3/20/2024 - TWSA Does not like this wine:

Nose: blackcurrant, hints of nail polish, tobacco leaves
Notes: the 2005 vintage has always been and probably will continue to be (at least for another decade) mysterious, full, well structured and unready. Very jam like and tannic still, this wine is not very enjoyable right now. Personally I have never been a fan of Pontet Canet and given this great vintage I am still unable to spot anything interesting or promising at this very moment, I think this may require another 10 years to develop and mature so I would advise owner of this bottle to lay it down and forget about it for a while.
Drink: 2034+
Rating: 87

2/23/2024 - TWSA Does not like this wine:

Nose: black fruits, nuts, blackberry jam, hoisin sauce, hints of tar
Notes: certainly very young and completely not ready for consumption. It is a bit difficult to rate this fairly as this is so painstakingly young. You can feel the heat of the vintage towards the end which is quite different to the feeling I got in the beginning. By staying true to myself, and again I must say this is probably due to drinking it too young.
Drink: 2035+
Rating: 88?

12/2/2023 - TWSA Does not like this wine:

Quick Notes Series:
I understand that 2015 would be very young now to taste the potential of the wine but I really cannot understand this wine. I fail to find positive attributes of this wine and since many years ago I could never really see/feel what's interesting about LGR. What's more disturbing is probably the burnt tyre aroma that is present in some of the old LGRs. Now 2015 is definitely made by the next generation and although I do not sense that terrible car tyre in this wine I still failed to see any potential in it. I sometimes am skeptical why some critics give high ratings, I simply can't agree to that.
Drink: 2030 +
Rating: 87

7/15/2023 - TWSA Likes this wine:

Nose: meat, smoke, barbeque, hints of red fruits
Notes: certainly this Syrah is the relatively warmer type with a kind of "burnt" flavor to it accompanied by the meatiness and smokiness to it. It's a little more elegant than I anticipated and the nose is quite expressive. Its palate is on the heavier side so although it's quite delicious but I doubt it's the kind of wine that you can drink frequently. One thing is that it's quite ready now and although it has plenty of life ahead I actually think drinking now is not a terrible idea.
Drink: now - 2040
Rating: 91

4/28/2023 - TWSA Does not like this wine:

Nose: Dried leaves, red fruits
Notes: Unfortunately new vintages and makers of Burgundy, especially those that are highly sought after and promoted by wine critics are all displaying a rather sweet palate in new vintages. Without a doubt a 2019 1er Cru is way too early to drink but I find recently vintages just way too sweet in the palate. As for the maker, this so called rising star is showing nothing aside from too much concentration and unnecessary ripeness. Disappointment is an understatement.
Drink: 2030+
Rating: 84

3/31/2023 - TWSA Likes this wine:

Nose: musky, gamey, black fruits, leather, pepper
Notes: opened for 4 hours before drinking, this wine is far from ready but shows tremendous potential. With a rather sweet nose and an oak driven palate, I can say the wine is sun kissed and ripe but simply needs a lot of cellaring before it can be approached. It is indeed my mistake to consume this so early. Perhaps another 10-13 years before one should even think about trying. I do appreciate the complexity of the wine and one can feel that it was never the intention to drink the wine young.
Drink: 2033+
Rating: 91

12/29/2022 - TWSA wrote:

Nose: musky, leather, smoke, coffee roast, banana, black pepper, violet
Notes: An excellent example of top notch Hermitage, very intense nose with quite a solid and fruity palate. One could say this should require a few more years to get to its best potential but it's already quite decent to consume now. However, I could say I'm a little skeptical if this wine will improve significantly with time and it is questionable if further potential can be released in the future. It feels that although the nose is already quite explosive and complete the palate lacks the elegance and durability. This could be caused by our decision to decant the wine. I would say that despite all the findings above I would give this wine another shot in a couple of years and see if I can draw a conclusion on this particular wine.
Rating: 90
Drink: 2025+

12/29/2022 - TWSA Likes this wine:

Nose: coconut, vanilla, honey, sponge cake, brioche, hints of honeysuckle
Notes: very nice and delicate balance. Disgorged in Jan 2020. A beautiful and warm nose. Very long aftertaste offered by this wine and I have enjoyed it. This is quite ready for consumption so I guess there's no need to wait any further. I have for a moment mistaken and thought this was an Exquise until I was reminded it was a Substance instead. I'm thinking I have this feeling as the Champagne was a little on the sweeter side. Nevertheless this is a fantastic wine and I have very much enjoyed it.
Rating: 91
Drink: now+

12/2/2022 - TWSA Does not like this wine:

Nose: hoisin sauce, leather, forrest floor
Notes: started drinking after opening for one hour, at this stage its not quite ready yet as the nose is still dominated by excessive alcohol. While some signs of secondary notes are coming out I couldn't feel much fruit in the wine which makes this a little hard to swallow. Unfortunately I'm unable to say much positive things about this wine. In my mind GPL would make a decent fifth growth wine, usually quite straightforward and not that complicated, nevertheless I do not think they can be considered in the so called super second bracket as they are just not quite there yet. I maintain my judgement on them and feel that at their current price point there are much better alternatives. Although this wine doesn't feel old at all but I doubt if further aging can give much improvements to the wine.
Rating: 86
Drink: now +

10/16/2022 - TWSA Likes this wine:

Nose: pineapple, caramel, vanilla, sesame,
Palate: Decanted. Although I have not been a huge fan of Boillot in the past but the 2018 pucelles has a very pretty nose. Despite being too young for consumption right now but I somehow think that this is one that can be enjoyed early, the palate is quite creamy so I would imagine that 3-4 years would already bring this wine into the beginning of its drinking window.
Drink: 2025+
Rating: 90