3/7/2024 - dichris Likes this wine:

How good is this! It’s a complete wine. So beautifully balanced between sweet and savoury. A dance between raspberry, black olive and black pepper on the finish. Took about 2 hours of air to find its true expression. Fortunately I have one more bottle.

1/8/2024 - dichris Likes this wine:

Last bottle unfortunately. Drinking superbly. Had with sesame encrusted tuna and it was a great match. Opened slightly oxidative but this blew off quickly and the wine was pristine. Acid and fruit in good balance. Complex. So lovely. Another example of the longevity of these wines.

12/5/2023 - dichris wrote:

This bottle was cellared for several years which didn’t help. It had a touch of brettanomyces which may have further developed during the cellaring. I suspect the producer encourages it to give his wines complexity, especially if the fruit is poor, but the unsuspecting consumer suffers later. The bottle was drinkable at this level but clearly this is not a wine for keeping. The wine may be ok when fresh so other comments might be more informative.

10/6/2023 - dichris Likes this wine:

Fully integrated, concentrated and powerful. Needs at least 2-3 hours to uncoil after first opening. This was rated at 100 by Andrew Caillard MW, but I think that’s overreach. Such high scores need the wine to have intensity and excitement and I felt the latter was lacking in this wine.

8/6/2023 - dichris Likes this wine:

Impressive wine given this is Helm’s bottom tier of Rieslings. Drinking well now. Long finish, mineral slate and lemon sherbet dominating with a touch of petroleum from the ageing starting to emerge. The previous poster was unfair to give it a score in the 80s.

4/8/2023 - dichris wrote:

Drinking beautifully now. Gunflint, grapefruit, long finish. Melon joins the flavours as it airs.

10/17/2022 - dichris Likes this wine:

A 21 year old Riesling under cork. Remarkable condition and still drinking well. Well integrated as expected. Didn’t find much tertiary development, eg the petroleum characteristic, that you would expect in an aged Riesling. The wine’s primary lime acid flavour profile still dominated. Good length. A testament to the longevity of Rieslings that are well cellared.

7/11/2022 - dichris Likes this wine:

I Have to rate this higher than what most people have in the past. With 22 years bottle age this is now a well integrated and complex amalgam of flavours and definitely a 92-94 wine at this point. Drinking beautifully now.

1/26/2022 - dichris Likes this wine:

A well stored bottle drinking beautifully right now. Cherry, plum and red berry fruits with a spicy, peppery finish. Wish I had more bottles.

11/6/2021 - dichris Likes this wine:

Excellent value for money. True to varietal form Good aromatics and well balanced.

5/29/2020 - dichris Likes this wine:

When I first tasted this at a restaurant over 8 years I immediately sought it out and bought a case. 10 years old now and the wine is still pristine but with some lovely ageing. The palette is well integrated with lime sherbet, some aged petroleum notes but the acid is still abundant and drives a 1-2 minute finish. Extraordinary wine. Easily another 5 years life or more but drinking so beautifully now.

5/23/2020 - dichris wrote:

Slightly jammy on the nose, then cherry, tobacco, tar, pepper and some jaminess on the palette. Not as good as other vintages of this wine.

5/11/2020 - dichris Likes this wine:

The label says Riesling but this tastes like a Soave or some other Italian variety. The nose is shy but it has lots of mouth interest and interesting texture. Lemon, herbs, green apple, floral notes make this very interesting but it doesn’t rise to the level of outstanding. But I loved drinking it - just don’t expect your typical Riesling flavours.

5/9/2020 - dichris Likes this wine:

Lemon/lime nose that follows into the palette and drives it to a long finish. Hints of age starting to come through via typical petroleum. Other nuances include a guava finish, mandarin. There’s a tiny bit of sweetness that balances the acidity and adds to the line and length. Well made and has more years in it but it’s drinking superbly right now so why wait?

3/28/2020 - dichris wrote:

Cherry spice nose, which follows on the palate along with charcuterie and cola hints. Quite good length and structure from the acid. A well made wine but this vintage is not exceptional.

12/23/2019 - dichris Does not like this wine:

I bought this on the strength of tasting it a few years back. At that tasting it was rich, complex and great value for money. This bottle however was a different wine. Tart, uni-dimensional and worse than a $20 bottle of ordinary bubbly. Stored perfectly in my cellar, I can only think it was subject to bottle variation or poor corking. Really disappointing. Would be interesting to hear if this is a common problem with Roederer wines.

9/16/2019 - dichris Likes this wine:

Drinking so beautifully right now. Needs at least 20 mins of air then opens up into a blackberry, plum, dark cherry melangé whereupon the black pepper kicks in and propels it along. The flavours are nice but it’s the texture that makes this special - so refined, silky and ethereal. Very Pinot in some respects. Super value for money wine when the vintages are good as this one was.

9/6/2019 - dichris Likes this wine:

Drinking beautifully at 7 years. Citrus nose with a very intense Seville orange marmalade palette that lasts forever. My last bottle unfortunately- it has enough acid to go another 5 years if well cellared but I think it’s so perfect now so why wait?

8/16/2019 - dichris Likes this wine:

Drinking perfectly now. So multifaceted with minerallity, citrus notes, some sweetness at the end. I think people who have rated this below 90 have been too harsh on what is an excellent wine.

8/3/2019 - dichris Likes this wine:

A generous wine with stewed fruits like cherries and plums, fruitcake, vanilla and spice and soft tannins. Pure grape spirit was added to arrest fermentation which adds a balanced warmth.

8/5/2019 - dichris Likes this wine:

Rich plummy fruit, dark chocolate, black olive and savoury herbs. Good finish. Needs 24 hours breathing to improve.

7/6/2019 - dichris Likes this wine:

Drinking beautifully now. Lime lemon that tapers to a long saline length. Still has acid backbone and could be cellared for quite a few years to come. Would go beautifully with oysters now. I’m guessing that this wine had a lime Sherbert quality when young which six years on starts to change into its current saline length.

6/8/2019 - dichris Likes this wine:

My last bottle sadly. Multi-layered wine with bright berries, olive, cedar, menthol, bay leaf; drinking beautifully now with another 5 years left in it if need be.

5/22/2019 - dichris Likes this wine:

Six years on this is drinking beautifully now but still has a long life ahead of it because of its acid backbone. The flavours are intense lemon and lime with a grapefruit finish that lasts for close to 20 secs. This was a stunner when it was young and it’s still captivating.

3/14/2019 - dichris Likes this wine:

Wow. 16 years on and still going strong. Just starting to develop tertiary Riesling characteristics but still has the acid spine to keep it going for another 10. Testament to the longevity of Riesling when cellared well. Lime/ lemon cordial, hints of petroleum, long finish - wonderful with Lebanese food.

3/7/2019 - dichris wrote:

My second bottle but 4 years past the vintage to test cellaring potential. I don’t think it’s as good as it was 2 years. Much more mellow now but still has a level of fruit intensity and the sweetness has morphed into something deeper.

3/4/2019 - dichris Likes this wine:

I expected this to be past its prime but it was drinking well. Good structure and heft, still some fruit, long length. Went well with Malaysian food and the next day had the weight to stand up to a beef pie!

3/2/2019 - dichris wrote:

This is not a blend of Grenache and Pinot Noir, but a rare variety lovingly made by the winemakers into a small batch of a few hundred bottles. Raspberry pepper profile, good acidity keeps it fresh, but lacks the complexity I like to see in a wine of this pedigree. I’d suggest keeping for a few more years to let its youthfulness diminish and then try it.

3/2/2019 - dichris wrote:

Nine years on, the 2010 vintage is past its prime if what you’re looking for is a Chablis signature. Has tertiary characteristics including a nuttiness, over ripe fruit and petroleum quality that some might find attractive, especially if approached with an open mind. Surprisingly, it retains good acid structure which means it has good length.

2/2/2019 - dichris wrote:

I don’t know why previous reviewers have been hard on this wine. It’s at the prime of its life, nicely balanced with acid to fruit, good length, and has lots of primary fruit including stone fruit, marzipan, struck match, quince, pineapple.

12/17/2018 - dichris Likes this wine:

What a privilege to drink this 34 year impeccably crafted wine. Tobacco, sour cherry,plum, spices, increasing leather as the wine opened up. Very complex with good length and integrated tannins. There was still plenty of acidity and fruit to keep the wine fresh and lively and I feel confident that another bottle in good condition would still have at least 5 years of life. Reading some of the other tasting notes, it's clear that there's a lot of bottle variation but this one was perfect, with the cork extracting without crumbling.

11/13/2018 - dichris Likes this wine:

Drinking beautifully right now. Totally integrated flavours. Dominant plum thread that morphs into a long pepper finish which I’ve never encountered in a Pinot before. Has the weight and bearing of an elegant cool climate Shiraz.

8/22/2018 - dichris Likes this wine:

At its prime and still has some life ahead of it. Maybe 5 Intense cassis and herbal integrated palate with tannins kicking in at the end. Elegant but manly at the same time.

6/3/2018 - dichris Likes this wine:

Thought this would be worse for wear, but it’s holding up well. On opening the nose is subdued but quite a nice dark cherry, cola taste finishing with blackberry/olive and powdery tannin. Excellent value for money.

4/1/2018 - dichris Likes this wine:

Still superb. Probably a few years past it’s peak but drinking well. Everything totally integrated. Soft tannins, plum, tobacco, tar on the palate.

3/23/2018 - dichris Does not like this wine:

Past its prime. Very medicinal/cordially in nature now.

2/23/2018 - dichris Likes this wine:

Some aged notes dominating the fruit sweetness. These paired nicely with soy/ponzu dressing of an Asian salad. Drink now.

2/10/2018 - dichris Likes this wine:

Lovely wine. Dominant quince, orange peel, caramel lines. Good finish with acidity holding it all in balance. Served with Creme caramel.

12/10/2017 - dichris Likes this wine:

Beautifully balanced and drinking well. A little bit of bottle age has added some new dimensions.

10/23/2017 - dichris Likes this wine:

Seamless integration of fruit & tannin. Perfect drinking with roast beef, potato gratin. Notes of dark berries, plum, liquorice, reasonable length - lovely wine.

10/17/2017 - dichris Likes this wine:

Gorgeous wine. Tasted at cellar door. 38% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc and 27% Cabernet Sauvignon. Multi dimensional wine impeccably balanced between savoury and sweet fruit.

7/21/2017 - dichris wrote:

Lovely wine when stored well which this bottle was. Plum, prune, strawberry, stewed rhubarb, black pepper and a long finish. Has a savoury brooding quality but impeccably balanced.

4/21/2017 - dichris Likes this wine:

Beautifully structured wine. A couple of years in the cellar have added some slight honied notes.

3/3/2017 - dichris wrote:

A tad unbalanced on the palette with sweet lime & lemon flavours dominating the length. Perhaps not what I wanted with my Thai food but may work better as an aperitif or dessert wine. Good length.

2/21/2017 - dichris Likes this wine:

Drunk Feb 2017. Lovely. Notes of melon, nougat, matchstick, continuing on a pristine palette with fresh pineapple. Beautifully integrated, good acid structure would have seen this wine go another 4 years but regrettably my last bottle.

2/15/2017 - dichris wrote:

Plum, cola, cherry dominant wine. Well integrated 8 years on now. Good structure and fine tannins but the cola leaves me cold. Still has life in it - another 3 years at least.

2/13/2017 - dichris wrote:

Still has good acid backbone, with dominant cola, cherry, bright berries but one dimensional to my taste. The cola unbalances the whole package.

2/10/2017 - dichris Likes this wine:

Lovely. Has lasted longer than my marriages! Nice acid backbone, full of lemon and brioche, and still has quite a few years left.

1/24/2017 - dichris Likes this wine:

Lemon sherbet nose followed on the palate. Persistent lemon lime finish. Good acid structure indicates this will still keep going. But everything is linear. True to varietal expectations but no great excitement. This was really cheap so I can't complain.