4/13/2024 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Last bottle. Moving house so a departure celebration with family. Drank after 2 bottles of 2015. It soon disappeared.

3/24/2024 - Whidah Likes this wine:

I am moving house and orefer to drink up these okder bottles.

I read a lot of ifs and buts from those of you with more refined palates of mine. I have NO idea what “elegant” means, but if this wine is inelegant, I’m all for it.
Just delicious. That’s all you need to know

3/2/2024 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Vibrant berry nose. Full ripe fruit in the mouth. Perfect balance and lingering finish. Long our house favorite. Would not normally drink so young but an imminent move is forcing some cellar reduction.

2/24/2024 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Better and better. Hard to believe that a 32 year old wine has such youthful vitality.
Oh, but the cork, the cork. I have lots of experience with vintage port, but these narrow Taylor necks are a particular challenge, costing me 2oz of this precious nectar almost every time

2/7/2024 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Can I be the only member still drinking this? It has really blossomed into a delicious delicate and aromatic wine. It has lost the edginess that i found last note and has a decent finish.

12/31/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

New Years Eve 23. Last bottle, sadly. Long, luscious and wonderfully peppery. Just how a vintage port should be. Even at 26 years it has plenty of vivacity.

More that I, so drink up!

12/22/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Nothing new to say. Just gets better and better. Glad I still have some!

12/22/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Why not 100? I doubt I shall ever taste a better wine.

Drank with itinerant family on our pseudo Christmas Eve with a chicken mushroom casserole. Just stunning.

Followed with 2014 Domaine Drouhin Laurene which proved a worthy complement.

11/14/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Chugging along very nicely. Amazing value.

11/12/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Five years on. Maturing delighfully!

8/6/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Quite dark for a pinot. Lovely rose petal nose. Fruity but delicate in the mouth with soft silky tannins. Long lingering finish.

Bravo Veronique!

6/17/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Winderful nose of tropical fruit and spice. More muted in the mouth, but nicely balanced. decent finish. Nou up to the other Hemels I have tasted

6/16/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

This (one) bottle was opened in error. I had carelessly left it on the kitchen counter and some red was required. At least it went into a glass rather than a casserole!

Words fail me. I just don’t have the palate or vocab to describe the myriad subtle fruit notes that the rest of you write about so fluently. What I CAN say is this is the most stunning non Burgundian pinot I have ever tasted. Only the price gives me pause.

6/14/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

I must have been at some other party. Yes, a lovely fragrant nose and nicely balanced in the mouth. A very raw lingering finish disappoints. Youth perhaps? I don’t have the palate that delivers the myriad subtle fruit notes that others discern so effusively.

My summary is simply a quite delicious wine but with HUGE competition at this $60 price point,

Much better value from the Willamette and from Bourgogne Villages.

6/10/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

I’m drinking this much later than the rest of you. I bought 12 halves three years ago in a “fire” sale after an ownership change. Have only just opened the wooden case. A lovely mouthful and I echo most of the previous comments. A little on the light side to my taste though.

6/3/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Three years on. I could get high on the nose alone!
Just delicious and at its peak. Magnificent!

5/28/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Who knew decent pinot could be made in PA? Soft pinot nose, and light in the mouth but alanced and fruity. Not much length, but a very decent bottle.

5/27/2023 - Whidah wrote:

I’m a big Drouhin fan and if this is “poor man’s Burgundy” I am glad to be poor. 7 years seems perfect to me. Stunning. No other words necessary

3/5/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

So here we are, 8 years on. I’m so glad that I almost always buy by the case.

An 18 year old Bordeaux is a rare treat, and this particularly so.
Perfection.

3/3/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Dense purple, dark and brooding. Very concentrated fruit but still very tannic. Good potential but a long, long way to go.

2/14/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

What can one say? I so seldom drink such an old Bordeaux that I lack reference points. Uncorking was a struggle but no signs of oxidation. A good brick red still and a restrained but decent nose. Not much fruit left in the mouth, but harmonious with very soft tannins. Accompanied a rare filet mignon perfectly.
Last bottle.RIP!

2/4/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Nothing much more to say except this is bottle #9 opened on New England’s coldest day of the year.3 more to go

If you don’t yet know vintage port, this will get you hooked. Worth the splurge if you can find itt.

So be VERY careful about opening and decanting. ALWAYS a challenge but not always a success.

1/28/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Ever better, but the corks are weeping a little, urging drinking up. A wet cork comes out more cleanly though with patience. I judge this wine at perfection now and give it two more points. Still a few bottles remaining

1/11/2023 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Well worth a little more time in bottle. Dark red velvet color. Vibrant spicy cab nose. Explosive jammy mouthful with bags of licorce and vanilla and decent acid balance. Long luscious finish crying out for another sip.

12/30/2022 - Whidah wrote:

Lots of Zin berry character and quite drinkable but otherwise rather dull.

12/29/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Only California seems able to make such delicious young cab. As a lifetime Bordeaux addict, I have long been sceptical, but just love this wine. It’s a long way from a Bordeaux but in a positive way. Bounteous fruit with soft tannins. Just jumps out of the glass, and a steal at this price. Bravo 👏👏👏

12/18/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Drinking up. Four bottles left and unlikely to improve further. What better wine to round off Christmas? I have yet to have a clean cork extraction from a Noval. It slips into the bottle with the slightest of pressure. Easy enough to decant cleanly. There is a huge crust so necessary anyway. Irritating, but a small price to pay forso luscious and mature a port

12/12/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

I follow Jancis Robinson assiduously even though many of her recommendations are based on UK retail. This was her only recent recommendation available in my corner of MA and at $12:80, why not? A wonderful toasty caramel nose but a bit short in the mouth. Tannins overwhem the fruit and the finish is a bit edgy, but a decent bottle for the price

12/9/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

4 years on and better than ever. It is so long since I have drunk vintage port on a regular basis, it is hard now to remember some of those epic past experiences. As I approach my 80th birthday, I need to drink up these treasures. This is as good as I can imagine. Fresh and fruity on the tongue, tannins softened and well knit. Long luscious finish. The cork is a challenge and the sediment heavy, so do prepare and decant well ahead

11/24/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

A Thanksgiving Day treat. I can’t fault this wine in any way, especially in terms of value. Sure you could pick up another WS point or two for $200 and MAYBE get 5 times the enjoyment. But my own peasant palate would never notice the difference and it’s complementing our feast delightfully.

11/24/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

What better to open for Thanksgiving? Much improved from last year’s experience. Perhaps the wine or I was having a bad day. The nose leapt forth as I was decanting after a surprisingly clean cork extraction. Fresh soft fruits with caramel and a touch of cinamon. Colour rich with just a hint of yellow in the meniscus. Luscious blackcurrant in the mouth with an endless finish. Yum, pass it round again please.

11/21/2022 - Whidah wrote:

Nick for Thanksgiving

11/12/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Two years on and still 90. I wonder who has time to keep a wine for 28 years before opening? Even then, it’s a battle to get the cork out and decant reasonably cleanly. At a $75 retail price point there a lot of other delicious alternatives to choose from. I happen to feel that vintage port beats them all but how many of my children’s generation wll support this industry?

11/4/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

I forgive mature vintage port a lot, particularly the frustration of trying to get at it. A year on from my last bottle, nothing has changed, but please open and decant at least a day ahead. The bad news is that the cork, though clean, is as crumbly as ever. The good news is that the bottle has lain undisturbed for ten years, so the sediment is quite firmly attached to the glass andlittle wine is lost on decanting.
The wine itself is worth the effort. The violet nose takes time to develop and in the mouth there is just layer and layer of flavor with a long lingering caramel finish. Mmmm….pass the port please.

7/6/2022 - Whidah wrote:

Mark Adorney swap

7/6/2022 - Whidah wrote:

Mark Adorney swap

7/6/2022 - Whidah wrote:

Ark Adorney swap

7/5/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Rich straw color. Appealing tropical fruit nose. Rich and spritzy with peach and apricot. A touch of sweetness rounds it out. Delicious.

7/5/2022 - Whidah wrote:

Clean and crisp with a touch of spritz. Good riesling character but lacking complexity. A touch of residual sugar surprised. Good summer quaffer

6/8/2022 - Whidah wrote:

For Gayke’s party

4/26/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Opened for 53rd wedding anniversary. Infanticide! Still very young though at least the cork came out cleanly. Needed a good 30 minutes in the glass to open up with that voluptuous Taylor violet and pepper nose. A good spiced fruit mouthful but a tannic jolt for those unused to it. Long lingering finish. At least five more years before trying another!

4/3/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

I haven’t drunk nearly enough Burgundy to have a well tuned palate, but this strikes me as the right taste at half the price. Elegant, perfumed and tannis already resolved to my peasant palate.
If there is a better West Coast Pinot at this price point, I have yet to find it.

3/4/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Three years on and no change in score. Managed a clean cork extraction for once and the sediment stayed nicely packed so was able to decant 95%. Slow to open up in the glass but well worth the wait. Character much the same as previous note, but a touch more peppery which I do like.

2/20/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

So glad to see some fellow afficianados here apart from the last two commentators. I have drunk vintage port throughout my adult life and this is the finest Graham I have tasted. A gift to myself on my 79th birthday. I can only sympathize with those who find it wanting. Graham is not Taylor or Noval, known to be lighter and sweeter. Just right for a February night in New England.

2/12/2022 - Whidah wrote:

Three years on from my last note and better than ever!

2/5/2022 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Update. Little nose, at least at first. Much more balanced in the mouth with good fruit still and much softer tannins. A pleasure to drink.

1/22/2022 - Whidah wrote:

Just gets better and better but remaining bottles fewer and fewer. Paired with Bleu d’Auvergne this time at suggestion of cheesemaker. Not something I would ever have thought of, but stunning

12/30/2021 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Still going strong. Dark amber, very nutty, layer upon layer. Opened for Christmas. Made a nice contast to the port. Still two halves remaining.

12/27/2021 - Whidah Likes this wine:

2 years on and nicely developed. Tannins have softened and this seems to me a remarkable value. Quite surprised to see no other notes

12/10/2021 - Whidah Likes this wine:

Best value ($$ per WS point) in WS top 100 for 2021. Dense color, smoky nose, balanced mouthful and siky finish. All that for $16!