1/29/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Deep coloured and dense. Has developed very slowly since the last bottle and is still pretty young. Medium to full bodied, elegant and complex. Fine, fresh, mature red fruit, elegant cask notes, chocolate, tobacco, liquorice, ink, guarrigue, balsamico, herbal expressions and spices, dried fruit, with a long phenolic finish. Give it another 5 years to further improve.

1/29/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Deep coloured. Fresh red fruit - raspberries, sweet cherries - followed by sweet spices, violet, pencil-shave, liquorice, coffee, eucalyptus. Dense, medium balanced, with lots of freshness.Still young and likely to improve over time.

1/29/2024 - CarpeDiem! wrote:

Cork drenched and in crumbles. As a result, the wine was tired and thin. A pity, after the last bottle, which was quite remarkable.

1/28/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Most typical nose, revealing a noble, matured Bordeaux, with subtle wood, plum, old club leather. Very well structured, elegant, with lavish mature fruit aromas, cedar, leather, plum, sweetness. Can easily last another decade.

1/27/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Fully matured. Medium bodied, solid structure. Black fruit, tobacco, toffee aromas, chocolate and liquorice, with a smooth, sweet finish. Enjoy now.

1/27/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Well developed now and ready to drink. Ripe cherries, raspberries, liquorice, roast aromas. Medium bodied palate, well structured, with matured red fruit, tobacco, leather, liquorice and a menthol finish. Drink now and over the coming 3 years.

1/26/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Matured fruit, cedar, liquorice, pepper, cocoa and tea. Well structured, medium bodied, with a silky finish. Drink over the coming 3-5 years.

1/23/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

I should have looked into my previous notes to wait a bit with this bottle, but after a recent 2012 tilting into overmaturity I tend to err on the cautious side. Fresh, crisp dark cherries and raspberries, liquorice, coffee and the obligatory garrigue notes and exotic spices, all in the right proportions. Once the tannins will be sorted (in two years) this bottle will develop into a treat. Hold your horses.

1/21/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Deep yellow colour. Bold, sensual and charming. Lots of sweetness, exotic fruit, mango, quince, melon, still keeping a critical minimum of freshness. Not everybody's cup of tea, but I enjoyed it - and was impressed by the impeccable shape of the bottle after 17 years.

1/20/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Classic Bordeaux profile, with fresh red berries and violet. Well structured and surprisingly young, with fine wood, toffee, chocolate, roast aromas and and a touch of eucalyptus in the finish. Premières Côtes de Bordeaux is typically in the shade of Medoc, but always worth trying.

1/20/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Elegant and expressive, with delicious ripe fruit, sweetness, plum, tobacco, chocolate, violet, coffee and liquorice. Medium to full bodied, well structured, complex. Still evolving and will further improve over the coming 5 years. But if you are in a hurry you can already enjoy now.

1/18/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Pristine, crisp fresh cassis and blueberries, followed by tobacco, cocoa, violet. Excellent structure, thanks also to a good dose of phenolic sweetness covering the mouth in the finish.

1/15/2024 - CarpeDiem! wrote:

Very strange, acid and shallow. Probably flawed. Hence no rating.

1/14/2024 - CarpeDiem! wrote:

Earthy and animal notes in the nose, difficult to approach. Better on the palate, but the narrow texture revealing a difficult year. Mature cassis and blackberry, cedar, dried fruit, mokka and roast aromas, but then forest floor and barnyard notes keeping the wine "on the ground". Past its prime drinking window.

1/14/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Elegant, inviting nose of subtle wood, sweet tobacco and chocolate. Complex, multilayered, perfectly structured. Still young, with crispy but well matured black berries. On the palate fine leather, plum, liquorice, chocolate, camphor, yielding into a long fresh finish. Although the tannins are melting they will comfortably fuel another decade of joy with this wonderful bottle.

1/14/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Still young, but expressive, complex and very dense, with lots of potential for further development. Mature dark berries, roast aromas, herbs, violet, liquorice and fine wood. Better wait for another 3 years before opening another bottle.

1/6/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Exotic wood, herbs, leather in the nose. Medium bodied, well structured, subtle and juicy, with ample aromatic complexity. Mature, almost creamy dark berries, tobacco, leather, sous-bois, sage, pencil-shave. Somewhat below expectations (and market value), but overall enjoyable. Drink now and for another 3 years.

1/6/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Noble wood and leather in the nose. Still fresh red fruit, cedar, plum, tobacco, chocolate, eucalyptus, liquorice, spices and earthy notes. Surprisingly young. Much finesse and a good balance for a difficult year. Requires a good 2 hours of decanting to wake up and to provide a nice drinking experience. Drink now.

1/2/2024 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Well structured and balanced Sancerre, featuring peach, quince, pears and good minerality. Works also with what was left from our chinese / thai Hotpot.

12/31/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

A very well matured Barsac, with the usual aromatic explosion in the mouth, of honey, exotic spices, pineapple, mango, nuts, gingerbread, dried figs and raisin, plums, and a welcome hint of eucalyptus in the long finish. Well balanced and, as expected, a good pairing with our Tarte tatin.

12/31/2023 - CarpeDiem! wrote:

As good as always, but wrong pairing with our chinese / thai Hotpot. Nice try.

12/31/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

A viognier is always our first port of call for thai food. In this case we paired the thai section of our Hot pot with a good result. Nice exotic fruit, pineapple, mango, but also peach, honey, asparagus and ginger, with a generous mineral backbone. Can be enjoyed now and for another 2 years.

12/31/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Smooth and charming nose of mature red fruit, subtle spices, violet. Medium bodied, well balanced, with much Bourgogne finesse. At the same time rich aromatic depth. For a young wine surprisingly ready to drink, but can further mature for another 3-5 years.

12/31/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Similar to the 2020 bottle had in parallel this wine is surprisingly approachable. Seductive, silky, with sweet fruit and subtle spices and young violet tones. Can be enjoyed now, but will certainly evolve further over a decade. Good pairing with our Hot pot.

12/30/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Generous pineapple, quince, peach, mango and honey in the nose. Intense on the palate, exotic fruits, melon, honey, nuts, mint and fine cask aromas, with some citric tones in the finish to counterbalance. Drink now.

12/29/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Still in good shape. Mature pears, quince, honey, rum, plums. Intense palate, of raisin, plum, fig, honey, spice and tea aromas still a treat, although beyond its top. Still a good pairing with our happy, (non stuffed!) foie gras.

12/25/2023 - CarpeDiem! wrote:

Ink, leather and tobacco in the nose. Medium bodied. Despite mature aromas, plum and tobacco the bottle is more edgy and "dryer" than last time around, remaining fresh and earthy all the way to the finish. Possibly suboptimal condition of this bottle. In dubio no rating.

12/25/2023 - CarpeDiem! wrote:

Difficult to approach and possibly flawed. We were not sure, but unlike previous bottles this one remained pretty rough, with herbal, pine and earthy notes. What a shame when you know how beautiful this bottle can be.

12/25/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Well matured, reliable Pomerol. Cedar, toffee, caramel in the nose. Medium bodied, elegant, smooth, with sweet cherries, chocolate, plum and toast. Drink within the next 2 years.

1/25/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Sweet, mature red berries, tobacco, plums, liquorice, roast aromas, stripping the former herbal notes and evolving positively since last visited (in 2021). Medium bodied and ready to drink now and for another 5 years.

12/25/2023 - CarpeDiem! wrote:

Much acidiy initially, opening only very slowly to Bourgogne minerality, flintstone, butter, honey, lemon and white fruit. A bit shy, and at current prices rather limited value for the buck.

12/24/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

That kind of Wow bottle plunging you immediately into what is on offer. Sweet nose of ripe plums, vanilla, cedar, portwine, menthol, sweet spices. Already a pleasure to drink, but to further improve over the coming 5 years.

12/24/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Subtle most typcal Pinot Noir, playing with raspberry, strawberry and red cherry tones in the nose. Medium bodied, light and playful, but adding very enjoyable vanilla, tobacco and pomegrenade aromas on the palate. Can be enjoyed already and over the coming 5 years. Excellent pairing to our mignon de porc en croûte

12/24/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Pretty unapproachable after an hour of decanting, but then waking up slowly to a very intense and complex Nebbiolo. Fresh black berries, coffee, liquorice, chocolate, earthy and herbal notes, still to be unwound. Still surprisingly young and probably requiring another 5 years. I give it a potential rating.

12/22/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

With a good dose of freshness and crispy fruit. Mature berries and cherry aromas, generous cedar, plum, toffee. Full bodied, balanced and seductive. Drink now and over the coming 2 years.

12/21/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Expressive and charming. Mature black berries, sweet spices, clover and cinnamon. A very nice, versatile companion to your meat that can be drunk now and over another 5 years.

12/17/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Subtle and complex this Chardonnay is distinctly different from what you find in Burgundy. Possibly confusing at first you will quickly appreciate a delicately balanced blend of fresh white fruit, lychees, ample minerality and a hint of honey in the background.

12/15/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Intense and immediately appealing. Very mature black fruit, chocolate, toffee, leather, liquorice and earthy notes. Lots of Amarone type sweetness and extraction. Excellent! Can already be enjoyed, but should further develop over a decade.

12/8/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

A well made, affordable Chardonnay, that was lovely with our Epoisses cheese.

12/6/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Fully matured Gigondas. Intense, very ripe cassis and raspberries, garrigue, clove and sweet spices, with a phenolic finish. Drink now.

12/3/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

A sentimental flash-back to my first Bdx. vintages. This very reasonably priced Listrac withstood time with honour. Time will never replace depth, but overall a still enjoyable bottle, offering ripe black berries, leather, tobacco and plum aromas.

12/3/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

After a stunning bottle opened around Easter this one was a bit more reserved. Much St. Julien typicity for sure (mature black berries, cedar box, roast aromas, tobacco, liquorice, sweet spices) but less finesse and depth.

12/3/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

I did not dare to decant a 35 year old chap. I should have! The wine took almost 2 hours to wake up and reveal noble cask, leather, tobacco, roast, ink and dark chocolate aromas. Add pencil shaving, herbal and earthy notes kicking into a long, fresh finish and you are left with a puzzle: is it too still too early to open? Will I (n)ever understand this wine? But overall an enjoyable classic Bdx.

11/28/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Typical and well crafted Gigondas, ready to consume now.

11/26/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Exotic fruit, minerality, honey, melon, white fruit, perfectly balanced with the right dose of citric acidity and subtle wood aromas. Wonderful pairing with our choucroute garnie.

11/25/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Well made expressive Salento, always a good pairing with pasta.

11/24/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Well matured, caramel, tobacco, roast aromas. Medium bodied, complex, well structured. Drink now and over the coming 2-3 years.

11/23/2023 - CarpeDiem! wrote:

Part of a 2020-1995 Verticale. Last bottle of our verticale, cleary overshadowed by some great vintages had before. It is true that many 1995 left banks don't live up to expectations, but I had excellent 1995 SMs in the past. Sadly, this one was pretty unpolished and lacked depth, dominated by liquorice, herbal notes and thinning out pretty fast. But not my last bottle, hence to be revisited.

11/23/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Part of a 2020-1995 Verticale. Difficult to get this vintage wrong, considering the perfect Cabernet S. growing conditions on the left bank in 1996. Yet I already had better 1996s and had expected more umpf. Flattering maturity in the nose, lush ripe cassis, cocoa, plum, tobacco, roast aromas, with some herbal and earthy tones in a the finish. Possibly my palate getting tired towards the end of the verticale, but also some bottle variation over the years.

11/23/2023 - CarpeDiem! Likes this wine:

Part of a 2020-1995 Verticale. Remarkable for a very challenging year. Silky and seducing, with port sweetness, tobacco, roast aromas and sweet spices. Some dilution in the finish shedding light on the difficult circumstances under which the wine was borne in a stormy year.