4/6/2012 - stueys wrote:

Very nice, needs an hour to open but drinking pretty well now. Well integrated, classic claret with a medium finish.

3/10/2012 - stueys wrote:

At a dinner party so no detailed notes. Great wine, Felton Road block wines continue to be the poster boy of NZ Pinot, powerful and very precise. Well integrated now, I think will peak in 2 to 3 years time and then gracefully decline, though the structure is there to continue to mature.

12/30/2011 - stueys wrote:

Still young, needs at least 2 hrs in the decanter. Classic pauillac but a bit muted, probably a bit early.

8/28/2011 - stueys wrote:

Classy, rich dark fruit on the palate, long finish with typical hint of spice. This is drinking very nicely

6/19/2011 - stueys wrote:

Drinking very nicely now, starting to open up. Medium length finish, Typical Pinot with fruit on the palate and some spice. Needs an hour decanted before drinking, remains one of my favourite NZ wines

2/19/2011 - stueys wrote:

Rated as 91 but it seems pretty unfair to rate this yet, infanticide to be drinking now. Had an hour of air before starting, nose was an oak blackberry and surprisingly fruit filled. On the palate the blackberry theme continued with a hint of spice, surprisingly integrated finish that was medium in length. A nice wine, 5 to 10 years of tender care and I think this will be at least 94 points.

12/17/2010 - stueys wrote:

Rating this after decanting and half an hour in the glass so it could open up some more. Bit muted, it's got the charecterisic bdx taste with some dark fruits in there and a nice integration especially to the mid-length finish. All in all a nice one, smooth but just a bit muted in what it delivers. Expected a bit more from a 2001.

4/2/2010 - stueys wrote:

Nice, decanted for an hour and the wine was pretty open. Think you could hold for a while longer but it's there. Nicely integrated, soft tannins in the background (surprising for an LB though guess it's the reserve), dark fruit on the palate with a nice, medium length finish. Pretty good, especially when you look at the valiue

3/20/2010 - stueys wrote:

Not bad, opened up a bit with 45 mins in the decanter. Well integrated, grenache comes through as you'd expect but well integrated.

2/28/2010 - stueys wrote:

Drank on a rainy Sunday afternoon, always like Margaux and this didn't disappoint. Nice nose, dark fruit, spice with some drying tannins in there. Drank better after opening up for an hour or so. For the price, not bad at all.

12/28/2009 - stueys wrote:

I still like this one - nice pale colour, classic sauternes, for the money this is pretty good.

12/28/2009 - stueys wrote:

Normally I advise avoiding non-vintage champagne and sticking with vintage. With Pol (and Bollinger) I make an exception, though this blows Bollinger away I think. It's not cheap for NV but Pol always delivers.

12/28/2009 - stueys wrote:

Decanted for an hour and really quite good. Tobacco on the nose, nice finish, all integrated together very nicely.

12/11/2009 - stueys wrote:

Still like this. Nice dark fruit nose, mineral herbs and spice on the palate with a nice, medium finish with a touch of heat. All in all very nice, some lamb on the grill would set this one off. Great QPR.

12/6/2009 - stueys wrote:

Initially very muted, opened out very nicely after an hour in wide bodied decanter. Well integrated with dark fruit and tar giving way to a medium, tobacco finish. All in all very nice. Not as upfront as I'd have expected an '00 Barton to be but very nice all the same and it is the second wine. Edited to add that this really opened up after another hour in the decanter, would hold for another year or 2 if I had more.

11/6/2009 - stueys wrote:

Would agree with previous TN - ' Nice pinot, berry and raspberry on the nose, quite a light body with a the raspberry theme continuing through to the palate with some pepper on the finish. All in all pretty nice and very good value.'

10/25/2009 - stueys wrote:

Not shabby at all given the price, well integrated, nice fruit, benefits from about an hour's worth of air

10/16/2009 - stueys wrote:

Fairly typical Malbec, smooth on the palate with blackberries and fruit to the fore. All in all a nice quaffer

10/4/2009 - stueys wrote:

Last drank one of these in a restaurant 2 years ago where the wine was really tight so I knew this would be verging on infanticide. Even though this wine is only going to get better it's still really, really nice now. Dark red colour in the glass with a typical pinot nose. Chocolate, dark fruits on the palate with some spice, some drying tannins on the long finish. All in all a really good wine which has a great potential. If you like Pinot (and you can find it!) Block 3 and the sibling Block 5 are outstanding, surpassing my other NZ favourite Mt Difficulty.

8/22/2009 - stueys wrote:

Very deep purple colour, berry fruit on the nose which continues onto the palate where the fruit hits you. Nice mix of dark fruit, hint of chocolate and nicely integrated tannins finish with some spice. All in all pretty nice, I think this would probably have liked another couple of years.

7/12/2009 - stueys wrote:

Drank last week and forgot to do a note, hence the lack of score. From recollection this was a pretty nice wine, very charecterisitic semillion although think Tyrells would probably edge it just.

7/11/2009 - stueys wrote:

Decanted about 4 hours before drinking, quite smooth with some soft fruit upfront but not as much as I expected from a Zin. Tannic finish, agreee that theres a hint of Bdx about the wine in the finish, all in all a nice Ridge.

7/3/2009 - stueys wrote:

OK, nothing special, nothing objectionable. Personally would have liked a tiny bit more sweetness for a Rose but this is fine for a summer tipple.

6/20/2009 - stueys wrote:

OK, quite dry with usual Riesling floral notes on the nose. Citrus on the palate with a short finish, went quite well with Thai food but there are better options out there at this price point (think Loosen)

6/6/2009 - stueys wrote:

Not bad at all, syrah dominates the palate with a pepper, dark fruit and slightly drying finish. Quite well integrated, more fruit on the nose than in the palate. To me a slight alcohol burn on the finish, but all in all fairly nice, Henschke continues to be consistently good.

5/23/2009 - stueys wrote:

Nice wine, deep red/pruple in the glass with lots of fruit on the nose. Needed about an hour in the decanter to open up but once it had some air very nicely integrated, smidge too much alcohol though. Black fruits on the palate giving way to a dry, medium length finish. Yep, pretty nice.

5/3/2009 - stueys wrote:

Decanted for 3 to 4 hours before drinking, didn't seem to really open up. Muted nose with hints of Grenache in there, cassis, leather and dark fruit on the palate with a slightly tannic finish. Not bad, just not especially great either.

5/3/2009 - stueys wrote:

Think my fourth bottle now, still really like this wine. Opened for an hour and then decanted. Purple colour, the grenache comes through on the nose with whiffs of minerally strawberry in there, blackberry fruit on the palate with a hint of spice on a good length finish. Very well integrated, for the price this is a great wine drinking well now.

4/25/2009 - stueys wrote:

Decanted for around 2 hours, nice noise with muted fruit, gentle fruit on the palate with integrated tanins and a medium finish. Not bad at all, a good value everyday drinking bdx

4/17/2009 - stueys wrote:

Second bottle, slightly better than the first. Very nice, crisp, lime citrus with great acidity. For the price, excellent value.

4/13/2009 - stueys wrote:

Not bad at all, dark colour, very chianti like on the nose with some blackberry in the mix. On the palate, nicely integrated tannis with a bit of fruit to the fore dropping off to a medium finish with a bit of peppery heat. Good value for the price, if I had more I would hold for a tad longer and decant at least an hour before serving to let it open up.

4/13/2009 - stueys wrote:

Typical NZ Sav Blanc, nice citrus and lime nose with good, crisp acidity on the palate. Very drinkable, good QPR

3/14/2009 - stueys wrote:

Given for free with 2 bottles from a wine store, I quite like Lanson Nobel BdB and this Black Label wasn't bad at all for a NV. Citrus apple on the nose, very pale lemon colour in the glass. Yeasty apple on the palate with a soft, muted but medium length finish, nicely balanced acidity. Drank with dim sum which complimented nicely

3/6/2009 - stueys wrote:

Opened this about 5 hours before drinking and the nose was getting me very interested- classic claret with some fruit and wood in the mix. Nice deep red colour, palate was a bit muted compared to the nose. Good core of cassis and, |I think, blackberries slightly tannic, medium finish. All in all a pleasant wine, for the money good value.

2/6/2009 - stueys wrote:

Nice pinot, berry and raspberry on the nose, quite a light body with a the raspberry theme continuing through to the palate with some pepper on the finish. All in all pretty nice and very good value.

1/18/2009 - stueys wrote:

Made like a champagne and tasted like a nice champagne. On the nose, floral biscuit would be my best description; on the palate good balanced acidity with a honeyed, moussed flavour and a nice, long crisp finish. It's a nice wine and would fare well in a line up of non-vintage, true champagnes - it's not going to worry Pol Roger or a decent vintage champagne though.

12/27/2008 - stueys wrote:

Decanted and poured straight away - purple red colour, nice nose of with a mineral feel about it. On the palate blackberry fruit with classic CdR 'dry' finish. A good wine, for the price it's superb.

12/26/2008 - stueys wrote:

Lovely pale golden colour, nice nose with some pear in there, good typical Sauternes texture on the palate with some melon and honeysuckle in there with the barest hint of spice. Great value wine.

12/26/2008 - stueys wrote:

Nice Chablis, quite sharp with a hint of lemon on the finish. Would definitely drink again, '02 continues to impress.

12/13/2008 - stueys wrote:

Not as good as the first bottle some time back. Nice nose with peach there, on the palate initially sharp giving way to fruit with some apple in there. Nice finish, good value but not a great wine.

12/6/2008 - stueys wrote:

Decanted and drunk straight away, lovely plum colour fading at the edges. Nice nose, typical Margaux cigar and pencil shaving on the palate. Taste and finish seemed a bit muted, indicative that this is probably someway past it's peak. All in all very enjoyable though, especially with the steak we had with it.

11/29/2008 - stueys wrote:

Second bottle of '07 CB, interestingly this one was a definite improvement on the first. NOSE: lovely floral notes coming through, TASTE: The difference from the last bottle, more fruit, citrus taste with nice, crisp acidity and quite a good finish. All in all, very nice. Got 2 bottles left, be interesting to see how they compare.

11/19/2008 - stueys wrote:

Nice wine, crisp golden colour with a nice nose of peach. Typical Viognier taste with a tight, fruit integration that shows some peach and melon. Nice acidity with a hint of spice on the finish. A quality wine especially at this price

10/30/2008 - stueys wrote:

Typical NZ Sav, light colour, fragrant nose. Nicely balanced acidity with a good finish, all in all a good NZ Sav. But, seems a weaker Cloudy Bay than a few years back when the wine seemed to offer more, unfortunately the price is still at that premium point. It's a good wine but a bit over priced now.

10/26/2008 - stueys wrote:

Deep red/brown colour, decanted for an hour before serving. Very pale at the edges in the glass, but not as much fruit as expected, this is probably past it's prime. Nice finish and a good wine overall though.

9/19/2008 - stueys wrote:

For me a typical Beaujolais, nice but not great. Nice nose, fruit very prominent when tasted with a good finish and reasonable length for a young wine. Perfect wine for a ham and cheese lunch, would get lost on a roast or steak dinner.

8/9/2008 - stueys wrote:

Dark purple colour, lovely nose and well integrated fruit and tannins with a good, medium length finish. Opened 45 minutes before drinking and didn't decant, which was a mistake the wine was still opening up as we finished the bottle. A 2 hour decant or waiting a couple of years would no doubt improve the wine. At this price no complaints though, it's a great value St Emilion, wish I had more.