Pale mid garnet, highly transluscent. Lovely evolved sous bois and caramel nose.. Lifted, almost ethereal. Mid weight. Good length. Penultimate bottle from the case and it’s been consistent over the last six years. ****
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Beautiful mid garnet, bright. Autumnal nose. Light, fragrant, enticing, but not quite the depth or complexity of last night’s similarly coloured 95 Chambolle. ****
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Its usual dependable self. Pale mid garnet, very fragrant, all sous bois, spice and a touch of orange peel. Cool and elegant on the palate with good line and length. All too drinkable. Puts on weight and sweetness after being open a couple of hours, and feels much more in line with being a 2010. ****
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Thought I had popped the chaffots but it was this. I had a bottle 3 years ago that I loved. This one was a bit DOA. Vegetable, spritzy, high acid. Thin, red fruited, and Seemed over the hill. I did kill it in one night though and my other bottle was drank over a series of days, so maybe I'll blame coronavirus for this relatively poor showing.
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Tasted over 1 hr and day 2 -med dark red -generously expressive funk reduction ripe dark fruits rhubarb cinnamon -barely med acidity, med weight and concentration darker ripe pinot fruit with a mineral bitter ridge though without much complexity falls a bit flat, finishes with some wood notes and slightly dried out med tannins; creamy top note and better balance on day 2 -this is OK but lacks the energy of the vintage and seems a bit disjointed at this stage; better on day 2 so this may just need some more time
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JB @ Noizé (Noizé, London): Blind. A lovely sweetness of fruit here allied with a lightness of style. Mid to pale ruby with a touch of garnet at the rim. Lovely Ponsotesque sweet-fruited etherealness here. Long and nuanced but light on its feet. Persistent too. Really lovely. ****
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Opened and left in bottle for 90 mins. Clear, rust-tinged red color. Initially a bit of sulfur on the nose that seems to blow off. Light red fruits and some forest floor. Tasted in line with nose. Light on the palate. Tannins fully integrated and didn’t seem to have much acid to hold out. Maybe me but this a bit underwhelming...have a couple more and seems they should be drunk soon.
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Pale mid garnet. Red fruit, sous bois and a hint of caramel. Sweet fruited. Lovely. Nuanced and complex, silky elegance rather than power or weight. Ethereal quality here. Super. ****
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Cherry, raspberry, strawberry, rhubarb, slight notes of sous bois; pure, fruitful, medium bodied, long and full finish; a bit one-dimensional but still very good
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As per previous bottle, but benefiting from being served suitably cool, and a full bottle rather than tasting sample. Starts off light and bright-red fruited with some caramel and a sense of sousbois. Light ruby to palish garnet. Over a couple of glasses this puts on a bit of weight and fills out to a nicely sweet fruited, redcurrant and strawberry mid-palate with caramel, sous bois and a lifted autumnal fragrance. Nuanced and really quite complex. Lots of interest here. ****
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Maison Ilan @ Medlar: Similar colour to the 11. Quite mellow, maturing. Fragrant. Light and quite floaty. Lots of interest here if one looks for it. Deceptively light. I like this far more than do my fellow diners. ****
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This bottle had quite a drop off, especially mid-palate, from the one just six months ago and it leads me to question the ageability from here on out. It still has the heavy-handed funk in the bouquet which I enjoy, and the taste overall is great but it seems to have lost persistence and feels like it doesn't have the push to go a lot longer. But, who knows.... maybe the fact that this cork was stamped for Les Chaffots and more soaked than it should be has something to do with this bottle variation. Nothing can come as a surprise from MI ;) 5+11+16+7= 89
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Very solid. Consumed over 2-3 days. Well balanced. Nice profile. Darker fruit, sour cherry and some earth. Nice concentration and acidity. I was surprised at how well this stood up 3 days after opening. Still fresh and vibrant. Impressive structure. Should be good one to follow for 10-15 years.
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PopnPour, tasted over 2 hrs -nearly semi-translucent med red mild clearing -moderate reduction partially blows off, nicely expressive, creamy cherry cola -med acidity gives excellent verve, med/med- weight with good sappy depth ripe black cherry noticeable caramel oak, med/med+ tannins -not sure I would say this is screaming with Morey typicity and is somewhat modern-styled but pleasant nonetheless with what appears to be another few years of upside
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Opened for Thanksgiving dinner and told my friend, “Wanna try a really dirty Pinot?”. It was very reductive and stinky at the pop, but it unfolded beautifully over the course of the meal and displayed true Burgundy magic and mystique. This year’s table featured a beautifully smoked turkey and this bottle sang wonderfully with all the traditional fare. Hard to imagine a better pairing than this. 4+12+17+9=92
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"really good on day three" -- apparently, our very recent third bottle (and our most recent day three) coincided with yours. We concur: Day one, OK (somewhat light and again for us, more than a bit of a funk this time); two was better, gaining complexity; day three was very impressive indeed.
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I was worried about this because ilan reviews seem to be very polarizing and mention a lot of bottle variation and vintage variation. And on the first day, this was kind of a nondescript pinot with maybe too much va.. I corked it and let it sit for for two days and then wow. It was pretty magical. Light and pretty and feminine. Nice fruit and acid. Just inviting medium cherry fruit. Really good on day 3. Like really.
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The prior bottle, just last week, was such a success that we opened another for a dinner party group. This time there seemed to less immediate funk, but it was still there, in a very pleasant way. What little remained for us the next night (it was the most popular rouge) was also extremely enjoyable, again gaining complexity. Nice stuff.
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I read the book. But that did not impel me order the wine. Then I read numerous posts on this forum and others. Hmmm. Two+ years later I saw this offered at a decent discounted price on the K&L site. Let's give it a try.
First impression: pale translucent, with a nose of funk that built for at least 30 min, and then it started to settle down. A bit of a funk is fine, but this was bordering on too much. Fortunately, pleasant earthiness and white pepper then came forward. Corked and gassed, we tried it on day two, and it had gained substantially. The dark fruits were framed by the tertiary nuances mentioned above. Day three was even better. Nice stuff, and we look forward to opening the next.
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My first Ilan! Not decanted. Mauve-y red; strawberry/raspberry/herbs. Barely medium bodied, starts out a bit flat and that picks up a little later but only a little. Good, but I don't know how to read it's potential.
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Clear bright light red. This showed typical young Pinot Noir notes in the nose. Later in the evening I went back and found it had developed some nice complexity. Light notes of cherry, earth and smoked meat.
Delicious Pinot flavours and some green tannins in the finish. Just needs time.
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5+13+18+8= 94 Sorry, no notes. It was a speed tasting with 11 NSG 1er Burgs and this stood out, not just because it's an MSD but really in overall quality, i thought this was the winner.
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-- popped and poured -- -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 15 minutes --
High-toned red berries on the Nose, along with some oak. Medium-light bodied on the palate, where the red berries from the Nose are repeated; good acidity, too. Solid wine, but not good enough to deal with the extreme hassle of being a direct customer.
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3-hour decant (necessary - way tight on the open). Brownish-red, clear. Very heavy nose, maybe an oaky funkiness, burnt sugar. Light tannins, bright acidity. Light on the palate, medium fruit, a lot of layers of savory, sweet, sour. Long finish. This is a very tasty wine.
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Translucent ruby, stingy but bright nose of candied apple cherry, cranberry, char and a hint of vanilla bean, big and round on the attack with cherry and mixed berry followed by earthy undertones, spice, mineral streaks and well integrated tannins, finish is long and fruit forward (at least for now) but with tangy acidity to balance all that pure pinot juice
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Could not resist drinking another bottle. What a treat. Intoxicating complex nose, lovely taste. Using the Coravin I enjoy this for several days. Thanks Ray.
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Opened another bottle. This drinks excellent, very Morey, clean nose and taste. I think I will drink all my bottles young, really like them the way they are.
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Tasting with the use of Coravin. Transparent red colour. Lovely nose, raspberry, caramel, clean. Taste medium bodied, red and dark fruit, soft tannins. Although this is young, it drinks well now. Will gain greater depth and complexity after a few years, I think.
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Rotating Dinner Series-Wines Jimmy Likes (Acadia, Chicago IL): Nose: There is a nice earthy backdrop to this with dark red fruits, dark red cherries, spices, leather, and a touch of red florals. The nose is on the tighter side, but there is very good depth and style.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium/high acidity and silky tannins. The structure is certainly youthful along with dark red fruits, dark red cherries, earth tones, and some leather on the back end.
Overall: This is clearly in need of time. Still, there is a very good backbone to this with a very attractive quality to the tones too.
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My first taste of a Maison Ilan wine. Great nose of classic young burgundy mixing earth with fruit. Dark color masks a surprising light touch here. I see now of the comparisons to Truchot. Not that they are the same but also in an idiosyncratic style. I popped and poured at first and the gas danced along my tongue. Still a nice long finish coming in like a glider. Silent and smooth. Flavors were true to the aroma. On the second night the gas had dissipated but the wine was still very much alive. Open and enjoyable. To be honest part of me wanted to not care so much for these so I could scratch them from my buy list but it wasn't meant to be. Now they're firmly entrenched. I could see how this wine is not for all though.
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Tasting at Maison Ilan with Ray Walker (Nuits-Saint-Georges): Barrel sample. No gassiness, but seemed a bit awkward and slightly reduced, but some nice red fruit underlying it. Second barrel sample was showing much better, with none of the awkwardness I found in the first one -- very nice.
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Barrel tasting at Maion Ilan with Ray Walker May 2011.
From memory a few days later
Great freshness on the nose. Lithe and pure yet structured. Quite pretty and simultaneously firm and focused. Lots of minerality and clarity here. Pure. I suspect this will shine in time. Very nice
cooler Morey fruit with a lifted nose. subtle wood. This has good sap and breadth with lift and tension with al chalky backbone. Some savory mossy undergrowth and umami notes on the back end. Focused and quite good after a couple hours open. 91
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Is this just a dream? Was this the most exciting range of wines I’ve ever tasted? I’m afraid I can’t think how it wasn’t. Five 2010s, three 2009s - every Burgundy that Ray Walker has made to date - and every one brilliant in the extreme. The group of us have tried to analyse this since we got home; L finally coming up with a negative: that the 1er Crus are “expensive for 1er Crus”. Yet that’s not the point: if Ray was selling them as “1er Crus” in the sense of being commodities, they would surely whip almost every such ever made. For “a 1er Cru” these are wines of ‘unnecessary’ concentration, purity, energy and vitality. It would appear that Ray doesn’t know any better. These are wines made at a volume such that this extraordinarily talented and driven man need leave nothing un-done. This is the first wine he shows (whilst the ‘lightest’, I’m not convinced it’s qualitatively the least), and the first words I wrote were “Freakiest, brightest, red-raspberry ever.” Yes, it’s not quite finished malo yet… and the evidence from the ‘09s suggests that, despite not using new oak, the barrels are young enough to darken the wines and mark them with a little mocha character… but this wine would appear to be doing an amazing job of expressing the freshness, linearity and vivacity of its high vineyard. And somehow it’s so tender at the same time! Just 2010 luckily handled? No, the ‘09s have crazy depth, intensity, texture and follow-through. His ‘top’ wines will garner 95-100pt ratings in the coming years. Lock me up for the good of my purse, or let me win the lottery. 94.
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3/28/2024 - SimonG wrote: 91 Points
Pale mid garnet, highly transluscent. Lovely evolved sous bois and caramel nose.. Lifted, almost ethereal. Mid weight. Good length. Penultimate bottle from the case and it’s been consistent over the last six years. ****
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2/24/2023 - SimonG wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful mid garnet, bright. Autumnal nose. Light, fragrant, enticing, but not quite the depth or complexity of last night’s similarly coloured 95 Chambolle. ****
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7/24/2020 - SimonG wrote: 92 Points
Its usual dependable self. Pale mid garnet, very fragrant, all sous bois, spice and a touch of orange peel. Cool and elegant on the palate with good line and length. All too drinkable. Puts on weight and sweetness after being open a couple of hours, and feels much more in line with being a 2010. ****
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4/4/2020 - jeffreylubowski wrote: 88 Points
Thought I had popped the chaffots but it was this. I had a bottle 3 years ago that I loved. This one was a bit DOA. Vegetable, spritzy, high acid. Thin, red fruited, and Seemed over the hill. I did kill it in one night though and my other bottle was drank over a series of days, so maybe I'll blame coronavirus for this relatively poor showing.
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12/24/2019 - Cote d'Or wrote:
Tasted over 1 hr and day 2
-med dark red
-generously expressive funk reduction ripe dark fruits rhubarb cinnamon
-barely med acidity, med weight and concentration darker ripe pinot fruit with a mineral bitter ridge though without much complexity falls a bit flat, finishes with some wood notes and slightly dried out med tannins; creamy top note and better balance on day 2
-this is OK but lacks the energy of the vintage and seems a bit disjointed at this stage; better on day 2 so this may just need some more time
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6/4/2019 - SimonG wrote: 92 Points
JB @ Noizé (Noizé, London): Blind. A lovely sweetness of fruit here allied with a lightness of style. Mid to pale ruby with a touch of garnet at the rim. Lovely Ponsotesque sweet-fruited etherealness here. Long and nuanced but light on its feet. Persistent too. Really lovely. ****
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12/25/2018 - mattb76 wrote:
Opened and left in bottle for 90 mins. Clear, rust-tinged red color. Initially a bit of sulfur on the nose that seems to blow off. Light red fruits and some forest floor. Tasted in line with nose. Light on the palate. Tannins fully integrated and didn’t seem to have much acid to hold out. Maybe me but this a bit underwhelming...have a couple more and seems they should be drunk soon.
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11/2/2018 - SimonG wrote: 91 Points
Pale mid garnet. Red fruit, sous bois and a hint of caramel. Sweet fruited. Lovely. Nuanced and complex, silky elegance rather than power or weight. Ethereal quality here. Super. ****
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9/9/2018 - wineappreciation wrote: 91 Points
Cherry, raspberry, strawberry, rhubarb, slight notes of sous bois; pure, fruitful, medium bodied, long and full finish; a bit one-dimensional but still very good
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8/11/2018 - SimonG wrote: 91 Points
As per previous bottle, but benefiting from being served suitably cool, and a full bottle rather than tasting sample. Starts off light and bright-red fruited with some caramel and a sense of sousbois. Light ruby to palish garnet. Over a couple of glasses this puts on a bit of weight and fills out to a nicely sweet fruited, redcurrant and strawberry mid-palate with caramel, sous bois and a lifted autumnal fragrance. Nuanced and really quite complex. Lots of interest here. ****
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7/5/2018 - SimonG wrote: 91 Points
Maison Ilan @ Medlar: Similar colour to the 11. Quite mellow, maturing. Fragrant. Light and quite floaty. Lots of interest here if one looks for it. Deceptively light. I like this far more than do my fellow diners. ****
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4/6/2018 - fingers Likes this wine: 89 Points
This bottle had quite a drop off, especially mid-palate, from the one just six months ago and it leads me to question the ageability from here on out. It still has the heavy-handed funk in the bouquet which I enjoy, and the taste overall is great but it seems to have lost persistence and feels like it doesn't have the push to go a lot longer. But, who knows.... maybe the fact that this cork was stamped for Les Chaffots and more soaked than it should be has something to do with this bottle variation. Nothing can come as a surprise from MI ;) 5+11+16+7= 89
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1/15/2018 - jrobs7777 wrote:
Very solid. Consumed over 2-3 days. Well balanced. Nice profile. Darker fruit, sour cherry and some earth. Nice concentration and acidity. I was surprised at how well this stood up 3 days after opening. Still fresh and vibrant. Impressive structure. Should be good one to follow for 10-15 years.
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11/30/2017 - Cote d'Or wrote:
PopnPour, tasted over 2 hrs
-nearly semi-translucent med red mild clearing
-moderate reduction partially blows off, nicely expressive, creamy cherry cola
-med acidity gives excellent verve, med/med- weight with good sappy depth ripe black cherry noticeable caramel oak, med/med+ tannins
-not sure I would say this is screaming with Morey typicity and is somewhat modern-styled but pleasant nonetheless with what appears to be another few years of upside
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11/23/2017 - fingers Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened for Thanksgiving dinner and told my friend, “Wanna try a really dirty Pinot?”. It was very reductive and stinky at the pop, but it unfolded beautifully over the course of the meal and displayed true Burgundy magic and mystique. This year’s table featured a beautifully smoked turkey and this bottle sang wonderfully with all the traditional fare. Hard to imagine a better pairing than this. 4+12+17+9=92
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3/12/2017 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
"really good on day three" -- apparently, our very recent third bottle (and our most recent day three) coincided with yours. We concur: Day one, OK (somewhat light and again for us, more than a bit of a funk this time); two was better, gaining complexity; day three was very impressive indeed.
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3/12/2017 - jeffreylubowski Likes this wine: 94 Points
I was worried about this because ilan reviews seem to be very polarizing and mention a lot of bottle variation and vintage variation. And on the first day, this was kind of a nondescript pinot with maybe too much va.. I corked it and let it sit for for two days and then wow. It was pretty magical. Light and pretty and feminine. Nice fruit and acid. Just inviting medium cherry fruit. Really good on day 3. Like really.
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2/13/2017 - doctornoah wrote: 87 Points
I would have guessed village Vosne. Not much here. The emperor has no clothes.
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1/7/2017 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
The prior bottle, just last week, was such a success that we opened another for a dinner party group. This time there seemed to less immediate funk, but it was still there, in a very pleasant way. What little remained for us the next night (it was the most popular rouge) was also extremely enjoyable, again gaining complexity. Nice stuff.
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12/31/2016 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
I read the book. But that did not impel me order the wine. Then I read numerous posts on this forum and others. Hmmm. Two+ years later I saw this offered at a decent discounted price on the K&L site. Let's give it a try.
First impression: pale translucent, with a nose of funk that built for at least 30 min, and then it started to settle down. A bit of a funk is fine, but this was bordering on too much. Fortunately, pleasant earthiness and white pepper then came forward. Corked and gassed, we tried it on day two, and it had gained substantially. The dark fruits were framed by the tertiary nuances mentioned above. Day three was even better. Nice stuff, and we look forward to opening the next.
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5/22/2016 - Neecies Likes this wine:
My first Ilan! Not decanted. Mauve-y red; strawberry/raspberry/herbs. Barely medium bodied, starts out a bit flat and that picks up a little later but only a little. Good, but I don't know how to read it's potential.
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5/20/2016 - David J Cooper wrote: 92 Points
Clear bright light red. This showed typical young Pinot Noir notes in the nose. Later in the evening I went back and found it had developed some nice complexity. Light notes of cherry, earth and smoked meat.
Delicious Pinot flavours and some green tannins in the finish. Just needs time.
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10/11/2015 - fingers Likes this wine: 94 Points
5+13+18+8= 94
Sorry, no notes. It was a speed tasting with 11 NSG 1er Burgs and this stood out, not just because it's an MSD but really in overall quality, i thought this was the winner.
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10/10/2015 - Robert Pavlovich wrote:
High toned, bright red and black cherry fruit. Moderate oak. Really enjoyed the direct, fresh fruit flavors, but this left me wanting more complexity.
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10/10/2015 - grafstrb wrote:
-- popped and poured --
-- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 15 minutes --
High-toned red berries on the Nose, along with some oak. Medium-light bodied on the palate, where the red berries from the Nose are repeated; good acidity, too. Solid wine, but not good enough to deal with the extreme hassle of being a direct customer.
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8/15/2015 - mhauser Likes this wine:
3-hour decant (necessary - way tight on the open). Brownish-red, clear. Very heavy nose, maybe an oaky funkiness, burnt sugar. Light tannins, bright acidity. Light on the palate, medium fruit, a lot of layers of savory, sweet, sour. Long finish. This is a very tasty wine.
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1/10/2015 - duchamp wrote: 92 Points
Translucent ruby, stingy but bright nose of candied apple cherry, cranberry, char and a hint of vanilla bean, big and round on the attack with cherry and mixed berry followed by earthy undertones, spice, mineral streaks and well integrated tannins, finish is long and fruit forward (at least for now) but with tangy acidity to balance all that pure pinot juice
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6/11/2014 - Burgaddict wrote: 92 Points
Could not resist drinking another bottle. What a treat. Intoxicating complex nose, lovely taste. Using the Coravin I enjoy this for several days. Thanks Ray.
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4/10/2014 - Burgaddict wrote: 90 Points
Opened another bottle. This drinks excellent, very Morey, clean nose and taste. I think I will drink all my bottles young, really like them the way they are.
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1/8/2014 - Burgaddict wrote: 90 Points
Tasting with the use of Coravin. Transparent red colour. Lovely nose, raspberry, caramel, clean. Taste medium bodied, red and dark fruit, soft tannins. Although this is young, it drinks well now. Will gain greater depth and complexity after a few years, I think.
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11/19/2013 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
Rotating Dinner Series-Wines Jimmy Likes (Acadia, Chicago IL): Nose: There is a nice earthy backdrop to this with dark red fruits, dark red cherries, spices, leather, and a touch of red florals. The nose is on the tighter side, but there is very good depth and style.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium/high acidity and silky tannins. The structure is certainly youthful along with dark red fruits, dark red cherries, earth tones, and some leather on the back end.
Overall: This is clearly in need of time. Still, there is a very good backbone to this with a very attractive quality to the tones too.
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10/13/2013 - nikos Likes this wine:
My first taste of a Maison Ilan wine. Great nose of classic young burgundy mixing earth with fruit. Dark color masks a surprising light touch here. I see now of the comparisons to Truchot. Not that they are the same but also in an idiosyncratic style. I popped and poured at first and the gas danced along my tongue. Still a nice long finish coming in like a glider. Silent and smooth. Flavors were true to the aroma. On the second night the gas had dissipated but the wine was still very much alive. Open and enjoyable. To be honest part of me wanted to not care so much for these so I could scratch them from my buy list but it wasn't meant to be. Now they're firmly entrenched. I could see how this wine is not for all though.
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5/8/2012 - xwine wrote:
Tasting at Maison Ilan with Ray Walker (Nuits-Saint-Georges): Barrel sample. No gassiness, but seemed a bit awkward and slightly reduced, but some nice red fruit underlying it. Second barrel sample was showing much better, with none of the awkwardness I found in the first one -- very nice.
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5/3/2012 - DAN BAILEY wrote:
Lots of reduction on the nose and a fair bit on the palate too. However, underneath you could sense the lovely balance and supple, pure, dark fruits.
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4/30/2012 - Rupert wrote:
Ray Walker visits London (Chez Bruce, Wandsworth, London): Explosive cherry fragrance, ultra fresh and luminous, sharp and grippy. Very lovely. [From an unlabelled bottle provided by Ray Walker]
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5/30/2011 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Sweet, elegant, pure and floral. It is quite finely boned with lovely minerally structure.
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5/23/2011 - cct wrote:
Barrel tasting at Maion Ilan with Ray Walker May 2011.
From memory a few days later
Great freshness on the nose. Lithe and pure yet structured. Quite pretty and simultaneously firm and focused. Lots of minerality and clarity here. Pure. I suspect this will shine in time. Very nice
cooler Morey fruit with a lifted nose. subtle wood. This has good sap and breadth with lift and tension with al chalky backbone. Some savory mossy undergrowth and umami notes on the back end. Focused and quite good after a couple hours open. 91
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4/9/2011 - campingfleurie wrote: 94 Points
Is this just a dream? Was this the most exciting range of wines I’ve ever tasted? I’m afraid I can’t think how it wasn’t. Five 2010s, three 2009s - every Burgundy that Ray Walker has made to date - and every one brilliant in the extreme. The group of us have tried to analyse this since we got home; L finally coming up with a negative: that the 1er Crus are “expensive for 1er Crus”. Yet that’s not the point: if Ray was selling them as “1er Crus” in the sense of being commodities, they would surely whip almost every such ever made. For “a 1er Cru” these are wines of ‘unnecessary’ concentration, purity, energy and vitality. It would appear that Ray doesn’t know any better. These are wines made at a volume such that this extraordinarily talented and driven man need leave nothing un-done. This is the first wine he shows (whilst the ‘lightest’, I’m not convinced it’s qualitatively the least), and the first words I wrote were “Freakiest, brightest, red-raspberry ever.” Yes, it’s not quite finished malo yet… and the evidence from the ‘09s suggests that, despite not using new oak, the barrels are young enough to darken the wines and mark them with a little mocha character… but this wine would appear to be doing an amazing job of expressing the freshness, linearity and vivacity of its high vineyard. And somehow it’s so tender at the same time! Just 2010 luckily handled? No, the ‘09s have crazy depth, intensity, texture and follow-through. His ‘top’ wines will garner 95-100pt ratings in the coming years. Lock me up for the good of my purse, or let me win the lottery. 94.
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