12/25/2011 - Woodsider wrote:

After bottle decanting for 1 hour - lovely expressive nose of black cherry, violets, spices and a hint of mature forest floor. Still fresh but ready to drink. Lovely, elegant, classic refined barlolo with dark fruit flavors, minerals a a nice saline hint. There is just enough fruit to balance the lively acidity and significant but refined tannins. It was still getting better after 2.5 hours of air. Very nice and worth the price if you can find some that has been properly cellared. 94 points.

12/23/2011 - Woodsider wrote:

This was fairly expressive on the nose with mature typical Chateauneuf aromas, nice although somewhat thin. Then thin and imbalanced toward acidic with very little depth of flavors. A very average showing, a bit past it's time. I don't think the bottle was off, just didn't have the underlying quality to last this long. Drink up. 85 points.

2/23/2011 - Woodsider wrote:

Deep ruby. Vibrant aromas of ripe red fruits, minerals and tangerines. Inviting and transparent flavors of energetic red fruit, minerals and refined tannins. Medium long finish with fruit and mineral notes. Very good, even elegant, for this price range.

2/23/2011 - Woodsider wrote:

This wine showed much better on second tasting after airing for several hours. Very pale color. Somewhat reserved nose of high toned red fruit, rose pedals and a hint of earth. Simple, very transparent flavors of light bodied red fruit and minerals with modest structure. Finish is medium/short with echoing fruit and mineral notes. Reminds me of a good village Burgundy.

2/22/2011 - Woodsider wrote:

Somewhat funky and reserved aromas of red fruit, hint of eucalyptus and a touch of brussel sprouts. Forward red fruit flavors with a underlying continued funk and some slight bitterness with medium finish and tannins. Almost seems like this might be a bad bottle but cork and fill were perfect. Not great. 82

2/21/2011 - Woodsider wrote:

Deep ruby. Lovely, somewhat reserved layered aromas of red and black fruit preserves cooled by minerals, pine needles and liqueur with barely a hint of warm earth. Powerful flavors of big ripe red fruit and black cherries offset vibrant minerality, some smoke and slightly bitter espresso from the youthful tannins. Rich and well balanced. Finish is long with lingering minerals, red fruit, citrus and teeth coating tannins. Has the structure to age and could get better. Considering the price this is very good. 91-92

2/20/2011 - Woodsider wrote:

Aromas of ripe black cherries, kirsch, sweet oak, brush and violets. Flavors start with ripe cherries and blackberries with hint of grapefruit giving way quickly to seriously structured smoky tannins and minerality with some coffee and spice coming in at the end of the mid palate. Long finish with echoing fruit notes, coffee and bitter herbs. These tannins are serious and it will be interesting to see how this evolves over time. 91 now but expect the tannins to resolve to justify the higher score.

12/12/2010 - Woodsider wrote:

Rich aromas of very ripe dark cherries, plums, kirsch and a hint of fine wood tannins. Lovely flavors of ripe, sweet black cherries on a sappy mouth coating with refined tannins and minerality completely burried by the fruit. Even thought this is a massive wine, it manages to be quite precise and almost transparent with a very good back-end cut. Huge but well balanced and deliniated with acids and tannins that drive an extremely long finish that doesn't evern quit or bite.

12/10/2010 - Woodsider wrote:

Enchanting, exotic deep, rich ripe blackberry and plum compote and exotic spices layered with violets, brush and a hint of smoke and leather - wow. Intensely rich, creamy and sweet black cherry jam cut with bitter chocolate and minerality. The tannins are huge but ripe and can't quite break through the massive amount of fruit. The finish that does not end echoes the sweet fruit and chocolate moving to coffee and minerals.

2/20/2011 - Woodsider wrote:

Deep and lively bouquet of black cherries, ripe red berries, floral lift, a touch of licorice and liqueur. Forward, fresh flavors of palate filling lush red fruit, hint of bitter dried berries with plenty of acidity and minerality for balance. Silky texture and great depth for this variety. Medium finish with lovely red fruit and citrus echoes. Delicious. Suggest letting it breath for a couple of hours after opening. I'm going to let the rest of my bottles cellar for several years before trying again.

2/19/2011 - Woodsider wrote:

Expressive bouquet with ripe red and black fruits, a bit of licorice and a touch of liqueur. Masses of ripe red fruit manage to just cover the substantial tannins. Layered and gripping mid palate transitions to a very long finish that coats the teeth. IWC's D'Agata got this one wrong - it's better than his score and is not "fat". This has the structure to improve for at least 10 more years so the score should go up.

12/12/2010 - Woodsider wrote:

Clear ruby with light rim. Wonderful aromas of ripe blackberries and rasberries, brush notes. Lush, transparent, easy going flavors of ripe red and blue pinot fruit, with enough minerality and moderate fine tannin structure to coat the mouth and balance the fruit. Medium finish with very pleasant fruit and modest mineral spine with a hint of fine espresso tannins. Good village level wine that while it does not require much thought to enjoy still has enough spine to likely cellar for up to 8 or 10 years more (drink 2010 to 2018). Good Burgundy intro wine. December 2010. Score: 88