8/11/2023 - abh wrote:

Maderised/heat damage.

2/18/2023 - abh wrote:

6/6 and the first tired bottle. By no means undrinkable, but this bottle definitely on the way out. I think I would call this premox rather than natural aging, in that another bottle 18 months ago was pristine and seemed like it had years to go.

2/18/2023 - abh wrote:

Surprising green/pyzarine aspect to this that I don't remember noting before.

10/4/2022 - abh wrote:

And a perfectly representative one just to mix things up after several bottles at various degrees of over-the-hill. Candlewax, apples, caramel, but full of life and vibrancy: proper, fully mature, riesling. Acidity and sugar sitting alongside each other - not at all syrupy or a dessert wine.

11/7/2021 - abh wrote:

I'd be more positive about this than most of the notes. A very clean, elegant and balanced wine with a classical Pinot nose and more autumnal, subtle, fruit than I expected. Plenty of acidity but not for me shrill at all. A restrained wine for sure but in the right way for me.

9/4/2021 - abh wrote:

Really tired. So much bottle variation in this case. Cheap corks I fear.

8/25/2021 - abh wrote:

I think mildly corked. Not the worst, but not right either.

5/22/2021 - abh wrote:

Superb - easily the highlight of a blind tasting of 2014&5 new style Jura Chardonnay. High acid, high concentration but also depth of flavour - his wine always says lemon pie crust to me....

5/16/2021 - abh wrote:

Another more advanced one. So much variation here.

4/24/2021 - abh wrote:

Quite green. Shame.

4/6/2021 - abh wrote:

Corked

4/6/2021 - abh wrote:

Sufficiently tainted by the bad version of 2004-ness to be almost impossible to drink.

2/14/2021 - abh wrote:

Definitely on the old side, although still structured. Somewhat marmite-y, marginally oxidized, nose. Drinkable but definitely past its best.

1/31/2021 - abh wrote:

Oxidised...

1/7/2021 - abh wrote:

Oxidized. Shame when a clean bottle not that long ago was so good.

12/12/2020 - abh wrote:

This is really gorgeous now and typical Burlotto, if not typical Barolo. Olive nose with a little smoked meat, very sweet fruit and extraordinarily smooth and elegant. Not as structured as some, and while not showing any more mature notes probably for drinking sooner rather than later.

12/6/2020 - abh wrote:

This is very good indeed now: some lovely waxy, church incense like notes developing with age along with immaculate sugar/acid balance and stoney-ness.

10/25/2020 - abh wrote:

Lovely, textbook, Bordeaux with lots of tobacco and cedar on the nose and blackcurrent cassis fruit. Not over weight at all and energetic while being fully resolved. Delightful.

9/13/2020 - abh wrote:

Interesting that others have found this starting to tire. I thought this was in a very nice place, even if it isn't going to morph into something extraordinary over the next 10+ years. Slightly rose-soap nose, along with raisins. Very good acidity and still some tannin. Resolved and extremely well balanced. It doesn't have the combination of extroversion and seriousness that the best Giacosa does but it is a very good drink at the moment.

7/14/2020 - abh wrote:

Quite young still - very structured and a quite a bit of tar on the nose. Already very serious but will soften and have more to give in 5 to 10 years...

7/14/2020 - abh wrote:

In lovely shape, and really amazingly concentrated. High acidity, too. A little bit of elderflower on the nose. Not a hugely complex or subtle wine, but really incredibly impressive for the appellation.

4/26/2020 - abh wrote:

Initially from Coravin: doesn't suit this. Just open the bottle and decant properly.

Leather/old books nose with a touch of a medicinal note too. Tart, acidic, fruit, really nice balance of freshness and maturity. Certainly something rustic about it, this bottle noticeably cleaner than the other I've had, though.

12/23/2019 - abh wrote:

Very clear botrytis on the nose here. I remember one note from release mentioning this (Coates) but it was still a big surprise. Lots of other aspects of it seem classic and there is certainly plenty of wine here -concentrated with excellent structure - but botrytised Puligny??! Once I'd got used to that it was rather good, but rather a lot of cognitive dissonance at first...

12/8/2019 - abh wrote:

This punches WAAAAY above its weight. Nutty and saline, with a good acidity. It isn't Labet or Ganevat, but it is very nice wine and has the advantage of actually being purchasable...

11/23/2019 - abh wrote:

Oxidized. Flabby and butterscotch. Shame.

8/20/2019 - abh wrote:

Unlike a previous bottle, in good condition, mature with perhaps tiny oxidiative notes (this is clearly meant to be in a non-oxidative, Burgundian, style). Very rich and powerful, good acidity and focussed, though. A little more heat (it is 14.5%) on the finish than I'd like. More or less the style of today's Labet, but not quite as precise - I think the wines have got significantly better.

8/17/2019 - abh wrote:

I liked this. Clear oak influence on the nose, slightly medicinal, aspriny, bitterness along with herbs and a bit of waxiness. Good acidity and balance, not too much alcohol. Leaner, more structured and Burgundian, than most any other Rhone white I've had. Perfect condition and maturity to my taste.

8/5/2019 - abh wrote:

This has come on beautifully and is even more open than my 2013 bottle, with no signs of over-maturity at all. Wonderful cherry fruit with a little Chambolle funk hiding in the background. Unbelievable balance and texture. As good as Burgundy at this level gets and comfortably comparable to - an admittedly not as ready - 06 Lambrays GC a few weeks ago.

3/11/2019 - abh wrote:

Completely a point, rich and deep but perfectly balanced. Not the real wild complexity of Chambolle further up the hierarchy but a perfect, delightful, example of what it is.

2/6/2019 - abh wrote:

Quite mature now, with a dusty old furniture/old books side to it, but also very bright and lively, good, nicely integrated, acidity. Lots of time left.

2/6/2019 - abh wrote:

Big, extremely vinious, ripe and rich, with obvious red fruit notes, but also a great mineral line running through it. Very unusual, not at all typical, certainly not value for money but most impressive. Fun to drink alongside an incredibly classic 1996 Dom Perignon.

1/26/2019 - abh wrote:

Lovely, elegant, fresh, wine. Plummy, slightly smoky nose. Just a tiny kiss of oak I think but perfectly integrated and quite sweet fruit. Very good acidity. Very light textured but wonderfully flavoursome. Drink or keep.

1/19/2019 - abh wrote:

This was absolutely pristine. Linear, steely, balanced, very much in the Roulot model. Flinty notes with just a touch of the lees but no flab or oxidation at all. A delight and far better than a previous bottle.

1/6/2019 - abh wrote:

Very, very rich, apricot-y and opulent. Not super sweet by any means but some RS and much less acid than I was expecting. I've never had his Sommerberg before, only the Brand, which I haven't found so fat. This is clearly excellent winemaking but not quite to my taste.

12/29/2018 - abh wrote:

Very tasty, but vastly more advanced and caramel-y than my previous bottle, only 3 months ago. Don't know if this was a one-off or if there is significant bottle variation here.

12/2/2018 - abh wrote:

Fresher than the other bottle I've had - a strong butterscotch note in the nose but in a positive, mature, way, and the wine still fully integrated. Delicious, rich, old-school white burgundy. Oxidation did kick in after awhile - don't leave it too long, either to open a bottle or to drink it once it is open.

12/2/2018 - abh wrote:

Mushroomy, slightly maderized, nose - much older seeming than the last time I had this. But beautiful, complex, balanced wine still, which combines richness and delicacy.

10/26/2018 - abh wrote:

Strange this. Tried it from Coravin, seemed suprisingly mature, brown color at the rim, caramelized with a touch of oxidation even. Then opened the bottle (yes, the same one) a couple of weeks later and young and as fresh could be. I don't understand wine sometimes. On the first showing, hmmm, on the 2nd, a lovely, bright, drinkable, seriosu but not profound, wine.

10/14/2018 - abh wrote:

Piedmont Lunch: Oyster shell nose, fantastic acidity with complex, expressive, fruit, but avoiding excess ripeness. Very burgundian - I think I would have taken this for top Puligny blind.

10/14/2018 - abh wrote:

Piedmont Lunch: Surprisingly mature, browning, colour, and some quite caramelized, toffee-ish notes. In many ways the little brother of the the 90 Monfortino alongside: these showed a kinship that was very different to the Giacosa Barbaresco. I suspect other bottles might show younger and fresher than this one, but this is certainly fully ready to drink.

10/14/2018 - abh wrote:

Piedmont Lunch: An extraordinary wine, no doubt. Very open, incredibly expressive tar and roses nose, with some higher toned more volatile nots in there too. Incredibly umami, sweet and sour, palate, and just endless concentration and power, but with the structure well integrated. Incredibly long finish. While it has a long time to go, it also seems like a mature wine. One of the very great Barolos.

10/14/2018 - abh wrote:

Piedmont Lunch: Significantly more mature than when last drunk, but still quite a young and very fresh wine. Elegant, floral, nose with rose and violets, and quite understated. A different experience to the bigger wines alongside, but representative of the range of what great Nebbiolo can be.

10/9/2018 - abh wrote:

Very classic, balanced, not over mature: a sensible grown up alongside the rather wild, younger, Burlotto Monvigliero. Less memorable but more typical... In perfect condition, much more correct than a bottle 6 or 7 years ago.

10/9/2018 - abh wrote:

Slightly odd, musty, nose when first opened, which blew off completely with a couple of hours in the decanter. Amazingly ripe blackcurrant fruit underneath - almost like ribena - that again calmed down a bit. Delicious, fresh, structured but light bodied, but also quite atypical barolo... Perhaps the most extrovert bottle of Burlotto I've had, but not the most elegant.

8/23/2018 - abh wrote:

Back to being what it should be, and if anything a little tight. Really lactic nose, quite acidic and at its best with buttery, fatty, food. Next bottle will go with white fish in a beurre blanc. Last glass the best..

8/3/2018 - abh wrote:

For my taste marginally oxidized. Hmmmm.

7/16/2018 - abh wrote:

French Wine at Lunch, and with the World Cup final: Gosh. This bottle had not apparently been through many moves and all sorts of storage (one owner for at least 40 years), but was really going very strong indeed. So concentrated that the empty glass still had that amazing honeyed smell. Some caramelization, lots of bitter orange/marmalade, incredible balance between the acidity and sugar. Again, the kind of great wine that is a bit paradoxical - how can it be all those things at once?

7/16/2018 - abh wrote:

French Wine at Lunch, and with the World Cup final: A very promising, classic nose, dark and graphite-y but quite expressive. On the palate, really just a lot a lot of tannin - insanely young and wound up tight still. A 25-year wine at least, I think.

7/16/2018 - abh wrote:

French Wine at Lunch, and with the World Cup final: Quite an engaging, approachable, nose, with ripe, moderately dark fruits. Still evidently very young in the mouth, but not as unapproachable as I was expecting, and impeccably balanced. Young claret isn't really my thing but this was more than an academic exercise to drink now (unlike the Pichon-Baron alongside).

7/16/2018 - abh wrote:

French Wine at Lunch, and with the World Cup final: Absolutely stunning - the first serious 05 burgundy I've opened. Intense yet delicate raspberry fruit on the nose, just a little gamey funk beginning to show up, impeccable balance and still some tannin. A young wine for sure but not at all closed. Very very special wine and exemplifying everything I love in Burgundy.