3/2/2024 - dke wrote:

Short decant. Wine was well integrates and really nice match with beef stew. No detailed notes but this seems to be the right time to drink this.

12/25/2023 - dke Likes this wine:

Tobacco, earth and hint of fruits. Good acidity and hint of bitterness. Really good food wine. Time to drink up. 89-90.

12/25/2023 - dke wrote:

Bad bottle or over the edge: almost porto-y and bitter.

11/25/2023 - dke Likes this wine:

Starts relatively thin and acidic, but after some aeriation shows as tasty, lighter style bordeaux with some tobacco, hint of earthiness, blackberries and integrated/secondary characteristics. Good acidity made it an excellent paring with fillet. 89-90

11/23/2023 - dke wrote:

Peppery cheery liquor and some smoke with medium tannins. Still very good (better on day 2) but taste seems past its prime...

10/22/2023 - dke wrote:

Definitely ready: some earthiness and fruits, better on day 2. Good wine
but not great. 89-90

8/20/2023 - dke wrote:

Well integrated taste of mild dark fruits and earth with good acidity; went well with dinner but less exciting on its own (I assume it lost some of its fruitiness and is likely past its prime).

8/14/2023 - dke Does not like this wine:

Drying oak and tannins, some fruitiness but not much.

5/28/2023 - dke Likes this wine:

A bit confused out of the bottle, but after ~2 hr it shows nice cherry+tar profile, juicy on the palate. The same on the day 2 (re-corked). Nice wine.

5/26/2023 - dke Likes this wine:

Started somewhat green, but opened up into tasty/juicy bordeaux with dark fruit and some earthiness after being re-cordeked in the fridge for ~2-3 days. Denser but not as expressive as 2005. 89+

8/13/2022 - dke wrote:

Nice tasty chinon: earth, tobacco and some berries. Little watery when opened but gains taste and weight with long decant. Good pairing with filet mignon.

7/29/2022 - dke Does not like this wine:

(from Costco) Very grassy and acidic sauvignon blanc. OK but grass taste is overwhelming, there are definitely better offerings for similar $ form NZ.

11/17/2021 - dke wrote:

It was interesting to taste this after 45 year in the bottle, some earth and leafs with clear cab. franc signatures but mild tannins and strong acidity and clearly past its prime.

4/17/2022 - dke Likes this wine:

Nicely aged, mix of sweet cassis and tobacco, long finish and well integrated. Tasty! 91++

2/8/2022 - dke wrote:

This was too oaky and tannic the first evening but it improved significantly (re-corked) on the second night 89-90.

11/24/2021 - dke wrote:

Tasty, but a little hot and one dimensional (past its' prime?).

12/11/2021 - dke wrote:

Still good, but seems to be past its prime.

8/12/2021 - dke Likes this wine:

Relatively closed initially, but better on day 2. Medium bodies cab franc, with excellent acidity.89-90

8/18/2021 - dke wrote:

Good, dark tasting bdx., better after opened for some time, but nothing special; was better in its youth.

7/29/2021 - dke Likes this wine:

Fruity, fresh Vacqueyras with slight tartness on the finish; tasty 89-90pts

12/15/2020 - dke Likes this wine:

Super tasty as before, perhaps past its prime, but very tasty juicy cherries and strong acidity, light-medium body.

12/20/2020 - dke Likes this wine:

Nicely aged with taste of apricots and honey

11/8/2020 - dke wrote:

Starts nice and citrusy, and overall enjoyable but nothing really special. It actually lost some energy on the second night. 88-89pt.

12/27/2020 - dke Likes this wine:

This was tasty and well integrated, in good drinking window, little leftover of smokey oak but not over-powering 89-90

10/18/2020 - dke Likes this wine:

First night: lots of animal funk on the nose but quite tasty. On the second night nose was cleaner: cherry and leather also mirrored on the palate. Still good tannins and acidity. Enjoyable CdP.

10/14/2020 - dke Likes this wine:

Starts quite bitter but evolves on the second night into a very good acidity supported tart bordeaux.

9/29/2020 - dke Likes this wine:

On the lighter side but drinking really nicely, some cherries, tobacco and clean acidity. Good chianti.

10/3/2020 - dke Does not like this wine:

Past its prime, still tannic but tannins are woody and fruit is not pleasant any more. Was very tasty in its youth but not any more.

9/24/2020 - dke Likes this wine:

Well integrated, tasty Bordeaux; time to drink.

7/1/2020 - dke Likes this wine:

Dark fruits and tobacco/cedar aromas and similar, well integrated elements on the palate. Really nice wine and definitely ready to drink, after short aeration (from half bottle).

5/2/2020 - dke Likes this wine:

Light and tasty nebbiolo

4/10/2020 - dke Likes this wine:

Similar to previous bottle, cabs (sauv. and franc) show nicely.

3/26/2020 - dke wrote:

N-version; some barnyard and cherries, lighter style with strong acidity. Good but not as fresh as previous bottle... (too late?).

3/24/2020 - dke wrote:

This is still quite tannic, more earthy with some tobacco but past its prime.

2/1/2020 - dke wrote:

The wine was relatively flat and strange tasting on the first night but it evolved into interesting CdP by the third night with dark fruits and fresh acidity.

12/31/2019 - dke Likes this wine:

A very good brunello. Not super expressive, it might be past its prime, but a good combo of cherries, leather and earthiness. 89-90

12/24/2019 - dke Likes this wine:

tasty

12/23/2019 - dke wrote:

Dark and burly, it still needs some extra time, but does not seem to be hiding too much potential.

12/22/2019 - dke wrote:

Some horse barn, with rusty fruit and leather. Interesting, but seems to be slightly past its prime; drink up.

12/22/2019 - dke Likes this wine:

Much better than the previous bottle (consumed in 2018), peppery fruit, dense; very good, the only downside is some heat.

12/19/2019 - dke wrote:

Definitely improved, good acidity and some classic merlot taste 88+

9/2/2019 - dke Likes this wine:

Tasty rosso, cherries, almost mini-brunello. 89-90

8/30/2019 - dke wrote:

Dark fruited and good but not very expressive, can age another 1-2 years without problems (and can potentially improve).

4/20/2019 - dke Likes this wine:

Smooth and expressive, some California sunshine on classic syrah frame, better than previous bottle.

1/20/2019 - dke Likes this wine:

Great pairing with lasagna, little too bitter on its own. Nice wine overall.

10/20/2018 - dke Likes this wine:

It takes about an hour to open up and blow off the funk but then it shows pleasant cherries on the nose and on the palate with some addition of earthy/olive like mild bitterness high acidity and mild tannins. Dry, relatively light and quite tasty.

4/1/2018 - dke Likes this wine:

Nicely aged Bordeaux, tannins well integrated, classic taste. 89-90

3/18/2018 - dke Likes this wine:

Good vintage for this wine.

2/20/2018 - dke wrote:

This did not age well, it ended up party and not very pleasant.

2/4/2018 - dke Likes this wine:

This has definitely improved over the past few years. On the nose deep aromas of fruits, leather and some iron. Medium body with relatively mild tannins. Very juicy and tasty.