11/29/2022 - Livonietisr Likes this wine:

Best marocan red tasted till now. Deep garnet color. Aromas of black currant, cherry, pepper, mint, leather, smoke. Dry, balanced, fruity, velvety, very easy drinking. Medium finish.

7/25/2021 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

Very interesting what a year can do to a wine. Now really shock-full of pinosity - my wife took one sniff and one sip and then she said: oh, my, you really opened up something fancy tonight, didn't you? Still has freshness and structure and should be even better down the line. Excellent.

1/28/2022 - Elvis1969 wrote:

Alldeles för ung ännu. Var rätt bra dag 3 men vänta helst i tio år med att korka upp.

7/2/2022 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

Really shining with some grilled Iberico Secreto. Has so much fruit and chocolatey loveliness on the nose that you almost miss the sandpaper fine tannins and the very well balanced finish on this beauty. Lovely. I said hedonistic but my friends argued for melancholic. It probably is both.

Edit: upped the score - it was so good and everyone else had this as the WOTN (I had a Stony Hill 2010 Cabernet and a Arnot Robert’s Trout Gulch 2015 Chardonnay as my WOTN.)

2/20/2021 - Stanrocks Likes this wine:

Blind

Nose of southern style white wine, dried wild anise, fennel, very mediterranean herbs

palate is med acid, with spice, white pepper, quite southernly as well, dried citrus and lemon peel, quite powerful, med+ length I thought of Clairette or Bouboulenc ... :) godello

5/5/2019 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

Ooh,lala! A new favorite. Long time since I felt so excited by a merlot. This has the same crazy opulent fruit as a Shafer but with the balance of a Le Macchiole. Ripe plums, black cherries, milk chocolate of the finest persuasion and a long fresh finish. Has grip but its sandpaper like and hidden amongst all the sweet fruit and velvety texture. Great now (better pop'n'pour than day 2), but will certainly be good for a long time, but I think there's no knowing if the balance will be as perfect ten years from now. Mitjavile Jr. strikes a home run in a not-so-heralded-year with a Cotes de Castillon.

12/25/2018 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

christmas dinner (at our home): On the bottle it says that this was bottled in 2013, I am not really sure about the various entries for the wines of Duorum here, but would just for the record state that this was probably the best port I've had. Dense, yet light on its feet with good acidity and harmonious seamless fruit and wonderful texture that never gets cloyingly sweet nor harsh and bitter from tannic structure. This drinks so well now but has the makings for a century worth of storing it feels like.

4/22/2021 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

The ugly duckling has turned into a swan! The tannins have mellowed but their imprint is noticeable as a sort of background structure. The red berries feel youthful and complex. The attack is, well, not soft, but very very fine. The freshness is all there.

And the minerality is laced around the fruit in a way that makes me think of Clos Rougeard or Thierry Germain cab franc (Domaine des Roche Neuve).

Extremely delish and at the same time contemplative and structured, but in a way that feels so much more light in style than when I tried the first bottle in 2013. Well worth the wait!

7/3/2021 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

Blind tasting with the three amigos (chez moi): The most backward bottle of the four we opened, on the other hand it was not as sullen after the cork was pulled as the La Mission Haut-Brion 2002 but it actually stayed very much in character over ten hours so obviously has much more to give. We all liked this very much but no one had it as the best wine in the line up. Very very classic Medoc and St Julien whereas the other 2002 wines maybe were not as easy to pick out blind in terms of geography within Bordeaux. Lean, black fruit, elegant, savory, a little peppery and dry but with a velvety palate and a rather long, grippy finish.

6/12/2021 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

This is how I like my Malbecs! Raised in concrete egg but still fruity and structured, there is more of an emphasis on licorice root tea, violets, black cherries, fresh blueberries from the north and maybe a touch of raw meat as well. Lovely grip and freshness, this was poured from a Magnum (two magnums in fact) and I think it's a real keeper.

5/21/2021 - Sundbyberg wrote:

Tasting: Very good but I liked it better laste time, a few weeks ago. I think the 2-3 hour decant last time made a difference.

9/2/2020 - streethawk Likes this wine:

Very good right now, with potential to develop into something great with another 5-10 years of bottle age. Notes of petrol, white flowers, slate on the nose. The palate has the bright acidity and laser-sharp focus found in the best Riesling expressions from across the world, like a solitary ray of sunshine. Slight bitterness on the back palate. Overall, a very enjoyable wine that I expect will only gain in complexity with some more time.

3/13/2021 - Omar Khayyam wrote:

Early days for this one. very aromatic on the nose with verbena soap, mandarins, fresh lime peel. On the palate sweet mandarin fruit attack followed by a little bitter grapefruit kernel and peel finish. Perfect texture! good freshness. Not all together yet. Save for 3-5 years and drink with food, perhaps grilled swordfish or tuna with some fresh salsa. Like many of these verdicchios the qtr is great compared to many other famous white wines of the world. 88 now but potential for 90 points later on for sure.

4/6/2021 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

I really liked the intensity on this one: at first there is the telltale By Farr cooked beet but luckily it goes away, leaving a very complete nose with a lot of the kind of pinosity that I have come to appreciate from reasonably oaked Oregon pinot noirs, which this resembles: vanilla, mature strawberries, black cherries, wet soil, undergrowth, licorice root tea, and some slightly stemmy tulips (that also blows off with decanting) and a little truffle. Finish is long and powerful and ends on a hoisin sauce note. It manages to be elegant and deftly oaked with a lot of freshness but also with fruit and power - a Pinot for the Syrah lovers.

3/25/2021 - Mark van Delft wrote:

Average St Aubin: lychee, minerals, white peach, soft toast, grapefruit, some rough acidic edges, especially in the finish, there are better options out there in St Aubin.

3/6/2021 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

When a big batch of this wine landed in Stockholm, released on the state monopoly, most wine friends I know felt instinctively that something must be wrong for a wine of this pedigree from Napa, with age, at a reasonable price (well, 100 USD is 100 USD and not cheap by any means), to drop on us ill fortunate Swedes in the middle of winter. I took a bet on a different theory: that maybe this was a vintage with less ripe fruit and less grippy tannins and less concentration, which usually does not appeal to the well to do crowd that still buys Napa reds in expensive steak restaurants around the country. Maybe some retailer was feeling the pressure from the Covid-recession? Maybe the high percentage of merlot in the early vintages of the estate cuvée from Kapcsandy (later on brought down to about a fifth as I understand it) meant that at this stage in the wine's cellar journey, the grip and fruit was softened to understated velvet textured elegance?

Well, I think we both were right. This is an utterly delicious Napa wine with lovely budding mature notes on the nose, an easy to drink velvet texture, with a slightly hollow mid palate, creating a feeling of lightness. Which, for my part, I adore as it marries the best of two types of wines I really enjoy - classic Bordeaux and lighter fresher reds.

Excellent wine, but maybe the sirloin and rather acidic sauce bearnaise and grilled veggies was a bit too much, with a gruyere it shone. Recommended but not if you are into big Napa wines. And I have no idea of the drinking window on this one, but there's no hurry, and at the same time, probably would not save my second bottle for another ten years for sure.

2/14/2020 - tymon Does not like this wine:

Nice fruit overshadowed by oak. Light tannins, medium plus acidity. Pleasant enough if you enjoy oaky wines. Good potential, but any Rhône characteristics are difficult to spot because of the new oak.

4/12/2020 - tymon wrote:

Starts of with some funky horse stable and leather (so saddle in sum, I guess), and a VA aroma that is a bit over the top (even though I enjoy VA aromas in general). The aroma balances out very nicely after a couple of hours in the decanter, bringing out juicy, tart, dark stone fruits, with the touch of VA adding a crisp juicyness on top. Further back there is smokiness, spice and some nice and round earthy aromas reminiscent of rooibos tea and slightly sulphuric edge. A complex and striking aroma.

Very juicy and clean on the palate, with an impressive structure. Both tannins and acidity is high, but well balanced with the impressive body of the wine. It lingers on with taste of plums and cherries, and the gripping tannins. The concentration is astounding, and the after taste is very long with both tannins and acidity staying on for a long time, together with some of the smokiness. On day two it it’s still just as lovely, even though the aromas are a bit less in your face, but the VA aroma is now completely integrated.

The wine still has a lot of potential, and I’ll wait for a couple of years with the next bottle, as the fruit is still super fresh and can match more tertiary aromas.

2/15/2020 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

Time to check in with the '06 Leoville Barton. Nose is full on developed with classic cabernet dominated St Julien markers, but also more opulent dark chocolate and some spice box. Quite generous in fact. On the palate there is much structure left to be resolved, and it is more strict. Drinking really well with grilled meat right now but there is a long term race going on between the fruit and the structure. If they find a harmonious truce it will be truly great. Meanwhile quite ok to approach already now.

6/27/2020 - srh Likes this wine:

Winebar [3 Whites, 8 Reds, & 6 *shared* bottles] from 06/26/20 (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): Cf. the CellarTracker Article link [lower lft] to get specific info for this vintage, including acclaim.

N: Closed; Minerals, flint, poss smoke, with hints of caramel

P: MF body; RNDISH entry with very NICE, ALMOST swtish frt beautifully counterbalanced by an acidity which flows into a LONG, BALANCED, TANGY/swt (60:40) finish that is already showing impending elegance. DESERVES through '21, then drinking through '24 without difficulty. Impressively done! My EXC, poss even higher down the line? [This vendor's $30.95 would put it in the middle of wine-searcher's 3 postings.]

1/18/2020 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

Really very good. Nose has red berries, some clove perhaps but only so much as to give it a dash of really enticing complexity akin to sniffing on a good Pinot noir or Grenache. On the palate silky texture, great freshness, linear, roses and raspberries. Very fine and highly recommended.

9/18/2020 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

Very good bang for the buck! The varietal mix include all five white grapes of the appellation: 30% gros manseng, 30% petit manseng, 30% camaralet, 5% lauzet and 5% courbu.

The name is aptly chosen as it offers a veritable explosion of flavor and aromas, lots of tropical fruit, lots of spice, all against the backbone of a fat texture, stringent acidity and rather elegant finish. They suggest to pair it with grilled fish and you wouldn't go wrong for doing so, but we tried also with a flavorful risotto with wild mushrooms and salsiccia and the wine was by no means overpowered in that context either. Really nice, but even better on day two when it had calmed down somewhat aromatically, imho.

10/10/2020 - markcic Likes this wine:

We went to visit one of my wife's sisters who live upstate NY 125 miles away. Even though I supplied the dinner wines I did not partake as driving home at night on dark country roads after a few glasses of wine is just not my thing. So when we got home I opened a 375 and decanted it and let it sit while I had a glass of Sancerre. Found some chicken in the fridge and had my midnight snack. The nose on the wine was cherry and red plum. The palate was dark cherry, red plum, cigar and hints of spice. The finish was moderate to long. I would really like to be able to try this wine in a larger format with a longer decant as I believe it would develop further. Overall very enjoyable.

3/24/2018 - Omar Khayyam wrote:

DBYOB (stockholm): So sweet, full of oven roasted root veggies similar to Melville. The bottle shape had me thinking this was a piedrasassi with some sunshine in it. Still, in spite of the over the top nose, the body was quite balanced. I liked it, but still it paled in the presence of the other two syrahs in the flight.

9/6/2020 - The Guzz wrote:

Dark in color. Purple fruit. Very lifted, packed with stones and minerality. All stone, chalk, and cranberry on the nose. Takes a few hours to smooth out. A touch austere with some green elements. Great tension. Should be very good with time.

5/9/2020 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

Stony, chalky and made in an oxidative style but more green apples than yellow apples in the bin. 100 % chardonnay from Macon. Much more restrained than for example the 2015 Les Gryphées from Ganevat and the Domaine Valette Mâcon-Chaintré 2014 vieilles vignes tasted earlier this year. Could probably do with another year or two in the cellar. But drinking really well already. slightly spritzy day one and better day two.

1/31/2020 - Collector1855 wrote:

Expressive nose of blackberries, sweet spices, licorice, sandal wood. Well measured palate, elegant with good structure. Nice showing of this appellation, glad to see that the less famous places in Burg are doing better and better, making good QPR Pinots available. 92+

8/6/2020 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

Great cabernet fruit with cassis, some fresh blueberries, some pipe tobacco, coarsely ground black pepper and brilliant acidity and long finish with a medium body creating a feeling of an easy-drinking claret that is still not bashful about its Californian fruit. There is a grip and substance but it is sand paper elegant and ready to journey for another decade in your cellar if you so wish but also great with some grilled Black Onyx Entrecôte in the warm summer evening.

7/27/2020 - arthrovine wrote:

Damn. Have been sitting on these awhile. This was an imbalanced wine marred by VA.

7/26/2020 - Kris G Likes this wine:

Full bodied and rich showing with mainly black fruits, minerals and toasted impressions. It gives a good reflection of its volcanic surface. Powerful wine but it keeps its tension so it doesn't become boring after 1 glass. Well done!

7/26/2020 - acidqueen wrote:

I always love the Watson Ranch, and this was good, but it wasn’t in the same league as other years. I agree with a few others who mentioned that this was getting “weighty”. It was rounder and fuller than I have had in other vintages, and there was a hint of butter/caramel on the finish. I am going to drink the rest of mine up in the next 12 months and then proceed to the 2017.

6/21/2020 - EricKnick Likes this wine:

Deep ruby color. Blackberry, black cherry, and earth on the nose. Tastes of blackberry, black currant, fig, dark chocolate, leather, and mocha. Balanced acid, subtle tannins, and a beautiful long finish. Good now with a decant but time in the cellar will pay dividends. I’ll dispense with the cliche comparisons to Napa and Bordeaux benchmarks and instead note this wine is a great reflection of its terroir in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Undoubtably, this is Virginia’s red wine standard bearer.

6/27/2020 - Puteljen! wrote:

This bottle came across as overly sweet and packed with lots of vanilla and almost cooked fruit. Rich, heady but still fair balance thanks to the fair amount of acids present. Still drinking nicely and Very nice with grilled tenderloin, gremolata and potato sallad but not up to previous bottles.

3/1/2020 - ludwigbpm wrote:

Une peu de kitsch au nez, des épices, des fines herbes perceptibles en finale, un vin assez aromatique et séducteur. L’alcool ressort un peu malgré le simple 13% affiché. Delicieux.

3/16/2020 - sidaga Likes this wine:

Robe pourpre sombre;
Nez très parfumé & le devient de plus en plus avec le temps, la trame florale est omniprésente du début à la fin. Fruité foncé (cassis, cerise), il y a un petit qqchose d'animale (fourrure). Beau nez élégant & intense.
Bouche tout aussi élégante que le nez, en premier temps sur des notes de fruits foncés denses bien supporté par une acidité vive & des notes rocailleuses. Les tannins sont fins & assèchent la finale. Belle bouche quasi aérienne & intense à la fois. Excellent.

4/29/2020 - Mazy Likes this wine:

Gevrey-Chambertin 2016: confrontation: S'ouvre rapidement dans le verre. Le nez est discret, délicat. En bouche, il se révèle soyeux, sur les arômes de cassis, et démontre beaucoup de finesse. Les tannins sont légers et très digestes. On ne décèle pas d'élevage apparent. Un Gevrey de grâce qui se boit dangereusement bien.

4/30/2020 - Trydebull wrote:

Tappade flaskhelvetet!!! Fan! Var verkligen sugen på att testa den hör! Har du två flaskor och vill sälja en - skicka PM!

3/27/2020 - Omar Khayyam wrote:

Still quite primary, fruit driven modern cabernet with some oak. Mostly black currants on the palate. With air, the excellent balance stands out. Right now, not so much complexity, but should cellar well for at least a decade. Good value for money also. Was really nice to some grilled, slightly spicy, strip loin steak.

Edit: Day 2 it has filled out nicely. Someone has dropped a chocolate liquor praline in the glass. The sweet&sour is more pronounced, as well as a bouquet of violets and some sweet licorice. Early days. Wait ten years. Expect it to perform slightly higher at peak maturity.

1/11/2020 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

Very good and classic Bordeaux with 55 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 40 % Merlot and 5 % Cabernet Franc; excellent nose with some cassis, plum, tobacco, licorice. On the palate seamless, lean body with a fresh core, with a nice grip and decent finish and most of all purity of fruit. Drinking really well right now to food (we served it with grilled lamb chops), but for really mature complexity I am guessing you have to wait five-ten years. For me this is what I look for in Bordeaux (as opposed to overly woody, spicy and sweet&tannic monster cabs).

10/21/2018 - Omar Khayyam wrote:

There's quality fruit here, for sure. But it is cloaked in oak, heat and spice. Alcohol reads 14.2% on the label but could be more.

Oak is not overwhelming but clearly marks the wine with a buttery imprint.

The fruit is intense; like the peel of old yellow apples, yellow plum and pineapple preserves that has been left for too long in the tin can.

Texture is rich but balanced, with fine acidity. But the finish is overly spicy. I am thinking more in terms of dry Jurançon or South African Chenin Blanc. Has a lot of personality and should perhaps be stored for at least five-seven years.

It's a little much currently. But everything is there ,so for the right palate, this could be great.

Personally though, I look for other qualities in chardonnay.

3/24/2019 - Omar Khayyam wrote:

Dream Big - Discover California Wine Tasting (Stockholm, Gamla Riksarkivet (old government archives building) March 2019): AAAARRGHH. The one table I had my mind set on and by the time I got there, all the wine was finished, except for the 2016 Cab, which was so nice. Really lovely and a perfect example of when the Napa fruit shows it's really world class. Complex, for sure this is a big wine, but beautifully balanced and drinkable already now. I think this could go for twenty years and be even better. Highly Recommended.

8/31/2019 - Finare Vinare wrote:

Aromatically upfront, ripe and fairly powerful, with faint vanilla oak and rich fruit aromas boosted by ethyl acetate. This, together with the 13,5% abv, also contributes to the perceived sweetness on the palate. This is an expressive and rewarding natural-style white Burgundy, although for some palates the level of acetate may be close to comfortable limits. (Disclaimer: ITB with Swedish importer Vin & Natur)

8/2/2019 - Omar Khayyam wrote:

Sweet raspberries, pale red color, freshness dominant feature. A little short but harmonious. Easy to like and easy to drink. Don’t think this will benefit from cellaring much.

10/26/2018 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine:

A lovely and absolutely adorable wine with brilliant balance, integration and overall proportions. This wine is drinking superbly right now but will most likely continue to evolve for another decade or more. The 2012 White Hawk exhibits an elegant combination of power, elegance and fruit. The fruit is totally on par with all the other components, yet it speaks up a bit more loudly thanks to the youthfullness of this effort. Power is expressed by a marvelous 50+ second length on the finish! Despite almost ten years rest there is plenty of both texture and a stunning structure. A lovely wine!

4/19/2019 - Omar Khayyam wrote:

Early Mountain Winery (at the winery with Ben Jordan): Petit Manseng, who'd guessed this was the grape for Virginia? While maybe not so surprising that all the vintners seemed to be doing the same Bordeaux varietals, as well as chardonnay, but the fact that so many were also using this semi-obscure Jurancon white varietal was intriguing.

And in a little sample from yet unbottled wine at Early Mountain, I finally understood why. This was by far the best petit manseng I tried in Virginia, and a real showstopper. On the nose there is resin, lemons, grilled lemons, grape fruit. Fleshed out body with a zesty grape fruit like tangy feel to it. great wine and the future of this winery if you ask me.

3/8/2019 - Puteljen! Likes this wine:

Had a very strange experience with this wine. On day one it was flat and muted, mostly winter apples. Felt clumsy and overly oxidised. On day two it was fresh as a daisy. The apples where there but toned down, the acidity was up a couple of pinholes and it was drinking beautifully. Nex time I'll give it a proper decant. Score is for day two (on day one about 86-87 pts)

1/11/2019 - pjhr Likes this wine:

Tasty red berry aromas with a silky smooth palate of red berry, earthy notes with a moderate finish and a bit of Brett.

1/2/2019 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

DBYOB 3.0 The Rise of the Eternal Return (@swedish home): no notes but was very fruity cabernet nose on this with a lot of structure. Very good.

1/6/2019 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

Very odd but lovely combination of pure racy cinsault [edit: no cinsault, although that's how the restaurant listed it, it's a mix of Syrah, carignan and cabernet, see note from winemaker as comment to this tasting note] fruit that does not bear much trace of oak or anything but a streak of sweaty horse saddle and some VA. Some similarities to a young Musar. we liked it just fine!

1/2/2019 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine:

DBYOB 3.0 The Rise of the Eternal Return (@swedish home): Really lovely, did not take notes so will refrain from scoring other than saying it was excellent and drinking really well. Clearly, has potential to develop and will drink well for many more years.