Chris England

9.5

GPL is probably the best Pauillac you can get for the money & at £60 paid this top vintage is still improving lovely in a great spot already 😉

📍Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2009

🏵 95 points

🍇 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot & 2% Cabernet Franc

🍷 Opaque blackened deep ruby

👃 Minerals, gravel & broken pencil through soft smoked oak infused blackberry w/ damson plum, red liquorice, soggy earth, mocha, herbs, black tea, purple flower & blackcurrant - get that lot up your nose & snort like a little piggy wiggy 🐷 😍

👄 Med smooth silky body of black berry & currant in crushed rock mineral w/ a plummy mocha raspberry liquorice follow through

🎯 Long blackberry driven dark fruit creamy plump kiss bathed in choc mocha, liquorice & red cherry peekaboo — 6 years ago

Kerstin

9.9

Light and fruity. Paired well with blackened salmon and roasted Brussels sprouts — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.4

A little gem recommended to me by @gabymeetswine @vilaviniteca for €66 in a lovely gift box with elastic for extra kinkyness 😁 This Ribera Del Duero is young & drinking well but will improve with age 😍 5 years a 💥 Nice Xmas gift for somebody 😉

📍 Pago de Carraovejas El Anejón 2010

🏵 94 points

🍇 94% Tempranillo, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon & 3% Merlot

🍷 Opaque blackened deep ruby

👃 Rich dark cherry & blackcurrant in slight sweet cedar/oak w/ dark plum, blueberry, vanilla cocoa cream, wild raspberry, dried violets & smokey herbs (the legal kind 🤣)

👄 Med+ bodied fruit loaded explosion of creamy smooth ripe blackcurrant & dark cherry bathed in cocoa, raspberry liquorice & a hint of dry oakyness

🎯 Long touch dry dark fruit bomb 😈 leaving a purple teeth smile w/ a raspberry & blueberry liquorice slap
— 6 years ago

Chris England

9.3

Wow, are you kidding me? £32 for this amazing aged Pomerol from a top Chateau - worth every penny/cent 👍 In a perfect peak spot right now 😉

📍 Chateau Clos L'Eglise 2007

🏵 93 points

🍇 70% Merlot & 30% Cabernet Franc

🍷 Deep blackened opaque ruby

👃 Smokey charred oak bathed in liquorice, dirty dirty soggy earth, tobacco, minerals & wet leaves with dark berries, rich gooey damson, dark cherry & black tea - yummy nasal nookie 😍

👄 Med+ body smooth chewy dark rich plum in stewed black berries, liquorice & creamy thick mocha w/ a mineral rock undertone

🎯 Long earthy creamy silk mocha dark plum & berry liquorice kiss w/ a touch of dry minerality — 7 years ago

Chris England

9.2

12th bottle of this beauty we can't stop drinking as so good young! @£50 - reviewed before & was a quick bottle last night so I think what I said before captures it well 😁

A proper good Margaux! Dark plummy blackened red. Aroma of plum, blackcurrant & wet stones. Thick intensive balanced smooth jammy blackcurrant, cocoa & plums on palate with med body. Long back fruit finish with little acidity.

Mrs E suggested it's like "bare breasted maidens under a blackberry waterfall!" Who am I to argue 😎😍 — 7 years ago

Simon Gilligan

9.3

Northern Rhone, 100% Syrah, raspberry, blackberry, black pepper, mild spice. Lovely fruit density and spot-on ripeness, soft ripe tannin. Fruit profile blackened over the evening. Reminds me of Alex Head’s The Contrarian. 22€ — 8 years ago

David Kline

9.1

This is a nice wine with a lot going for it! Big graphite on the nose, blackened, brackish fish bones. Resinous tar, maple nut, charcoal, graphite, slate-y blackberry that morphs into dried black currant, espresso with chicory, licorice, black raisin, and olive tapenade! Stupendous! Not for fruit flies, but crypt dwellers: put down those frightened teens, and pick up a glass of these magma-seared, skeletal, zombie piranhas! Santé! — 9 years ago

with Courtney

Chris England

9.3

Boom 💥 what a delish Portuguese wine @ £65 that’s drinking well young but give this 10-15 years and bigbadaboom 😍 One of the best 🇵🇹 wines I’ve ever had 👍 Its like a Bordeaux meets Bolgheri meets Ribera del Duero w/ a dollop of Napa 👀

📍Bruno Prats & Symington Chryseia 2015

🏵 93 points w/ 94+ potential I’d say 😉

🍇 65% Touriga Nacional & 35% Touriga Franca

🍷 Deep opaque blackened ruby w/ purple edge

👃 Chocolate bathed wild ripe bramble bush & blackcurrant goo in earthy soft smoked oak w/ light mineral, smashed pencil, red liquorice, black tea, blueberry, white pepper, purple rose & violets

👄 Full bodied, but well balanced & not overpowering (almost elegant) rich rip very earthy dark boysenberry, blackberry & raspberry fruits w/ a mineral, cocoa & liquorice backbone

🎯 Very long stoney mineral infused (but hardly dry) slight green unripe black berry fruits & raspberry w/ bitter dark chocolate mocha, black tea & liquorice
— 6 years ago

Chris England

9.3

Côtes de Bourg is a Bordeaux region that many don’t know that delivers incredible wines for a fraction of the price of other regions. This higher priced bottle at £40+ sure delivers an amazing wine that would be triple in St Emilion & made by the folks from Tertre Rôteboeuf & called “the junior Tertre Rôteboeuf“ 👍 Drinking great young but will improve 😉

📍 Roc de Cambes 2014

🏵 93 points

🍇 80% Merlot, 5% Malbec & 15% Cabernet Sauvignon

🍷 Blackened opaque ruby

👃 Soggy soil pot & thick farmyard through muted dark plum, blackberry, crushed rocks & gravel galore w/ mulberry, blueberry, broken twigs, pencil lead, violet, fresh mint & parsley herbs

👄 Med body of rich ripe blackcurrant & damson bathed in minerals w/ earthy soil stone tones, raspberry liquorice & a touch dry bitter mocha

🎯 Med+ touch dry mineral earthy black, purple & red fruit liquorice smack — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.1

A decent Pomerol for £38 that’s drinking good already but will benefit from 3-5 more years 😴 It’s one for mineral lovers only 😉

📍 Haut-Tropchaud Pomerol 2013

🏵 91 points with potential in age

🍇 100% Merlot

🍷 Opaque blackened ruby

👃 Mineral & gravel driven dark plummy berry w/ herbs, light oak, pencil lead, soggy earth, cocoa & red liquorice

👄 Med body of dry mineral & mocha infused dark plum with black berry & liquorice tones

🎯 Med+ dry stoney rock mineral dark plummy fruit mocha liquorice splatter — 7 years ago

Chris England

9.4

Grabbed @ €74 in 🇫🇷 & for the money it’s got massive potential but already showing well 👍 I’m drooling to try the 2015s I got now ... patience 🤔 Reminds me of a good 🇺🇸 Cab but toned down & balanced beautifully 😉

📍 Pape Clement, Pessac-Leognan 2014

🏵 94+ points w/ 96 potential 👍

🍇 57.5% Merlot, 37.5% Cab Sauv & 5% Petit V

🍷 Blackened opaque ruby

👃 Sweet blueberry infused with dark cherry & plum w/ blackcurrant, red berry, new oak, cedar, vanilla cocoa & subtle wet earth & gravel

👄 Med+ body of plump plum & black berry fruits w/ blueberry, chocy mocha & raspberry liquorice then a mineral hit

🎯 Med+ touch sweet but rich & ripe deep dark fruit splat w/ a light mineral, touch of red liquorice & a cocoa cream cherry gateaux coating — 7 years ago

Lindsey King

9.2

Gothic dark fruit, deep blackberry, brambly mixed berry, the European Robert Smith of wines (lol what a smoothie). A little green vegetable character, is it totally crazy of me to say asparagus? No, it's not, I say what I want. When you stop to buy berries on the side of the road but it's too far from your romantic expectations of country life and it's more like a wounded salesman with purple stained palms and blackened nails who dryly utters "do you want three pints or not" and you lean in, in a grand attempt at acting casual, and say, "yes please thanks". — 7 years ago

Bill Kaplan

9.0

Subtle flavor profile, good pairing with grilled blackened salmon fit. — 8 years ago

David Kline

9.3

Early test of a beer I will most certainly be aging! Barley Maw! Dip some carrot cake in Ethiopian coffee and you will be getting close on the nose. The entire bouquet is a caramelized, myrrh version of that in an oiled, leather bag; although there is a doughy life to it that evokes freshly washed hair, with whiffs of Madagascar vanilla. Heavy coffee oils, bitter chocolate, smoked leather, tar, burnt caramel, black mushroom, rattan, blackened marshmallow, allspice, graham spice and dark tobaccos finishing briny. A seaside stroll at night through foamy pools. Can't wait to see how she ages! — 8 years ago

with Courtney

Chris England

9.4

A new upcoming Chilean icon blend @ £100-£120 that’s becoming a favourite of mine 😍 Did you know they play relaxing music to the wine in the barrel whilst it develops 💗 I reviewed the 2012 a few weeks back 😉 and can’t wait for 2013 to come out! I’ve still not tried their first 2010 release ... yet

📍 Vina VIK 2011

🏵 94 points w/ much more potential 👍

🍇 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Carmenere, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot & 4% Syrah 😍

🍷Opaque blackened ruby

👃 Chocolatey spicy rich blackcurrant & dark plum w/ soft oak, vanilla, blackberry, raspberry, dark cherry, wet leaves, herbs, a hint of purple flower, blueberry & minerals

👄 Full body of rich silky intense but balanced black fruits in oozy melted chocolate & creamy blueberry w/ a raspberry liquorice backbone in fine rock minerals

🎯 Long black fruit, raspberry, touch dry mineral & cocoa linger w/ a lasting purple teeth stain 😁 — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.5

I’m a real fan of @vik_wine since trying the 2011 so have been keen to try the 2012 @ £100 & it sure is another winner from 🇨🇱 Drinking superb now & will improve 👍 If you like a big bold but well balanced wine you will love this 😉

📍 Vina VIK 2012

🏵 95-96 points (I’m bemused why pro critics say 91-92 🤔 flopdoodles)

💥 14% ABV

🍇 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Carménère, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot & 2% Syrah

🍷 Opaque deep blackened ruby

👃 A heady nose of rich ripe blackcurrant, damson plum & blueberry bathed in cocoa w/ sweet date jam, minerals, soggy earth, cracked pencil, vanilla, raspberry, black cherry, violet, soft oak & balsamic

👄 Med+ bodied rich creamy opulent blackcurrant jam, raspberry compote & cocoa cream w/ balsamic, minerals, black cherry & spiced blackberry

🎯 Long explosion of plump bursting dark fruits w/ a raspberry, big bold blueberry & cocoa mineral slap staining your teeth purple 😈

💭 If the 2013 of this wine is at the level Sena 13 was at it could be an epic buy on release as it will be stratoswinic 😍
— 6 years ago

Lindsay Corrigan

9.3

Wonderful ness from Willamette Valley; Nose; First fresh Nibs evolves to Sour Cherry. Flavour; Front pure Washington 🍒 melts into a Cranberry tartness with a middle that provides warmth of Eucalyptus and a clean finish of wet earth and herbaceous roots👏🏻 Has a mouth feel medium thickness with mild tannic. Accompanied tonight with Blackened Salmon topped with Winona peach & Jalapeño salsa & side of fresh Halton 🌽...Cheers 🍷 — 7 years ago

Chris England

9.4

A top St Em @ £120 showing beautifully now in an average year but will definitely improve with time 👍

📍Chateau Tertre Roteboeuf 2011

🏵 94 points w/ potential for higher 😉

🍇 80% Merlot & 20% Cabernet Franc

🐮 Paired w/ Fillet Steak burger, beef tomato, cos lettuce, grilled courgette, cheddar cheese & horseradish sauce 😍

🍷 Blackened opaque ruby

👃 Crushed wet mineral rock & soggy gravel oozing though dollops of dark plum & blackberry w/ soft smoked oak, pencil lead, coffee, raspberry & rich cocoa butter

👄 Med body of rich ripe creamy & incredibly smooth silky plump spiced dark plum & black berry/currant fruit w/ lashings of cocoa + minerals & a touch of melted liquorice in slight dry tannins but very nicely balanced

🎯 Med+ black plump fruit infusion w/ touch dry minerals & a mocha/liquorice kick — 7 years ago

David Kline

9.2

Sage, nutmeg, allspice, black currant, smoked blackberry and blackened plum with shimmering basalt, cedar and vintage tobacco. Medium mouthfeel with refined tannins, a blood-like iron taste, rich, black cherry and dried cranberry with a gritty, earthen coat. A sprinkle of graphite and nettle in a cedar box. #poderesapaio #bolgheri #italianredwine #rosso #thanksgivingwine #thanksgivingindulgence #thanksgiving — 7 years ago

with Courtney

Tom & Lois Kelly

9.2

2008 Bolghieri Superiore Greppicaia. At its apogee. Earthly. Black cherry. Fruit and acidity in perfect harmony. Paired with blackened filet amazing combination. So smooth. Excellent choice! — 8 years ago