8/26/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Delicious smoky nose, very rich, with lovely syrah spices and fat, but also well balanced. Delicious.

5/27/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Still good, honest Cote Rotie, wonderful ripe, spicy nose, improved as it breathed.

5/27/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Grenache is the new Pinot

5/27/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Still got a way to go, not as open as the 1988, but lovely wine, great fruit and mellow tanins, with a strong backbone. Will try the next bottle in 10 years time

5/27/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Delicious, in a very good place, floats across the tongue, mellow tanins, black fruit and spice, long finish.

5/13/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Still needs time, initially quite green on the nose, with prominent acidity, sweet fruit very much in the background. After some time in a decanter, it started to loosen up a bit, but still a firm muscular core. Probably needs a 2-3 hour decant to show its supple inner self.

5/13/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

A pleasant surprise, very much alive and kicking. Lovely sharp nose and good colour, a pale green, not the over the hill brown. Balanced acidity, with a real saline caramel finish. Good length, a resounding chorus of I'm a survivor, and a lovely old fashioned Chablis.

5/8/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Delicious, smoky nose, liquorice, real structure, some pepper, iron in the mouth, long finish.

5/2/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Really delicious. Says 12% on the label, and drinks like it. Smoky spicy nose, mouth filling wine with good balanced finish. Very pleasant from one of the best recent vintages of cote rotie.

4/29/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Perhaps more withdrawn than the previous bottle, a hint of something from the farmyard on the initial nose, but then very elegant, balanced acidity and a smooth long finish. Delicious, and still drinking very well

4/26/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Nice honest and earthy nose, well balanced, a good honest Volnay, drinking well

4/26/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Still drinking well, very rich, with a hint of spice, and good finish.

4/22/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Still somewhat closed, reasonable fruit with a firm backbone, but no complexity, hopefully still to come

4/19/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

What an amazing wine to try. Cork came out in 2 goes, wine a deep clear amber, with a lovely nose of caramel, and floral elements. And so alive in the mouth, the acidity providing support for the toffee, caramel, and roast almond flavours. Delicious.

4/3/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Delicious. Still had very very slight spritz, with an initial waft of sulphur. Then a wonderful nose, citrus and a bit of 5 star. Real intensity in the mouth, lovely rich, full red berries, a touch of sherbet, menthol. And an amazingly long length, honeyed, rich, all underpinned by balanced acidity so it never becomes cloying. The sweetness is so well balanced, no hint of botrytis on the nose. Still needs more time, but starting to show its potential.

3/29/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Rich and ripe nose, but lots of VA and brett that needed to blow off. Probably not the best bottle of this I've drunk, it hinted at the great wine underneath, but never fully shook off the funk.

3/29/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Interesting wine, more restrained nose compared to the cuvee reserve. Smooth but with a dry finish, with time in the glass, some sweetness emerges, good length.

3/8/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

nice nose, big blast of pepper on the initial attack, a bit rustic, in a good way. starting to show well after an hour, nice balance.

2/28/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Lovely Hermitage, very well balanced, drinking well

2/28/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

delicious, fragrant nose, takes some time to open, but then lots of tar, smoke. In a good place now

2/26/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Drank at less celebrated French wine Wimps. A real surprise. !982 and '83 are legendary wines, but this should be included. A lovely sweet nose, with very smokey and later tarry tones. Well balanced and savory in the mouth, good acidity and length. Our wine of the day by some way.

2/22/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Drank from Magnum. Decanted and opens slowly, initial cherries and then some smoke and slight tar. Well balanced with gentle acidity and went well with an onglet steak at 28-50 today.

2/18/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

A very good bottle. Ripe but subtle, very smooth polished fruit. Well balanced, in a very good place now, with life ahead of it.

2/18/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Still great Cornas, ripe and rich, real mouth filling and balanced sweetness.

2/16/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Delicious at lunch today, with trout, avocado mousse and fennel. Lime, touch of red berries and then a lovely honeyed finish, supported by crisp acidity.

2/15/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Drank the 2nd half of the bottle after 2 weeks in the fridge. Still fine, with piercing acidity to balance the citrus fruit. Delicious

2/14/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Badly corked

2/14/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Delicious, mouth filling proper wine.

2/14/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Still broody, nose a bit restrained to start, slowly the veils fall away and that wonderful exotic spice and tar emerges. Silky in the mouth with a great length. Unfortunately the last glass was the best, impossible to keep this long enough for it to give anything but a glimpse of how fine it will be. When? Well it's still good to be able keep trying it and ask that question.

1/29/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Lovely , fresh zesty fruit, well balanced with its acidity.

1/29/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Lovely wine, the cab sav really provides lovely fruit and hints of mint, almost new world like.

1/29/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

This was delicious, gentle mousse, lovely integrated rich creamy mild yeasty with a hint of apple. Good length and drinking really well.

1/25/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Took about an hour to open, but this is in a very good place, and is drinking well. Very meaty on the initial nose, but then lovely red berry fruit, spice and long length

1/25/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Still beautiful, delicate, mellow fruit and long length. This shows how elegant a chateauneuf can be

1/25/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

very sadly, it was badly corked.

1/15/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

This is nectar of the gods. Lovely nose, a hint of 5 star, but so viscous, mouth coating, tropical fruits, pineapple, lychee, a hint of burnt caramel that turns into delicate honey, cinnamon, white pepper, and then the acidity kicks it to both balance and provide a long smooth delicious finish. This wine will last for many years to come, but my remaining bottles will disappear quickly.

1/15/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Delicious, took a while to open up, very rich, berry fruits, still has a backbone and will only get better. Good length, very good.

1/15/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

What a pleasant surprise, amazing ripe nose that shouted RAYAS. This was the best bottle ever of this, still so alive, rich and sweet, but also balanced. Lovely length. Looking forward to another soon.

1/15/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Delicious, well balanced sweetness, but good acidity and structure.

1/14/2011 - bristol411 wrote:

Drinking very well

12/29/2010 - bristol411 wrote:

Big nose, rich and ripe spicy syrah, but wasn't as impressive in the mouth.

12/26/2010 - bristol411 wrote:

Spicy plum, with hints of pepper, tar and great structure. And such an exotic nose. Still a baby, but really want to meet again when walking and talking.

12/26/2010 - bristol411 wrote:

Lovely wine, this time a very strong honeyed finish. But absolutely delicious.

12/26/2010 - bristol411 wrote:

We opened this to drink with a braised duck, and it really needed food. Initially a massive beast of a wine , acidic and tannic. Softened over the course of 2 hours to reveal lovely plums but with a strong backbone. This is all hairy chest and medallions, but wouldn't touch another bottle for at least 5 years.

12/26/2010 - bristol411 wrote:

This is nectar of the gods, or at least those who weren't naughty this year. So delicate and precise, with an amazing length. Tropical fruits, pineapple, mango, hint of coconut, all bound in an acidic layer, so well balanced layered in minerality and just delicious. Rather annoyingly the family polished this off far too quickly.
Next bottle I'm going to drink on my own.

12/22/2010 - bristol411 wrote:

Rich and ripe, lovely sweetness, precise and smooth. Long finish, delicious.

12/19/2010 - bristol411 wrote:

I was advised that this was drinking well, so tried a bottle after a 2 hour journey took 7 hours due to a heavy snowfall. Decanted, lovely nose of rich spicy tar, really delicious spicy fruit and a ripe tannic finish that was pleasant. Lovely complex wine, that will get better.

12/17/2010 - bristol411 wrote:

Designer Brett.
My third bottle of this and the first with such noticeable farmyard aroma. But then someone told me of a meeting with Michel Chapoutier who mentioned that they like a bit of brett with their Chateauneuf de Pape. So this might be intentional, enemy action as Goldfinger said. Initially its a bit too obvious, but after an hour it becomes a more integrated, still there, but more like a seasoning. All the other elements of a designer CdeP, bacon, leather, red fruit, lots of extracted fruit, but almost following a recipe.
I hope that this is just a bad example, nowhere near as hedonistic as the two previous bottles. Enjoyable, but not special.

12/16/2010 - bristol411 wrote:

This was bottled by Berry Brothers into 70cl bottles at their Basingstoke warehouse ( a practice they stopped in 1989 apparently when European laws changed). The wine I believe, was made by Chapoutier, not sure if Berry's actually selected the barrels to be sent over. I bought this as a bit of a punt at a recent auction, knowing it had spent all its life in Berry's cellars, and have had good experience with Cote Rotie from 1985 vintage.
Good colour, deep mid-red with only slight fade at the edge. Lovely nose, quite fragrant spice, and pepper initially in the mouth, bit of black olive perhaps, nice and fresh, then moves toward a faintly bitter cherry finish and a hint of chocolate maybe. Nice drop of wine.

12/12/2010 - bristol411 wrote:

This is being drunk in honour of Richard Olney after a wonderful article about him in today's Guardian. http://t.co/eGgPacj. Wonderful and is a perfect wine to drink 9 days before the shortest day. Magnificent nose, smoke, pepper, mustard and lavender. Delicious in the mouth. Meat leather and spice. Fresh red fruit and real balance with a hint of tanin. Still so alive. Thanks Nayan.