Acker 200; 2/7/2020-2/8/2020 (The Pool & Cipriani): I'm not really a burghead. This was a totally fine wine. Nice and lighter in style and seemed to be drinking exactly on point (I am not sure how many more years this really has left). It's a wine that is easy and good, but doesn't exactly grip and I wouldn't actively seek out.
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Acker Auction - May 2019 (Zuma in NYC): Definitely got swayed the wrong way on this. Did think it was Pinot, but I was thinking more new world (maybe Cali). It's got lots of red fruits, balanced, but more forward. I also thought it was a bit on the younger side. Would not have guessed 22 years of age. The drinking window of 2014 is off here.
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The early nose was a bit oxidised, but 30 min. later after decanting the wine opened up. Beautiful fruit and a typical concentrated nose came alive. Ready to drink, perfect maturity but probably won’t get any better as of now. I’m looking forward at the other few bottles I still have.
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Comte Lafon 1ers (La Trompette, London): Fairly typical 97 nose — ripe, a little stewed and blowsy. Needs a while to warm up from cellar temperature. A bit here and there. A touch too much sur maturité and a bit too flabby to hold itself together. Finished a little bitter and licorice edged. I'm not convinced but others had a little more love for it. Bare *** at best.
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PnP. Lots of primary fruit. Some secondary notes peeking into the nose. Pretty big wine - med body, med tannin, med plus acid. By the last glass, some black fruits and earth were starting to show. Could easily last 15-20 years.
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drank over three nights, score is for night three... darkish color, on night one it was pretty full-bodied and slightly heavy, wasn't sure what to make of it, hard to discern between fruit and maybe oak?, or maybe just slightly stewed / savory... but OK... night two the acid had come forth and there was clearly identifiable red fruits and good grip, liked it and thought it was at its peak of drinking, then on night three had the last glass with Joe and we both agreed it was perfect, great acid, great red fruit (though less "bright" than we expected given the acid backbone... a little stewed perhaps), and great smooth spices to go alongside, was the last of the bottle and the wine in the glass looked murky... super nice, and a wild ride over the three days
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Dark color, ripe-but not "1997" roasted fruit. Somewhat bigger bodied for Volnay, consistent with Lafon's style. Good finish. Drinking now out of magnum.
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Affected but still a success. Slow ox'ed for 6 hours then nursed through th evening. I got virtually nothing off of the nose save for a distinctive, but not fatal, touch of TCA. No discernible TCA on the palate, funnily enough (I am not generally sensitive to it). Rich elements of smoke, mineral, blueberries and meat juice. The wine offered a gentle texture with good acidity. A bit light on the finish -- no persistence but pleasing nonetheless. I would drink up.
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De mémoire, le diner datant déjà de plus d'une semaine ... Rpbe sombre, dense. Superbe vin, sur la puissance, avec un très beau jus. Pirate dans une dégustation de Chambertin grands crus 97. Il a tenu son rang !
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This bottle was even better than the one I had last year. Served this bilnd and was pretty confident that this would be a hard nut to crack. Famous withe wine producer, sturdy Volnay and from a somewhat week vintage. Full bodied and tannic with lots of acid, but it's all in balance. The fruit is getting sweeter now from age, but you could easily mistake that for young primary fruit. Very good bottle.
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Very deep sweet dark fruit on the nose. I had this blind and if I did not know that the guy, Tavastgatan, that poured it is Burgundy geek I would have gone for Bordeaux on the nose. Pomerol to be more exact. Initially this wine had a massive acidity and the tannins were big. This made me go for a much younger vintage but also due to the structure and power I would have gone Morey or even Gevrey-Chambertin. I would probably not bought this wine knowing its a 97, Volnay and to me made by a white wine winemaker. I learned a lot here. This is super good and has a sweet blue fruit that goes on for a long time and I can assure you this will live for 15-20 years at least. A very strange experience but I love it.
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Powerful volnay. Perfect level and perfect cork. Dark in colour, with meaty still young fruit. Fine structure and smooth velvety tannins, but with a firm grip still. This will last a long time.
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Much more stuffing and freshness than i'd have expected from a 1997. Still pretty primary, with dark(ish) fruits and a touch of game. Interesting but lack subtlety.
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Jasper Morris Book Launch (The Ledbury): Heard mutterings that this wasn't right when opened... what came into the glass was clean and pure with black/red fruit. Very fresh and lively and young - primary in fact. Good length. Not at all typical for 1997 - far more cool and elegant. Really very good wine.
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Popped and poured. Lighter ruby color. Nose of underbrush, earth, leather, blackberries, oyster mushrooms. Understated and autumnal on the palate with complex layers of mineral, blueberries, black licorice, plum, and hints of game. Smoothly-textured with modest acidity and filed-off tannins. Finish is a faint echo of blue fruits and iron but a haunting one at that. Not a wow wine but a beautiful rendition of Volnay in a somewhat difficult year.
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This wine has got darker and darker as it has aged and tonight was almost black in the middle, the scent is of black cherries, quite sweet, in the mouth it is thick, smoothly textured, nuanced, and amazingly powerful - burgundy doesn't get much bigger than this and I generally don't like them too big, but this was delicious
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Lovely medium cerise. Narrow paler rim is almost clear. Lovely smoky, meaty nose with dark plummy fruit. Very muscular for a Volnay. With more air it develops a lovely perfumed red fruit edge to it. Mouth entry is quite full, with nice dark fruit. Somehow solid, though with a nice fresh edge to it. Mid-palate shows a dark, animal fur edge. Finish is spicy, medium length, and robust. Still quite stern stuff, but very enjoyable. Should keep well. Top ***. ***
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Lovely ruby colour; Elegant, expressive black cherry aromas; medium weight, fresh, feminine and racy, not particularly long; no noticeable tannins, good acidity. Improved in complexity two hours after opening. Ready now and should drink well over the next 3-5 years. At it's peak now. Very good. Estimated maturity: Now - 2012. Consistent notes.
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The 9th bottle out of a case and this is unrecognisable from previous bottles. Before it was light, pretty, vaguely smoky - now it is darker, thicker, richer, a black fruit pinot, not hugely complex, but young and promising
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Purple tinged and very young looking - youthful on the palate too, brooding black fruits, fresh, one could sense the power and fragrance there, it's not fully open yet, but it's not far off - not remotely like a 1997
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2/7/2020 - MC2 Wines wrote:
Acker 200; 2/7/2020-2/8/2020 (The Pool & Cipriani): I'm not really a burghead. This was a totally fine wine. Nice and lighter in style and seemed to be drinking exactly on point (I am not sure how many more years this really has left). It's a wine that is easy and good, but doesn't exactly grip and I wouldn't actively seek out.
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5/15/2019 - MC2 Wines wrote:
Acker Auction - May 2019 (Zuma in NYC): Definitely got swayed the wrong way on this. Did think it was Pinot, but I was thinking more new world (maybe Cali). It's got lots of red fruits, balanced, but more forward. I also thought it was a bit on the younger side. Would not have guessed 22 years of age. The drinking window of 2014 is off here.
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5/29/2018 - Westiv Likes this wine: 93 Points
The early nose was a bit oxidised, but 30 min. later after decanting the wine opened up. Beautiful fruit and a typical concentrated nose came alive. Ready to drink, perfect maturity but probably won’t get any better as of now. I’m looking forward at the other few bottles I still have.
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9/7/2017 - SimonG wrote: 86 Points
Comte Lafon 1ers (La Trompette, London): Fairly typical 97 nose — ripe, a little stewed and blowsy. Needs a while to warm up from cellar temperature. A bit here and there. A touch too much sur maturité and a bit too flabby to hold itself together. Finished a little bitter and licorice edged. I'm not convinced but others had a little more love for it. Bare *** at best.
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4/26/2017 - Tiesface Likes this wine: 92 Points
PnP. Lots of primary fruit. Some secondary notes peeking into the nose. Pretty big wine - med body, med tannin, med plus acid. By the last glass, some black fruits and earth were starting to show. Could easily last 15-20 years.
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10/17/2015 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 92 Points
drank over three nights, score is for night three... darkish color, on night one it was pretty full-bodied and slightly heavy, wasn't sure what to make of it, hard to discern between fruit and maybe oak?, or maybe just slightly stewed / savory... but OK... night two the acid had come forth and there was clearly identifiable red fruits and good grip, liked it and thought it was at its peak of drinking, then on night three had the last glass with Joe and we both agreed it was perfect, great acid, great red fruit (though less "bright" than we expected given the acid backbone... a little stewed perhaps), and great smooth spices to go alongside, was the last of the bottle and the wine in the glass looked murky... super nice, and a wild ride over the three days
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1/24/2015 - ATBridge wrote:
Dark color, ripe-but not "1997" roasted fruit. Somewhat bigger bodied for Volnay, consistent with Lafon's style. Good finish. Drinking now out of magnum.
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9/2/2014 - Remony wrote: 91 Points
Deep colour. Smoke & fruit on nose and palate, some length, a decent bottle and rather good for the vintage. Thanks to Wm Charnley.
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4/28/2013 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 90 Points
Affected but still a success. Slow ox'ed for 6 hours then nursed through th evening. I got virtually nothing off of the nose save for a distinctive, but not fatal, touch of TCA. No discernible TCA on the palate, funnily enough (I am not generally sensitive to it). Rich elements of smoke, mineral, blueberries and meat juice. The wine offered a gentle texture with good acidity. A bit light on the finish -- no persistence but pleasing nonetheless. I would drink up.
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5/8/2012 - THT wrote: 92 Points
De mémoire, le diner datant déjà de plus d'une semaine ...
Rpbe sombre, dense. Superbe vin, sur la puissance, avec un très beau jus. Pirate dans une dégustation de Chambertin grands crus 97. Il a tenu son rang !
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3/27/2012 - Tavastgatan wrote: 92 Points
This bottle was even better than the one I had last year. Served this bilnd and was pretty confident that this would be a hard nut to crack. Famous withe wine producer, sturdy Volnay and from a somewhat week vintage. Full bodied and tannic with lots of acid, but it's all in balance. The fruit is getting sweeter now from age, but you could easily mistake that for young primary fruit. Very good bottle.
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3/25/2012 - St Paul wrote: 92 Points
Very deep sweet dark fruit on the nose. I had this blind and if I did not know that the guy, Tavastgatan, that poured it is Burgundy geek I would have gone for Bordeaux on the nose. Pomerol to be more exact.
Initially this wine had a massive acidity and the tannins were big. This made me go for a much younger vintage but also due to the structure and power I would have gone Morey or even Gevrey-Chambertin. I would probably not bought this wine knowing its a 97, Volnay and to me made by a white wine winemaker. I learned a lot here. This is super good and has a sweet blue fruit that goes on for a long time and I can assure you this will live for 15-20 years at least. A very strange experience but I love it.
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6/20/2011 - Tavastgatan wrote: 90 Points
Powerful volnay. Perfect level and perfect cork. Dark in colour, with meaty still young fruit. Fine structure and smooth velvety tannins, but with a firm grip still. This will last a long time.
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3/21/2011 - don_quichotte wrote: 89 Points
Much more stuffing and freshness than i'd have expected from a 1997. Still pretty primary, with dark(ish) fruits and a touch of game. Interesting but lack subtlety.
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10/28/2010 - mrwuid wrote:
Jasper Morris Book Launch (The Ledbury): Heard mutterings that this wasn't right when opened... what came into the glass was clean and pure with black/red fruit. Very fresh and lively and young - primary in fact. Good length. Not at all typical for 1997 - far more cool and elegant. Really very good wine.
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5/1/2010 - DougLee wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured. Lighter ruby color. Nose of underbrush, earth, leather, blackberries, oyster mushrooms. Understated and autumnal on the palate with complex layers of mineral, blueberries, black licorice, plum, and hints of game. Smoothly-textured with modest acidity and filed-off tannins. Finish is a faint echo of blue fruits and iron but a haunting one at that. Not a wow wine but a beautiful rendition of Volnay in a somewhat difficult year.
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11/16/2009 - sarlyb wrote: 92 Points
wow
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6/15/2009 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 90 Points
De Bruijn Wijnkopers Annual Tasting (Het Loo Palace, Apeldoorn, Netherlands): Nice fruit, more earthy and evolved than the 2004 obviously, has the tingling acidity that also characterises the whites.
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12/6/2008 - Rupert wrote: 93 Points
This wine has got darker and darker as it has aged and tonight was almost black in the middle, the scent is of black cherries, quite sweet, in the mouth it is thick, smoothly textured, nuanced, and amazingly powerful - burgundy doesn't get much bigger than this and I generally don't like them too big, but this was delicious
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1/1/2008 - HandPickedBurgundy wrote:
Lovely medium cerise. Narrow paler rim is almost clear. Lovely smoky, meaty nose with dark plummy fruit. Very muscular for a Volnay. With more air it develops a lovely perfumed red fruit edge to it. Mouth entry is quite full, with nice dark fruit. Somehow solid, though with a nice fresh edge to it. Mid-palate shows a dark, animal fur edge. Finish is spicy, medium length, and robust. Still quite stern stuff, but very enjoyable. Should keep well. Top ***. ***
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5/25/2007 - nskelsey wrote: 90 Points
Lovely ruby colour; Elegant, expressive black cherry aromas; medium weight, fresh, feminine and racy, not particularly long; no noticeable tannins, good acidity. Improved in complexity two hours after opening. Ready now and should drink well over the next 3-5 years. At it's peak now. Very good. Estimated maturity: Now - 2012. Consistent notes.
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1/21/2007 - Rupert wrote: 90 Points
The 9th bottle out of a case and this is unrecognisable from previous bottles. Before it was light, pretty, vaguely smoky - now it is darker, thicker, richer, a black fruit pinot, not hugely complex, but young and promising
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3/12/2006 - Rupert wrote: 92 Points
Purple tinged and very young looking - youthful on the palate too, brooding black fruits, fresh, one could sense the power and fragrance there, it's not fully open yet, but it's not far off - not remotely like a 1997
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12/25/2004 - Rupert wrote: 89 Points
Still quite closed. Some spicy raspberry fragrance, but not much.
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