October 15, 2020 - Possibly heat damaged bottle. Stewed fruit and disjointed alcohol almost like a fortified wine. Drinkable but not enjoyable.
November 14, 2019 - Clos Erasmus is one of our favorite wines. Maybe should have drunk these sooner rather than later. It has a pruney,raisiny quality that is a bit off putting. Hot on the finish. This is just not holding up well and I wish I had drank them years ago.
May 25, 2018 - Pruney, raisiny, and already stewed and port-like, although with some purple perfume and intense black current. Palate is similarly roasted and extracted. Not as extreme as the '03, but still tough.
January 31, 2017 - {bought on release, perfect fill, pop n pour with confit poultry and the generous gift of cassoulet beans from Dr. BW} Apologies for length of note in advance. Balanced, pretty, initial garigue nose without any hint of over the top alcohol; red tarry fruit that only began to show its unresolved tannins after 30 minutes. At 45 minutes new attractive palate-sticky big fruit and tannin in the end palate; at 60 minutes more tannins and acid and size and then: oh my, this is a one big earthy wine with lots of development ahead of it that I underestimated. Incisive cut and end elegant palate size without any alcohol peeking through. Persistent floral nose. [By way of comparison this Priorat is an order of magnitude better than many hot, unbalanced Chateauneuf du Papes made from similar grapes]. 92 based on tonight but could be 94 or higher (supposedly minor vintage for Clos Erasmus). Great wine for foods with protein/umami that need a touch of acid cut. For my bottles, just entering peak drinking window now. Clearly a Priorat reference wine - and while not the equivalent of a 2005 Romanee St Vivant beauty as been suggested for other vintages - really really good. Again apologies for length of note.
September 15, 2014 - I liked this a lot, even though these days I am tired of Priorat's generally homogeneous style. That said, there was no mistaking this as a Priorat, highly aromatic with anise and VA and minerals, but this showed red berries that I found very refreshing to go along with the more typical dark, tarry notes. And in this case I think the so-so vintage helped keep the wine in balance and while more elegant than usual, this is not dilute. Fruity and fun, yet serious, this is drinking well.
March 30, 2013 - Seems to be falling apart slightly -- or rather, the nose seemed very evolved, with lots of sous bois, graphite and minerality but not in the best ways. Tons of fruit too, of course. Palate was full and big, finish was there too. So everything was there, just not really in harmony. And the feeling was from the group that we were all forcing ourselves to like it more than we actually did.
January 14, 2012 - Popped and poured. Wow, a blockbuster. Extremely complex and structured wine. My previous bottle was difinetely not in the best condition. Earthy, leather, tobaccoo on the nose. Extremely rich on the mouth with hint of dark berries and fruits, smoke, earth minerals and graphite. Sweet tannins with peppery hint in the finish that is 30+ seconds long.
September 26, 2011 - Sent to Mike
January 3, 2011 - Very structured. Seems a bit old on the nose, but very exotic. Old barolo style in the mouth, muscular, leather, earthy. Long finish. A bit oxidised but became much better after 6 hours in the bottle, so it has some more time to be drunk up. 18 degree serving is the best for it.
April 5, 2010 - Had right next to the Laurel of 2005. This is definately the more structured, more complex wine. Also the lesser "fruity" wine of the two. Out of all my Clos Erasmus this seems to be the vintage which is barely peaking into maturity -- finally calming down and broadening into itself. That being said I don't think I'll try another bottle for two years.