April 11, 2024 - A great bottle! Good cork. Initially very closed, tannic almost bitter but some black fruit underneath - I was worried. Decanted 4 hours before serving into a closed bottle, served blind. What a change! Sensational plum, mocha, liquorice, cedar, blackcurrant, truffle and wonderful things going on. Good acidity and those tannins while significant seemed softened. An excellent drink in a bracket of three about the same age but the Villeneuve won the popular vote.
January 13, 2023 - A substantial mouthful of plums, baked figs and mocha. Somewhat corpulent but this is no ordeal thanks to its acidic sensibilities. Still drinking well on the fruit although I’m not sure if I’d age this for much longer.
November 25, 2022 - Decanted 1 hour before drinking.3rd time I have had this wine and both previous bottles were better. Light to moderate sediment. Brick red color. This had more fruit than the 2000 La Nerthe I also opened. The red fruit had a little bitterness mixed in. This is fading. Drink now. 83 points.
May 1, 2021 - Still alive, but very much at the end of its drinking plateau. Lovely sweet fruit - drink up!
March 29, 2020 - Strangely started thin and lacking almost any character but within an hour had flowered to something really very pleasant. Lesson = decant for an hour!
March 15, 2020 - Delicious right now!!
November 28, 2019 - Opened 1 hour before drinking. Moderate sediment. Crimson color. Creamy texture. Notes of smoke and black cherry. Solid tannins. 90 points
August 28, 2019 - Coravin: Inky ruby. Nose has red berries, leather. Less rich than the CEG and CDJ of the same vintage and less of the pruney notes, but livelier. Medium length. 87-90.
Decanted: Above + meaty notes on nose. Dark fruit and meaty notes on palate, spicy. Moderate length. 88-90.
March 15, 2019 - Powerful, full-bodied and rich and packed with flavours of raisins and ripe plums. Clearly a biggie but falls short of the full sledgehammer treatment as the weight is kept in check with a clearly defined acid structure. This slipped down remarkably easily for such a big wine. Very different to the more feminine, fruit-driven 2012 we had in mag at l’Absinthe. At its peak right now but will prob go another 3 years without too much difficulty. I shudder to think what its big brother will taste like.
February 7, 2019 - Another bottle having enjoyed it so much last month. Alongside cheesy leaks with ham. Very nice. All a good CNDP should be.