September 14, 2023 - Light golden in color.
Very intense ,elegant, full on nose. Strong oaky notes, baked apple and pears, almond pastry.
Full body, buttery and silky texture, almost tannic, still marked oaky notes, very complex with wonderful intertwined flavours of baked white fruit and pastry. Extremely long.
Excellent and still far from peak.
January 23, 2021 - Last of 6, pnp, perfect level, cork fully travelled, rich but properly dry, proper GC weight and nuance if without the enlivening zest of last bottle, possible upside but pox risk high though happily no trace in this one. F+ (18).
January 23, 2020 - 5th of 6, opened 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, pale and nigh on perfect, notable depth of flavour nicely balanced by lemon zest, fine drive to fruit, notably long and persistent, bags of life if all bottles are like this (they're not)! VF (18.5).
September 12, 2019 - 4th of 6, pnp, perfect cork and level, clean and fresh, oily and a bit monolithic, powerful, better with food, drink in view of POX risk. At best F+ (18).
June 16, 2019 - 3rd to 6, pnp, perfect cork and level, slightly more POXED than first bottle last November, otherwise attractive, but close to tipping point! VG (16).
December 20, 2018 - 2nd of 6, opened 30 minutes, perfect cork and level, mid yellow, quite unctuous; rich, quite attractive, slight nuttiness, not particularly nuanced, more fruit based than floral; medium/full, grand cru mouthfeel and weight, oily, impressively long and persistent, bit too much of a monolithic bruiser for my taste but scope to show more grace if incipient POX doesn't get it first. Just about F+ (18) but hard to love!
November 17, 2018 - 1st of 6, decanted 80 minutes, perfect cork and level - heightened colour, waxy and dense; tending to tropical fruit flavours, mango and peach, lemon lift, rich, little mineral, incipient POX which became more obtrusive in final glass; medium/full, long, rich, sweetish mid palate, lacks zip and freshness, but lots going on here and I can see why fresher bottles could warrant much higher rating. This bottle VG+ (16.5) and I'll look at another bottle soon and hope for more luck as should have more to it than my F+ Combettes!
October 24, 2016 - Mostly Giacosa and Conterno dinner (RPM Italian, Washington D.C.): This is what so frustrating about the premox. The last bottle from January, 2015 showed incredibly well and absolutely no sign of premox. This on the other hand is showing the signs of premox. The color is dark yellow. Very ripe yellow fruit, a lot of butter scotch and mineral. Just a shame!
January 30, 2015 - Dinner with Charles M - 96 DP Oeno, 96 Dom Rose, 90 Margaux, 90 Mouline, 93 Ponsot Chambertin & etc. (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): The lightest color of the flight. This has opened up beautifully as the last bottle drunk in June of 2012 was a bit tight. Fresh white fruits, pear, apple, lemon, a hint of honey, smoke, saline and mineral. Delicate and airy yet intense, quite precise and fresh, bright acidity and lovely long clean finish. This particular bottle was very expressive and immensely enjoyable.
August 3, 2014 - After a couple disappointing bottles, we found a winner in this one tonight. Superb richness, texture and detail. This seemed more open than the prior "good" bottle I tried last year.