Terracotta

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1990

Medium ruby garnet, quite thin garnet terracotta rim . Quite rich , with ripe red fruits , some tobacco , warm spiciness , cigar box , ripe cassis , sous bois , after a while touch of coffee. On the palate this also shows good roundness with ripe red and dark fruits, cassis , red plum , grafite , touch of earthiness . Balanced acidity and rounded sweet tannin . Quite juicy with a grafite edged finish . Pretty good length. This is at peak now . For now and over the next 5 -8 years. Quite generous and showy , ripe but balanced, a good showing. — 8 days ago

Scott@Mister, Ira and 19 others liked this

Fattoria Poggio di Sotto

Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese 2015

Medium ruby with quite a terracotta , garnet rim . Quite sweetly spiced nose , red cherries , cedar , dried spice and some strawberry coulis , earthy undertones . Pretty young and fruit forward at the moment . This is quite elegant and perfumed on the palate with lots of fresh red fruits , cedar and dried sage . Balanced acidity and ripe but slightly grippy tannins . This has good length and a saline finish . Quite young still but enjoyable at the moment , will continue to show well over the next 10 years , maybe more. At Doppo restaurant, Soho . — 4 months ago

Dave, Jan and 11 others liked this

R. López de Heredia

Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2004

Ruby core with quite wide garnet , terracotta rim . Quite deep and reserved at first , floral , red berry , strawberry, raspberry , red cherry , very fruit forward . On the palate this is also very primary , with lots of sweet strawberry , raspberry and cherry . Really fruit driven , so young . Bright acidity , quite strict tannin frame . This is a mineral saline note after a while , lots more complexity hidden underneath all plushness of the fruit . Perfectly balanced and proportioned with a long finish . Really promising and the finest of all the wines on this night but you will need to wait for the real fireworks to begin , a wine for the future . Wait 10 years and will probably show well a further 15 -20. — 5 months ago

Jan, Dave and 6 others liked this

Azienda Agricola Brovia

Rocche Barolo Nebbiolo 2008

Medium garnet , medium wide terracotta rim . Quite deep and darker spiced fruits , some floral and mineral iron filling hints . On the palate this shows more structure and deeper darker fruits than the 2007 , spiced cherry , mineral and long on the palate , dark tea and anis tinged . Quite gritty tannin , more robust and serious . Balanced fresh acidity . Still pretty young , more structured . This could do with a little more time , and will continue well a further 10 -12 years or so. — 7 months ago

Tom, David and 2 others liked this

Château Palmer

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1983

Slightly lighter garnet core , lighter terracotta rim . Quite muted on the nose , quite herbal and spiced notes, some red plum and floral sous bois , black tea . After a while this opens up slightly , showing a bit more detail , but never jumps out and grabs your attention as other bottles have. On the palate this is better , with the roundness and slightly sweet , red plum , summer fruits , sous bois and lightly herbal , grafite tinged , saline finish of reasonable length . Quite refreshing acidity and suave tannins . On this basis drink now and over the next few years. However , there are better bottles out there . This was disappointing compared with other bottles I’ve had , though the palate was more sound and it wasn’t flawed. A bit of a perplexing bottle. — 8 days ago

Scott@Mister, Ira and 17 others liked this
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

I bought a case of this wine on original release, and still have 5-6 left. Last one I opened, with ‘82 Pichon-Lalande and ‘82 Gruaud-Larose, it was CLEAR WOTN, it blew me away, nearly perfect. Of course, as my brother always tells me, there are great wines, but great bottles are never guaranteed!! Cheers!
Andrew Cullimore

Andrew Cullimore Premium Badge

Great anecdote @Doug Powers and very true. That event of yours must have been a fantastic experience! I have had this Palmer 83 a few times and it normally is a fantastic experience, seductive , aromatic … yesterday , was below par … from a beautiful looking case from an excellent UK cellar … but there you go! Nothing is guaranteed. Hopefully the next bottle will be back to par !

Château Talbot

Saint-Julien Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1949

Medium deep garnet , medium terracotta rim . A very healthy looking colour. Quite mature and venerable on the nose , sous bois , iodine, plum, old wood , earthy with herbal touches and fresh tobacco . Reasonable volume on the palate with light sous bois and nori notes , quite fresh acidity and slightly gritty tannins still. Tobacco , grafite slightly short finish. Quite a good showing for a wine of almost 80 years old, enough interest and volume on the palate . Probably better a few decades ago , but certainly more than a curiosity as the wine stayed with us well for over 2 hours . Drink now . This was an ex chateau bottle that had been reconditioned at some point , I would imagine by the looks of the cork , about 20-25 years ago. No mention of this on the bottle however . Into neck fill. — 4 months ago

Jan, Dave and 11 others liked this
Dave

Dave

Amazing

Produttori del Barbaresco

Riserva Ovello Barbaresco Nebbiolo 1996

Medium garnet ruby core , terracotta rim . This is quite reserved on the nose with some dried spices, cured meat , porcini , light sous bois , dried red fruits . On the palate this has quite high acidity and a linear personality, quite mineral with some red fruits , cured meats and liquorice , black tea hints . Slight gritty tannin and medium length . This is drinking well now and will continue over the next 5-10 years or so . — 6 months ago

Daniel, Vino and 9 others liked this

Comte Armand

Clos des Epeneaux Monopole Pommard 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2013

Tasted blind. Medium light garnet , showing more age than wine 1 , quite wide garnet terracotta rim . More spice , with a sweet tobacco , dried raspberry , some cherry and earthy herbal , black tea notes . This is more tertiary than 1 wine . On the palate this also has quite high acidity, lightly gritty tannin with dried cherry , herbal hints . Quite fresh herbal tinged finish . Ok length . This improved quite a bit with air , showing more fruit and floral character after a while . This is probably close to peak drinking now but no rush should continue to show well over the next 5-10 years or so — 13 days ago

Tom, Martin and 8 others liked this

Château Lanessan

Haut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend 1979

Medium light garnet , terracotta with terracotta rim . Quite herbal and cedary, light sous bois , earthy . On the palate this has quite fresh acidity , slightly herbal character, light sous bois and tobacco notes, grafite , quite light tannins . Alright length and balance . Drink now , probably would have been better some years (decade ?) ago . However quite commendable for a difficult vintage from a petit chateau . Tasted at Hedonism Wines , London . — 4 months ago

Dave, Tom and 7 others liked this
Andrew Cullimore

Andrew Cullimore Premium Badge

Sorry @Dave , rather surprisingly 1979 ! Actually had some ok wines from that rather forgotten year !
Dave

Dave

Yeah, I'm still trying to forget Led Zeppelin's performance at Knebworth in 79!
Bob McDonald

Bob McDonald Influencer Badge

@Andrew Cullimore A great wine shop is Hedonism. I bought a few bottles from them a few years ago at that shop in Mayfair.

R. López de Heredia

Viña Tondonia Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 1984

Medium light garnet , quite wide terracotta rim . Top shoulder ullage . Slightly herbal , old mahogany, hickory , chestnut, minty , dried fruits with sous bois underneath, hoisin . On the palate this has some sweet red fruits , touch of coffee , old wood , earthy , meaty hints . Good acidity and slightly grippy tannins . Not bad length. This bottle shows surprisingly well considering its state , and is very drinkable . Drink now , as this deteriorated quite quickly once in the glass — 5 months ago

Tom, Shay and 5 others liked this