3/24/2024 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Zingy and reductive. Nicely integrated oak and delicate apple, pear, citrus and just ripe peach.

Abit more fruit intensity and abit less redictive artefact would be an improvement on this style, but a solid cooler climate Aussie chard

3/7/2024 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Complex and starting to show some nice development

Waxy, nuttiness, dried herbs and flowers and peachy preserved lemon core of fruit. Nice acid giving some freshness, full bodied and long. Showing very well now with a double decant but will of course continue developing nicely over the decades

2/5/2024 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Supple, spicy and elegant. Still surprisingly fresh. Pure red fruit, warm and ripe but not baked. Great value

2/1/2024 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Powerful but silky, starting to show some savoury leathery development. In a nice place now

1/12/2024 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Polished and luxurious. Copious new oak which is well integrated with a dense sweet fruit core. Tannins are surprisingly silky

Extremely heavy bottle is a slight let down

1/4/2024 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Fruit is quite faded but green notes still prominent, so out of balance. Definitely past it's best but still savoury and charming

12/18/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Developed stewed fruits and spices. Likely past its prime but silky and enjoyable

11/13/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Fully developed and starting to fade slightly. Really showing its claret sensibilities

8/24/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Ripe and rich. Plenty of oak but nicely integrated. Very Penfolds. Drinking well now but will mature nicely over the next 5 years or so

7/28/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Showing some nice development. Dried fruit and leather. Tannins are very silky

Whilst it may hold on fow a while longer, I'd say drink now

6/5/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Fruit salad. Stone fruit, sweet citrus and pear. Rich and full. Slightly hot but just in balance. Yummy

4/17/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Tight fresh fruit, fine grained tannins, lovely oak well integrated. A hint of leather and dried fruit complexity

This is refined and structured Shiraz and is still very young. Very nice indeed with a decant and will certainly improve over the next decade

4/9/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Pretty good value. Crisp

3/27/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Peachy, slightly floral. Nice weight and silky texture

3/27/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Delicious from LRA. Assuming this own label bottling is equivalent to the Arana?

Silky tannins, bright acid. Sweet fruits and oak, leather, hoisin, cured meat. Developing nicely and in a very good place now

3/19/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Tight and fresh still. Crunchy red fruit

3/6/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Concentrated and layered. Ripe red and some black fruit, mineral and nicely integrated oak. Sweet earthyness but still very fruit driven

Well made, balanced, classic Otago PN

3/6/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Showing well. Classic style and structure and showing a touch of maturity

Not hugely concentrated but very enjoyable.

3/6/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Good cremant

Fruit forward fresh style. Not a great deal of toast. Tasty

1/25/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Just as you'd expect

Exotic fruit, lovely limey acidity

1/25/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Ex bodega, aged well with very good cork

Fully mature, burgundian and savoury. Benefited from some air in the glass

Good vintage but this isnt going to hold out for much longer!

1/9/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Classic Ardanza but still quite young. Oak needs longer to settle down

Polished, and delicious to drink now, but v12 showing better at present

1/9/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Fat Chardonnay but well put together

Butter and oak are quite prominent but integrated. Ripe fruit

1/9/2023 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Crisp. Tart apple and crunchy red fruit

Tasty but not brilliant QPR... Maybe needs time to open up

10/14/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Delicious BdB

Chalky and intense. Will surely age gracefully

10/14/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Massive fruit density. Crunchy black fruit. Chewy tannins are pretty overwhelming, so not especially enjoyable now

Needs time in bottle

10/14/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Brooding, smoky style

Nice bright fruit and pepper. Not too extracted and certainly not jammy. Nicely made wine

7/26/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Flinty and zesty Chard with some toasty oak and slightly nutty development. V high acid, to the point that it throws things slightly out of balance

Good value for Tasmania but not enough intensity. Should this fruit have ended up in a sparkling cuvee/could some more malo might have helped round the edges?

4/23/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Rich and textural but not cloying. Well managed Viognier with the supporting cast keeping it fresh. Tasty white blend

4/18/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Stunning Shiraz. Rich, dark fruit compote, violets, cocoa, black pepper well integrated oak spice. Perfect ripeness, not over done but very extracted. Ripe and velvety tannins. Acid is fresh and fruit not overripe or jammy.

In a good place now but will surely continue to develop. An example of huge aussie shiraz done perfectly, where more is more!

4/3/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Impressive value Pinot. Straddling new world and old styles very nicely.

Very attractive colour, translucent ruby, slightly turbid - minimal filtration?

Red cherry, sweet spice, earth and wet leaves. Shiny acid and polished tannins. Slightly sappy note which is ok but perhaps slightly underripe tannin? Very burgundian

All in all, a serious Pinot for the money, would definitely buy again.

3/25/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Lively, chalky and concentrated. Great example of quality Sussex chardonnay. Surely will age well in bottle

3/13/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Somewhat disjointed. Tannins slightly underripe, and slightly sappy. Lots of plush black fruit and well integrated oak spice

Pleasant but not worthy of price

2/28/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

There is a certain elegance to this structurely. Not too extracted. Lots of oak however, plus some development in bottle is quite spicy and leathery. More red than black fruit. Very cherry!

Nice plush Barossa Shiraz. Surely will age for a while still but drinking nicely now

2/28/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Perfect ripeness, velvety tannins, perfectly integrated oak. Pristine fruit, with a touch of spice and earth but very clean. Perhaps lacking complexity but very well done regardless.

Rich and structured, drinking well now as tannins are in a great place, but certainly has some years left in it to develop further.

2/14/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Rich and exotic but not cloying, quite dialled back. Fresh acidity.

Great QPR. Paired well with tagine.

1/26/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Simple and fresh, nice texture.

Lots of apple, pear and lemon and a touch of cream

1/26/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Excellent.

Perfect balance. Fresh and chalky but not austere. Long finish.

In a good place now but will surely develop nicely

1/26/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Rich and nutty. Slightly oxidative style. Acid could be a tad fresher

Nice cava. Cool bottle but very impractical.....

1/17/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Big and extracted but not overdone.

Polished tannins and alot of quite well integrated oak. Velvety and deep black & red fruits. Perhaps on the cooked/jammy side but not flabby. Where is the black pepper??!

Slightly one dimensional perhaps for the price, but what it does do, it does well

1/17/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Just starting to develop.

Nutty, honeyed and pastry notes go with the ripe lemon and peach. Delicious balance, just enough reductive notes to make it snappy and exciting and well integrated oak.

1/10/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Still quite tight, ever after some solid bottle age.

Peppery and herbal, quite old world. Better on day 2, dusty tannins more resolved and fruit profile slightly plusher. Tasty but difficult. Perhaps decant.

Not sure how much fruit intensity might fall over if aged further, but structurally it seems to want it...

1/4/2022 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Rich mouthfeel, great fruit. Classic NZSB intensity without the jagged edges.

12/30/2021 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

In a nice place. All of the hallmarks of good LRA wines. Well integrated oak at this stage.

Drink now or keep for a long while if you want full development.

12/30/2021 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Delicious Ridgeview Chardonnay with a very generous helping of oak. Just about in balance, and will no doubt integrate further and improve with some time in bottle. Underneath the oak there is some excellent fruit.

Be patient with this one!

12/30/2021 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Toasty, well integrated oak. Very tight acid keeping the oxidative and lees driven notes in balance. Tart green and yellow fruit, a golden colour with a green tint.

Tasty Saumur, Chenin lending some textbook structure to the Chardonnay

12/20/2021 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Slightly floral, on the nose. Very well integrated oak added a lick of cream to the sparkly fresh tart strawberry and raspberry on the palate. Bright acidity. Well balanced with a lovely fuller, more textural body.

Don't over chill, this is not typical summer picnic fodder. A lovely gastronomic wine - an example of how to do Rose with some oak well. Very nice

12/6/2021 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Decent value. Restrained and leafy, red fruit. Fresh acidity but silky tannins. Clearly a well made wine. Nice entry level from Vik

11/30/2021 - Chateau-de-Plonk wrote:

Huge Cabernet, teetering on the edge of being abit overdone but just about styling it out.

Big nose of black fruits, oak spices and violet. Cocoa and fruit preserve on the palate (almost jammy). Big velvet tannins and pleasant albeit lower than ideal acid. 15% is noticable but not hot.

In short, very rich and decadent. Enjoyable but abit OTT

11/22/2021 - Chateau-de-Plonk Likes this wine:

Pure, ripe, fresh fruit. Black and red berry compote, slightly mineral

Quite big for PN but nicely balanced, fresh acid and silky tannins

Great QPR