2/16/2024 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Good solid structure but still very tightly wound at the moment. Just a bit too acidic to be really enjoyable just yet but I have no doubt that it will get there in the end. The 2013 B de B is absolutely singing right now so revisit the 2015 in 2025?

2/7/2024 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

I can see why JS gave this 100pts back in 2021. The wine is incredibly taut and precise with delicious ripe fruit wrapped tightly around a core of steel. The acidity is electrifying and it all comes together and just works. Drank this over three days and it was best on day three having opened out and settled down. At the moment, I think this wine is too young to get maximum enjoyment although there's no disputing the refreshment value. I'll leave my remining four bottles a few more years before broaching again. Tremendous stuff.

1/26/2024 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

27yrs young and still going strong. These bottles had leaky/sticky capsules when I bought them way back in 1999, but fill level looks fine although the cork did fall apart on opening.

Medium straw gold colour with fabulous Riesling aromatics - quince. pear, gooseberry and two stroke petrol. On the palette only spatlese sweetness as others have mentioned and the fruit is still alive although now mature and honied. There is quite sharp grapefruit acidity on the finish however that I don't remember from old which is a little bit unbalancing.

Overall, still a class act and although I don't have much experience of older rieslings, I think that it's probably time to drink up.That acidity is just a little too harsh for me.

12/28/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Rich dark amber - the colour of an old Malmsey Madeira. The nose is like liquid Christmas - mince pies, fruit cake soaked in brandy and yes, even a few pine needles in there as well. But it's on the palete that this really shines. Effortless waves of flavour, light but powerful, tense and grippy and while there's a hint of sweetness on the mid palate, it finishes completely dry with a Madeira like tanginess on the tongue.

Quite simply the finest port I have ever had the pleasure of drinking. I can't think how this could possibly be any better, hence my first ever perfect score.

12/10/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Starting to enter its plateau of maturity. Still the same deep copper pink of a couple of years ago but now the fruit seems to have shed some of its earlier sweetness and is entering a more savoury phase. As always with Pol Roger, refined and complex with reserves of underling power, this is drinking beautifully now.

9/19/2023 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Pale pink. Pretty austere for a rose. Hard work and not much fun. Maybe just needs time?

11/21/2023 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Not 100% convinced by this. Lovely deep copper pink colour but quite stern and savoury on the palate. Some red berry fruits but they seem just a bit underipe atm. Usual classy Comtes bubbles and finish. Given the usual reliability of this house and cuvee, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and assume that this just isn't ready yet. The Pol Roger 2012 Rose is much more fun and drinking better at the moment.

9/30/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Pale golden yellow, like a wheat field just before harvest. On the nose, fresh bread dough and apple skins, dried in the sun. As always with Comtes, lovely texture with pinprick bubbles and an utterly complete and refreshing finish. This is like a day at the beach - sunshine and fresh sea air. In fact you can feel it doing you good. How will it age? I have no idea but its delicious now and I am glad I've bought a few cases to follow in the years to come

7/4/2023 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Bottled 2007. Decanted 7 days

Cristal clear pale golden brown, the colour of a blended scotch whisky. Slightly stale nose. Bit dead on the palate too. Definitely madeira but no real flavour to speak of and again slightly stale. I though it was pretty much impossible to kill Madeira but someone has managed it here. Shame, as ABSL wines are so rare now. Down the sink.

6/26/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Bottled in 2022. 50yrs in barrel. Bottle 446 of 1,206. Decanted 48hrs.

Dark polished mahogany with greenish hints. Quite a spirity nose with a sort of bay leaf intensity that reminds me of freshly split green oak. Anyone who has taken an axe to recently felled Quercus Robur will know exactly what I mean. Thick and rich in that typical full Blandy's style with that natural Boal sweetness countered by some sharp citrus peel acidity on the mid palate. On the finish, there's a sort of burnt sugar 'crème brulé' element that reminds me of very old tawny port, specifically Taylor's Golden Age 50yr Tawny . This is a big rich concentrated and powerful wine with an awful lot going on and I think this would be far better suited to a cold November night by the fire than tonight, a balmy June evening. A delicious wine but priced the wrong side of £300 on the table, probably not a rebuy.

6/2/2023 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Decanted and left in the fridge for 24hrs.

Nice label. Bought a bottle to see what all the fuss is about.

Very pale lemon yellow. Quite a sour 'winey' nose. On the palate, cool and concentrated with crisp lemon fruit and some subtle oak in the background. Powerful and steely, it reminds me of the Jadot 2014 Corton-Charlemagne in its flinty purity. No doubting the quality here but at the end of the day, it's just not much fun and imo just tastes like any of the hundreds of other lean sour white wines out there. Maybe it's too young, but for me there just isn't enough meat on the bones or enjoyment here to justify the £78 price tag. On the night, everyone preferred the £15 2019 Pouilly-Fume served alongside. I'll tick it off my bucket list but for me it's certainly not a rebuy.

6/1/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Bottled in 2021. 35yrs in cask. Bottle no. 385/500. Open 5 days.

Dark mahogany - the colour of an old well waxed dining table. On the nose, furniture wax, boot polish, old dusty wardrobe and salted caramel fudge. On the palate this is quite thick and viscous with a caramel/crème Brulé sweetness offset by a nice tangy acidic streak which finishes clean but with lingering sweetness. Leaning more towards the Malvasia end of the spectrum this is quite sweet and rich and is everything I wish a tawny port could be.

I sampled this every day from opening day to today (today) and this was by the far the best showing. Clearly a great wine which I daresay it will continue to develop over the coming weeks with exposure to air. However, it is seriously expensive for a (relatively) young wine in such a recent bottling. The cheapest listing in Europe is around Euro 300 while in the UK, the importer (and sole vendor) is listing this at £400 inc tax. At this price I am struggling to find the QPR. There are some seriously good wines out there at half the price and so while I have ticked this off my list of wines to try, it is not a rebuy.

5/26/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Decanted 72hrs. Bottle 294/739. Bottled July 2018

Pale, slightly cloudy amber. Nose of barley sugar, lemon oil and something slightly saline, like a rockpool at low tide. On the palate, light and ethereal but with hidden reserves of power. Only really verdelho sweet with a good kick of grapefruit acidity. Like all of Ricardo's wines, a light touch and very fresh and lifted despite sone of the wines in the blend blend being considerably older than 40yrs. Very long sweet and sour finish. Totally delicious and a nice change from the richer D'Oliveiras style that I am used to. Glad I tried it but at this price (Euro 305), probably not a rebuy.

5/19/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Bottled in 2022 - 39 years in cask

Typical Oliveira's rich dark mahogany. Sparkling bright in the glass as you'd expect from such a recent bottling. Spirity nose with furniture polish and new leather briefcase. On the palate, quite rich and sweet but with underling freshness which reminds me of biting into a toffee apple on bonfire night. Quite a bit of caramel richness here but never syrupy. A benchmark verdelho.

5/18/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Decanted 48 hrs. 650 bottles produced. Bottled in 2018. 24yrs in cask.

Pale amber with just a hint of green. Slightly cloudy from the very fine sediment that was impossible to filter out. The nose is fresh, like a sea breeze with hints of iodine and seaweed. On the palate, light and powerful with real grip on the tongue and a moderately sweet but clean finish. Like all of Ricardo's wine, this has a ethereal quality to it. Deceptively light in colour this packs a real punch on the palette and I wonder what this would be like after a week in the decanter but I'll never know as this is the last glass from the bottle. Good stuff, but for me at least lacking the body and heft I am looking for from a frasqueira. This is subtle and fine boned, like a nervy greyhound and while it's clearly a quality offering, I'm left craving for more body and substance and richness. Others will undoubtedly love it.

5/13/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Bottled in 2022 - 47 years in cask - This is bottle 527 0f 939 - Decanted 24hrs

Very bright and clear dark mahogany with greenish tints. Lovely nose of wax furniture polish and mixed dried fruit along with a hint of new car mats. On the palate, fresh and bright and positively prancing. There's a momentary hint of sweetness on entry but then in comes that rapier acidity which cuts the wine in two like a razor blade leaving a clean nutty aftertaste and the faintest hint of residual sweetness in the far corners of the palate.

However, after a couple of sips, that acidity becomes almost too much. This tastes much more like a sercial and I can feel the roof of my mouth getting sore from the acidity. I can see why they bottled this now. The 2008 bottling was good, albeit getting a bit tired in 2023, but the extra coupe of decades in cask have really concentrated the acidity here to the point where it's really just on the border of enjoyability. This (2022) bottling is retailing at a>£300 on the table in the UK so I find it hard to find a decent QPR here. For the same money, I would go for the D'Oliveira's 1971 Terrantez (bottled in 2020) which is a much more balanced and complete wine.

4/29/2023 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

A bit stinky on first opening. Took a week to blow off but never quite lost that slight staleness. Underneath is a good wine but for the same money, the D'Oliveiras 1971 is a cleaner, sharper, more defined and tbh, a better wine. Not rated.

3/25/2023 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Bottled in 2020 - 49 yrs in cask. Decanted 48 hrs.

Dark burnished mahogany. Incredible nose of brandy soaked Christmas pudding, brown Antiqwax furniture polish and brand new rubber - like in a new bike tyre. Very concentrated as you'd expect after all this time in cask, the flavours of nuts and burnt caramel coating every corner of the palate. This is like liquid queijo de figo. Round and a hint of sweetness but then comes that acidity cutting through the figs and almonds to leave a dry, tingling finish. Great balance.

To my mind, this is almost the complete Madeira. Rich, powerful, concentrated but cut through by decisive acidity leaving a tingling sweet and sour finish, that hint of residual sweetness lingering long after the wine is gone. The Blandy's 1978 Terrantez (bottled in 2022) is very good but this is another step up in my book. Slightly drier style than the Blandy's and for me, a more complete wine. Stunning.

3/21/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Bottled in 2022. 44yrs in cask. Bottle no. 449/1,206. Decanted 48hrs.

Very dark crystal clear mahogany. Sweet and sour furniture polish nose. On the palate, rich smooth and unctuous in that slightly sweeter Blandy's style but then comes the tangy acidity cutting through all that richness to leave a bright clean finish. Despite the richness and concentration there is something slightly saline and coastal about this, a hint of iodine and even seaweed perhaps balancing out a lingering fudge-like sweetness. An absolutely top drawer Madeira without a doubt which continued to develop and improve in the glass over the course of the evening. Certainly not cheap at £255 per bottle on the table but then again, I shouldn't imagine that storing and caring for this beauty over 44yrs in Blandy's lodge in Funchal comes cheap either.

3/13/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

1296 bottles filled in 2014. Decanted 3 days.

Dark amber. On the nose, furniture polish, orange peel and something slightly dusty, like an old wardrobe. The palate is full, round and slightly sweet as you'd expect for a boal but in that lighter playful Barbeito style. It reminds me sweetened iced tea. The finish is dry with a lingering hint of barley sugar sweetness but it lacks that acidity and sharp finish that I crave in a Madeira. A nice boal but seems to lack a bit of character - too mellow almost. I think the 20yr Sercial is a much more distinctive (and better) wine at this stage and while this is nice, it lacks personality.

3/13/2023 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Decanted 3 days. Bottled in 2015. 1259 individually numbered 75cl bottles.

Pale amber. Not much on the nose - slightly nutty, like an amontillado. Very light and deft on the palate with dried almonds and a hint of slightly burnt caramel but with enormous power and depth. Piercing acidity as you'd expect but not too sharp and as someone has already said, a hint of iodine and I am reminded of a fine pale Islay malt. A wonderful palate scrub of an aperitif and just the thing with a bowl of dried salted almonds. A really delicious sercial and definite rebuy, if you can still find it. I think the lighter, drier Barbeito style really lends itself to this grape.

3/9/2023 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Bottled in 2004. 2,664 bottles. Decanted 3 days

Once again, I am reminded of the need to decant Madeira days in advance. Initially this was a bit tired and stale upon opening/day 1 but tonight it's singing.
A rich dark chestnut/mahogany and not quite crystal clear due to the very fine sediment in the bottle which was impossible to avoid upon decanting. This is rich and dark as tastes like it looks - brooding and serious with burnt caramel and walnuts, finishing off with a lovely orange peel tangy acidity. Perhaps slightly sweeter than I would expect for a verdelho but that tinglingly acidity and grip makes this is really well balanced wine. Just a thoroughly enjoyable glass of Madeira.

Note: there is also a 2022 bottling for which I am waiting delivery and it will be interesting to compare the two bottling of the same wine - one in cask for 29yrs, the other for 47.

3/5/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Bottles 2015. 36yrs in cask. Decanted 3 days. 2,051 bottles. 700 halves

Slightly sweeter and fuller than I would expect for a Verdelho. Quite rich in fact in the typical Blandy style. Make no mistake, this is really good stuff but I might have guess bual blind. Seems to lack that rancio and acidity that I expect from a verdelho, but then again, this is typical of Blandy's. A lovely balanced wine but just a bit too much residual sugar for me.

2/22/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Open 48hrs. Bottled in 2020 so 18yrs in cask - almost a frasqueira.

Rich dark mahogany. There's an awful lot going on on the nose here - furniture polish, dried figs, dates, dark brown muscovado sugar and molasses. The palate is rich, sweet and unctuous with dried figs and toffee apple. There's a tawny port sweetness here but then comes that acidity, and while the sweetness lingers in the mouth long after the wine has gone, the finish is clean and definitely dry. This is everything I wish tawny port could be. It has the richness and complexity of a 30/40yr old tawny but finishes clean and dry. This is delicious and would be perfect with vanilla ice cream or crème brulee. Great value too. If this was a frasqueira, it would be twice the price.

2/22/2023 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Open 12hrs

Concentrated an minerally for sure, but lacking the fruity charm of the Coddington. This smells and tastes like so many other chardonnays out there - slightly sour, like milk that's on the turn. I don't think there's actually anything wrong with it but like the Hunting Hill, it's just not much fun.

2/17/2023 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Drinkable and correct, but no fireworks. Minerally and unmistakably chardonnay but this lacks the easy-going fruitiness and charm of the Coddington. Need to try again tomorrow. I've been surprised so many times by Chards on day 2.

2/12/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Bottled 2016. 36 yrs in cask. 2,239 bottles. 300 halves. Decanted 48hrs.

Bark burnished mahogany - the colour of Baltic amber. This is rich and slightly sweet in the typical Blandy's style with lots of caramel and toffee and there is a slightly burnt element to the flavours, like caramelised sugar. But then cutting through that richness and sweetness comes the typical Terrantez acidity creating a very harmonious and balanced whole. The grapefruit acidity lingers on the tongue as the last of the burnt caramel fades into the distance. Good stuff, albeit in that slightly richer darker Blandy's style which isn't necessarily my favourite, but the quality here is is undeniable.

2/4/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Decanted 72hrs

Rich mid amber, the colour of an old sherry cask Scotch. On the nose, dried fruits, fresh apple peel and a hint of furniture polish. Rich and powerful on the palate and again, that hint of apple which reminds me of toffee apples on bonfire night. Subtle and understated, like so many of Ricardo's wines, this creeps up on you and builds in the mouth as the flavours develop but then finishes clean and fresh with gentle beguiling acidity and a lingering aftertaste of toffee fudge. A beautiful, subtle and reflective wine which like a great Scotch, is best just sipped and savoured for what it is rather than being pulled apart. I can see why Jancis gave this 20/20. Malvaisia isn't my favourite incarnation of Madeira but there's no denying this is epic.

Note: This became better and better over the course of a week or so in the decanter. A stunning wine.

Bottled in 2021. Just 531 75cl bottles

2/4/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

This is right up my street. Dark and rich with a hint of furniture polish but then finishing grippy and clean. More like a Verdelho than a Bual in terms of sweetness which is probably why I like it so much but it has that added benefit of Boal's aromatics - marzipan, boot polish and dried fruits, it smells like liquid stollen. This isn't subtle, but it punches all my Madeira buttons, especially the 'sweet and sour' hit that I crave. Of my recent frasquiera purchases, it's also the lowest price at £122 per 75cl on the table. A definite rebuy at this price.

1/29/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

2021 bottling. Decanted 24hrs

The usual D'Oliveiras rich dark mahogany colour.. On the palate this is big, rich, sweet and smooth and to be honest, a bit obvious. 40yrs in cask have concentrated and mellowed this wine but I'd like to see a bit more cut and bite to balance out all that richness and to make a more unified whole. By no means a 'bad' wine but I have had better Boals. The Borges 1977 Boal by contrast is a masterclass in balance and a reference point for this grape.

Day 3. So much better. Still smooth and honied but better balanced now. More grip.

Day 5. As always, I judge Madeira far too early. After 5 days this is a different wine. Lovely richness (not necessarily sweetness) balanced by just the right amount amount of acidity and bite finishing clean with a lingering aftertaste of dried figs and toasted pine nuts. Just a complete pleasure to drink and while I still prefer the Borges 1977, this is lovely wine. Have bumped my score up from an initial 88 to a 91. All good things come to those who wait.

1/29/2023 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

787 bottles bottled in 2018. Decanted 24hrs. Grainy sediment which settled quickly.

Bit of an odd one this. Good round body and not too acidic for a sercial but there's an odd woody note on the nose and palate which reminds me of sandalwood joss sticks and patchouli oil. A trip back to the 1970s. A curious thing in a Madeira and something I've not come across before. Can't say that I really like it either. I'll keep the open bottle for a week or two and see if it blows off. A shame, as it tastes like the underlying material is really good.Judgement reserved.

1 week later: The sandlewood and patchouli thing has more or less gone from the nose but it's still detectable on the palate, just. Again, there is good underlying material here and for sercial, it's not too dry but made in an odd style. I wonder what they were thinking of. Bumped my score up one point to an 88.

1/29/2023 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

A blend of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 harvests from vines planted as in 2004. 2,139 50cl bottles bottled in 2020. Decanted 24hrs.

Pale, slightly reddish copper. Reticent nose with notes of new leather and citrus peel. The wine is very light and deft on the palate - subtle even. Again, there's citrus on the palate with walnut shells and toasted almonds. It's very gentle and reminds me a bit of the Blandy's Listrao in terms of its subtlety, delicacy and nuance. There's lots to like here and at £45 per 50cl on the table represents good value. I think this is better and offers more complexity than anything in their 10yr old range. A definite rebuy if you find it for less than £50.

12/23/2022 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Bottled in 2021. Decanted 48hrs

The usual D'Oliveira's dark chestnut (all their wines seem to have the same colour to me). Granted, there are some hints of green in those nutty depths. Crystal clear as befits a recent bottling such as this. To be brief, this is a wine that ticks all the Verdelho boxes, but only just. There is a lovely roasted barley sugar flavour and grippy tannin and acidity as you'd expect but it lacks the excitement of some of the great bottlings. It just doesn't have the vivacity and tangy orange peel excitment I look for in a verdelho which is unusual from this usually reliable producer. I sense this is a wine going through the motions rather than showing what this grape is really capable of. Good, but no cigar here. Is this a representative bottle?

12/21/2022 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Decanted 48hrs

Mid brown colour with hints of green. Reminds me of the Barbeito Boal '78 from years ago. Very clean nose - green apples and citrus peel. Smooth round entry on the palate but then comes the immediate grip on the tongue which lingers as the wine becomes sweet and mellow again before the acidity finally kicks in at the finish. Towards the sweeter end of the Verdelho scale but the finish is whistle clean as you'd expect. This is a subtle wine, constantly changing in the mouth. Enigmatic and hard to pin down and very much in the Borges (subtle and slightly sweeter) style. A lovely verdelho, best served very slightly chilled to compensate for that sweetness.

Bottled in 2017 - 24 yrs in wood - 1,012 bottles

12/18/2022 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Decanted 48hrs

Rich dark mahogany with green tints. Some grainy sediment at the bottom of the decanter but the wine itself is crystal clear. Quite a volatile nose - spirit, varnish, shoe polish and Christmas cake. On the palate, full and round and definitely on the sweeter/richer end of the boal spectrum. However, there is such grip and tension throughout that the balance is exquisite. There's a lovely lingering sweetness on the finish which reminds me of those soft dried apricots but the acidity stays on the tongue and counters this perfectly. A lovely caramel and brandy aftertaste stays long after the wine itself is gone.

This is really impressive. Definitely on the richer/darker end of the spectrum and I expect there's plenty of caramel added here but it's a beautifully balanced wine nonetheless. I can't imagine a better companion on a cold rainy December night sat in by an open fire just chilling. Delightful.

(Bottled in 2008. 31yrs in wood. 1,800 bottles)

12/14/2022 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Mid golden amber in the glass. On the nose, it's not so obviously Madeira. More gentle, like liquid barley sugar and something warm and spirity, reminiscent of brandy. Initially very gentle on the palate. Understated even, and without that initial Madeira hit but it builds slowly in the mouth to reveal round rich caramel and nuts but always remaining subtle, understated and elusive. The finish though is all Madeira - grippy and acidic with a long tingling Verdelho like aftertaste. A bit of an enigma and not quite like any other Madeira I've ever tasted. By no means just a curiosity though. This is a subtly crafted and very fine Frasqueira, perhaps just in a style that isn't that common anymore. Delicious.

Taken from the last Listrao harvest from William Leacock's personal estate on Porto Santo, the grapes were shipped to the mainland and stored in Blandy's lodge in Funchal. Bottled in 2021, this is the only (as of December 2022) and possibly the last commercially available bottling of Listrao Madeira anywhere. Just 586 bottles and 164 halves to go around. There was also one Melchior (18ltr) bottled, presumably destined for the Blandy family reserves.

12/14/2022 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

This is the 2022 Frasqueira bottling. Decanted 48hrs.

Signature D'Oliveira's dark mahogany colour and as you'd expect for such a recent bottling, crystal clear and shimmering in the glass. As Chatters has said, this smells like Christmas cake but there's also something a little bit dusty too, like the rind on a fresh Brie (a good thing). The palate is medium weight and beautifully balanced with delicious sweet tangy fruit, like satsumas at Christmas but then comes that bracing, almost shocking acidity on the tongue that slowly spreads to every corner of the mouth. It reminds me of when we were kids, daring each other to lick the terminals on top of a 9v battery. Lovely lingering nutty aftertaste. Sercial isn't my favourite style, but this is really good. Glad I have a few bottles stashed away.

12/3/2022 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Dark amber mahogny. The nose is dark, rich and spirity which reminds me of warm Christmas pudding, soaked in brandy. There's also something tropical, like trail mix or dried banana chips. On the palate, smooth and mellifluous, rich and dark and just a good spirity kick on the finish telling you this is rum, not a very old fine tawny port. By far the smoothest and most delicious spirit I have ever tasted. Worth every penny.

11/26/2022 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Bottled 2021. Rich dark mahogany - the colour of an antique desk. The nose is all old leather briefcase and comfy leather chair. It reminds me of the 'Brimax Mahogany Antique Furniture Polish' my father used in his workshop. The palate is rich dark and sumptuous but not overtly sweet. Finishes dry. Not an aperitif but OMG what a way to finish off a good meal. I would take this over a glass of port any day. £75 on the table is great value too.

11/18/2022 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Simple and sweet. Strictly for poaching pears.

11/15/2022 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Good nutty flavours but not enough cut and acidity for a Sercial. It's just too sweet and there's too much carmel. It reminds me of maple syrup. The Barbeito 10yr old is a much better bet.

11/12/2022 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

First from my case of six. Decanted 2 hrs

Dark brooding ruby purple with some definite tawny hints now. The nose is fabulous. Dark berry fruit, underbrush. a slight funk with the hint o a distant autumn bonfire. Midweight on the palate but dark and but dark, brooding and powerful. Plenty of spicy oak. Something not quite right on the finish though which seems to be a bit jagged and harsh. Maybe this this bottle isn't quite 100% so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt for now

11/12/2022 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

From a half bottle that I have had in the cellar for a year or two.

A very pretty shimmering copper/pink. Smells like Champagne and on the palate, clean and fresh with some red fruits and soft pillowy bubbles. Not at all complex, just a delicious glass of rose fizz that I am struggling to say anything bad about. For an NV rose, this is very respectable indeed.

11/3/2022 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

As someone has already said, the richer side of Cali Pinot. Full bodied, dark and powerful with with strong raspberry scents both on the nose and palate. Quite funky and although this kept opening up through the evening my sense is that this is at prime time right now.

Why am I not being more generous with my score? It just seems to lack the freshness and lift I'm looking for. A bit like a teenager who dresses like a middle aged man - old before its time. Perfectly decent juice, but I don't really see much upside from here.

10/28/2022 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

A beautiful ethereal wine, now fully mature.

10/23/2022 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Deep dark purple in the glass but swirling revels a definite garnet hue at the rim. The nose is all ripe dark fruit. fresh compost and damp autumn leaves. On the palate, super concentrated as you'd expect with perfectly ripe powerful fruit flavours, chocolate and dried figs. Good tannic charge that sits on the tongue for ages.

As someone had already said, this is very Californian and although delicious, it does seem quite advanced and mature. Not in a bad way - it just seems older than other 2009s. I would have guessed 2000 or 2003 blind. The 2010 Palmer is still a tightly wound tannic beast that is years away from being ready while this is good to go, and tastes as if it has been for a few years. A representative bottle?

10/21/2022 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

Third bottle from my case and four years since my last taste.

At last, this wine has moved onto the plateau of maturity, The colour is still impenetrable but there are definitely signs of age creeping into those dark depths. The nose is all dark ripe fruit, sous bois, freshly picked mushrooms and kirsch liquor. Despite the maturity of the fruit, there is still quite a tannic charge here which suggests to me that this will age for many years to come.

However, it's delicious now and definitely open for business but as always with Monte Bello, no rush.

10/16/2022 - gouldcampbell77 Likes this wine:

First bottle from a several case purchase. My immediate read on this is that it's ready to go. Vinous and rich but with a crisp acidic finish. Warm and round and no hint of austerity which is what I was expecting given the 2008 base year. On current showing, I prefer the no. 24 which is based on 2007 and which seems more lifted and fresh by comparison. Early days though.

6/25/2022 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

Quite advanced tawny and a slightly bitter acidic note. Similar to the bottle in February. I think I have left these too long. Darn!

This happened with some of my 2002s as well - I held on to them for too long. Reinforces my view that that when a bottle from your case of red Burg 1er Cru is absolutely delicious, drink them all.

6/5/2022 - gouldcampbell77 wrote:

This has always been a stunning wine but now at 16yrs old is (for me at least) fully mature. There's that point in a wine's evolution when the fruit takes on more tertiary characteristics but there is still some tannin and acidity to keep thing fresh. This wine is right at this point right now. I intend to drink my remaining three bottles this year and next.