August 19, 2023 - Very much in line with the previous note. Although I do get the feel that this wine is at/past peak. It seemed slightly less exciting.
Again, this bottke had a fair bit of sediment.
December 15, 2022 - Color: deep garnet
Nose: anise and earth
Taste: plum, earth, leather, mushroom
A bit of fruit left - tart cherry and plum with loads of secondary flavors - earth, leather, anise, mushroom, just a bit of a finish. My last bottle - this wine has peaked - time to drink up .
October 20, 2022 - An unintended evening wine as it fell over in the cellar and broke - sadly, only salvaged half a glass!
Bouquet of worn leather, brown spices, undergrowth and roasted herbs. On further nosing, there is salted liquorice and warmed/tinned cherries.
A lifted entry, this full-bodied wine is precise, intense and focused. Whilst a touch of cola/charcoal suggest age, the wine still exudes dark 85% chocolate, plenty of sour red cherry, black plum and coffee grinds. A fairly densely structured wine, the tannins are firm and mouth coating and whilst there is flesh, the long finish shows earth and salt and a more granular texture. Whilst only a one-half glass, it did seem to tire over the 10 minutes, suggesting it has reached its plateau of maturity and now declining.
March 4, 2022 - Time to drink this up. Still fresh, but loosing energy and gaining flattening balsamic tones and loosing fruit. Nevertheless this was a beautiful wine for a long time.
June 30, 2021 - Color: deep ruby
Nose: plum, earth, mushroom
Taste: plum, cassis, anise, cedar
There is still much fruit upfront well integrated into secondary flavors of cassis, anise and vanilla. The age has made this wine smooth without any heat. Tannins linger long enough to be delightful. This could continue to evolve but is drinking well now.
June 12, 2021 - Couleur grenat, nez épicé, bouche soyeuse avec une pointe d'acidité et une légère amertume.
February 12, 2021 - Beautiful red fruit aromas and a hint of spice. At this stage, 14 years after the vintage, the tannins are soft and supple. The acidity is balanced with the tannins and fruit. Very enjoyable and worth every penny of the $30 I spent on release. Paired excellently with a homemade bolognese and pasta.
December 7, 2020 - Mid garnet to tawny rim
Bright perfumed aromas of macerated red fruits, pencil lead, crushed rock and cola tonic.
Plenty of ripe red berries on the entry with red plums, baked cherry pie. Soft and approachable out of the blocks change to a more mineral grippy texture with rock dust and grippy tannins set on fresh acidity. The wine has a lovely delineation and poise that is filled with plenty of more baked fruits, sour plums, and black olive. It does increasingly show its age as the wine stayed in glass with more cola, charcoal coming through. The finish is juicier, turning viscous with plum jam—good length and arguably a better drink a few years ago. 88-89
November 27, 2020 - Interestingly this bottle showed much fresher than the previous one, although it has matured a bit longer. Also the color seems to show a younger wine. I read more about bottle variation in other notes and this is another example of that. And a positive one!
Medium ruby color with no hints of amber at the rim yet. Full aromas of ripe blackcurrant, blueberry and some liquorice and dried herbs. Full bodied with smooth, integrated, tannins and balanced ripe fruit and acidity. A long smooth finish. Very nicely integrated and matured although still lively and exciting. At peak, drink now!
Definitely deserves a notch up.
One more note: this bottle had much more sediment than the previous one, perhaps this is typical of a ‘good’ bottle?
September 27, 2020 - Badly past its prime, not sure if there has been an issue with storage at some point. like vinegar.