12/25/2018 - CyroW wrote:

Disappointing. Over-acid. Not enough to enjoy.

12/25/2018 - CyroW wrote:

Gave a lot of time to this Pontet Canet 2001. Nose is jammy black current, soft. Cut grass coming out almost dominant.
Grassy and earthy in mouth, disappointement comes from not enough fruit coming out. Feels like Cabernet not fully ripe going in!
Overall average claret, capped at this stage. In the end not enough fruit throughput it’s life.

2/15/2015 - CyroW wrote:

First time I am having a wine from that vintage, which has such poor reputation...
I found this Las Cases had plenty of qualities, yes, true my expectations were in fact low.. Nice nose, to me a slighter lighter version of the 1988. Medium body, now a bit light absolutely past its peak but a lovely aged Bordeaux nonetheless and considering its price, I don't regret making the experiment. What I am learning yet again is the consistency of Las Cases Chateau to deliver high quality throughout the years. Impressive consistency.

2/15/2015 - CyroW wrote:

Solid Brunello. Strong tannins, this wine decanting. Don't hesitate. Great with food, probably better with food than alone. I suspect this wine will have a long life. But it is very enjoyable now while not extraordinary

12/6/2014 - CyroW wrote:

past its time, but still enjoyable. I was pleased this bottle had lasted through all these years. amazing time travel, in fact, one of the of pleasures of opening such old vintages.

12/6/2014 - CyroW Likes this wine:

amazing for its age, it can compete with many top names in that vintage.
within a tasting of 15 years+ clarets, this was the top of list easily. lovely complexity of fruits and fine well balanced tannins, this wine has reached its peak, probably can last at that level for another 5 years, I will open these bottles at slow pace!

12/6/2014 - CyroW wrote:

liked it very much that evening, while a light claret, I enjoy very much its balance, its fruits do not show the age of this wine. Friend who shared the bottle with me, thought the wine was too much of a light weight, so i am putting 92 only, otherwise I was ready to grant 93-94. I still find this wine a great value/money proposal.

12/6/2014 - CyroW Likes this wine:

veyr ripe fruit, high tannins. I was expecting a little more finesse. overall a good wine, was expecting a bit more.

12/6/2014 - CyroW Likes this wine:

the best of this wine a the good to great balance, between tannins, acidity and fruits. well made. I was expecting a bit more opulence from both fruits and tannins; maybe I over-expected and thought the wine was still a bit of light weight, I am hoping that with time it will become a litttle bit more "extraordinary", somehow.

11/23/2014 - CyroW wrote:

one of best Malescot vintage, powerful wine. great tannins, fruits and acidity. so classical, personally would love a steak with it! bound for a fantastic dinner. amazing.

11/23/2014 - CyroW wrote:

nice tannins, good acidity and fruits. good balance. tannins a bit on the rough but in the end refreshening, great value for money. lovely unassuming Bordeaux; for every day.

11/23/2014 - CyroW wrote:

fantastic in fact. perfect example of classical Spanish Reds. almost Rioja like. great nose, with the strawberry touch, then great balance acidity, tannins as well as fruit and wood. great finesse. definitely ready to drink, at its peak. lovely!

11/23/2014 - CyroW wrote:

big wine. almost not ready. nose is very fresh, cherry, and vegetal as well: violet and possibly mint to me, but still lots of alcohol. In mouth, very fine balance between tannins and fruit (cherry). overall lovely but far from full maturity, it needs at least 5 years more to get everything blent in and gets full elegance. right now this is mostly a powerful big wine. a wine for meat!

11/23/2014 - CyroW Likes this wine:

this wine keeps surprising me. 1995 comes out as a vintage with many too austere wines, possibly not fully ready yet despite near 20 years of age. but this Leo Barton has a great fruity background that combines really well with its tannins making it incredibly well balanced. The nose carries is all about violet. After one day, Leo B 95 gets better with chocolate notes as well. great wine and great value.

2/2/2014 - CyroW wrote:

still a bit closed, and probably not fully ready to be drunk. Aromatics are coming out, this wine needs decent decanting. It is still a bit astringent, much more a wine for food in fact. It will do well with steak and even venison. Merlot not fully succesful at this stage i think. a bit of a disappointment, lets see in a few more years....

2/1/2014 - CyroW wrote:

Decanted one and half hour.. This wine needs time to open up and deliver its goodies!
Lovely, vibrant tannins are layered and sweet. Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc are both great... Very very nice!

1/26/2014 - CyroW wrote:

needs 2 hrs decanting. minimum 1hr. Plenty of fruits (black currant), plenty of aromatics, tannins are dense not yet fully matured, giving wine plenty of further aging/finesse potential. and still full of youth despite the 14 yrs age tag! very complete wine, nice!

1/24/2014 - CyroW wrote:

Decanted about 1 hour.
Great balance and finesse. A real pleasure. I liked the violet, black current aromatics with a layer of chocolate after another hour of degustation. Great fine tannins . Really pleasurable! Yumm!

1/20/2014 - CyroW wrote:

one of the best (drinkable now) Gran Reserva Riojas I have come across in the past 12 months. It has both the typical great aromatics of quality Riojas (raspberry & strawberry), the balance of wood and fruits, tannins and acidity, is impressive. It lingers very well, this Rioja has everything lined up for itself. definitely top of its genre (classical Rioja), it can compete with many.

1/20/2014 - CyroW wrote:

austere, nice well balanced wine. but clearly never had the stuff to make it a great wine. probably not right price for what this wine offers, but definitely a nice wine.

12/22/2013 - CyroW wrote:

a bit rustic (tanins finish a bit bitter), it has gained over time. a bit too austere to be above 90. aromatics are nice and fruit shows up nicely too. great with meat!

12/25/2013 - CyroW wrote:

great Rioja example, deep colour, it has aromaitcs and great balance between extraction/wood and fruit. this Reserva can go on for a few more years. it can actually compete with Gran Reservas by unleashing nice fruits right away. a great balance between modern and classical rioja; it is easily available a nice wine does not have to be hard to access to be really enjoyable!

11/25/2013 - CyroW wrote:

agreeing 100% with barryg comment.
oaky dryness, well balanced wine, great for for food and cheese thanks to good acidity and tannins. a bit disappointing as low power aromatics. possibly need more time actually to reveal more.

11/22/2013 - CyroW wrote:

Almost too light. Classical acidity and raspberry combination. A bit disappointing I was expecting more but a nice Gran Reserva. It goes extremely well with food and particularly paella.

11/17/2013 - CyroW wrote:

Very earthy (terreux) almost too much. Will need to decant a few hours to enjoy this wine these days; we probably rushed this wine and didn't get the most out of it..

11/23/2013 - CyroW wrote:

Much less herbaceous aromatics... Much better than a couple of years ago in fact. Lovely.

11/9/2013 - CyroW wrote:

A bit light but great finesse and balance.

7/6/2013 - CyroW wrote:

Very nice nose, it took a bit of time to get full taste and aromes. It needs 1hr decanting, minimum. Very nice, a bit of light finish, time to drink, it poosibly has peaked already, overall really subtle wine. And great value.
My wife gave it a 93

7/6/2013 - CyroW wrote:

Nose is mix of cassis and more vegetal cedar possibly. There is nice hint of graphite, pencil too.
Full of fruit, a combination of jammy strawberry, a touch of plum too. Very well balanced great tannins and acidity .
Lovely wine, I cannot wait for the next time we open this wine.

7/1/2013 - CyroW wrote:

very elegant, great aromatics (violet, mainly for me but very rich overall), on the palate: fresh, full of fruits (black currant for me). Very balanced, and very pleasing, almost better to drink without food, as the wine is light. Aromatics are floral, and red berries, very pleasing. It is hard to imagine it will get better from here, as last thing this wine needs is a bit more power, but it shows potential to keep well in coming years. I prefer to drink now however.

3/29/2013 - CyroW wrote:

this wine needs a long decanting for all elements to come together, at least 2 hours, otherwise it comes out a bit light and slightly disjointed, though agreeable from start... it becomes a different and much improved wine with time out of the bottle. red berries will come out to complete the initial herbaceous aromatics. after some initial slight frowning, this is a real nice claret, well done.!

3/24/2013 - CyroW wrote:

First strong violet-based, with light earthy background almost mushroom. Great acidity, and freshness, it is amazing with duck confit, panned mushrooms, quails, food with some fatty side and strong flavours, this wine can complete these very well . Later the aromatics become more vegetal, with hints of strawberry or even melon! Really nice, one of the top Gruaud vintages! (maybe a 93, but I have a weak spot for this wine)

3/15/2012 - CyroW wrote:

Light colour, great aromatics, but light, raspberry , great example of old Rioja. Great acidity, this wine does well with food! Preferably a dish with tuna ventresca, or even a roast piglet . It has to go along with Spanish food, as it is such a typical old Rioja! It is so light it might not be to everybody's taste.

12/27/2012 - CyroW wrote:

Disappointing , light taste, the acidity shows too much still as if a 1year old wine. Nice colour. Aromatics limited too. I will try 2 hours decanting next time . But overall not impressive at this stage.

3/17/2013 - CyroW wrote:

very herbaceous aromatics, almost too much. almost similar aromatics to its neighbour (Pichon Lalande) of the same year, which is quite controversial wine too vegetal indeed. The Pichon Baron 1990 is better as it has nice red berries and decent lingering, but overall it feels unbalanced to me; the contrast of very vegetal aromatics and its taste was in the end odd. Disappointing considering my initial expectations .

2/23/2013 - CyroW wrote:

Opulent, powerful . With complexity , aromatics are rich, great acidity and length. Great Chardonnay. Hard to resist or to be patient! So good!
Goes fantastically with white fish

2/23/2013 - CyroW wrote:

Nice deep ruby colour. Aromatics are nice with mix of tobacco, almost chocolate, and hints of jammy red fruits (strawberry). Great balance in the attack still a lot of tannins in the end (age should hopefully loosen that up?), nice acidity and red fruits (jammy strawberry). Really nice wine, but not opulent enough for the next level...

1/21/2013 - CyroW wrote:

jammy tannins all over. fruits are still there. great aromatics, way better than other famous Italian reds. the weakness might me the lack of lingering, but the first attack is so striking the memory does the job somehow. very enticing wine. but can almost be over-powering too. overall great, i wonder how much older this wine needs to be?

12/25/2012 - CyroW wrote:

great finesse and balance , does well with fish, shellfish, and cheese. excellent value for money.

12/25/2012 - CyroW Likes this wine:

nice evolution, great colour, love it, the aromatics are now (dec 2012) stronger right away. Great finesse, and red fruits are nicely present, balanced, making this wine fantastic for both food or stand alone. One wonders how much better this wine will become with more years. it feels ready to go for long long time!

11/22/2012 - CyroW wrote:

Great lingering. Subtle and refined, perfect balance. Very enjoyable violet and black current.
At first a bit too light, but grows on you very quickly, it has to be decanted an hour at least before drinking, aromatics are slow to show.
Lovely specimen of the Rive Gauche.

10/16/2012 - CyroW wrote:

Great aromatics more towards raspberry, my favorite part of this wine.
good acidity, light colour and light in mouth. Strawberry is main fruit. a touch too light, age has taken its toll (which explains the 90 versus higher average) but overall a very refined old rioja.
however very refreshing in comparison to the current products, which are much more about flavor than aromatics.

5/5/2012 - CyroW wrote:

Light weight, a bit disappointing, aromatics under-deliver. It seemed a bit closed and probably needs much more time to be fully enjoyable.
Great colour though.
If it stays as such, it would not worth its price tag!

3/20/2011 - CyroW wrote:

nice colour, a bit closed still, the aromatics were limited, needs (much) more time. Red fruits are very vivid, very young still in march 2011. We tasted it in 2004 and then was showing great potential, so we were a bit disappointed then. Maybe it needs major decanting (more than few hours), to get the most of it.

3/20/2011 - CyroW wrote:

Incredible finesse. Aromatics and lingering are superb. Great balance between acidity and fruit ( to me mostly lemon)
A sheer pleasure