12/15/2017 - felixp Likes this wine:

Gigantic wine, think Arnie Schwarzernegger benching 200kgs.
Massive, massive, dense black fruits, wall of tannin and never-ending length.
Blackberries, blueberries, violets, earth, iron, chocolate, hint of mushroom, candy, and then tannin, tannin, tannin. Huge, round and ripe tannins.
Reminds me of when they used to make the great Granges of the 60's and 70's, massive wines that were unapproachable for their first 15 years (today's versions a far cry from those Golden Years)
You could probably drink this for another 12-18 months, but then this baby is going to sleep for two decades, maybe even more.
Expect to see lots of notes of disappointment written here from 2019-2035
as drinkers open a bottle they don't understand.
This is old-school Corton, and the best red from that hill that I have ever come across.
Buy some for your grandchildren, they will toast you with this wine in all it's glory in 2075!!!

9/16/2016 - Slurpy606 Likes this wine:

The 2008 is an excellent drop.

4/4/2016 - graemeg wrote:

NobleRottersSydney - Boutiques (360 Bar & Dining, Sydney): {cork, 14.4%} (Geoffrey) From Hoffmann’s Dallwitz vineyard in the Barossa. Youthful, confected nose of malty character. There’s no grape composition indicated on the label; it seemed grenache-dominated to us. (Subsequent on-line research seems to indicate shiraz is more likely.) The palate is dry, medium/high in powdery tannins. It tastes darkly malty, black and sweet-fruited, if a bit brutal. Good palate balance and richness on the mid-palate; medium-bodied with a medium length finish. Seems like it needs a bit of time to settle a bit. According to the back label : “An unvintaged ‘assemblage’ composed of casks from 2012 (11%), 2013 (3%), 2014 (39%) & 2015 (47%)”, so no wonder it tastes young. Just over 400 dozen made.

10/27/2015 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Hey, works it out at $9.99.

10/17/2015 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Pronounced SB.

9/24/2015 - Imagnu Does not like this wine:

Past it

9/18/2015 - Drinking Trees wrote:

Faded label. Concentrated flavour (blackcurrant, oak) but weak body - little acidity, no structure. Drinkable, but disappointing considering the (presumed) expense.

6/28/2015 - jeremy@ wrote:

A little thin. But never the less quite nice. Leathery earth spicy with dark fruits. Low tannins. Light body.

3/9/2015 - catchnrelease Likes this wine:

Closed on opening, decanted for 3 hours then poured back into bottle for serving. Subtle wine by design. Cassis, blackcurrants, menthol. Driven by developed fruit flavours with a slight amount of tertiary earthy development. Cork was perfect, had travelled maybe 1mm up the cork. Fine tannins giving structure, and a bit of delicate acidity. Length was good, but again, subtle flavours. Good bottles will go another 5 years at least. Potential to improve with a bit more tertiary development.

7/17/2013 - The Gilded Sage wrote:

Yes, yes, the wine is lovely in its way. But one tires of Lafite.

After all, what is ever said of this claret's famous bouquet that reaches beyond cliché and convention? What of its savor that sounds like anything more than a romantic poem written by a dilettante who left off reading after sonnet eighteen? Indeed, there is a certain banality to this wine and to the mystique that surrounds it which really has become rather a bore.

Is it a tolerable pairing for filet mignon poached in milk and veal demiglace? Certainly. But given its pedigree one would perhaps expect more.

Further, I should like to express my disagreement with the drinking window presented in this forum. I have always felt that Chateau Lafite is a wine that shows best after a minimum of one hundred years' cellaring (see my note on the 1784 vintage), and can think of no reason why the sixty-one should be an exception. Its relative youth, in fact, probably accounts for some measure of the above mentioned banality.

Probably I shall not drink this wine again soon, though ample supply remains of what began as a hogshead. I shall save it for occasions when I am desirous of a vertical tasting, and in the meantime will concern myself with lesser known crus, the occasional disappointments of which are as the thorns that protect a delicate rose from the vulgar hands of the covetous masses.

2/2/2015 - felixp Likes this wine:

Slow-Oxed over 8 hours, a week after the 10 hour flight home from Australia.
Very pretty wine, bright red fruits, nice mouth-feel and reasonably attractive. No complexity as yet, and I doubt this will ever develop into something special. Still, this is a great QPR at sub-$45 AUD.
Probably as good, but no better, than the equally pretty 2012.
I would commence drinking in 2017 and expect it to remain attractive until about 2020.
An excellent example of Australian Pinot Noir, but the stratospheric scores given by some critics to this wine seems to me to be, well.... silly!!
I will keep my remaining three bottles for another two years.

11/21/2014 - Loren Sonkin wrote:

Penfolds Tasting with 5 vintages of Grange and a bunch more (Downtown Cleveland): George's wine cam to give him a ride home bearing this. I was excited to try this. Never had it, but I remember Manfred Krankl touting it. It is quite good. It doesn't drink like what I think of typically being Australian. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, grilled/smoked meats. Lush texture but has that light on its feet quality despite the size I find more in Paso or Santa Barbara Syrahs. Great texture. Long finish. Needs a few years, but should make it. No idea on pricing though.