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Comments on my notes

(59 comments on 48 notes)

1 - 48 of 48 Sort order
White
2018 Domaine Bruno Sorg Pinot Gris Pfersigberg Alsace Grand Cru
4/1/2023 - ricard Likes this wine:
94 points
Very light colour. Translucent. Exotic nose of pineapple, melon, passion fruit. Intense acidity. Such a lip-smacking delicious wine, zesty and buzzing with energy and life. Long and lingering. Limes and lemongrass. I'm changing my mind about Pinot Gris!!
  • ricard commented:

    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.

White - Sweet/Dessert
2005 Château Climens Barsac Sémillon
12/13/2023 - ricard Likes this wine:
96 points
Dark amber colour. Looks like autumn. What autumn would look like if you turned it into a jewel. Smells of a deep private joy. Outrageous and provocative. Ridiculously thick and unctuous. Impossibly dense, like custard. But throbbing with life and energy. Almonds, marzipan, butterscotch, crème brûlée - simply glorious.
  • ricard commented:

    1/3/24, 6:29 AM - Thank you, your notes are great too!

Red
2022 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Nebbiolo Langhe Langhe DOC
10/3/2023 - ricard Likes this wine:
96 points
Really light in colour - hint of orange. Pancetta affumicata. Cherries and strawberries alongside woodsmoke and bacon fat. Borderline ethereal - the structure is almost ghostly. Like an imagined rather than real structure. The freshness is spectacular - it lights up the mouth and the mind. Luminescent, lofty and elegant.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

Red
2020 Comm. G.B. Burlotto Barolo Castelletto Nebbiolo
10/3/2023 - ricard Likes this wine:
97 points
Another jewel of a wine. Utterly hypnotic nose, delicately perfumed. It's glorious in *every* way. This is a super serious wine. What you'd imagine rubies would taste like if they had flavour. The tension, tautness and sheer intensity is really something to behold. The purity and lofty, ethereal beauty is unforgettable.

Fabio Alessandria, the winemaker, says the 2020s aren't for the really long haul as much as the 2019s. He thinks they are more aromatic and fresher and would drink them at 5-10 years. He sees "wild strawberries" in them.
  • ricard commented:

    11/29/23, 12:25 AM - Oh of course, of course - what was I thinking! Thanks for the correction!

Red
2006 Domaine Dujac Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts Pinot Noir
7/6/2023 - ricard Likes this wine:
97 points
Old! Old but good. Old fruit and endless interest. Profoundly moving. Acidic and tannic - surely capable of many more years of pleasure. So many inner tensions all happily resolved. Terrific. Unforgettable.
  • ricard commented:

    11/14/23, 12:57 AM - Keep smacking that gob!

  • ricard commented:

    11/14/23, 1:03 AM - Better start saving up then.

Red
2020 Mickaël Bourg Cornas Les P'tits Bouts Syrah
10/20/2023 - ricard Likes this wine:
94 points
Very dark, almost violet. Absolutely obscene nose of sweaty horse and venison. Blood and leather. Gamey and rustic and smoky. Woodsmoke and forest and small furry mammals scurrying about in damp earth. Bloody marvellous.
  • ricard commented:

    11/14/23, 1:01 AM - I was thinking more voles, shrews, ermine, that sort of thing.

Red
2018 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune Syrah
10/20/2023 - ricard Likes this wine:
93 points
"Hard as nails" one of us said. Ferrous and tough. Bacon fat and blackberries and violets. Good but somewhat austere and forbidding.
  • ricard commented:

    11/14/23, 12:59 AM - Bof!

Red
2020 Graeme & Julie Bott Kāmaka Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah
10/20/2023 - ricard Likes this wine:
95 points
Extraordinary nose - just explosive. Ferrous, gamey and smoky with deeply expressive core of blackcurrant and plum. Dates and figs as well. Richly textured and confident. Powerful but remarkably low ABV (12.5%). Not quite WOTN but almost.
  • ricard commented:

    11/14/23, 12:59 AM - I fully agree - this is a serious wine and dare I say it, a canny investment.

Red
1998 Château Bel-Air Lagrave Moulis en Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend
9/21/2023 - ricard Does not like this wine:
89 points
Smells very Cabernet - eucalyptus, cigar box, pencil shavings, cassis - the usual Parkeresque panoply. Quite dry - too dry - lacks fruit and sweetness. Too dry and dusty. Charmless and sad.
  • ricard commented:

    11/14/23, 12:53 AM - To be fair I do owe the wine one thing: I thoroughly enjoyed writing the review.

Red
1991 Noël Verset Cornas Syrah
10/20/2023 - ricard Likes this wine:
96 points
A privilege to drink this glittering jewel of a wine again. Orange rim - clearly old. So unbelievably sexy - simply ridiculous. Instantly glorious. A touch of melancholy. Simply exquisite. Romantic and emotional. It's like an old person - doddery and rickety, but so many moments of wisdom and laughter. Really beautiful. A wine of love, about love, for love, from love.
  • ricard commented:

    11/13/23, 2:19 PM - How wonderful! Thank you for the compliment. I'm jealous of your majestic '85!

Red
2004 Massolino Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda Nebbiolo
10/4/2023 - ricard Likes this wine:
99 points
Barely looks old. Some orange tones around the rim. The nose is profound, hypnotic, the quintessence of Barolo, and a textbook example of what ageing does to a great wine. Leather, mace, carob, cocoa, cassia bark, but exceptional sweet fruit (plums, dates, figs) and also attar of roses. It has reached its apogee of harmony. The tannins have softened to pure Persian silk, yet the vivid acidity remains the source of its energy and vibrant life. A triumph and the very idea - and reality - of pleasure in a glass. Transcendental.

Side note: this is the first time I award 99 points to a wine. I've been using (reluctantly - I think it's a ridiculously bad system) the Parker system for over 20 years. I cannot bring myself to accept the reality of perfection, so I doubt I will every award 100 points to a wine. I've tasted near-perfection a few times (hence the 97s and 98s) but this one, even on reflection, remains at the pinnacle. It's not necessarily the wine I've *liked* the most. That is an entirely separate consideration, as I've long had to explain to people who conflate one's subjective experience with what is objectively the case, or people who deny that truth exists (and nonetheless persist in using a rating system). I hesitated on the day, and wondered to what extent I was influenced by the setting (the tasting room at Massolino, with Franco Massolino explaining each wine - surely the most privileged setting, but perhaps also the most intimidating...), but over a month on, I am still thinking about this wine every day.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

Red
2019 Thymiopoulos Terra Petra Rapsani Red Blend
1/25/2023 - ricard Likes this wine:
93 points
The genius strikes again. The nose is just a dream. Violets and roses like Nebbiolo, sun-dried tomatoes like Xin, pomegranates and cranberries... But it's a bit angular and tannic. Savoury, quite meaty/beefy. Velvety in texture. Not quite as impressive as I was expecting, but good.
  • ricard commented:

    7/8/23, 3:43 AM - For sure!

Red
2020 Comando G Rozas 1er Cru Vinos de Madrid Garnacha, Grenache
3/23/2023 - ricard Likes this wine:
94 points
I had high expectations - I have heard so much about Comando G and inexplicably ignored them. Their ambition to make the world's best Garnacha, their desire to revitalise a forgotten region, high altitude, their love for ancient vines... So I bought one of their more affordable wines, though this isn't cheap. There's no doubt in my mind this is really quite unique. Intensely mineral, almost metallic. Smoky, like burning embers, or bacon. Mmm... More brown tinges than garnet. Light, lofty. Burgundian, serious, poised, balanced beautifully between acidity, tannin and subtle fruit. Rain from a late summer storm on wet stones and mineral soils after a blisteringly hot, dry day. An austere interpretation of Garnacha - perhaps the true "essence" of Garnacha. Interesting debate. What a wine, my friends, such elegance and gravitas. Wonderful.
  • ricard commented:

    5/23/23, 1:26 AM - Hi @JRavn, what a lovely thing to say, thank you! Delicious wine, though!

Red
2005 Château Lafite Rothschild Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend
9/29/2021 - ricard Does not like this wine:
93 points
I'm beginning to think I am allergic (or something!) to Cabernet Sauvignon because not only do I never buy it, but if possible I avoid it. Especially when it's young. In Lafite's case, 16 years is clearly very young. I can see the objective characteristics in this wine (below), but on a strictly personal level, I found this wine exceptionally unpleasant to drink. Horribly astringent and drying, almost abrasive. Unbalanced, angular... Ugh! And all this almighty fuss over Bordeaux First Growths? Snobbery of the highest order. The 2005 is 89% Cabernet, 10% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot. However, in spite of my complaints, it does have some aromatic charms - eucalyptus, peppermint, blackberry jam, possibly pipe tobacco. It's thick and dense, very long. It seems to be all restraint, waiting to explode. I am prepared to accept that it just perhaps needs time. A lot of time. Maybe these wines shouldn't be drunk under 20 years. But I still struggle to see how it'll be more approachable in just four years' time. Currently retailing in the UK at about £9.5k a case of 12, so around £800 per bottle (no doubt quite a lot cheaper when released of course), this is quite frankly ridiculous and indefensible. For that kind of money there is so much more pleasure to be had elsewhere in wine, so much more. A ludicrous state of affairs. The Chinese billionaires, Texan oil barons, and Russian oligarchs who buy this to gain a social status and credibility they'll never have, can keep it all, quite frankly.
  • ricard commented:

    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?

Red
2010 Chateau Musar Bekaa Valley Red Blend
11/25/2022 - ricard Likes this wine:
95 points
Oh my days what a wine. Sensationally complex - as we all know. Crazy compendium of overripe/fermenting fruit - prunes and plums and figs - and odder things like carob and liquorice. All the spices that you want: cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, star anise, mace, Szechuan pepper, aniseed. And then old leather and pipe tobacco and sizzling bacon fat. Strange dark rooms in abandoned houses, rutting farm animals in the summer sun, wild forest mammals large and small, blood, iron, sweat... All the mysteries. Such a phenomenal wine always.
  • ricard commented:

    12/2/22, 5:07 AM - Hi @JohnTelford - I don't think I decanted it at all... I don't remember decanting it.

  • ricard commented:

    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!

Red - Fortified
1908 Croft Porto Vintage Port Blend
6/29/2022 - ricard Likes this wine:
98 points
Low expectations = high returns. You can see the restraint. It's subtle. But when you pour this down the hatch F**K ME this is crazy s**t. Oily thick unctuous immense cascading rivulets of sheer power and aggression. Unforgettable. Treacle, molasses, fudge. An assault on the senses and the mind. No drink dates - this is a forever wine. Totally ace.
  • ricard commented:

    7/12/22, 7:34 AM - Hi John, yes, it was a dark, rich orangey amber colour. Luminous and warm.

Red
1998 Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend
2/23/2022 - ricard Likes this wine:
96 points
Oh good Lord. OK. Wow. Nose is beyond belief. And so tannic still after 24 years. Pure, so pure - simply extraordinary. Forest/hedgerow berries, woodsmoke. This is a thing of great beauty. Of course. Chocolate, dustings of cocoa, wet slate, mint, tobacco, dark cellars and dungeons and mysterious nooks and crannies. Fascinating. But not something I would pay silly money for. Which is what it costs - silly money.
  • ricard commented:

    3/11/22, 8:52 AM - A fascinating wine! Such a deep, enveloping, memorable experience.

Red
2005 Ridge Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains Red Bordeaux Blend
2/23/2022 - ricard Likes this wine:
95 points
A much more satisfying experience than the horror of last time. A little bit closed, but clean and clear on the nose. Tobacco, wet earth. Smoky, grippy tannins. Still young. Chewy and intense, and astonishing balance and precision. Slate and graphite. Remarkable. Needs 15-20 years, quite frankly. Seems eternal.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

  • ricard commented:

    3/11/22, 8:43 AM - Always great to share and compare! Thank you for engaging with me on this splendid wine.

White - Sparkling
2017 Raventós i Blanc Blanc de Blancs Spain Macabeo-Xarello-Parellada Blend
6/17/2021 - ricard Likes this wine:
91 points
Crisp, biscuity, tense, fresh, fine. Superb value.
  • ricard commented:

    12/22/21, 12:02 AM - Thank you @ScarBro!

White - Sweet/Dessert
2016 Dr. Loosen Riesling Eiswein Mosel Saar Ruwer
2/26/2020 - ricard Likes this wine:
94 points
Astonishingly light and clean. Almost ghostly. But has fabulous body and density. Sauternesque but simpler. However, at this price, absurd. I just wouldn't buy it.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

White
2017 Vignaioli Contrà Soarda Il Pendio Veneto IGT White Blend
10/24/2021 - ricard Likes this wine:
94 points
I have no hesitation in scoring this wine highly. This is a supremely sophisticated, irresistible wine. Exquisite perfume of vanilla, tropical notes of coconut, a touch of lime, and a soft enveloping creaminess. Pitch-perfect acidity and a long, lingering, enticing finish with hints of white pepper. It's sweet and saline, fatty and lean, all at once. Serious in every way, yet immensely pleasurable at this early stage of its life. I would gladly score this higher were it not for its youth. Surely this has another 15 years. Joyful.
  • ricard commented:

    10/26/21, 7:44 AM - Thanks @redders! Yes, great QPR. So delicious.

Red
2016 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Nebbiolo
9/23/2021 - ricard Likes this wine:
95 points
Goodness gracious me this is a damn fine wine. It is so instantly obvious - the moment it hits the glass - that we're dealing with refinement, beauty, elegance, understated ambition, humility, profundity and grace, all in one. It is light in colour, with a restrained perfume of violets, attar of roses, raspberries and nutmeg. I think it will open up more in about five years' time when it starts to show tertiary expression. It is still young and vigorous. The tannic profile is silky, very unlike a young Barolo, which tends more towards astringency and dryness. This is much much softer and gentler. But it is not an ordinary wine. It is immaculately balanced - the sweetness offsetting the savouriness, the acidity lifting the fruit, the structure not too assertive, not too discreet. A really delicious wine. And such good value.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

  • ricard commented:

    9/28/21, 1:19 AM - Very kind of you @srh, thank you!

Red
2007 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale Pinot Noir
5/30/2020 - swyang wrote:
Sometimes you encounter someone and fall in love with her/his elegance, inner purity, of his/her soul's modesty and depth.
As you speak to her/him you only discover that you are being lifted to an enchanting state and feel very closely drawn to the conversation and its flow.
Well, this bottle was so close to my description above;
Upon opening its scent, its aroma was so attractive, so uplifting that we only could emit an expressive noise and being nearly knocked 'up' to another sphere of expectations. So poetic, so refined, yet focused and yet profound. The nose of red flowers, red fruits just starting to enter its second phase can't be described with words, not even nearly. To get a sense of what it had offered on the aromatic profile, one simply has to have had the privilege of having a good glass in the hands, so magical it was...
On the palate, it is so pure, and simply gorgeous. The texture is like of freshest streaming water, the flavors of red fruits are translating its past 13 years with poetry of precise words, nuances of shades and literally making you feel this wine has its own vocabularies of intelligent and graceful expressions to tell its story in seamless flow. So well balanced between the terroir, fruits, and the (moderate)vintage and yet by adhering to 2007 as naturally as possible, it provides an extraordinary moment of time travel. As I am writing this the next morning, my spirit is still being lifted up, as if dreaming of our world in such perfect harmony. Its modest vintage has in fact made an elegant, most attractive and suave Clos de la Maréchale. All that much poetry, nuances of flavors were indeed in an exquisite balance with each other's elements; as if listening to a memorable Schubert Lied, by a singer who understands both the poetry and its musical flow. Cheers,
  • ricard commented:

    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!

Red
2010 Domaine Humbert Frères Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes Pinot Noir
11/2/2020 - OenoEd Likes this wine:
93 points
Ricard’s 2019 note , effusive and articulate in praise of this, inspired me to open my next to last bottle, previously reviewed by me here in 2018 and 2019. I fully expected this to be sliding downhill; that Ricards bottle was an aberration, or his commentary exaggerated. Instead, in short, this bottle was the best of the three, and his notes are dead on. There is a serious element of sweet burgundy funk, barely brett, which only adds to the complex beauty, well described. Bottle variation in classic burgundy Village? Who’d of thought. I sourced these at the same time, same case, provenance etc. Yet, my 2019 bottle was hardly the same wine. I couldn’t quite get to a 94 score, because this faded in the glass after 25 minutes, but it’s a real treat. I worked to cook an ideal pairing: Collard greens simmered in a dried chili pot liquor, toasted wheat berries plumped with that liquid, and some seared wild boar beet sausage from the creative folks at Fossil Farms. Awesome!!
  • ricard commented:

    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.

Red
2017 Dominique Piron Morgon Côte du Py Gamay
10/30/2019 - ricard Likes this wine:
91 points
Quite a Rhône-like expression of Gamay, less Burgundian. Not untypical of Morgon. Dense, quite powerful, smoked bacon, crunchy and intense. I think this needs time to calm down. But it's good - polished, rounded and serious.
  • ricard commented:

    10/31/20, 12:37 PM - Thank you @srh for your thoughtful comments.

Red
2010 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva Selección Especial Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo
8/2/2020 - ricard Likes this wine:
95 points
Viña Ardanza is the epitome of classical Rioja. Rich, generous, vibrant Tempranillo fruit, gentle oak, perfect sweetness, perfect acidity and pure elegance. But Selección Especial is where it really shines. La Rioja Alta make this only in occasional, outstanding vintages. The 2010 is shaping up to be a classic. At 10 years, it's still full of the vigour of youth. I don't doubt that this wine will still be giving pleasure at 50 years of age. After all, I'm 52 and I've heard rumours that I still give pleasure, so if I can achieve that, so can this wine. The colour is a dark red ruby with hints of inky blue and no orange tint of age whatsoever. Fragrance is wonderful: blackberry, cassis, nutmeg, vanilla. Tannins soft and silky. Perfect structure, long and luscious finish. There's a lot more to come. When it ages, we're going to see tertiary notes - spices and fruit compote. For now, the wine tastes great, is a stunner, in fact. Another great virtue of this wine: it is amazing in every decade of its lifecycle.
  • ricard commented:

    8/4/20, 10:13 AM - Hi @ohne_musik - I can totally believe that!

White - Sparkling
2012 Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut Champagne Blend
1/22/2020 - ricard wrote:
95 points
Enticingly toasty and biscuity nose. Baked apples and cinnamon toast. Poached pears. Soothing mousse. Impeccable poise, balance, elegance and finesse. Sensational.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

Red
2013 Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis Nebbiolo
9/26/2019 - Sepsis wrote:
94 points
Great note by RICARD
  • ricard commented:

    9/27/19, 11:59 PM - Thank you!

White - Sweet/Dessert
2001 Château Rieussec Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend
7/21/2019 - ricard Likes this wine:
96 points
Wine of the night for me. Simply great. Deep gold bronzed colour, but utterly clean and transparent. Fascinating aromas of herbs, bacon fat, honey, orange marmalade, and a hint of smokiness in between. Marzipan, fudge, fresh brioche, caramelised fruits. The marriage of intense sweetness and perfect acidity is so incredibly rewarding. You want salty blue cheeses with this. It's fascinating as well how this is ageing. This is the sort of wine that is appealing at every stage of its long evolution. It has a lot more still to go. Profound. Absolutely top tipple.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

  • ricard commented:

    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...

  • ricard commented:

    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

Red
1998 Château Ausone St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend
12/19/2018 - ricard wrote:
94 points
God I find claret tiresome. It just doesn't do it for me. That this is expensive and so widely worshipped really doesn't help top claret's image as snobby, aloof and inaccessible. Fools pay big money for this. It's technically accomplished, of course (hence the rating) but this is pleasurable? Give me a break. There's some interest here - a touch of smokiness, that boring old cedariness and mintiness that shouts "Bordeaux!", some slate and bags and bags of jolly fruit. Admittedly it's still young, so that's amazing considering it's 20 years old. But I just don't find it fascinating or mesmerising, so at this price, it's just plain stupid to rave about this. Let the Chinese and Russians buy all of it and mix it with Coca-Cola, I really don't mind.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

Red
2006 Mitolo Shiraz G.A.M. McLaren Vale
8/4/2019 - ricard Likes this wine:
94 points
Have cellared this 2006 Aussie gem for a fair while. Superb example of what ageing does to good Syrah (or Shiraz in this case) - bags of exuberant luscious strawberry fruit, a lively uplifting pepperiness, iron, and the beginnings of super appealing tertiary characteristics: nutmeg, fruit compote, and some gamey flavours (sort of jugged hare, or venison, or calf's liver), and finally an acidity full of tension and nerve and vibrancy. A very good wine! Worth waiting a long time for.
  • ricard commented:

    8/22/19, 3:36 AM - And thank you for your kind comment!

Rosé
2018 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé Mourvèdre Blend, Mourvèdre
8/14/2019 - ricard Likes this wine:
94 points
Entirely accidental that I had this and the 2017 a few weeks apart. You can see with this gem why this is the world's benchmark rosé (or at least Provençal blend rosé, if we want to be pedantic). The 2018 is a notch above the 2017. It's even more refined and elegant. Intensely mineral and fennel-infused nose. Like the '17, there's a mountain stream freshness that's irresistible. The central fruit (strawberries, raspberries, apricots) is so impressively held together by this vibrant acidity, and then a finish with garrigue notes (thyme, oregano) - honestly, the structure is superb. It's a great wine. And it gets better as the bottle progresses. It's not a simple quick drink - it's a food wine through and through. Great stuff.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

Red
2006 Mitolo Shiraz G.A.M. McLaren Vale
6/16/2019 - drmarclevine wrote:
Corked.
  • ricard commented:

    8/5/19, 5:26 AM - How is that possible? It has a screwcap.

Red
2010 Domaine Humbert Frères Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes Pinot Noir
6/23/2018 - OenoEd Likes this wine:
92 points
Cloudy, garnet, well stored since release. Restrained nose, a bit of roasted tomato and beet, wet clay, bitter chocolate and framboise. i think this is drinking at peak now, tannins are resolved, and the acidity and fruit are in lovely harmony, dancing, soft and lush. Camphor and old roses appear on the finish. Im afraid that as the fruit begins to disappear, there will not be enough complexity to keep the wine interesting, but, at this moment, and perhaps for the next few years, there's a delicate and perfect balance. This is perfect for grilled or roast salmon, or duck breast with cherries. Drink up.
  • ricard commented:

    5/12/19, 12:16 AM - Very vivid and enjoyable description!

Red
2010 Bodegas Muga Rioja Gran Reserva Prado Enea Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo
9/11/2018 - ricard Likes this wine:
92 points
Difficult to capture - still closed (at 8 years!) Somewhat sharp and tannic, rather astringent, impressive minerality. It might be the wine's "quiet" period before it starts revealing its charms. Prado Enea is one of the great Rioja GRs, and 2010 a great vintage, so we should reserve judgment on this one. Its time will surely come...
  • ricard commented:

    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!

Red
1998 Château Léoville Barton St. Julien Red Bordeaux Blend
6/11/2018 - ricard Does not like this wine:
78 points
I continue to find it baffling that anyone in their right mind would pay more than £10 for this nonsense. I am not doubting its provenance, authenticity, or even honesty. But why the prestige? This wine was desperately flabby, lacking any sort of acidity or definition whatsoever, soupy, vaguely syrupy, had no discernible tannin, no structure at all, and all fragrance pretty much died within 10 minutes. What aromas there were included maybe figs, blackberries, tar, and that's about it. A waste of time and money. The only possibility of redemption is that this wine was once very good (not great - that's inconceivable) and died years ago. A pathetic showing, and one that doesn't help at all to convince me that Bordeaux is not the world's most pompously overrated wine region. Let the Chinese and Russian oligarchs have it all! Maybe they're right to mix this syrup with Coca-Cola - I guess it makes the wine more exciting...
  • ricard commented:

    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.

  • ricard commented:

    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.

  • ricard commented:

    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!

  • ricard commented:

    2/3/19, 4:18 AM - What an interesting insight, @Remony, thank you!

Red
2014 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Nebbiolo
12/26/2018 - ricard Likes this wine:
95 points
Very light and lively colour. Floral - violets in particular. Cloves again (a dominant spice today!) Carob. Meaty - roast beef. Camphor. Searing acidity. Saddle leather, strawberries, menthol, tobacco. So refined, so serious. I absolutely adore the lightness, the vivid, racy acidity, the lofty beauty, the sheer precision and clarity of vision. Brooding. Sensational.
  • ricard commented:

    1/18/19, 11:50 AM - Thank you @Vinomazing - it is indeed an amazing wine! Have a great day!

Red
2010 Chateau Musar Bekaa Valley Red Blend
10/25/2018 - ricard Likes this wine:
93 points
What a wine. Such a wonderfully eccentric nose - figs, truffles... You'd think it might be an old Barolo from the perfume, but actually it has some uniquely odd notes of liquorice and musk and stewed prunes and nutmeg, and none of the violets and roses that you might get from a Nebbiolo. Such an interesting and unique wine. I like its idiosyncratic imbalance - when you think it's sweet, it's sharp, when you think it's tannic, it's soft, when you think it's voluptuous, it's lean. It's a contradictory wine, but it is so impressively distinctive, you can't ignore it. To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, Musar is Musar is Musar. And the 2010 vintage of Musar is a good one, and I can't wait to taste it in 2030.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

  • ricard commented:

    10/31/18, 2:15 AM - @sjmuller50 Thank you!

  • ricard commented:

    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.

Red
2016 Thymiopoulos jeunes vignes de Xinomavro / Young Vines Naoussa
10/11/2018 - ricard Likes this wine:
92 points
Absolutely no question that this surprising, unexpectedly brilliant wine is sensational - not just relative to expectation, but in absolute terms, especially at this ridiculous price. This joyous beauty is a sophisticated, ethereal, delicate wine with an intensely floral fragrance; a deliciously fresh, pure and uplifting wine with indisputably impressive credentials. It's more beautiful and emotional than many burgundies at three or even four times the price. I adore this.

Xinomavro at the hands of Apostolos Thymiopoulos will bring Naoussa, and the Xinomavro grape variety to the world's attention. This is superb. I not giving it a higher rating because more complexity and depth is possible, and ageing potential is unknown, but this wine is utterly delicious. Phenomenal!
  • ricard commented:

    10/23/18, 7:01 AM - Great idea, thank you!

Red
2010 Château Lalande-Borie St. Julien Red Bordeaux Blend
10/15/2014 - ricard Likes this wine:
92 points
Very dense and dark. Chocolate and molasses. Interesting! Tannic, but dense, concentrated, weighty, rich, intense. Very good. Truffles, mocha.
  • ricard commented:

    5/28/18, 12:44 PM - Thank you! Sorry it's hard to find...

White
2013 Ermita del Conde Albillo Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León
4/4/2016 - Bobexile Likes this wine:
87 points
Very nice. Golden colour, slightly creamy texture, with hints of pear. Reminded me a little of a Rhone or Languedoc Rousanne/Marsanne.
  • ricard commented:

    12/15/17, 5:30 AM - I think this is a fab wine. I asked Pierre to please get some more albillo - fascinating variety.

Red
2010 Celler Vall Llach Priorat Embruix Grenache Blend, Grenache
10/22/2014 - huse wrote:
92 points
A captivating Priorat wine. Year after year, the ‘Embruix de Vall Llach’ (‘Embruix’ means ‘bewitching’ in Catalan language) delivers a consistently high quality. Varietal composition: 27 % Carinyena, 23 % Garnatxa, 20 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 % Syrah and 15 % Merlot. Aged for 14 months in 225 and 300 liter barriques (second and third use). Decanted: two hours in advance. An opulent and extremely powerful wine, intense dark cherry-red in color, revealing complex and enchanting aromas of ripe black fruit, plum, licorice, dark chocolate and abundant herbal tones. The full-bodied palate is very well structured with a velvety texture featuring concentrated berry fruit, elegant balsamic nuances and still quite present tannins. Persistent, rustic aftertaste with agreeable mineral and spicy elements. Perhaps a tad less accessible in its current stage of development (compared to the previous vintages), but with an enormous potential to improve. Optimal enjoyment: 2015 – 2019.

Een fascinerende Priorat-wijn. Jaar na jaar is de 'Embruix de Vall Llach' (‘Embruix’ betekent ‘betovering’ in het Catalaans) een wijn van constant hoge kwaliteit. Samenstelling: 27 % Carinyena, 23 % Garnatxa, 20 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 % Syrah en 15 % Merlot. De wijn rijpte 14 maanden in 225 en 300-liter-barriques (tweede en derde gebruik). Gedecanteerd: twee uur op voorhand. Een weelderige en uiterst krachtige wijn, intens donker kersrood van kleur, met een complexe en verleidelijke neus van rijp zwart fruit, pruimen, zoethout, zwarte chocolade en een overvloed aan kruidige tinten. Een volkrachtige, zeer goed gestructureerde wijn met een fluwelige textuur, gedomineerd door geconcentreerd bessenfruit, met elegante balsamische nuances en toch nog vrij stevige tannines. Overtuigende, rustieke afdronk met een aangename kruidige en minerale toets. Misschien wat minder toegankelijk in zijn huidige fase van ontwikkeling (in vergelijking met de vorige jaargangen), maar zeker een wijn met een enorm ontwikkelingspotentieel. Optimaal drinkgenot: 2015-2019.
  • ricard commented:

    12/24/16, 12:49 AM - Excellent review.

Red
2004 Bodegas Bretón Rioja Reserva Dominio de Conté Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo
2/22/2009 - ricard Likes this wine:
89 points
90% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano ABV 13.5% I want to talk about this wine because it's a textbook example of a the kind of wine which is slightly unfashionable, and yet has a number of intrinsic virtues that we should all be celebrating, if we want the world of wine to remain diverse and exciting, rather than predictable and dull. There are now a large number of very successful wines in Rioja that have possess "international" characteristics: for example, power, concentration, intensity, fruit and extraction. Many of these wines command huge prices and spectacularly high ratings. The traditional wines (the Crianzas, Reservas and Gran Reservas) don't get the same level of attention. But a number of wineries are resisting this wave of innovation and are nonetheless producing wines of considerable elegance, typicity and distinctiveness, and at accessible prices. The Dominio de Conté Reserva is an excellent example of a wine that is Rioja through-and-through: red cherry at the core, gentle signs of ageing at the rim (brick/orange), lovely sweet spicy nose, saddle leather and cigar box, and then a very firm, acidic mouthfeel that has perfect balance - none of that cloying sweetness or agressive tannicity that is the hallmark of excessive extraction or too much exposure to new oak. The finish is quite brief, but very lively, almost dancing on the tongue. A wine that could be good on its own, with meat, or even with fish. Now that's versatility - a good thing. Difficult to rate over 90 because it's not obviously a tour de force or an impressive wine, and it's slightly unhelpful that it's in the 16-18 euro region, but I'll give it that famously problematic rating, 89 points.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

Red
2005 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Reserva Finca Ygay Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo
10/26/2013 - ricard Likes this wine:
93 points
Still a mostly youthful morello cherry colour, with some gentle orange tones around the rim. Sexy, voluptuously seductive nose of figs, cocoa, truffles, cassia bark, cloves and mildly toasted oak. Impressively sensuous and silky - the tannins have mellowed to the point of almost imperceptible gentleness. At its heart, a wine of great elegance: impeccably polished and balanced, juicy, fruity, held together by a tight acidity, and finishing with impressive length and poise, and a touch of white pepper right at the end. Very good indeed.
  • ricard commented:

    12/20/13, 3:51 AM - Thank you kindly, and merry Christmas to you!

Red
2011 Meyer-Näkel Spätburgunder Ahr
4/6/2013 - ricard wrote:
Hmm... Very very strange indeed. Typical Pinot light raspberry appearance, spicy nose of cloves and white pepper and then... an unusually earthy wine with a touch of carbonation! Almost like one of those weird "natural" wines that have the consistency of lager beer, but more refined. Good, firm acidity, elegant touch of oak, and a graceful balance between sweetness and pepperiness, with an attractive core of fresh strawberry fruit. Very good in fact, but not sure about this fizzy element... Maybe decanting and a bit of vigorous shaking is required? Too weird for me.
  • ricard commented:

    5/20/13, 3:05 PM - No, only very slightly fizzy - it's practically imperceptible, but it's definitely there.

Red
1996 Dominio Pingus Ribera del Duero Flor de Pingus Tempranillo
1/29/2009 - pjaines wrote:
92 points
If you open one of these give it some time to open up. Nose at first is quite plummy, soft. Taste is soft fruit, little tannins, medium bodied. Good complexity at first, but not great. Then over time this wine puts on weight, gains complexity and beefs up. After 2 hours nose of cherries, chocolate, espresso, black olives. In the mouth medium to full bodied - great complexity with wonderful, slightly bitter tannins that balance wonderfully against the wine. This does have a few years ahead of it. Notes of caramel coming through at the end. Paid £80 for this.

The question I was asking myself with this wine is "How does it compare to a 3-5 year old £30 bottle of Ribera-del-Deuro such as Alion".

The answer is that this is just slightly less full bodied and the alcohol and tannins well resolved. Not sure I would spend another £80 on this again, but it makes me appreciate other Ribera del Duero wines in the £30 price range. Overall fantastic but too expensive.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

Red
2008 Lapostolle Pinot Noir Cuvée Alexandre Atalayas Vineyard Casablanca Valley
10/27/2010 - pjaines wrote:
Pinot noir my arse. This is not pinot noir. This is black and massive. To put it into context, this is bigger, richer and hotter than an aussie 07 shiraz I had an hour before. I really dont get this wine - bug, stinky nose of burnch treacle, nuts, tar. The palate is chunky and crunchy and lacks any real finesse. This is like a shiraz, not pinot. If you like finesse, avoid this wine.
  • ricard commented:

    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.

Red
2001 Bodega Numanthia Toro Termanthia Tinta de Toro, Tempranillo
4/16/2005 - nvandyk wrote:
95 points
Double decanted for 90 minutes. Deep ruby red, a nose of earth, coffee and black fruits. Tannins present on the nose -- this is quite young. On the palate, earth, coffee, a hint of vanilla and fruit struggling to get through the tannins. This could easily age another five years and will probably be more approachable then. It's a big, big wine. I left half a bottle overnight...no sign of oxidation, the tannins are mellowing but still, the wine is quite young. I picked up two more at auction today on the strength of this one, though. This is a massive wine.
  • ricard commented:

    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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