Medium ruby core , slightly wider garnet rim . Quite open on the nose , spice , tobacco , sous bois , truffle , cassis and blackberry , leather . On the palate quite round and rich , tannins present but more rounded , than the 2005. Cassis , blackberry, grafite , tobacco , slight smoky note . Good balanced acidity , cassis and juicy blackberry notes . Tobacco and mineral tinged finish of good to excellent length . This is showing well now but will continue to improve over the next 5-10 years and show well for a further 10-15. — 4 months ago
Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.
Fun to open birth year wines around your birthday, especially when you can do a Bordeaux and Napa side by side. While not a great vintage, this held up well after a few hours and presented as expected. Clean and zero Brett. Great color! Deep ruby with hardly any bricking. Leather, cassis, vanilla pipe tobacco on the nose. Sporting a good bit of dusty red and black fruits (mostly tart raspberries and blackberries), there was a little savory truffle note mixed with an herbal and mocha finish. Still quite grippy. Pretty. — 7 months ago
Medium lemon colour . Lovely lemon, buttered pastry nose , still so fresh and lively . Mineral with a honeysuckle note , touch of blanched almond . On the palate quite rich and complex , with high acidity and mineral , honied , brioche notes , still quite fresh though with lots of creamy lemon hints. Long mineral tinged finish . Lovely now and over the next 5-10 years . — 7 days ago
Pale lemon. One the nose- apple, pear, peach, citrus, and a grassy/herbaceous note that I can’t put my finger on. Burst of grapefruit and pineapple with some minerality on the palate. Medium body. Nice, zesty acidity. Was a bit tight at first out of the bottle. Best to let it breathe a bit and losen up some. Fun and cheeky wine! — 6 months ago
It has been a little over a year since my last note on the 2018 vintage. Popped and poured, enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2018 pours a pale garnet with transparent core; medium+ viscosity and no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with delicate notes of funky cherry, rose water, tar and dry earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. A touch thinner than some of the “bigger” vintages but no less charming. I’m sort of a sucker for the 2018 vintage in how enjoyable these are to drink in their youth. Drink now through 2038 — 4 months ago
Medium deep garnet core with slightly wider terracotta rim . Quite exuberant nose , more dark fruits than the Barton , spicy , cedar notes , touch of funk , swimming pool note also . On the palate quite spicy more intense black fruits , cassis , sous bois , coffee , saline , mineral tinged sea spray notes . Balanced acidity and quite rounded but noticeable tannin . Long and denser on the finish than the Barton . Showing well now but can go another 10 years no problem — 3 months ago
Hmm. 🤔 wasn’t able to connect with this, expectingly great wine. Actually first direct out of the bottle it was promising. Strong oak notes with vibrant dark red fruit underneath it. But over the next hour, the oak flavors started to be integrated more but the acidity became very prominent and made the wine rather single note, diluted, lacking depth, acidic tasting. So needless to say. Disappointing experience. Maybe it was not the right day 🤔. — 5 months ago
S.S. Mandani
Oh man. What a depth of flavor.
A study in pear. Dry and light.
Floral cherry blossoms as well. — 23 days ago