4/15/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Mellow, delicate and refined. Hay, unripened pear, melon, quince, yellow/white flowers. Slightly rounded palate. Easy drinking and attractive.

4/15/2024 - nwebstar wrote:

Disappointing flawed….colour perfect but tasted of vinegary rotten eggs.

4/15/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Tremendously fresh, tremendously enjoyable. Ageless colour - deep red and crimson. Lovely deep savoury wine….olives and cardamom/clove complexity as a backdrop for dark fruits (blackberry). Still a tough of puckery tannins. Feels like at least 10 years further in it.

4/11/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

From my own cellar and a cracking good wine. Colour beautifully fresh - bright dark cherry with crimson tinges. Needed about 20-30 mins in the glass to reveal its full beauty. Deep, balanced and structure. Great fruit - plums and mixed berries. Peerlessly structured. Sweet/warm spices and slight meaty savouriness. Superb.

4/4/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Surprised how much I enjoyed this wine. It was very balanced in every way. Lovely mid weight wine. Good structure. Nice blend of fruit and savoury nuances. Cherries and Red/Black Plums. Leather, Herbs & Spice and a slight earthiness. Just a great experience.

3/30/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Stylish, bright, youthful but closed. Look vibrant, cherry red in the glass. Lovely flavoured cherry and dark fruit, leather and warm spices but didn’t release its fruit. Like an elegant beauty just having a bad night - all the promise was there.

3/29/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Pretty, elegant and stylish. Fresh colour for its age with just gentle golden hues. White flowers, lychees, melon, green apple with light honeyed notes. Gentle and integrated - rounded mouth feel.

3/28/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Pleasant enough but for me lacked freshness and structure. Tasted overly smooth and integrated for its age and a little lacking in overall character. Nice enough by stylistically not my favourite type of wine. It tasted warm and smooth. Like everything was blended but lacking distinction. Nice enough but not great.

3/28/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

A testament again to Penfolds age-ability. This was a delight and still even had an edge of fresh acidity to it. Classic aged red with lovely red and black fruit, soft textures and alluring secondary flavours of spice and savoury wood. One of those wines that drew you back for more.

3/11/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

What a nice surprise. We bought this bottle at the Chateau some years ago - this being their 2nd wine I can only imagine that we had enjoyed tasting it. The wine was deep in colour and in taste. Blackberries, violets and chocolate perhaps a little well integrated cedar. Fresh tannins still present at the edge. A delightful wine that got better in the glass.

3/10/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Lovely balanced acidity. Fresh, round/oily yet still delicate. Tropical and red apple notes and nutty with herbs. Engaging straw tinged green summery colour. Very easy drinking

3/10/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Big, deep and powerful but well structured and totally delicious. Nice balance of fruit and savoury nuances. Layered and complex. Plums, berries and tar. Classic high quality Australian shiraz. Many years still in it.

3/10/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Very elegant and quite floral. Tasted like it had a Viognier twist. Nicely stylish - balanced between sweet and dry. Vioiets and plums.

1/23/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Still quite fresh - a classically WA Bordeaux blend. Dark fruited and nicely evolved. Good complexity. Plentiful fruit but nicely elegant with some savoury nuances. Good structure

1/23/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

What a sleeper of a wine - I rarely drink this wine but it always positively surprises. Initially a bit sweet, almost syrupy, but this blew off to reveal a very good wine. It stood proudly with some excellent Bordeaux, top Nth Rhône & Aussie 1st Classifieds. Plum, chocolate, pepper, dry herbs. Lovely balance and structure.

1/23/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

From a friend’s cellar and presented really beautifully. Ultra smooth and aged (maybe a little more so than expected) but delightful. Blackberries, blueberries chocolate, leather, cedar, warm (sweet and dry) spices. Balanced and easy. Quite powerful and deep - a nice salute to the 2005 vintage.

1/23/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Opened and initially tasted of plum and was very tightly acidic - it tasted very young and almost a bit green. Colour distinctly deep purple. Decanted for 2-3 hrs and it then surprised with its cool elegance. Still tight and savoury but more blueberries and smoother (one person thought it was left bank bdx). Beautifully balanced and supremely sophisticated. Great but you could probably wait another 5-10 years to open it.

1/19/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Unique and uniquely beautiful. Dark coloured and flavoured. Blackberries, black currants meets blueberries and dark plums. A lovely savoury red. Hints of graphite and inkiness - also olive, chocolate & violets. Firm fresh tannins alluding to a long life still. Beautiful, depth, power and structure. Beguiling.

1/1/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

For me this wine out delivered its ‘village’ heritage. Deep, dark and in perfect shape still. Dark coloured and flavoured. A blend of blackberries and red cherry with chocolate and dry herbs. Still quite youthful in structure. Most enjoyable.

1/1/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Once again superb. Great fruit and structure. Quite deep and dark for a burgundy. Blackberries, dark cherries and plum with a little leather and mushroom. Ageless in its initial presentation in the glass. Very good.

1/1/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

This wine presented ultra youthful and fresh - barely a tinge of age in the colour. Very special in that it was young fresh but also aged. It was long and rounded but youthful and acidic. Lemons meets apples but with a core thread of mellower rounded flavours. Persistent but tight. Really lovely - a multi dimensional treat.

1/1/2024 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Better than last tasting. This bottle presented fresher. Just a pleasant touch of gold in the colour. Balanced. Apricots, melon, nuts and honey. Great mouth feel. Delicate, long and rounded but still somehow fresh.

12/16/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

For me this wine virtually never fails to deliver. Looked so young straw and green in the glass. I realised this wine has a Chablis-esque quality - a fresh splash of the ocean in its taste. Grassy herbaceousness, white flowers, apples, pears - lovely balanced (but still fresh) acidity but with an ethereal textural roundness (the ageing semillon?). Just a perfect harmony between the grape varieties and delivering like a symphony. Enjoyed with fresh seafood (oysters/prawns).

12/11/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Lovely easy darker fruited (and colour) Pinot which suited my palate. Very pure, fruit driven and easy.

12/10/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Still in great shape. Colour dark with only a little edge of transparency and bricking alluding to age. Dark cherry and darker black fruit with a slight burnt tar savoury (tobacco, leather) complexity. Great depth and balance. Nicely balanced between power and elegance. Very stylish.

12/10/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Great fresh straw/green colour. Very fresh citrus (lemon), salty flavours with just a hint of rounded age. Very good.

12/10/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Walks an engaging line between elegant evolved sophistication and fresh bright acidity. Gentle white/yellow fruits and flowers with just a hint of lemony acidity. Beautifully balanced.

12/10/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

This had evolved beautifully. Golden colour but probably still fresher than expected. Lovely evolved smooth, honey, buttery flavours but nicely light with still some acidity. Melon, apple and white/yellow flowers. Danced on the palate. Very good.

12/10/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

One of the best red burgundies I have - delivered above expectation. Very fresh classic Pinot colour. Great depth, fruit, structure and complexity. Beautiful experience. Cherries and darker fruit lovely savoury spicy complexity. Great example of a good vintage. Still years in it.

12/10/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Richly fruited but quite stylish aged Shiraz. Dark plums and black berry. Perhaps a bit loose in frame and lost a bit of appeal/structure after 2-3 hrs of being open.

12/9/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Very impressive aged Cabernet. Youthful colour for age. Classic black blue fruit. Boldly fruited and big in style but still neatly structured.

12/8/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Classic bold Australian Cabernet in great condition right from the open. Colour quite vibrant still and taste followed. Still had good life to it. (On blind taste one person initially guessed a 5-10 yo Cabernet).

Black and blue fruited, a little savouriness and warm spiced. Lovely mellow full fruited flavour. Very more-ish.

I have professionally stored this wine since purchase in the year of release.

I was pleasantly surprised just how good this was. A reward for cellaring. When superbly with bbq steak.

11/30/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Perfectly cellared for many years and felt rewarded for it. Quite an enjoyable aged wine experience. Colour still quite deep. Initially closed, then porty, then balanced. Took a good hour to come into itself. (Definitely outshone 2015 Lakes Folly). Black currant and cedar. Still some lively acidity.

11/30/2023 - nwebstar wrote:

375ml and disappointing vs usual experience with this wine. Surprising light in colour and lacking in flavour depth and balance. Very red fruited, tart and volatile. Drunk over 3 hours and if anything deteriorated. I hope future bottles (I have a few) show better.

Subsequently I saw that Lakes Folly website designated this vintage simply as “Wet” and didn’t give it a rating or drinking window. I suspect this all points to it being a rare very poor vintage. Looking at other notes (mostly older) maybe it hasn’t developed well either.

11/18/2023 - nwebstar wrote:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Quite a weak showing relative to other. Dry, green, unbalanced.

11/18/2023 - nwebstar wrote:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Surprisingly evolved and rounded. Lacked structure and freshness.

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): A bit weak, dry and green. Lacked depth and appeal. Re-tasted 3 times because this is a long term favourite. Perhaps best taste was a 90-91. Quite disappointing.

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Dry and lacking character and appeal

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): A little empty in the mid and back palate. Not particularly appealing

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Most interesting and perplexing. Quite a volatile showing. I felt I detected a sense of greenness but then also a burnt fruit finish. Possibly the most tannic of all wines tasted. Presented with a very fresh light colour - almost Pinot Noir esque. Hard to predict how this will play out.

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Pleasant but a little empty and dry.

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Interesting 95% Merlot showing. Pleasant and balanced but lacking a little depth, breadth.

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Initially quite light and volatile but with just a little extra time in the glass with balanced out and was quite classical and even showed a bit of extra depth.

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Quite neatly balanced and classical. Good value.

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Very balanced and very classical. Very pleasant. Outshone other classified growths 92-93

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): very balanced very classical. Like a very good wine from a slightly lesser vintage.

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Clearly built more for early drinking but incredibly approachable and unlike others great depth of fruit and completeness of taste. Still a good tannic frame suggests years ahead.

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Not quite great but credible and balanced. Some reflection of the vintage in depth and length. 93-94

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Lovely depth in taste and colour. Stood out in quality. Just a little volatile unintegrated at the edge. Felt like will get better and better and could be great in time. Probably deserved another point for potential. 93-94

11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Another standout. Deeper coloured. Good depth of flavour, lovely acid frame. Very complete and enjoyable. Will get even better. Very classy. 94-95