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
Dense aroma full of cranberry and bramble fruit. Honest and well balanced. Tannins resembling brown leaves emerge later. A touch of mouse? — 2 years ago
Deep Ruby color with purple edges, aged for about 20 months on oak. The port wine displays a complex nose with ripe fruits and sweet spice. On the palate ripe sweet juicy blackberry and cherry flavors emerge, velvety and smooth. Tannins are present and tight and chewy, well balanced. Long finish ending with ripe juicy fruit, spice and slight earthy character, not as big as ‘16 but, Very Nice! Can drink now but will develop over next decade! — 3 years ago
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. — 7 months ago
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. — 2 years ago
Deep dark purple with a wide, lilac rim. Powerful nose with pronounced plum. There’s a unmistakable charred wood quality happening here that I’m really digging. Stewed mushrooms and dried herbs with roast beef. Give it more air and time and good things happen. Ripe red cherries start to emerge alongside black and blue fruits. Those dirty earth aromas are positively stellar here, really nice.
Northern Rhône Syrahs are something special. Meaty with well integrated tannins. Full bodied and very classic in nature and style. Plenty of sediment in the bottle but still full of finesse. Smooth tannins and a very laid back, enjoyable nature. Bacon fat and pepper initially on the palate. Dried earth and blueberries with smoke and mushrooms. A touch of green olives and lusty herbs. Medium finish with more spice. Drinking spectacularly at the moment but can still hold up in the cellar for a few more years. Truly nice. — 3 years ago
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
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
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)
— 2 years ago
Bob McDonald
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. — 5 months ago