4/11/2024 - swade wrote:

Creamy. Raspberry torte and baking spices. Wee tart on the finish. 92

4/1/2024 - swade wrote:

Fruit forward. Dark fruit, olive and spice. My wife loved this. This followed an Echezeaux Grand Cru at Easter dinner, which is a tough act to follow, but this held it's own. This was in a good place for drinking. 90

4/1/2024 - swade wrote:

Sound cork. Cherry wood stain color. Vintage ripe. Broad shouldered entry. Chinese 5 spice aroma. Dark cherry, minerals and a Vosne spice finish. Textbook. Silky. Clean. Really a nice treat with Easter dinner. Even better than the last one a few years ago. 92

3/15/2024 - swade wrote:

Very good. Polished entry. Blackberry, plum and oak spice. Good intensity. Medium body and ripeness. Still some grip. 91

2/29/2024 - swade wrote:

Pillowy, powdery, clouds of black currants, pencil lead, truffles and chocolate abscond you away on a cloud to your happy place. Twenty years on and in a good space. 95

2/23/2024 - swade wrote:

Sandalwood and incense aromas popped from the glass. Really a lovely start. Blueberry, bramble and spice are all backlit by live wire acidity. All of the elements really popped with this one tonight. I thought this was super. This was really interesting and just keep drawing me back for another sip. Good value here. Re-buy. 94

2/23/2024 - swade wrote:

Garnet stone color. Cherry and earth aromas. Clean entry. Dark cherry, garrigue and earth. This was solid with a beef roast, but didn't blow me away compared to other vintages. Ready to drink. 89

2/15/2024 - swade wrote:

This hasn't moved in two years. Purple color. Shy aromas. Dark fruit and earth. Still seems shut. Polished like glass, but not generous or giving anything yet. Everything seems to be here and in place, but I'd guess it needs another 3-5 years. It was good. Enjoyable even, but not to its potential yet I expect. 92 on potential.

2/12/2024 - swade wrote:

Effusive dark berry bowl aromas. Silky entry. Marked by blackberry, cassis and an oak spiced finish. Plus finish. Clean. Medium body. Ready to be enjoyed now, but should run a few years. Outstanding. 94

2/12/2024 - swade wrote:

Marked by fresh, jammy blackberry and bramble flavors with a spiced finish. Delicious. 91

1/29/2024 - swade wrote:

This was mountain fruit for sure and a little grumpy at this point, but it was presented to me at a restaurant as a gift purchase with dinner. Dark berry fruit and still quite a bit of grip, but it portends well for future enjoyment. 91 today and 93 down the road.

1/29/2024 - swade wrote:

Steak house staple. At a steak house. Very approachable with velvety cassis and blackberry flavors. Went great with top grade Waygu. 92

1/29/2024 - swade wrote:

Completely different than the last bottle from 2019, which I scored a 94. This was earthy and funky from the start. By comparison to the last bottle this was slightly flawed. Earthy and funky aromas. Some dark cherry and soil flavors, but just not the charm of the last bottle. I won't officially score this, but if I hadn't had the prior bottle this was an 88 at best.

1/23/2024 - swade wrote:

This bottled profiled a little different than the first two, but still shared some similarities. Still garnet stone color. Cherry bowl, forest floor and mushroom aromas. Satiny entry. Cherry, raspberry, orange and spice flavors. Maybe just a beam or twinkle of cassis too. Chambolle tart finish.
This was really wonderfully interesting. 94

1/20/2024 - swade wrote:

Burgundy color. Forest floor aromas. Nice entry. Flavor of dark cherry streaked with graphite and finishes with a toss of earth. Medium finish. A year has really helped this one come around. 91

1/5/2024 - swade wrote:

Another fine wine. 3/2/23 descriptors apply and in short sum abundant cherry aromas and flavors and a toss of earth. 91

12/25/2023 - swade wrote:

Pale yellow color. Lime, brine and citrus aromas. Sea brine and minerals palate. Sound and quite satisfactory. 92

12/17/2023 - swade wrote:

I wanted to feature this wine at a tasting of 14, but it did not go to plan. I had two bottles pulled and the first was corked. The second had some plums and graphite, but was rough. The third was also corked. All three corks fell apart and were crumbly. Very unfortunate and not a good showing compared to the group. Still, the sound bottle was excellent, but the competition was tough. 91.

12/17/2023 - swade wrote:

Smoldering aromas and black fruit. Excellent vintage again for RM. Great QPR.

12/17/2023 - swade wrote:

Great style and aromas. Crowd favorite at a tasting of 14. Blackberry, creme de cassis and oak spice. In a good place. 93

12/17/2023 - swade wrote:

Silky layers of dark fruit. In a great place. 93

12/17/2023 - swade wrote:

Fig paste, blackberry and bramble galore. Super. A top wine at a tasting of fourteen. 96

12/17/2023 - swade wrote:

Black fruit, baking spices and cloves galore. Layers of flavors and aromas. Classic. 95

12/17/2023 - swade wrote:

Honey and citrus. Clean and refreshing. Easy drinker.

12/15/2023 - swade wrote:

Always good and solid. Blueberry, black pepper, bramble and oak spice. 90

12/17/2023 - swade wrote:

Pale yellow color. Orchard fruit and citrus flavors. Bright, lively and balanced. Very good. 90

12/17/2023 - swade wrote:

WOTN at a tasting of fourteen. Just excellent. Flowers and orchard fruit galore. Classic. 95

12/17/2023 - swade wrote:

Top three of fourteen at the tasting. Flavored with citrus, bread and nut skin. Bright and clear. 94

12/11/2023 - swade wrote:

The cork was soft and this ended up being a surgical procedure. The color was primary with no signs of age. Fresh tilled earth and forest floor aromas. Beautiful dark cherry, earth and graphite flavors. A tiny spot of sour on the finish, but no flaw and added interest. This was lovely and and in a really good place to show it's wares. I've had many vintages from this vineyard and this is the best vintage I've tried. 94

11/28/2023 - swade wrote:

Deep purple color. Effusively aromatic with berry bowl and tomato leaf. Dark berry melange of flavors with blueberry skin and juicy blackberry. This is cab lover's merlot. 93.

11/20/2023 - swade wrote:

Solid steak night wine. Aromas of chocolate and cigar box - pretty classical. Round entry marked by flavors of cassis, graphite, bramble and spice. Even at 15 years I expected more bristle from this Barton, but the tannins were fairly well absorbed and it was showing it's stuff. Chewy enough. Moderate finish and this is where I think the lesser vintages show a bit. Really a treat. 91

11/19/2023 - swade wrote:

Dark berry jam and vanilla oak spice. A mouthful of flavor. 90

11/7/2023 - swade wrote:

Primary color. Smokey aromas. Classy entry. Dark fruit melange. Medium, clean finish. I expect this will improve with another 2-5 years in the cellar. 92

11/1/2023 - swade wrote:

Sandalwood aromas. Plums, a toss of earth and spice. Consistently good. 92

11/1/2023 - swade wrote:

Really good. Smokey. Dark fruit galore. Round and silky. 93

10/25/2023 - swade wrote:

Three years since my last. No sign of aging in the color. Shy on aromas. Similar notes of black currant and graphite. Still a little grip. Clean. The vintage shows in the short finish. Not quite as good as the last bottle. This was a relative bit of a disappointment. 88

10/16/2023 - swade wrote:

Dark fruit. I thought this still had some grip and could benefit from some more time. 91

10/13/2023 - swade wrote:

Crimson color. Not green in flavor (2011 can have some of this). Light, dusty cherries. A toss of minerals. A little light-ish in body. Downish vintage shows in shortish finish. This was on edge all night. Just a little bit of vitamin B in there too - a little medicinal. This just couldn't get over the hump for me and I've had some good ones in other vintages. I'm writing this off to the vintage. I spent a fair amount of time visiting with this wine and tasting and retasting. I enjoyed it, but not very giving or generous overall. 89

10/2/2023 - swade wrote:

So good my wife liked it. She is normally not a Burg fan. Please see my recent tasting notes and descriptors. Rock solid at that.
The wine is more solid than the cork again at 21 years. 92

9/26/2023 - swade wrote:

First of six bought as futures. I let this breathe in the glass for about an hour. Savory aromas. Silky entry. This offered notes of black cherry, sous bois, pencil lead and cedar cigar box. Classic profile, but the sous bois seemed most predominant. Clean finish. Served with grilled filet mignon and balsamic strawberry spinach salad. The wine is in it's drinking plateau, but I suspect it's still on the way up since it tightened up after about two hours. This was a better than average Monday due to this outstanding wine. 94

9/13/2023 - swade wrote:

Flawed. Purchased at Pearson's upon release for $45. No score.

9/13/2023 - swade wrote:

Less strict than last time and approachable, but at this stage it hasn't really blossomed into anything either. Kind of muddled earthy flavors. Was more strict in the past, but I could pick out raspberries. I've had a few other vintages and they just didn't seem to hit it in this very strong vintage. I scored this without looking at the first three and it came in about the same. 86

9/5/2023 - swade wrote:

Tar, dark fruit and resolved tannins. Dry finish. Better than last time. Time has favored this and smoothed out the edges a bit. 89

9/3/2023 - swade wrote:

Dark fruit melange and spice 90

8/30/2023 - swade wrote:

Good and marked with sweet meat, earth. Very sauvage. Value Burg find of the year at $40. I feel like I pretty much never go wrong with a 2002 from a good source.

8/30/2023 - swade wrote:

Wine-soaked cork. Some lightening at the rim. Brick dust color. Earthy aromas. Time has repaid this one (aside from the fact I only paid $65 for it on release). Velvety texture. This opens with sweet cherry, earth and a lightly spiced finish. The mouth feel was fabulous. No rusticity. Clean. Medium finish.

8/16/2023 - swade wrote:

Black currants and graphite. Good, clean finish. Medium body. In a good place right now. Showing well with a swirl after opening. 91

8/14/2023 - swade wrote:

Dark purple. Campfire aromas. Oodles of blackberry and creme de cassis with an oak-spiced finish. Plus finish. I liked the 2010 and 2014 iterations more, but this was very good in it's own right. 92

8/14/2023 - swade wrote:

Deep purple. Singed wood aromas. Dark fruit profile. Clean, medium finish. Very good. 90

7/29/2023 - swade wrote:

Oodles of creme de cassis, lead pencil and graphite. Puts one in the mind of Paulliac. Silky. Fine. In a good place. Drink or hold. 93