Sharon Weeks

E. Guigal

La Mouline Côte-Rôtie Syrah 2004

Shay A
9.6

A bottle I contributed during a trip to Napa’s Premiere Napa Valley week. This was opened at Torc, alongside a ‘97 Leflaive Les Pucelles, ‘11 Leroy Blagny, ‘89 La Chappelle and two young Napa cabs from Simon Estate. La Mouline is always my favorite due to the amount of co-ferment with Viognier.

Deserving of a 1-2hr decant, this got about an hour open in bottle by the time we got to it. I opened the ‘04 La Turque just a few weeks prior, so I had a reference point to work with. Heady aromatics, as expected…dark potpurri, spice, mesquite and mocha. On the palate, the youthful bacon-fat of Cote Rotie was gone and had channeled the classical tangy barbecue profile alongside black olive, peppered red and black berry fruit, and smoked meat at the finish. Whereas the LaTurque was almost Burgundian in profile (elegant, light), this was somewhere in-between the “bigger” LaLandonne and LaTurque…big, but balanced, likely due to vintage. Aromatics and finish here were standouts. Open now with a quick decant or hold another few years.
— a month ago

David, Tom and 17 others liked this
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

Beautiful line up!

Mount Pleasant Wines

Rosehill Limited Release Hunter Valley Shiraz 2006

See several previous tasting notes for this wine. This was made back in the day when Hunter Valley reds had strayed from their medium bodied, savoury, sweaty saddle origins to being riper and more full bodied like a South Australian Red. This was declared in a speech by Chief Winemaker at the time, Jim Chatto, at a dinner I attended at the winery. Also plenty of oak still evident at 15 years of age. I prefer the original Hunter Valley style which Mount Pleasant has wisely reverted to utilising the wonderful old vine fruit at its disposal. Tasted again 35 weeks later on 26th March 2022. Nothing to add to the note here. A Hunter Valley wine trying to look like a South Australian wine back in 2006 with ripe fruit and oak. Thankfully HV reds have returned to the medium weight savoury long living style that Maurice O’Shea made in the 1950’s. — 3 years ago

Ceccherini, Scott and 17 others liked this

Arianna Occhipinti

SP68 Bianco Terre Siciliane Albanello Muscat of Alexandria 2017

Similar notes to 118 weeks ago. A dirty mid Orange/Tangerine in colour - a little cloudy. Aromas of apricot and mouldy orange. Skinnsy apricot flavours with mild acid. A skins contact white wine fermented in clay amphora in the ground. We visited there a few years ago in Sicily. Finishes with a trace of bitterness from the skins. Natural wines - when they get them right they can be quite good but having just done a week of vintage in Coonawarra at Bellwether - you need to take risks with natural wine. — 3 years ago

Severn, Daniel P. and 18 others liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1985

As good as the 1986 a couple of weeks ago. — a year ago

Eric liked this

Enderle & Moll

Spätburgunder Rosé 2017

So...I had a birthday a couple weeks back.and due to scheduling, my regular bottle finishing team wasn't available until now, so we're finally doing it up in my grand, unique style.

Notes possibly tomorrow, scores honestly tonight.

Decanted 6H.

24-Hour Update:
Nose has crushed bricks, blood orange, ripe cherries, cranberry sauce and wet vines.
Palate has dried cranberry (unsweetened), chalk, orange zest, black currant and dried blackberry.
Seems a little shutdown, revisit 2023+.
— 3 years ago

Vanessa, Alex and 13 others liked this

Juniper Estate

Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

See previous notes from November 2020. Herbaceous is the word together with plum and blackberry - some earthiness with a note of mushroom. In summary - Herbal, Mineral, Bay leaf. Not the complete package like it’s more illustrious Wilyabrup neighbours like Woodlands, Moss Wood, Vasse Felix, Cullen etc but also half the price so good QPR. Tasted again 60 weeks later on 6th September 2022 with similar results A good wine that drinks to its price point. Not quite the standard of its illustrious neighbours. Not as much maritime influence? — 3 years ago

Ceccherini, Douglas and 20 others liked this

Tolpuddle Vineyard

Tasmania Chardonnay 2014

Having a bit of a Tolpuddle time......have had worse weekends.....! If I have miscued on the irony these are very good wines! Pale Lemon in colour. Nutty almond and grapefruit notes with white citrus flowers with some funk - lees stirring? Light to medium weight palate with medium acid. Could go a couple more years if desired. This is a great example of cool climate Tasmanian Chardonnay. More Chablis than Meursault in style. The following day a little more tart. Tasted again 46 weeks later in Toowoomba on 21st January 2022 with consistent notes. Leesy funk. Citrus: Orange and Lime. Excellent. I will have the last one in at least a year’s time. — 3 years ago

Eric, Paul and 20 others liked this

Shaw and Smith

M3 Vineyard Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2015

Similar to notes of 31 weeks ago here on Delectable. Very pale lemon in colour for a 6 year old Chardonnay. Sulphidic notes on the nose with Citrus and Grapefruit. In the lean style. Next day still plenty of citric acid. It remains a classy modern Australian Chardonnay but I have had better examples. — 2 years ago

Severn, Mike and 17 others liked this

Fermoy Estate

Reserve Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

See several previous notes. All the Margaret River Cabernet descriptors - bay leaf, blackberry herbal notes. On the palate cassis, capsicum and herbal characters. Suffice to say a good vintage from a great district for Cabernet. Had the last one 70 weeks later on 7th December 2022 - didn’t live up to expectations. — 3 years ago

Matt, Severn and 20 others liked this

Rivers-Marie

Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2013

Alder Yarrow
9.0

After our little vacation (what a pleasure and luxury after the year we’ve all had) it’s back to home cooking and drinking, and this bottle was sitting aside in the cellar because I was too lazy to reshelve it after pulling it out a few weeks ago and not getting around to drinking it. It smells of dusty dried sage and other herbs with a touch of cedar and red fruits beneath. Exceedingly silky, with dashi and miso notes mixing with raspberry and dried herbs that have this lovely aromatic sweetness that lingers with the herbs in the finish. Very pretty. — 3 years ago

Ira, Alex and 10 others liked this