4/26/2024 - dream Likes this wine:

A huge, extremely high-class wine with first-growth quality written all over it. Deep, dark and magisterial with a great sense of power and the finest silk woven into the texture. Easily the youngest wine on the table and not fully revealing itself until perhaps the last sip. Don’t drink this without at least a 6-hour decant but better to wait as this is an astounding vintage of LLC that should blossom over the next decade. 96+

3/2/2024 - Andrew Vaughan Likes this wine:

Delightful on a sunny spring afternoon. Important to serve at proper temperature.

3/21/2024 - acidqueen wrote:

We decided to pull an early bottle of this since we have two cases. I rarely expect much from top level Bordeaux at 10 years and this was no different. Still, very enjoyable now and I expect the score to go up in the future. Decanted 90 minutes and drank with dinner. First whiff was decidedly oaky! This tempered over the decant but was still prominent. Good black fruit and cedar notes but clearly very young at this point. Good acid. Still very reticent. An interesting test, but not a wine I want to drink in less than 5 years and more likely 10 for my tastes. I want to see the oak integrate and the wine relax overall. I expect it will be much more enjoyable and I look forward to it.

3/17/2024 - randyjc wrote:

I expected greatness but got less. Beautiful appearance and nose and feels all lush and seductive in the mouth but at the end of the evening this was a date with an incredibly beautiful but uninteresting woman. There just seemed as if there should have been more of everything. Nice flavors though slightly muted. It did have some elegance, at least compared to most Napa cabernet. I’m glad I received this as a gift and didn’t pay the $200+ price for it. Definitely not worth that.

3/12/2024 - drwine2001 wrote:

Deep yellow. Crystalline, clear, pure quince and honey. Off dry, rich, focused, and penetrating. Despite the color, nothing advanced about the palate. Classic Demi-Sec. Loved this bottle.

3/12/2024 - papabluez wrote:

Thought this might have been flawed upon opening, even after 90 minute decant, so took to my local wineshop where awesome palates prevail. They said, perhaps imbalanced but nothing really wrong, so took home and double, triple, quadruple decanted for 3 more hours. Took to my blind tasting wine club, where it finished in the top 3 out of 12 super Tuscans!!
Folks these have to be heavily decanted.......even at 11 year old, and will obviously prevail years from now! Enjoy!!

3/10/2024 - edjBoca Does not like this wine:

Thin and dead on opening....did not improve.

2/18/2024 - Berilac_Micke Does not like this wine:

One of the weirdest wines i have had. Taste like sweaty oily ferrymen where the wine trickles from the head, filters through the hair between the buttcheeks before being bottled. Smells like it taste. Disgusting

1/15/2024 - cweiner Likes this wine:

Vintage erroneously entered as 2022. It is 2023.

1/5/2024 - FredericoWines Likes this wine:

Opened this to pair with a reverse seared New York strip. Was afraid of opening it too early with less than 1 hour of decant, but I was wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed it over the hour and half at dinner. Rich and smooth with sweet tannins, which were not excessive nor bitter. Satisfying nose of red fruits and mocha. Thanks to the use of very old oak vats, it is not a tannic or jammy style typical of Australian shiraz.

No idea what the price is for current release, but I paid CAD 68 at Costco five years ago and still thought it was a good deal.

12/29/2023 - rexmerlot wrote:

Clear dark purple in colour. Notes of cassis, licorice and black chocolate. Drank next to a 2003 and 2010, and found this bottle too young. Again nice acidity, tannins were a little rough in comparison to the other bottles. But i think that is just due to the age of wine. Put it aside to drink the next day.

12/1/2023 - Alexander Smith Likes this wine:

PnP this a wonderfully elegant and silky Produttori del Barbaresco, this shows how wonderful this vintage and producer are. I believe I purchased this for just under $50 cad. I realize drinking this bottle, that Nebbiolo is probably one of my favourite varietals, and I wish I drank more of them.

Pretty aromas of cherries, crushed roses, tar, smoke, volcanic ash, crushed stones and black tea. The palate is bight yet with succulent fruit and finely gravely stones, tea and pepper, the mid-palate has this wonderful floral and slight kirsch profile leading to a silky yet slightly electric finish.

10/28/2023 - sirpat00 wrote:

Maturing profile showing some age. Pear fruit, smoke as well as autolytic and nutty notes. Latter more prevalent on the palate. Still drinks nicely but judging from this badge it would appear 5-8 years drinking window if you want to catch this in its prime.

10/9/2023 - Purple Tooth wrote:

Italy pains me to see this blend being discontinued. This was always an aged champagne lovers NV, with lots of bruised red apples and beautiful yeasted nuts and zip. I loved drinking this from a Burgundy glass because the aroma is so attractively champagne. If you are holding on to a few of these relics as I am, I would not hold them too long. This one showed a bit of tilting...DRINK

10/1/2023 - aquacongas Likes this wine:

not blind, base 2008
Today a bit more aged than usually. Still fresh and not over his peak but I expected a touch fresher. 93

8/25/2023 - HalaniMD Likes this wine:

100% sangiovese (don't know why I thought this was a super tuscan). The color was dark ruby. On the nose, the first notes I got were dark fruits and cinnamon. On the palate, plenty of fruit again dark and hints of clove and tar. The tannins were well-integrated with a really long finish. Drank the entire bottle. Would buy again in a heartbeat. Wish I had bought several bottles to taste over time.

5/17/2023 - adnorthup wrote:

really spicy Meunier notes. Has that nice ripe apple, but the spice is the leading flavor. It takes an hour, but the vibrancy starts to melt into the fruit, giving it a nice balance. It’s still a little tough around the edges at this youthful stage, but showing promise.

5/7/2023 - Dukes88 Likes this wine:

Amazing!!! I am not the best for TN on champagne but that showed very well! Brioche note, fine bubble, balanced acidity. @ 120 cad that feels like a steal.

5/3/2023 - melvinyeowq wrote:

S$100-$150 open theme: The person who brought this sneakily poured this into a Bordeaux bottle, leading everyone to guess a Bordeaux white. Was quite certain this was a new-world though, except I didn’t have a clue what or where - not surprised on revealing, since I have literally zero South American wines. Non-existent acidity, tropical grapefruit notes with greenness. Pass.

5/1/2023 - travelculture Does not like this wine:

Disappointing. Drab, lacking fruit and structure, worse with extended decanting. Presumably past its prime.

4/30/2023 - David_K wrote:

Very good in this challenging vintage. But also light in structure and probably won't make old bones.

4/29/2023 - WineDuq Does not like this wine:

Alcohol and stewed/baked fruit on the nose. No freshness. 2015 was the same. Shows all of its 15.5% alcohol. Ripe fruit sweetness, but the alcohol dominates and the baked notes not to my taste. Seems like a relic from the Parkerized wines of the early 2000s. Pass on this producer in the future.

3/29/2023 - Montesquieu wrote:

Both bottles tasted at Aureole were strangely effervescent, unlike the many other vintages I've enjoyed of this wine. That distracted and disappointed me from the rest of the experience, as I'm not a big fan of effervescence in red wines. I had originally rated this in the 80s, but I'll give the bottles benefit of the doubt and change that to "Flawed". This is otherwise one of my and my wife's favorite wines.

11/9/2019 - Papies wrote:

29 July 2019 Disgorged, No Malolactic and bottled at Extra Brut Dosage.
Quite the solid offering here and a very nice to cross paths with grower champagnes like this. Extra brut but quite round and with a nice rich profile. Less of a yeasty champagne more of a riper fruit , less sharp more giving. Very good 91

5/1/2022 - Papies wrote:

20 April 2020Disgorged, No Malolactic and bottled at Extra Brut Dosage of 4g/l.
Very much apple driven on the nose, soft rich feel, less of a toasty edge. Well made wine but was a bit not together. 89-90

1/30/2023 - Rbhan12 Likes this wine:

PnP, put on ice bath and followed for a few hours.

Nose was initially explosive with tart pomegranate and funky underripe strawberry but has taken a more true strawberry and mineral tone. Palate has crunchy acidity with true strawberry, lots of minerals, violets. Medium light body and very gulpable. Finish is a bit short but shows the same berries albeit at a slightly darker tone. Very fine tannins here as well.

Nice wine but IMO there is better Bojo at better prices. Drink now and within the next 3-5 years. I don't see this going decades.

1/25/2023 - Jimdish25 wrote:

So this is my first time trying this wine and I'm happy with the purchase. It has a nice nose and the bouquet of oak and fruit matches up pretty closely with the palate profile. Apricot and Granny Smith with a smooth almost oily attack. Not overly complex or sharp but balanced with an illusion of greater maturity than it's age would assume. I'm actually a bit high after 1.5 glasses and that's unusual for me. It's an easy drinking Chardonnay with a sunny disposition but feels like it has some pedigree and terroir of either place or vintage. This is nice. Maybe not for aging but I'd go back for for another 6 bottles as I purchased 3. The last on the shelf and 2 from a case on the cart we cracked open. Is it Wednesday night? Well this is a pretty solid Wednesday night Chablis. On to the North Coast Pinot!

11/26/2022 - John McCabe wrote:

Was surprised to come across these back vintages at Costco for about $65 plus tax so took the plunge as I like this producer. I've always found the '14 Bordeaux vintage a bit awkward and needing more time than most and this was no exception. While some are opening up, this one still needs more time but it still had quite a bit of charm and elements of the house style - led pencil, camphor and some creme-de-casis but the tannins still a bit stifling. I prefer other vintages. On day #2, this didn't improve much; still a bit awkward, muddled and closed, but the hints of quality where there. Maybe it shows better in ten five years, but otherwise I'd opt for better vintages - even the young '19 has more obvious charm.

11/10/2022 - ChateauShiny wrote:

Code on the cork indicates a January 2022 disgorgement. A few streams of everlasting fine bubbles in the glass. Nose of toast, almonds, green apples, a bit of buttered brioche, and a tiny hint of vanilla.

The acidity draws the moisture away and provides the structure for this wine to shine right at the start of the sip. Palate of toasted bread and nuts supported by green apples, lemon oil and zest, spices, and a bit of creamy salted caramel. The chalky mineral finish starts with green apple skin and notes of pear. Then saline, caramel, and toast combine a pleasant mild dash of spices and black pepper that build up and persist.

This young bottle did not have the hollow mid-palate that I noticed in the past. This feels like time in the cellar will do it well and I will stock up on more. Although I am finding at $55/btl is on the edge I am willing to pay.

9/17/2022 - asparagus Likes this wine:

This bottle was either 60s or 70s. Bought from Morgan Fine Wines. Aged for sure, but still had slight effervescence. Toffee and honey. Interesting but probably on the donwslope

9/10/2022 - John McCabe wrote:

This was quite attractive, black and blue fruit, some minerality, creme de casis and dryness on the finish, but just hints really. This is pretty classy but missing any x factor perhaps. Showing pretty well at this age, but clearly will benefit from more time. 93+pts.

7/31/2022 - Anchun wrote:

I usually do not touch Bordeaux younger than 10 years, actually rarely younger than 15 years. So there was the choice of opening something way too young but reasonabled priced, something mature but expensive, or a 15 min driver to my wine cellar…. So after contemplating for 2 hours, I went for the 2014. By then there was no time left for a proper decant. But this one really surprised me. The 2014 is drinking really great right now. It is elegant and graceful, nothing flashy or overpowering, but beautifully balanced and classy. Cassis, red and black current, some forest floor, cedar, tobacco, and some graphite. The tannins are polished and smooth. It is just a very fine traditional Pauillac. I wrote it before with other vintages, but GPL is the best price quality ratio you get.

7/23/2022 - Iti Bun-an Likes this wine:

Vintage 2014 is only 4.3* at vivino. Should have been 4.4* if properly decanted. Tastingbook says 5hrs decanting time but i decanted it 6hrs (decanter) this time & it was perfect! Previously i followed 5hrs and it was not as good as tonight.
No wonder JS rated it 96*👍

4/17/2022 - zimmy07 Likes this wine:

Holy moly, this wine was humming tonight!!!! 5 hour decant and drank over 2.5 hours. Yes, it is young, but it is approachable. Blue fruits, espresso and hazlenuts with an underbelly of tobacco. I will buy more of this for sure. For the price point, not sure there is a better bottle of wine around. Hold for anotehr decade easy, but with a 4-5 hour decant, let it rip!

4/13/2022 - mhekman Likes this wine:

Color (15/15): opaque purple / black...wow, this is dark!
Bouquet (19/20): tart cherry, a little cola, hint of black berry and leather...pleasant and rounds out into a full, powerful bouquet with time
Palate: (27/30): refreshing cherry, blackberry with a hint of strawberry that has a dry, tannic spine in the mid-palate before softening into a lingering fruity finish
Overall (32/35): very nice wine that gets better with air and likely improves further with time. I think this wine has upside but don't understand James Suckling's score of 99. 95+ potential is my best guess...will try another bottle in 2023.

2/11/2022 - Lehto Likes this wine:

Based on the 2006 vintage with 27% reserve wines. 54% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir and 26% Pinot Meunier, disgorged in October 2014 with 3.5g/liter dosage. About 7 years on the lees!

The champagne poured such a lovely rich golden color with a lot of bubbles still, creating a beautiful mousse.

The nose was a true powerhouse and so explosive... Yellow and baked apple with a hint of citrus but all of it completely overshadowed by oak, toasted brioche, roasted nuts, mushroom, vanilla toffee, gun powder and a salinity just blending the complexity and depth all together.

The palate was just so creamy in texture with a perfect maturity coming from yellow and baked apple that was followed by ripe peach, citrus and grapefruit. Then comes all of the toasted brioche, nuts, oak, vanilla, salted caramel and just a slightly tropical note with some earthy mushroom tone. The acidity was so precise and sharp still, just adding even more layers to unfold with every sip. The aging, acidity, saline minerality and beautiful craftsmanship has just created the perfect depth, complexity and balance in this stunning champagne.

Could definitely improve even more in a few years because of the high acidity still left, if you're into the even more mature notes. What an absolute treat!!!

2/9/2022 - ikkaariainen Likes this wine:

Definitely recommend and a very good QPR champagne at the average CT price. Clear yellow with a greenish tint, small intense bubbles, good mouth feel, medium bodied and a pleasant long aftertaste. Nose initially quite acidic with strong lees and eventually opened up to much warmer notes of yellow apple, green seedless grapes and white peach. Excellent flavor profile, a bit cleaner then the nose would suggest, rich flavors of lees and baked bread up front followed by a complex mix of a hint of underlying cinnamon overlayed by a little ginger, green tea, white peach, apple, a hint of white pepper and ending on a warm note of burnt sugar / caramel. Being N/V I don't really know when this was actually disgorged, there may be something on the label to indicate that for all I know, but this particular bottle could very easily be laid down for 10-12 years - youthful and probably approaching but not quite at prime yet, this will integrate a little better over the next few years.

2/6/2022 - napasoutherner Likes this wine:

Beautiful wine and a surprise winner for the night. Not a Syrah bomb I thought might happen. This was pure elegance with light spice and earth but very rounded and supple. Long finish. Love this wine!

2/2/2022 - ABOVETHEINFLUENCE wrote:

right off the cork I just notice how briny and mineral the nose is... sourdough ....its well chilled coming across with vanilla, yellow fruit, apple lemon peel, loving that savory sourdough nose....one of the most champenois domestic bottles I've come across...my last note here was in 2020...this is right off the pull while that bottle had 3hr slow ox...reminds me to give it some air...after someone asked I searched for disgorgment date near top of label disgorged 1/2021 L1012.... the reserve wine really adding on nose...

8/17/2021 - Drunk Crocodile Likes this wine:

Powerful.. 💪 Bordeaux style..
I think of St.Estephe in particular

Dark ruby on the eyes with narrow rim.

Pronounce intensity on the nose with black fruit forward, black currant plum violet oak pepper mint.
Enjoyable..🥰

Dry, med+ acidity, med tannin not fine also not too rough, med bitterness.
Pronounce intensity on the palates, med+ alcohol, full body, long aftertaste.

I can't tell any of Sangiovese..😂 in the wine..

SV&cs&cf

1/9/2022 - wcf1946 Likes this wine:

Way overhyped for the quality. For $246 I would rate it a ZERO. Good, not great. Piper-Heidsieck Red is better IMHO.

11/4/2021 - 10xM wrote:

No decant. PnP.
Muted aromas.
Acid is alive and kicking on this one.
Cranberries/red fruits with high acidity fills my mouth. seems to have structure for long term aging but right now it is so young that the acid is blocking so much of the taste. Will update more as night goes on if there are any changes.

Day 5: wine bottle has been recorked and left in room temperature for 5 days. The wine is balanced now and acid is Integrated. Fruit is more on the foreground. Good easy drinking.

11/4/2021 - peternelson Likes this wine:

Med. gold, slight orange; almond, honey, med.- sweetness (as far as sweet wines go), a little bitter finish, wheat bread aspect, lower acidity on this. OK, but a top Chenin must have good acidity in my opinion. Not my fav. Interestingly enough, this came in 2nd place. DD at Akbar blind--Loire Whites.

8/25/2021 - Ozen Likes this wine:

Leoville Las Cases is my favourite Saint Julien and candidate for premier cru.
Drinking this next to the Leoville Barton 2003 which surprised with a wonderful rich palette.

But, the Las Cases is its superior with an impressive, wonderfully aristocratic kingly depth and complexity that is a true aristocrat. The only downside is a very slightly drying finish.
The trick with LLC is plenty of airing before tasting, and this one even better the next day (with cork in the bottle). LLC is a royal wine. The 1996 slightly more masculine than usual, but truly grand vin! Perfectly balanced with a long harmonious finish.

This is ready to start drinking but at the same time has years of development ahead for even more depth.

To compare: the 1990 is more spectacular, while the 1998 is lovely and more fully mature now.

8/12/2021 - jmcelroy wrote:

Over the hill? Golden color, very little effervescence. However after 20 to 30 minutes the wine started to open and developed rather complex flavors. Not bad for a NV Champagne that has been cellared for 20 years. Will be interesting to see how my last bottle from this trio turns out.

6/19/2021 - rkww Likes this wine:

Having enjoyed two bottles in a four-month span this year, I'm confident that I will love the 2014 Spottswoode someday, but also that it isn't quite ready to drink yet. During both experiences, we decanted the wine for 3-5 hours and felt it only started to open up at the very end of those windows. The tannins remained voluminous and firm throughout, lending incredible structure and ageability but impeding enjoyment in the short term. Still, the bouquet of dark black fruits, plum, cacao, charred wood, and mint brought smiles to our tables, and it's clear that a beautiful balance will emerge in time. Give these until at least 2024 and drink through the 2030s (or perhaps even beyond).

6/25/2021 - Frank Murray III wrote:

Cristal and Fontodi Flaccianello plus Riverain and Schrader (served blind) (Foretti's in Corona Del Mar): I had this back in 2019, and I thought the wine then had a lot of power. Last night, it was poured again, this time part of a flight of three other Flaccianello (the 2006, 2010 and 2012). All were served blind side by side so I had a chance too sit with all 4 wines and evaluate them carefully. For me, this was the star wine of the flight. I was sitting next to Viet Ly and he mentioned a lavender flower quality, something he also framed by the word 'soapy'. We had some discussion at the table about it, with some consensus about a kind of lavender resin, if that makes sense. For me, it was just like a dried floral note that I really dug. This started out juicy and with air, that quality transformed into something more concentrated and powerful, like the bottle back in 2019. There is the core of red fruit here, but also a shading of black, that is joined by a tarry kind of black quality. Finishes with a dusty tannin. Really enjoyed this.

6/24/2021 - Andybe Does not like this wine:

Tight, impenetrable, inky. The way we know a chianti. Terrible after 8 years. How long must we wait to drink this 2013. A bottle that cost me € 60,= but now already € 100,= for not being drinkable. And oh oh what do we like this shit reading the other comments.

6/11/2021 - wizlb Likes this wine:

I really enjoyed this wine, it was a pop and pour night in cold Sydney, CPC is a full body wine, and a long finish.


If you get an opportunity pick up a bottle or two.

5/9/2021 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote:

As I did several months back you can say this is young but drinkable. In reality it’s painfully too early (tannic and acidic). At the end of the day why would you hold a bottle like the for ten years? Just buy older ones retail.