4/21/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Bright mid gold. Nose has some passionfruit and other tropical notes with some herbaceousness. A little bit of sauvignon pong but not off-putting or surprising given the age. Nice weight. No sense of drying out or oxidation. Really delicious if you like aged Loire sauvignon.

4/21/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Colour still bright and deep. What leaps out of the glass are the lactones of a heavy oak toast. The fruit is fine and pretty, but unfortunately submerged. Medium bodied. Finishes dry and cleanly. Would be quite lovely were it not for the overdone oak.

4/18/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Browning. Fully developed nose. Cedar and blackcurrant, but dialed back. Little else. Quite long but a little lean. Drink up.

4/14/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

I liked this quite a lot. It smelled really quite ripe--more tropical than grassy--but the palate is on the lean side with plenty of acidity.

4/14/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Completely agree with king-bing. The Wine Soc have been promoting this recently but it has definitely peaked and probably lost more than it has gained through keeping. Post script: half bottle stored in appropriate bottle was more lifted and floral the next day. More convincing and an upgrade to 86 pts.

4/8/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Still very pale. Nose predominantly of white grapefruit. Very little in the way of green notes. The palate is tight, concentrated and structured. I've only begun to appreciate the ageing potential of Loire sauvignons, and I see plenty of up-side here--maybe 5 years.

4/7/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Agree largely with seeyouintee though I didn't get quite such a rich and varied palate. I wondered whether cab franc might be showing through. It feels like the product of a cooler year. There's lots of sinew and structure, but I wonder whether there is quite enough fruit to bring even a madiran notion of balance with age. Bring out the confit de canard!

4/4/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Initially pleasant and mildly interesting, but to me an unsatisfactory, pinched finish became increasingly prominent. A common theme, especially in cheaper Aussie reds, where it seems some combination of screwcap and/or added acidity causes a failure of integration.

4/1/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Plenty of colour still with some browning. Nose seems mature, but pyrazines rather than tertiary other than some general sense of farmyard. Palate is okay. Some weight and refinement. Just doesn't manage to reach beyond the limitations of the vintage.

3/31/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Quite dark but now showing slight browning. I'm a huge fan of this peppery, light red. Serve it slightly chilled. Fully ready.

3/31/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Loads of fun. Bubbles almost imperceptible. Not especially varietal. Off-dry. But somehow it all just comes together.

3/31/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

It's the weight and sense of grip (as other tasters noted) that impresses here more that the stone-fruited and pretty but slightly anonymous nose. Ready.

3/31/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Pretty, pale crimson. Pure red-fruited nose, but nothing simple. Delicate, precise palate. Just delicious. The idea of purity and precision just keeps coming back to me. Delicious. Wish I had a whole lot more.

3/26/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Delicious baked nectarine nose. Palate weight with no sense of drying, though I wouldn't risk holding longer. The interesting thing was that the label said 2009 but the cork was stamped 2008. I believe the former as I bought it with other 09 bottles, but I can't be completely sure now of the vintage, though the opulence suggests 09 as well.

3/26/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Cleanly made. Quite a lot of colour still, but the fruit has gone and I just didn't find much else. Seemed a little hard even. Okay, but this bottle just lacked charm.

3/26/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Super delicious. Very full, clean varietal nose. Full-bodied with low acidity. Finishes cleanly. No sign of fading.

3/26/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Mid gold. Has the tell-tale orange peel nose mixed with a general spiciness. Full bodied but ends well. Lacks complexity of the very best.

3/22/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Attractive pale crimson. Nose of dried strawberries and raspberries amongst delicate earthiness. Light-medium weight. Nicely poised. Finest finished. Just so fine and drinkable. Nothing forced.

3/17/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

I enjoyed this much more than a year ago. No hollowness, just a lovely round, developed waxiness. Ready.

3/11/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Deep purple. A rather simple nose of boysenberry jam. I did't detect varietal tempranillo (or grenache). Medium-full bodied. Finishes fairly quickly with some excess sweetness. Chatters (below) appears to have found this all too much, but I found it the right side of enjoyable if only just.

3/11/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

I note the previous reviewers disappointment at the variability and apparent excessive age on one bottle, but I seemed to have hit the jackpot here. Not especially dark. Well defined nose of lime, wax and passionfruit. Light-medium weight. Loads of refreshing acidity. Worth taking a punt.

3/11/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Dark fruit. I don't get much carmenere lift. Medium full. Not overly complex. Clean, easy drinking.

3/11/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Nose is much more stone-fruited than green/vegetal. Medium weight. The acidity is there, finishing fresh and cleanly without any aggressiveness. Ready.

3/11/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Some quite attractive dark fruit but a bit pinched on the palate. Ready.

3/6/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Clean entry level wine with a bit of varietal character.

3/2/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Dark coloured. Rich nose. More spice than fruit. Palate almost thick but finishes with finely resolved tannins. Very drinkable.

2/26/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Colour fading as expected. Nose of sour cherry and leather. Mostly tertiary. Silkiness on the palate with immediate sense of sweetness ending just a little sour, but not enough to detract. VA? Overall real finesse and almost delicacy.

2/26/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Very pale still. Not a lot of nose. Maybe a lot of sulphur or just not enough fruit. Some oak. Recognisably chardonnay but mid-palate is lean and overall impression is a sense of chalkiness. Not that pleasant. Work in progress.

2/26/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Quite soft and developed. Simple rather confected nose.

2/24/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Curiosity lead me to keep this until 10 years old. Losing some fruit. Not dead. A bit more hard-edged and less enjoyable than the previous bottle four years ago.

2/24/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Peachy. Some weight and grip even. Fully evolved. Pleasant drinking.

2/19/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Orange gold colour. Nose richer--more pinot-like than in the past. Fine bubbles. Still with the hallmark delicacy on the palate.

2/19/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Fully mature--perhaps slightly over. Lightness combined with all the mahogany warmth you could hope for. Finishes cleanly.

2/19/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Colour as anticipated. Nose attractive. Some lift. Not over complex. Palate ends surprisingly firmly. A by-product of the year perhaps?

2/19/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Surprisingly deep purple in colour. Nose of simple red fruits--cranberry mostly. Palate light and fresh but well done. Served slightly cooled.

2/17/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Developing a leatheriness but not necessarily more interesting. Not falling apart but I preferred it with more fruit .

2/13/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Corked.

2/12/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Interesting to see the JR-linked scores ranging from 15.5-17.5 for such a young wine. The challenge seems to be whether one can embrace the austerity or not. Personally, I couldn't find sufficient fruit or weight to envisage this coming properly into balance.

2/12/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Pale colour--not the densest or brightest. Slightly stewed nose while somehow also lacking true fruit ripeness. A little sweetness on the palate but otherwise well handled. Just a tiny bit disappointed that this doesn't display better fruit and acidity.

2/12/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

I agree with other tasters that this is drinking well and GV. Ripe year, but still retaining cab franc fragrance and freshness. Medium weight. Good length. Not about to fall apart but it probably isn't going to get much better with keeping further.

2/12/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Quite golden. Rich scents--some rosewater, but not excessive. Palate full, off-dry, languid. Very gluggable.

2/12/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

This bottle had a couple extra years on it. Mid-gold. Large bubbles. Rich nose--baked apple and plum. Seems pinot dominant. Full. Not especially long.

2/9/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Reviewed previously in 2014 and 2021 this shows consistency. Lovely, easy drinking, if not the most complex or concentrated. Not showing any sign of over-development.

2/9/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Slightly muddy appearance. Nose similarly lacking definition. Nothing obviously wrong but just unexciting. I have found these Geynales frustratingly inconsistent across several vintages and only hope that recent years show improvement.

2/9/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Points here for pleasure. Dark, not opaque. Nose of black fruits and tar. Medium weight. Grip but it isn't fierce. Intelligently done. Not competing with Madiran in style. Good value and ready.

1/30/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

This was worth the wait of three years. It is not quite fully developed but it has a nose of lemon, lime and lightly toasted oak. Palate is intense, fresh and long. This has fleshed out. Likely to peak in a couple years.

1/28/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

This didn't come across as spirity--unlike my previous notes--but it was just somehow rather flat. No real delineation on the nose. If anything a slight cardboard note, but not enough to say it was faulty. Palate fine if not spectacular.

1/27/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Weakly varietal nose. Lactic. Lacks concentration. Not exactly unpleasant but certainly doesn't get the heart racing.

1/27/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Purple. It screams purple. A strong nose reminding me of an old hybrid, carbonique or just a purple sweet. Soft and insubstantial on the palate. Some kind of exaggerated nothing.

1/27/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:

Under-powered, under-ripe and over-priced.