3/9/2024 - sirpat00 wrote:

Tasted at a merchant event, only brief notes: An expertly structured wine with a broad base of meaty flavors, mineral notes of iron as well as cherry and raspberry fruit. Minor reductive notes of popcorn. A sumptuous palate, round with perfectly integrated acidity and soft tannin. Outstanding and for me just a whisker above Les Virgas. Seamlessly following the 2019.

7/14/2023 - sirpat00 wrote:

Double-decanted. Paired against Bosquet La Colline 2016. Both displayed decent typicity. While both had an earthy base, Le Lieu Dit was lighter and sweeter with red cherry and raspberry fruit, vanilla, but also occasional hints of soy which made me question how much life was really left here. Despite the concentration and sweet, spicy features, the palate managed to come across fresh thank to nice acidity, but with some heat and a grainy texture.

2/9/2024 - sirpat00 wrote:

This was unfortunately a vintage where Tom Litwan suffered severe losses with only ¼ of the usual yields. This meant that instead of the separate vineyard cuvées, only one white and one red was made. This was the coolest Spring and latest budbreak since 2013. I’m a big fan of the estate, especially the Chalofe. But this vintage cuvée came across metallic with a weirdly unripe fruit. This was mirrored on palate which also showed grainy tannin and felt unbalanced. Early days and time may yet help to fix some of the issues, but I don’t have much hope.

2/5/2024 - sirpat00 wrote:

3h decanted and paired against the 2010. A more earthy profile with some almost meaty elements initially. But overall very fruit-forward, showing extracted red and black cherry fruit. Herbal complexity. High-octane palate with notable heat. The balance is good, at least, but the mid-palate can‘t quite keep up. A somewhat bitter finish. Clearly lots of substance, but comes across overpowering. A wine in overdrive mode, more akin to New World Cab. Much preferred the 2010 in direct comparison. That said, have had better encounters in 2018 and 2019 hence could also be just a dumb phase for this vintage. Best not to touch for a while and check back in in 5 years.

12/28/2023 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

Tasted blind. No decant needed. Amazing depth and concentration. A varied and versatile nose showing rose hip and Jasmin tea. Red berry fruit of cherries, rose petals and notes of dried tomatoes, Ultra-soft tannin, intense and present from attack to finish. Another outstanding wine, interestingly felt somewhat more advanced than the 2002.

11/25/2023 - sirpat00 wrote:

1983 vintage horizontal with >20 wines, mostly from Bordeaux. Key observations: 1/ Acceptable vintage for Champagne with DP over-delivering, 2/ Laville Haut Brion is a masterpiece among the whites, 3/ Bordeaux is going strong at 40 years of age with stand-outs Latour and Margaux. 4/ No need to chase any Napa’s from the vintage, 5/ off-piste Italians kept up impressively with Soldera an undisputed medalist.

Tasting note:
Double-decanted. An unusually bretty nose. Fresh and dense aromatically with fresh, on balance dark berry fruit and vegetal notes. Very structured with still quite grainy tannins, but well balanced. While good, the bertty notes were distracting and this is the weakest bottle I’ve tasted in the last 5 years (sample size of 7).

2/6/2021 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

Decanted for about 1h. Sour cherry, plum – later more strawberry and a bit of rhubarb – also floral notes and wet earth. A subtle and light oak frame. Moreover, savoury herbs and a spicy dimension. Fresh and harmonious palate with a soft tannin structure, concentrated red berry fruit and a smoky aftertaste hanging on to a long 20+ sec finish. This is elegant, precis and dense yet humble. Of the 2016 Bündner Herrschaft I've tasted so far, this comes out on top, just a notch ahead of Gantenbein (haven't had Donatsch Unique yet, could be a challenger of course…).

6/2/2023 - sirpat00 wrote:

Aroma profile of smoke, pear and bruised apple, mineral notes of rocks and yeast. The palate came in flat with a somewhat bitter off-taste and lacking aromatic complexity. Still decent, but well below the last couple of bottles from the same lot. Bad bottle or bad spot right now?

12/15/2022 - sirpat00 wrote:

Pretty intense, but in terms of aromatics I find very little fruit and none of the scented floral and perfume notes, rather caramel and nutty aromas. On the palate mostly volatile acidity. This was still drinkable, but premox alarm bells are ringing loud here – especially as I had noted very early stage ox notes in another bottle already a year ago which at the time went unnoticed by the others. This is a major red flag especially with bottle prices up 60-70% since I started buying this.

12/8/2022 - sirpat00 wrote:

Spottswoode tasting (Widder (Meilen ZH)): Spottswoode tasting with proprietor Beth Novak-Milliken with 10 vintages Spottswoode, 5 vintages Lyndenhurst, 2 vintages Sauvignon Blanc. All bottles were opened at 15.00 and briefly decanted for the event which started at 19.00. Main observations were: i/ The flagship Spottswoode was typically light and elegant for a Napa Cab with 2013 being the wine-of-the-night (closely followed by 2014, 2019 and 2020, ii/ the Lyndenhurst tends to be rather extracted and lacking mid-palate presence, although the 2019 broke this rule and was towering over the rest. Brief history, snippets from Beth and complete list of wines included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Dense with lots of depth. Full of baking spice, ginger bread, but also toppings of pepper and black chocolate chips. The fruit was red cherry, black currant and cassis. Dried leaves and mint add varied herbal complexity. The palate boasted great structural acidity and while clearly youthfully wild, still comes across harmonious. That said, can‘t quite carry the aromatic complexity through to the end and dries out towards the finish.

10/3/2022 - sirpat00 wrote:

2002 Bordeaux 20 years on tasting (Fribourg): 2002 Bordeaux 20 years on tasting. Key takeaways: 1/ 31 out of 32 wines were in flawless condition which indicates either luck or less bottle variation in the vintage, 2/ On average still early days with the fruit predominantly primary, 3/ solid hedonistic quality with only few laggards, but also no blow-outs, 4/ structures built on both tannin and acidity, but common mid-palate weakness, 5/ best wines were Valandrau, Palmer and a surprise underdog Lagrange (all 95), 6/ biggest disappointment was a cooked Figeac (87). More comments and full list of wines included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
The aroma profile showed a greenish, herbal character with hay and mint but also a medicinal touch. Fruit of mixed berries. Palate a bit thin and scaled towards tannin. The fruit leaves you with a cooked impression after a while in the glass. At first interesting, but in the end overripe fruit and unripe tannins. A disappointing Figeac.

11/18/2022 - sirpat00 wrote:

Krug Tasting (Memories Bad Ragaz): Krug tasting hosted by a merchant and collector. Main takeaways: 1/ Clos du Mesnil and the 1996 back vintage were show-stoppers, 2/ 164 was in a different league of the Grande Cuvée line-up, 3/ a general feature and maybe signature for Krug for me was the fine integration of autolytic notes into a balance of fruit and mineral notes. The textures tend to be soft with just a splash of cream and structures built around acidity. 4/ Clos du Mesnil towers over the vintage and GCs in terms of precision, complexity and elegance.

Tasting note:
Base 2011. Cépages 47% PN, 36% Ch, 17% PM. 6 years on lees, degorged Q1 2018. Pear and a bit of citrus fruit, plus toast notes. Felt more fresh and less ripe than the following 3 releases. More lean also on the palate, mostly built on acidity and as harmonious as the others as 168 or 169.

10/27/2022 - sirpat00 wrote:

Small US new arrivals tasting hosted by a merchant. Aged 1 year in used oak and 1 year in bottle (note the Reserve is aged + 1 year in steel tank). Mount Eden is mostly slate soils and benefits from cooling Ocean winds. Apple and pear fruit, quite fresh in style, with a thick layer of spice and steely minerality. Straightforward palate, built more around the acidity tension rather than creaminess. I clearly preferred this to the 2017 Reserve and the 2018 came in on top of all the whites at this tasting (competition included Share Notes, Pisoni, Ramey).

12/4/2021 - sirpat00 wrote:

Slightly reductive at first, fresh and pure red berry fruit but that’s pretty much it in terms of aromas. Fresh palate showing pretty much only fruit. A nice wine, but lacks character and complexity.

10/3/2022 - sirpat00 wrote:

2002 Bordeaux 20 years on tasting (Fribourg): 2002 Bordeaux 20 years on tasting. Key takeaways: 1/ 31 out of 32 wines were in flawless condition which indicates either luck or less bottle variation in the vintage, 2/ On average still early days with the fruit predominantly primary, 3/ solid hedonistic quality with only few laggards, but also no blow-outs, 4/ structures built on both tannin and acidity, but common mid-palate weakness, 5/ best wines were Valandrau, Palmer and a surprise underdog Lagrange (all 95), 6/ biggest disappointment was a cooked Figeac (87). More comments and full list of wines included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
The fruit is mostly red and blue berries, but came across somewhat unripe unfortunately. Elements of liquorish and a bit of leather were not enough to add anything interesting to the nose. The palate rather bitter, off-balance and with too much heat. A Lynch Bages to avoid, especially as this is the second bottle I tasted this year with pretty consistent results.

3/14/2022 - sirpat00 wrote:

Lynch Bages vertical (1986-2017): Lynch Bages vertical spanning 20 vintage (1986-2017) hosted by a private collector. My key observations were: 1/ The “twin peaks” of 1989 and 1990 continue to perform well, 3/ among the younger vintages 2017 and 2016 stood out, 3/ mid- to late-90ies were unimpressive as a group, rustic with harsh tannins, 4/ 2000-2008 showed extracted fruit profiles, but with juicier palates, 5/ After 2009 the fruit turned brighter and more red in nature, less extracted and fruit-forward palates. Note the wines were not decanted and served blind in flights of 4.

Tasting note:
Ripe, extracted fruit profile. Black leather and a bit of oak. Black cherry fruit. Pretty basic with limited layers. Palate rather wild with plenty of acidity and truck loads of tannin. But I wouldn’t write this off, could very well be another one of the notoriously late-aging 2005s.

1/8/2022 - sirpat00 wrote:

Nice, rock-like minerality, citrus and green apple fruit with a herbal or rather vegetal layer that adds freshness to the bouquet. A buttery texture and more citric fruit on the palate. Not really layered, but fresh and sufficiently round. A really good every day wine.

11/22/2021 - sirpat00 wrote:

Angélus vertical (Fribourg): Angélus vertical of 20 vintages. Main observations were : 1/ Older vintages before the mid-2000s often suffered from drying tannin and showed a lot of extraction, 2/ Younger vintages quickly benefited from aeration hence decanting advised, 3/ the fruit profile became darker over time 4/ best vintage to drink today: 2004. All wines were directly poured with no prior decant and served in flights of 4.

Tasting note:
Surprisingly aged nose with tertiary aromatics, ripe and on average dark fruit and herbs in the mix. Not really nicely balanced, however.

10/27/2021 - sirpat00 wrote:

Old Rioja tasting: Old Rioja tasting, privately organized. Even though 3 out of 11 bottles were flawed, the tasting was once more testament to the outstanding ageability of Rioja. While clearly not a representative sample, the Tondonias were all intact while 2 out of 3 CVNEs were flawed. That said, where the one that was still intact (1964) easily beat the Tondonia. The WOTN was neither, however, but a Paternina from 1928 (95).

Tasting note:
Sweet spicy notes, almost candy-like, were the main feature elevating this from the pack. Hints of mint and a fresh red berry fruit. Amazingly versatile with black coffee and mocha phases following up on the sweet start. Beautifully built with a velvety texture that melts away on the palate while maintaining tension and carrying on plenty of aromatics. Not only the oldest, but also undisputed winner of the event.

11/21/2021 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

Double-decanted. Dried tomato, fresh red cherry, garrigue and other herbal layers, earth and hints of leather. A nicely creamy and velvety texture with a good structure, lots of fruity juice and a bit of aging notes lingering around for a good length finish. This is absolutely lovely and drinks amazingly well!

9/24/2021 - sirpat00 wrote:

Double-decanted. Black olives and brutally intense crème de cassis, liquorice and cold bacon fresh from the fridge. This was intense with lots of density in the first glass, but already felt a bit tired with initial notes of soy sauce. Unfortunately this deteriorated quickly and fell apart completely to an extent that we couldn't pour a second glass. Maybe I caught a weaker bottle as 2 years ago this was still very much alive and kicking. Judging from this bottle I will be popping my remaining bottles at the next best occasion.

9/26/2021 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

Decanted briefly (about 30mins). This opened up quickly in the glass showing rhubarb, raspberry and red cherry fruit, sweet cherry compote, fine layers of herbs, spices and scents of perfume. Plenty of minerality too. Balanced, fresh and well-structured. Amazingly puristic in terms of style. While not as rich as the 2010 and with maybe just a tad less finesse than the 2016, the 2019 is right up there with the best Swiss Pinot has to offer.

7/10/2021 - sirpat00 wrote:

Black currant, blackberry, vanilla, dark chocolate. On the palate also tobacco. This is sweet and polished, deep and intense, dense with plenty of structure. Having been rather unimpressed early on, I really love how this is evolving and I'm convinced this will continue to get better over the next 5-10 years. Have opened a bottle every year since 2018 and my scores continue to edge up each year.

7/2/2021 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

Magnum rarities tasting; 7/2/2021-7/3/2021 (Zunfthaus zur Waag, Zurich): Magnum rarities tasting hosted by a merchant and collector. The headline line-up of the main event featured 18 aged red wines from magnum which was preceded by warm-up tasting of a dozen aged reds. The highlights across both days were Chris Ringland 1998 (99), Montrose 1990 and Yquem 1948 (both 98). Also strong were Palmer 1989 (97), Cheval Blanc 1985 (97) and Léoville Poyferré 1990 (96). None of the wines were decanted prior to serving.

Tasting note:
Tobacco, espresso and marginally minty (less so than the 1983). This pretty much blew my mind with ripe and concentrated red cherry fruit, pepper, sweet spices and lots of personality. . Refined and detailed as befits this estates. Plenty of freshness, strong structure, appearing much younger than 30+ years of age. An outstanding Palmer which in direct comparison to the 1983 I scored 1 notch higher.

6/21/2021 - sirpat00 Does not like this wine:

Grand Bordeaux 2000 horizontal tasting; 6/20/2021-6/21/2021: Grand Bordeaux 2000 tasting with ~60 wines from the vintage hosted by a private collector. All wines were poured directly from the bottle with no decant and served in flights of 4. As general observations I would highlight: 1/ Today the 2000 is, without a doubt, a right bank vintage with Pomerol the star, 2/ the vast majority of wines are still going strong with hardly any past their peak 3/ On the left bank, St Estèphe was most ready to drink with a lot of wines in a closed stage right now, 4/ On the left bank, 2nd to 4th growths were generally more open for business than the 1st growths which almost all closed, only hinting at their full potential. 5/ If you must open a left bank bottle, Margaux is the safest place to look. Complete scoring overview and additional commentary included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Very ripe and borderline over-extracted fruit. Leather and wet earth and a bit of liquorice candy. Lacking balance with a greenish finish. There was not much to like here unfortunately.

6/20/2021 - sirpat00 wrote:

Grand Bordeaux 2000 horizontal tasting; 6/20/2021-6/21/2021: Grand Bordeaux 2000 tasting with ~60 wines from the vintage hosted by a private collector. All wines were poured directly from the bottle with no decant and served in flights of 4. As general observations I would highlight: 1/ Today the 2000 is, without a doubt, a right bank vintage with Pomerol the star, 2/ the vast majority of wines are still going strong with hardly any past their peak 3/ On the left bank, St Estèphe was most ready to drink with a lot of wines in a closed stage right now, 4/ On the left bank, 2nd to 4th growths were generally more open for business than the 1st growths which almost all closed, only hinting at their full potential. 5/ If you must open a left bank bottle, Margaux is the safest place to look. Complete scoring overview and additional commentary included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Either heavily corked or well past its life. Dead. No notes.

5/24/2021 - sirpat00 wrote:

A glass from an open bottle in a restaurant. Second or third time having this. No doubt a decent wine, but for my liking too ripe – even if not yet cooked – fruit, especially for the vintage. Otherwise harmonious and palatable. Had this back to back to the Vaso 2015 which I clearly prefer. 4th time having this in 2 years and consistently scoring 91-93.

6/21/2021 - sirpat00 wrote:

Grand Bordeaux 2000 horizontal tasting; 6/20/2021-6/21/2021: Grand Bordeaux 2000 tasting with ~60 wines from the vintage hosted by a private collector. All wines were poured directly from the bottle with no decant and served in flights of 4. As general observations I would highlight: 1/ Today the 2000 is, without a doubt, a right bank vintage with Pomerol the star, 2/ the vast majority of wines are still going strong with hardly any past their peak 3/ On the left bank, St Estèphe was most ready to drink with a lot of wines in a closed stage right now, 4/ On the left bank, 2nd to 4th growths were generally more open for business than the 1st growths which almost all closed, only hinting at their full potential. 5/ If you must open a left bank bottle, Margaux is the safest place to look. Complete scoring overview and additional commentary included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
A bit closed, showing a really nice sweet strawberry fruit initially, but coming across as too extracted after a short while in the glass. Balance not quite perfect here with an acidity overhang. Pretty austere overall.

6/20/2021 - sirpat00 wrote:

Grand Bordeaux 2000 horizontal tasting; 6/20/2021-6/21/2021: Grand Bordeaux 2000 tasting with ~60 wines from the vintage hosted by a private collector. All wines were poured directly from the bottle with no decant and served in flights of 4. As general observations I would highlight: 1/ Today the 2000 is, without a doubt, a right bank vintage with Pomerol the star, 2/ the vast majority of wines are still going strong with hardly any past their peak 3/ On the left bank, St Estèphe was most ready to drink with a lot of wines in a closed stage right now, 4/ On the left bank, 2nd to 4th growths were generally more open for business than the 1st growths which almost all closed, only hinting at their full potential. 5/ If you must open a left bank bottle, Margaux is the safest place to look. Complete scoring overview and additional commentary included in the tasting story.

Tasting note:
Lots of detail and precision even if not overly expressive. Sweet red berry fruit, just a bit of leather. After a closed start, this opened up quickly adding more aging notes (tobacco) and refinement. Pretty harmonious palate with well integrated tannin, but not showing too much character at this stage. The weakest of the 3 Paulliac first growths. Looking back to the last bottle I had about 2 years ago it seems there hasn't been much evolution since.

6/19/2021 - sirpat00 wrote:

Decanted but started consumption immediately. Rhubarb, sour cherry, also sweet red cherry, spice and light wood, a bit of scorched earth and elements of meaty or gamy notes popped up after a while. Beautifully spiced palate, round and light bodied but with intense aromas. Softly textured and good tension. There is fantastic depth there and with only 12.9% alc it just slides down your throat. That said, I do prefer the Thiertot vineyard which I found was more refined and had more clarity and precision.

12/31/2020 - sirpat00 wrote:

Jammy, dark fruit, a bit of black olives and bacon fat, sweet baking spices and a floral dimension on top. Juicy, vibrant and energetic palate with pretty firm tannin and a decent length finish. Well structured, old world style but with some new world accents in there. Still very young obviously and I will cellar my other bottles for 3-4 years before popping the next.

2/25/2021 - sirpat00 wrote:

Virtual tasting with proprietor Jim Bean. Awash with sweet spices of ginger bread, anise and Asian spice surrounding a red currant fruit . Excessively sweet for my taste. Rather soft texture with lots of acidity and lighter bodied than I would have expected. Easy to find pleasure here if you‘re a sweet mouth, but you won't find much "terroir" or unique character here.

1/23/2021 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

Tasted blind. Long decant of 5-6h, then consumed over 3 days. Sweet red berry fruit beautifully woven into aging notes of wet earth, sous-bois and layered with fine, sweet floral notes, herbal notes of dried tea leaves. Only traces of darker berries to be found. Incredibly decliate, feminine and sophisticated. On the palate fresh with lots of acidity otherwise well built with smooth even if very much present tannin. The floral aromas move more and more to center stage over time in the glass, although the fresh, sweet and perfumed notes transformed into dried flowers by day 3. Had this next to the 1989 and while on the first day I had a clear preference for this over the more muscular and less sophisticated 1989, it ended up being a tie by day 3.

1/23/2021 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

Tasted blind. Long decant of 5-6h, then consumed over 3 days. Aging notes of dry leather, barnyard. Fresh herbs piercing through petrol type of notes. Also a dimension of floral and perfumed notes. Lastly a good amount of dried herbs, mostly obacco. Lots of super fresh acidity and tannin still with grip. Felt aged aromatically, but super young on the palate which continued to integrated and actually best on day 3. Bixed berries dark and red as well as lots of tobacco again. This is a dense and fleshy, showing no signs of weakening what so ever. Judging by this bottle, we yet have to reach the peak cruising altitude - and it might not even be soon. Had this next to the 2003 which on day 1 I preferred for its more appealing, feminie aroma profile. But by day 3 this was a tie.

1/1/2021 - CCGCCG wrote:

This bottle was boiled either by shipping in the summer or from sitting on my porch after delivery.

12/4/2020 - sirpat00 wrote:

Tasted blind. Distinct earthy and truffle notes, plush dark berry fruit (bramble berries) in a slightly jammy expression as well as layers of fresh, minty herbs. After a while more red berries popping up. A fresh, polished and juicy palate although with still quite harsh tannins. Balanced overall with lots of intensity on all fronts. Characterful and once again a unique demonstration of what Merlot can do.

5/13/2020 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

Tasted blind and would have never guessed Bordeaux! An intense rhuharb nose type of shining bright fruit like I never smelled before. Soft and fine on the palate. Fresh and fruity. Precise and ultra-linear. More and more sweet spices popping up over time in the glass. No one guessed Bordeaux and in that sense this isnalready quire singular. An outstanding wine for the price bracket and even better already than at my fresh in the bottle tasting. If you did‘t buy this en primeur, buy some now - if you did, buy more.

12/2/2020 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

I've been popping a bottle of this roughly once a year over the past 3 years and I have to say - we're getting into the "Oh Yeah!" territory. CT pundits wiser than me have pointed out that the Mt Veeder needed a more time to come around than the Howell Mountain - and naturally they were right. I gave this a 90min decant and anything within 1-2.5h should do. Tannins are melting into the fabric now providing for a soft and plush texture with a nicely expanding finish. Rewinding a bit to the first impression in the nose: Expressive and fragranced from the moment you pop the cork. Once in the glass you'll find abundant sweet spices, licorice a lightly toasted frame and some floral elements. The fruit is ripe and plush, black currant, cassis but all in a vintage-typical cool style. Leaping back forward to the palate: Softer on the spices, fresh and fruity and just simply yummy. This is a 94+++ and only a whisker away from 95. My prediction for 2021: Will be scoring this 95-96 when I open the next bottle.

5/10/2020 - JerryMasters Likes this wine:

Still a young wine. A little dirty on the opening nose, barnyard. Let this sit for a while longer. Big petit verdot, will calm down with some time.

11/28/2020 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

Tasted blind. Red currant, blueberries, cassis fruit – surprisingly red in character although clearly with darker nuances as well. Aging notes of wet earth, leather, a bit of barnyard and mushroom. Beyond that, savoury and herbal with spearmint and dried tobacco leaves. An incredibly wide variety of flavours. Even more so when taking into account the evolution in the glass which expanded the aroma profile with full-blown eucalyptus, pepper and a melee of spices and herbs. A soft palate yet with tension, very fresh and fruity. Despite a 5h decant this was getting better and better in the glass, also here spreading out spicy notes along the lines of salad herbs and soup spices with increasing intensity, developing more push and a crystallizing bright fruit core. I am lost for words how to best capture the soul of this monumental landmark. This combines the spicy sexiness and sweet and fresh fruit of an Aussie Shiraz with all the majestic posture of an aged first growth Bordeaux - and I'm a sucker for both! The only thing missing was tears in my eyes – probably a glandular malfunction on the day, should get that checked…

8/16/2020 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

1h decant. Incredibly polished, ripe dark berry fruit, cassis but also mixed forest berries, soubois, wet forest floor, sweet spices, licorice and raw vanilla beans. Meticulous attention to detail, very defined and linear. Not fully harmonious palate at first, but with a great texture and harmony clearly improving after a while in the glass. Definitely go for a 3-4h decant as I intended (but got back home way later than planned with dinner already around the corner). Staying with the vintage this had more to offer than La Muse. But with horizontal glasses on not quite eye to eye with 2008 which showed even more complexity and versatility - but this may very wel get there eventually.

9/19/2020 - sirpat00 wrote:

"You only turn 40 once tasting" (At home): Double-decanted. Slightly leathery, but other than that still fruity and fresh with some sweet candy-type notes that proved highly enjoyable. Round, sweet and incredibly pleasant on the palate as well and a stronger, more muscular and resilient Paulliac than Mouton and Lafite.

11/2/2020 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

Arvi Bordeaux 2018 Arrivage (Dolder Grand, Zurich): Tasting of 2018 Bordeaux in the bottle. A mixed vintage where St. Emilion often ended up over-ripe and cooked while Pomerol seems to have fared better, as did the left bank. Wine of the tasting was Rauzan Ségla, but the Léovilles (Barton and Poyferré), Pichon Lalande and Clinet presented themselves brilliantly as well.

Tasting note:
Delicate and feminine with a beautiful fruit-forward nose. Sugar-coated strawberry, some savoury and spicy bits and cool mineral notes. A classic, firmly structured yet silky palate. This was already my one of my favourite in a barrel sample tasting a year ago and again fully delivered. My sense was the 2018 could turn out to be a vintage with a very early drinking window – whether this comes at the expense of ageability is hard to say.

11/2/2020 - sirpat00 wrote:

Arvi Bordeaux 2018 Arrivage (Dolder Grand, Zurich): Tasting of 2018 Bordeaux in the bottle. A mixed vintage where St. Emilion often ended up over-ripe and cooked while Pomerol seems to have fared better, as did the left bank. Wine of the tasting was Rauzan Ségla, but the Léovilles (Barton and Poyferré), Pichon Lalande and Clinet presented themselves brilliantly as well.

Tasting note:
Cooked and overripe fruit. Jammy in a bad way. Plum and fig topped off with a few dried herbs. Better on the palate. Fresh with a slightly creamy texture and less extracted. Maybe this will turn around with bottle age? Probably my biggest disappointment in tasting, especially after a really strong show at the barrel tasting.

10/2/2020 - sirpat00 wrote:

Tasted at Hotel Les Violettes in Alsace. Pear, lemon juice and steely mineral notes. Not overly expressive but a nice and fresh palate with a creamy texture.

10/1/2020 - sirpat00 wrote:

Napa battle (Napa Grill, Zurich): Tasted blind, double-decanted. Dark berry fruit, dried leather and olive-like vegetal notes. Sweet notes as a topping. Fresh and fruity palate but with a slight acidity overhang.

4/10/2019 - BenBlu Likes this wine:

After a Brûlée’s Grivot 2014. Firstly kudos to Rousseau for using a longer cork - frankly Grivots corks are ridiculously short alas half bottle. Same cork maker. Shame on Grivot. Back to the wine: Rousseaus CSJ14 is gorgeous. A sense of place with the most refined Gevrey aromas wafting from the glass indicating a step up over the Grivot in intensity already. Not quite as filigree as the Brûlée’s but infinitely more potent without sacrificing balance and filigranity. The palate reveals a deep core centre of sour cherries, Asian plum, Assam tea, gravel with a kiss of gentle well integrated oak at this point that shall see this mellow and age in style. First rate really and a vindication of a distinctly mediocre non descript Clos Ruchottes 14 I had a year back. I have two bottle of this left and the next will be in ten and the last in twenty years. Could become a truly special wine.

8/24/2019 - Ary Likes this wine:

VEO Bordeaux Right Bank 1998, 2000 and 2001 (Restaurant Zoldering Amsterdam): What a beauty! Elegant and sexy wine, lush and refined. Earth, iron, tobacco and coconut in the nose. Thick and powerful on the full-bodied palate with fresh ripe fruits, earth and chocolate. Robust well-integrated silky tannins. Drinks well now but will continue to improve further.

8/24/2020 - sirpat00 wrote:

Bordeaux 1990 horizontal tasting (Fribourg): 1990 Bordeaux horizontal hosted by a private collector. 30 years down the road, the vintage comes across as bold and muscular, youthful and in general not yet open for business or at times closed. Highlights included Figeac, Haut-Brion, Mouton, Calon Ségur – and to my surprise – Marquis de Terme. See tasting story for more take-aways and the complete line-up.

Tasting note
Not overly expressive at first, but opening up. Espresso, red and dark cherry, blueberries, smoky oak notes and leather. Round and well integrated palate, but lacking layers. Otherwise very much fruit forward. But there is details and finesse to the nose which has to be liked and a patient drinker or arduous decanter might very well be rewarded with much more than what I found.

8/24/2020 - sirpat00 Does not like this wine:

Bordeaux 1990 horizontal tasting (Fribourg): 1990 Bordeaux horizontal hosted by a private collector. 30 years down the road, the vintage comes across as bold and muscular, youthful and in general not yet open for business or at times closed. Highlights included Figeac, Haut-Brion, Mouton, Calon Ségur – and to my surprise – Marquis de Terme. See tasting story for more take-aways and the complete line-up.

Tasting note
Extracted, dark berry fruit at the verge of turning sour, in my view. Astringent palate with a bitter, mountain herbs candy touch. I was crestfallen with this was revealed to be the Las Cases. By coincidence, Jeff Leve also posted two days after my tasting on Insta a bottle of Las Cases saying that finally after 30 years the 1990 has come around - and recent scores from fellow CT peers have also been strong. So there is still hope that we just hit a bad bottle here.