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Wine Type Vintage Name Variety Locale Date Posted Score Helpful Comments Comment Date Community Score More...
Red

2016 Château Ormes de Pez

 St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend more
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11/10/2023 - Eriklainen wrote: NR

Needs air. But then…. Not bad at all. Much more Margauxesque than anticipated. White flowers over the truffled black currant. Fruit is a little thin but it is in a really good spot now and should improve over the coming years. Nothing for the super long haul though

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    11/10/2023 10:15:00 PM - Agree. This wine didn’t start out strong at all. Classical is probably the most apt euphemism when I popped the first bottle. But that said - what a development. I was quite surprised. But I am a 2016 vintage kind of guy - I like the acid and the structure the wines have showed thus far.
    And about the fruit - yes that can be a problem in the long run is my guess. But no real hurry at the moment. Just a hint of when to start popping the corks…
Red

2016 Vieux Château Certan

 Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend more
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7/31/2023 - Eriklainen wrote: NR

Long. Velvety. It is a gem

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    9/1/2023 12:04:00 AM - I decanted the wine 3 hours prior to serving and the wine kept evolving during the evening. More nuances at the end of the evening than at outset. Like many of these 2016 high end BDX I think one of the interesting findings is how the wine develops during the course of the evening. I try, and often fail, to save some of the wine for the very end. Best of all if you pop the cork right back and save it for next day! That rarely happens...
Red

2018 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia

 Red Bordeaux Blend more
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3/1/2022 - Eriklainen wrote: NR

Arabba. I just don’t like this as much as Sassicaia. Fruit profile is more cherry and less BDX. In fact I almost dislike unripe Merlot fruit and this has too much of it.

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    7/9/2022 12:49:00 AM - Thanks! Will have a look out for the 2019 vintage.
Red

2012 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

 St. Helena more
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1/23/2022 - Eriklainen wrote: NR

Yielding from PnP. Truffle, cassis, some barnyard that quickly flew by and then, a first for me, coco-powder. Goes so well with those slightly sandy tannins. What a treat. Doesn't get flabby. Stays in one place, balance good and a long aftertaste with the slightest of green. Holds the alcohol without problems. Good wine.

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    1/24/2022 8:39:00 AM - In my view most Napa Cabs are relatively predicable and only rarely fall into that dumb-phase found in the old world (I am referring to Bordeaux). So therefore I have no problems drinking them from release and notice how they shed their baby fat and slowly mature.
    And at the end of the day I guess it is a matter of taste. Do you much prefer maturity (cigar box and undergrowth and so forth) before fruit then this wine will surf safely in your cellar for another decade, perhaps more. I also enjoy signs of maturity but not when they are outshining the fruit and the acid. I like balance and in that respect I think this wine drinks close to its peak now and, say 5 years. Hope this note was to some help for you.
White - Sparkling

2011 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut

 Chardonnay more
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1/20/2022 - Eriklainen wrote: NR

What a ballerina. There is some age showing but it is so well balanced. Really lovely reduction (even day 2) and whipped cream tendency. The mineralty of this wine is simply killer. Had next to Dom Perignon 2012 and while that wine had broader shoulders and offered up some red berries the Comtes just smashed it out of the park finesse-wise.

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    1/24/2022 8:31:00 AM - I never score wines but were I to put down a mark, well I would say around between 94 and 96. Hope that is to some help to you
Red

2015 Wayfarer Pinot Noir Wayfarer Vineyard

 Fort Ross - Seaview more
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1/30/2021 - Eriklainen wrote: NR

PnP - wow. Such a well behaved wine. Perhaps a little hesitant. But then... Pine forrest, aniseed, some Gevrey backdrop with a solid set up of herbs. This is not bad at all! Keeps changing. Balance is really good, nothing poking out. Aftertaste is immense.

10 days later - this wine is flying. As if it has found its balance. Leather couch, burning forest, dark cherries, Christmas spices and gunpowder. The slightly medicinal nose is gone which is fortunate. Aftertaste is still eternal..

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    3/22/2021 10:08:00 PM - I know it sounds unlikely but I find most red wine (young and of better quality foremost) to develop well in the refrigerator with the cork popped back in. No nitrogen or vacuum. To me, if a wine develops I take it as an indicator that this wine could benefit from further cellaring (of course other factors play a role here too). White wine, however, never fares that well in the refrigerator. A couple of days tops.
Red

2006 San Fereolo 1593 Langhe Rosso

 Langhe DOC Dolcetto more
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1/1/2020 - Eriklainen wrote: NR

Shared with family. Short notes. Dark cherries, tobacco, some VA. Dolcetto shines through. Nice

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    3/20/2020 3:09:00 PM - My mistake. Thanks for watching! ��
Orange

2016 Hummel Hárslevelű Villányi Lindenblättriger

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10/25/2018 - Eriklainen wrote: NR

Stonefruit, leesy, some licorice. Nature-wineish palate, reminds me of cider from Normandy. But in a good way and not over the top. The result is that I think it has a weak middle, a little bland, and the acid is weak. This makes it a hard wine to combine with food. What goes well with this wine?

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    4/14/2019 4:56:00 AM - Allright! Thanks for feedback. Will try with my next and last bottle
Red

2015 Brancaia Chianti Classico

 Chianti Classico DOCG Sangiovese Blend, Sangiovese more
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1/28/2018 - Eriklainen wrote: NR

Such a disappointment. There is an impurity in the nose that, at best, could be described as oaky vanilla but just doesn't do it for me. Fine, cherries aplenty - but it doesn't make up for the impure nose. Lost interest at once and turned the rest of the bottle into a red wine sauce to go along with the fish, which was a task this bottle was up to. Tried the Brancaia Tre before and that was, if possible, worse. I think I like Chiantis but I don't like this. Brancaia - lost faith in the producer.

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    7/27/2018 4:45:00 AM - Thanks for feedback. Makes me wonder where the vanilla tones emergen from...
White

2016 Dönnhoff Riesling Trocken

 Nahe more
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1/28/2018 - fc1910 wrote: NR

This entry-level Dönnhoff is always a good start into the wine-day:
nearly harmonic with some bottle age, tasty lemon zest, a whiff of mineralic stonefruit, light, refreshing, good, one of my everydays Riesling darlings, **(+), around 86+

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    3/14/2018 11:46:00 AM - This writeup is why I started reading your notes. It is so uncomplicated, no off-tastes, just well made. Lika a cloud filled with minerals and citrus.
White

2016 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Großes Gewächs

 Nahe more
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1/29/2018 - fc1910 Likes this wine: NR

Tour VDP.GROSSE LAGE 2018 Vol.1 (Hotel Atlantic, Hamburg): And now: the stunner of this vintage, unbelievable full of tension, saline energy, deep like the atlantic ocean, again I am speechless, this persistence while swallowing, lasting for minutes on the palate after getting down the throat, best Riesling GG of today, for sure! Highly recommended, buy, buy, buy! *(****+), 98+ potential

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    3/14/2018 11:44:00 AM - Great many thanks for this writeup. I can't find the wine where I live but is going south in summer and is considering a detour to find this bottle. Can you recommend a good store in Hamburg or in the south of Germany?
Red

2015 Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py

 Gamay more
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9/12/2017 - Eriklainen wrote: NR

The depth of the nose is impressive, multilayered with fat strawberries, nailpolish-remover, preciously well-weighted vanilla-tones - like smelling a wet sponge-cake. I was afraid this would be something lika a jar of jam. On the palate, despite my worst fears, it turns out it is not overly sweet or offensively alcoholic. Gamay-wise, especially at this age, I was expecting cranberries, blood and sour cherries. But none of that showed through. Not much tannin-wise but that is not a problem. I am amazed at how well this wine hides it alcohol (14%) and the consistency of the taste. The taste stays on for some time and changes in character in a delightful way. The velvety experience of the wine is in such stark contrast to other gamays from Morgon.

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    9/13/2017 4:03:00 AM - Thank you! Good question and I wish I could answer it. The power of the fruit allows me to believe it could improve further with ageing for more complexity. My experience is, I must add, a little limited. I bought the wine in a shop in Alsace and the owner of that store told me that the 2015 vintage is very well apt for ageing. In fact I was looking for the 2013 vintage (which I tried earlier) but it was sold out. That wine (2013) was also meant for some cellaring apparently but in comparison I would say that the 2015 vintage holds a greater potential. Five years shouldn't be a problem - my gut feeling. Again bearing in mind that my experience is limited. Was that answer to any help?
Red

2012 Argiano Brunello di Montalcino

 Sangiovese more
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8/4/2017 - Eriklainen wrote: 83 points

Cherries. Pleasant depth, even more cherries, but there is a touch too much alcohol. Tannins are pleasant, not drying, but a little weak. The fruit is a little tart. Perhaps this can develop further in the bottle? A typical Brunello with focus on power rather than finesse.

  • Comment posted by Eriklainen:

    8/13/2017 1:56:00 PM - That's a reasonable remark. I try to be a bit restrictive, well aware of the inevitable inflation. I really didn't mind this wine, on the contrary: it is a well made Brunello. The points reflect my decreasing interest for Brunellos I guess. In comparison to Barolos they tend to put focus on power rather than finesse and this may well be the reason I have turned to modern Barolos. Parker would probably give it more than 90, but he likes powerful wines, I was once told. It was worth the 30USD retail price.

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