I usually have a soft spot for this bottling. A fairly solid bet that I usually like to the tune of 92-93 points. Always more rich leaning, this bottle reveals a pinot driven nose of toffee, brioche, candied lemon peel, vanilla wafer, grapefruit and pastry dough. Great acid, good typical dosage and a medium plus finish. A really nice start.

Well well. This showed a lot better than last time. Big, full and rich, though not quite yet fully mature, the nose blasts caramel, espresso, mint, brown spice, brown sugar, molasses, candied lime, and tangerine. In the mouth great acid, lowish dosage and a long brown sugar and molasses finish round things out. Excellent showing, bordering on 94 points for sure.

I guess I'm all on my own on this one, but a few times now I've found the Sir Winston Churchill to be absolutely dominated by sulfur on release. To the point it really hinders me evaluating it aromatically. With coaxing some melon, white sugar, white currants, light brown spice and light caramel come through on the nose. The palate reveals a bright future with lots going on; pear, apricot, melon, brown spice and caramel. Solid acid, moderate dosage and a long finish give this some textural elegance. On the palate alone this would land at about 94 points for me today and with some bottle age I would expect this to come around nicely.

This pours a fairly deep bronze/copper. Immediately the nose is quite heavy on the sulfur. Also, mild aromatics of cranberry, fresh cut strawberry, spun sugar and blood orange. The palate feels round with elevated dosage (certainly feels like over 12g/l), and solid acidic cut on the finish which leaves a tart sour cranberry note on the palate. Not exactly my favourite in this line-up, but a decent wine that could improve.

While I expected something very modern, what I found was a decent tweener between modern and traditional. Certainly a lot of oak noted imediately on the nose, but tastes like there's a decent proportion of traditional casks. I found out later they use a mix of French and Hungarian oak and some new, some used. Also on the nose: dark cherry, vanilla, rosemary, and a touch of balsamic. The palate has lots of tannin, solid acid and a solid dark cherry finish. I really actually think this should age nicely and could pick up a point or two. My only question is the value proposition when you can get Chianti Classico Riserva or Brunello for 1/2 the price that's just as good.

This wine has a monstrous amount of fruit! A real modern Cali cab lookalike. The nose blasts licorice, grape jelly, blackberry, blueberry coulis, and loads of high toast oak leaving the impression of sawdust. Fully modern and no resemblance to anything remotely Tuscan. The oak and Cabernet origins leave quite a wall of tannin and the slightest green streak. The finish is driven on licorice and lots of dark ultra ripe fruit. I'm sure this will age fine, but I doubt it will ever become anything my style.

This was showing a fabulous, traditional burgundy profile with a nose of moss, lightly green/leafy mulch, wet soil, light notes of farmyard, cherry, strawberry, pomegranate, and crab apple. The palate has a lovely texture with low tannin, moderate acid and pure and broad fruit. The finish is quite lengthy. Fantastic! Really should be 93, but I'll be conservative and peg it at 92 today.

I'll admit that my expectations were low for this third wine in a cool vintage from Latour. It exceeded my expectations and reveals a decent classic Bordeaux profile. The nose reveals some green bean notes, graphite, pencil lead, crushed rock, a touch of cedar box and some polished plummy fruit. The palate is just a massive wall of tannin which I'm not sure will ever go away. Not worth the $99 price tag in our market, but somewhat better than expected.

I really can't say that I get what people see in this wine. This is such a modern cali-bomb that it's not on my radar at all. Wouldn't even break 90 for me, but because some like this style, I'll just withhold a score. The nose is purely coconut, vanilla, purple grape candy, blueberry powdered candy, and powdered suagar. The palate enters notably sweet with buckets of oak and a finish built on purple grape candy, vanilla, coconut, and confectioners sugar. Solidly in the "rocket fuel" camp.

What a treat to move on to such a nice wine. Just a flat out awesome nose on this with furniture, lacquer, sour cherry, tar, asphalt, chestnut, sundried tomato, wet hay, and spicy old cedar cigar box. Just such a classically styled wine! The palate is silky yet structured with moderate acid/tannin balance. Really a great, traditional wine. Drinking really well now and I'm sure some age would be fine too. This was actually drinking near to the Amarone in quality at 1/3 of the price.

I can't believe how well this hides it's 16.5% alcohol. This wine is deep and rich, but still so complex and balanced. The nose is of ink, black cherry, leather, tar, a hint of appealing VA, truffle, mushroom, forest floor, marzipan, and herbs. The palate strikes amazing balance and produces a very appealing texture. The entry is vaguely sweet with moderate tannin and refreshing medium plus acid. Just a hint of green, some marzipan and the voluptuous deep rich fruit support a long finish. I was really quite taken with this wine.

Pours inky dark with a purple and blue rim. There's a light olive component on the nose, but this but is really driven on the dark fruit; cherry, blackberry, black plum, and then some iodine and a slight grilled meat note round things out. The palate repeats the nose with lots of dark fruit. Medium plus tannin and medium plus acid keep this structured and fresh.

Another primal fruit forward wine. The nose is of blueberry, violet, blackberry, toasted almonds, saline and a slight sweat note. The palate is broad and rich, loaded with fruit, and finishes on dark fruit and toasted almond.

I really find this quite modern and have a hard time believing it will ever become anything like the La Chapelles of the 80's. Pours inky dark with a nose of blackberry, blueberry, almond paste, toast, a hint of pepper and mixed berry pie filling. The palate is plush and modern with abundant fruit. Not really my style these days, so not rated.

A really odd showing that doesn't speak to Chardonnay at all to me. The nose is of tinned madarin oranges, fruit cocktail, pineapple, chopped pine, toasted hazelnut, sulfur and matchstick. Decent acidic cut on the palate with some sweet fruit and a milky lactose finish.

While I've found other SHL Blancs to be big, broad and rich, this was more weedy and Sauvignon Blanc driven. The nose is of grass, orange peel, grapefruit, wax, honeycomb and lemon. Not much oak noted, which I usually find to be prominent on this bottling. The palate reveals high pitched astringent acid and a bitter, vegetal finish. Definitely old world styled and could actually age out nicely. Not rated, but probably would land in the low 90's.

Dark with lots of fruit and certainly modern leaning, but I actually see some genuine depth and complexity forming. The nose is of coconut, vanilla, dark cherries preserved in syrup, cold cream, dry soil and shrubby herbs. The palate has high tannin, moderate acid and a medium plus dark fruited finish.

I really just found this too modern and over the top for me. The nose is of piña colada, coconut, powdered sugar, caramel macchiato, prunes and brandy.

I'm going to withhold scoring this. I suspect it's just too young, but it wasn't really showing much. The nose is of prune, rasin, plum, some integrating American oak, charcoal, dry soil, thyme and green leafy notes. The palate is quite tannic with a medium finish. A bit nondescript today, but I could see this coming together with time.

This is quite a decent, classically styled white burg. Nothing exceptional, but it's solid. The nose is of marzipan, orchard fruit, white currants, light oak, mineral, and florals. Palate is high acid repeating the orchard fruit and floral notes. a very nice expression.

I'm not convinced this bottle was totally sound. There's a definite oxidative note. The nose is of dusty furniture, soil, red cherry, a slight balsamic note, animal fur and a prune/iron component. The palate is still moderately tannic, red fruited, and has solid medium plus acid. The finish is a tad short. If forced to rate, this would be in the mid 80's for me.

Quite a solid and enjoyable easy drinking red burg. The nose is of strawberry, cherry, pomegranate, marzipan, touch of oak, some twiggy undergrowth and wet leaves. The palate is a tad bitter and tannic with a slightly austere finish which holds this back.

This was showing quite lovely. The nose is of butter, cashew, mint, green foliage, grapes, pear, mineral, florals, and lemon. The palate has fantastic acid with a pinch of perceived sweetness. The finish lingers quite long with white fruit and mineral notes. Very enjoyable.

Unfortunately there was quite a lot of sulfur on the nose which held this back a tad for me. The nose has noted oak, chalk, green foliage, lemon tart and dry soil aromas. The sulfur carries through on the palate, though there is also some pleasant soapy florals on the medium finish. Could pick up a point or two if the sulfur resolves as this is otherwise a nice expression.

Off the bat this comes across to me as fairly confected. The red fruit has a candied cherry, bordering on cough syrup note for me which is generally unpleasant. On the plus side some spice, soil and herbal notes add complexity. The palate is medium plus in tannin with moderate acid repeating some confected notes on the medium minus finish.

This pours a shade darker than the beaune poured before it. A fairly dark fruit profile is revealed on the nose: dark cherry, dark pomegranate, juicy strawberry, herbal thyme, and some oak that's yet to integrate. Palate is still firmly tannic with decent acid and a medium minus finish. A passable burg that's really not terribly special.

Wow! This is an exciting white burg that's full of energy. The flat out great nose is loaded with butter, cold cream, lemon, mineral, and mixed white florals. Lean and crisp in style. The palate is bone dry with elevated acid. An excellent, almost Chablis like expression in it's crispness.

While the regular Meursault was fantastic, this was a big step up. The nose is explosive, but still so fresh and crisp. The nose blasts chalk, toast, white currants, kiwi, lime, hay, farmyard, wet wool, and mineral. Really an expansive and complex aromatic expression. The palate is long and highly acidic. Wonderful.

This wine by contrast is still enjoyable, but also lightly caramelized, revealing a touch more oak. The nose is floral with kiwi, lime, green apple, light brown spices, caramel sauce, and peach crisp. The palate replays apple, spice, and kiwi, on a finish that's both medium plus in length and medium plus in acid. Solid.

Fairly classic youthful Riesling here. The nose is of apple juice, vinyl, tennis ball, mint, and honeycomb. The palate enters fairly sweet and fat with medium plus acid and a honey comb, mint, and apple juice driven finish. Nice.

Fairly typical fuligni showing here. It pours relatively light in colour. The fruit profile, as expected, is still in the lightly confected red fruit realm. The nose is of sugar covered cranberries, strawberry flavoured hard candy, grilled bread, some savoury notes in reserve: black tea leaves, cured meats, and saline. The palate has great structure with high acid and tannin. It finishes long, driven on candied cranberries. Quite nice actually, though as always with the Fuligni Normale, the candied red fruit is a drawback for me. My score is both provisional and conservative and I'm sure others 'get' this wine more than me.

Those who follow my notes will see I'm not always a Fuligni fan, but wow, this is the best Fuligni I've ever had. The nose features soaring notes of tea leaves, dried orange peel, grilled meats, charcoal, savoury forest floor, decaying leaves, tobacco, cherry, and red plum. The palate is still quite tannic with savoury red fruits and solid medium acid. Optimum enjoyment is still a few years away, particularly on the palate, but the nose and finish reveal a bright future.