11/5/2014 - henkka Likes this wine:

I bought this directly from the producer in the summer of 2014. It tasted very good there but now, back home, it tasted even better.

Deep yellow color. Nose is tangy and spicy with lots of nutty tones. The palate is more restrained (if you can use that word with Vin Jaune) than I remembered. It's powerful, yes, but it was very well composed - nothing seemed to be out of place or disjointed. Very long aftertaste. Unsurprisingly this combined supremely well with Comté.

4/12/2014 - henkka Likes this wine:

I think this is a beautiful wine already and here I can say with confidence that in a few years it will be even better. It's elegant but it also has weight bringing some authority to it. Lovely.

Bright translucent red colour. Open nose with plenty of red fruits. There's some sweeter fruity notes also in the back. Overall crisp and elegant. The palate is a carbon copy of the nose. Bright red fruit with some bitterness especially in the aftertaste. Robust acidity, too. It leaves a very refreshing, uplifting feel in one's mouth. Excellent.

1/4/2014 - henkka Likes this wine:

It's been over a year since my previous bottle and there's been some chance. The grapefruity acidity is still there, but the wine seems to have gained a bit more composure with time - it's more whole now.

Curiously, after opening the bottle it reminded me of a BdB champagne(!) with some toasty, autolytic notes on the palate. My wife (with much more precise nose and palate than me) noticed the same, too. After two or three hours that changed and we were in the broader, more succulent honey / beeswax kind of environment.

All I can say that I really, really like this wine and I'm thrilled to hve a few more bottles stashed away.

12/29/2013 - henkka Likes this wine:

This is getting better and better (see my previous notes). It's now more integrated, more subdued and more elegant. There's still a lot going on here but it is very well composed and the rough edges that I found on earlier times are all gone. Very enjoyable.

10/13/2013 - henkka wrote:

Dark ruby red colour. Open and intensive nose. Blackcurrants, tobacco and a hint of smoke. The palate is mid-weight with firm acidity and a slightly bitter quality. Crispy red berries. Longish aftertaste is in line with the nose.

9/29/2013 - henkka wrote:

A challenging riesling. It has a very profound acidity that is, at least at this point, on the verge of being almost too much for me. It's powerful and big. Difficult to guess how this evolves with time. Kind of dry 'Auslese'.

Good straw yellow colour with a golden hue. Rich and wide nose with honeycomb and waxy aromas. Ripe tropical fruits. A touch of botrytis, even. The palate is, from the start, dominated by the acidity and this wine is all about the structure. No primary fruit - some pine apple and citrus creep in in only in the long aftertaste.

9/22/2013 - henkka Likes this wine:

A very drinkable wine that manages to be both simple and straightforward but, at the same time, have enough complexity to make it intriguing. Very pleasant.

Nice salmon / copper red colour. Open, mouthwatering and perky nose of red fruits. The palate is relatively light and fresh with good acidity. Red berries and a slight touch of bitter. Longish aftertaste. Refreshing.

9/15/2013 - henkka Likes this wine:

A great wine with no doubt a glorious future ahead. Deep dark red colour, almost black. Plentiful, open and only slightly toasted nose. A hint of coffee, but not no clear signs of oak which, most definitely, this wine has seen. I couldn't detect sweetness, fortunately, as it usually kills a wine for me. The palate is mid-weight with tannin coming through. Good acidity. Not really primary fruit but coffee / earthy flavours instead. Long aftertaste and no sweetness here either. A very fine wine.

8/29/2013 - henkka wrote:

In a blind tasting I could NEVER have guessed that this is syrah. I'm not sure what I would have guessed ... mencia perhaps - I just don't know. The point is that this wine is very different to what I have drunk so far but in a good way. Thumbs up!

Deep dark red colour, almost black. The nose is open with pronounced blueberry aromas with a hint of herbal /medicinal tones. Mid-weight on the palate. Flavours are mostly in line with the nose: inky, round blueberry. Acidity lurks underneath holding the palate together. Aftertaste is longish with some sweetness to it.

8/25/2013 - henkka wrote:

Very elegant and balanced wine. Top drinkability.

Translucent bright red colour. The nose is open with some smokiness and ripe red berries. Light to mid-weight on the palate with well controlled brisk acidity. A touch of oak but fresh and balanced.

8/22/2013 - henkka wrote:

This is a finegrained, linear riesling from the less-is-more side of the spectrum. Mostly about structure and not so much about fruity flavours. It would be nice to see how this develops with some cellaring.

Light straw yellow, almost colourless. Crisp, brisk and youthful nose with citrus and perhaps some currant leaf as well. Linear. The palate is clean and sappy. Flavour profile is restrained. Long and almost salty. Interesting.

8/20/2013 - henkka Likes this wine:

A beautiful champagne. Probably at its best for me right now as I did not come up with anything I would have wanted to change. We had this for our 15th wedding anniversary.

Golden colour. Open, round and softly developed nose. Loads of bruised apple and some autolytic aromas. The palate is beautifully developed and somewhat toasty. Apply slightly oxidised flavours. Aftertaste is long and repeats the features from the nose and palate nicely. Throughout there is fine acidity / mousse that carries the wine. Beautiful.

7/21/2013 - henkka Likes this wine:

Extraordinary wine. I'm no big fan of muscat as such but this wine was a revelation. It was great as such but the real wow emerged from how remarkably well it paired with a salad from grilled vegetables and mozzarella. One of the best - if not the best - wine-food combination I've experienced ever. So happy!

Straw yellow in color. The nose is wide open and it's full of floral, perfume-like aromas. A touch of citrus trying to emerge from underneath. Voluptuous. The palate is mid-weight, low in acidity and dry. Components from the nose are present here as well. Aftertaste is quite long and it somehow veers towards weissbier-like flavours.

7/20/2013 - henkka wrote:

It was too early for this wine as I think it will improve with short cellaring.

Dark purple colour. The nose is open and slightly toasty with quite a lot of berries and a slight mintiness. Youthful. On the palate it's rich and lush but with enough acidity to save it from being flabby. Berries here as well. Longish aftertaste.

6/22/2013 - henkka Likes this wine:

I really liked this wine. What makes it for me is the fact that it's on the tart side of things despite being sweet. There's this grilled or preserved lemon kind of aromas and flavors that intrigue me even though it's perhaps not the most complex wine around. Superb drinkability.

Deep yellow colour, verging to gold. Very intensive and youthful nose. Lemon rind, lime and some honey. Makes your mouth salivate. The palate is rich with the components from the nose nicely present: grilled / preserved lemon and lime together with proper acidity to keep things in balance.

6/21/2013 - henkka wrote:

It took a while for this wine to open up even after 4 hours decanting. When it finally did so, it revealed a very nice wine underneath. No rush to drink this, in my view.

Deep dark red colour. Intensive although still muted nose. What aromas do come through are smoky and deep, fruity tones (more cherries than blackberry). The palate is mid-weight with very good acid structure and tannins that are already somewhat soft around the edges. Rather compact and linear but long. Refreshing.

5/4/2013 - henkka Likes this wine:

Excellent example of a light bodied wine that is still profound. It's light but not insipid. And utterly drinkable. This is a wine that maintained its charm throughout the bottle.

Bright translucent red colour. Airy, open and fresh nose. Youthful and compact. The palate is light, aromatic and fresh. A touch of candylike spiciness. Aftertaste is crisp with some cherry tones.

4/14/2013 - henkka Likes this wine:

Nine months since my last bottle and it seems that this wine has settled very nicely. It has some qualities not unlike Condrieu in that it's relatively open, lush and floral. There is, however, a very nice grapefruity acidity that underpins the palate that comes through in the aftertaste, in particular. Very good.

3/31/2013 - henkka Likes this wine:

I'm glad I drank this now even though it's my last bottle. For me this wine is at its best right now - I get to say this way too seldom.

This wine is nicely developed: beautiful tertiary aromas but the backbone is still there to keep the wine vibrant. Furthermore, even though it's 14,5 % ABV it did not feel that rich or alcoholic at all. I could list a variety of attributes here (bacon fat, garrigue etc.) but the main thing with this wine right now is the gorgeous balance between developed aromas and the structure. Sheer pleasure.

3/29/2013 - henkka wrote:

For me this wine needed a good couple of hours decanting to open up at all. Balance was there quite nicely but I was looking for a bit more complexity - perhaps cellaring it for a while might do the trick.

Translucent ruby red colour. Open, perky and youthful nose. Crunchy red berries together with earthiness and a hint of smoke. The palate is mid-weight with substantial acidity and friendly tannins. Still somewhat closed.

3/28/2013 - henkka Likes this wine:

Excellent wine. The year and a half since my previous bottle has worked wonders. Exceptionally fine structure that underpins the palate all the way through the long aftertaste.

Light golden yellow colour. Open and opulent, slightly toasty nose. Bruised apple and a hint of spiciness - cinnamon maybe. Pleasant. On the palate it's the structure that comes through. Fine tension all the way. The elements from the nose are present, too, but in a very subtle way.

2/9/2013 - henkka Likes this wine:

A very nice slightly developed wine. I think this will improve further with a couple of years in the cellar even though it is already very enjoyable.

Translucent red colour with a slight hint of brick red in the rim. On the nose it's slightly developed, soft and very aromatic with even floral notes. Refined. The palate is mid-weight with a sustaining core of acidity that runs through the palate. The flavours run from round floral notes to quite crunchy bitterish (in a good way) in the end. Harmonious and long.

1/12/2013 - henkka wrote:

I liked this wine despite the fact that I would have liked to have a bit more backbone and vibrancy via acidity. Lemon yellow colour. Robust, thick and somewhat developed nose. Honey, ripe apricot and a whiff of petrol. The palate is fresh in spite of pronounced sweetness. Flavours lean towards apricot and honey - in line with the nose. Aftertaste is shortish and somewhat one-dimensional.

12/25/2012 - henkka wrote:

This is a good and pleasant wine although I'd like to see a bit more complexity. The colour is deep dark ruby red. Juicy, open and relatively youthful nose. Red berries together with some darker notes. The palate is mid-weight, compact and linear. Perhaps a bit one-dimensional right now but a nice wine anyhow. Longish aftertaste.

12/31/2012 - henkka Does not like this wine:

For me this wine has too much stuffing - I couldn't bring myself to drink a second glass. It's quite extracted with alcohol coming through a bit too heavily. It also leaves a slightly sweet aftertaste which is a no-no for me. Having said that I can fully appreciate why people who like bigger wines may enjoy this one. It has a very nice acid structure to keep the package together so it does not become flabby. But for me there's just too much of nearly everything here.

11/24/2012 - henkka wrote:

Very pleasant, enjoyable and balanced Chablis. I think I'll let my remaining bottles to rest for a while to hopefully gain some further complexity. Light straw yellow colour. The nose is fresh and open. Ripe pear and citrus notes. The palate is mid-weight with balanced acidity. It's slightly round on the edges, perhaps due to the slight oak and vanilla flavours. Underneath there's salty minerality that becomes more substantial the further the aftertaste lasts.

12/12/2012 - henkka wrote:

First bottle was faulty: closed tart nose and thin, acidic, shallow and bitter taste. Fortunately my second bottle was better. Crunchy depth in both the nose and palate. It was still quite acidic and dry but an enjoyable bottle nevertheless. I've heard others commenting on the wide bottle variation.

11/14/2012 - henkka wrote:

Deep golden colour. Intensive, deep nose with honey and ripe mango. Also lemon, both fresh and preserved. The palate is rich, full and sweet but acidity cuts through the volume brilliantly. Slight tingling sensation on the tip of the tongue. Ripe fruit (mango, pine apple). Leaves a bright and light feeling in the mouth. Over all a very enjoyable and balanced wine. Nice.

11/11/2012 - henkka wrote:

This wine has gone serious since my previous bottle maybe two years ago. It's now all about structure; somewhat developed, salty, savoury and pure. What used to be a relatively simple wine has developed a real character. Shame I have only one bottle to go.

Lemon yellow colour. Slightly developed, waxy nose with a whiff of petrol. Lemon zest as well. Nice. The palate is surprisingly rich and complex. Great structure and almost nothing else - no evident primary fruit, just an afterthought of lime. Nice acidity and salty qualities. Aftertaste is quite long, focused and fine.

10/28/2012 - henkka wrote:

This is a light and elegant wine, but maybe a bit too much so. For me it's hard to get grip of it and it kind of slips through the fingers. Perhaps I should have opened it a bit earlier. Bright, translucent red colour with brownish rim. Light, developed nose that seems to be holding back somehow. Dry red berries, liquorice and medicinal herbs. On the palate it's light, developed with average acidity. Herbs from the nose are here as well. Shortish aftertaste.

10/26/2012 - henkka wrote:

A balanced, linear and quite crunchy wine. This is all about structure and there seems to be certain inner tension lifting this wine. It may be a bit closed right now and I think there might be some further complexity ahead with a short cellaring. All-in-all a very enjoyable wine.

Dark ruby red colour. The nose is open with clear funky barnyard aromas together with some cherry and smoky notes. It's very forward but manages to just keep it together. On the palate it's mid-weight with pronounced acidity. There's only little meat around the backbone but what's there works very nicely in a lean manner. It's linear with good, uplifting tension. Aftertaste is long with a slightly bitter tone.

10/14/2012 - henkka wrote:

This wine has always been a pleasure to drink but I think it has now reached the perfect drinking state for me. It's nicely developed and shaped up with more complexity for a wine that was quite fruit forward in its youth. For me there's no reason to hold back with my remaining bottles.

Deep lemon-yellow colour. On the nose it's quite fragrant with developed, savoury notes. Right after opening the bottle there was quite pronounced petrol scent but after a while that disappeared and was replaced by this waxy, surprisingly complex array of aromas. Below there was some fruity aromas (white currants) left as well. The palate is rich and dry with not many primary flavours left. Concentrated and, once again, pleasantly complex. Nice, round acidity. Longish aftertaste.

10/7/2012 - henkka wrote:

Very classic Mosel off-dry spätlese. I was hoping for a bit more complexity, though, so I think I'll hold on to my remaining bottles for a while. I bought this directly from the weingut in October 2011 and this was the youngest vintage in the tasting there so I think I can wait with confidence.

Straw yellow colour. Open, opulent and slightly developed nose. Meadow flowers, apple and some peach / nectarine as well. A touch of petrol. The mouthfeel is rich due to the residual sugar. Despite that this wine leaves a very fresh and light sensation in the mouth, so has to be quite a lot of acidity even though it's not very evident. Apple and peach here as well.

10/3/2012 - henkka wrote:

Dark red colour. Youthful and open on the nose. Loads of soft fruit (blueberries) and a touch of floral aromas and vanilla. The palate is quite similar to the nose with soft and relatively round fruit with some herbs. There's enough acidity, though, to brighten up the taste. Longish aftertaste. Good but not more than that.

9/21/2012 - henkka wrote:

I really liked this a lot: it's quite sophisticated right now with burgundian qualities. It's also in a very drinkable phase right now but I suspect it might even improve a bit with year or two in the cellar. The colour is translucent bright ruby red with a brick red rim. On the nose it's open and very fragrant with red berries, floral notes and slight touch of darker, smoke-like aromas. The palate is mid-weight and fresh with the components from the nose copied here nicely. There's brisk acidity that sustains the tension long into the aftertaste. This leaves a very refreshing feeling. Excellent.

9/8/2012 - henkka wrote:

My experience with marsanne-roussanne blends is limited but based on this wine I definitely need to explore further. From the first sip to the last this wine had the relatively rare ability to hold up my interest. In other words the drinkability factor is very high here despite the fact that this wine is quite big. The balance is just on the spot for me. Excellent.

Lemon yellow colour. Open, wide, ripe but youthful nose. Plenty of ripe fruit (mango, maybe) together with some sweet vanilla. Rich and a tad toasted. The palate is also rich and you can note the alcohol beneath. Despite this the wine somehow manages to be fresh. There's viscosity and width in the mouthfeel but the acidic backbone keeps this wine beautifully together enabling the richer flavours to come to the front without being clumsy. Aftertaste is relatively long.

9/9/2012 - henkka wrote:

This was a pleasant, slightly developed wine but it didn't leave any more profound imprint. Dark red core with brick red rim. The nose is open with somewhat developed aromas. In addition to black berries some smoky / leathery tones. On the palate it was relatively rich with decent acidity. Flavours coincided well with the nose. Longish, warm aftertaste.

7/25/2012 - henkka wrote:

Lemon yellow colour. Open and rich on the nose. Citrus notes (tangerine) and some lavender. A hint of vanilla.The palate is mouthfilling and rich but there's also loads of acidity which leans towards salty qualities rather than the citrus on the nose. Long aftertaste. Perhaps a bit angular right now but all and all a very nice wine.

7/20/2012 - henkka wrote:

This champagne has quite a lot of stuffing for a BdB from Le Mesnil but it manages to hold the act together. I'd say this is in a very nice stage right now. Disgorged in July 2011.

Straw yellow colour. Relatively open and somewhat evolved nose. There's some toasty roundness (but not much) but overall it leaves a very composed impression. The palate is quite rich and dry with good acidity. The flavours are almost carbon copy of the nose with restrained roundness. Aftertaste is compact and long.

7/18/2012 - henkka wrote:

No notable change since my previous bottle (my notes 23.10.2011). This is still a youngster brimming with crunchy, mouthwatering red fruit and a bitter bite both on the nose and the palate. Beautiful wine with most likely a beautiful future ahead of it.

7/17/2012 - henkka wrote:

I'm glad I opened this now as it is in a sweet spot for me. It shows signs of age very nicely but still has just enough backbone through acidity and alcohol to keep the package together. Very nice and if I had more of this wine I'd drink it pretty soon.

Dark red colour. Open and developed nose. Plenty of herby medicinal aromas as well as liquorice. Some coffee notes, too. Complex and nice. On the palate it's rich, evolved and round - somehow dusty as well. Lots of garrigue flavours. Quite high in alcohol but that together with decent acidity keeps the palate together.

7/16/2012 - henkka wrote:

This wine seems to need time either in the cellar or in an open bottle as it showed much better on day 2. On day 1 the nose was already quite open and expressive but the palate was somehow subdued. There was the backbone from acidity but the flesh around it was missing. Different story on day 2: beautiful ripe flavours of mango, honey and ripe pear in nice balance with acidity. Good stuff.

7/6/2012 - henkka wrote:

Even though this wine has some signs of age it's still remarkably youthful. There is some waxy roundness in the nose but the main characteristic at this stage is still the citrus fruit with some hints of lower notes via orange rind sort-of aromas. The palate follows the nose closely with lime and maybe nutty type of development. Good already but I will have no hurry with my remaining bottles.

6/24/2012 - henkka wrote:

Still a youngster that needs some time stashed away, at least for me to rise above average. It's dense and concentrated and definitely has the prerequisites to improve via cellaring.

Dark ruby red colour with a hint of brick red on the rim. The nose is open, youthful and intensive. Loads of ripe fruit and tobacco. The palate is rich with alcohol coming through. Good acidity with mouth-drying tannins. Fruit is mainly red but with some darker tones as well. Aftertaste is longish and slightly bitter. This wine leaves a warm feeling in the mouth.

6/23/2012 - henkka wrote:

Very good if still a bit restrained wine that falls far on the savory side of things. The nose does not really promise much (at least I got next to nothing out of it) but on the palate it's already absolutely enjoyable. Could very well be that this wine will be in top form in maybe after a year or even two years.

Straw yellow colour. The nose is muted and somehow a bit dusty. There is fruit there but it's hard to pinpoint exactly what. Wet stone. The palate, on the other hand, is intensive and powerful. Pronounced acidity leaps from the glass. Focused and bone dry. Aftertaste is linear, average in length and leaves extremely fresh and bright sensation.

6/19/2012 - henkka wrote:

I'm not really a seasonal wine drinker (white in the summer, red in the winter) but on this one I have to say that this wine is summer in the bottle. This is very fragrant, aromatic and open on the nose with crispy fruit and even perfume-like aromas as well. On the palate it's mid-weight, dry and refreshingly acidic. It starts with green aromas (grass, green apple; not unripe aromas) and evolves towards vanilla and medow flowers. Very nice if unexpected combination of sauvignon blanc and moscato.

5/13/2012 - henkka wrote:

Right now this wine is probably in a not that approachable stage. I think, though, that waiting a couple of years might open the wine up a bit. Decanted for five hours. Ruby red colour. The nose is intensive and big. Spices and meatiness but also some soft smokiness. On the palate it's relatively rich with average acidity. Alcohol comes through a bit with some mouth drying tannins. Somewhat one-dimensional right now.

5/7/2012 - henkka wrote:

This vintage is probably the best of the four vintages (-06 to -09) that I'm familiar with. Plenty of mouthwatering fruit countered by excellent acidity - in short excellent balance. This is a great wine that should develop gracefully for at least the next five years. Beautiful effort.

Translucent ruby red colour. Very fragrant, fresh, youthful and intensive nose. Loads of bright red fruit together with a hint of smokiness. Mouthwatering. On the palate it's mid-weight and dry with easy tannins. Here, too, there's crunchy red fruit that's a tad bitter. Great balance.

5/5/2012 - henkka wrote:

This riesling shows already signs of evolution but also seems a bit closed right now. Hard to say how it will evolve from this point on, but I'll keep my two remaining bottles unopened for a while if only for academic interest.

Deep lemon yellow colour. Quite intensive, developed and wide nose. The palate is relatively rich and dry with average acidity. There are not much fruit flavours left. Developed. The aftertaste is average in length.

4/30/2012 - henkka wrote:

Quite straightforward rosé with not very much complexity to it. We drank this as such but I suspect this might fare much better with some food to accompany it as it has quite a few characters close to 'normal' wine instead of a sparkler.

Beautiful copper brown colour. Plenty of small bubbles. The nose is open and relatively wide with nice layer of red berries. Quite youthful as there are virtually no hints of autolysis. The palate follows the same pattern with crunchy red berries, mid-weight body with dry and fresh taste to it. Longish aftertaste is compact.