Chief Taster at West London Wine School
Candied and over ripe nose, very chalky green pepper palate. Odd. — 9 years ago
2003: very secondary, meaty, earthy, raisin, figgy. Not aged gracefully. Black olive, balsamic, herbal, lightly volatile. Very dried fruit palate, lacking the freshness, softening on tannin, meaty, mealy. Lacking length. Okay. — 9 years ago
2008: poor vintage but showing significant development. Red plum, cherry, earthy, bretty, smokey. White pepper, garrigues. Medium bodied and fresher, with a vibrant acidity and softer tannin. More like a Saint Joseph, bundles of red fruit, red currant, cherry, light spice and smokey oak. Good but not typical powerful Rotie. — 9 years ago
2009: opening up wonderfully now, lots of minerality, chalky, graphite notes, red fruits a plenty. Cherry, strawberry, lightly oaky, leather. Light saline note. Light sweet spice. Light bodied but punching above its weight, acidic, but only lightly grippy, lots of sour cherry, bright and crunchy. A chalky grainy style. Drink up in next 2-3 years. — 9 years ago
Lots of typicity, green apple, mineral, salad leaf, slightly cucumberesque due to poor year. Light, chalky, fresh, not much depth, but pleasant and elegant — 9 years ago
2007: much more development, more classic, with blackberry, and bramble fruit. Very spicy, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper with a distinct gravel Minerally note. Medium to full, great acidity and chewy unresolved tannin. Very good, with black fruit, hint of black truffle, smoke, meaty, gamey and a distinct tobacco oak finish. — 9 years ago
2007: lovely opulent nose, creamy, light salted butter, vanilla, almond, and bags of red Apple, peachy notes. Very forward. Complex, mouth coating, minerally, clean, creamy, green apple, white peach, a long smoky mineral and oak length. Fab. — 9 years ago
Quite muted nose, needs to be served quite warm to show the full affect. Creamy, peach, light mineral, good soft style chardonnay with balanced acid. Lacking definition. — 9 years ago
2006: super developed, meaty, gamey, with forest floor, mushroom, trufflednotes. Lovely sweet oak note, vanilla, somewhat reminiscent of a classic aged Rioja. Splendid rich palate, medium bodied, very fresh with acidity, bags of red fruit, hints of black, meaty, gamey, leathery, smokey. Superb. — 9 years ago
Jimmy Smith
Director, West and North London Wine School
2009: Quite a sense nose, ripe and darker fruit but lacking terroir or grace. Sweet and spicy. Medoum@bodied, spicy, sweeter fruit, juicy, ripe, no tannin, low acid, drink now. — 9 years ago