Powerful nose - honeyed with grapefruit and toast. Palate continues the powerful trend, this bottle is starting to round out and must have a couple of years bottle age. As the wine warms, the dosage sticks out a little but it's not a big issue.
Floral (rose), spice, orange peel and grapefruit. Beautiful on the palate, there is fruit richness and a little splash of sweetness but fantastic acidity to balance both. Classy and consistent across the long length. Improved further with food.
Honey with toast and a slight herbal edge to the aromas. Really nice development on the palate, it is expansive and long. Drinking really well with the aged characters lifted by lovely minerality.
France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Corbières
Pear and very light herbal aromas. Good freshness but not especially interesting though. Medium length. The acidity is there in the background but doesn't provide spark.
Spain, Canary Islands, Tenerife, Valle de la Orotava
Served blind. Sesame/tahini, smoke, bramble, pear and a lightly oxidative edge to the nose. I fell in love with the palate, it has wonderful texture and detail. Great length to it as well. Immensely interesting wine.
Menthol, earthy, olive and orange peel citrus aromas. Quite nutty on the palate, especially towards the finish where it really shows itself along with a saline note. Good length, but I'd like this to show a little more intensity or complexity. Just very good in my opinion.
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
Sweet cherry perfume with florals, earth and plums. Really good on the palate, it is savoury and developing but has brightness and fine acidity. Not super complex but really really enjoyable.
Earthy with raspberry, cherry and spice. The palate leans toward the mineral side of things, it doesn't have the same sweet red fruit of the nose and I do like the mouthfeel, though a little more texture would be beneficial. Probably slightly prefer the 2011 overall.
Served blind. Stems, perfumed cherry, meaty and pepper. Sweet fruit does show on the palate but there is grip and fine acidity. The fruit is sweet but it does have depth to it as well. The stem character on the nose receded after some time being open. I like this and should have guessed what it was!
Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
Blackberry, violets, some slight briary notes and light oak. There is good richness to the fruit, it is showing more open than last time I tried it. Very well balanced, though a touch more savoury influence would really lift things.
Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
Interesting and complex nose of black tea, coffee, tobacco, smoke and earth. Palate still shows plenty of tannin, the fruit isn't quite there to match but the wine does seem to have length. Holding up just fine but drink in the not too distant future!
Floral, with apricot, smoke, plum and blackcurrant as well as chocolate and coffee - quite a lot going on here. Dark fruit shows on the palate but it has good lift through the acidity and quite a bit of tannin to provide the structure. Quite a modern style.
NV Bollinger Champagne Special Cuvée Brut 89 Points
France, Champagne
Powerful nose - honeyed with grapefruit and toast. Palate continues the powerful trend, this bottle is starting to round out and must have a couple of years bottle age. As the wine warms, the dosage sticks out a little but it's not a big issue.
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2010 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Furstentum 93 Points
France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
Floral (rose), spice, orange peel and grapefruit. Beautiful on the palate, there is fruit richness and a little splash of sweetness but fantastic acidity to balance both. Classy and consistent across the long length. Improved further with food.
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1996 La Chablisienne Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Honey with toast and a slight herbal edge to the aromas. Really nice development on the palate, it is expansive and long. Drinking really well with the aged characters lifted by lovely minerality.
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2012 Maxime Magnon Corbières La Bégou 88 Points
France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Corbières
Pear and very light herbal aromas. Good freshness but not especially interesting though. Medium length. The acidity is there in the background but doesn't provide spark.
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2012 Suertes del Marqués Valle de la Orotava Vidonia 92 Points
Spain, Canary Islands, Tenerife, Valle de la Orotava
Served blind. Sesame/tahini, smoke, bramble, pear and a lightly oxidative edge to the nose. I fell in love with the palate, it has wonderful texture and detail. Great length to it as well. Immensely interesting wine.
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NV Equipo Navazos La Bota de Fino 35 "Macharnudo Alto" 90 Points
Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
Menthol, earthy, olive and orange peel citrus aromas. Quite nutty on the palate, especially towards the finish where it really shows itself along with a saline note. Good length, but I'd like this to show a little more intensity or complexity. Just very good in my opinion.
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1996 Louis Jadot Chambolle-Musigny 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny
Sweet cherry perfume with florals, earth and plums. Really good on the palate, it is savoury and developing but has brightness and fine acidity. Not super complex but really really enjoyable.
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2013 Passionvale Shiraz Steven Vineyard 88 Points
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Earthy with raspberry, cherry and spice. The palate leans toward the mineral side of things, it doesn't have the same sweet red fruit of the nose and I do like the mouthfeel, though a little more texture would be beneficial. Probably slightly prefer the 2011 overall.
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NV Sami-Odi Shiraz Little Wine #3 91 Points
Australia, South Australia, Barossa
Served blind. Stems, perfumed cherry, meaty and pepper. Sweet fruit does show on the palate but there is grip and fine acidity. The fruit is sweet but it does have depth to it as well. The stem character on the nose receded after some time being open. I like this and should have guessed what it was!
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2003 Vasse Felix Heytesbury 91 Points
Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
Blackberry, violets, some slight briary notes and light oak. There is good richness to the fruit, it is showing more open than last time I tried it. Very well balanced, though a touch more savoury influence would really lift things.
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1971 Mildara Bin 40 90 Points
Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
Interesting and complex nose of black tea, coffee, tobacco, smoke and earth. Palate still shows plenty of tannin, the fruit isn't quite there to match but the wine does seem to have length. Holding up just fine but drink in the not too distant future!
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2005 Marqués de Riscal Rioja Baron de Chirel Reserva 91 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja
Floral, with apricot, smoke, plum and blackcurrant as well as chocolate and coffee - quite a lot going on here. Dark fruit shows on the palate but it has good lift through the acidity and quite a bit of tannin to provide the structure. Quite a modern style.
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2008 Taltarni Chardonnay Clover Hill Blanc de Blanc 89 Points
Australia, Tasmania, Northern Tasmania
Toasty, with apple and spice. Acidity uplifts but doesn't overtake the palate, there is bright fruit and it finishes lean and clean.
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1967 Ferdinand u Manfred Koehler Bechtheimer Geyersberg Silvaner Beerenauslese 90 Points
Germany, Rheinhessen
Marmalade, burnt caramel and date. Not complex but has delicious sugar and fruit. Medium length. Perfectly nice way to finish a meal.
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