8/19/2019 - HKNick Likes this wine:

Beautiful balance. In it's mature drinking window but has many years left. Was still evolving over a three hour dinner at Castellana.
The wine looks crimson colored. The legs are fast. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like raspberry and mineral. It tastes like tart cherry and tobacco. The body is light/medium. The wine has silky texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.

11/5/2018 - HKNick Likes this wine:

Was very keen to open this up after reading Jancis Robinson's article listing 85 Bordeaux as most appropriate vintage to drink now and this did not disappoint. Opened up after a 1 hour decant and drank over another 2 hours. Strong tobacco with remnants though fruit is still lively and did not fade. This has another 8-10 years at least.

10/12/2018 - HKNick Likes this wine:

Part of our Spanish wine dinner. Preferred over 09 Valbuena but pipped by 03 Unico. Needed 1.5h decant to open up. Medium body with ripe cherry but not as ripe as 09. Secondary notes apparent with air.

8/30/2018 - HKNick Likes this wine:

In a perfect place now. The 88 Lalas are always so consistent. Plenty of fruit but melds so well with woodsy notes.

8/26/2018 - HKNick wrote:

Wonderful wine. Very slight preference to Lafleur over Ausone. Needed 1h to open up. Initially vanilla and body filled up. Minuscule tanins.

8/26/2018 - HKNick wrote:

Totally agree with Jeff Leve. Primary but immense concentration of fruit but secondary smokiness coming out. Can’t imagine what this will be like in 20 years!

8/11/2018 - HKNick wrote:

Opened up nicely after 45 min bottle decant and maintained through a 2h dinner. More robust style of Burgundy. Still more primary notes of caramel and morello cherry

8/7/2018 - HKNick Likes this wine:

Very nice. Little sweeter than typical Rayas family. Could be the vintage. Ripe red cherry though nose a bit muted. Tinge of rust on the edges. Paired very well with lamb dinner

8/1/2018 - HKNick Likes this wine:

Ripe cherry though secondary notes subdued. Probably could do with more aging.

7/15/2018 - HKNick wrote:

Big ripe fruits. Very CDP in style. A little ripe for my taste vs typical deep restrained Northern Rhône which I prefer l. Perhaps a stylistic difference

7/15/2018 - HKNick wrote:

Popped and pour. Lighter body. Light amber .very enjoyable. Not as floral vs some other climats

7/13/2018 - HKNick Likes this wine:

Deep ruby, but powerful and a long finish. Composed. Very different from the elegant Clinet 89 before. Never disappoints

7/13/2018 - HKNick Likes this wine:

Beautifully composed and elegant. Red fruits composed with secondary notes.

7/10/2018 - HKNick wrote:

Bought after a Caves St Charles tasting. Nice fragrant nose, minimal tannins and well integrated alcohol with 30 min aeration. Not overly ripe fruits but also not much length and finish.

7/8/2018 - HKNick Likes this wine:

Nose not as expressive as Richebourg. Great concentration of fruit. In its prime now. Drinking beautifully

7/8/2018 - HKNick Likes this wine:

Very nice floral nose. Very delicate and refined though just missing a touch of additional complexity. Could be because it was followed with a Vogues Musigny.

7/7/2018 - HKNick wrote:

Decanted 1h. Strong alcohol but not too hot. Sweet but not overpowering. Notes of cooked ripe plums and fragrant nose

7/4/2018 - HKNick Likes this wine:

Nice bottle over Jul 4th dinner. Needed about an hour. Fruit initially subdued with tobacco and leather more prominent. With time more balanced with kirsch notes to complement. Changed with 1h in glass. Medium finish. Ideally needs more time.

1/20/2018 - HKNick Likes this wine:

Early in the drinking window. Could benefit from more cellaring. Decanted 30m and drunk over 1 hour dinner. Needs maybe more decanting. Accessible with hint of cherry, full bodied, medium finish.