Emerge
Clonakilla
Canberra District Shiraz Viognier 2014
Another favourite Australian Red but this 2014 vintage not showing as well as it normally does. I put it down to the vintage. Aromatically it is spicy but subdued; digging deeper there is earth and clove with herbs. With time, meaty aromas emerge. Perhaps more time will reveal more and provide more depth on the palate. — 9 months ago
Sabelli-Frisch
La Malinche Mokelumne River Mission 2018
Last bottle of vintage. Excellent clarity but only light to moderate pigment extraction, consistent with the varietal. Cherry and grape candy flavors, aroma of phenol and a finish of barrel smoke. Slightly rough skin tannins on initial pour, but not too intense. Seedy bitter finish after ten minutes but should resolve later. After an hour, blueberry and blackberry flavors emerge with a cocoa-like texture on the finish. An expressive version of this varietal. — 2 years ago
Château Haut-Brion
Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2019
The 2019 Haut-Brion is seriously impressive. A dark, virile wine, the 2019 impresses with its vertical energy and statuesque elegance. It's a Haut-Brion that will only reveal itself over many years. Today, the density and resonance are super-impressive and also hugely promising. Classic savory and mineral notes start to emerge over time. I can't wait to see how this ages. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, February 2022)
— 3 years ago
Sandlands
Lodi Zinfandel 2018
Intense ruby red with brilliant clarity, moderate-to-high pigment extraction. Bramble, raspberry, cedar/baking spice aromas. Raspberry Pez flavor with some seed tannin bitterness and red fruit/black currant finish with real length. Light acidity and body, some puckering of inner sides of back of the mouth cavity. After 30 minutes, menthol, mint and spearmint emerge in the finish along with fine grained tannins and slight skin astringency. — 3 months ago
Azienda Agricola Le Ragnaie
Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese 2015
The nose starts off with gentle and persistent dried herbs, leather, incense, and light barnyard. After about an hour decant, beautiful bright yet ripe fruits emerge. The palate is luscious and seamless with fresh acidic spin. Silky tannins lead to a lingering finish.
Drinking beautifully now. No need to wait. — a year ago
Bodegas Gormaz
12 Linajes Reserva Tempranillo 2012
This is excellent! It's nice to be able to buy a well-cellared wine. Cedar, spice, clove, and cherry tobacco nose. Medium weight, perfect medium acidity, medium plus alcohol. Spearmint starts to emerge at the end. Cherry dominates the finish which is long and well balanced with soft fully resolved tannins. The wine is ready now. Drink up and enjoy.
93 points — 2 years ago
Château Poujeaux
Moulis en Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend 2019
The 2019 Poujeaux, tried here for the first time from half bottle, continues the trend of wines that I’ve enjoyed from this vintage – being austere, deep, full bodied and demanding considerable bottle age. With no decant, the wine is almost impenetrable on the nose, offering little other than gravel, singed tobacco, and espresso. Gradually, though, things open up in the glass and after an hour it’s fairly expressive. It remains dark, tannic and laden with coffee, chocolate and steeped black fruit, but doubtless there’s a promising wine somewhere here that’ll likely begin to emerge in five years or so – Poujeaux tends to have a long life, and I’d expect that to be the case here. — 4 months ago
Demarie
Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2016
Honestly I was expecting a more approachable Nebbiolo on opening at this point. The nose is shy and the tannins are dominant.That said - this seems to be a complex and multi layered wine with leather and earth dominant over clearly present dark cherry and raspberry notes that are begging to emerge. I suggest a bit more aging to make this outstanding. — a year ago
Albert Boxler
Alsace Gewürztraminer 2017
Took a minute to warm up, but once it did the nose burst open with notes of leychee, jasmine and sweet floral notes. The flavor was off-dry, with a creamy floral sweetness that cascaded over the palate, with a slightly mineral/slightly spicy mid-palate, and ends with a dry minerality and taste of wet river stones on the finish. First Boxler but definitely won’t be the last. PS: as it continued to warm, I became aware of how fresh tasting the wine was. I’m still waiting on the food to finish, but I’m excited to see how it will emerge. — 3 years ago
Delectable Wine
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The 2020 Corton Grand Cru is well-defined and focused on the nose, with a mélange of red and black fruit. Cedar and tobacco hints emerge with time. It has a soft, rounded entry with lower acidity, quite plush for a Corton, but it doesn't have the structure and precision of the best wines in this flight. Corpulent finish. Drink this over the next 15 years. Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2024)
— 17 days ago