4/20/2023 - FiggySmalls wrote:

crazy deep purple in the glass. already showing bricking at the rim. advanced??? I'm getting unattractive advancement throughout.

nice nose! smells like Bordeaux but is very rich and toasted and advanced. not overblown on the palate and without obtrusive levels of makeup.

it's just unnecessarily advanced and lacking any freshness for a wine with young bones.

don't enjoy/disappointing (bottles bought on release and stored in temp control. corks intact with an expected amount of staining)

edit/update: The second bottle was less (prematurely) developed and displayed some nuance that was lacking in the first. Overall impression=rather bland in expression with the ripe/rich characteristics supported by nothing but new oak tannin/extract. I can't see any reason to hold this style hoping for positive evolution. the 2015s are already quite ripe and soft.

3/31/2022 - vinero Likes this wine:

Pnp. Light purple with a strong brown edge. Limited nose. Initially quite acid/fresh that after roughly 1 hour diminished a bit and created space for a nice, tannic finish. My wife, who likes light wines, didn’t appreciate it at all. I liked it, although the wine performed at it’s best with the dish (Lasagne).

3/8/2022 - Cailles wrote:

Bordeaux 2012 - 10 Years On - 33 Reds: All wines tasted blind. Not decanted. A few observations: 1) 2012 is a good quality vintage without the depth/length of great vintages. Still, one of the better “off-vintages”. 2) Many but not all wines are drinking well today. They are generally open, round and fleshed out. 3) Further cellaring is advised as there are hardly any tertiary aromas yet and that extra complexity will render the wines more interesting. The wines generally have the structure and fruit to age gracefully. 4) The level of ripeness/alcohol are not a concern (09, 10, 15, 18 have more problems in that area). 5) Left bank (avg. 92.2 pts) beats right bank (91.0) (group has right bank a notch ahead). The overall group avg. score is at a good 92.1, but unsurprisingly below past retrospectives of better vintages (00, 09, 10). 6) There are highlights on both sides: my best wines today were Ausone (96 pts), Mouton (96), Cheval (95) and Margaux (95).

TN: This showed very well today and edged out the other St. Juliens. Quite ripe dark fruit on the nose and palate with a good minerality backbone, a nice salinity and some herbs. Thanks to the decadent fruit this drinks very well this young whereas the other St. Juliens need more time to fully open up. That made the difference today but is probably not reflective of the future potential. 92+ pts.

Decanting: Needs no extended decanting.

Group rank: Shared 19th out of 33 reds
Group average score: 91.5

More information, vintage comparisons, top and worst 10 list, appellation rankings from the group in the story link.

2/8/2022 - querilant Likes this wine:

Sofar this wine received 4,1 on Vivino. Much too low of course. This also says something about Vivino ratings and the differences with CT ratings. High in alcohol 15,5%. The typical amarone nose, with raisins, all sorts of herbs and dark fruit. Lovely complexity and pleasant tannins. Pity I only had one bottle.

1/9/2022 - sfbikeguy Does not like this wine:

Disappointing. It took the expected 2 hours to open up on Day 1. There is just not a lot going on here. On Day 2, it was almost flat. Focusing, I can get the profile of the wine, but this wine is just not worth the $60 I paid in June of 2016 and held in storage until today. If you balk at that statement, the same $60 invested in TSLA is worth $1,026 today (22x).

It's experiences like these that cause me to question the buying and holding of moderately priced wines. It's a tough game and it does not help when my local wine shop is ringing the bell on the wine and today offers it for $90. Sometimes is all Marketing.

I do have one bottle left. I've set a note to 'wait' a few more years to see if my comments are off.

9/25/2021 - vinero Likes this wine:

Drinking very nicely, but not for further keeping. Tertiary tones are starting to take over.

2/20/2021 - vinero Likes this wine:

Very smooth, ready to drink, sweet Verona red. Top recommendation for if you find the Amarone too much in price, power or alcohol.

12/24/2020 - Duncan H Does not like this wine:

This is the second of a three-pack - others on Cellartracker rave about this wine, but I just don't see it all! It appears to have pretty much nothing about it - flat, dull and monotone.

I have one bottle left - any suggestions as to when I should try it? Or should I save myself the bother and pour it down the sink now?

6/4/2020 - vinero Likes this wine:

Absolute powerhouse from the Northern Rhone. Dark purple in the glass. Limited nose. On the palate red fruit. Very fresh and structured, but smooth. Matched excellent with our dish of chicken, potatos and olives. This can last for years on this level.

5/11/2020 - vinero Likes this wine:

Modern style Bordeaux. Dark purple in the glass. Very nice nose. Great fruit on the palate. A silky and velvety finish, with very fine tannins and lasting very long. This is superb drinking.

5/31/2019 - engelwein Likes this wine:

Toller, typischer Bordeaux im alten Stil! Im Mund samtig, intensiv. Auf der Höhe des Trinkgenusses. Wohl noch bis 2025.