4/15/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, good cork, P+P. As noted on 03.12.2023—the first sip is the best, with air, time and repetition this big, low-acid Riesling gets pretty tiring. The best bit? Incense and melting slate minerality. 88P

4/14/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl screwcap. P+P, which was a mistake, as there is a level of dissolved CO2 I've not yet encountered from Künstler, in 20 years experience 🙄. After two vigorous shakes things settled down, and there doesn't seem to be a refermentation issue here, as there were no odd yeasty smells. So I'd recommend cooling this right down to fridge temperature, then decanting, and serving an hour later, with or without subesquent cooling depending on the ambient temperature. The 2019 Hölle Kabinett trocken (or whatever fantasy name it's now called—Im Stein? Im Neuenberg?) seems to be similarly affected, but not the Stielweg or Bischofsberg. Hmm.

4/13/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, good cork, decanted 1 hour. Muddy-thick, not very pure, extracted, cloyingly sweet blackberry fruit + unpleasantly slimy-cloudy texture + low perceptible acidity + 14,5% alc. = oh dear, a fat red wine just recognizable as Tempranillo, but unfortunately failing to provide the thrills this noble varietal can provide (in any number of styles). Pesquera used to produce fine wines at all price levels up to the once-legendary Janus (1994... 1995...) But since the estate was taken over in 2017, in a Shakespearian family drama which "The Drinks Business" memorably described as "King Lear-esque" things have become a lot more commercial, and so we end up with this stuff. Just under 40€ retail, it's fat, inexpressive, complacent corporate juice which seems unlikely to budge before it implodes in about 5 years time. Avoid. 85-86P(?)

4/11/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl screwcap. As previously noted. Still going strong. 88–89P

4/8/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, perfect cork, decanted 1 hour, softened slightly in the glass. If only affordable Barolo was as delicious (and complex) as this. Bay leaf, rosemary and just a hint of eucalyptus, and that's just the aromatic action. Dark fruit, rocking fine tannic action. Medium-bodied, ripe, healthy dark-fruited sweetness. Serious wine, seriously good value, and just at the start of its drinking window. 91P

4/7/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, perfect cork, decanted 90 minutes, improved until final drop. Putting the "currant" back into the word "blackcurrant", this very serious wine from a much maligned "poor" year shows immense aromatic complexity. Dessicated mulberry meets intense fresh blackcurrant; huge concentration of dark spice. Star anise, five-spice. Bright healthy acidity; virile tannic grip. Perhaps not a "Great Wine" but a great bottle of St. Julien approaching peak maturity. 92P

4/6/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl screwcap. Never happy when I'm the only person on CT posting about a wine. The good news is: it's 2024, one year on from my last bottle, and the oak is finally yielding. Fish and chips weren't available this evening, but with other fried food it did just fine. Still a bit tropical, perhaps a little sweet, but another 12 months should deal with that just fine. Still mystified how I thought this was a 91P wine back on 09.09.2020, but time may tell.

4/4/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, perfect cork, P+P. Best bottle yet, with a stern backbone of iron and rust tempered by herbal and generous, plush dark fruit action. 91P

4/3/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, DIAM10 closure, P+P, improved until final drop. Another gorgeous, succulent bottle of this full-bodied, strawberry-tinged, wholly satisfying Tavel. 90P

4/2/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, DIAM closure, opened but not decanted 1 hour. Big, strongly oaked Chardonnay. In-your-face tropical fruit, quite cloying on the mid-palate despite powerful lemon acidity. One small glass is quite enough at this stage, but a couple of years sideways might help. 87-88P(?)

4/1/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, opened but not decanted 1 hour, best just under room temperature, roughly 15C. Very clean, linear Savagnin with bright acidity, some resonance, but (of course) lacking the concentration and depth of Vin Jaune and table wines made in a similar way, but with shorter maturation. Charming, floral scent; a gentle honeyed chachter on the mid-palate. Great value at 15€ retail. 88P

3/31/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, 05.2020 disgorgement, P+P. Another delicious bottle, genuinely dry but in excellent balance. Thrilling retronasal blackcurrant-leaf action. Once again, 4 years after disgorgement seems to be a sweet spot for Bara. 90–91P

3/30/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, perfect cork, decanted 1 hour, improved until final drop. Best bottle yet (and my last one 🫣) Gorgeous supple vivacious Sangiovese/Syrah blend at early maturity, perfumed, expressive and juicy. 91P

3/29/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, perfect cork under wax capsule. Opened but not decanted 90 minutes, continued to improve until last drop, some 3 hours later. First impressions were worrying—that too-old thin oaked Chardonnay smell, and a stale taste—but an hour later all was well. Citrus-tangerine-edged scent; light-bodied, supple-oaky entry beiies the considerable weight, resonance and pleasant bitterness of the mid-palate; long, moreish finish. Just got better and better as the evening wore on. This is the first 2009 white burgundy I have tasted at maturity which wasn't flabby or merely decayed, and although I won't be rushing out to buy more at auction, it served as another reminder of PYCM's brilliance. 92-93P

3/28/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, perfect cork, opened but not decanted 1 hour, did not improve in glass. The least impressive of 3 bottles: in spring 2022 this was mature and expressive; in late 2023 it wasn't singing as brightly; today it has thinned right down, leaving all the acidity, some good PN perfume, but a distinct lack of body and textural interest. The previously dark fruit seems to be mutating into brighter morello cherry. Conceivably a sub-standard bottle, but I'd still advise drinking up. 86–87P

3/27/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl screwcap, P+P. This badly needed air—as it was, we consumed most of it thinking it was just a fruity-juicy-melony sub-riesling. But the final glass opened up to reveal struck match aromatic magic, a crystalline texture with remarkable minerality and a very long, resonant finish. If opening anytime soon, give it time to breathe (or decant). Outstanding wine.

3/26/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, DIAM closure, decanted 1 hour, did not improve in glass. Nothing wrong with this basic but well-made modern-style Barolo. But recent CT TNs seem all over the place. Notwithstanding all those conflicting descriptors, this is fun wine to drink now or soon. We enjoyed the gentle mid-palate sweetness anyway, well balanced by attractive Nebbiolo typicity in a friendly, forward package. 89P

3/25/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, good cork, P+P, improved in glass. Oak, mango, lemon, a hint of melon. Bright but not overbearing acidity. All you want from a New World oaked Chard at this price level, and frankly more than you could reasonably expect. Meursault it ain't; nor is it the peak of Sonoma or Tasmania. But the previous CT TN (denesdanielsomm on 22.02.2024 78P) is way out of line. There is simply no justification or excuse for rating a product of this honest quality—and fair price, at the 15€ retail I paid—at such a punishingly low level. 88P

3/24/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, perfect cork, P+P. As previously noted. Gradually softening; I think I enjoyed this more 1 or even 2 years ago, but it is still a fine mouthful of Rhône goodness. 89-90P

3/23/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, exquisite cork, decanted 1 hour. Plush, refined, pure, compact Pauillac. Scent comme il faut; ripe, dark-fruited entry, more loganberry than cassis, but none the worse for that; velvety-smooth mid-palate. Early maturity, bottles in good condition have a long, long way to go. 91–92P

3/22/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, good cork, P+P. Good to check in again with Trimbach's Reserve. Light-bodied, bone-dry, the oak treatment makes identifying this a lot easier: it's distinctively French, more reminiscent of the Loire (where they don't grow Riesling) than of any German region. Starting to drink well, but no hurry. 88-89P

3/22/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl. Initially closed and merely sweet and delicious, this has opened up considerably in the last 3 days. Recent CT reviews emphasise different aspects of this excellent/outstanding wine. Here's my take: the aromatics are strongly herbal/chinato; the entry is initially deceptively sweet, but the transition to the grippy, structured, finely tannic mid-palate is swift. That mid-palate is texturally and aromatically miles away from the sweet velvet of fully mature vintage port, let alone a good ruby (like Graham's Six Grapes), offering the kind of tough love that should appeal to Barolo drinkers. The finish is relatively dry, all that aromatic action making you thirsty for more wine. Dangerously easy to drink another couple of glasses. This is what happens when you keep a good port wine 20 years in wood. If you love this style, you might rate it a bit higher than my 90-91P. My own preference is for a lot less oak and (ideally) 30-40 years bottle maturation, despite all of the patience, expense and sheer fuss required to bring vintage port to the table.

3/21/2024 - honest bob Likes this wine:

From 75cl. Another fine bottle as previously noted. 90P

3/20/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, glass-stopper closure, P+P. Mid-golden yellow colour. Distinct muscat scent mixed with smoke, elderflower cordial and feshly cut parsnips (really). Light-bodied, bone-dry entry with bright green apple acidity; mid-palate a touch oxidised, not faulty, but not as fresh as the entry promised; pleasant acidic finish. This entry-level quaffer was probably better a year or two ago, but is still very acceptable. Alas I don't have a plate of gulasch with hearty dumplings to consume it with, but it would be up to the challenge. 85P

3/17/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, a bottle of impeccable provenance, exquisite cork with no staining back from wine end. Quick decant off minimal powdery sediment. Expressive, complex scent with the promise of bright red morello fruit, hints of aromatic green herbs (rosemary, thyme), dried spice and a little forest floor earthy goodness. Light-bodied entry with good PN typicity, acid bright but not rampant, the texture makes me suspect full-bunch fermentation (or at least, that this wine must have tasted rather green and squeaky/astringent in its youth); mid-palate demonstates it is currently fully mature and wonderfully complex—-reiterating the aromatic themes of its initial scent, perhaps adding retronasal pine-forest. Short, clean finish. Drink now. 91P

3/16/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, slightly soggy cork, decanted 30 minutes. Initially showed a touch of spritz; best after it has warmed up to about 14–15C. This is the wine which I first tried in 2015, only to admonished by Rudi Pichler himself a week later for committing infanticide: "Hochrain needs 10 years after the vintage, if you want earlier drinking, choose Kollmütz". Well, yes and no. This did show brilliantly in 2019–21, but a bottle opened this time last year seemed tired, and this one was very fine, but subdued, fully mature and couldn't generate the excitement around the table it probably would have done a couple of years ago. So let's revise that recommendation, strictly personally, to 8–10 after the vintage. For my palate: drink up. 90P

3/11/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, perfect cork, P+P. Good low-key, light-bodied, entry-level PN with low acidity, restrained soft strawberry/raspberry fruit and low-key red-fruit aromatics. Nice that it hasn't been pumped up, or acidified to the point of sharpness. 87–88P

3/12/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl screwcap, LH C LAX-FRA. Sweet, primary and right-in-your-face. Thinner-bodied and with a much less chewy texture than some more expensive Shiraz bottlings I've tasted from Kilikanoon, which is hardly surprising for this well-made entry-level offering. But it's too sweet for most food pairings right now, and I can't guess whether it has the stuffing to come into better balance with time. If it doesn't, quaff it as a 86P guiltless pleasure with spicy BBQ or mature (blue?) cheese. If it does, then it might merit 88-89P in 2026.

3/13/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, closure not seen, LH C LAX-FRA. Obviously faulty, I would say lightly corked, but not having seen the closure it's conceivable that something else got in to make it smell of wet cardboard. NR

3/12/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, LH C LAX-FRA. Pale in the glass, reticent on the nose, but recognizable as Riesling. A little CO2 spritz on the skinny entry; dilute, attenuated, mid-palate (if I were trying to sell you this bottle, I might say "white fruits"). Slightly vegetal finish. Just possibly better next year? 83P(+?)

3/12/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, LH C LAX-FRA. This reminds me of Moet's NV Brut, but sweeter: anodyne character, low acid, high dosage—or perhaps there wasn't much actual taste before the sugar went in. The first time I can remember declining an offer of a second glass of Champagne... 84P

3/12/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl screwcap. Big concocted fake-oaky Cali Chard, with a sullenly heavy midpalate. Would be acceptable as the base for a white wine spritzer. 83-84P

3/12/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl screwcap. Dark colour - like a medium bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. Ripe PN and stewed plum scent. Sweet stewed fruit taste, considerable residual sugar. Unpleasant sugary finish. Unpleasant to the point of near-undrinkablility, but not obviously faulty. 80P

3/8/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl screwcap at La Grande Orange Pasadena. Subdued but lifted scent with redcurrant in there; slender entry - attenuated bright red fruit, clean simple entry-level fun; mid-palate is grippy/vegetal, root vegetables rather than tannic; short finish. 87P

3/6/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, opened 5 hours in ABC tasting room, Santa Barbara. Serious scent with plenty of savoury action even at this early stage of its development: consommé leather, bright red fruit and dark rose petals. The palate is thinner than the nose promises, with darker fruit, tannic backbone, leading to a short, brusque, even tarry finish. Great potential from 2026 onwards. $65 cellar door. 92P

3/6/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, opened 5 hours in ABC tasting room, Santa Barbara. Smells of bright wild strawberry and other sweet aromatic things; slender entry, inexpressive compared to the Runway and Bauge tasted directly before, a hint of licorice; the mid-palate closed down tight today; long resonant finish with some rhubarb astringency the best bit for me. 5-10 years sideways should help. $50 cellar door. 90P(?)

3/6/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, opened 5 hours in ABC tasting room, Santa Barbara. Powerful scent with sage high notes, a Cherry Coke bassline, plenty of serious spicy action in the backing chorus. Medium-bodied entry (bright acidity, more cherry) gets richer towards the deep, layered mid-palate. Wood, palate-cleansing licorice root on the finish. This is richer and plusher than I normally like my PN, but from 2025-26 it should sing. $50 cellar door. 90-91P

3/6/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, opened 5 hours in ABC tasting room, Santa Barbara. Pale colour. The nose promises bright cherry with a sharp edge and a touch of barnyard/(brett?) Slender cranberry-fruited entry; astringent, gently tannic mid-palate; dry, mouth-puckering finish. Restrained, attractive PN. $35 cellar door. 88-89P (but knowing ABC there well may be a substantial upside in the next decade).

3/6/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, opened 5 hours in ABC tasting room, Santa Barbara. Big expressive oaked Chard scent with pineapple, papaya and lots more; big-bodied entry, still a little squeaky-textured, with an attractive hint of passion fruit; rich but not buttery mid-palate; finish quite long. Best 2026 onwards? $60 cellar door. 90P+

3/5/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, good cork, P+P, served ice-cold in a restaurant in Santa Barbara. Medium-bodied entry with ripe lime fruit linear right through to the finish. Good concentration and purity, bright acidity. The very last drops, 90 minutes after opening and near room temperature, were the best. This still squeaky-textured wine should show so much better given 2-3 years in the cellar. I feel for cephomer (CT TN 01.03.2024), although we got away with paying "only" $75 before tax and service. Restaurant wine lists... 89-90P

3/3/2024 - honest bob wrote:

From 75cl, opened but not decanted 9 hours. Still presenting with some CO2 spritz, this feels quite primary, the fine dark bramble fruit still a bit sweet and hefty for its—otherwise—apparently delicate frame. Others at the table enjoyed this wine more than I did, so I'll withhold judgement, gladly confirm that it has plenty of substance for 5-10 years, and hope to meet it again sometime after 2029. I note that John Gilman recommends leaving this until 2031, and think that in this case, the View From the Cellar is clear-sighted. NR

3/3/2024 - honest bob wrote:

Fabulous black olive scent (finest Kalamata, in brine, with olive oil congealing on the surface); light-bodied savoury entry with fried bacon; mid-palate subdued and dry; short finish. This felt nicely mature, but not sure it's a long-distance runner. 90P

3/3/2024 - honest bob wrote:

Bright gold colour; non-descript but pleasant scent (of white wine, duh); surprised by green apple peel on the light/mediium-bodied entry; mid-palate slender to near-ascetic, with a slightly vegetal touch; lessish (as opposed to moreish) finish. I get the idea of making a non-Cali Chardonnay in northern California, but perhaps this was just more fun a few years back. 86-87P

3/3/2024 - honest bob wrote:

Syrah? Hmm—not getting black pepper, nor olive, just something indistinctly herbal on the nose. Oh well, the soft blackberry-fruited entry is nice enough; sweet mid-palate shows oak but otherwise pretty inexpressive. $50 at cellar door. 88P(?)

3/3/2024 - honest bob wrote:

Serious, “weighty” scent with a hint of eucalyptus seems to promise concentration and richness; sweet plummy entry quickly mutates to Cherry Coke before the tannic, slightly bitter, headily alcoholic mid-palate sets in; surprisingly abrupt, dry, tannic finish. $74 for the "library release" at cellar door. 87P

3/3/2024 - honest bob wrote:

Some cocoa overlaps with eucalyptus, a nice combo on the nose; the entry is at once acidic and heavy with very ripe dark cherry fruit; smooth mid-palate with more eucalyptus, short finish. $78 at cellar door. 88P

3/3/2024 - honest bob wrote:

Deep dark-red fruit scent with an intoxicating whiff of cocoa powder, which became more milk chocolate-like as the wine warmed up to room temperature. Broad dark-red fruited entry, rather heavy and low acid; rich sweet oaky dark cherry mid-palate fruit. All in all, a pretty weighty PN, lacking lift and acid verve. $74 at cellar door. 89P

3/3/2024 - honest bob wrote:

Eucalyptus, perhaps a touch of menthol and pure red fruited-scent; medium-bodied entry, lifted with bright acid and more eucalyptus; mid-palate surprisingly bad-tempered—short and dry, as was the finish. Very attractive PN. $74 at cellar door. 90P

3/3/2024 - honest bob wrote:

Tropical fruit, dill and appealing French oak scent; medium-bodied entry again shows oak; very appealing mid-palate with (dried) papaya and ginger; long, persistent finish. $60 at cellar door. 90–91P

3/3/2024 - honest bob wrote:

Some citrus zest on the nose; citric acidity on the entry; salty neutral fruit (underripe melon?) with more citric-lemony action on the finish. Made in steel and neutral oak, perhaps some barrique might have been a good idea? $60 at cellar door. 86P