4/25/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

This is delicious. Clean green apple. No particular white pepper. Quite full. A little light on acid perhaps ? Long. I bought a couple of bottles after having liked it at a walk around tasting in March. I am glad I did.

4/24/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Decanted just 30 minutes. This is now a beautifully complex wine from a vintage which continues to demonstrate it was perhaps underrated at the time. The style is on the firmer side but the balance is impeccable as I so often find with Elio's wines. There is licorice and balsamic and tar and some herbal and floral notes - the pronounced floral notes being a marker of the vintage - framed by a certain austerity that it's Perno origins supply. Elio told me he prefers to drink his Barolos starting at about the 15 year mark. So I have waited and the reward is now in the bottle. In fact I would say this is tasting younger than it's 15 years. Authentic unhurried winemaking in the most traditional style. Very happy with this. Suggest a longer decant - this got better and better over two hours. The first of 15 bottles. Absolutely no hurry to drink this. Bought on release.

4/22/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Quite pale but a very yellow hue. Ripe orchard fruits on the nose - peaches and ripe apple perhaps. Full on the palate - quite textural - feels a little more than the 13% alcohol listed. Finishes with bracing acid, mineral notes and a touch of pleasant bitterness. Good persistence. Firmly rooted in southern Italy, it is both full and fresh. A wine for the table but with the right seafood would be simply excellent.

4/19/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Appropriately pale but dark hued brilliant red. Nose of ripe mixed red berry fruits - expressive and generous. Already quite layered on the palate - complex and full. But there is a coolness to the fruit - and a pleasant mineral thread from the bright acid that runs from the mid-palate through the long finish. Delicious succulent fruit. A wine that lives on its acid more than its tannins, which only show up really late and are buried in fruit. Really lovely and totally worthy of its premiere cru status. Probably most enjoyable in the next ten years but will surely last longer. Really good.

4/18/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Quite a dark color. Beautiful fruit on the expressive nose - darker toned than I expected for Marsannay but complex and layered. Energy on the palate despite a certain sweetness coming from the conspicuous ripeness of the vintage. Silky texture. Simply the most beautiful pixilated fruit on the palate. Ripe but not overly so. Caressing but not excessive. Long. Surely merits the long awaited upgrade to Premier Cru. Although the wine lacks a little structurally and accordingly is probably best drunk on the early side for its fabulous fruit, there is no immediate hurry. It is wonderful to see this Domaine moving into the top rank of producers in Gevrey.

4/18/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

The vintage expresses itself in this wine being on the lighter side - but this is still a true Savigny. Expressive nose of red fruits. Medium weight on the palate - some clear minerality - chalk tones mixed with acid. The acid level is noticeable and gives the palate lift and freshness. Not yet showing much complexity - some may find it a bit straightforward at this stage. Its premier crus status shows in its length. Surely a lovely delicate medium weight Savigny for drinking in the medium term. Discrete but faithful to it origins. Approachable now but I would wait a bit.

4/18/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Quite a deep hue to the red. Expressive nose of darker red fruits, some savory notes of earth. Palate is medium bodied with similar tones of briary fruit and some thyme. One senses the whole cluster. I thought the ripeness level just perfect here - sweet but not overly so. Juicy but not chewy. 13.1%. Already quite complex on the palate. Some chalk tones. Beautiful fruit from the clay. Long. Lovely. I am not getting a lot of florals here. More Pommard than Chambolle for sure. Matched perfectly with the last Mushroom risotto of the season with Tosca on high volume. Keep - but this already delicious.

4/17/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Quite pale but a deep red hue. Restrained nose - not especially expressive. Tastes like cool climate Pinot Noir - no easy sweetness here. Medium body . 12.5%. The fruit not yet complex or layered - quite dark toned and gently herbal. Chalky. Pleasantly slight bitterness on a long finish. Some stems included perhaps. Early days. This may have closed up a bit - on this day showing its delicacy.

4/14/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Super good as always. There is depth of flavor but also an attractive energy and freshness. Citrus. Good length. Not especially complex at this early stage. Two bottles a few days apart. Consistent. Hold.

4/13/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

First wine from this producer, who is well known for fine Dogliani but I believe has only been making Barolo since vintage 2015. This was disappointing. A very easy sweetness suggests this was picked late. Some weight on the palate. The wine lacks structure, acid and lift. Insipid. We didn't finish it. Very much a consensus view. Bought in Barolo from a reliable outlet.

3/30/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Classic Chablis nose - expressive. Quite broad on the palate - very yellow fruited. Quite fruit forward. Seems on this showing to lack some acid drive to lengthen the finish. i am sure it will sort itself out, but today I found this a little delicate on the back end. Hold.

3/20/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Delicate and nuanced for a Chianti. Fresh and bright. Tannins are fine grained and small scaled and drrive the back end of the wine but also a little angular and drying. There is still the pinching I noticed in February. Long. I like this very much. Initially I thought this not quite as convincing as either of the prior two vintages but an hour later it seemed more complete..

3/12/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Small pour. Really quite ready on the nose. Quite tertiary. Elegant on the palate with good length but here, too, quite fully developed. On this showing reassuringly good if not compelling and indicating there is no need to wait longer on these.

3/11/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Full of flavor. Still a little robust. Succulent ripe fruit. Grippy tannins. Only time required. Quite a lot....Aglianico needs time..

3/8/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Expressive aromatics. This has an extraordinary textural presence on the palate, without any overt extraction or manufactured concentration. Minimal sulphur / low interventionist winemaking. Not inexpensive, but this is a wine of considerable distinction. Really long. Simply lovely. A beautiful vintage in Tuscany. Can be kept.
Next day - the fruit still fresh. I tend to find low sulphur additions keep the fruit bright and radiant - as is the case here.

3/2/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Appropriately pale for 3 year old chenin. Full of zesty bright orchard fruit. Textured on the palate but no excess. Beautiful intensity to the fruit. Quite lovely. Can be enjoyed now for its freshness or held if preferred. No bargain but this is unquestionably high quality chenin.

2/29/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

A tester bottle to decide whether or not to buy more, since I had missed the opportunity to taste this at the winery. Decanted 30 minutes. Translucent pale red. An expressive but slightly muddled nose mixing florals with a lot of powdery balsamic notes. Lively on the palate, bright and fresh. Full of flavor and drive. Juicy but no exaggeration to the fruit's ripeness. Grippy tannins but they are not dry. Unfurling slowly still in the glass, revealing an unexpected power for a Barbaresco and huge length on the finish that gives the back end of this wine a lot of presence. Serious Barbaresco, needing a lot of time. I will buy more.....

2/29/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Took a half hour to come around in the decanter after which this was pretty magnificent. Old Syrah notes of earth and grilled meats, still generous in its delivery of fruit. Long. Flows across the palate full of flavor. Balanced. We were left feeling there is still no hurry to drink this. Bought on release.

2/20/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

This is very different than the Bas de Chapelot - this is a lot more expressive on the nose and rounder on the palate but also laced throughout with penetrating acid giving the sensation of chalk dust and minerality. Lime. There is a textural succulence to it that isn't typical of Chablis either at this level or in a more "normal" vintage. Simply terrific length. Truly impressive. But not regular Chablis.

2/19/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

The fourth published note and they have been all my own - and so perhaps no one else is still drinking this particular vintage ( though I see 14 bottles in member's cellar inventory). This is a quality wine, youthful and fresh and still with enough gentle tannic grip and acid presence suggesting this will go a while yet. Red fruited profile - subtle. Reflecting the grape's unassuming disposition. Full of interest. Developing some complexity. Good length.

Next day - more softly red fruited. Some of the tension of yesterday is lost. Super length.

2/17/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Almost exactly a year since my last bottle of this and on this occasion my note would be less charitable. These grapes come from a great hilltop site in a great vintage that should just now be coming around beautifully - instead all I taste is new oak. Only for the unstintingly committed and devout enthusiast of this style. A great shame. There is surely good wine beneath. And testimony - though hardly needed - that the flavors and influence of new oak never fade. Bought on release.

2/14/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Not as lifted and energetic as I expected. Medium weight . Touch of new oak still evident. Sweetness from the wood. Mint. Spice. Red fruits. Bright acid. Fine grained tannins settle in the gums and are a little dry. No more than adequate length. Not compelling, but it is balanced and if you are not offended by the new wood it likely has some appeal.

2/12/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Dark hue. Retrained and a touch austere. Delicious. In perfect balance.

2/8/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

This s the "Grassi et Figlio" bottling. Dark red hue but quite pale. Beautifully open nose of soft red sour cherry fruits. Juicy on the palate but also quite lean Just a touch pinched the back end. Certainly fresh. Medium weight. 13%. Elegant. Powdery tannin, very slightly drying. The high altitude shows I think. My style of Chianti. Very good indeed.

2/5/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Mid yellow at least. All kinds of ripe apple on the nose - complex, broad and expressive. Detailed and wonderful. Fully textured on the palate - succulent even. Ripe. Dry of course. The acid is enough to give some needed grip on the palate and drive the wine forward to a really quite impressively long finish. Lists at 13.5% and feels like every bit of that. Big legs. A rare smaragd for me and whist I appreciate the sheer scale of its favor profile, there is a textural volume to it that I rarely encounter in most white wines I drink. But it is unquestionably in balance. Needs food. No hurry. Bought on release.

2/2/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Beautiful translucent luminous red - by no means opaque. Already complexity on the nose. Orange, chalk and dark fruits on the palate. Medium plus weight. Bright acid. Very present tannins but they are fine grained and fully ripe. The tannins need more time but the flavor profile is delicious already. Developing well. My first encounter with Lonardo, who I understand to be known for a less overwhelming more nuanced style of Taurasi.
Next day - pretty much identical.

1/30/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Chasselas from close to lake Geneva. Pale yellow. Aromas of herbs, citrus and honey. Medium weight - perhaps a little more. Bright acid. Full of textured if uncomplicated flavor. Good persistence.

1/27/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

This is really lovely Chianti. Concentrated but not heavy. Full of sour cherry and herbs and earth notes. Energetic. Tannins settle in the gums but are in balance with the rest of its components. Bright acid generates a long and thrusting finish. Needs time. Really excellent.

1/21/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Developed pale red. On the nose, no doubt some bacon and meaty notes here, but also full of fruit. No more than medium plus weight on the palate. Complex succulent fully ripe Syrah - though I am not sure how complex Syrah really gets - with enough acid still to provide freshness. Runs fluidly across the palate. Silky. Gently earthy. Very red fruited. Some fine-grained tannin still. Finesse. Good length. Fully mature now, and in a good place, I would not wait too long on this. Very complete. Delicious. Bought on release.

1/20/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Almost a strawberry red. Quite pale. Expressive nose of chalk dust and soft red fruits. Quite succulent on the palate - an initial evident ripeness on the front of the palate which then turns more mineral, austere, spicy. Still only medium plus weight. Modest tannic presence. Delicious. I would drink this fairly soon. I doubt it gets more interesting and you risk losing its joyful fresh fruit quality. Tiny production - just over 700 bottles. He said his favorite was the Newt because it has a slightly wilder aspect, but this is lovely also.

1/18/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Appropriately pale. Muted nose. Initially silky on the palate but the wine firmed up in the glass. Full of chewy Sangiovese flavor. Medium weight. Slightly dry tannin. I think this may be in a difficult phase. Seems a little unsettled to me. Not everything yet integrated. It really changed over 45 minutes. This is serious Chianti. I am sure it is really good, but I would wait several years on this.

1/15/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Light color. Expressive aromas of sour cherry. Quite sweet. Succulent caressing fruit on the palate. Some attractive darker tones. Fully ripe but barely medium weight. 13%.Very good persistence. Lovely Chianti in a lighter weight style from grapes grown at high altitude. Already delicious. I would drink this fairly soon for the beauty of its fruit which is not to say it is not a serious Chianti with the balance to last. Lovely.

1/14/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Deep yellow. Expressive nose of ripe orchard fruits. Broad on the palate - textured, chewy and full bodied, reflecting the vintage. Apple / peach / even apricot ? Full of flavor. Complex ripe fruits build leading to the distinctive and markedly spicy finish that the red slate provides. Holding up well but clearly has an amplitude on the palate that one may not normally associate with the Mosel. High quality here but likely not for everyone. Worked well with Thai food. I would drink this fairly soon.

1/10/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Beautiful dark toned fruit - a little somber and mysterious now. The acid in the wine is really quite unforgiving and assumes a protagonists role. Nice length. Hint of VA perhaps ? Holding up well but also now quite a different wine than in its youth. Needs food - pizza, as JRICK suggests. I would not hold these any longer.

1/4/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

A wine made in pretty large quantity from younger vines. 14%. Easier going than the 2016. Full of Aglianico flavor - camphor, licorice, earth, dark fruits. Juicy, bright and fresh. Measured tannin - ripe with real grip but no dryness. I don't think Aglianico really translates well into a wine to be drunk young. I have the same issue with Nebbiolo. I would wait five years on this if you can, if not, decant a good while. It will be a good representation of what it is supposed to be at a very fair price.

1/1/2024 - MuddyBoots wrote:

I gave it a two hour decant but it might have needed more - initially the aromas were pretty funky. I don't drink much mature Bordeaux - and so perhaps am not the best judge- but this didn't strike me as particularly impressive or emotionally engaging in any component. Mid weight. Pleasant. I expected more. Just a single bottle bought on release - because even in 1992 Burgundy and the Rhone seemed to me where it was at. Palmer is better today.

12/30/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

No idea what possessed me to by a single bottle of this in 1998. It wasn't cheap. The sticker reads a very precise $53.69. I can say I have never been tempted to try it since then and so it has remained unopened all these years. Today is the day. Barbera - possibly with a splash of Dolcetto - aged in new tonneau I believe. Listed at 13.5%. I will spare you a long note. Still dark. Oaky nose. Dark plummy fruit. Quite extracted on the palate but the fruit,, to its credit, though not complex, is still very present underneath the oak. Barbera can last well. Good length. Did I mention the oak ? No longer produced thank goodness. And I too have moved on from this kind of wine, which i must have purchased on a bad day in a moment of weakness at a time when Gaja's influence was at its height. But I forgive myself - a quarter century is a long time ago.

12/25/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Dark hue medium red. Beautifully complex nose of delicate red fruits. Just a little gentle funk. Tasting young on the palate - still fresh and bright. Juicy clean red fruits in the mouth. Completely unadulterated. Restrained. Understated. But full of presence and character. Broadened out with time in the glass. Lovely. Bought on release.

12/24/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Fully damp cork. Briefly double decanted. Roses and violets on a relatively subdued nose. Touch cedar. Ripe but by no means exuberant mixed berry fruit on the mid weight palate. Some complexity. A pleasant leanness on the back-end - the acid quite bright still and tannins showing some dryness. Reflecting I think the slightly austere nature of the vintage - but a true Bordeaux of the 1980s in its dryness and having fruit in the lower register of ripeness. The tannins better mannered after an hour and the fruit sweetened up a bit. St Julien elegance in evidence. Suggest a 90 minute decant. Fine quality no doubt. Bought on release - which is a sobering thought. One of the first bottles of quality wine I ever bought.

12/21/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Very garnet red now, projecting what indeed is a wine with fully developed soft red fruits housed in a structure that is now fully resolved. The fruit is very pretty - silky, caressing and succulent and without any hint of darkness - it's all small red berries. Some gentle warm brown spices - cinnamon. I believe this was aged in 36 HL Slavonian Oak - had I not thought this I would have suspected some new oak here. Clean. I got none of the brett that others experienced and this required no decanting. May lack just a little acid but is otherwise in perfect balance. The tannins are quite beautiful - evident on close inspection but very fine grained and fully ripe. Good length. Goes down easily. 14%. Commendable if not exciting Brunello, now fully mature. A single bottle bought on release as part of a 2001 set designed for a 2001 Brunello tasting - which did occur last year - but for which this bottle somehow escaped inclusion. Readers should know I really find Brunello exciting.

12/21/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Small pour. Very pleasant. Textured. Broad. A bit straightforward. Honeysuckle. Slightly nutty on the finish. Holding up well - in fact no real hurry to drink this. Bought on release.

12/19/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Light gold now, with some green notes. Expressive nose of ripe apple and gentle autumn spice. Quite textural in the mouth. Good length, re-introducing a little spice. But - as is often the case with Riesling - I find it lacks some complexity in flavor profile. I just get various apple flavors. Not the most pronounced acidity - one senses the warmth of the year. Needs food. Developing well.

12/18/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Relatively pale. Minty nose. Hints of green but fully ripe. Expressive. Medium weight. Juicy fruit. Early complexity. Well mannered tannins - fine and unobtrusive. Lacks a little length. Good Cabernet Franc in a minor key. Rosenthal import to the USA, which is the only reason I bought this, since I don't know the producer at all. Probably best drunk fairly soon - but has the balance to go a while yet if preferred.

12/15/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Appropriately mid red. Mid weight on the palate too - 13%. The high altitude informs the wine's shape in the mouth, which, though quite flavorful on the mid palate, really sings on the long finish, where bright acid drives the wine's length. For a 2020 the tannins, quite evident and not perfect, are unusually fine. My kind of Chianti. I choose to wait, but there is no need to.

12/15/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Decanted 30 minutes. The most open bottle of this wine I have experienced - perhaps they are now actually ready ! Restrained but beautiful aromatics of complex red fruits. Real depth on the palate. Length. A very complete expression of the beauty of top quality Volnay. Will keep. Bought on release.

12/11/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Reticent nose - initially some "petrol" notes that you might get with Riesling. Piercing acid frames ripe but tart zingy fruit. Not as sweet as I expected. The Polaner site suggests 72 g /L residual sugar if I am reading it correctly. 11% alcohol. Full but not excessively so - quite light on its feet for a "sweet " wine. Very good length. Hard to assess at this stage. Seems to have all the components to be really something special but to be held a long while yet. With each sip I get more confident this will be wonderful. 15 years ideally.

12/10/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Grenache and Mission. 12% - and I believe it. Very light color - rose really. Pretty nose of gentle red Grenache. A pleasant bitterness to the red fruited palate. A more savory contribution from the Mission to complement the gentle elegance of the Grenache - touch feral and animal. Good acid giving lift and freshness. Unambitious perhaps but really lovely. Bravo Rajat! Chill. Drink as soon as humanly possible.

12/9/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

The first thing I notice - and often do with the Huet dry Vouvrays - is how broad they are on the palate. This is fully textured. Quite muted nose. There is good ripe fruit. Wet wool. Lanolin. Complex orchard stone fruits soaked in a light syrup. I think there's some detectable residual sugar contributing to the perceived breadth of the wine on the palate. As the critic John Gilman commented in his 2012 review, this wine has half a foot in the Demi-Sec camp in terms of aromatics and flavors. It's full of flavor. Needed acid comes late to refresh the wine and drive the length onward to a very satisfactory finish. Needs food. Holding up well of course. Will basically keep forever. Bought on release.

12/8/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Beautiful expressive nose of small yellow fruits. Sustained through the palate, which is quite full. Orchard fruits. Quite succulent and rich. Textured juicy palate. Fully ripe. Some early complexity. Adequate acid. Good length. Lives on the quality of its fruit.

12/7/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Decanted 30 minutes. Some color development now. An expressive open but quite delicate nose of florals and licorice. Medium weight on the palate with more tar and earth notes than on the nose, but recurring licorice/balsamic. Complex. Ripe but by no means overripe. Clean. Very present tannins show up on the back end but they are not aggressive - fine grained and slightly drying in the cheeks. Good length. My first venture into 2010 Barolo post their release. Approachable but barely ready. I would wait. To say this wine is close to its end (as a prior comment does) suggests theirs was a poorly stored bottle. I think it's just at its beginning. I am sure there are more robust and large scaled Barolos in this vintage but this is well on the way to being lovely in its more ephemeral style. And if the balsamic/tar/licorice favor profile of Barolo is itself on the gutsy side, there is a florality and weightless power I still find brings the wine within my definition of elegant. Bought on release.

Fuller on the palate the next day. Sweeter fruit. Less tannic. Very complete. Suggests a long decant