone... taste of sweet strawberries, backed by super nice acidity and super silky tannin, finish of 30 sec, plenty of life ahead!!
January 25, 2018 - We loved this wine. The drink by 2015 is bogus. This wine definitely has a few years to go. Wish I had more.
December 28, 2017 - Still drinking nicely, even though WA notes say to drink by 2015. Last bottle!
December 3, 2017 - Very evolved and ripe nose, ripe red cherries, smoked meat... Super meaty, juicy ripe red cherries, loads of silky and ripe tannins, super delicious!!