March 13, 2024 - Decanted for 2 hours before serving and then enjoyed it continuing to open up and develop over the following 2 hours.
Very powerful, complex and beautiful nose. Blackcurrant, dark cherries, dried flowers, some sweet cedar and cigar leaf.
On the palate, juicy and concentrated cassis, dark cherry. Fresh. Mostly dark fruits but also a touch of raspberry and a dried floral element adding sweetness? Despite the still very youthful fruit, some tertiary flavours beginning to show, notably cedar, unsmoked tobacco leaf and a touch of earthiness, and even chocolate/liquorice showing. A very subtle smokey element. Lovely.
This is clearly still very young and I'd love to try in another 20 or 25 years - I imagine the score will approach 100pts. Regardless, this is a truly excellent claret and very enjoyable today. Perfectly balanced; powerful and concentrated yet very elegant. A beautiful, long finish showing all of its complexity.
NB the first-ever bottle of BB&R Family Reserves to be opened and enjoyed in Singapore
February 24, 2024 - Gorgeous deep ruby color. Milk chocolate on the nose with ripe blueberries and some must. Pleasant with mixed fruit notes but nothing special.
December 18, 2023 - good mix of black fruit and tertiary notes, nice acidity. nice intensity.
December 10, 2023 - Decanted about 2 hours. Continued to open up for the following hour so probably should have let it sit a bit longer. Very nice nose and palate complexity consistent with previous notes, perhaps just a bit shy of the last bottle.
December 6, 2023 - Tightly wound after double decant. Excellent potential. Waiting at least 5 years for next bottle.
November 14, 2023 - Tightly wound and still very youthful. Nose of black currant and black plum. Fine spices and cigar box. Touches of leather. Precise and all components expertly woven together. Medium to full bodied on the poised, structured palate. Incredible wine but needs more time. Far younger than 2000 Leoville Barton and Lynch-Bages tried last year.Closed up with more air. Hold them if you have them. Huge room for improvement.
WSET Notes:
Deep garnet.
Pronounced on the nose with blackcurrant, black plum, cedar, vanilla, graphite, tobacco, leather and earth. Developing.
Pronounced and dry on the palate. Medium plus body, medium alcohol, high acidity, high tannins, long finish.
Too young.
October 3, 2023 - Too young, but clear potential. Incredible layered fruit, seamlessly woven together. Closed up after an hour in the glass. Would wait at least 5 years before opening another bottle.
Deep garnet colour.
Pronounced aromas of cassis, black berry, black cherry, red cherry, strawberry, red currant, cinnamon, cigar box, leather, dried lilac.
Pronounced palate.
Medium (+) body, medium (+) acidity, high silky tannins, long finish.
September 16, 2023 - New Year w Nick and Olga. Decanted for about an hour; all the bottle needed; like a classic la mission; powerful, structured and kind of undervalued as a drinking experience.
July 27, 2023 - Giuseppe's (Scottsdale, AZ): Pleasant funk dances affably with muddled red cherry, cedar, and dust elements, making for a mature but not completely down-and-out showing. Not the most impressive sample, but on any given night, this would be a fun bottle to have alongside your Lasagna Bolognese. Drink now.
July 15, 2023 - The 2000 La Mission Haut Brion. This wine was absolutely incredible. Laser focused and powerful are the best ways I can describe it. Completely integrated and yet in no way evolved, youthful in a word. There is no funk, no harshness, and not a hair out of place here. The fruit and austerity play very nice but have yet to deepen into a grand symphony. This wine may yet live forever and should go a long way to prove the 2000 naysayers wrong. I say 99 at this moment.