Tasting Notes: Weekly Roundup

Happy Friday! Before we celebrate the coming weekend, we want to look back on drinks the Delectable community enjoyed and consumed this week. We've gathered a handful of reviews and notes that caught our eye. From detailed notes to standout photos, the Delectable community was busy this week, and there are so many great posts to read. Mark your favorites and pick up a bottle to try this weekend. Cheers!

Viñedos del Contino (CVNE)

Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2018

Open the bit dry and dusty and took a little while to develop, but definitely came in strong with chewy, dried tart, cherries, pomegranate, Dusty cooking herbs, cured meats, and stayed nicely developed over 2 to 3 days of drinking. Very delicious  — 24 days ago

Dave, Douglas and 8 others liked this

Fratelli Alessandria

Monvigliero Barolo Nebbiolo 2017

Impressive showing for this Monvigliero with cherry, strawberry, balsamic, savory spices, floral & tobacco notes — a month ago

Tom, Jean-Philip and 8 others liked this

Château Latour

Le Pauillac de Chateau Latour Red Bordeaux Blend 2019

Pretty deep ruby with thin violet rim . Quite ripe and generously fruited , blackberry , dark cherry , touches of cocoa , toasty oak. On the palate this has more of the ripe dark fruits of the nose , blackberry , cassis , dark cherry with but with some spicy notes along with some grafite and toasty hints . Quite ripe but noticeable grippy tannins , and balanced acidity . Alcohol also appears well intergrated, though there is a roundness to this. Quite user friendly for Latour (remember though , this is the 3rd wine!) but that means that the 2019 is actually enjoyable to drink now but will probably repay aging over the next 5-10 years . Not particularly complex but well made and well balanced especially given the 14% alcohol . I don’t think that tasted blind this could be anything other than the Medoc, the more modern , warmer Medoc than 20 -30 years ago of course . The level of many other 2nd wines , though not their Grand Vins. Next day still showing well , a little more grafite and earthiness , cooler dark fruits. Tannins still quite noticable , saline tinged grafite finish. — a month ago

Lisanne, Tom and 15 others liked this
Sharon B

Sharon B Influencer Badge

Looks nice and chilled how I like it!
Andrew Cullimore

Andrew Cullimore Premium Badge

Haha … it was about 28 degrees , so I was quite happy to try this chilled !
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

Have a couple that I’m looking forward to.

Nickel & Nickel

Truchard Vineyard Chardonnay 2023

Nicely balanced and fresh with sliced apple, pear, melon, papaya, tangerine, and a brush of vanilla from 10 months in barrel (30% new). There’s a salty streak here that I didn’t expect. Not over the top. Entry level single vineyard from Far Niente. — 24 days ago

Ira, Dave and 6 others liked this

Argiano

Rosso di Montalcino Sangiovese 2023

Pale ruby in color with some sediment; on the nose, it's clean with pronounced primary and secondary aromas of cherries, dried herbs, and balsamic; on the palate, it's dry with high acidity, high tannins, high alcohol, full body, and pronounced primary and secondary flavors of tart cherries, red currants, and wet slate with a long finish. This wine is intense, complex, and with balanced fruit to match the acidity and tannins. Overall, I rate this wine as outstanding. — a month ago

Douglas, Joseph and 4 others liked this

Château Malescot St. Exupéry

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2010

2010 vintage in 2025. Phenomenal! Dried fruit leather, plum on the nose. soft tannins on the palate. — a month ago

Stephanie WuBrad Burch
with Stephanie and Brad
Sagee, Ruud and 8 others liked this

Château d'Yquem

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2002

Sweet and unctuous. Perfectly aged with so many layers. Paired well with a pineapple upside down cake — a month ago

Dave, Somm and 24 others liked this
Audrey Nadeau

Audrey Nadeau

Drinking Yquem is like falling in love.
Andrew McIntyre

Andrew McIntyre

Sweet and sticky?

Domaine de la Bongran

Cuvée Levroutée Viré-Clessé Chardonnay 2017

This exceeded expectations-Notes from retailer We’ve long been fans of Domaine de la Bongran, a curious little estate in Viré-Clessé producing delicious and distinct white Burgundies. Their Cuvée Levroutée is only made in exceptional years, using some botrytised fruit and made in an off-dry style; as with their other wines, it is aged exclusively in stainless steel to allow the terroir to shine. The 2017 is the first release of the cuvée in over a decade, with the previous vintage produced 2006. The fruit comes from specific parcels with marl-rich soils that retain humidity and therefore encourage the development of noble rot, while also producing Chardonnay with a beautiful backbone of acidity.

The 2017, made with around 25% botrytised fruit, is still incredibly young, with the bite of Seville orange pith, honey and richer peach on the nose, leading on to a lush palate that offers a rush of stone fruit, reined in by a line of mineral citrus. The 17g/l residual sugar is beautifully integrated, and zesty notes linger on the long finish, keeping the wine impressively fresh and balanced. Winemaker Gautier Thévenet tells us that within three to five years the wine tends to seem dry, the sugar integrating with the body of the wine and becoming even more complex. Just 4,200 bottles were produced.

Wine Advocate 95 review

The 2017 Viré-Clessé Cuvée Levroutée is now on the market, and it is the first time the Thevent family has been able to produce this cuvée since 2006. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, caramelized pineapple, mandarin, white flowers, pine resin and spices, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and textural, with a layered core, racy acids and appreciable residual sweetness and structural tension, but it's already more integrated and expressive than it was last year, so it appears to be coming into its stride.
— 25 days ago

Paul, Tom and 15 others liked this
Paul T HB

Paul T HB

I normally get the regular Bongran at $40-45 but when I saw this available I jumped on it
Shay A

Shay A Influencer Badge Premium Badge

Where did you find it?
Paul T HB

Paul T HB

Vinfolio

Bruno Giacosa

Le Rocche del Falletto Riserva Barolo Nebbiolo 1989

Tangy dark fruit. Great purity. On the palate a tart powerful but clean middle. Sour cherry, violets, iron, tang. Great stuff — a month ago

Matt LichtenbergDavid Schachter
with Matt and David
Jay, Ceccherini and 11 others liked this

Produttori del Barbaresco

Riserva Pora Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2017

Popped and poured; enjoyed over he course of a few of hours The 2017 Riserva “Pora” pours a deep garnet color with medium+ viscosity and no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of Bing cherry, rhubarb, dried orange peel, tomato leaf, espresso, some tar, a bit of leather and dried earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Of all the vineyards that get selected for Produttori’s Riservas, Pora is the MGA for which I have the least experience. Lack of experience with Pora aside, this is empirically an attractive Barbaresco Riserva. Still early days. Drink now through 2042. Bottle No. 5118/13333. — a month ago

Jay, Lisanne and 21 others liked this