4/15/2024 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Very nicely balanced, drinking well

4/15/2024 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Wait

4/15/2024 - Smahlatz wrote:

Hmm, bit chunky, needs time. Better day 2

2/20/2024 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

18 months since last tasted. Quite similar, needs time to develop complexity

2/20/2024 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Has really developed with tertiary notes starting to emerge. Dusty, leather, tannins subdued, fruit prominent

12/28/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Consistent with previous bottles. Delightful acidic profile. Sour cherries, raspberries, hint of leather, aniseed. Not a lot of tertiary nites here. Very balanced. Without like to have had more bottles to see where this goes (if anywhere). Aging glacially.

12/24/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Initially heavy, peppery anda but harsh. After sitting in the fridge for a week came back to it, and it was a delightful velvety blackcurrant driven treat.

12/18/2023 - Smahlatz wrote:

Consistent with previous notes

12/6/2023 - Smahlatz wrote:

All quite good, but definitely an oxidative nite on the palate which is not present on the nose

11/13/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Still quite a tannic breast, though a delightfully floral and elegant experience.

10/16/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Quite consistent with previous bottles, but a little less brash, sweetly fruited, less dried fruit, more relaxed. In a great place. Day 2 it is sublime and has developed a lovely mineral finish. Day 3... We didn't get to day 3.

10/2/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Beautiful elegant Syrah

10/2/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Bruised apples dominate the palate with a little autolytic character. Quite enjoyable

10/2/2023 - Smahlatz wrote:

Bright ruby colour, bright red fruit flavours. Delicious Beaujolais. Even better in day 2. Plenty of life in this, but delightful now.

9/17/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Delicious early drinking

9/17/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

A recent 2010 poujeaux proved superior to the 09, and I find the same with this. Finer texture, more detail. Tannins are tame. A pure red fruitedness peeking out from the very core. Wonderful but will improve

9/17/2023 - Smahlatz wrote:

Better than the last, but there is still a hint of something on the nose that isn't right

9/17/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Superb Rioja in an approachable and fruity but traditional style. Red berries, vibrant citric orange acidity, some vanilla. Delicious.

9/3/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Cracking wine. Fine bubbles. Nose of apple, brioche, lemon, hint if pear, brioche. Reflected in the palate. Pleasant oxidative touch, a bit of bruising on the apple. Some bitterness on the finish. Up there with the Furleigh Estate for be.

9/3/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Dense and youthful colour. My first 2008, the nose is refined - black fruits blackcurrant, some graphite/cedar, and a lively citric lift.
The palate is pleasant - dusty, some mint notes along with those detected on the nose. With a few hours of air, the oak become more prominent adding a little vanilla to the mix
Lengthy finish.
Very pleasant now, though it feels like this is going to become very good indeed with time.

Day 2 update: A little more clarity to the blackcurrant fruits - vanilla still there though less of it - very pleasant albeit a little more fruit driven. Would love to see how it fairs day 3, but it is not going to last that long

9/3/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

For me this was a noticeable step up from the 2009.
Youthful colour - a little more clarity than 2009.
Classic left bank nose, but it is on the palate where the main difference lies. This feels more elegant and there is more focus and clarity in the flavours than the 2009. Decent finish - looking forward to exploring these over the coming years.

8/21/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

A simple but silky red Burgundy.

8/20/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Solid but unexciting very bourgeois.

8/20/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Skip the rating for now. Enjoyable, but not as busy as the 05 or 06. Maybe just but the best time for it.

8/20/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Delightful wine. Slight browning at the rim. Palate is silky. Friendly and delicious at this point. The finish is where this takes off. Rush of chalky, floral flavours on a long finish.

8/20/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Very plush and full. Maybe a tad too much so. Enjoyable none the less

8/7/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Last bottle was about 20 months ago and lacked interest. This had developed beautifully. On pouring was mute, but some fruit started to enter the picture 30 minutes in. With air, a beautiful sweet minerality develops on the finish. Graceful and elegant, this is now showing very well.

8/7/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Youthful colour. Smile inducing nose shows deep red fruits and leather. Luxurious. On the palate some orange peel tells us we're in Rioja. Tannins well integrated. Long finish. Consumed over 3 days and did not degrade at all. Showing will with plenty of life in it.

7/24/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Another Musar that smells knackered then resurrects itself after a day. Seems more stark with this vintage

7/24/2023 - Smahlatz wrote:

A couple of years since my last bottle. Some tertiary development on the nose, but not quite there. Tannins are will integrated now. Not bad but... Day 2, gone backwards. Blocky and a bit reticent. Day 3, suave, open, mineral, expressive. Finally got there.

7/9/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Delicious as always

7/9/2023 - Smahlatz wrote:

Pleasant enough. Typical experience for this wine. Didn't feel ready

7/9/2023 - Smahlatz wrote:

Enjoyable. Went nicely with a burnt butter and garlic gnocchi. That's all though. 87? Reserving judgement as I suspect it's me, not the wine :)

6/26/2023 - Smahlatz wrote:

A lovely or and elegant Syrah which is developing nicely, but it really seemed to struggle to contain the alcohol despite being just 13.5%

6/12/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

A few years since I've had one of these, and can't help thinking it feels a little tired. Lovely tertiary notes, but feeling a little brittle now.

6/12/2023 - Smahlatz Does not like this wine:

A pleasant bubbly though a little sweet and simple with bright Apple Juice dominating.

5/29/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Bright gold in colour. Classic nose of lemon/lime/lanolin. Covered through on the palate. Some bitterness and taut lines on the finish blossoms into a honeyed glory. As fresh tasting as any bottle I've had. Plenty of life left in this

5/28/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Elegant. That is the word for this. Initial nose of raspberry - and palate was light and fruity with little perceptible tannin. Smells of N Rhone Syrah - but I would not be able to place it blind - too elegant for lower appellations, not enough concentration for higher end N Rhone. With air, this becomes more concentrated - some animal fat starts to creep in, and some liquorice. The raspberry gets more concentrated - some cherry danish on the palate, and it starts to develop some tertiary flavours - some leather and sweat. The finish elongates from a fresh and elegant finish to a long mineral and fruit driven finish. This is starting to taste like it could also come from Bordeaux now. The nose develops more florality and the tannins transform from imperceptible to fine but firm - to the point the had I tasted it first after some aeration and along with those liquorice notes, I could possibly believe this is from Piedmont - although the colour gives it away somewhat. Very impressed with this wine. I have only had it once before - about 15 years ago, I forget the vintage. I was really just starting to explore wine, and I bought a few more expensive bottles from the local wine shop. On that occasion, it was brutally tannic, with no fruit whatsoever. This is a far better experience. There is enough concentration and balance here to suggest this will continue to develop for a few years yet.

5/15/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

More approachable than expected but can take time with the rest.

5/15/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Some years since my last bottle. Tannins still assertive. Nose is more tertiary, although those aspects haven't yet fully developed on the palate which is lithe and cool. The finish had lost its lactic aspect and had become far more mineralic. Delightful. Just taking a peek into its drinking window. More to come.

5/15/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Possibly detect faint corkiness. More developed than my last foray a year ago. Tannins still firm. Not drinking badly but some more to come.

5/15/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Richly scented and quite easy going this. Pleasurable from the off, but certainly missing a little sternness from the previous vintages. Enjoyable nonetheless, but in an almost new world way

5/1/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Consistent with previous notes. Will be interesting to see how this develops if I can keep my hands off it. Glorious drinking in its youth

3/18/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

In a good place

3/6/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Similar notes to last bottle from a couple of years ago. It really poured very elegantly straight from the bottle, very delicate and elegant. In the opposite of a recent La Rosine, it out on a lot of weight by day 2, and in fact within an hour of opening. Now tertiary development here. Felt a bit tired day 3.

3/6/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Continues to improve. colour is very violet with ruby glints. Quite fruit driven. Day 2 though, this a delight. Much more elegant and refined - excellent.

2/20/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

The last of a case, and the best by far. Becoming more expressive as well as a little tertiary development. Others really were drink too early, but this modest 2013 is just hitting its stride.

2/20/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

First of a case. This is drinking very well currently. The nose and palate has lost a little of the firecracker of youth, but replaced with done tertiary leather to accompany the sour cherry. Superb balance, with tannins still quite firm, before a lengthy finish. No rush.

1/22/2023 - Smahlatz Likes this wine:

Enjoyable Southern Rhone which has developed a little over the last 12 months. More to come

1/22/2023 - Smahlatz wrote:

Another young Medoc confined over the new year. The Beaumont seemed a little more expensive at this point, but this appears to have more potential, still going strong on day 4