2/10/2024 - TheMajor wrote:

Slightly disjointed wine from a vintage that really really hasn’t aged well. The smell is promising - ‘here’s the 20yr old mature premier Bordeaux’ excitement. But once the glass is on the lips, it’s a little, or even more than a little, underwhelming. I don’t get the strong tannins that other reviewers here have, but there’s a big missing mid-tongue core (as if surgically extracted, because everything else ticks the boxes of what you would expect, apart from an odd slight bitterness on the finish). It’s still an 88 as it’s still a classy enjoyable wine to drink. But falls short of high expectations.

5/6/2022 - TheMajor wrote:

First bottle of 12 opened. This wine is still in shorts. Zinging and quite tart primary aromatics and fruit. Everything is there for the long haul - at least 5 years, and probably 10 (by comparison with the 2001 and where that is now), before this will all come together, so be patient!

4/20/2022 - TheMajor wrote:

For a Musar nut, this is the bees' knees. A purring core of mainly black fruit wrapped in the usual exotic spices, whiff of acetone and (just a bit at the moment) funk. The slight sweetness and whispering power and depth reminds me of the 1991. Drinking better than 1999 at the moment, which seems to be developing more slowly, but this wine too will age for an age. First bottle of 12, and this is straight into my top three Musar vintages.

8/19/2017 - TheMajor wrote:

First time for this vintage. Good cork, glossy red with the tiniest bit of browning at the edges. Lots of acetone and tyre rubber at the start - and UHU glue (yes, UHU - we both immediately agreed with this once it was mentioned!). Strong and ripe red fruits and a good finish. Not a knockout Musar (at least yet), but as ever intriguing and unique. Got 2 more bottles of this and will wait for a few years now - there's plenty of stuffing and good acidity so this still has room for improvement.

8/14/2017 - TheMajor wrote:

First try of this year of a wine I admire so much. Promising garnet colour with very little brown. Cork is drenched but it holds together. Yes it's Musar - that's unmistakable from the first sniff. But (as some have mentioned below) it seems an unusually thin version of this sometimes utterly captivating wine. I don't think this was a dud bottle as the wine is holding together OK (although more persistent acetone than usual - this didn't blow away after the first hour as it normally does), and there is an intriguing marzipan sweetness to it, but the knockout fruit core is largely absent (or perhaps just hiding? I think absent, but I'd very much like to be wrong). Definitely more red fruit than dark fruit here too. But it's still a good wine, and 88 is still a good score. Just no wow factor (at least at the moment) that us Musar-nuts crave!

8/2/2017 - TheMajor wrote:

Beautiful lustrous orange colour. There's not much complexity here - it's a straightforward helping of lemon, honey and apricot marmalade but it's in EXACTLY the right proportions and is just delightful to drink and enjoy.

8/2/2017 - TheMajor wrote:

Although always good value, I've sometimes found this wine rather chunky and 'rustic'. Not so the 2009 - it's a beautifully made wine still only at the start of its drinking window. Minerals and flowers (never thought I'd say that about a Poujeaux) and blueberries at the moment, sweet fruit, decent finish, tannins lurking but not protruding. Best vintage of Poujeaux I've ever tasted. Highly recommended.

7/26/2017 - TheMajor wrote:

Second tasting note here 2.5 years on from the first. Not a lot has happened, although the colour is notably more garnet. There's plenty going on, and a fantastic core of sweet dark fruit, but it's still not quite singing that unique and exhilarating funktastic Musar-tune yet that the older vintages (1991 and 1995 in particular) are. So, more patience required here I think. Plenty of grip left so this wine won't fade for an age.

7/17/2017 - TheMajor wrote:

Second tasting note following one on 28 Jan 2015. Not much has happened here over 2.5 years. Still a little harshly acidic and bitter for me and no significant tertiary fruit development, although perhaps the oak is a little softer. It's still a fine and traditional rioja, hence a fairly decent score, but compared to the 1997 recently tasted and reviewed here (finest rioja I've ever had the pleasure to taste), it is dare I say it a little underwhelming. There's still a strong backbone to allow some patience here, but am beginning to wonder whether this wine will ever find a perfect balance. Still have several more, so will wait and see.

6/15/2017 - TheMajor wrote:

It has the Lynch Bages zing and class, but only just perhaps. Possibly past its peak? The fruit is very pleasant but a little short, and it's a bit woody. Perhaps a slightly off bottle, but I wouldn't wait too long with this wine.

6/15/2017 - TheMajor Likes this wine:

Second note following earlier review two years ago. A lot seems to have happened! Put simply this was the best Rioja I've ever had the pleasure of tasting (and my fellow taster agreed). Definitely looks its age now, really promising garnet colour. Gorgeous perfumed nose soared from the glass, dominated by dill (very strong, how lovely) and vanilla. Then more vanilla, sweet figs, raspberry and just the right amount of funk when tasted. Fully mature, delicious, sweet and long. It really doesn't get much better than this. Now to check how many bottles I have left.....

3/31/2017 - TheMajor wrote:

Update from last note in Jan 2015. Half bottle. Now boasting a little autumnal darker orange. Beautiful purity and gorgeous fruit. What is most striking is the effortless balance achieved between acidity and sweetness (in such a hot year too). This wine left us a little speechless last night! It really is a class act, highly recommended.

9/7/2016 - TheMajor Likes this wine:

Fully mature, sexy and singing from the glass right from the start. Wow, this was a treat. Masses of chocolate coated dark fruit, but nothing is stewed (in fact you wouldn't guess this was a 2003 at all) and there is still a very welcome freshness too. Silky with absolutely no hard edges. It opens up a little more after an hour or so with some tertiary mint, liquorice and spice. This wine won't get any better - but it doesn't need to! The freshness suggests that it won't go downhill fast from here either, but I wouldn't wait for longer than another 5 years or so. Great value for the pleasure this wine offers.

3/3/2016 - TheMajor wrote:

Third bottle of 12 bought en primeur and stored well. Wow this has opened up in the last 2 years (since the last bottle). Smoke, pencil, a bit of (nice) funk and a boatload of sweet room-filling cassis (which jumps out of the glass on pouring). Tannins softening, but still reassuringly in the background trumpeting that this is still, really, a baby in terms of secondary development (how exciting). If you have several it is definitely worth opening one now to note its evolution, and then try as hard as you can to wait another 5+ years. This is going to be an absolute beauty then.

12/22/2015 - TheMajor Likes this wine:

Fully mature but still lively (more life now than the 1996 which I also have a few bottles of, which is a bit of a surprise perhaps), and with plenty of dark fruit and secondary notes of tobacco, leather and clove - i.e. classic old Bordeaux in an excellent place for drinking now. This is really good value for money and I would recommend this wine without hesitation.

8/20/2015 - TheMajor Likes this wine:

Was delighted to find this on the wine list yesterday evening. Cork was in excellent condition - rare for an older Musar. Clear vibrant healthy lightish red colour. It started off with waves of raspberry, orange peel and balsamic cherry, with plenty of acidity and real freshness, but definitely and unashamably Musar. Over the next two hours it grew in stature adding cloves and eastern spices and some reassuring farmyard funk. Fantastic wine, always unique, and (if a good bottle) always a showstopper. I hope my collection of 1999 tastes like this in 10 years time!

3/5/2015 - TheMajor wrote:

Ordered at the end of a great lunch and with high expectations and my first 1989 sauternes in about 10 years. Glistening healthy orange. It NEARLY lived up to those high expectations. I would have preferred more acidity to streamline the flavours and to allow the wine to 'fizz' on the tongue - the pineapple, apricot and honey all melded into mouthfuls of (still delicious but slightly 'generic') fruity sweetness. Slightly shorter than expected too. All in all still enjoyable and luxurious but I prefer the 2003 and I wasn't expecting to say that. PS I don't think this will improve.

2/23/2015 - TheMajor Likes this wine:

A pure ruby colour - you would not guess this is a nearly 20 year old wine. Beef extract, tar, fairly muted (but still saying hello) dark fruit and an early whiff of barnyard. Fairly simple finish, but that doesn't take away the fact that this is a very reasonably priced old bordeaux that is alive and kicking. I sometimes find Poujeaux a bit tough but everything is currently very well balanced here. I don't think it will get any better and I would plan to drink this over the next 2 years or so.

2/20/2015 - TheMajor wrote:

Some real disparity in the tasting notes here. I am in the 'disappointed (but not completely surprised)' group. Quite disjointed - overripe and slightly stewed dark fruit, hot alcohol, dry and dusty tannins and a pretty short finish. There are traces of GPL as it usually is (usually one of my favourites), but not much. This won't get any better, and the fruit will fade quite fast I think. I bought quite a lot of 2003 Bordeaux and this doesn't bode well for their general longevity.

2/17/2015 - TheMajor wrote:

10th bottle of 12 bought en primeur. Great colour, beautiful rich dark fruit with a touch of liquorice and mint on the nose. This is a very well balanced, full-bodied and sensual wine and I would say it is drinking perfectly now (and the balance suggests you can wait if you want to too). A tremendous luxury (but not super expensive) right bank bordeaux to have with robustly flavoured food. As others have noted, it advertises the 2001 vintage very well. Glad I have two bottles left!

2/13/2015 - TheMajor wrote:

Fresher than expected colour and initial nose - initial reaction is this has a lot more life and vibrancy than anticipated. Mouthfilling medium-sweet cherry and soft leather, no noticeable tannin, decent acidic backbone means the wine still feels alive. I don't think this is on its way down yet, but now will be as good a time as any to try this delicious, easygoing and still good value for money old bordeaux.

2/3/2015 - TheMajor wrote:

A remarkable tale of two halves (or at least 24 hours). On opening this had almost a New World Pinot Noir nose. Tight cranberry and balsamic strawberry, no farmyard and tastes a lot younger than (for instance) the 2001. Some depth but slightly overwhelmed by grippy acidity. Then 24 hours later - wow, what a change. Vanilla, caramel and an amazing smoky liquorice mingles with darker mulled fruits (but with a consistent, but more balanced and therefore enhancing, acidic backbone). Really quite something and such a surprise after the initial taste and smell. I am no expert on ageing of older rioja but this must bode well, surely. Wonderfully intriguing wine - as others have mentioned you must decant this wine at the moment and let it breathe and breathe for several hours...

1/31/2015 - TheMajor wrote:

Much browner than expected - compared to the 1999 it looked at least 10 years older. This birthday treat started in muted style with some acetone and hints of clove and not much else. Within half an hour it opened out adding sweet and sour balsamic cherry and burnt orange, eastern spices, a whiff of bonfire and the usual glorious funk. Later still the citrussy fruit dulled gently and there was more smoke and a touch of candy sweetness (this probably all sounds an odd selection of flavours but it is so difficult to describe this wine in words...). In general this bottle was more acidic than I remember from previous bottles so marked down a point or two. Finishes long, suggesting plenty of future. You don't need food with this and in any case it deserves centre stage on the dining table. Totally unique. I love this mesmerising wine, and this vintage is my favourite after 1991.

1/29/2015 - TheMajor wrote:

Next to last bottle bought en primeur. Typical sweetish perfumed Cantemerle nose, soft earthy flavours. As an example of classic aged old style bordeaux from a great left bank year this is still selling for a very reasonable price. It is also a great reminder of the pleasure and romance of storing bordeaux and watching it evolve over nearly 20 years. This wine is, though, fading a bit now and the fruit is increasingly obscured. Drink up I would say - this certainly won't be getting any better.

1/28/2015 - TheMajor wrote:

88 with hopefully a "+" at the end of it. 3rd bottle of 12. Lightish but glossy and healthy colour, the tiniest bit of browning age at the edges. Fresh raspberry and vanilla initially, dulling (but pleasantly) over two hours to give more depth and adding slightly bitter cherries, cloves, tobacco and oak (and am I allowed to add 'a touch of aniseed'?). As noted by some others below, the balance does not feel quite right at the moment. I know one should expect a frisson of acidity with Rioja but the frisson here currently rather obscures much of what else is going on with this wine. I hope this irons out in time (this wine will last for a good time yet), and others seem to think so which is good. Will leave the rest of the case for a bit.

1/23/2015 - TheMajor Likes this wine:

Half way through 24 half bottles bought en primeur. Lots of apricot and honey. Super sweet but it doesn't coat your palate in any sort of sickly way - so well balanced too (which was probably a harder job to manage than usual in this very hot year). It is an excellent wine to offer to someone who hasn't ever really got into sauternes (and I've managed to bring a few people round to the beauty and skillfulness of decent sweet whites with this one!).

1/23/2015 - TheMajor wrote:

One of my wedding wines (so this note starts in 2012, but extra cases ordered have since been used as the staple dinner party red on many occasions). Chosen as I thought it would appeal to everyone (it did) and it gave a great ratio of tastiness and approval per pound spent (seems to have gone up in price recently though). Slightly blunt but warm cassis nose, excellent colour and body, pretty (if slightly dry) finish.

1/23/2015 - TheMajor wrote:

Half bottle as a treat at the end of a client lunch (he is a good client!). Peaches and honey and hot marmalade (if you get my drift). So elegant, pure and exquisitely balanced. It only needs to whisper how classy it is - this wine still leads the way alone and all other sweet wines just have to get used to following on behind!

1/23/2015 - TheMajor wrote:

The best and most talked about vintage of Cantemerle in a recent vertical tasting at a hosted dinner party (1970, 1982, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010, all but the first 2 bought en primeur) (Small note - sadly we all missed out on the 1989 which is my favourite Cantemerle but it is now too expensive for me to justify buying it!). Plenty of cedar and surprisingly barnyardy (almost too much at the start, even though you expect a bit of barnyard), good depth, and hitting its stride (don't think it will get much better, but you don't need to rush). PS The 2009 and 2010, much vaunted by Parker, are currently a bit disappointing in my view - hope they improve!

1/23/2015 - TheMajor wrote:

Actually 93++ as this has a LONG way to go. First purchased following Parker review that it was the best since the 1990 Thalabert which I had tried and loved at Chez Bruce in Wandsworth about 8 years ago (still a great wine list there although prices seem to have edged upwards quite a lot now). I've now got about 40 bottles of it and it is still reasonably priced. At the moment it is mostly a primary fruit blast of juicy blackberry and smoky liquorice. But the 2 most exciting things about it is (1) its length (40+ seconds) and (2) its wonderful structure and 'backbone'. It has YEARS to go (10-15 at least in my view) before it reaches its peak, and it will develop a lot in that time. And that really will be exciting. If I can stop drinking my stock!

1/23/2015 - TheMajor Likes this wine:

The marmite wine. I'm in the "love it" category. I've got about 30 bottles of this vintage and I'm trying not to open them too quickly. If you want a wine (1) with a bit of age and bags of character (2) which everyone will have a view on and (3) which is still very modestly priced in a world of still crazy fine wine prices then look no further than this one. If you are a gambling man then you will also enjoy the usual Musar Russian Roulette (about 1 in 12 corked on average in my experience for older Musar wines, and another 1 in 12 oddly 'dull'). But if you get a good one, it is pretty unforgettable and head-turning stuff (and always my 'wild card' at any blind tasting I host, and always the one everyone wants to talk about). This one is stuffed full of barnyard and cherry but (I think and hope) will continue to improve (i.e. become even more funky and delicious). Not as good as the 1991 or 1995 (my two favourite years, for different reasons) but better than the 2001 and 2004. Can't wait to continue to see how this one develops over the next 10 years (but I'll have to).

1/23/2015 - TheMajor Likes this wine:

This was my next to last bottle of a case bought en primeur 18 years ago (1996 was the first year I started buying Bordeaux), and bought of course at a tiny fraction of current en primeur prices for this wine (it's too expensive for me now). Whereas quite a few of the other 1996's I still own have started to fade, this one is still singing in tune and there's possibly more to come. Dark fruits and tobacco (so just as you would expect), luscious sipping wine to swirl and enjoy by itself or with good steak. The 1989 is still the finest bottle of wine I have ever tasted, and this isn't in that league, but it isn't that far off. No need to rush opening this - got at least 10 years of plateau drinking in my view.

1/23/2015 - TheMajor Likes this wine:

Have been a big fan of this shiraz for 10+ years. This was the first vintage I bought and have since bought in most years up to 2007. Still have about 5 bottles left of the 1999, and it is still my favourite year. Typically big (but not too in your face) blueberry, black cherry and mint nose. It retains its thickness and darkness in the glass. Long finish. A bit dry at the end. This most recent bottle strengthens my view that this wine will get no better, and may even be fading slowly. Very enjoyable (it is my go to wine at dinner parties to show off what decent rounded shiraz can taste like, together with Ben Glaetzer's wines) but I've never thought it has quite deserved its lofty Parker points (96).

1/23/2015 - TheMajor Likes this wine:

My first ever tasting note on a website I have followed for years! My fourth bottle of a case bought en primeur. The best so far. Smooth (but not lacking depth), sweet and, above all, classy - really classy. Reminds me again that you don't need to drink a blockbuster bordeaux year to enjoy its finest attributes. Probably drinking as well now as it ever will in my view.