5/15/2023 - grizzlywine wrote:

Light strawberry and floral nose, spoiled by a hint of mousiness on the close. Style similar to coudert Tardive, not my favorite from Hoppenot.

5/20/2023 - grenache lover Likes this wine:

Wine seems a bit tired, still has a bit of structure but it lacked a bit of fruit density to go with it. It is nice in a refined and mature style but not a wine that you drink fast and makes you go pop the second bottle.

8/15/2014 - grenache lover wrote:

On day one,with grilled meat, it went fine although nose is much more attractive than mouth, were there are some rough tannins that I think will outlive the nose. Was good with food. On day two, oak was much more evident but the tannins were not as rough. Not the best Leoville Barton I have ever had.

10/3/2021 - blakel wrote:

Disappointing

6/14/2020 - grenache lover wrote:

Two years have gone by since my first bottle of the case and the wine has fallen apart in pieces. Every new bottle is worse than the previous one. Fruit is absent. It is all about lactic notes and dry oak. I should have drank it way younger.

12/31/2016 - grenache lover Does not like this wine:

Horrid. Stewed fruit, charred oak, burnt skins. No charm at all.

10/14/2016 - gravedee wrote:

I don't know. I wanted to try a high quality Beaujolais to see what all the fuss was about. This is supposedly a good producer. I have to chalk this experience up to my palate not being developed enough or I got a bad bottle. Menthol, earthy, and very little fruit expression. I thought Gamay was supposed to be fruity and easy drinking. This was not -- austere was the term that came to mind. I've got another bottle so maybe my luck will improve in a few years.

12/30/2014 - grenache lover Likes this wine:

From the last trully excellent vintage in Rioja (2010), this Muga Reserva Selección Especial has been awarded with too much oak which is clogging the fruit. Give it some air and you can feel the fruit fighting for its life but the charcoal, the toasted notes and the oaky tannins are winning the battle at the moment. The wine displays 14% alcohol in the label, and the mouth is balanced. Actually, the wine drinks well and it will be of appeal to wine drinkers in search of oaky reds. I just prefer my wines to come from fruit than from oak. I scored it 89 based on this experience.

I edited my original note to say that, on day 3, with just the cork back to the bottle which sat on the counter, the wine displays more fruit and the oak seems more integrated. A better wine, I think. Therefore, I have updated my score from 89 to 91 because the wine is well made and it gets more balanced with oxygen. Take into account if you prefer less oaky reds.

2/14/2015 - grenache lover Likes this wine:

This is a well made Mencía in a lighter style. It has not a great depth or complexity. Fresh fruit in the nose, with some spice and a tad of licorice, and perhaps some rusticity in the mouth. It keeps changing in the glass. Easy to drink, well made and affordable. However, it did not get to my heart and wanted me to purchase more.

2/7/2015 - grenache lover Does not like this wine:

Does this taste like Morgon? No. It tastes like a concoction, with some strange sweet note (did they chaptalise in 2009?), the wine is monodimensional, not deep at all and not what I expect in a Cru Beaujolais. And I regret it since I have a few bottles left and a few magnums.

12/23/2014 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

This wine caused quite a stir when it became Decanter's Wine of the Year 2013, having scored 19.25/20 in a comparative Rioja tasting. Despite its ample production of 249,120 bottles, it seemed impossible to get hold of. This weekend, I managed to dig up two bottles at the Kaufhof department store in Cologne for € 16.99 each. It is a sturdy, classically styled Rioja, with aromas of meat, leather and spice on the already quite tertiary nose; not particularly stylish or elegant on the palate and not without a rough tannic edge but certainly savoury and flavoursome, with flavours of plums and vanilla, and with particularly good intensity and length on the slightly farmyardy finish. Solid rather than spectacular. Either Decanter was presented with a cleverly constructed Cuvée du Journaliste, or this is a faulty bottle or (and I hold this to be the most likely alternative) Decanter's score is one of the many fluke tasting results that they have become infamous for. Their repeatedly expressed preference in blind tastings for Château Pédesclaux over Château Latour is as singular as it is puzzling. However this may be, I think back with fond memories to the stunning 1981 Faustino I, tasted almost a quarter of a century ago.

12/29/2014 - grenache lover Likes this wine:

Best Regueiral ever? 100% Mencía from Ribeira Sacra, deep colour, black fruits on the nose, with freshness that anticipates a delicious acidity which is actually present in the mouth, and helps putting the 14% alcohol back in balance. Rounded in the mouth in a Galician style. Slightly rustic, but in a good way. Very lovely wine that works perfectly as aperitif, but can go very well with simple foods.