8/3/2022 - tschampaert Likes this wine:

Although Belgian, I am not too fond of Belgian wines. Often too expensive, rather bland or outright flawed, they rarely live up to the expectations created by marketing and representation. Except for a few winegrowers that are not afraid to think out of the box (i.e. let's make Burgundy or Champagne), there is not too much to be excited about.
However, this one, a rather conventional wine I bought 10 years ago on a trip through Voeren, turned out to be a nice surprise. Golden colour with a greenish tinge. Elegant nose with lemon, sweet apple and some chalkiness. Still fresh and vibrant acidity and rather long. Straight, juicy mouthfeel. Lemony flavours dominate, some passion fruit and the slightest touch of butter. This is a fine wine that aged surprisingly well.

1/10/2010 - tschampaert wrote:

No one can believe this is 20 years old. Explosive freshness, great structure and above all pure and dazlingly bright cherry fruit.

5/23/2009 - tschampaert wrote:

Scoring as of now. Very primary. Needs some time to come around.

1/29/2009 - tschampaert wrote:

Fabulous wine. Weight and feel on the palate are quite extraordinary. Superb balance and structure. Long aftertaste. Still needs a lot of time: aromas are still very timid.

11/23/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Good, youthful colour. Lacks a little freshness on the nose and lost it's fervour. Good example of Müller, yet this one is maybe past it's best. Still zingy acidity an good mouthfeel, but phenolically uninvolving. Drink up!

11/23/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Good colour, good typicity on the nose. Slender and elegant on the palate with fresh typical, light, black Dolcetto-fruit. Good balance. Correct wine, but way too expensive for what it has to deliver. It's easy to find the same or even more for only half the price. So, pass!

9/24/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Did not lose a speck of it's youthfulness. Just unbelievable. Golden robe with green reflection. Voluptuous nose of peach, apricot pie, almond, lemon grass, kerosene, etc. Panoptic nose continues in the mouth: fresh, round and supple mouthfeel. Vivid fruity acidity. Long and broad mineral aftertaste. A wine I would certainly kill for.

9/24/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Sombre carmine hue, bright reflection. Good nose that fits in the middle between a classic and a modernist Vino Nobile: dusty, dry nose that reminds of brushwood, dry leaves and moldy earth. Gutsy black fruit, some leather and dried herbs. Warm and generous on the palate. Fine, well integrated tannins, Sangiovese-characteristic acidity and long aftertaste with some blackberry liquor and vanilla cream. Will easily last till 2012-2013.

9/23/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Dark purple hue. Clear reflection. Fantastic nose of blackberry, orange peel and bitter, dark chocolate. When aired it full depth becomes apparent, however it doesn't reveal itself completely yet. Only laurel and kirsch shine through. Fresh and slender mouthfeel with exquisitely polished, sappy tannins and crisp Carignan-acidity. Understated power looming underneath. Long refreshing aftertaste. Nowhere the 14% alc. shines through.
Better wait till the Mourvèdre shines through. Will easily age for some 15-20 years.

9/23/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Disappointing according to my expectations. This wine is already exhaling it's last breaths. Beautiful golden colour, good reflection. Tiresome nose of overripe gooseberry, baked apple. Creamy mouthfeel, rather strong body-constituting alcohol, low in refreshing acidity. Aroma's of peach syrup and baked apple. Nothing more than average. Passable, still nothing compared to the finesse, zestiness and refreshing elegance of German Riesling or Austrian Riesling from less hyped producer like Nigl.

9/23/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Very young purplish and heavily concentrated colour. Modernist, stylish nose of dark cherry, blueberry and some hint of dark chocolate. Well balanced, yet with tamed, not really Barbera-true acidity. Polished mouthfeel. Fine, savoury tannins. Quite long. Good, but a bit sleek.

9/22/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

What I expected: a modest, but nice 100%-Viognier cuvée from a reliable small grower. Classic, but stylish Viognier-nose. Average weight on the palate, without excess fat. Rather masculine structure, dry, well pronounced acidity balancing rich grapefruit and kumquat aromas. A definite re-buy.

9/22/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Corked, may be very nice though: underneath the awful TCA-smell there was still a lot of sappy fruit en spice going on. Will definitely try again.

9/22/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Discount-Barolo, ... why is it so impossible to discover a decent Barolo at an acceptable price, a price I payed 15 years ago when Barolo still had to be 'modernized' or shall I say 'internationalized'? This one combines the worst possible results from both the modern and the traditional style of Piedmontese winemaking. A tiresome, uninvolving nose, drying tannines, no acidity, ... . Avoid.

8/27/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

This is what you get when you wait opening a Mourillons for about a seemingly terrible long stretch of time: a unique, terroiriste wine (that is: you can taste the brothers Steinmaier, feel the vineyard, sense the climate).
2000, not really a fantastic year for the Rhône, yet the Steinmaiers still succeed making a very fine wine: a still timid, rather closed down nose of pure blackberry cream, creosote and charcoal, almost like a Côte Rotie, very little marred by a whiff of sweet alcohol. On the palate you shouldn't expect a big wine (the Steinmaiers never make 'big' wines), rather an elegant Syrah with a clear sense of direction. The mouthfeel is silky and still fresh. Powedry tannines in the end keep the structure just an inch away from being 'outstanding'. Aroma's of black berryfruit, returning charcoal and laurel. A long, lingering, surprisingly mineral finish of mokka and dark chocolate.
Considering the year a very nice foodwine.

4/9/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Vibrantly fresh Pinot juice. Crisp, refined and very true to the varietal. Bottle was gone in an eye-wink which means a lot ...

3/27/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Nice, decent and simple. A no-brainer.

3/27/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

This is a screaming value, proving what the equipe of Kreglinger is capable of. I captured this one in full development and I am very sorry this was my last bottle. Creosote, brushwood, red fruits and tar on the nose. An ample, generous palate, yet nicely balanced around its fleshy core. This is a stunner for the measly $10 you have to splash for it!

3/27/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Very nervous with crisp sours at the moment, but sappy and with lots of fraicheur. One of te best QPR-Astis of this vintage.

3/27/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

A nice, not too complex, but certainly not over-extracted and dried-out tannic Barolo. This one keeps the middle between modern and old school Barolo. Needs some time however. Try again in 2010.

2/22/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Nice, drinking well, but lacks typicality and focus. Undefined red berry nose, somewhat flattened out with red candy. Thin mouthfeel, again red berry fruit, with some faint liquorice. Fine grained tannins, but flabby sours. Quite balanced, but uninvolving and underwhelming. With some effort you can definitely find better Chianti for this price.

2/12/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

It's a wilful cliché: this wine is too much for words, but never I came across a wine that approached it so effortlessly. Gutsy, fresh, sappy, crisp, fleshy fruit. Very fine tannins combining elegance and power in a graceful way. Complex, layered and at the same slender, female in style. A great wine with still lots of potential.

2/12/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Gutsy, fresh and well balanced wine. For everyday drinking. Excellent QPR.

2/8/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Clean, crisp, densely packed nose singing with toasty complex layered Pinot-fruit flavours. In a way you can really feel the presence of flowery Pinot Meunier. Rose petals, buttered toast and red berry fruit on the palate. Fine and persistent mousse, good tension and aromatic profile with direction. This really goes somewhere. Omnipresent minerality. Long lingering aftertaste of crushed red berries and orange zest. Very, very good.

2/8/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Hugely disappointing. Well balanced and dry with nice volume and fine fizz, but rather uninvolving. With a rather weak acidity, it lacks concentration on the nose as well as on the palate: aromatics go everywhere, all over the place, but never seem to 'fit'. Aftertaste short and chunky, remembrance almost nil. Drink this without looking at the label and you'll have the same experience: why do we all want to see what we drink?

2/8/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Over and over again this cuvée proves to be a marvelous BldeBl. Very focussed on the nose with a lot of brioche, lemon custard and vanilla. Zesty and full on the palate, with full-blown complexity and a long lingering dense finish. A lot of praised and revered BldeBl.-cuvées never reach this level!

2/8/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

Good example of cool climate Riesling. Tasted blind it could even be difficult to keep it apart from Mosel-Rieslings. Crisp acidity, well defined petrolé note, exotic, sappy fruit. This basic range of Tamar Ridge is always a pleasure to crack.

2/8/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

This is a very nice example of the constant quality Terre da Vino has to offer: true to it's varietal and terroir, this is an elegant, well balanced and fine wine. Not overtly complex, yet with a considerably long aftertaste, it offers fresh cherry fruit, some blue plum and roasted herbs. A refreshing acidity and simple tannines keep it interesting for definitely more than one glass. Excellent QPR.

1/15/2008 - tschampaert wrote:

A very decent QPR wine: nothing hyper-exciting, nothing mind blowing, but just a solid, well made Vacqueyras. Nose and palate still need 24 hours to open up. Then it's spicy Grenache all over the place: savory strawberry cream, white pepper, some kirsh and garrigue. Well balanced with fresh sours, slightly powdery tannins and an average aftertaste. Good to very good.

12/28/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Child murder. Way too young, yet you feel that this is a wine with superb potential. Formidably pungent nose with leather, lots of charcoal and raspberry fruit. Vey juicy and packed oin the palate, but needs time to open up. Drink after 2010.

12/28/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Very mineral, yet fruit laden. Well balanced acicty for a 2003. Smoky, grassy aromas always play on the background. Lot of pear, green appel and some cassis leaf. Lots of freshness.

12/28/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Nice Albarino. Golden colour, good texture, fresh and crisp aromas of peach, apricot and orangezest. Mineral finale, rigid structure. Went very well with scampi curry.

12/27/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Dark purple in the glass, yet see-through. Nose is still quite closed down, mainly dominated by pungent roasted coffee beans and some creosote. Second day there is some more on the nose: dark plum, almost overripe (black plum), blackberry and caliche. It's quite clear that it will become more open and interesting after a few years. Mouthfeel is dense, packed with coffee, leather, plum and after some time even violets. Quite foursquare and chunky, long streak of sours is not completely in balance with tightly wrapped up aromatic core. Long, elegant finish with violets and blackberry. Very nice, not too modernist Brunello that still needs at least 5-7 years too smoothen out and become the aristocratic wine it can be.

12/23/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

One of the 2002's ready for drinking today. You wouldn't expect to much from this red Meursault, but then you are quite wrong. A stupefyingly elegant wine, still quite youthful in appearance but perfectly on apogée. Nose has everything you would like in a good Pinot: elegance, brightness, crunchy marasquin cherry, some satsuma plum, a little bit mocha and hints of fernleaf, toast, etc. Very focussed, but constantly changing in the glass. Palate is exquisitely balanced, very juicy, still a lot of material. Fine interwoven tannins. A long lingering aftertaste of black currant and some clove. Excellent wine.

12/23/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

(TN as of now) Still young and nervous. Good colour: see through garnet red with violet reflection. Nose is quite foursquare with blackcurrant jam and mashed strawberries, a hint of black liquorice and a tad green, stalky aromas. Quite heavy bodied for a CdB-Pinot, with lots of black cherry and blackcurrant. Tannins overtly there, yet not unripe, they will certainly smoothen out. There is also some unintegrated wood on the palate. Hope it will find it's slot in the structure. Crisp sours provide a good lift. Aftertaste quite short. Not a long term runner, but should be a good inexpensive Pinot within two or three years.

12/23/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Very nice QPR-white. You wouldn't expect that much based on the label, the domaine or the appellation, yet it's a very, very decent even excellent wine. Golden robe with moon yellow mirror, understated nose in the beginning, but after a few secs there is a lot of quince, honeysuckle, ripe pear and some lemon peel crumble. The bouquet also displays some noble, sweet wood, very balanced, a little bit off toffee. Palate is suave and elegant. No blockbuster of a wine, yet still a very nice balance, the textbook combination of youth and age. Fraicheur and playfulness on the palate. Long and lovely finish. Very good.

12/18/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Fantastic wine. Bright, crisp and vivid, with zippy acidity. Bursts of cut grass, peach, green pepper and some gooseberry. Savory mineral finish with hints of pierre de fusil. Superb QPR.

12/18/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Did not liven up to our expectations. Over-oaked, lacks freshness. One-dimensional fruit. Pineapple and some mint.

12/18/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Formidable wine. Still very youthfull, with lots of fruit, chocolate en spices, an extremely powerful backbone. Very well balanced and fresh. Great.

12/3/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

This wine has everything: elegance, power, refinement, authority, terroir, subtle fruit, savoury tannins, generous, gutsy fruit on the palate, a bewitching nose, name it ... . Ok, this is eulogism, but it's worth it. Fine nose of fur, choclate, truffles, spicy minerality, blueberry and blue plum. Great. Everything you want. Palate is gorgeous: like a greta burgundy in refinement but then really true to it's origins. Nice savoury tannins, still so fresh. At it's peak now. Fabulous!

12/2/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

This something extraordinary in style and appearance. It's the kind of bottle that makes you wonder whether there are even more of such gems in this region (well, there are: the Sauv. Bl. of Pantlika is even better).
This is a spätlese, so it testifies by its nose, body and colour. Deep golden yellow, with amber refletion. Slightly oily, coating mouthfeel, buttery texture, good sours, but a little high on alcohol on the dry finish. Taste is multi-layered: butter, orangepeel, apricot crumble, some custard. Still very nervous, bouncing upon the palate. Needs 5 more years to smoothen out.
Great value. Pity it's so hard to get.

11/30/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Stunning value. Great wine with silky mouthfeel and crisp acidity. Full blown nose of dried apricot, tangerine, a very clear botrytis hint and maybe some Cape gooseberry. On the palate almost the same, but still a bit bouncing around. Still needs some time, but already very nice.

11/30/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Disappointing. No way as exciting as when I tasted it the first time in Brescia. Bit bland nose, after airing greenish cherryish, but lacking focus and poise. Mouthfeel thinning, yet fresh. Some sour cherry and green pepper. Lacked the chocolatey/praliné-nose I loved. Pity.

11/30/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Very nice QPR. Nose of black fruit, cassis, liquorice and damp earth. After some time a little jalapeño comes in. Good mouthfeel, not all to overtly fruity, well balanced sours, in the end some powdery tannins. Good!

11/20/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

(Rating at this moment) Good nose of red sour cherry, cinnamon and mokka (after some time). Exemplary colour. Light but well structured on the palate, fine sours, subdued tannins, long finish of cherry and praliné. Still needs two years of bottle age or 3 hours decanting on beforehand.
Wine that clearly shows the potential of original German grape varieties.

11/20/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

(Rating at this moment) Closed nose with some sweet red berry fruit and kirsch. Becomes chocolatey and earthy after aereation. Good tannins, little bit rough sours. Lacks complexity and focus. Definitely too young. Needs some more years of bottle age.

11/20/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Dissappointing. Remembered full and fierced tannins, magnificent arcane structure and complex black fruit/creosote-aromas. Not much left: tannins are gone, sours still there but clouded by fenolics. Bramble, black plum, feeble hint of creosote, not bad in itself, but overblown by alcohol(sweetness). Pity. Should be drunk now.

11/20/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Of course this is no good. Yet, I just wanted to try this for fun. Starts of with a very exotic and sweet nose of strawberries and almond extract. Onedimensional in the mouth, quite sliky and fat, too much residual sugar. No tannins, no structure. Good for a sip, but that's it ... .

11/8/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

Very decent QPR riesling. Petrol, grapefruit and smoky mineral overtones on the nose. Good mouthfeel with lots of grip and finely textured, crisp sours. Good focus. Clear grapefruit and white peach, maybe a hint of passionfruit on the palate. Well balanced and nice dryness. Elegant, harmonious aftertaste.

10/23/2007 - tschampaert wrote:

This wine completely blew me away. I bought it two years ago, just as a every day drinking wine. Nice then, but a bit harsh and foursquare.
My grilfriend found this one in the cellar somewhere on a back shelf and we decided to open it just out of curiosity, just to look what might have come of it.
It was incredible: in superb balance, very tender, revealing its full complexity of dried cherry, figs, small strawberry and soft, sweet spices. There was a very nice lift of milk chocolate and praliné on the end. Tannins still there but ompletely smoothened out. Fresh sours support the picture.
Pity I didn't buy some more bottles.
Drink now!