Brought this to a wine dinner at Kai Garden with my wine mates. Theme of the evening: A wine to end the year with.
Decanted for 2 hours prior to consumption. Deep purple in colour with all the elements singing in chorus and in tune. On the palate, the vibrancy of the wine was a moving masterpiece. Harmonious, in-sync, and enchanting. Like how a great wine should be, the wine shone beautifully in the later part of the evening.
Not as good as the previous vintages I've tasted. Nevertheless, it's an Astralis, and its class and finesse is a testament to the winemaking and craft behind the wine.
Though the wine is likely to improve with furhter aging, there is no real need to wait further. At a highly enjoyable stage right now. Pleasurable and satisfying!
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Blind.Faith Season 6. Round four: Blind Pairs - £10 vs £100.
Tasted Blind. Big powerful nose, there’s definitely some vanilla and oak in there but also something floral and lifted. Feels very luxurious on the palate - good acidity and fine soft tannins. Lots of black fruit and a herby, ground coffee character on the long finish. Excellent stuff!
Notes on the blind tasting - I went for a Flaccianello, so not really close - but apparently lots of people guessed Super Tuscan so that makes me feel better, and very clearly the £100 wine of the pair.
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Poured 2 glasses and then started drinking 3.5 hours later. What a knockout! Sweet candied plums with a hint or cherry on the pallet. Incredibly smooth with a fantastic mouthfeel. Plums, dark fruit with some spice. Long finish. You just wanted to keep drinking this and hope the bottle would never empty. Fabulous wine in a really great place. One of the nicest wines I have had in quite some time. 96--97
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At first pour out of the decanter, wasn’t giving mucj away on either the nose or palate.
After 2 hours it relaxed nicely. Given the reputation and pedigree I wasn’t expecting it to be so evolved.
Leather and earthy on the nose with Asian spices coming through together with plums and at first tasting (but dropped over time) a lovely violet floral waft.
After 2+ hours the palate comes together really nicely. It’s both dense but medium bodied, with a silky mouthfeel and still sone density and chewiness to the tannins. But its also pretty evolved too. Earth and leather join together with mint chocolate and while it’s still got a good core of black fruite for me it’s the secondary characteristics that are at the fore.
In terms of drinking window with an hour or so in the decanter it’s good to go and while there’s no hurry to drink up I’m not convinced it will make old bones. While not an Astralis expert I would say it’s an early drinking vintage.
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Polished Shiraz, notes of dark fruit, blackberry and some minerals. On the palate, refined balance and a long finish. Was expecting more complexity on the nose, overall very well made wine. Has many years of life ahead of it.
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90 min decant started to show more (compared to a year ago) on the nose. Still a tightly wound wine at 11 years old, but you can immediately appreciate the incredible balance and structure (14.5% ABV but drinks so remarkably soft). Feels so well put together with its mouthfeel and tannin, with aromas of Indian spices like fennel on the nose. You have to work hard to coax them out of the glass with air though. Finish is super long and goes on for over a minute. On the palette, lots of pepper and Mediterranean herbs to tie in with the black and blue fruit. Medium-Full body without ever feeling heavy - all that intensity and concentration and yet so effortless on the palette. Really worthy of a flagship wine. I wish I had another bottle tucked away to open 5 years later. I think this wine is capable of evolving about 4-5 years and holding up another 8 years or so.
Bold, intense, and jammy. Notes of pencil lead, leather, and black fruits. Absolutely drinkable now and could probably develop in the cellar for another 4, 5, or even 10 years.
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Into a decanter for 2 hours. Red plums on the nose. Plums, leather, pepper, spice, almonds and a touch of licorice. Good mouthfeel and long finish. Even better at hour 3+. With a decant this is ready to drink but should cruise in the cellar for many years. 94--95
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Not sure what happened with this bottle. It had Zero bouquet and very little taste- and I don't have Covid. It wasn't really off, but it had no substance if that makes sense. Very disappointed, this was my first tasting of it.
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Beautiful wine. Massive nose of pepper, black plum, blueberry, eucalyptus. We’ll balanced, medium+ finish. Nose and color still show lots of fruit. This wine doesn’t look or taste like a 10yr old bottle.
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3 hour decant - still muted on the nose and the palette but good spicy finish with some eucalyptus and clove. Medium-Full body. Super long finish. Still drinks a bit warm. But ultimately complexity and layers are still undeveloped. Plenty of tannin so has another 10 years of evolution ahead. Bottom line: It’s just so young and muted at this stage that hard to give it a high score.
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Dec 2020 - Very nice bottle of wine. It’s a medium-full mouth feel, good concentration of fruit and decent complexity. Red fruit, cherries, dominate the palette. Slight tobacco leaf on the finish. Decent acid and finishes very long. Drinks a tad warm. Seamlessly oaked. Definitely needs 2 hours decant. The question about QPR - I’m not sure it’s worth $200+ but it’s a really nice wine so No complaints from me. I suspect 5-6 more years in bottle will likely help it improve. Fine, Velvety tannins
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having with homemade stuffed shells hopefully will live up to the price, my daughter and I liked it, my wife did not, I think it definitely needs to age
3/29/2024 - EmDubyah Likes this wine:
Rather lovely. Still years to go, but hitting its straps.
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1/28/2024 - bigbass250 Likes this wine:
Sunday night with bbq brisket soup pairing perfectly
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12/29/2023 - stayhappy21 wrote: 92 Points
Brought this to a wine dinner at Kai Garden with my wine mates. Theme of the evening: A wine to end the year with.
Decanted for 2 hours prior to consumption. Deep purple in colour with all the elements singing in chorus and in tune. On the palate, the vibrancy of the wine was a moving masterpiece. Harmonious, in-sync, and enchanting. Like how a great wine should be, the wine shone beautifully in the later part of the evening.
Not as good as the previous vintages I've tasted. Nevertheless, it's an Astralis, and its class and finesse is a testament to the winemaking and craft behind the wine.
Though the wine is likely to improve with furhter aging, there is no real need to wait further. At a highly enjoyable stage right now. Pleasurable and satisfying!
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9/20/2023 - Jhalpern27 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This was ready to go, pop your bottles
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4/6/2023 - Biggsy wrote: 94 Points
Blind.Faith Season 6. Round four: Blind Pairs - £10 vs £100.
Tasted Blind. Big powerful nose, there’s definitely some vanilla and oak in there but also something floral and lifted. Feels very luxurious on the palate - good acidity and fine soft tannins. Lots of black fruit and a herby, ground coffee character on the long finish. Excellent stuff!
Notes on the blind tasting - I went for a Flaccianello, so not really close - but apparently lots of people guessed Super Tuscan so that makes me feel better, and very clearly the £100 wine of the pair.
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3/1/2023 - americanstorm Likes this wine: 96 Points
Poured 2 glasses and then started drinking 3.5 hours later. What a knockout! Sweet candied plums with a hint or cherry on the pallet. Incredibly smooth with a fantastic mouthfeel. Plums, dark fruit with some spice. Long finish. You just wanted to keep drinking this and hope the bottle would never empty. Fabulous wine in a really great place. One of the nicest wines I have had in quite some time. 96--97
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12/9/2022 - Brucie69 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nice, complex, mature, good to go.
At first pour out of the decanter, wasn’t giving mucj away on either the nose or palate.
After 2 hours it relaxed nicely. Given the reputation and pedigree I wasn’t expecting it to be so evolved.
Leather and earthy on the nose with Asian spices coming through together with plums and at first tasting (but dropped over time) a lovely violet floral waft.
After 2+ hours the palate comes together really nicely. It’s both dense but medium bodied, with a silky mouthfeel and still sone density and chewiness to the tannins. But its also pretty evolved too. Earth and leather join together with mint chocolate and while it’s still got a good core of black fruite for me it’s the secondary characteristics that are at the fore.
In terms of drinking window with an hour or so in the decanter it’s good to go and while there’s no hurry to drink up I’m not convinced it will make old bones. While not an Astralis expert I would say it’s an early drinking vintage.
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6/5/2022 - bubbachumps wrote: 93 Points
Consistent with my prior notes.
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2/25/2022 - bubbachumps wrote: 93 Points
Polished Shiraz, notes of dark fruit, blackberry and some minerals. On the palate, refined balance and a long finish. Was expecting more complexity on the nose, overall very well made wine. Has many years of life ahead of it.
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1/23/2022 - AjitK wrote: 94 Points
90 min decant started to show more (compared to a year ago) on the nose. Still a tightly wound wine at 11 years old, but you can immediately appreciate the incredible balance and structure (14.5% ABV but drinks so remarkably soft). Feels so well put together with its mouthfeel and tannin, with aromas of Indian spices like fennel on the nose. You have to work hard to coax them out of the glass with air though. Finish is super long and goes on for over a minute. On the palette, lots of pepper and Mediterranean herbs to tie in with the black and blue fruit. Medium-Full body without ever feeling heavy - all that intensity and concentration and yet so effortless on the palette. Really worthy of a flagship wine. I wish I had another bottle tucked away to open 5 years later. I think this wine is capable of evolving about 4-5 years and holding up another 8 years or so.
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1/15/2022 - Phantasman Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bold, intense, and jammy. Notes of pencil lead, leather, and black fruits. Absolutely drinkable now and could probably develop in the cellar for another 4, 5, or even 10 years.
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1/3/2022 - americanstorm Likes this wine: 94 Points
Into a decanter for 2 hours. Red plums on the nose. Plums, leather, pepper, spice, almonds and a touch of licorice. Good mouthfeel and long finish. Even better at hour 3+.
With a decant this is ready to drink but should cruise in the cellar for many years. 94--95
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11/14/2021 - KLutt wrote: 83 Points
Not sure what happened with this bottle. It had Zero bouquet and very little taste- and I don't have Covid. It wasn't really off, but it had no substance if that makes sense. Very disappointed, this was my first tasting of it.
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7/24/2021 - wdcwineguys Likes this wine: 94 Points
Beautiful wine. Massive nose of pepper, black plum, blueberry, eucalyptus. We’ll balanced, medium+ finish. Nose and color still show lots of fruit. This wine doesn’t look or taste like a 10yr old bottle.
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4/28/2021 - AjitK Likes this wine: 91 Points
3 hour decant - still muted on the nose and the palette but good spicy finish with some eucalyptus and clove. Medium-Full body. Super long finish. Still drinks a bit warm. But ultimately complexity and layers are still undeveloped. Plenty of tannin so has another 10 years of evolution ahead. Bottom line: It’s just so young and muted at this stage that hard to give it a high score.
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12/24/2020 - Mtnmd1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Classic styled w medium body olive fruit and long finish
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12/7/2020 - AjitK Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dec 2020 - Very nice bottle of wine. It’s a medium-full mouth feel, good concentration of fruit and decent complexity. Red fruit, cherries, dominate the palette. Slight tobacco leaf on the finish. Decent acid and finishes very long. Drinks a tad warm. Seamlessly oaked. Definitely needs 2 hours decant.
The question about QPR - I’m not sure it’s worth $200+ but it’s a really nice wine so No complaints from me.
I suspect 5-6 more years in bottle will likely help it improve. Fine, Velvety tannins
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12/28/2019 - bigbass250 Likes this wine:
having with homemade stuffed shells hopefully will live up to the price, my daughter and I liked it, my wife did not, I think it definitely needs to age
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