8/14/2023 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Really good price/quality ratio. Present but rounded tannins just as we like them

8/13/2023 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Very drinkable. Very good price/quality ratio. We do enjoy these very rounded, silky tannins .

8/12/2023 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Always so predictable and reliable. An excellent alternative to the much less affordable (albeit extraordinary)Corton Charlemagne.

8/4/2023 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

'Delicious (opened 4-5 hours before drinking, deliberately not carafed). But it is definitely time to drink it, as I think it can only go downhill ffom now,

6/4/2023 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Brought out from cellar to room temperature the night before. Opened 8 hours before drinking, and very gently decanted 4 hours before drinking. Magnificent nose (if discreet at first) of cherry, tobacco, and leather. Fruit surprisingly present still, for 18 years; tannins beautifully soft and silky. Very long. A remarkable wine (frankly, I would expect no less, for the price!!!!) It should easily keep for another several years, but it is great to drink right now.

5/19/2023 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Excellent. Opened and carafed a couple of hours before drinking on a seabass fillet with lobster sauce and fresh vegetables. Lovely nose, beautiful, complex palate of umami, celeri, cucumber notes; vaguely appely notes, beautiful balance of fresh sweet white grapes and slightly savoury backnotes. We absolutely loved it. But i don’t think it will keep many more months, it may well be at or close to its peak.

5/13/2023 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Stunning (if you like very sweet wines).

5/13/2023 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Very good price-quality ratio (bought in Spain in Euros, at 27 euros a bottle). Nicely dry as we like it, mineral, but surprisingly complex. A really good white wine

10/30/2022 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Already delicious, mouth filling, AND could easily wait another few years

10/29/2022 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Outstanding

10/9/2022 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

simply outstanding. Soft tannins, like velvet, yet very present. Very long in mouth. Just a beauty. Drinks perfectly now, yet I am sure will be equally good or even better in a few years. A true gem of a wine

9/16/2022 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Drank with a pile of fresh langoustines... Yum!

9/3/2022 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Outsanding ! Deserves (and benefits from, I am sure) opening and carafing several hours before enjoying!

9/9/2022 - Bruno DALBIEZ wrote:

Given to Richard Carpenter

9/9/2022 - Bruno DALBIEZ wrote:

Given to Richard Carpenter

9/1/2022 - Bruno DALBIEZ wrote:

What a beautiful, silky "little" R del D (am saying "little" because its price was so reasonable when I bought it from the Wine Society.) It is a real gem. Penultimate bottle tonight. Fortunately we still have a few 2011 (which is not quite as outstanding, but still very very good indeed)

8/27/2022 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

My last bottle. Still really good but in my view would not have kept this good for much longer. Opened 3-4 hrs before meal, not decanted or carafed, for fear of "breaking" it. Very modest but nice nose. On the palate, surprisingly long in the mouth still. Notes of cocoa, still a bit of dark fruit. Tannins were beautifully silky and smooth and hardly perceptible, as I like them. Extremely pleasant on a saturday evening with a beef fillet...

4/2/2022 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

As close to perfection as one could hope. Pity about the price!

4/1/2022 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

My one and only. Opened to breathe 7-8 hours before consumption. Discreet yet very present nose (floral, dark fruit). Outstanding balance between sweetness and acidity; perfectly rounded tannins. Really silky and enjoyable. Maybe close to its peak?

12/3/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Truly excellent R del D. Exceptional value for money. At £ 22 a bottle, this is an amazing deal, for a 10 yr old!

11/30/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Excellent price-quality ratio. Really enjoyable

11/28/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Spectacular, always so reliable. Caraffed 3 hours before drinking, and was great, but tasted even better in the evening, after 6-7 hours...

11/20/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Not a grand wine, but for the price, quite OK. For everyday consumption.

11/19/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ wrote:

Must have been past its best. Too old? Not really drinkable: very flat and acidic. Kept for cooking.

11/14/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

I could (should?) have waited a few more years! Having said that, it was simply brilliant (as brilliant as it is ridiculously expensive...). You could tell that it was still a bit young.

11/12/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Brilliant wine. Superb value for money. Not QUITE as outstanding as the 2010, but still a wonderful wine. Smooth, rounded tanins, looong finish, notes of black fruit, liquorice and a bit of coffee. A BIG wine at a very affordable price

11/13/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Very good, but the reason for my relatively low score is that I found it a little too sweet.

11/12/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Does not like this wine:

Not sure if simply gone over or flawed, but undrinkable. Kept for cooking with. Same as the 2013 Beaune Epenottes.

11/12/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Does not like this wine:

Terrible. Same as the other Beaune by Rocault ! Flawed? gone over? I don't know.

11/1/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Ouststanding. The complexity and subtlety of the various aromas is simply mind-boggling. I knew teh VEP, but had neverheard of or tasted this. It is simply exceptional. ALthough not easy to find, definitely worth trying.

10/9/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Wanted something special to drink with our Wagyu beef ribeye steaks. This did not disappoint! Opened 3-4 hrs before and carafed 1 hr before serving (I hesitated to carafe after reading comments on the net but decided to do it in the end and I am glad I did: it helped to finish opening it.) Surprisingly still on the fruit for a 12 year old but in a very pleasant way. Both light, velvet-like and quite long at the same time. I think it still has a few years inside it but it seemed to me to be close to its best if not right at its peak performance .

10/9/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Wanted something special to go witha Wagyu beef ribeye…This turned out a very good choice. I hesitated to carafe it after reading comments on the net, but in the end decided to, and I am glad I did. Opened 3 hrs before dinner and carafed 1 hour before serving. For a 12 yr old, surprisingly still on the fruit, in a nice way. Tannins very present but discreet. A beautiful wine. In my opinion it stills has at least 3-4 years in it.

10/5/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ wrote:

Brilliant colour (deep dark red, leaning towards brown) and nose (so difficulty to describe! dark black fruit, "sous-bois" leather, "muscy tones" (?). Very abundant "legs" or tears... And then: explosion of flavours, dark chocolate, liquorice, violet?, but what struck me was the incredible silky smoothness of the tannins, and extraordinary length of it: it lingered in the back of the mouth for ages. for a Syrah lover, probably as close to perfection as one could dream. And, it felt like it could easily be as good in another few years.

8/9/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Tasted upon arrival (after aerating it quite a bit). Very pleasant dark colour, and very present nose of red and black fruit (cherries in particular, but a hint of black currant too I think). Not particularly long in mouth, but with very silky, smooth and well rounded tannins. A little gem, in my opinion, especially for £ 22 a bottle. Perfect to enjoy now, but should easily keep another couple of years

8/1/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Its usual magnificent and opulent (but silky and well rounded) self. A real joy to drink every time. Opened and carafed 2-3 hours before, and enjoyed on a rare Wagyu beef sirloin, with freshly picked veggies from the garden (green beans, peas, and ratte potatoes). Perfect balance of fruit, well rounded tannins, sweetness and acidity. A gem.

8/1/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ wrote:

Completely flat. Was it way past its drink date, or flawed? I don’t know, but all the same very disappointed…

5/8/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Why not a score of 100? I don’t know. Maybe because I am assuming that perfection does not exists ? In any case this was simply amazing. Opened and carafed in our special white wine cooling carafe a couple of hours before drinking. Elegant, very complex, long, silky, I don’t know which words to use… All I know is it made me smile instantly, and left me in awe.

4/11/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Spectacular. Rich complex nose of chocolate, liquorice, dark fruit, a little mushroom. Beautiful looong taste, ever so slightly spicy. Incredibly well rounded, silky tannins, still very present, but extremely smooth and silky. Seemed at its best, yet I am sure it has many more years inside it. A VERY memorable Hermitage.

4/7/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Consistently brilliant! A gem. Complex, rich without being overpowering, subtle yet powerful. A brilliant Cabernet Sauvignon

3/23/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Very good value for money. lovely nose, fresh, clean and crisp. In spite of its youth, it drinks remarkably well already. Was a perfect companion (for a week day!) to a fresh lobster open ravioli and its tomato and vodka creamy sauce... We have to compensate for bloody lockdown any way we can....

3/19/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Flawless. Drunk with a duck breast made with a long réducted port sauce. The Chateauneuf was complementing the fruity and slightly spicy notes of the duck sauce... It was a delight! We LOVE Beaucastel. I am sure it has several more years in itself , but at the moment at 12 years old it is just splendid.

3/7/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Opened and decanted 3-4 hours before having on a lamb cottage pie. Really good: beautiful dark red (brownish) colour. Beautiful legs on the sides of the glass. Nose full of cherries, a bit of chocolate, a hint of cloves. Surprisingly present tannins for an 11 year old, but they are magnificently rounded, soft and silky. Very long in the mouth, with long-lasting hints of sweetness and chocolate at the back of the tongue.

3/7/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Lovely ! Notes of asparagus, just oily enough to go well with this brill fillet that had a red wine fish sauce to go with it. Surprised that it aged so well: 7 years... Mind you, Perrin is such a safe and reliable reference. Pity that this was our last bottle.

2/25/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Excellent, with oven-roasted chicken. Perfect sweetness-acidity balance, just mineral enough, extremely enjoyable. What an elegant wine!

2/19/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Opened and carafed 4-5 hrs before drinking. Great colour, and nose of dark fruit and a bit of mushroom. Surprisingly relatively lot of fruit still, with VERY well rounded silky tannins, just as I like them! A real pleasure to enjoy with a home made duck cassoulet, followed by cheese. Pity this was our very last bottle

2/17/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Very nice, but tannins not quite as rounded and velvety as the 2017, unfortunately. Still very good (excellent I should say) value for money!

2/5/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Close to perfection . Carafed about 2 hours before. Enjoyed on a duck Parmentier followed by mature cheeses. Just so enjoyable. Perfectly ready to drink, and probably still has a few years in it. Rounded silky tannins just as we like them. Nice discreet notes of violet, liquorice and chocolate, quite long. What a lovely bottle for a Friday night!. Now over to a little dram of Laphroaig PX cask (one among many of my favourites, depending on my mood... when I am feeling a little tired or melancholic, like tonight, I really enjoy the strong peaty character of a Laphroaig or Octomore... :-)

1/19/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Its usual self. Fresh, crispy, highly consistent and reliable.

1/2/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ Likes this wine:

Excellent

1/1/2021 - Bruno DALBIEZ wrote:

What a disappointment!!!! I bought this bottle on line a few years ago from “Vins et Milleésimes” near Paris (extremely reliable and professional). I kept it preciously in optimal conditions in one of our Eurocvaves. I opened it and decanted it at least 5-6 hours before our dinner, and... although definitely not corked, it was flat, slightly musty, lifeless. What a shame!!!! But I guesss “shit happens” sometimes... C’est la vie! Fortunately, I have half a dozen Moulines waiting...