France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
(12/21/2022)
Pulled the cork and let sit for a couple of hours. The nose isn’t the most expressive and takes some coaxing, the palate however is great, it has a buttery side with a fair amount of powerful fruit and good acidity which coats the mouth well
Around 10 years on lees. Mature and golden colour, baked apples with a hint of baking spices, a touch of oxidative sherry notes add more complexity, very long and very good indeed
Pulled the cork a couple of hours before serving. Light in colour and no signs of early aging. Quite a full and round version,ripe orchard fruits of peach and nectarine, the acidity is there, but less pronounced than other crisper vintages, a really long finish. A very good wine but a slightly atypical vintage of CSH
2022 bottling. Quite full and medium gold in colour, plenty of body to this wine, plenty of yeasty dough and ripe stone fruits, some salinity and a long finish.A very interesting take on fino from a single vineyard, less cut than I’m used to with fino but great with a wide range of tapas
From magnum. Pale lemon colour with a fine bead. Orchard fruits and citrus with some floral top notes, a little spice on the palate, good structure here and a clean finish. Great value for a aperitif wine.
From magnum with Xmas breakfast. Medium gold with a fine bead. Clean and balanced with white and yellow fruits, a touch of honey and brioche, good finish.
With Xmas lunch, this was a real crowd pleaser and also kept the wine geeks happy, a lovely wine which was well crafted. There was good weight of fruit on the palate, both orchard and stone fruits, some cream and good acidity, very well balanced and long. This was a world apart from the white Rioja of Lopez de Heredia, I’m not entitprely sure I would call it as a Rioja but it was excellent as a modern style
From Matts cellar. Decanted for a couple of hours before serving. This is starting to come together now, the nose has some leather, spice and cherry but I feel it will unfurl further and improve with more time, the palate has style and class, built around the core of acidity and again will develop more complexity with patience, and you need a lot of that with this wine to experience it at its peak
The cork was almost soaked through, we pulled the cork a few hours before serving. The nose was ok, the palate had much more to offer, barley sugar, apricots and a little spice, fair finish.this tasted fully mature to me, a middle ranking Sauternes
A lovely tawny port. Caramel, fig, nuts, brown sugar, nuts, dried orange peel with balancing acidity and a nice lift, it doesn’t feel too heavy and is a great sipper on a Xmas evening. Worked well with mince pies and Xmas pudding too
I think this is the current or fairly recent release. 11 years on lees then another 5 years in bottle. Ridiculous value for this amount of ageing. Medium gold in colour, very fine bead. Intense aromas of honey, nuts and a little gingerbread and custard tarts but there’s nothing sweet here, this is intense and savoury. Very long on the finish. So satisfying to drink on its own but would be great at the table with some fine grilled fish or maybe with some cream sauces, mushrooms or cheese, i suspect it would work with most food.
Bottled in April 2022. This is great, if Albariño turns out like this with age why don’t we do it more often ? It has stone fruit, the age has introduced a more savoury side to it, some dried sage maybe, there’s something vegetal here without being under ripe in anyway, smooth and creamy in texture with a long finish. Super
2011 Domaine de Montille Corton-Charlemagne
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
(12/21/2022)
Pulled the cork and let sit for a couple of hours. The nose isn’t the most expressive and takes some coaxing, the palate however is great, it has a buttery side with a fair amount of powerful fruit and good acidity which coats the mouth well
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2010 Llopart Original 1887 Brut Nature Gran Reserva
Spain, Catalunya, Corpinnat
(12/22/2022)
Around 10 years on lees. Mature and golden colour, baked apples with a hint of baking spices, a touch of oxidative sherry notes add more complexity, very long and very good indeed
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2009 Trimbach Riesling Clos Ste. Hune
France, Alsace
(12/22/2022)
Pulled the cork a couple of hours before serving. Light in colour and no signs of early aging. Quite a full and round version,ripe orchard fruits of peach and nectarine, the acidity is there, but less pronounced than other crisper vintages, a really long finish. A very good wine but a slightly atypical vintage of CSH
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NV Bodegas San Francisco Javier Viña Corrales Fino Pago Balbaina
Spain, Andalucía, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
(12/23/2022)
2022 bottling. Quite full and medium gold in colour, plenty of body to this wine, plenty of yeasty dough and ripe stone fruits, some salinity and a long finish.A very interesting take on fino from a single vineyard, less cut than I’m used to with fino but great with a wide range of tapas
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2015 Mestres Cava Brut Nature Coquet Gran Reserva
Spain, Cava
(12/24/2022)
From magnum. Pale lemon colour with a fine bead. Orchard fruits and citrus with some floral top notes, a little spice on the palate, good structure here and a clean finish. Great value for a aperitif wine.
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2011 Torelló Cava Brut Nature Gran Reserva
Spain, Cava
(12/25/2022)
From magnum with Xmas breakfast. Medium gold with a fine bead. Clean and balanced with white and yellow fruits, a touch of honey and brioche, good finish.
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2017 Viñedos Hermanos Hernáiz Finca La Emperatriz Viñedo Singular Blanco
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
(12/25/2022)
With Xmas lunch, this was a real crowd pleaser and also kept the wine geeks happy, a lovely wine which was well crafted. There was good weight of fruit on the palate, both orchard and stone fruits, some cream and good acidity, very well balanced and long. This was a world apart from the white Rioja of Lopez de Heredia, I’m not entitprely sure I would call it as a Rioja but it was excellent as a modern style
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2001 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
(12/25/2022)
From Matts cellar. Decanted for a couple of hours before serving. This is starting to come together now, the nose has some leather, spice and cherry but I feel it will unfurl further and improve with more time, the palate has style and class, built around the core of acidity and again will develop more complexity with patience, and you need a lot of that with this wine to experience it at its peak
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2004 Château Guiraud
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
(12/25/2022)
The cork was almost soaked through, we pulled the cork a few hours before serving. The nose was ok, the palate had much more to offer, barley sugar, apricots and a little spice, fair finish.this tasted fully mature to me, a middle ranking Sauternes
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NV Ramos Pinto Porto 20 Year Old Tawny Quinta do Bom Retiro
Portugal, Douro, Porto
(12/25/2022)
A lovely tawny port. Caramel, fig, nuts, brown sugar, nuts, dried orange peel with balancing acidity and a nice lift, it doesn’t feel too heavy and is a great sipper on a Xmas evening. Worked well with mince pies and Xmas pudding too
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2005 Mestres Cava Gran Reserva Familiar Brut Mas Via
Spain, Cava
(12/26/2022)
I think this is the current or fairly recent release. 11 years on lees then another 5 years in bottle. Ridiculous value for this amount of ageing. Medium gold in colour, very fine bead. Intense aromas of honey, nuts and a little gingerbread and custard tarts but there’s nothing sweet here, this is intense and savoury. Very long on the finish. So satisfying to drink on its own but would be great at the table with some fine grilled fish or maybe with some cream sauces, mushrooms or cheese, i suspect it would work with most food.
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2013 Pazo de Señoráns Albariño Rías Baixas Selección de Añada
Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas
(12/26/2022)
Bottled in April 2022. This is great, if Albariño turns out like this with age why don’t we do it more often ? It has stone fruit, the age has introduced a more savoury side to it, some dried sage maybe, there’s something vegetal here without being under ripe in anyway, smooth and creamy in texture with a long finish. Super
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