Dark gold, but in great shape; Nose a bit subdued, slight almond, glue, praline; Extremely broad and rich on the palate, very low acid on the palate but lots of extract, hardly any signs of (too much) aging; this is a study of texture and moutfeel, however, it's quite unassuming in aroma and flavor as it's pretty subtle; difficult to assess especially while still tasting the champagnes. this needs it's own meal, it's own center stage. B&J xmas party
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Two bottles opened, from two different cases of 6, bought on release. First bottle was a deep, deep brown. Completely gone. Second was just beginning to oxidise but retained much of its freshness, with good length and textures Not, though, as good as I was hoping for … and am uncertain what the next 10 bottles might bring.
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Purchased at auction at least ten years ago. Popped and poured. Deep yellow color. Expressive floral nose, apricots and a saline note. A little nuttiness too.
Initially tight on the palate. Thankfully not oxidized and quite sound. Opened up nicely over a couple of hours. Lush apricot fruit. Hints of marzipan. A bit of bergamot. A saline mineral quality. Thick and unctuous but not overly heavy.
Finish mirrors the apricot and saline qualities.
A good representation of a 20 year old white Hermitage. Very solid but a step below classic quality. Drink or hold.
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Final bottle from a three bottle lot. Fresh (i.e. not oxidised) but completely closed. Four years ago this was absolutely spectacular (98/100), and today it is also big and powerful, but it seems stripped of all aroma and flavour. On the second day the wine has opened up and confirms that it is structurally still completely intact (unlike the 1999 also retasted today). The aromas are fresher than the flavours, but the overall evolution is very much in the direction of candied fruit with a hint of nuttiness. It reminds me a bit of old Bollinger but with more honey. Looking back at my own and others' tasting notes, there seem to be huge bottle differences with these wines - I see that this bottle is a lot like the one tasted in 2013 (also 92). I guess we struck gold with the bottle tasted in 2016... On the third day the nose is really open and expressive, but the palate is starting to fall apart and the finish is really alcoholic. (not rated).
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Unrated. Although quite drinkable and even enjoyable in a peculiar way, this wine was quite madierized and best viewed as a light sherry. You find walnuts and sour yellow fruits, rich mouthfeel, long finish. Honestly, as a sherry it wasn't bad at all. But I think the bottom line is that this was a flawed bottle, so I won't rate it.
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Monthly Tuesday group "The Dead Sparrow" #039: Northern Rhone white (By JdB): Oxidized bouquet with nuts like almonds, oak and sherry. On the palate the same impressions although there is good and fresh acidity, some sweetness, honey, apricots and a great length. Oak. Some heat in the finish. I am not sure if the wine is meant to be this way. There is complexity and the style is special, but I don’t score it this time.
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A private tasting (Rotterdam, NL): Tasted blind. Magnificent wine, honey, flowers, spicy minerals, tightly wound, bursting with energy, ripe citrus, perfectly seamless, deep, precise and layered, perfectly integrated oak, polished, effortless elegance, layered and long. Such great poise and style. The Montrachet of the Rhône. The wine of the tasting.
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Smooth yellow fruits and polishing wax and honey in the bouquet. On the palate full bodied and concentrated, soft yellow fruits and honey again, but not sweet. Vanilla and caramel, beautifully soft acidity and some just very slight oxidized impressions which fit in perfectly. I really love this wine.
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Clean, delineated flavors; full and rounded with lively acidity. Honey, beeswax, cream and limestone. Intense and lithe; a beautiful wine and already highly enjoyable but no rush.
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William's Bachelor's Party (Tonny Restaurant, Geylang Lor 3, Singapore): This was a memorable bottle, possibly the best white on the night, and that it really saying something given the company it had. I loved the nose with its layers of honeycomb and beeswax and cloves wafting out of the glass alongside rich aromas of apricots and peaches, a twist of kumquats and some lovely floral tones. The palate had a very rich, fleshy feel on, with white melon and mangosteen flavours on a bed of beeswax and sweet floral notes wrapped in a thick, almost olive-oil textured attack. It shifted gear on the midpalate though – it was really minerally, full of chalky note and flinty accents, almost like liquefied rocks being poured over the white fruit and honeyed tones. There was lovely complexity to it all. Previous notes seem to have criticized the wine for being fat (this was a 15.5% monster) and lacking acidity and cut. However,on the night we actually found it to be quite brilliantly balanced for its size, with a nice focus and precision to it, especially as it wound its way into a nicely dry finish. My only criticism was that it was just a bit hollow on the backpalate, with the wine rambling off in a less than fully convicted fashion, with pinpricks of spice nestling amdist some honey and kumquat notes. This was perhaps the one thing that prevented it from being a really monumental wine; otherwise, it was quite brilliant. At a good place now too, though it should last in the bottle for some time yet.
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A private tasting and dinner (Restaurant Bolenius, Amsterdam, NL): Full yellow colour; deep and honeyed nose, candied fruit, oxidative notes but not oxidised, minerals and butter; big and round palate, low acidity, comes across as a bit clumsy, paradoxically also seems to lack a bit of stuffing; for such a big wine the length is merely decent. Not my favourite style of white Hermitage.
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A weekend with friends in Germany Mosel area: Part 1: Just in the glass the wine was locked, but after a while it opened up a bit; yellow fruits, minerals, some honey and beautiful freshness. On the palate the wine is still somewhat locked, but it has the same impressions as in the nose. Also spiciness and a touch of licorice. Still a bit too young. Next try around 2015? My score for now was 92, but there is potential for more.
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Dreamtastings' Eve (WiVino Vinothek, Wittlich): Complex and beguiling nose of thyme, honey, vanillapods, citruszest and a peppery botrytis-like touch. On the palate it has very good concentration and a creamy, almost dairy-like structure. Again some Sauternes-déjà-vu's enter my mind, despite the wine is complete dry. Lots of power and alcohol, very youthful, fat and tightly wound. Still needs time to integrate. At the moment hard to denominate and to predict where it's heading. But it's oozing with breed and class. 17,5/20 for now.
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Golden yellow color. on the nose this is more fragrant then the previous white. showing a beeswax with honey and cloves. in the mouth it is rich and really fills the mouth with a taut but sweet flavor, and a bit of nuttiness. very long, very big, very youthful
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12/16/2023 - peternelson Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark gold, but in great shape; Nose a bit subdued, slight almond, glue, praline; Extremely broad and rich on the palate, very low acid on the palate but lots of extract, hardly any signs of (too much) aging; this is a study of texture and moutfeel, however, it's quite unassuming in aroma and flavor as it's pretty subtle; difficult to assess especially while still tasting the champagnes. this needs it's own meal, it's own center stage. B&J xmas party
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4/21/2022 - AlanM68 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Two bottles opened, from two different cases of 6, bought on release. First bottle was a deep, deep brown. Completely gone. Second was just beginning to oxidise but retained much of its freshness, with good length and textures Not, though, as good as I was hoping for … and am uncertain what the next 10 bottles might bring.
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3/9/2022 - huntinpagan wrote: 93 Points
Purchased at auction at least ten years ago. Popped and poured. Deep yellow color. Expressive floral nose, apricots and a saline note. A little nuttiness too.
Initially tight on the palate. Thankfully not oxidized and quite sound. Opened up nicely over a couple of hours. Lush apricot fruit. Hints of marzipan. A bit of bergamot. A saline mineral quality. Thick and unctuous but not overly heavy.
Finish mirrors the apricot and saline qualities.
A good representation of a 20 year old white Hermitage. Very solid but a step below classic quality. Drink or hold.
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2/14/2021 - Miceri wrote: flawed
Dark yellow towards brown, clearly oxidation, little acidity, light sherry
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5/23/2020 - herbaceous wrote: 90 Points
Decanted briefly. Good structure but not a ton of fruit.
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4/12/2020 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 Points
Final bottle from a three bottle lot. Fresh (i.e. not oxidised) but completely closed. Four years ago this was absolutely spectacular (98/100), and today it is also big and powerful, but it seems stripped of all aroma and flavour. On the second day the wine has opened up and confirms that it is structurally still completely intact (unlike the 1999 also retasted today). The aromas are fresher than the flavours, but the overall evolution is very much in the direction of candied fruit with a hint of nuttiness. It reminds me a bit of old Bollinger but with more honey. Looking back at my own and others' tasting notes, there seem to be huge bottle differences with these wines - I see that this bottle is a lot like the one tasted in 2013 (also 92). I guess we struck gold with the bottle tasted in 2016... On the third day the nose is really open and expressive, but the palate is starting to fall apart and the finish is really alcoholic. (not rated).
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2/21/2020 - KPB wrote: flawed
Unrated. Although quite drinkable and even enjoyable in a peculiar way, this wine was quite madierized and best viewed as a light sherry. You find walnuts and sour yellow fruits, rich mouthfeel, long finish. Honestly, as a sherry it wasn't bad at all. But I think the bottom line is that this was a flawed bottle, so I won't rate it.
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1/11/2020 - Zweder wrote: 91 Points
“Best Bottle” tasting in Fitzgerald, Rotterdam. (By JvT @ Fitzgerald): Yellow fruits, butter and caramel in the bouquet and on the palate. Very tasty, but the wine is starting to show age and it is imho not improving. Nevertheless a score for today.
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5/21/2019 - Zweder wrote:
Monthly Tuesday group "The Dead Sparrow" #039: Northern Rhone white (By JdB): Oxidized bouquet with nuts like almonds, oak and sherry. On the palate the same impressions although there is good and fresh acidity, some sweetness, honey, apricots and a great length. Oak. Some heat in the finish. I am not sure if the wine is meant to be this way. There is complexity and the style is special, but I don’t score it this time.
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10/15/2016 - jkoenen wrote: 97 Points
Amazing wine, impressive complexity, graceful power. Drinking perfectly right now.
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5/9/2016 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 98 Points
A private tasting (Rotterdam, NL): Tasted blind. Magnificent wine, honey, flowers, spicy minerals, tightly wound, bursting with energy, ripe citrus, perfectly seamless, deep, precise and layered, perfectly integrated oak, polished, effortless elegance, layered and long. Such great poise and style. The Montrachet of the Rhône. The wine of the tasting.
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6/9/2014 - Zweder Likes this wine: 93 Points
Smooth yellow fruits and polishing wax and honey in the bouquet. On the palate full bodied and concentrated, soft yellow fruits and honey again, but not sweet. Vanilla and caramel, beautifully soft acidity and some just very slight oxidized impressions which fit in perfectly. I really love this wine.
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10/26/2013 - Alex H wrote: 91 Points
Honeyed white flowers honeysuckle and waxy. Oily olive oils with intense minerality
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10/16/2013 - celk Likes this wine: 95 Points
Clean, delineated flavors; full and rounded with lively acidity. Honey, beeswax, cream and limestone. Intense and lithe; a beautiful wine and already highly enjoyable but no rush.
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10/11/2013 - Paul S wrote: 94 Points
William's Bachelor's Party (Tonny Restaurant, Geylang Lor 3, Singapore): This was a memorable bottle, possibly the best white on the night, and that it really saying something given the company it had. I loved the nose with its layers of honeycomb and beeswax and cloves wafting out of the glass alongside rich aromas of apricots and peaches, a twist of kumquats and some lovely floral tones. The palate had a very rich, fleshy feel on, with white melon and mangosteen flavours on a bed of beeswax and sweet floral notes wrapped in a thick, almost olive-oil textured attack. It shifted gear on the midpalate though – it was really minerally, full of chalky note and flinty accents, almost like liquefied rocks being poured over the white fruit and honeyed tones. There was lovely complexity to it all. Previous notes seem to have criticized the wine for being fat (this was a 15.5% monster) and lacking acidity and cut. However,on the night we actually found it to be quite brilliantly balanced for its size, with a nice focus and precision to it, especially as it wound its way into a nicely dry finish. My only criticism was that it was just a bit hollow on the backpalate, with the wine rambling off in a less than fully convicted fashion, with pinpricks of spice nestling amdist some honey and kumquat notes. This was perhaps the one thing that prevented it from being a really monumental wine; otherwise, it was quite brilliant. At a good place now too, though it should last in the bottle for some time yet.
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7/6/2013 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 Points
A private tasting and dinner (Restaurant Bolenius, Amsterdam, NL): Full yellow colour; deep and honeyed nose, candied fruit, oxidative notes but not oxidised, minerals and butter; big and round palate, low acidity, comes across as a bit clumsy, paradoxically also seems to lack a bit of stuffing; for such a big wine the length is merely decent. Not my favourite style of white Hermitage.
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11/19/2012 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 75 Points
Brown Bag Wine Dinner @ Two Chefs - All White (TWO CHEFS, MIAMI, FL): - Amber color and aromas of diesel. It's unbalanced and has flavours of sherry with a full body. Oily texture with a medium finish - Luis' wine. FLAWED!
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11/4/2011 - Zweder wrote: 92 Points
A weekend with friends in Germany Mosel area: Part 1: Just in the glass the wine was locked, but after a while it opened up a bit; yellow fruits, minerals, some honey and beautiful freshness. On the palate the wine is still somewhat locked, but it has the same impressions as in the nose. Also spiciness and a touch of licorice. Still a bit too young. Next try around 2015? My score for now was 92, but there is potential for more.
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11/4/2011 - jkoenen wrote: 90 Points
Dreamtastings' Eve (WiVino Vinothek, Wittlich): Complex and beguiling nose of thyme, honey, vanillapods, citruszest and a peppery botrytis-like touch. On the palate it has very good concentration and a creamy, almost dairy-like structure. Again some Sauternes-déjà-vu's enter my mind, despite the wine is complete dry. Lots of power and alcohol, very youthful, fat and tightly wound. Still needs time to integrate. At the moment hard to denominate and to predict where it's heading. But it's oozing with breed and class. 17,5/20 for now.
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1/22/2011 - portobellovines wrote:
big
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6/25/2009 - reichken wrote: 95 Points
Golden yellow color. on the nose this is more fragrant then the previous white. showing a beeswax with honey and cloves. in the mouth it is rich and really fills the mouth with a taut but sweet flavor, and a bit of nuttiness. very long, very big, very youthful
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