2/22/2024 - mwagner7700 wrote:

Purchased for $42. Opened for #tawnytuesday. Beautiful dark mahogany in color. What an expressive nose with candied walnuts, molasses and a slight hint of maple. The palate is downright outstanding. On the sweet side. Dark caramel, maple, dark chocolate and citrus. What a mouthfeel. So soft. The acidity is incredible. Makes your mouth water and want to come back for more. Very nice length on the finish. This is absolutely everything I love about Tawny Port.

OPINION:
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

3/25/2024 - oenanthe Likes this wine:

Bordeaux 2004 20 years on Part 1 (Blacklock City): Deep and dark. Initially quite closed on the nose, however it is fruitier on the palate, fine acidity and some salty tangy notes. Whilst this never strays far from austerity, a good swish and a bit of time does allow it to unclench a bit, show a few curves amongst the straight lines. I found it more exciting that the Calon-Segur it was paired with, but it’s still rather foursquare and not very pliant. Needs more time basically, though doubt it will ever truly blossom! We started these before food arrived, which I suppose is objectively best, but food improved this and the Calon dramatically.

2/6/2024 - Carlo Sarto wrote:

My mother's father sent to each of us surviving grandchildren a bag of shelled English walnuts from the tree in his backyard in the year before he died. Until tonight I wondered why. I had some English walnuts with a glass of this wine, as with previous notes from a 375. Good Stilton is often said to be a great pairing with vintage Oporto But, Stilton changes the taste of Oporto. English walnuts are in perfect harmony with Oporto but do not at all intrude in the taste. I am certain my Grandfather Thomson never tasted vintage Graham Oporto or any Oporto. But he knew how good English walnuts tasted. He taught me a tasting lesson.

7/24/2023 - lightning wrote:

Earthy with rose, dark cherry and long chains of noble and still full bodied tannins. This one was double decanted 4 hours prior but without much air time. Still pretty tight and unforgiving, bury this for anther 7+ years.

1/21/2024 - lightning wrote:

This one took 3+ hours in the decanter to harmonise. In the first hour, the heavy toast oak characters overwhelmed everything. Now, aromas of sous bois, heavy toast oak, but on the palate the dark fruit characters have now emerged and melded with the oak treatment. Still fairly sturdy structurewise, with some grippy tannins remaining, moderate acidity. Unsure which direction this will go. For a vineyard that is adjacent to the great Musigny, this wine did not reflect the characteristics of its exalted neighbour.

1/10/2024 - GuWin wrote:

Burgund '21 + moden vin (Centropa, Oslo, Norway): Dyp mørk og ungdommelig farge. Sødmefull duft av solbær og sigarkasse, og blindt gikk de fleste til Médoc/St.Julien eller Pauillac. Stramt anslag med rik, sødmefull frukt, men dette er fortsatt tight - tross snart 20 års alder. Stor kraft og konsentrasjon og flott bærpreg av solbær. Lang smakskurve med ganske stram tanninstruktur og flott syre. Svært holdbar stil.

11/23/2023 - gpunch Likes this wine:

Nose: potpourri, garrigue, and all the floral and herbal smells. Little barnyardy with ripe, dark berries.
Palate: up front I feel an almost slight effervescence, but it think it's just the medium+ acidity. Light, refreshing body. A cornucopia of berries. Tannins are mild but offer a firm grip to give this more body and presence. I really like this, but I'm still not convinced light reds are the best accompaniments to a Thanksgiving meal. I think bubbles will be what I pour next year.

8/25/2023 - Ernestas Likes this wine:

Comes from 4ha vineyard, aged for 15 months, around 50% in used oak, other half in stainless steel. Still feels bit closed and tight, should of opened in another 3-5 years. Pale lemon colour, greenish hue. Medium intensity aroma of oyster shells, sea breeze, lemon, flint, green apples, wet stone. Medium body, rich with tension and vibrancy, still a bit too nervous, packed with green fruit and flinty, stony minerality, saline and butter hints, pungent high acidity, refreshing finish.

7/15/2023 - robert.kalinowski@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Birthday dinner @Flour+Water. was unreal with the smoked duck pasta and delicious with everything else. Amazingly fresh and bright, after listening to Pietro on wine enthusiast website say he liked this 5-7 years after release, I was nervous, but this wine was a in great place, and I thought it has more room to run. Very happy with where it was at, tannis were tamed at present and a perfect amount of fruit, but still some tertiary notes starting to form. I will let the 2007 Rocche age more. Beautiful wine, my last 07 of this bottling.

7/25/2023 - peanutbutterskittles wrote:

Tiny bit of petrol on the nose. Then rounder, floral and fruity on the nose, but the palate is overwhelmingly citrus and minerality with m+/high acid at first. Some of the roundness and richer fruit returns on the finish but I felt it was a touch too simplistic at first.

Great with food, however.

11/17/2012 - bevetroppo wrote:

Day later from memory. I didn't even realize it until they brought me the bottle that this wasn't Cinque Stelle, but I guess the regular cuvée of this property's sfursat. Had never seen a bottle of it before. It was $89 on the wine list and I almost sent it back but experience with Negri's wines made me say let's go for it. Besides, it was just me and I was rewarding myself after a truly grueling day. There's something, I don't know, that just makes me feel special about eating dinner in a good restaurant alone at the bar with a bottle of wine as my date. Maybe it's the idea that we're going to have an intimate conversation over a two hour period and really get to know each other while they bring us food we've chosen to bring us closer together? Ok, it's official-I'm losing my mind...

Air-dried for 120 days before fermentation. Palish garnet color though hard to tell in the dim light. Immediately alluring and sexy nose with notes of deep red fruits, sweet raisins, light smoke and leather. Almost delicate on entry, gaining depth and intensity in the mid-palate but always with elegance and not power, then delivering a glistening reward of tantalizing sweetness before resolving in a dry, balanced finish. Delicious from beginning till end. It was like a long voluptuous kiss. I can't imagine I would like the 5 star more. Drank with a burrata and speck appetizer, and a perfectly prepared veal chop with a side of homemade mushroom ravioli and haricots verts. The earth moved.

10/27/2022 - aChave wrote:

Lush style; plenty of vanilla and soft flavors. Still has good acidity, but completely secondary to the vanilla oak and ripe fruit flavors. Not really my style at this point… I prefer more delineation and precision. Last bottle. Wouldn’t have liked to cellared it further. Quality is 90, but enjoyment for me more in line with ~88-89.

5/15/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private dinner (Restaurant De Lage Vuursche, Lage Vuursche, NL): The style and quality of a very good Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru except on the finish, where it is a little more blunt. Mild reduction and deep minerality on the nose, complex and ripe citrus and a hint of orchard fruit, delicate top quality oak; energetic and fresh palate, silky and creamy, cool minerality, perfectly harmonious, perfect balance and good weight; long and complete finish with hints of earth and savoury oak.

5/17/2023 - mclanew Likes this wine:

Popped and poured. Medium bodied, mature, tannins resolved. Black currant, smoke and herbs. Very good concentration and length.

12/11/2020 - Putnam Weekley Likes this wine:

15 months in french oak, 10% new. 100% Sangiovese. Naturally fermented.

Gorgeous slow, meandering cascade of blueberry prune tar. Menthol. Invigorating, insurgent ripe tannins and acid. Stacks of black spices.

I am trying to judge the speed/tempo/pace of this drink; the unfolding of its flavor. It is certainly more ponderous than the 2015 Pian del Ciampolo, but that doesn’t seem like a useful comparison. How quick is it compared to Mouton, for example, or Sassicaia? It's more agile than those.

3 DAYS LATER: I like it best now, when it’s breaking down. Loads of fruit. The wood is weathering beautifully. If you were a child in the 1970s you might be conditioned to appreciate this aromatic thread of ashtray.

5/2/2023 - d'Artagnan wrote:

Très classique claret, digeste. Tout le charme discret et sobre d'un beau Margaux de style classique, avec cette élégance discrète bien assumée.

4/30/2023 - aChave wrote:

Big wine for Jasmin. I remember tasting this wine at their domain, and it was notably different than the other wines that were poured. The density of fruit was particularly notable, and it still is. However, with a two hour decant this wine provided plenty of enjoyment. Had a meaty quality, but less spice and delineation than I sometimes find in cote rôtie. Good length on the finish. Intense flavors. Not shy; could improve with more cellar time, I suspect.

4/20/2023 - yorkch wrote:

Last bottle of a 12 bottle case. Around 40% of the case has been defective - despite a cool cellar since bought en primeur. I concur with the other reviewer who said that this 2010 seems very advanced for its age. Last bottle was ok but ever so slightly cooked fruit and spirity finish.

2/14/2023 - Peter Weltman wrote:

Good balance, not overly complex, medium finish, was expecting a bit more complexity from a wine this age

1/4/2023 - melzar wrote:

This wine is just entering it's prime drinking window. Reminds me of the "82 that is long gone from my cellar. Well balanced and likely to outlive me, it's the acidity that stands out, begging me to take one more sip.

1/2/2023 - melvinyeowq wrote:

Beat the '89 Angelus: Brought this as an extra for a friend, was interested to see if a top northern Rhone would stand up to the greats of Bordeaux. I opened this slightly earlier expecting that it needed time, the nose on opening was quite seductive with perfumed, meaty blue fruit. Unfortunately it became muted on both on the nose and palate during lunch without much structure. Am putting this down as corked even though there wasn't any perceptible sign of TCA.

11/18/2022 - Carlo Sarto Likes this wine:

Followed my own advice in previous note and drank whole 375ml with my wife in one sitting. Her first word was "Balance!" and that is exactly what it is. Balance, harmony, clarity and depth. Lists of separate qualities are entirely unable to grasp the essence of such a wine. Numerical scores are a different attempt at the same. And fail also. This taste was singular. A great opera baritone singing a perfect note. Samuel Ramey, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Tito Gobbi and Sherrill Milnes are completely different voices easily distinguished. And so are portos like this.
Bravissimo!

11/12/2022 - AlbAnd wrote:

Aspettare almeno altri due anni

9/23/2022 - Radders12345 Likes this wine:

Nose jumping out the glass - certainly less shy than this was a couple of year ago.
Nose brings blue plum, dark cherry, cedar and some wet stone.

On the palate good intensity of blue fruit, bramble, a little Palma violets, graphite, some leather but still very primary. Tannins are resolving with a little black tea tang on the finish. Good acidity propels into a reasonably long finish. Quite happy to give this 93

8/30/2022 - WEB,III Likes this wine:

Solid wine, but not the best from Radda.

7/22/2022 - DGS Wine Lover Likes this wine:

First tasting of this case. Cork broke upon opening. Could not rescue, had to push through. The nose was bold and energetic, a bit of cedar, solid fruit, hardwood desk. Taste had level soft tannins, some blackberry and raspberry albeit a bit tart. Got better in the glass over time. Will plan ahead of time next time to decant for a couple of hours.
Overall a welcome surprise and can't wait to try the next bottle.

7/15/2022 - BradE wrote:

While this will likely be fantastic in 10+ years, these half bottles will never survive that long. Terrific CC.

7/2/2022 - fussyeater Likes this wine:

Chris's Italian Dinner at QCH (Quality Chop House, Farringdon Road, London): Brooding and quite dark red with some bricking. Cassis old books and leather on the nose with a trace of oak. Powdery tannins with vibrant and deep dark red fruit that remains bright with well judged acidity and great overall balance. Not hugely complex or flashy but speaking of its place very nicely. A soulful wine.

7/2/2022 - NickA Likes this wine:

Chris's Italian Feast (The Quality Chop House): This really did it for me - my WOTN. A sweetly evolved nose, with strawberry and smoke and dried flowers. Again a little bit sweet on the palate, juicy with plum and blackcurrant and savoury with tar and balsamic. Silky mouthfeel. Extremely pleasant and drinkable, with nothing out of place - right in the zone for current consumption.

4/16/2022 - Thefatbastard Likes this wine:

Un beau CDR sur les fruits bleus et les épices. Tannins souples, sec, longueur appréciable. Beau RQP. Loin des bombes que l'on peut retrouver.

5/29/2022 - schwickert Likes this wine:

This was an amazing wine. Decanted for 90 minutes and as time passed more subtle complexity revealed itself. Light to medium body. Somewhat pale red. The passage of the evening revealed more fruit and the noted salinity which I found greatly enhanced the complexity. Very unique and interesting wine

5/24/2022 - ProfByron Likes this wine:

The way top Rioja used to be made. Only a few years later there was a change in style, picked later, more alcohol.

This is truly old school. The best bottles are wonderful, complex, inviting, food friendly.

Drinking now at 21 years of age, no need to cellar, but no rush either.

12.5%, cork.

5/13/2022 - wineforth Likes this wine:

Third bottle from a half case bought en primeur, and I bought another three bottles. Superb complex nose of cedar, plums, blackcurrant, chocolate, graphite and anise. In the last few years the tannins have softened considerably but since the last bottle 16 months ago the fruit has retreated a little as well. This also happened to wines from the hot 2003 vintage and many of them have not come back out of their shells yet. Finish lasts ages and the slight touch of tannic bitterness has gone. Still a lovely wine drinking well now.

5/5/2022 - Mhbeaune wrote:

I’ve been following this wine ever since buying 6 bottles upon release. Back in the 70’s and early 80’s Barolo was amazing value and generally 10-15 years in the bottle. Today it seems to me a product that is overpriced in the market and modern Barolo’s simply don’t pack the punch. No real body or length.
This is no exception. Pleasant enough but nothing special. I know it is an entry level Barolo from a well renowned producer but really £25 10 years ago from a supposedly very good vintage.
Technically a correct wine But nothing remarkable certainly not to persuade me to part with £100 to buy a top notch example.

3/5/2021 - SB5784 Likes this wine:

A dark garnet hue, just barely opaque with signs of moderate bricking and noticeable legs. Nose leaps from the glass immediately. Notes of red and black currant, spiced blackberry, leather, and herbs. Also gamey with some barnyard and dark chocolate aspects as well as pepper and smoke. Slightly stewed, but not in a bad way (perhaps the vintage?). Vivid and raw nose that is quite old school. Palate balanced with good dark red fruits that are still vibrant, but very ripe. The sweetness of the fruit is integrated nicely with spice and still quite puckering tannin structure and acidity. Texture is soft but textured and medium bodied like a fine linen. A spice filled, lengthy and cheeks puckering finish. This is in a really nice spot right now and I’m not sure futher aging will add much, but it has plenty left in the tank and I’d suspect will drink well for the next decade.

3/1/2022 - eporres Likes this wine:

Oustanding aged Barolo, no bottle variation in my bottle, all tasting notes below corroborate, time to drink now. The ideal decant seems to be 1-2 hours, and remember the serving temperature! If you leave it out at room temp while you decant or otherwise, it will warm up (too much)

4/26/2022 - tantotinto wrote:

Another superb bottle. Previous notes still apply. Need to remember to use Ah So on these. Corks have frequently broken.

4/6/2022 - CellarBord Likes this wine:

This note is consistent with two other tasters tonight from different bottles. Opened quickly, yet did not have much character. Started fading after 1.5 hours. After seeing several 93 scores from other on CT, I wonder if this was an off lot. I was expecting much more from this wine. Paired nicely with Lamb filet and Lamb Osso Bucco Ravioli(my favorite item on the menu tonight). Drink now-2025.

4/1/2022 - Carlo Sarto Likes this wine:

What a wonderful treat! This was pure Côte-Rôtie, textbook Côte-Rôtie. There is unique pleasure in tasting just that. I have no interest in deciding if it is the best Côte-Rôtie I have had, or the best Jasmin, or the best 2007 Côte-Rôtie, or the best Jasmin 2007 Côte-Rôtie. Nor do I care if it is less good than other's of those categories.
What matters is that is is a real Côte-Rôtie. I have had recently a 2004 Barbaresco from a good producer from a good MGA and it did not taste like a Bararesco. I have had a 2006 Brunello di Montalcino from an average producer that did not taste like a Brunello.
It appears that the recent people reporting on this wine feel similarly. They express themselves in their own ways.
We do not get to taste a Côte-Rôtie very often. If you want the real thing here is an example. It is mature enough to be able to taste that it is.

3/25/2022 - Kris G Does not like this wine:

This is a wine that you will love or hate with little in between, and this has everything to do with the wood. The spicy and toasted wood covers 90% of the flavors. Drank over two days (with the remaining of the bottle stored in a (full) 375 ml bottle) and still it showed a rapid detoriation during the second evening. Still one bottle to go and not looking forward of uncorking it.

3/24/2022 - papak wrote:

Smoke and red fruit on the nose. Tart red fruit and some minerality on the palate. Medium tannin, medium-high acidity. Decent, but reading the other reviews here I’m wondering if I drank the same wine as everyone else.

1/6/2022 - StefanAkiko Likes this wine:

Easily the best of the more modern Lagrange, counting from 1990 to 2011, albeit I haven’t yet enjoyed neither the 2003 nor the 2006.

In short:
This is a wine of high precision of the fruit, good tannins in the early stages of maturity. A good range of Bdx earth, brett, beautiful piercing red fruit, perfect acids with enticing length and complexity. Superbly energized and intense in a classic Bdx style. St Julien in a nutshell. Wife enjoyed :-)

Will last long.

At brilliant PRIMO (Kannai, Yokohama)

If you prefer gobs of young fruit, than drink other things.

3/19/2022 - lozatron Likes this wine:

Oliver's glorious Steak and Rioja lunch (The London Borough of Waltham Forest): Not gonna lie - I thought the Ardanza was going to hold its own here, but this was next level. Oddly more mature tasting than the Ardanza, and with a kind of pauillac nose and depth. Such good stuff.

3/5/2022 - Madera16 Likes this wine:

This is beautiful. Nose is lifted with a bit of ethyl acetate, also full of oak, a leathery Tempranillo note, fresh butter, sweet tobacco, strawberry (Me thiobutyrate??), beta ionone. Palate has wonderful lifted acid, medium gentle tannin. Lets see if I can wait a few years to see what happens to another bottle.

3/5/2022 - angelcyn Likes this wine:

Getting to the stage much like stick or twist, fading rim no discernable improvement since the last bottle, still has all the hallmarks of a classic Bordeaux without being a great wine, very enjoyable, but no real change and time to drink up in my humble opinion, no rush but no cause to leave any longer.

3/5/2022 - Rhone Rick Likes this wine:

Really good, though not as over the top as the Ardanza GRs. It is a little sweeter and almost jamier than its big brothers that spend more time on wood before bottling. Still pure pleasure, fruit, tabaco and wood, medium complexirt & integrated

3/3/2022 - MS86 wrote:

Clear, medium- ruby, significant fading at rim

This is quite different and not what I expect from CDP. Popcorn and candied strawberry. Balsamic.

Medium bodied. Soft tannins, nicely balanced acidity. Quite high alcohol shows through warmth in the throat.

Somewhat sweet. Flavours of strawberry. Almost port like with prune and alcohol.

12/22/2014 - bevetroppo Does not like this wine:

Note is several weeks old, but this has been bugging me since I tried it and need to get it off my chest. Purchased for $100 at a high end NJ restaurant with a great Burgundy selection and even greater prices, as you can see.

Nose was immediately full of underbrush, a dense thicket in fact. I wondered if it was reduced, but I am not confident in that assessment. In any event, it masked fruit, and other elements as well. I thought it might be a strange expression of being corked, but the underlying wine seemed sound, at least to the degree possible once you cleared the nose. I wrestled with sending it back, which in hindsight I wish I had, but after a few questions my party went back and finished the bottle with appetizers.

Two possibilities present: it was flawed and I failed to act, or it just wasn't very good, especially in view of the producer and vintage. Live and learn. I'm anxious to see what others have experienced after posting.

Update: after checking the other reviews, I'm going to amend my opinion and say this is a wine, like Chateau Nuit San Wagga Wagga, with a bouquet like an aborigine's armpit. Disgraceful.

Update: after reading the professional reviews, I'm going to amend my opinion and say it was a bad bottle.

Update: at this point it doesn't really matter. I'd avoid this wine in favor of a lot of other more humble '05's that are drinking beautifully now. This isn't a vintage where one needs to court controversy-the wines are generally freakin' great.

1/30/2022 - SchlaepDog Likes this wine:

Lot 9097, no reserva juice.

Short decent that was beneficial. Color is still ruby red with only slight brown edges and of course translucent.

Nose is subtle, showing some underbrush, tar, petrol, and Christmas spice.

Palate is ethereal, so delicate and light, yet packs of punch of flavor. Dark and red cherry, tons of saddle leather, then earthy note merge with another wave of red cherry fruit on the finish. Tannin is just right, there, but not obtrusive in any way, but give it nice structure and balance. Went perfect with Wagyu flank steak and chimichurri.

This bottle could have aged further, but IMO, was in the perfect spot. I would drink non-reserva bottles soon. I will drink my other bottle that has reserva juice on/near 2026.

1/25/2022 - Rieslingfan wrote:

A year and a half ago I thought this would need a lot more time. Now it seems more ready to go than any other recent Tondonia. Still showing plenty of that dusty cherry fruit as well as the leathery, herbal accents, but it has gotten notably softer on the back end, and drinks quite well. Not so long ago it had more of a bite. I doubt it is going anywhere soon, but if someone wants to open a recent LdH Reserva this would be a good choice.