Important Update From the Founder Read message >

Comments on my notes

(12 comments on 12 notes)

1 - 12 of 12 Sort order
Red
2015 Château l'Ermitage Costières-de-Nîmes Epicuria Mourvèdre
11/24/2018 - Jeyung Likes this wine:
96 points
After Somm In the Bottle, I wanted to try some Hermitage wines, because why not. I love this wine, for me this is what I think of when I hear “red wine”. Slightly breathy, a touch of heat on the palette, mild acid, a rich berry flavor that doesn’t punish you for drinking it. We had with a steak and herb brie cheese board, it didn’t lose out to any of the flavors present, nor did it over power the food. Smooth and refined enough for me. I expect it will age well. Picked up a couple extra bottles to find out.
  • bjwca commented:

    12/20/19, 2:07 PM - FYI: the Hermitage wine on Somm In the Bottle was from the Hermitage hill area in northern Rhone, heavy in Syrah. This Epicuria wine is all Mourvedre and from an area much further south near Nimes. The producer happens to be named Chateau l'Emitage, but it is not from the Hermitage area.
    That said, I'm excited to try this wine. Thanks for the review.

Red
2010 Château Lamarsalle Montagne-St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend
Not as good as the bottle I had 4 years ago, but still enjoyable.held up fine over 3 nights and I did aerate on the 1st one. I wasn’t going to, but the cork was dry and ripped leaving about 1/4” that I had to punch through to get ou, so I had to strain it anyway. Lots of sediment as well.
  • bjwca commented:

    8/28/19, 5:55 PM - I can't believe how opposite are tasting notes are. I drank my first bottle 4 years ago (2015) and rated it an 84, and rated my bottle tonight (2019) at 95, that's how much I feel it improved. Just shows how different tasting experiences can be.

Red
1967 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
No Score. This bottle was from another former RM winemaker's cellar and had a mid shoulder ullage from a less than pristine cork. The occasion was a third winemakers birthday, (her husband). The wine at 12% alcohol had plenty of acidity and was still drinkable although far past its prime. Would it have done with a better cork, definitely. The debate about lower alcohols, higher acidity, and lower pH's versus over ripe syrupy fruit bombs that at most have five-seven years of aging potential is over for me. Maybe 12% is too low and a couple of degrees more ripeness would be better but that is all that is needed. Get flavor at 22-24 brix not 28-30.
  • bjwca commented:

    6/18/19, 7:42 PM - Thanks for the tasting note, I still have 2 bottles of this 67 in my cellar. I'm not sure what to do with them. My biggest worry is the lead content in the capsule, which is evident with the slight corrosion on the outside. Did your bottle show any lead corrosion on the capsule?

Red
2014 Château Subilaux Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux Red Bordeaux Blend
8/25/2018 - wine247365 Likes this wine:
89 points
Is there any better wine at this price point of less than $10??? The merlot shows with a pleasing fruitiness, almost full body, and round tannins. While predominantly merlot, the small amount of Cab Franc occasionally shows with a suggestive darkness and charcoal. Drank this as a pnp and while it reads as 14% ABV, I bet it's lower. The drinking window shows to 2024, but I don't see any reason to wait. Greatest QPR and DD of the year(s)! Thank you Winex! Should've bought cases.
  • bjwca commented:

    6/18/19, 7:36 PM - Based on your tasting note I bought 9 bottles of this wine for $7 a bottle, and you are right, it is great value. Love this wine. Thanks for the tip!

Red
2005 Château Bellevue St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend
3/30/2019 - bjwca Likes this wine:
92 points
Since my previous bottle was flawed, I decided not to wait too much longer on this last bottle. Luckily, it was not one of the bad Maderized bottles, but instead a perfectly aged Bordeaux.
This makes me wonder if the winery or wine maker knows what could have caused some of the 2005 bottles to be maderized and other 2005 bottles to be perfect. Since Robert Parker and I had the exact same experience.
  • bjwca commented:

    3/31/19, 11:34 AM - I've experienced lots of "corked" bottles that had a musty smell or oxidized characteristics to them, but my previous bottle of this 2005 Bellevue was very different, it had a port or madeira like taste to it, almost like it was fortified. I read that this can happen when the wine is overheated. Since multiple people experienced the same anomaly, where some bottles have it and other bottles do not, suggests to me that something happened at the winery or in transport to a large number of bottles. Perhaps pallets of this wine were exposed to heat, such that the outer bottles on each pallet were overheated, but the inner bottles were not.

Red
2005 Château Bellevue St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend
2/9/2019 - bjwca wrote:
flawed
Corrected per comments. This bottle was flawed.
Original tasting note: This bottle is showing too much age, starting to gain some undesirable "tawny port" type flavors. Still drinkable, but I wish I had drank this bottle a few years earlier. This leaves me worried about all of my remaining 2005 Bordeaux wines, perhaps they are not built for the long haul like the 1982 vintage.
  • bjwca commented:

    2/11/19, 6:54 AM - Thanks for these educational comments, I was not familiar with the term Maderized. I drank my 1st 2005 Bellevue in Aug-2016, and it was perfect, that is why I was so shocked at this 2nd bottle, which definitely had a brown color to it, and took on some Madeira like flavors. I have 1 more bottle remaining, so hopefully it is not maderized.

Red
2005 Château La Gaffelière St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend
6/1/2017 - bjwca Likes this wine:
91 points
Lots of earth on this wine, with a very nice finish. Perhaps there was fruit early on, but if so, it is mostly gone now. I had a 1982 bottle of this same wine in 2014 that was incredible, but I have doubts that this vintage will be as incredible when it reaches 32 years old. Surprising, because I thought the 2005 vintage was supposed to be the next 1982 vintage.
  • bjwca commented:

    6/6/17, 8:04 PM - Good catch, I corrected now. Thanks!

Red
2005 Château Figeac St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend
10/25/2015 - NineteenEightyTwo Likes this wine:
91 points
La Fête du Bordeaux (Park Hyatt, Chicago): Medium-dark rosewood color. Ample nose of planed wood with a slightly sweet and toasty aroma, a residual wisp of sous bois, and a slightly green stem smell. The palate, by comparison, is still tightly held in the grip of constricting tannins, giving up little. This finishes plenty strong, with the tannins turning grainy at the back of the tongue. Any thoughts I had of opening my remaining bottle of this will have to wait until 2025 at the earliest.
  • bjwca commented:

    2/29/16, 8:11 PM - The CT dates say not to "start" drinking this wine until it is 25 years old, but then you have another 70 years to finish your remaining bottles.
    I sure hope they are correct, but that just seems crazy risky!

Red
2007 Rubicon Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Single Lot "Fourteen" Rutherford
2/29/2016 - bjwca Likes this wine:
89 points
I agree with a previous post, that this is thinner than others I've tried from the same producer. As usual, the main flavor is of fresh sweet fruit. I had expected more from the magical 2007 vintage. Perhaps 2007 was not the best in Rutherford. Still an enjoyable wine.
  • bjwca commented:

    2/29/16, 7:33 PM - Perhaps we waited too long on this.

Red
2010 Château Monbousquet St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend
We're guilty, we didn't decant. Bought it off the shelf, took it to our AirBnB, popped it. But STILL. Boom. This is fabulous. Rich nose of dark fruit and some wafty alcohol. Tiny hint of woods. Robust tannins, strong backbone, this wine gives zero fucks because it is so damn confident in itself. Danky, cedar, stewed plum, moss, tobacco, bell pepper, smoked something-I-can't-put-my-finger-on.....and if this kind of complexity is coming out without decanting....well alrighty then.
  • bjwca commented:

    2/16/16, 6:43 PM - "zero fucks"? What is that supposed to mean?

Red
2007 Château Lalande-Borie St. Julien Red Bordeaux Blend
10/5/2011 - JustOneMore wrote:
91 points
Complex, especially for a wine in this price range. Cedar and eucalyptus, with classic Left Bank notes. I've had this over three days, preserved only with a Vacuvin, and the taste has improved over all three days. Medium bodied, but very smooth. Every aspect of this wine is well resolved and in balance, especially the acidity.

Probably one of the best price-to-quality ratios in the market at this time. Hopefully there isn't too much bottle variation, as I bought several more. A solid 91.
  • bjwca commented:

    1/11/16, 6:48 PM - Very much agree with your note on this wine. Even after 4 years, it is still an amazing wine.

Red
2007 Château Lalande-Borie St. Julien Red Bordeaux Blend
5/21/2015 - Hypersphere wrote:
90 points
as predicted, it's had its time, decent evening tv wine - little tannins left.
the body is not bland but doesn't stay that long in mouth.
hard to detect striking notes but it drinks itself well
  • bjwca commented:

    1/11/16, 6:33 PM - I found that this wine had an amazing squeaky dry tannic-like finish, that lasted a long time in the mouth, perhaps up to 30 seconds.
    I'm surprised that found that it "doesn't stay that long in mouth".

1 - 12 of 12
© 2003-24 CellarTracker! LLC.

Report a Problem

Close