Aaron Tan

8.9

I'll start of by saying that this is going to be a rant - one about intent and expectations. Don't get me wrong, this was a tasty wine but it got me thinking.

This entry-level Bourgogne took 3 days to uncoil itself. Extreme rubbery reduction when first opened, which pervased through the nose and palate. I tried decanting it, mind you, but to no avail. So back in bottle and fridge it went and day 2, it was the same thing. It was only at the end of day 3 when the wine starting unfurling its dark red fruits, smoky, spicy oak, cocoa, and hints of minerality in the finish. The intensity and texture's quite excellent for a Bourgogne. But really... 3 days for a Bourgogne to show itself. To me, that's way too long. In that time frame, it could have well ended up in a volatile mess.

It begs the question of intent: Did the father and son team intend to make a wine like this? Should a Bourgogne be made ready-to-drink? Should I have expected that? Perhaps this was just on the unlucky end of bottle variation. I don't know. Or maybe the question's about reduction - is it ok? Generally, I don't mind it, but there are cases like this where I would have loved to be able to enjoy the wine there and then - where was the copper coin when I needed it 🤣

NB: Third time having this producer, and I think it's just not my cup to tea. Nevertheless, Guillon's been getting quite a few rave reviews. Les Graviers comes from a vineyard just outside Chambolle. Ripe fruit, partial whole-cluster fermentation, a long maceration, and 100% new oak for aging. I guess the winemaking does give an insight on the intent of this wine 🤔  — 7 years ago

Jo HomoHomeboy

8.9

Heavy but still a good drink and buy. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

On the nose; ripe, syrupy dark currants, blackberries, sweet slightly liqueured dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, blue fruits, dark fruit gummy bears, tarry notes, black pepper, soft leather, dry brush, black licorice, caramel, dry crushed rocks, loamy dry top soil, violets, lilacs and lavender. The body is warm, thick, ultra rich, lush & elegant. The tannins are round & velvety but still have strength...50% resolved. It has another 10-12 years of good drinking ahead. The fruits are gorgeous & ripe; blackberries, sweet slightly liqueured dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries & lots of blue fruits & strawberries that paint the palate on the long set. A fair amount of tarry notes, black pepper, dry herbaceous notes (bay leaf), dry black olive, medium dark spice, dark chocolate, caramel, vanilla, clove, soft leather, dry brush, black licorice, dry crushed rocks, loamy dry top soil, violets, lilacs and lavender. The acidity is round & excellent. The long fruit driven finish is beautifully lush, elegant, well structured with near perfect balance. Photos of; Owner/Winemaker Roman Bratasiuk, their old gnarly 80-90 year old and low yielding vines and two of their vineyards. Producer history and notes...Clarendon Hills was founded in 1990 by Biochemist Roman Bratasiuks. Roman sought to further his passion for great wine by making some himself. Roman never trained as a winemaker. He planned on using his insight as a wine taster and scientist alike to dictate decisions. Roman sought to make a version of the wines he loved. The beginnings of Clarendon Hills effectively started in 1989 when he knocked on the door a local grower whose fruit he liked. A great friendship grew from from this by chance knock on the door. A handshake ensued and it became the first Clarendon Hills vineyard. On Saturday 24 February in 1990, Roman with just a bucket and secateurs arrived. Much to the growers shock, he began picking fruit himself. Roman started at 6 am and finished at 9 pm that evening; he picked half the entire vineyard himself and returned on Sunday the 25th to finish it. This process was repeated in a Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard which formed the 3 single site wines produced in 1990. Crushing was performed by Roman using empty bottles to squash the fruit in a bucket, then transferred by that bucket, to one of the 3 small ex-dairy tanks all bought for $100 and a quick, non-temperature controlled wild-yeast fermentation ensued. The wines were pressed in a borrowed basket press and matured in 3 separate third-hand barrels. The vintage was finished in 11 days. Much to Roman’s delight the wines were superb and they sold. With the money he bought more buckets, three more barrels and rent for a shed to house wines. The process was repeated the next year and the year after that. Clarendon Hills grew from his determination. This one man had to make wine after work and on the weekends after his 9-to-5 job. A local news paper even ran a story "Tin shed wines take on the world"; which made Roman cringe but slowly Clarendon Hills grew, it afforded him more equipment to make the process less labour-intensive and slowly grow his vineyard repertoire. In 1994, Roman left the Australian Government laboratories and devoted himself to Clarendon Hills 100%. In the 1994 vintage, Roman hired his first employee and rebranded his $30 Clarendon Hills Shiraz as 1994 Clarendon Hills Astralis. It was the first bottle in Australia to be priced at $100. It sold out. Roman went on for many years, making and selling the wines himself. Travelling the world over to show people the wines he made. Roman figured since he made the wine, he was the most logical choice to sell and represent his wine. This worked out so well, he continues to show the wines himself. Clarendon Hills produces; 8 Syrah, 6 Grenache, 3 Cabernet Sauvignon, a Merlot and Mourvedre wine. They are all single vineyards single varietal wines, produced from low yielding, dry grown old vines which are hand pruned and hand picked. All his wines are aged in high-quality French oak barriques. Quite a brilliant success story. This is also another wine I acquired on the secondary market for much less it’s release price and far less than their current release prices. It starts as a 9.3 with a half-hour decant. However, as it gets to an hour and half decant plus, it just gets better & better. Works it’s way to a 9.5 in a hour decant. — 8 years ago

James Ramsden

9.1

Excellent green fruit. Very smooth. Sample from Svensky. — 9 years ago

AnneMarie Girard

9.5

AMAZING. Fruit forward with guava essence — 9 years ago

Ira Schwartz

9.8

An intoxicating nose of florals, lemon and lime, gun powder, and apples.
Powerful layers of stone fruit have escaped an acid bear hug just enough to give insight into the tremendous fruit concentration that lurks here. All encompassing mineral flavors appear throughout the palate and the lengthy backend. A decadent drinking experience. BELIEVE! — 7 years ago

greg

9.1

The nose exudes aromatic and citrus fruit notes, while the surprisingly crisp and bone dry palate has nice tropical fruit flavours with a great minerality and long finish. O'Briens €14.99 bargain offer. — 7 years ago

Ira Schwartz

9.3

A nice contrast to the Taittinger. This is also about structure but this one is giving you a much greater insight into what it has to offer. Consistent notes similar to the last bottle I posted a few weeks back. — 7 years ago

Lindsey King

9.1

I had this by the glass a few weeks ago and was disappointed but giving a second try out of the bottle has changed my opinion quite a bit. We decanted it for 30 minutes, mostly for aesthetic quality (why the heck not?) so maybe that had a bit to do with the overall taste. Such a truly beautiful translucent ruby colour - like stained glass. A bit o' tannin I was surprised by. Could definitely offer a LOT for diverse food pairings (I know, you're welcome for that insight about Pinot noir....) Young vines really showing in a fun way. Classic P-Morissette does Burgundian style. Cranberry, red purple flowers, black tea leaves, NICE potting soil (not the stuff you can get at dollarama). Would recommend to a friend. Oh also I drank this out of a brandy glass because #myparents . — 8 years ago

Dave Wood

9.1

Super good for summer drink mixing check out the Insight website for ideas. Great straight up as well. — 9 years ago

Jae Cho

9.0

Underripe strawberry and toast. "You need a mineral" is diana's additional insight — 9 years ago

with Diana

Christine Havens

9.0

I had the pleasure of visiting the Szepsy family last fall—the time spent with them gave me insight into why the Tokaji region, famed for it's sweet wines is now transitioning to more dry-style offerings. The Dry by Tokaj, an entry level in their portfolio is the color of straw, with vivid aromas of bosc pear, lemon drop, white grapefruit, and jasmine. The region's signature minerality is more pronounced on the palate than on the nose in this bottling, one that is tangential to the focused vein of acidity coursing through the center of this outstanding Hungarian white. 13.0% ABV | Sample — 9 years ago

Kirk F

9.0

Really good. Will definitely seek this one out again. — 7 years ago

Doug

9.5

The insight that breathing this wine is a must was respected and the difference in my initial sip to 30 minutes later was validation of the recommendation!
Cherry and mildly dry. 2013 vintage — 7 years ago

Sean Herriott

9.2

Beautiful red fruits, hot soil, and tobacco notes. Fantastic example of the greatness coming out of Bolgheri today.
I gained so much insight from an evening spent with Giovanni Gaja about his family and their wines. Bravo!
I — 7 years ago

Thomas Brenner

8.9

Bright and fruity, really little spice on this one. Great, easy and fun drinking. A nice insight into this year's vintage. — 8 years ago

Kelleen Sullivan

9.5

Old world mineral stone qualities banana insight and finish — 8 years ago

Dan White

9.3

Fruit, Acid with a side of fun. Ok, so that doesn't provide any insight into the wine... This wine is unpretentious, complex and full of character. Rich, minerality with enough body to hold up to solid food. Apple, Brown Pear and stone fruit. Very, very good. — 9 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.3

Tasted alongside Michael at the 16' vintage reveal earlier this week. I think a warmer vintage can do wonders for marginal climates, such as the Macedon. Of course, with the right viticulture and picking decisions. 16' has produced a remarkable rendition of the Kostas. Layered, rich, seamless. Bright citrus fruit, lots of grapefruit in fact, floral, mineral, leesy, restraint oak.

Note: Tasted alongside the 09', which was another warm year. A nice insight to how the 16' might develop - the 09' has an almost pervasive lanolin character, fruit's giving way to some mealy and bitter almond notes, very mineral, and perhaps a little more weight and richness. My notes had the word purity attached to both wines — 9 years ago

Chris England

9.0

In the ☀️ what else can you do? Crack open a new vintage of your fav value NZSB @ £12 - wow this vintage is lovely 👍 Absolutely try this 😎 great QPR

🍷 Light straw yellow w/ lime hue

👃 Intense aromatic pineapple, peach & mango rain mist w/ citrus & gooseberry splashes

👄 Refreshing crisp zingy sweet mango lead creamy punchy tropical fruits in a med body w/ med acidity through citric tones

🎯 Long totally tropical & citrus taste w/ a dry lime touch 👍 I'm going to go play my bongo bongo now 🎶 — 9 years ago