2/21/24, 5:02 AM - This is a rare wine (one barrel only, I believe); I am surprised someone in Canada has this. Where did you acquire it? I have one bottle which I bought from Moritz directly when I visited his operation in Roussillon a few years ago, and which I am holding onto with anticipation for another year or so.
2/22/24, 12:00 PM - Yes. I have had his full gambit. His basic whites and reds are fine, and his Traveller is very good. But his Rosés are outstanding.
11/20/23, 1:03 PM - I am commenting because I have been there my friend ... Now, I have no experience with this wine, but h read no indication of an oxidative style in either this producer's own description of his house style generally or in the review on Vinous (done in 2018) about this wine specifically.Alas, we must remember that while a sommelier's expertise is wine, his purpose is Sales!
11/19/23, 4:09 PM - Um, er, Right Bank.
11/10/23, 12:59 PM - 78? That bad? Really? Why?
11/7/23, 5:40 AM - Just had this on Swiss Air, ZUR-MIA. Not impressed. This maket's distributor seems to have scored a big sale (or granted huge discount) to a number of airlines.
10/28/23, 9:58 AM - I agree that German Pinots are on the up. And, yes, I read that English ones may be too, but I haven't tried them yet. Their price puts me off. (I appreciate land cost in south England is high but, typically, Brits price most of their goods too far up the curve for profits today instead of capturing market share and customers for tomorrow.)
10/28/23, 10:08 AM - Sounds goid. I will seek out a Sharpham and give it a try. Ta!
10/28/23, 9:53 AM - Interesting that you mention that Ardanza. I had my hand on one of them this morning as I contemplated dinner tonight. I have 2 of those left. However, I opted for one of my 2010 La Rioja Alta G.R. 904's instead, as I have 6 of those. (Wife doing a posh din tonite!)
10/26/23, 11:41 AM - Great note. Thoroughly agee.
10/23/23, 1:26 AM - Fair points, of course. And looking at your notes I see you are well experienced with Barolos, certainly more so than I, for I have only had a dozen or so Barolos in the last 10 years or so, all in this price range and, from memory, all but one more enjoyable than this one. I also see you are here in the UK, so you will understand when I say that at 30 quid or so from the Wine Society I expected more substance for what for them is the higher end of the "value" spectrum.
10/14/23, 12:40 PM - Is that a typo? Do you really believe the drinking window is only 2022-2023?
10/1/23, 1:20 PM - A bit disappointing to read so many low 90's, mid range reviews of this wine, including yours. So instead of having bought a higher quality $100 (£75) Bordeaux at a value price, what I have is yet another overhyped, overpriced, only slightly above average (i e., low 90's) wine, yeah?
10/5/23, 10:54 AM - Thanks fellows; will do.
9/10/23, 2:04 AM - I agree that this is a very nice CdP, however, I read that Janasse made this one from 100% Grenache.
8/28/23, 10:24 AM - Yes, this is a very tasty CdP. That Grenache really comes through, doesn't it? I don't know about your barleywine flavour though. (NB: I've had this before in both America and, more importantly, here in its original home and more subtle style, England.)
8/12/23, 2:21 AM - Ha. This is another note that makes me smile. Obviously you are back, and back on form. You're a wordsmith, David!
7/30/23, 12:09 PM - Agreed. And looking at your profile and previous notes, we have a lot in common. Santé!
7/22/23, 7:27 AM - I, too, was underwhelmed by this.
7/21/23, 12:39 PM - Agreed, absolutely. I also have one bottle left and I also have a big number birthday next week. I shall enjoy this last bottle with relish and reverence, with a tasty côte de boeuf and glee.
7/9/23, 9:52 AM - I am at present considering this wine as a value purchase, knowing full well, however, that 2014 was a decidedly poor year in Tuscany. Your note reads quite positive. Have you any additional thoughts on this?
7/9/23, 10:07 AM - Frankness and quick response both appreciated, Nick. Thanks.
7/21/23, 9:36 AM - Nick, FYI, I found these (Lay & Wheeler); bought these; opened one; enjoyed it thoroughly - thanks!
7/8/23, 10:48 AM - Hey David. Now, I had a different d'Arenberg when I was in Aus last year but I was just considering this one, as the TWS is plugging it here in Blighty. Their blurb reads well but at £37 I think it is overpriced, and your note, while generally positive, has a stinger in its tail about "decades" to reveal more complexity. Lol.
6/10/23, 11:46 AM - I bought a case of these too. Uniquely interesting, isn't it? Alas, with everone jacking up prices these days, including the wine trade, even on their old stock, I doubt we will see such gems again for 7 quid.
6/9/23, 12:14 PM - High praise indeed. And special credit because you put your money where your mouth is!
6/4/23, 12:50 PM - Disappointing to read this note EA, as I bought the '19 Capbern and was considering this just now. No, Napa cab jam on toast is not my thing, but your note on this gives me cause for pause. Will consider further ...
6/1/23, 11:20 AM - Aha. Having read Agelvis' comments on these last weekend and another positive note from my guy at BBR, I just bought a trio of these from them the other day to indulge while I await my 2016's to come on form. Now I read your positive comments too and I am doubly pleased. Ta.
6/3/23, 6:02 AM - WineGuy, Feytit-Clinet is certainly underrated. I visited them some years back (as well as Trotanoy who were just across the road). Then I had their 2019 on my en primeur short list, but opted for some others instead. Now I see that Feytit-Clinet make the house Pomerol for BBR. A young vines product it seems. I do buy some wines from BBR but I haven't been that impressed with their contracted house products, so I will pass on that F-C bottling. I will, however, reconsider the 2019's, which are still readily available, and will look for your 2014 recommendation, thanks.
6/1/23, 7:29 AM - Did you visit their winery and buy this wine there? Any tasting note for this or any of their other wines you can share? I ask because, like you, my wife and I will also be stopping there later this year while on a cruise.
5/23/23, 8:29 AM - I am looking to buy a few more '19 Margaux and these, plus Brane Cantenac are my 2 leading choices (with Labegorce my lesser rung candidate). Q: You say this differs substantially from the '19 BC. How? Yes, I have read your (and other peeps) notes on it. Style?Acidity? Longevity? BTW, your notes share great depth and insight; thanks.
5/18/23, 7:54 AM - As always, a most entertaining as well as informative note. Very cheeky!
5/13/23, 9:19 AM - Ah, I missed that Webinar. I am a fan of LM but haven't had the '16. (Bought some '15's for my nephew and am sitting on '19's for myself!). I see TWS still has these '16's available. Given such positive reviews by you and others, I shall pop for a couple. Q: do you hold more of these?
5/13/23, 5:54 AM - Yes, I was generally impressed with Margaret River wines. While their chards and cab sauvs may play 2nd fiddle to France and Calif, they are decent efforts and good value nonetheless.
5/8/23, 1:33 AM - Nice reviews, but - Same bottle over 2 nights, or 2 different bottles?
5/7/23, 5:02 AM - Yes, the 2010 Ardanza is outstanding indeed, somewhat better (IMO) than their very good 2012 and certainly superior to their somewhat average 2015. As for 2005, I cannot atest to the Ardanza, as I bought LRA's 904 instead but I will say that it, along with their 2001 remain among my most memorable Riojas ever. A hearty 'Yes' to LRA and their traditional, old style Riojas.
4/23/23, 9:19 AM - Lol. 'Slutty' eh? I shall remember that wonderful descriptor when I try the first bottle of my '19's, probably 2 years hence.
11/29/22, 9:26 AM - Good note Callum. I just bought some from TWS. Will open one within the next week or so.
3/17/23, 10:43 AM - Didn't get around to opening one of these, Callum, before we disappeared off to Aus/NZ for 2 ½ months. Back in Blighty now. Opened one tonite. Nice. TN posted.
3/4/23, 3:39 PM - Agreed. I find this Prisoner to be the best of a mediocre lot here in the SFO Polaris Lounge (Nota bene, I'm not a lush, but I AM on a 7 hour delayed layover here, enroute from AKL to LHR!)I won't actually review any of these wines here on CT but IMO this one, followed by The Ferderalist Zin, and the Emiliana Natura Malbec to be the stand-outs, then Il Poggione Toscana. I found the Rainstorm PN nice but a bit too jammy upfront and too bitter in back, and the Iconoclast Cab, was, well, just plain disappointing. Also, I will say that the Lanson Brut served here was probably the poorist bubbly I have had in any airport lounge. (Wait a minute, I seem to remember being served a Freixenet cava somewhere!) But hey-ho, whether with wine or love, as Stephen Stills sang (stolen from Billy Preston), "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with."
2/18/23, 11:41 PM - Thanks for your heads-up on this one. Just had it tonight here on Noordam. Not bad; best of a middling lot.
1/16/23, 4:47 PM - Nice to read your note. This is the first wine my wife bought by the case when she was 22. She recalls she only paid a couple of quid per btl back then. We opened the first one in 2000. We have ONE left (!), which we shall take with us to the old folk's home :-)
1/5/23, 10:42 AM - A good vote of confidence. I look forward to opening my first bottle.
9/21/22, 11:37 AM - FYI, Just bought more of these today at Majestic, price still £24.99, more than a year later. I don't know many wines which deliver such a great QPR.
10/12/22, 10:18 AM - Yes Callum, I too am at an age when I should be indulging in lighter wines. However, my cellar is handsomely stocked with a good selection of more robust and elegant wines, many just coming into their best drinking windows. Mine are not silly money auction-able wines, just well chosen favourites with great QPR's. So while I may have a tough job ahead of me I shall persevere :-). And, yes, I saw that offer on TWS for the Thymiopoulos Xinomavro. I shall consider it. In return I commend to you my most recent pleasures in lighter wines - Loire cab francs ... I was down there this time last year and there are some lovely lighter ones out there for us these days.
11/3/22, 2:55 AM - I haven't been overly impressed with the cab francs from the Wine Society; among their Chinons the Noblaie I bought was okay but the Bouchardiere Cornuelles was not to my liking (it may have been an off bottle). Last year from the Loire I brought back some lovely Chinon from Bernard Baudry as well as both some Bourgueil and St N de B (Domaine de la Butte and Amirault, respectively). From here in the UK I have recently bought a case of Thierry Germain's Saumur-Champigny Les Memoires. Except for the Baudry the others will lay in my cellar for a few years yet.
10/18/22, 7:51 AM - Fyi, I bought several of these from TWS back in July 2020. Price paid was £16/btl. I posted a tasting note in April 2021.
10/13/22, 10:28 AM - Great note. I look forward to opening the first of mine in a year or two.PS. Looking at some of your other notes, I salute your good fortune and privilege to have tasted that 1934 Heredia/Tondonia Gran Reserva. Respect!
9/28/22, 12:04 AM - Oops. Thank you JB. That was a fat finger mistake. Score corrected.
9/4/22, 6:12 AM - Ah. I looked at these 2011's on my rack Friday as a possible for last night but I decided, no, not yet. Good call. Good note.
8/24/22, 11:52 AM - Ah, and that's why America is known by us Yanks overseas as the Land of the Big PX! Now, a Costco subsidiary does exist over here in England but they stock only two California wines at present - a basic Kendall Jackson and a bog standard Kirkland ... Ugh. Shudder. Lucky you guys. But then again, we get first dibs on the best Bordeaux :-)
8/24/22, 12:56 PM - True DQ, but even their best $20 offering will pale into insignificance compared to your Costco offerings there or our equivalent Bdx here. Cheers.
8/14/22, 2:32 PM - Costco huh? Surprised. Well, I see they produced 600k btls of this cuvee in 2021. Good for them and for you folks in the USA. I paid €7/btl at their tasting room last September. UK retail is about £11. Your $11 bucks is a good price. Salut.
8/8/22, 11:37 AM - I appreciate your specific comment 3d, and your general point about speading out tastings over days. Often valid, of course. You will also see my review of their 2010 Brookman which we opened along side this 2011 Sandown. There were several of us, so each bottle did its duty on the day. Cheers.
7/8/22, 2:09 AM - Yes, Guillaume, that surprised me too. I bought it from a reputable retailer, have since stored it here at home in a proper wine cellar. There was no cork damage, no wet musky smell and no telltale obvious reason. I am no stranger to Cab Franc generally nor to Chinon specifically, so I knew this wine was not right. Something about that bottling would seem to be the culprit.
6/19/22, 1:46 AM - I have read your previous comments to others explaining your rating system. Your analogy with Michelin stars makes sense, of course, but I do not see any other wine reviewers using it, whether here on CellarTracker or elsewhere. Have you publicized it via a letter or article in any of the specialist wine mags? Have you won over any disciples? (P.S., I, too, am a fan of des vins du Val de Loire in general and Bernard Baudry in particular.)
6/3/22, 1:48 AM - Yes, Gigondas rate highly with me too. There has always been a good selection of them in my cellar. When I bought this case of Santa Duc's Lieux-Dits cuvée I was originally leaning toward their Hautes Garrigues. Nothing wrong with the Lieux-Dits, but in hindsight, a wrong choice perhaps.
5/27/22, 10:31 AM - 24 hours later, and I tried it again. It is softer, of course, but dull and still unimpressive. More like an unbranded plonk than a honored 200 year old Cru Bourgeois. What went wrong here?
3/5/22, 10:58 AM - Motz, you have had several vintages of this ... would you say their 2015 STYLE is similar to and is a fair indicator of their 2018 or '19 wines? (given vintage differences, of course.) I have a single bottle of their '15 but am considering a case of the latter two.
3/9/22, 10:21 AM - Oops! Sorry, Nobretts. Right wine but wrong reviewer. I do, however, see your tasting note on the 2010 so you do have experience with more than one vintage of this. Are you buying any of the 2018, '19 or '20 of this producer? (Reviews of all 3 look good, with the '19 seeming to be best value).
3/3/22, 4:55 PM - Lol. So, olives then eh? But in seriousness, I understand. Goid note. I presume black olves on the nose, yeah, not green?
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