5/11/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

A medium pink rather than a wishy-washy bleached peach. Lovely strawberry fruit, this is as dependable as ever, and gains in presence with a little bottle age. No idea if this counts as 'aged' Rosé or not, but it is delightfully fresh despite the years under its belt. Cracking stuff for a spring weekend bbq, despite the price and availability you really cannot go wrong with this domaine.

5/9/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Quite a dark yellow for such a young wine. My first HCdB and I was pretty impressed. It was recognisably Burgundy, with an attractive smoky core, and light white fleshed fruit. Very pleasing, easy wine with a hint of quality - you know you've got something that is a level above a run-of-the-mill wine. However, and taking nothing away from a decent wine, it's perhaps just a little expensive for what it is and marked down accordingly. At £15 it could be a winner, but it's rather more than that - £22ib (full bottle). From a half, an ideal cellar defender on a weekday evening.

5/8/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Wow, what a surprise! Although I have had one of these before so it should not have been. This dumb-ass was expecting a typical Beaujolais, light, fruity and gluggable. What I opened could not have been more different. My last bottle was in 2021 so I am not surprised I had forgotten, this was again a highly structured and quite serious wine, characterised by dark fruit and a stamp of authority and backbone. It's pretty tart, a bit chewy, and just really interesting. I paid peanuts for this, most wines in this price range are instantly forgettable, so it's quite incredible that it can have so much presence. That said, it was a warm day and I had wanted a light and fruity red....

5/3/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Deep dark Syrah, quite dense and gritty, but also with a sheen of vanilla oak that seems out of place next to what was quite a rustic structure this evening. Pretty damn delicious though, so easy to drink.

5/2/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Tom's Edinburgh Offline (Number One Balmoral): Deeper gold than the Madeira. Aromas of golden syrup, like brown sugar on porridge when you were at school, warm bread pudding or spotted dick fresh from the oven. Figs, raisins, vanilla custard, marmalade and candied orange. Sweet, rich and round, but the quite lively acidity keeps this a point and in check. Very very long, and quite delicious. Why don't I drink more Sauternes?

5/2/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Tom's Edinburgh Offline (Number One Balmoral): An auburn colour in the glass, quite light and translucent. Nose of brown sugar, alcohol spilled on a dirt floor, old leaky casks - real depths of the cellar stuff. It smells ancient and untouched, but it has an incredible energy which is quite remarkable. On the palate the wine practically takes off - my written notes say "whoosh" which was as a good a descriptor as I could come up with in the moment. It is mesmerising, the oxidative Madeira you think you know has been replaced by a stunning tingly sweetness that dances across your tongue. Alongside the molasses and burnt caramel that pour from this lurid 1960s green bottle you can find honey, herbs, hazelnuts, orange, apricot and balsamic vinegar. Loved it, what a treat just a small sip of this was.

5/2/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Tom's Edinburgh Offline (Number One Balmoral): Pale red. Muted nose to begin with, but air brings this to life and it grows and grows, outpacing the Pommard Marey-Monge from the same vintage. There is a restrained sweetness to it, light raspberry and cranberry with a lovely pepperiness on the back end. Proper elegance here, delightfully fine, precise and wispy. With time olive notes emerge to temper the sweetness a little. Very hard to put this down.

5/2/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Tom's Edinburgh Offline (Number One Balmoral): Medium pale red. Nice pinot nose, quite classical but hard to get out. I don't think this is in closed phase per se, but I think it suffers alongside the MSD, coming across as rather low-key and pedestrian. In its own right this is a nicely built red Burgundy with the key elements in place, if all a little dialled back. I enjoyed the balance here and the soft light fruit - it has none of the rusticity or chunk typically associated with Pommard.

5/2/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Tom's Edinburgh Offline (Number One Balmoral): Dark red. Nose of stunning black fruit, with gamey meat, blood and olives. I prefer the nose to the palate by some distance. This is really dominated by olive tapenade and a wall of tannin then dulls the fruit, makes it take a back seat. Highly structured, it's tight even after decanting, and whilst not monolithic like Nebbiolo, it definitely needs more time to unfurl. I'm glad I have more - despite most Cote Rotie seeming to hit its stride between 10 and 15 years, this seems reticent and backwards still, and I think could do with another 5 years of cellaring. Will surely improve a great deal.

5/2/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Tom's Edinburgh Offline (Number One Balmoral): Pale, 20 years not even in the realms of guesswork, astonishing. The nose is simply tremendous, smells less sweet than it is, hints of petrol, light peach and apple, grape and lime. This is sensational, the fruit is ripe and rich, but the acidity carries this all the way, it might live forever. Still so youthful really, alive and kicking, medium sweet, oily but not heavy or unctuous. A ballet dancer of a wine, light and airy, but with a super-serious centre of balance. It was simply wonderful with the slightly smoky and sweet scallops.

5/2/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Tom's Edinburgh Offline (Number One Balmoral): Quite pale. Less struck match evident than is normally the case with PYCM. White fruit, light citrus, nice core of chalky minerality, but oddly I preferred this wine immediately after pouring. It seemed to lose vibrancy in the glass. It has a round and sedate easy-going nature, but I felt it lacked the zing and exciting element that ought to have been there. Still a lovely wine, but just missing some zip for me.

5/2/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Tom's Edinburgh Offline (Number One Balmoral): Really pale, paler than 11 years might suggest. Quite a silky mouthfeel. A bit smoky, a tinge of reduction that I wasn't expecting but the wine is good with it. Wool notes were expected, but strangely this has more than a feel of Burgundy about it. It's strongly acidic that plays well with the sweet and smooth white fruit. Really high quality Chenin here, such elegance and poise.

5/2/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Tom's Edinburgh Offline (Number One Balmoral): Side by side with the Comtes 2006 and these two wines could not be more stylistically different. This is a little darker, and the mousse is less fine but more piquant. It feels more evolved than the Comtes, leaner, but equally more "Champagne", with more of a brioche and bread nature to it. It's tart, chiselled, and extremely refreshing and probably aligns more to my view of a typical Champagne than the Comtes actually. Very nice indeed, hard to choose between the two, like chalk and cheese but both truly excellent.

5/2/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Tom's Edinburgh Offline (Number One Balmoral): Fabulous nose on opening, all about subtle biscuity champagne notes. With time though it becomes Burgundian, unmistakably Chardonnay, but more geared to a still white wine with a hint of smoky reduction. The mousse is very fine, and the palate has a sweet creaminess to it. It's just so fine and so remarkably easy to drink, and extraordinary to think it's approaching 20 years of age. In great shape, and will likely stay at this plateau for many years. Lovely stuff, a genuine pleasure.

4/30/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

I regretted this purchase when the review came out *after* I bought it, but I thought I would have one delivered just to see.... Suffice to say that the others are NO LONGER FOR SALE. Just great, youthful for sure, but this has great tang, salinity, stoniness and citrussy-pith, and a small amount of smoke-tinged reduction. In short all I would want from a Saint-Aubin, and very reminiscent of something more expensive (£26ib). I've always been impressed by Marc Colin's wines, they are built in a certain way that appeals to what I like in White Burgundy, which I think is precision. This was very nice indeed, glad I have more!

4/28/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Medium pale gold. This is immediately lively and aromatic, and on the palate it has a really rather unexpectedly good interaction of roundness and focus. Very little flab. Frankly I was amazed as the previous bottles were not exactly world-beating but there you have it. Perhaps it was because I actually thought I had none left, it was stashed away amongst some reds and a surprising find that I was thus was predisposed to like. Anyway, a very pleasing and solid white burgundy that hit all the right notes and was oustanding value for money all things considered. The last of the case, and interestingly the best yet, beating the penultimate bottle which was also an improvement on the ones that came before.

4/26/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Pale gold. Lovely nose, very elegant. A hint of smoke, lot of citrussy pith, chalk, ginger stem and lime. A small amount of reduction lingers. Straightforward and nicely-done Puligny from a domaine I had not encountered before. Let down slightly by a hint of green bitterness at the very finish but otherwise a very fine bottle, and if the price was right I'd jump in. Off the list at Noizé, London.

4/25/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Green gold. Far more mineral and saline than I recall, with a refreshing citrus acidity and a lively and tingly palate. Interesting - I had been on the point of dismissing this, but actually this was far more to my tastes, far less 'generic', and actually rather fun.

4/24/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Note much as last time, ie a very enjoyable bottle. Once again to note that this is not old-school meursault, it is a lot more zippy than that. Was not as good on day 2.

4/23/2024 - oenanthe Does not like this wine:

Extraordinarily rich, full-bodied apricot and peach, the sweetness of this really stands out and I found it rather cloying but I assume this is the style they are aiming at for this bottling. Can't fault the quality but really not my cup of tea. Chelsea Lounge JFK.

4/23/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Light and elegant, zippy and very refreshing indeed. Wafts of light citrus and apple, extremely easy-going and drinkable. Chelsea Lounge JFK.

4/23/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Great poise and structure, lively but with a sedate nature, really nice. Lovely acidity and balance, with the warmth and comfort of fresh baked biscuits offset by zingy apple juice. JFK-LHR.

4/15/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 2 (Hawksmoor Guildhall): Medium gold, more youthful colour than I was expecting, this retains freshness and balance, and has so many levels it is hard to describe (Especially with my notes at a standstill by this point). Suffice to say this was an excellent Sauternes at 20 years old but could keep for 30 or 40. Delicious match with sticky toffee pudding.

4/15/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 2 (Hawksmoor Guildhall): Well this was an eye-opener, what a stunner! Lovely dark cassis, sweet peppery notes, ash and cedar wood, absolutely on form this evening. Everything pretty much as you would want it, just a gorgeous claret in the perfect postion. Drink now, this is where you want it to be. It was a tough choice between this and the Montrose but I think for sheer classical enjoyment (as well as a desire to support the massive underdog in this line-up) this was my #1 WOTN by a tiny margin. Splendid.

4/15/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 2 (Hawksmoor Guildhall): Spot on, a far better bottle than in March, less austere and more pliant, without the hint of greenness that some thought was present. This is nicely open, with rich and deep seam of dark blue cool fruit, very moreish indeed. After the last bottle I wasn't sure this could ever deliver but this is emminently drinkable whilst staying on the side of straight-laced. Delicious. My #2 WOTN.

4/15/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 2 (Hawksmoor Guildhall): Lovely cassis fruit here, plus smoked meat, cedar and pencil lead, this is nicely balanced and quite classical, albeit perhaps less immediately dusty old school desk Pauillac than I was expecting. It's a bit more alive and vibrant than this, youth still on its side. Good bottle, solid and enjoyable, plenty of time in hand.

4/15/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 2 (Hawksmoor Guildhall): A little bit of high-toned polish on this one, it comes across as quite youthful. Just as the last bottle I tasted it March it's rich and round without ever straying from the brief, with sweet red fruit notes mixing with cool deep cassis. This latter tends to take over with time in glass, probably as it should. Nice wine in a good spot, I'd be pleased to have this in the cellar as it should go on for a while.

4/15/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 2 (Hawksmoor Guildhall): Lovely cassis on the nose, and also a fatty/meaty aspect. Olives and balsamic vinegar notes interwine. More evolved than the LTHB alongside it, the throttle is opened a little more, deeper, maybe even a little wild, and certainly less feminine that I was expecting. This is a compelling package and my #3 on the night.

4/15/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 2 (Hawksmoor Guildhall): Lovely subtle nose, pure and precise cassis, excellent restraint here. There is a leafy green element, and a hint of vanilla caramel, it's a properly classical old school graves that is fully in the zone and drinking beautifully. Everything is balanced, cool and dialled back. I don't find it particularly exciting, but that's not really the point here.

4/15/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 2 (Hawksmoor Guildhall): Fine mousse, fine bubbles, apple on the nose, and then very pleasant fizzy lemon and biscuit notes. If I was asked what champagne was like I would present this, it's a hugely dependable cuvée. First I've tried of the 244, having been through some 242 and 243. This probably needs a little more time (2019 base) to really get going but there is nothing stopping you drinking it now if you've run out of the others.

4/13/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Dark and distinctive. Somebody has bottled a negroni, it's uncanny, but significantly more bitter than that drink. So bitter it is ridiculous, this sounds terrible but in a way it reminded me of bile and covonia cough medicine, which you would have to say is not a good thing! When I thought of this I immediately started to instead think about negronis, herbs, benedictine monks and aesop handwash until it passed, and then I was OK. Tons of interest but ultimately this is a tough one and very much an aquired taste. It was so intriguing it was hard to stop drinking it, and only the inbound 88 bus got me on my feet.

4/13/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Dark caramel in appearance, I don't remember this being especially sweet but my notes fade at this point. I didn't think it had much depth to it, but it paired nicely with a sweet dessert.

4/13/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Dark red. Old school, green bell pepper and sweet cassis. Everything you want from an aged bordeaux is there, school desks, cedar, tobacco, leather and lead, all underpinned by seductive dark cassis. A smokey note emerges with time, it becomes a bit meaty. It's incredible to think this is approaching 30 years old, it's so effortlessly smooth and expressive, rolling along like the class act it is. Sensational wine in all respects.

4/13/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Dark red. Sweet and lovely, some balsamic vinegar and fennel on the nose, it just smells Italian despite the grapes in it and I like it a lot. Dark classy fruit with vanilla and herbs, the overall impression is of cool elegance. It's in the window, drinking splendidly and probably will for quite a few years.

4/13/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Bright and beaming. All about sweet red cherry fruit, there is some weight to it, a bit of heft and structure, but overall it stays true to the sophisticated smooth elegance that seems to define Grivot wines from this commune. Sweet autumn leaves, flowers, mushroom and spice. Never a bad bottle, shame they've ramped the price up so much.

4/13/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Pale red, opaque. Despite having been opened a good 12 hours before dinner I would describe this as being quite brisk still, the tannins are persistent and quite bracing. On the nose there is some green leaf, stem and fresh sawdust, along with sour cherry and rosehip. On the palate this is a savoury wine with an lean inner core of acidic red fruit, plenty of time in hand you would have to say, but just about approachable today at 10 years old.

4/13/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Pale yellow. Incredibly fresh and young-tasting, how one earth can this be 12 years old, strongly reductive that lessens but never vanishes. There is a element of warm candle wax on the nose, and a slight saline spritz to go alongside the white apple flesh and racy citrus. Really grows in the glass, very elegant.

4/13/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Pale yellow and in great shape. Initially crisp, linear and pure, sweetness and a rounder sensation develops with air and as it warms up. Lovely stuff, wish I could drink it all the time. Alas I cannot.

4/12/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Weak red, quite unexpected how pale and translucent it poured. Herbal and musky, there is a delicate thread to this and it's fairly easy drinking with nice low alcohol (12%) as well. Interesting wine, but ultimately not a repeat buy for me at £21, I am just not sure what it is trying to be. I suppose that's the point, an experiment.

4/12/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Zesty and zingy, quite alive and nervy. Chewy citrus and tart apple skin. Youthful, delicous, and cheap! Screw cap.

4/10/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

A pale medium red, a bright sheen to it. Lovely nose, wafts of cherry, flowers and bitumen, a swirl brings it all to the fore. A bit brutal on the palate upon opening in the morning, but immediately recorked and then benefitted from 12 hours before being broached in the evening by which time it was completely different and considerably softer. Don't get me wrong, they don't disappear, but this definitely needs with air or time. It was not quite as compelling as the 2017 Massolino, but it had a very elegant purity to it, quite a racy wine, crunchy fruit and a tangy acid core. Took this to a local Sardinian restuarant where matched the veal very well. Plenty of time in hand here, and excellent value.

3/31/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

A pale watery red, probably the palest bottle I have opened so far, the colour is impossible to accurately describe. Like water with a tiny tiny amount of red dye in it, like a watered-down cranberry juice. You expect it therefore to taste of nothing, but this is far from being the case, it is in fact quite gorgeous, silky and fine, with wonderful freshness all things considered. The fruit is somewhat in the background today, there are smokey and earthy elements in the mix, and the racy acidity is what stands out. Very nice, and a better bottle than the last. One more to go, will it shine or fade? Of note, I've drunk almost the entire case in barely ten weeks, you can take this as a positive endorsement despite the varying scores.

4/1/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

An attractive pale to medium red, a shining quality to it. Nose a class act, cherry and rocky herbs, quite deep. As you would expect it is high in acid and the tannins are present and correct but never overwhelming. Light red fruit on the palate, an earthern quality that feels very burgundian, but this has a strong and structured core to it. Grip! It's ready, but only after a lengthy decant - about 4 hours prior to serving in this case. So it will probably keep for a reasonable amount of time. If you have the 2016 I'd open this. If you have the 2018, I'd open that as I've read lots of reports about early-drinking and approachability, but equally this is extremely lovely in 2024.

4/1/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Pale gold. Attractive burgundy nose, smells floral and citrussy, I like it. Very lively on the palate, strongly citrus, lime peel and orange zest, some creaminess, smoke, and a nice saline character. This was an excellent experience for the outlay.

3/31/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Pale pink, very Provence. This is not the kind of bottle I would buy, but someone brought it as a gift and putting snobbery to one side it was actually rather nice. The bottle and the name are bit fluffy of course, but underneath is a perfectly acceptable rosé with pleasant strawberry fruit and a moreish tang. There are reports that it costs over £20 though, and for that kind of money you'd be hoping for a little more depth. Or I would anyway. This is why cheap Provencal rosé that has no lofty desires is the best kind of rosé. Here it seems to me that whilst eminently drinkable, you are paying serious rosé money for a regular rosé experience. Fluff does not come for free.

3/28/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Medium red. A slightly odd nose, a bit grassy or leafy perhaps, something else in there with the fine red fruit that I couldn't really place. On the palate this is rocking though, with succulent red berry fruit, lovely freshness, and a round sweet core that just makes you want to have another sip. Instant appeal, very nice indeed.

3/28/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Medium red, not as bright as I was expecting. Nose quite fragrant, red fruits, some sweet aromas. Despite being a ten year old BR this really does not feel like one, it punches much higher in my view. Which I am very thankful for given how much it costs! Very red cherry on the palate, strawberry, juicy and attractive, refreshing acidity as last time but does require a little time in the glass to get going. As with many of these bottles later glasses were definitely better. Love it, just flat out delicious.

3/27/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Pale yellow. Not much of a nose. Merely an OK bottle, although it did get a bit better with time. The quality here used to be higher in my view, I wonder if they changed the composition and there is more Cote Chalonnaise in here than there used to be? Maybe I am imagining it. It's decent as a house white, but the price, at least for my tastes, is outstripping the quality at this point.

3/23/2024 - oenanthe wrote:

Needed a glass of white wine for cooking and this was unfortunately viewed as the opposite of whatever the creme de la creme is. As Chardonnay it is OK, as Chablis it was lagging. From a half.

3/25/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 1 (Blacklock City): Ah, sweet music. Strawberries and cream, vanilla custard, just ridiculously good and we had to exclude it from the voting lest something untoward happen….. Why is Sauternes always so good? Apricot, mango, marmalade, oily caramelised sugar, this has simply fabulous intensity without ever being OTT. It is light on its feet, has weight without density, perfectly balanced richness and acidity, the latter making it come alive. A class act that felt a lot younger than it is and has loads in the tank. Brilliant, and a splendid way to finish the dinner - personally I think we can forgive Jerry for straying from the brief!