At my 2015 Chardonnay Challenge the Giaconda was a consensus 3rd. Easily the most smoky, sulphidic, struck match of the 6 wines. I loved it. On the palate a powerful wine. Opulent. This wine is becoming difficult to source and sells out in a flash upon release. — 3 months ago
2018 vintage. One of the oldest Bordeaux estates, owned today by a French insurance group. A big estate with over 90 hectares under vine. Lovely floral nose. Medium-bodied, with bright fruit and remarkable freshness, but the tannins are a bit rough in the finish, and it lacks a bit of length. Good value for 26 euros, but no match for the 2018 Château Olivier (another one of the oldest Bordeaux estates) tasted alongside. — 3 years ago
Winner of the James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge from 680 entries in 2014. See previous Delectable note. Those modern leesy, flinty, struck match and smoky notes have come together nicely at 11 years of age together with nectarine. Delicious - sadly my last bottle - wish I had a few more. Yet another great producer of top quality Chardonnay from Margaret River. — a month ago
Incredible power and intensity. A more difficult food match than I remember from last tasting. Complex and rich. — 3 years ago
A punchy nose with struck match, honeyed lime. Stone and flint. Rick and great acidity subtly laced throughout. Excellent — 2 months ago
Wine auction winner. Smooth and subtle. Finish to match. Cherry tobacco notes. Paired with grilled ribeye steaks — 7 months ago
Tried side by side. Tasting these since 2009. These are now classic wines. The vineyards are very close to the tree line of the western slope of the black forest in Baden. Who knows what these clones are? May be the Cluny Monks brought them up from France. These are world class Grand Cru level Pinots and are stupid underpriced. With age they turn into incredible beauties which easily match GranCru Burghs. Will be a 10 in 5 years from now. The Muschelkalk is always lighter in color ethereal and elegant. Black forest thyme, touch crushed marble, wild sour raspberry, hint of black forest morello cherries, cranberry, Mexican lime, green moos. This needs to uncoil over night to really get the potential of this. Quite acidic. 12.5%. A stellar vintage. And sleeping beauty. I would say not approachable for a novice at this point. Lucky for me my neighbors get it. Revisit in 2031. — 9 months ago
Hayley Lalchand
totally perfect amount of dryness, rich, spicy, delectable (note to self ryan loves this one) — 6 days ago