4/10/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Sour cherries and raspberries, high acidity, grippy tannins, purity and elegance, real sense of place. Just what I’m looking for in a Nebbiolo. A runaway bargain year in, year out.

10/17/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Nice ripe acidic red fruits - very much cherry leading the charge - with a nice ‘floral edge’ (I suppose if pushed you could put roses, but I’m not convinced it’s exactly roses).

Good mouth-watering acidity to match our lamb and fennel stew, and plenty of mouth puckering furry tannins. Lovely crowd-pleaser it is too, has got me wondering to myself whether I bought enough 2015's. .

10/29/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Ticks all La Serra the boxes - it looks weedy, but it’s sour, it’s savoury, it’s mouth-watering. It’s much bigger than one would presume from the thin gruel it presents in the glass and it leaves a layer of tannins on your mouth. Long aftertaste of face cream (?), liquorice, something vaguely tarry, perhaps some florals and dark cherries.

I suspect if Right Bank claret or Southern Rhône is your thing, this may well disappoint (and possibly spectacularly!) as it's all about that high-toned acidity.

3/29/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Beautiful Nebbiolo. Mid-weight and Burgundian but with good mid-palate concentration, red fruit predominating over black and sweet cherry candy. Roses, but little tar, prominent acidity keeping the ample tannins in check. I'd say much more old school than new. And plenty left for a decade worth of development.

As to whether it's worth the price premium? It's certainly a lovely, well made wine, just my kind of Nebbiolo. But I'd say there are other producers - thankfully - who produce in a style that's in the same postcode. I certainly wouldn't preclude a rebuy, after all life is short and to be enjoyed, but at current prices it doesn't blow ones socks off enough to back the truck up.

3/29/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

As noted before, very reminiscent of sherry, with a Manzanilla like base, overlayed with oxidative notes, quite 'unctuous' - suggesting sweetness - but there is none and a lingering faint scent of curry leaf. Long aftertaste.

Hard to believe this wine can be had for under a tenner. Incredible complexity for the price, another TWS triumph.

3/29/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Entering late middle-age, this is a a full-throttle, full-bodied wonder of a wine, with beeswax, lanolin and that Hunter Valley vibe, but overlaying the Petit Manseng body (still 'oily in it's texture), and the Courbu 'florality'.

Outstanding producer, with consistently outstanding value on excellent wines. Bravo.

2/16/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Amongst my very favourite Xinomavro bottlings, all high toned red fruits, tomato leaf and grippy tannins, with winemaking interpreted through the lens of Piedmont.

Great value... for now.

2/16/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Needed a small decant to start to strut it's stuff - so probably good for more ageing.

Cherries, sour fruits, bay leaf, and something vaguely animalistic and decent acidity.

Excellent wine, well worth the Santorini premium.

2/3/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

With a crab, watercress and pink grapefruit salad.

On first opening I thought this had gone the way of too many oxidisedJurançon Sec recently, with it’s dark colour and bruised apple aromas. But fear not! It just needed air…

This is a wine built for the long haul (Charles Hours posted a 1986 vintage opened on his socials only a couple of weeks ago), and grew in stature over the hour and a half, building to an IRO of Riesling vibe, all oily texture and thick midpalate, but with the unmistakable slightly underripe pineapple that Manseng confers. Also teasing that roasted barley vibe from it that Capmartin (in Madiran) get from the grapes. I’ve no idea what that is, or even why it is, but nevertheless, it is.

Likely improvement if left a few years.

12/28/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Lovely Jurançon - wicked acidity reminding me of a bruised Granny Smith (in a good rather than spoiled way), a certain ‘grip’ on the palate, again like apple tannins (a bit of extra skin contact?) with a sweet/savoury finish. Very much carrying the weight of a Western appellation/Monein estate.

Definitely one for the cellar, where I feel added complexity will follow.

Punchily priced in the UK market now, sadly.

2/25/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

On first opening it was a not dissimilar profile to La Serra, but with that extra punch betraying it’s Montforte heritage, very much roses and sort of red fruits (dried, preserved) and furniture polish (I get this a lot with Nebbiolo, and I like it, so go figure). It then passed through a phase of becoming specifically sour red cherries.

On hour three it’s much denser in texture/mouthfeel, and weightier, with the acidity seeming more prominent, and that tar/liquorice profile peeping out. As with just about every 2010 I’ve had, this is built for the ages. I’m more a fan of the style of '08 and '13, but there’s little doubting it’s a vintage for the ages.

Excellent value.

12/1/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

All sour cherries, dark cherries, red cherries… but with a seriously savoury edge and a killer rose finish. Good clean acidity, good bottle for the table (we had it with roast venison).

Very good, and good to go right now (though given it's pedigree, it will undoubtedly live and develop for many more years) .

12/30/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Full of ripe plums, big but supple tannins, plenty-but-not-overbearing acidity. It has the dusty, earthiness of an old-fashioned European wine, and age worthiness for, well, the ages. Treads the fine line between medium and full bodied, without ever falling into the modern trap of Parkerizing.

It’s still frighteningly young, with so much more to come, but already a treat.

1/23/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Really interesting Jurançon Sec - the nose is a heady (strange?) mix of a faint whiff of petrolly Riesling overlayed with a brasso-whiff of Hunter Valley Semillon, a hint of coconut hand cream and some concentrated stone fruits and (ubiquitous for Manseng) pineapple.

Palate-wise, it’s more of that coconut hand cream, mouthwatering lemony-pineapple-mint acidity and a very dry finish, but with a seeming juxtaposition of residual sugar? That could be down to the big slug of Petit Manseng in there playing it’s tricks, being oily and rich.

(Could probably last/improve a few years still, and the score is probably a bit mean. It's high quality wine).

1/19/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

High acidity, hand cream, sour fruits, decent tannins. Very much in the school of a Piemontese interpretation of Xinomavro compared to the Thymiopoulos Burgundy affectation, with a savoury and grippy edge.

Not quite as effortless as 2012, or as sophisticated as 2013, but this is still in bargain territory for a good quality wine.

2/2/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

This is lovely - as Rocche Costamagna always is in all vintages for me - light bodied, low tannins, red fruits, merest hint of liquorice, not-so-serious (and reasonable acidity) and very much good to go so soon after the vintage…

But lacks 'bant' in this vintage. Fun, but not the depth and seriousness for extended cellaring, so clearly for early drinking. (And nothing wrong with that).

1/12/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Still fantastically mid-weight and floral, though developing, and it's now how I’d always imagined Northern Rhône Syrah should taste (but never seems to for me)… pepper, smoked meat, mid weight, red fruit, savoury.

Lovely wine, still years left to go.

12/28/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Initial overwhelming smell of wild strawberries, with a touch of ripe raspberries. The palate is very much reminiscent of the Ardanza of the same vintage drunk a few years ago, with strawberries and cream, overripe plum, some leatheriness.

If I didn’t know the wine, I’d say it’s a bit tired, but I would always suggest Tondonia is best with extreme ageing and is going through an 'awkward' stage.

12/29/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

4 hours decant (I’d advise more I think at the moment).

More relaxed than this time 5 years ago, but this is most certainly a wine built for the ages. It centres on cherry, but there’s definitely a savoury edge, and a spice (pepper? Mint even?). Plenty of acidity, but tannins still much more prominent than it's (more feminine?) stablemate.

Much, much more stuffing than La Serra (although, in mitigation, I'm a bigger fan of the La Serra style).
There’s something else on the finish that I can’t quite put my finger on, it’s almost like the paint box aspect I get with some vintages of La Serra).

In conclusion - this is going to depend how you like 'em. The potential is off the charts but, for me, I think another 5 years is going to be hugely beneficial (rather like my other half predicted a few years ago!)

1/5/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Higher toned (less ‘body’ if you will) than the 2010 Fontanafredda Serralunga consumed on the same evening.

Brighter, higher and refreshing acidity, redder fruit (although in mitigation, 2013 isn’t really a fruity vintage) and earthiness. A bottle most definitely for the table.

The secret Jewel in the Crown of the Castello for me.

1/5/2024 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

3 years on from last time, and the dial hasn't shifted a great deal, save for a touch of relaxation in the tannins.

Bearing all the hallmarks of both it’s area and it’s vintage. Darker berries, hand cream, earthiness, ‘body’. 2010 to the fore with that depth and 'bass-y' feel

Comfortably another decades worth of evolution in the pipeline. 2010 is going to be a long-lived vintage.

12/16/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Fantastic concentration - wicked underripe, pineapple-y acidity, with very dense-yet-light midpalate, and a savoury, ever so slightly grippy finish. That concentration promises much for the future (the suggestion on the bottle is 25 years. My opinion of that is 'comfortably').

Absolute bargain.
(And will most definitely hit a higher score in the future)

12/20/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Slightly weightier than last time out last year, starting out with a meaty (almost aged Syrah-like) nose, relaxing to paintbox, dried cranberries and roses.

The palate is really interesting - this has been a lightweight, savoury red-fruited affair for the previous 4 bottles of the case, but whilst it retains the ‘paintbox’ aspect with high acidity, the fruits are slightly darker with a vegetal (not really beetroot, but in that neighbourhood) profile. Acidic cherries on the finish.

At 15 this is still kicking on, and is worthy of further cellar time. Superb winemaking from Marcarini (I should add - again).

11/6/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Unsurprisingly, a slightly different interpretation of Xinomavro to the usual Naoussa suspects.

Initially, it reminded me more of the Thymiopoulos Rapsani - a darker fruited, bigger mouthful. This lead me to believe that it could last decades, but a further hour or two opened, and it has lightened a little, and the mid palate (whether it’s tannins or ‘stuff’) have relaxed, and the acidic, higher toned aspect (which I was expecting in the first place) has come to the fore. Perhaps slightly less interesting than a Naoussa - seems a bit less savoury (?)

11/13/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Very, very youthful - much more so than the 2004 we had recently. Still a concentrated - slightly riper than 2004 - cherries with a touch of strawberries and cream, with some aged, leathery savouries popping through given time in the decanter.

I have to say, in support of this bottle, the 904 and Ardanza have all showed 2000 to be an unfairly overlooked vintage, often in the shadow of 2001, but really not far from it’s equal. And good fro another decade, easily.

11/21/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Ageing serenely. To-be-expected tropical fruits, good clean citrus acidity, something liquorice on the finish.

Very dependable cuvee from Cauhape.

11/21/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Deep dark, orangey bronze.

The nose initially has a sort of roasted barley vibe, overlayed with a sort of Krupnik smell - sort of aged honey, akin to something you sometimes find in Tokaij. I'm guessing barrel ageing to add that sort of savoury-sweet vibe.

On the palate, it's very sweet, but again, with a sort of (very good) savoury edge - so a sort of salted caramel and a darker, wild flower honey. Really good acidity )to be expected with Petit Manseng).

An excellent all round wine, though a slight departure from usual Pacherenc du Vic Bilh.

11/17/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Still incredibly young, hasn't really shifted much from last tasting 5 years ago. Worth forgetting about probably until at least it's 20th birthday.

11/20/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

A much more acidity-led vintage, giving this a more mid-weight feel, with a less dark colour, redder fruits and dialled down tannins. Lovely, luncheon claret vibe to it (rather like the 2006/7 vintages). The refreshing acidity is still keeping it fresh and youthful, so no rush.

11/18/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

First dive into the 2011's, this is still quite young , even in a half, with only a few shades of colour change over the years.

The nose is the obvious Manseng epithets - tropical, pineapple-dominated fruits, with a touch of citrus, anise and maybe (if pushed) mint.

There's obvious sweetness, but the acidity is still high, so I have confidence that these will live for years yet.

11/16/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Lovely dark colour in the glass, again as the Plaimont the night before, this is richly fruited, though slightly more restrained, with a bit of a broader flavour spectrum, adding blood and meat to those ripe dark fruits. Tannins slightly chunkier, but then slightly higher acidity to keep them in check. An all round well-made wine.

And forget the community drink dates, this is still good to go for a good wee while yet.

11/14/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Colour is remarkably deep for a wine close to 15 years old (that'll be the Tannat!). The nose is richly fruited - slightly over-ripe dark fruits lend a little bit of a 'Pain-au-raisin' preserved-fruit vibe to it. On the palate, the tannins are pretty much relaxed, but again plenty of density for effectively a supermarket wine.

Absolutely blown away by the quality and longevity of this wine for the price. My notes say it cost 8 euros a decade ago. I'd be comfortable keeping it another few years. Producteurs Plaimont are a serious Coop when it comes to wine making.

11/20/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

A Petit/Gros (old vines) Manseng assemblage, I’ve got it as spiced underripe pineapple with a mint dressing.

Acidity in much better balance than earlier vintages, but just right to cut through a creamy risotto.

Hats off to the producer for managing to keep the abv down compared to some other in the same vinatge.

11/15/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Impeccable balance, a fat mid-palate, the acidity despite being high is just perfect, it has a sort of fennel-celery-honey-lime taste, (with some underripe pineapple peeking out) with a long, long, long fresh lime finish.

Could easily go the distance without much effort if required.

11/15/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Very dark red in the glass, young looking to the core, it's all dark cherries and sharp raspberries on the nose, which gives the base of the palate with some earthier, animalistic tones (adding, not detracting).

Not quite as richly fruited in the mid-palate as the 2015, nor quite the suppleness in the tannins, nevertheless this is still a stonking lot of wine for the money. And good for well over a decade at least.

10/6/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Still young, but approachable.

Savoury - we had it pinned stylistically between a Pinot Noir and a Xinomavro - red and black fruits (with a touch of sourness), good depth, but certainly a lighter midpalate style than it's Tondonia stablemate. Grainy tannins suggest a good deal of life and evolution to come over the next 15 to 20 years. Very good.

9/24/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Nicely relaxing from first bottle about 3 years ago, and firmly in it's drinking window. Still - mostly sour - red fruits, darker cherries, a sort of beetroot edge and if pushed vague tomato paste. Very balanced.

(And still well worth seeing how they'll age).

4/22/2023 - Tannatastic wrote:

Oak has now mostly integrated, and the wine has relaxed and broadened out a little. But it's still a fairly paint-by-numbers PdVB, which for the price is disappointing.

From a purely technical point of view, this is a reasonably well made wine - I think Brumont's whites are the real Ace up his sleeve - expected hint of tropical fruits like pineapple (though not ripe, perhaps vintage?) and more aged burnt sugar angle, but it lacks the je ne sais quo of both 2005 and 2011, which were outstanding vintages of this cuvee. Generally speaking, I prefer the Brumaire to the more concentrated Frimaire, but I'm guessing the (more expensive) stablemate was probably the better bet in this vintage.

4/24/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

All curry leaf, saline and sweet wine fruits on the nose, the palate is as dry as the Atacama during a hosepipe ban.

A really good - if now slightly expensive (you'll get your kicks in sherry for less) - wine that is a bit of a regional oddity. How long will these continue to be produced in such tiny quantities? Who knows.

With a Bellotta Iberico just to keep that Iberian vibe going. Excellent pairing.

7/2/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Inky, purply dark. Nose of creamy blackcurrant. The attack is all about juicy acidity and plummy fruit, the furry tannins come in the mid-palate. 12.5% alcohol is really not bad at all for a warm vintage.

And the price? A tenner for a wine that you could age positively for a further decade seems a bit of a bargain to me. The Capmartins are really and truly in the front rank of Madiran producers, including their more illustrious neighbours.

6/24/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

A sort of sour fruits with ‘earthiness’ nose - there isn’t quite tomato paste, but there’s a suggestion.

On the palate it’s much of the same, but with the more - unmistakable? - grip of Nebbiolo. And, true to form for the grape to me, that grip grows the more air it receives.

An absolute bargain of a wine. Sadly, Barolo prices seem to only be heading in one direction, but this is a quality wine at a good price.

6/28/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Obviously lightweight, but not lacking for that. Red fruits, cedar, spice, decent acidity. Not quite as balanced as the 2019, but still good nonetheless.

9/15/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Cherry and tannins. Touch of creaminess and a decent acidity. (Actually lots of cherries and grippy, grippy tannins).

Superb bargain, and should comfortably sit in a cellar for longer than the 5-8 years the producer says it will.

8/14/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

2011 is a supposedly fabled vintage in Jurancon - and this bottle really doesn't disappoint.

Despite the colour, it really is quite sweet (albeit developed) but with that extra nuance of age - touch of truffle, less obvious tropical fruit, pineapple-centre flavour.

Acidity whilst high, isn’t wicked - this is Monein rather than Chapelle de Rousse or Gan - but it still feels like this could last a lifetime from here. There's always a touch of melancholy attached to a last bottle, so a revisit needs to be on the cards.

7/21/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

This is now absolutely ready for business.

That previous ‘hardness’ - albeit contained and in keeping - of the second bottle of the case we had a couple of years ago has dissipated. First bottle was all about graphite and huge blackberries. I felt the 2nd bottle was just unbalanced, neither one thing nor another.

Now we’re into the realms of relaxed tannins, good dark but not black fruits - slight plumminess? Possibly a bit woody.

Absolutely perfect with a T-Bone Bordelaise. Good now and for well over a decade.

6/26/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Absolutely ready to rock. Beautiful, non-aromatic, lime, salty sea breeze, concentration, presence.

Will also effortlessly age over the coming decade. Lovely wine.

8/31/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Much the most masculine/tannic showing of this vintage/cuvee so far.

Very dense and chewy tannins, bags of liquorice-dipped-in-tar, with anise, a touch of Guinness like dark bitterness, and a sprinkling of slightly sour dark red fruit.

Hefty and at present a Barolo not for the fainthearted! - I'll now let the others sleep for a while (5 years min) to shed some of that weight.

5/29/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

As an interesting counterpoint to the '02, this is the bigger beast... and yet, I like the both of them for their own personalities.

A slight Rhone vibe going on, although perhaps northern rather than too far south - but it fits in, and it still rocks the Musar vibe with riper dark red fruits and some savoury/herb and leathery stuff going on.

As has been noted below, for a 20 year old wine this still sems very fresh and vibrant, and I think there should be no concerns about keeping them for some more extended ageing. A really good, interesting wine.

5/14/2023 - Tannatastic Likes this wine:

Drank over several (sipping) sittings, at it's best after being opened and recorked in the fridge for about a week.

Quite dark colour now, despite decent storage conditions. Very viscous, concentrated look and feel (as one would expect from such a late harvest). Salted caramel, toffee, grilled pineapple. Fantastic acidity.

Really lovely wine, but not for every day.

5/3/2023 - Tannatastic wrote:

I'd say this is still too young. Still tightly coiled on the palate, and quite tannic, even after a couple of hours in the decanter.

I'll be leaving my other bottles for a few years, and really have no fear in doing so, as there's a lot of substance here, my only fear being it may always remain a little austere. We'll see.