4/15/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Last bottle of this wine and it's still drinking beautifully. Savoury and refined with some red cherry fruit but tertiary flavours of umami and forest floor more prominent.

4/12/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Golden colour with a lush palate of apple and peach with some spicy notes too. A bit more generous and long than 2001 Trimbach, Cuvee Frederic Emilie, tasted alongside it. Delicious stuff.

4/12/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Golden colour with viscosity. The palate is bone dry with autumn fruits and little honeyed notes. Fruit and flavours are fading but still enormously enjoyable.

4/12/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Had this at a small tasting and all four of us loved it. Bone dry with delicious red cherry and strawberry fruit and great freshness. Much to like.

4/12/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

Translucent but bright ruby colour with a sweet cherry cola fruit. Not keen on day one but on day two it had opened up and provided more balance of fruit and acidity.

4/12/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

The nose was a little closed with a palate of redcurrant and a bit of spice. Quite a simple wine and given it was £17 not one I would buy.

4/12/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

A good ENglish red wine, who'd have thought? A blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Rondo, with red cherry, raspberry, cassis and spices. Decent length on the finish. The best of three English/Welsh reds at the tasting by some distance.

4/12/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Tasted alongside the Gravel Estate wine from the same estate and this was much better, albeit £23 vs £18 for the Gravel Estate wine. Lots of quality on show here with minerality, citrus fruit, cedar and spice. It has the potential to be much better with time but the Lyme Bay 2020 Chardonnay showed much better tasted alongside it.

4/12/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Very pale lemon with red and green apple, some citrus and stone fruit with minerality and freshness. Good

4/12/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Oak and stainless steel aged. Soft, round texture of apple, peach with a small dollop of cream. Nice balance, lovely mouthfeel and good weight. ABV 13.5%. Came out on top versus Hush Heath Balfour Chardonnay and Simpsons Gravel Castle and Roman Road (a close second).

4/12/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

Least favourite of three English Chardonnay's tasted. Pale lemon colour. Clean, crisp Granny Smith apple flavours with some lemon citrus. No oak, a little light in body with a tart finish.

4/11/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

Tinta Roriz and Tinta Nacional. Mid crimson colour with chocolate, blackberry and sour, black cherry. Fresh and medium bodied.

4/7/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Deep purple, inky colour. Great concentration and intensity of flavour with sweet blackberry, blackcurrant and blueberry with a hot spice, peppery note. Lovely balance and long finish.

4/5/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Pale amber colour with a lovely intense palate of grapefruit, lime, dried herbs, lemon and delicious, long finish. Still drinking well.

4/3/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

This is a cracking wine from The Wine Society made from the Saperavi grape. Medium body with concentrated plum and blackberry flavours with a juicy textured palate with crunch and freshness and with nothing gloopy about it. No oak, just pure, quality fruit.

4/2/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

Manzoni is a white grape that’s new to me, I think. It’s a cross between Pinot Bianco and Riesling. Light to medium bodied with lemon and honeysuckle which is refreshing and easy to enjoy with or without food.

3/27/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

Stone fruits with a bitter, sour apricot skin note which leaves a slightly drying finish. Pleasant but nothing more.

3/22/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Tasted alongside the Murrieta Gran Reserva 2004 and this just edged it. Elegant, medium bodied with a plenty savoury tertiary flavours.

3/19/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Delicious wine with classic pencil shaving, ripe black fruit, tannins still present but melded, great depth of flavour and providing a long, satisfying finish. Tasted alongside a Pichon Longueville La Lande and it came second. Fantastic nonetheless.

3/19/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Lucky to have this again. Great wine and better than the 2005 Chateau Leoville Poyferre tasted alongside it.

3/19/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Lovely black cherry and leather aromas and this follows through on the palate. Great intensity with a long finish. Great now but no need to drink this up anytime soon. Tasted alongside the La Rioja Alta, 904 2004 and it was interesting comparison. Both great wines but this has much more fruit and less umami than the 904.

3/19/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

Tons of structure and plenty of black and red cherry fruit but seems still needs time to resolve itself.

3/19/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Similar notes to last time. Gold with prominent legs and glycerol to look at. The nose has fennel, runny honey and a perfume which makes it enticing. The palate has power and intensity with vegetal flavours of fennel, almond, and bit of sweetness too with ripe apricot, honey, lemon, lime and grapefruit. It needs a decant but it opens with time. A great wine but a style I don’t like too much.

3/19/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Tried Coravin for the first time and it’s amazing. Lovely round buttery texture with a citrus zip and gentle honeyed note on the finish.

3/18/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Lovely balance of sappy red fruits and spices with light to medium body. Smooth and easy to drink. Delicious.

3/17/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

Ruby with some bricking on the rim. Red cherry and the oak is still present on the nose and palate- basically, a little dried out. Struggled with this wine over many years of working my way through the 6 bottles I had and, for me, it’s never been quite right for a Brunello di Montalcino. Last bottle and good riddance!

3/14/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

The first vintage of this variety form this old South African vineyard who specialise in Portuguese wine varietals. Dry, apricot and peach fruit with medium body and a round texture with a pronounced spicy note. Not as linear and taut as some Iberian wines of this variety but I enjoyed it.

3/13/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Lovely claret with a delicious black fruit, nice grip and acidity. Great value.

3/13/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Medium sweet, fresh tropical fruits with pineapple, mango and orange and a hint of clove. Decent but not too exciting.

3/13/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Gold colour with a lovely apricot fruit, skins and a spicy note too. Not too sweet but lovely depth of flavour. I enjoyed it.

3/10/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Still drinking well, lovely wine.

3/8/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Despite its age, still drinking beautifully. Ruby core with a pale, bricky rim. The palate offered up rich, dried fruit cake with currants, sultanas, orange peel, spices and some red and blackcurrant fruits too. Rich, warming and long. Excellent.

3/8/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

A friend brought this to a blind tasting and unfortunately it was gone. I had this wine three months ago and it was still showing very well. The lottery of old bottles of wine unfortunately.....

3/8/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

Took this to a Bacchus blind tasting and was very disappointed. Well past its best. Brown, tawny colour with a tarry nose and dried fruit and some peppery notes. I expected a wine of this standing to still be drinking well. The Domaine de la Jannasse 1998 tasted alongside it was still drinking well.

3/8/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Tasted blind and I didn't spot it, what a cracker! Despite its age there is still drinking well. Garnet with a brick edge. Nose of menthol, cedar, smoke, bbq meats. Medium body, savoury, black olive, earth and umami and some black fruit in the background.

3/8/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Purple to the rim with brambly, black fruit aromas and generous black fruit, vanilla and creamy mouthfeel on the mid palate. Tannins are present but well integrated.

3/8/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

Clairette, aligoté and muscat. Bone dry with crisp red apple, lemon, fennel and a hint of aniseed. Refreshing, easy drinker.

3/8/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

I loved this. 100% Marsanne sparkling wine with a yellow gold colour with fine bubbles. Layers of flavour with ripe peach, honeyed notes with some saffron and turmeric. Great value at £18 a bottle. A long finish and utterly compelling.

3/3/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

I found this at the bottom of the cellar and feared it would be "over" given its drinking window until 2022. Pale lemon colour with a generous but fresh palate of green apple and pear, lime, elderflower, grass and nettle notes. A lovely long finish.

3/1/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

Purple, a little translucent from its light extraction. The style is fresh with sappy redcurrant flavours. Weighing in at only 11% ABV, this is a great lunchtime wine with or without food.

2/26/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Nice balance of red fruits of wild strawberry with a soft, plump palate. Moreish.

2/25/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Ripe red fruits and plenty of spice. This has a lovely, long warm finish.

2/23/2024 - bacchus of knockholt wrote:

Quite light on its feet with an off dry palate of rose petal, pineapple, lychee.
Pleasant but not thrilling.

2/20/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Drunk this cellar cool. Medium ruby. It’s got a muted nose but an expressive, very spicy medium weight red fruit palate. Delicious.

2/17/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

This is a blend of no fewer than 23 grape varietals. Deep ruby colour to the rim with an inviting nose of plum, damson, red and black cherry. The palate is medium bodied but has great concentration with blackberry and black cherry dominating and sappy, fresh, green herb finish. A lovely wine.

2/17/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

I enjoyed this at a Wine Society tasting and what a great way to discover a new grape (Vernatsch) and winemaker. Pale, almost translucent colour, which belies its full body and flavour. Cherry cola, wild raspberry and black cherry are in abundance and already drinking well. It's good until 2029 apparently but difficult not to drink it well before then.

2/17/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

A lovely rich, full bodied dry white with some sweetness which provides an unctuous and spicy finish. Would be great with rich, creamy chicken or fish dishes.

2/16/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

Generous red fruit, spice and depth of flavour. A rose which is versatile to have with many styles of food to red or white meat, strongly flavoured fish and vegetarian dishes.

2/16/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

A great value dry Pinot Gris from The Wine Society which is full flavoured but fresh, peppery and spicy.Lovely on its own.

2/16/2024 - bacchus of knockholt Likes this wine:

A brief note on this wine. Very sweet, unctuous and delicious honeyed flavours.