February 18, 2024 - Coravin 18.02.24. Ahumado en nariz. Tabaco. Boca redonda muy sabroso, largo, acidez agradable. Está teemendo
January 31, 2024 - Lorne Rangers 2024 (Lorne): Darker and more brooding than the Tondo '95, with a more conventional and certainly more youthful nose that showed mint, cocoa and US oak. Really interesting (and tasty) on the palate, with notes of Stollen and cigar as well as the expected deep fruit - smooth and sensual. A long plummy finish, with a hint of bitterness. This was very good when I first tried it four years ago, and it's even better today - and is likely to keep improving.
January 31, 2024 - Lorne Rangers 2024 - Rioja (Lorne Restaurant, London): Double decanted before being transported to the restaurant and then decanted on arrival. I guess we started sipping 3 hours after the cork first pulled. Beguiling nose here with dark fruits complemented by some 90% cocoa dark chocolate bitterness, some sour cherries, blood orange and a couple of ppm of peppermint. With time in the glass we could almost be in Bordeaux with some cedar and tobacco emerging. The final glass shows hints of gingerbread and a couple of ppm of strawberry sorbet. Fabulous.
December 29, 2023 - Wow, what an impressive bottle, dark red fruit, floral, smoke, chocolate, plum, leather, so composed with defining acids, a kiss of American oak, still young on the palate but this is terrific just needs 5-10 more years based on how unbelievably good the 1994 was.
October 30, 2023 - Mørk rød farge. Ingen lilla toner.
Modne kirsebær på lukt, med tydelige eiketoner.
Mørke frukter på smak, fyldig, velbalansert med tydelige eiketoner. Behagelig i munnen. Lang. Lite merkbare tanniner. En av de bedre Rioja jeg har drukket.
October 1, 2023 - Incredible. Aroma of coffee, flavors of coffee and red fruits, beautifully smooth, lovely tannins, incredible balance.
March 24, 2023 - Last two bottles of case of 6, again in excellent shape, with the oak and fruit really well in balance, nice tertiary development, but still some freshness. Outstanding although I suspect this might start to fade a bit soon. Drink over next few years.
Deep garnet colour.
Pronounced aromas - dark fruit (cherry, bramble, cassis), some red fruit too, oak (vanilla, clove, smoke, cedar), dried fruit (fig, date, prune), tertiary (leather, earth, caramel, chocolate, meat). Fully developed.
Dry, med+ acidity, high chalky tannins, finer now, med (+) alcohol, full body. Concentrated flavours. Finish is medium (+).
March 4, 2023 - One of the most impressive wines I have tasted. Was the top wine or 2nd of the night during Rioja tasting.
January 28, 2023 - Rich red with slight orange edge. Mostly rich, ripe red fruit with earthy cedarwood on the nose, and a little bit of leathery tobacco. Maybe even a touch of pencil, at least something associative to Bordeaux there. Taste is well balanced with spicy fruits and broad maturation notes, succulent throughout the finish. Needs decanting for an hour or two, but not too long; after a couple more, it slightly starts declining. Enjoyable wine quite typical for upper-tier CVNE.
January 14, 2023 - Spanish fun day one (N&J's place, Canberra): From Coravin. A little caramel, toast, slightly spiritous notes, dried flowers, red berry and cherry fruits, a little vanilla, cedar, plenty of sweet spice, with time settle into ripe strawberry, raspberry, cream and vanilla. Juicy, fleshy, polished, strawberries, raspberry's, slightly toasted vanilla. cream, tannins are woody, drying but support eh flavours finishes long with a little bitter note that doesn't detract, lovely.