9/16/2018 - LiveForLunch wrote:

Great stuff. Balance everywhere, the right levels of freshness and oak. A hint of toast, lemon too, but mainly toffee apple. Nice to be reminded that, in whites at least, Burgundy still offers value.

9/2/2018 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Had a few bottles of this, might be my first 2015. Brambly fruits and even apple on the nose, all blackberry and vanilla taste. Good concentration and length for the price (ten of the Queen's finest pounds) and a little heat on the back of the throat. Could do with a little more white pepper spice but definitely very good QPR.

7/26/2018 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

No decanting, had to cool slightly in the fridge. Drank over an hour or two. Sensational on the nose, pure Volnay. Cherry sourz and Cola bottle sweets in the mouth. Tannins barely detectable, but nicely tart, so may go for a few years yet. Last one in the shop though ... one more tucked away. Lovely stuff, if not blockbuster.

5/9/2018 - LiveForLunch wrote:

Just finished a bottle. PnP drank over a couple of hours. Not great, seemed to fall between the two stools of bright fruit and savoury notes. Don't get me wrong, if I was handed a PN from just about anywhere else like this, I'd be happy, but not a great Burg. Better value at the regional level.

4/19/2018 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Second bottle, and what a turnaround! I thoroughly hated the first, thought it was jammy, almost sickly. Either my taste buds were having an off day, there's some bottle variation, or the passage of time has worked wonders, but it was lovely last night. Well balanced and far fresher than I remember, the textbook Shiraz notes of Blackberry and white pepper on the finish are all there, together with an almost burgundy sous bois earthy undercurrent. Sorry Mr Glaetzer!

2/2/2018 - LiveForLunch Does not like this wine:

Good lord, this is absolutely awful. Way too jammy for a pinot. If anyone ever says that Burg is overpriced I'll think of this.

5/24/2017 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Splendid. The usual red fruits, lots of sour cherry. Perhaps a little too sour. Fine tannins. Ok. No idea of the price, it was a present, but I'd happily pay £25 for it and consider that fair.

4/24/2017 - LiveForLunch wrote:

Tricky. I've never had a Zweigelt before, so was making the obvious comparisons to Beaujolais. This bottle fell short in pleasure to a similarly priced Beaujolais Cru, mainly due to a lkack of freshness/acidity. But the flavour profile was interesting (slightly darker) and the structure drew from pleasingly smooth tannins, so I may have enjoyed more going in blind. No score, I'm clearly not overly familiar with the style.

3/17/2017 - LiveForLunch wrote:

Perfectly balanced with a wonderful savoury flavour. Right up my street.

2/28/2017 - LiveForLunch wrote:

Can't score it, it's gone unfortunately, shook off it's mortal coils. Might have been a pleasant quaff once, but all precision gone.

1/24/2017 - LiveForLunch wrote:

Weird wine. International style Rioja, concentrated, chock full of oak, oak so toasted if it was bread you'd scrape it into the sink. Inspite of that, I enjoyed it. Wine, eh.

1/24/2017 - LiveForLunch wrote:

Pleasant enough. Pop n' pour- initially more like a Beaujolais-a-like than a Burgundy one. Light and fruity, obviously without the bubblegum. As the evening wore on (well, the hour or so - bit of a thirst on) more savoury, earthy notes came into play. Bargain Bourgogne? Nah, the search goes on. Nice enough in its own right though, and decent value.

12/25/2016 - LiveForLunch wrote:

Way too early. It's just a wall of coarse tannins. Whether it will ever come round, who knows.

1/4/2017 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Can only echo the comments of @KendraBrian, save to say we got hints of new-world chardonnay banana along with the lemon and apples. Plenty going on for the money.

12/24/2016 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Christmas Eve wine alongside an Aussie Shiraz (Gleatzer the Bishop 2012) - both myself and the wife had this winning by a mile. Very good and correct expression of the vintage and region.

12/28/2016 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Wow- the star wine of the Christmas break. A model of restraint and balance - not one for those who prefer an international style of Rioja though! Drinking perfectly right now. Note to self - pay less attention to vintage charts.

12/24/2016 - LiveForLunch Does not like this wine:

I was looking forward to this, but ended up agreeing with @kwaky (27/11). The good new is that it's rich and concentrated, the bad is that there's little acidity to balance that out. Didn't get the white pepper on the finish I love about the grape, either.

1/4/2017 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Odd thought drinking it, the words "A second class return to Dottingham" came to mind, a reference Britons of a certain age will get. Basically an 80's advert for Blackcurrant cough/throat lozenges, which is exactly what this wine gives you with its strong menthol notes interplaying with the cassis. Thanks to the incompetence of the delivery firm I ended up actually paying less than a fiver a bottle, but I was wondering how I would have felt if I had paid the £30 M&S are currently charging. Not bad actually, I've paid more for less. It's a darn good Margaux with good structure and restrained fruit.

11/26/2016 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Really enjoyed this. I love Loire Cab Francs anyway, but I've never had one with this many miles on the clock. A little reticent on the nose, but good flavour concentration and great structure (v. fine tannins) make up for that. Dark fruit, violet and tobacco, fantastic, and any oak is fully integrated - barely noticable. Medium bodied as expected and right for the type. Still in stock so must sneak another couple of bottles if the "accountant" approves. BTW my bottle matches the picture but not the description - no mention of old vines - so may be a different cuvee. Might explain varying opinions, though in fairness these wines aren't for everyone.

8/24/2016 - LiveForLunch wrote:

I suspect there's a rather splendid wine under all that oak, but I couldn't find it.

8/11/2016 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Surprisingly good. Decent concentration, structure and length. Can be got for £54 for 6 online at the moment, so awesome qpr at that price.

7/21/2016 - LiveForLunch wrote:

Pleasant enough, if a little thin for my liking.

6/25/2016 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

First had at a tasting in Chester a few months ago, where quite a few of us thought it was the standout wine. Got a bottle Thursday night (it took the edge off the Brexit nonesense) and it was as lovely as I remembered, classic dry Reisling with fantastic juicy citrus notes and a good backbone.

6/20/2016 - LiveForLunch wrote:

Either past its best, or lacked concentration or length in the first place. Being my first bottle of this producer in this vintage I couldn't say. Nothing offensive, but not much of anything really, though a bit of this can be put down to the vintage. Not expensive at under £15, but better value can be had.

6/17/2016 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Concentrated aged and balanced Aussie Cab. Great. Threw plenty of sediment, only slight bricking. Quite firm still, but the tannins were a high frequency buzz, pleasant if you like that (I do). Just a tad jammy or would have scored higher.

4/19/2016 - LiveForLunch Does not like this wine:

Pretty poor. Lacking fruit intensity and vibrancy, not a great example of a new world oaked chardonnay. It might be past it's best.

2/22/2016 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Bought at a tasting near Beaune last year, and pleasantly surprised drinking it tonight. Bright acidity, and good apple flavours. Only complaint is the finish is a bit on the short side, but impressed how enjoyable Burgundy 's third grape can get (inspite of the reputation).

2/8/2016 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Thought this was a pretty good early drinker. Is still quite firm, though I like that, but there's enough fruit to give it a few more years. Only a medium finish, and not as concentrated as I'd like, but for the price (£11) I'm not complaining.

1/23/2016 - LiveForLunch wrote:

Drunk on a Saturday Evening, both the bottle and I. Decanted, thought about leaving for an hour, then poured myself a glass anyway, then glad I did because you would describe the tannins as supple rather than firm. With only a modest perception of acidity, there wasn't loads of structure there. Don't get me wrong, it's a balanced wine, but it was still full of sweet fruit - the savoury notes have not yet fully developed. Were it still astringent, I'd give the couple left in my garage a few more years, but as it is, it's still an enjoyable right banker to be drunk sooner rather than later.

12/14/2015 - LiveForLunch wrote:

Just a bit of a warning, for the Exquisite Collection pinot noir, Aldi have replaced the rather pleasant, if a tad thin, Marlborough sourced wine with a Wairarapa that isn't close in quality. Put it this way, before you drink it, take a photo of your teeth, because the enamel will be gone before you're half way through. I haven't put a score down , it would be mid 80s for the old one, far less for the new.

10/12/2015 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Crisp and light. Bit bland.

9/30/2015 - LiveForLunch Likes this wine:

Absolutely loved this. Dominant taste is gooseberries, length is good enough and it is smooth and light to medium bodied. Just enough acidity to make the end of the bottle as good as the start.