1/11/24, 1:42 AM - Morning old stick. I do remember this wine very clearly. It was truly delicious. My instinct is that no, I would not age this wine more than 8 years. I would expect the peak to be 5, which is perhaps why it's so luscious, balanced, lively and expressive at this point. The *ingredients* for ageing are there (acidity, fruit, residual sugar), but the wine is too subtle and delicate for long-term evolution that brings new depths and richness worth waiting for.So I would buy good vintages and drink them at 3-5 years to get the most life out of the wine.I felt very privileged to taste it and I would seek out more PG from Alsace, and certainly this winemaker. I was told there is "good" PG in Australia but I won't be going down that road. Apparently also Oregon does good PG, but again, unless I get a very good reference, I will ignore this tip.
1/3/24, 6:29 AM - Thank you, your notes are great too!
12/29/23, 4:00 AM - Hi Marco, I just checked my original notes and yes this is what I wrote. The score does seem rather high for a Langhe Nebbiolo, I agree. But the Burlotto wines I tasted that day (at the winery) were simply extraordinary.
11/29/23, 12:25 AM - Oh of course, of course - what was I thinking! Thanks for the correction!
11/14/23, 12:57 AM - Keep smacking that gob!
11/14/23, 1:03 AM - Better start saving up then.
11/14/23, 1:01 AM - I was thinking more voles, shrews, ermine, that sort of thing.
11/14/23, 12:59 AM - Bof!
11/14/23, 12:59 AM - I fully agree - this is a serious wine and dare I say it, a canny investment.
11/14/23, 12:53 AM - To be fair I do owe the wine one thing: I thoroughly enjoyed writing the review.
11/13/23, 2:19 PM - How wonderful! Thank you for the compliment. I'm jealous of your majestic '85!
11/13/23, 6:30 AM - Hi @Bruket, no, it was just poured direct from bottle. I don't know how long Franco had it open before it was poured. The temperature was perfect cellar temperature, if anything slightly chilled.
7/8/23, 3:43 AM - For sure!
5/23/23, 1:26 AM - Hi @JRavn, what a lovely thing to say, thank you! Delicious wine, though!
3/7/23, 12:51 AM - Hi @RickyT12, thanks for your comment. The answer is because scores aren't there to reflect personal tastes, but objective qualities. If they just reflected what people like and don't like, scores wouldn't have any value. I am personally indifferent at best and allergic at worst to Cabernet Sauvignon, but this prejudice shouldn't be reflected in the score. I can appreciate how this wine is very exciting for many people. What is astringent and angular for me represents "powerful structure" for someone else. So I need to reflect this reality in a score that shows why this wine isn't a complete failure, but has numerous redeeming qualities. One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist, right?
12/2/22, 5:07 AM - Hi @JohnTelford - I don't think I decanted it at all... I don't remember decanting it.
1/3/23, 3:11 AM - Hi Herschel, thank you for your thoughtful remarks. I do think that Musar's eccentricity is its charm. I think 2010 is an exciting vintage, but it is opening up early, so I do think it's wise to open one just in case it's peaking now. Your tastes might not be like mine, though, and there's always the possibility you think it's young. I think 2010 is wonderful and I am ready for another one!
7/12/22, 7:34 AM - Hi John, yes, it was a dark, rich orangey amber colour. Luminous and warm.
3/11/22, 8:52 AM - A fascinating wine! Such a deep, enveloping, memorable experience.
3/11/22, 8:03 AM - Hi @zimmy07 - well it depends what you like. I am not a huge Cabernet Sauvignon /Left Bank Bordeaux fan in general. But I really like Cab Sauv with good age on it. Very few grapes age so well - Tempranillo and Nebbiolo perhaps compete with Cab. So I like what happens after 25, 30 years. The '05 is still vigorously young. I think it will start to show real depth and beauty around maybe 2030? I think it's worth waiting! But it's a matter of personal taste. Many people like that youthful power. I prefer the depth and the mystery of age.
3/11/22, 8:43 AM - Always great to share and compare! Thank you for engaging with me on this splendid wine.
12/22/21, 12:02 AM - Thank you @ScarBro!
12/20/21, 12:12 AM - Hi @shifter - I didn't pay for it, it was at a tasting. It's currently £30 ($40) for 187cl in the UK.
10/26/21, 7:44 AM - Thanks @redders! Yes, great QPR. So delicious.
9/24/21, 11:49 PM - Thank you to those who spotted my odd 89 score! I wrote this last night using the app (I normally use the website) and I must have hit the slider by accident and lowered the score. It's a 95 to me. I don't hand out 95s that often! But also, I don't drink many 89s either! Thanks guys.
9/28/21, 1:19 AM - Very kind of you @srh, thank you!
5/20/21, 4:15 AM - I really like your tasting notes! So refreshingly different from the standard and I love the emotional language. Please keep it up!
11/3/20, 9:03 AM - Lovely to read this, and it's so rare on CellarTracker for people to comment on each other's notes. Thank you for the kinds words, and so glad we agree. It's a modest wine but it wears its modesty with grace and contained power.
10/31/20, 12:37 PM - Thank you @srh for your thoughtful comments.
8/4/20, 10:13 AM - Hi @ohne_musik - I can totally believe that!
2/24/20, 2:41 AM - Thanks, @2020. No, I have not had the '08, but my guess is the '08 is better than the 2012. It was a wonderful vintage, and all the '08 champagnes I've had have been stand-out.
9/27/19, 11:59 PM - Thank you!
9/16/19, 4:38 AM - Hi @vintage1949 and thanks for your question. I assume the two bottles are the 2001 vintage, they're the same size and format, come from the same place, ideally the same barrel (how far apart are the serial numbers on the bottles?) and have been cellared in the same place and under equal conditions since day 1. If that's the case, then only something like cork taint in one of them can explain the difference in colour. (The darker one could be the one that is tainted). If they have have not been stored in identical conditions, then one has aged faster than the other (the darker one) and, depending on the conditions, may or may not be flawed. In my experience, the combination of sugar and acidity in Sauternes means a very long life, and it's unusual to find these wines to be past their best. They can last half a century or more. (Rieussec and Yquem for example, can go on and on and on). The 2001 was a superb vintage. I personally adore the really old ones, so the dark one is probably the most delicious and complex of the two right now, unless as I say, it's corked. I would open that one first. Or if you can afford it, open both side by side and compare. Hope this helps.
9/16/19, 8:01 AM - Hello again @vintage1949 - this correspondence is a pleasure. One at a time is the wise thing to do! I'm sure both will be uniquely delicious. And the Yquem - maybe the thing to do is wait 15-20 years! If you can muster the restraint...
9/17/19, 3:06 AM - Hi Dave, yes I would maybe open an Yquem on my 75th, and then leave one for my 80th if I make it to that age, after which, frankly, you should be allowed to drink whatever you like whenever you like. Your wife may roll her eyes, but cellaring wine is indeed hard work and a complex activity, but it is supremely pleasurable! I hope you have a wonderful seventieth birthday! (In an earlier comment you said "seventh" and I briefly thought, this child needs urgent parental supervision!)Ricard
9/5/19, 2:29 AM - Hahahaha thank you for your sensible and amusing comment, @FCHOW113. However, ratings are for objective qualities, not for whether I like the wine or not. As I make clear in the review (and many of my other reviews of Bordeaux, with a few notable exceptions), I am not moved personally by the wine, but that does not mean that I don't recognise its intrinsic qualities, which are enjoyed by many, many other people. This is a very impressive wine - for those who like these characteristics, hence the rating. It's just not a wine that excites me personally. Not liking a wine is not and should never be a reason for a low rating. Conversely, loving a wine should not be a reason for a high rating.
8/22/19, 3:36 AM - And thank you for your kind comment!
8/22/19, 3:34 AM - Thank you @markydecker for your comment. I’ve just read the negative reviews you speak of and frankly I don’t recognise the wine they’re describing at all! I had it last week with a friend and he is an experienced, discerning taster and both of us were thrilled with it. It’s a very pure, beautifully balanced and subtle rosé that gets better and better over an hour or so of drinking. I’m sure you’ll love it.Also @srh thank you for your comment. I think it’s more than safe to cellar it. I’ve never known a Tempier wine not to age well. The 2018 is perceptively superior to the 2017 and I would be confident of cellaring it for up to 5 years, and I’d risk putting one or two aside for 10 just to see what happens. Why not? It has the acidity and grip for ageing, for sure.
8/5/19, 5:26 AM - How is that possible? It has a screwcap.
5/12/19, 12:16 AM - Very vivid and enjoyable description!
3/1/19, 8:28 AM - Hi @redders, that's right - it was served to me by the winemakers themselves in the Muga tasting room in Haro - we were comparing many vintages, including quite a few older ones. So contextually, it's OK to taste this now. I do agree with you, though, that it's a long way from its best moment!
6/12/18, 5:26 AM - Hi @chatters. Not really. The bottle was correctly cellared, the provenance is indisputable, and maybe five or six were opened, and they all tasted the same. I know an aged claret when I taste one, and I know what flaws wine can have, and this wine had no flaws. My tasting note is not unreasonable, and not untrue to my experience. It just doesn't align with the majority, and I don't have an obligation to be aligned with majority opinion.
6/14/18, 5:36 AM - Hi @englishman's claret! Thank you for your comment. I'm starting to wonder whether there is something wrong with my judgment... I'm serious about the acidity (essential, for me, in structure and appeal) - it really was shockingly flabby. I didn't buy them, they were served to me at a dinner. I can't reveal - I don't want to embarrass the hosts. But trust me, it's one of the most well-looked-after and well-stocked cellars in Britain! And it's been looked after with great care and diligence since 1874.
6/14/18, 5:41 AM - Hello again @chatters! And thank you for your friendly and thoughtful comment. Well, I would say that *taste* is subjective, but *tasting* isn't. If tasting were subjective, there wouldn't be so many books about how to do it properly. There is an objective approach to tasting (which you may or may not agree with). But taste, of course, is subjective. And so in general, no, I don't spend any money at all on claret, and very very little on Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc and other Bordeaux varieties. I do get to drink and taste quite a lot, because some of the work I do brings me into contact with it. And you'll notice that I have been mighty impressed with some of the ones I've had (Cheval Blanc 1990, that sort of thing), but my money goes on Burgundy, Rhône, Rioja, New World, just not on claret. Anyway, I've read some of your notes and I really like them. Especially your use of "muted" - good word. Thanks for the enthusiastic engagement. Makes CellarTracker a lot more fun!
2/3/19, 4:18 AM - What an interesting insight, @Remony, thank you!
1/18/19, 11:50 AM - Thank you @Vinomazing - it is indeed an amazing wine! Have a great day!
10/31/18, 2:14 AM - @JohnTelford I would be sceptical of "extensive". I mean you could decant, but then pretty much pour anytime between right away and after 20 minutes. The wine has so much going for it, it doesn't need aerating or additional exposure to oxygen. It'll open up enough in bottle if drunk over 1-2 hours. A short decant in a decanter with a wide base would aerate it sufficiently to open up the phenolics and give a little extra enjoyment. I would be very wary of decanting a Musar older than say 20 years, because they can become rather fragile. But this one is relatively young, so you could decant and then pour. But don't leave it in the decanter for hours - in my view this is a mistake.
10/31/18, 2:15 AM - @sjmuller50 Thank you!
10/31/18, 2:40 AM - @sjmuller50 Oh how interesting! It's the opposite of what I would do (i.e. decant older ones), but then I also agree it's important to make sure the sediment isn't mixed up with the rest of the wine. Always interesting to know what the winemaker feels is the right thing to do - it gives an insight into what they think their wine is all about. Thanks for sharing your story.
10/23/18, 7:01 AM - Great idea, thank you!
5/28/18, 12:44 PM - Thank you! Sorry it's hard to find...
12/15/17, 5:30 AM - I think this is a fab wine. I asked Pierre to please get some more albillo - fascinating variety.
12/24/16, 12:49 AM - Excellent review.
9/16/16, 4:03 AM - Hi weinverkoster.de - what a lovely comment, thank you. And so good to hear it's still drinking well! I must get some more.
12/20/13, 3:51 AM - Thank you kindly, and merry Christmas to you!
5/20/13, 3:05 PM - No, only very slightly fizzy - it's practically imperceptible, but it's definitely there.
5/22/11, 10:16 AM - I agree entirely with your comments. I do think there are a number of Riberas that frankly knock the socks off Flor de Pingus within, or even under, the price bracket, not least Alión. But in particular I recommend Malleolus de Valderramiro and Malleolus de Sanchomartín (see what I thought of the 2005, for example: http://www.cellartracker.com/new/wine.asp?iWine=495416) and pretty much anything by Vizcarra, or the more traditional Ribera del Duero wines such as Viña Pedrosa or Hacienda Monasterio (utterly sublime). Anyway, nice to see a Londoner loving Alión.
1/23/11, 9:45 AM - I thought your review was very funny. I just tasted the wine myself, and then read your review. I think it *is* Pinot Noir (I've been to the winery and they are not lying) but I do think it's wildly over-extracted and concentrated, resulting in a wine that is not refined, but actually, sadly, a fairly conventional blockbuster, in the style of an Aussie Shiraz. Thanks for making me laugh.
8/21/10, 3:47 AM - Well-written review, but it's not a Rioja, it's a Toro. Toro is more than 200 miles south-west of Rioja and a very different wine region, producing wines that don't taste anything like Rioja.
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