1/11/2024 - johnh1001 wrote:

A lovely much softer bottle.

8/11/2023 - johnh1001 wrote:

From a magnum with perfect provenance. Took only 10 minutes for the nose to open up. Beautifully sweet red fruit with dried flowers and baking spice. Cloudy and brown but super energetic. Long and balanced.

12/6/2022 - johnh1001 wrote:

This is every bit as good as I remember from the last time I tasted it in 2018. Just incredible spice, energy, and balance. Amazing fruit with a touch of age, but in the most charming way. In the increasingly small category of, I don’t care what it costs, I want to buy more.

5/24/2020 - johnh1001 wrote:

Ripe and fresh. Not the precision I remember.

6/4/2020 - johnh1001 wrote:

Is it you or is it me? This is not what I remember. Pale in color, sour cherry. Some spice. Short and thin. Just bought a case of this. Maybe spending $800/bottle for a village level wine is not the best idea.

4/17/2016 - johnh1001 wrote:

sweet ripe red fruit. Upfront nose, but this is a bit thin on the palate and a bit short on the finish. Very pleasant but I won't be holding

9/6/2015 - johnh1001 wrote:

perfect balance of fruit and dryness

9/4/2015 - johnh1001 wrote:

A superb array of raspberries, blackberries, roses, rhubarb and spice on the nose and palate. Super bright and forward. A bit modern. Great balance and acidity. Full blown. Leroy fireworks with DRC precision.

10/5/2014 - johnh1001 wrote:

Dark fruit, vanilla and plum notes on the rich, ripe and round palate. Sweet fruit along with a subtle tar note. Very tasty today, but with depth to evolve.

6/27/2015 - johnh1001 wrote:

Absolutely superb nose of ripe red fruit, rhubarb, pomegranate and loads of spice. All of this carried through to the rich and detailed palate. Very forward, but concentrated letting you know that this still has a long way to go. Long finish with excellent grip. This was still excellent on day 5!

6/18/2015 - johnh1001 wrote:

Extremely forward nose of ripe red and black fruit, a zillion different spices and a cool, airy floral note. Yet with all this going on, you still felt the wine was holding back a bit. This sense of exuberance combined with restraint carried through to the palate which was also full of spice, forward fruit, a rhubarb note and clear, but satisfying structure. This is awesome today and it will only gain complexity. This is much more sophisticated than the Clos du Chateau tasted last night, but has the same level of excitement, just with more complexity and depth. The finish lasts forever.

4/5/2014 - johnh1001 wrote:

I need to stay away from this wine!

5/15/2015 - johnh1001 wrote:

Ripe and very sweet on the nose. Black fruit, almost prune like. Pure and finessed on the palate, but again, just a bit too sweet. Seemed more aged in appearance than I would have thought.

2/17/2015 - johnh1001 wrote:

delicious

11/17/2014 - johnh1001 wrote:

Another fabulous bottle from a different case. This was still going strong on day 3.

9/4/2014 - johnh1001 wrote:

Fresh and pure nose of strawberries, raspberries, mushrooms and a interesting rubber note. Sweet, ripe and nicely structured on the palate. This is good now and will last a long time. Medium++ finish

8/1/2014 - johnh1001 wrote:

Serious wood spice attacks your nose with reinforcements of red and black fruit. This carries through to the palate with bright and exuberant fruit. Racy and sexy as expected, but this did not have the mid palate depth that they 2007 did which strikes me as odd considering the vintages. Medium++ finish that has you thinking about this wine the next day.

1/1/2014 - johnh1001 wrote:

Just can't stay away. Love this wine.

5/18/2014 - johnh1001 wrote:

Two HDH Dinners (Ada St. and Bistronomic): This was the CSJ Cuvee Centenaire. A 1/2 barrel production. Basically the CSJ on steroids. Extremely dense and intense red and black fruit, loads of spice, bit of mineral and outstanding grip. This is big, but overdone. Long finish.

4/17/2014 - johnh1001 wrote:

A real treat to try something this old with a storied past--and timely these days. Fig, dried apple, brandy, burnt honey, creme brûlée on the nose and palate. Rich, round, full and creamy in the mouth. Not heavy, but viscous. Long, strong finish. Shows its age at the end. I'd annex Crimea just for this...

4/15/2014 - johnh1001 wrote:

I have had this wine a few times and I was certainly over enthusiastic with my first note. That said, this is a sleeper wine that is perfectly mature, well integrated with great notes of mature red and black fruit, cedar, earth and a leather note. Great harmony and round texture. Medium depth and finish.

12/8/2013 - johnh1001 wrote:

Easy. Straightforward with sulphur, pear, just the right amount of oak. Lighter and sleek in the mouth with a lingering finish. Enjoyable.

1/6/2013 - johnh1001 wrote:

Decanted and drank over 5 hours. Deep deep dark purple color. My teeth looked I had drank a Shiraz. Dark nose of black fruit, red fruit, leather, tobacco, wet stones, some earth but mostly primary fruit. The palate matched with coffee, cocoa and more dark fruit. This is thick and concentrated, very modern. Dense with the alcohol and tannin present, but the fruit matches. A long finish with dark fruit and tannin lingering for over a minute. Impressive for sure.

12/9/2012 - johnh1001 wrote:

Decanted and drank over 6 hours. No doubt I am influenced by the hype surrounding this wine. I actually tasted this from barrel with Alfred Tesseron, who was just so charming. At the time I liked the wine, but wouldn't have put it in my top 10 of the trip. Anyway, the nose is great with deep dark fruit, crushed stone, asphalt, dark chocolate and herbs. The palate matches and even with plenty of air is still dense and tight with a core of dark fruit. The balance and texture are wonderful as this just glides across your tongue. The tannin is evident on the finish and every so often you get a little bit of heat on the nose. All that said it will clearly age and I'm looking forward to drinking the rest of the case.