5/2/2024 - poundback83 wrote:

It’s difficult to appraise this wine as I am not familiar with the style and have little basis of comparison. It is certainly quite different, very rich and full flavoured. On the he 3rd day it’s become most enjoyable for me. There are aromas of sweet mandarin orange, floral accents, soap and a hint of oak. On the palate all of the above with heat and spice. Quite a short finish. Not one I’d rush back to, but perhaps one to have with spicy se Asian food. Have more in the cellar, will see how it evolves over the next 5 years

3/5/2024 - Poussin wrote:

British Airways has bought this to replace the perfectly serviceable LP Grand Siècle in their Concorde Room at Heathrow T5. I get the impression that sooner or later they’ll end up buying their champagne from Aldi. Anyway, the first impression here is not great - thin, tart and lacking richness compared to something like LPGS. Having said that, there is a genuine sense of quality here - though you really have to search for it on both nose and palate. Fleeting hints of apricot, wet rocks and toast are perceptible through a veritable Berlin Wall of acidity. Part of me thinks that this is just too young and it will age amazingly. I hope so.

1/24/2024 - ocassiuso Likes this wine:

Bottle 1334g. Moderately intense lifted aromas of black cherry, loam, milk, sweet floral-spice top note. Dry, with elevated bright acidity, moderate grippy tannins, medium- to full-bodied, 15% abv but not hot, just spicy and dark-fruited. Fresh and appealing despite the high alcohol. Herbed lamb loin chops.

1/3/2023 - Burgundy Al wrote:

On the tart side with good enough concentration for its level, but easy enough to enjoy.

12/18/2022 - BottleScholar Likes this wine:

Ripe unctuous, peach, blossom, mandarin orange, apricot, sandalwood, and floral flavors of grandma’s perfume and decorative bathroom soaps, along with light wet stone and saline notes. The intensity is medium-plus to high. High alcohol. Medium acid. Despite 33% new barrel fermentation and 100% new oak aging, the oak is integrated in the background, with mild additional tannins/phenolics and raw wood to the flavors. Full body with a viscous petroleum texture.

4/11/2023 - Poussin Likes this wine:

What a pleasant surprise. Very smart - not a hair out of place. Elegant nose of dark berries, violets and a touch of pencil lead. Gorgeously silky palate, with just enough acidity to keep things interesting.

3/17/2023 - Poussin wrote:

Nose opens with woody impressions of cedar, liquorice root and pencil shavings, spiked generously with cassis. Palate is warming and tannic, but shows enough fruit and acidity that it doesn’t feel austere. This is a belly-filling, phenolic wine. Others members indicate that this is a ‘hold’ for them, but I worry that the fruit will prove fragile and could drop off before the tannins have a chance to modulate significantly. Aerated 90 mins. 90-91 points for me.

12/20/2021 - Agunner23 wrote:

I think it is past its prime.

12/21/2019 - brave forward 53 wrote:

For me not a everybody’s friend. Special occasions, special food combinations. Pure, future and subtile development potential.

2/2/2019 - sdr Likes this wine:

1961 in Florida (Cafe Maxx, Pompano Beach, Florida): I like this better for drinking today than the lean and citric 2008 version for its immediate drink ability. Less taut, more relaxed, slightly more advanced. Still very young of course and will surely fill out over the years. Nicely wheaty, well balanced, medium acidity. I suppose in 30 years the ‘08 might the be more interesting one of the pair but who cares?

1/26/2019 - nwebstar Likes this wine:

Firstly please excuse my perhaps partly “romantic” interpretation of this special wine which has been sitting my cellar for years (too long??). I made my guests read DD’s profile prior to pouring but warned, given age, against too high expectations - albeit the bottle looked in especially great shape. What we got was a sublime experience of age-ability which I’m sure had DD smiling from the ether. The wine was gently golden and so beautifully still together structurally. It honestly presented as an “at peak” not over peak wine. For me the sense of “flint” was so there in addition to sparks of tropical fruits and a tinge of honey. There was actually a semillon-esque feel to it. Everyone gushed. A special experience!!! (Side note: this was so much more alive and fresh than the 2004 Brunello same night)

4/13/2015 - henrygjeffreys Likes this wine:

nose - leather, stalky, some green notes
Good fragrance, lovely restrained ripe fruit
Leather, good stuff
So good to have a wine like this in a good vintage. Feels like it's just opening up so no hurry to drink this.
£14.25 Yapp Bros great value

10/15/2016 - CondorKhan wrote:

I added this as NV because the bottle says nothing about vintage, but the cork says "2015" on it.

Technically Loire but it's 600 km from Nantes and only 50km or so from Beaujolais, which it resembles closely.

Body a bit heavier and color a bit darker than what you might expect. Explosive cherry and cranberry fruit on the palate. Tastes carbonic to me but what do I know. Nice peppery, mineral finish. Simple and delicious wine to guzzle down with hearty cuisine.

2/8/2015 - NoTrollingerPlease Does not like this wine:

OMG, what a wine. I tasted it to verify, if I could drink wines of this type, but I had to surrender... Plastic cork (why not a screw cap?)... In the nose some very disturbing scent, not a wine flaw but some hard to identify notes (might be herbs or camphor). Same note on the palate which I found really disgusting. Quite lightweight Body, crawling sweetness and a short finish. For 5 EUR there are much better wine out there...

1/17/2015 - Wine Canuck wrote:

Year 2 - Super Tasting 5 of 5 - Greg does the Loire (Greg's House): So much younger and more exuberant than the 1975 poured previously. The colour is a medium yellow gold. The nose is so complex of marmalade, pool toy note, mushroom, pine needles and mixed citrus. The palate is viscus and lovely with the residual sugar coming across as perceived between 100 - 150 g/l. The palate has beautiful marmalade and chamomile tea notes with a mineral finish. Pretty decent acid to boot. Some saw it as acid deficient, but compared to other late harvest styles I found it quite nice. This is in a really nice spot if you value freshness and bright citrus fruit.

9/14/2014 - Poussin wrote:

An oxidised bottle - smelled and tasted like an amontillado sherry, albeit quite a good one. We finished it with no ill effects. A disappointing experience, but these things happen!

10/7/2015 - Poussin Likes this wine:

The nose instantly brings back memories of previous Yquem treats: an abundance of marmalade, dried apricot, pineapple and flowers with smoky botrytis and a steely edge. In the mouth, the '02 shows a tad sweeter and less concentrated than other vintages I have tried. The acids are well integrated. Apricot flavours predominate. This might be said to represent Yquem's feminine side - a more elegant, luscious counterpart to the muscularity and lip-smacking acids of the 'better' vintages. Having said that, the wine is still young and it will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

9/2/2015 - Greg Munyard wrote:

Beautiful wine; unmistakeably Yquem that just makes you smile and shake your head in a “how do they do that…??” moment. Powerful and intense botrytissy apricots plus honey, musk and gentle spices, citrus leaves and some marmalade, in a luscious and complex palate. Another great example of the elegance of the 2002; superbly balanced and integrated, and with a very long and authoritative finish with just the right amount of grip.

From a 375ml bottle, this was a superb example, bright golden in colour, and with a long time ahead of it. It reinforced my view that:
• the 2002 is a vastly better wine than that other less expensive Yquem of the era, the 1999 (which is way short of botrytis, and is heavier and less well balanced – sorry, ’99 lovers);
• I prefer it even to the well regarded 1997 (which has loads of botrytis, and has more flavour than the 2002 but the 1997 is not as elegant or beautifully balanced; in particular I’ve had a few bottles with somewhat prickly oak on the finish);
• the 2002 can’t quite match the magnificent 2003, which is an upscale and full-on version of everything delicious about the 2002;
• the amazing 2001 is still the best Yquem I’ve drunk in 30 years of enjoyment of this wonderful label (will review it again soon!).

3/7/2015 - la turque wrote:

From magnum at my 50th birthday bash. What a wine! Beautiful golden colour, a lovely nose of tropical fruits, varnish, burnt sugar, coconut. On the palate, this was so perfectly balanced, and it kept going and going and going. Drink over the next 25 years.

7/21/2015 - Italiana Likes this wine:

Cork nearly completely soaked. Expected a little more oomph from the sauvignon blanc, but even though it was soft, I found it easy to like.

7/10/2015 - Poussin wrote:

This reminded me a lot of fine white Bordeaux: dry palate, saline, wax/paraffin, flowers, oak, restrained melon fruit. High acids act as a preservative. I would have liked more fruit, but there is no denying the classiness of this wine. Someone else uses the word 'aristocratic' below - very apt.

6/5/2015 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine:

Color: pale yellow
Nose: lemony, lovely bouquet, bees wax, nutty, very complex
Palate: wow still young, citrus, still high acidity, a distinctly interesting Blanc

6/22/2015 - Poussin Likes this wine:

I didn't have high hopes for what is effectively the Mouton Cadet of the Penfolds range. Let's just say it proved me wrong. This was a pop and pour with no decant or aeration. It has a really classy nose of sour cherry, cassis and spice with secondary suggestions of earth, instant coffee and maybe tobacco - more than you usually get from a 10GBP bottle anyway. In the mouth it is super-balanced with delicious primary fruit and some nice lifting acids. Okay, it lacks any real textural interest or grip, but sometimes you don't want a super-extracted wine that has to sit in a decanter for hours before you can drink it. Will buy again.