5/15/2024 - SimonS wrote:

Gorgeous chardonnay. Ripe yet restrained. Many citrus fruits in there. Seems about ready now.

5/5/2024 - SimonS wrote:

Oxidised. Probably just too old.

4/27/2024 - SimonS wrote:

A bucket of dark fruit in an oaken robe. Lovely now but with development to come.

4/27/2024 - SimonS wrote:

Even from a half this seems young, with a hint of reduction. But it quickly dissipates to reveal a lovely burgundy styled chardonnay.

3/23/2024 - SimonS wrote:

Last bottle. At peak. Superb balance.

2/4/2024 - SimonS wrote:

Very nice chianti. Fully mature, but not OTT. Smooth and balanced, lower apparent acidity than most chianti.

12/27/2023 - SimonS wrote:

Very yummy. Light to medium body. Lovely balance. Decent length. Seems like a good time to drink this

8/6/2023 - SimonS wrote:

Tasting at Arterberry Maresh (Maresh Red Barn): On the nose - immediate hit of high end white burg. Plenty of reductive matches. Loved it in the mouth, with perhaps a tiny touch of VA. Feels like this still needs a few years. I must get some!

8/6/2023 - SimonS wrote:

Tasting at Arterberry Maresh (Maresh Red Barn): No visible bricking at 5 years. Nose of sweet cherry and raspberry liqueur. Alcohol or perhaps a hint of VA.
Palate - sweet and lovely - hard to spit, for the first time in this tasting. I am delighted to have a case of this in waiting.

8/6/2023 - SimonS wrote:

Tasting at Arterberry Maresh (Maresh Red Barn): Much more on the nose than the 2021s tried alongside. This had both red and black fruits in the profile. It is no more than medium in body. More cranberry than Calera wines, but bang in the middle of the red-black pinot spectrum. I'd be happy to drink this with almost anything, but it would be perfect with roast chicken. No doubt it will hold for ages, but could be drunk now (whereas the 2021s plainly need longer).

8/6/2023 - SimonS wrote:

Tasting at Arterberry Maresh (Maresh Red Barn): Compared to the Old Vines, this smells darker fruited and more ready. Palate confirms - easy to drink already. A bit of cinnamon on the finish. WA says 97 and keep for 5-8 years. Maybe so, but this seemed much further along its path than the old vines did.

8/6/2023 - SimonS wrote:

Tasting at Arterberry Maresh (Maresh Red Barn): Nose: young pinot - cranberry, crunchy, raspberry, bramble. On pallet, velvet, darker, fruits, tannic, but good depth. Quite reminiscent of Fourrier in style. WA98 - I am not up to assessing a young wine at that level, but this is certainly a goody.

8/6/2023 - SimonS wrote:

Tasting at Arterberry Maresh (Maresh Red Barn): Clean, fruity nose. Lots of apple and some lemon. Good depth of flavour and clean and fresh. Not suprised to learn this is made in steel.

12/30/2022 - SimonS wrote:

I found this much less sweet and flabby than I have found other vintages (especially the 2005), so I preferred it to them. Clear lines of lemon and line in the mouth. It was just as popular with non-wine geeks as it always is.

12/27/2022 - SimonS wrote:

Utterly delicious. Unoaked quality. Perhaps a shade less acidity this year. One of my very favourite "basic" wines.

11/11/2022 - SimonS wrote:

Just beautiful at present. Multi coloured fruit flavours.

10/29/2022 - SimonS wrote:

Always a favourite with both of us. Acid and crunch balanced by velvetyness. Fruit tending darker as this ages.

10/24/2022 - SimonS wrote:

Just delicious (already!). Bramble and cherry and just a hint of liquorice. One of the most more-ish wines I know.

10/24/2022 - SimonS wrote:

We both loved this. Young and vigorous, but balanced and deliciously drinkable. Feels like it has a lot of development to come.

8/29/2022 - SimonS wrote:

Lovely now. Sweet red fruit and sous bois. Fresh acidity. Moreish. No rush.

8/28/2022 - SimonS wrote:

At peak of its powers. Black cherry on the nose. Spice and just the merest hint of leather.

8/26/2022 - SimonS wrote:

In contrast to my more recent experiences with this wine (which concluded with drink up by yesterday), this bottle was singing. I loved it. Fully mature to be sure, but lovely brambly fruit along with a bit of leather and hint of toffee. C still thought it was too acidic, but for me it was ideal with food.

8/21/2022 - SimonS wrote:

Delicious. Drinking well with brief decant.

8/4/2022 - SimonS wrote:

Dry. OK, but not exciting (esp given it is supposed to be a GG) and fully mature. Drink up.

7/18/2022 - SimonS wrote:

First night: I enjoyed with steak and salad, but C found it too acidic - I thought it was likely too mature for her. (And perhaps a bit cold from the wine fridge).
2nd night: I found it brighter and better than before and much enjoyed with sausage and salad. So I thought it was perhaps not yet fully mature!
Lesson: try decanting next time.

3/2/2022 - SimonS wrote:

Drunk over a week using coravin sparkling system. Another fantastic showing from this wine. Biscuit, lemon, complex, fresh.

3/2/2022 - SimonS wrote:

Tasted by coravin. Seems very young. Lots of sweet vanilla, firm tannins and dark fruit somewhat in the background. Would definitely decant if drinking in near future. Hoping for better in the future.

1/22/2022 - SimonS wrote:

Phenomenally good at the moment. Dark, good crunch, but mostly solid fruit.

1/20/2022 - SimonS wrote:

Drinking beautifully at present. Dark fruits, mid-acidity, some sweetness, balanced, long.

11/4/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Superb. Dark fruited. Perfect with roast Partridge.

9/9/2021 - SimonS wrote:

So yummy. Power but no weight. Slips down as easily as water, but with good length. Perfect balance. A viilage that's a match for any 1er. Looked quite brown on first pouring into the decanter but tasted a point.

9/8/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Superb - drinking beautifully after a decant. Full bodied, dark fruits, balanced, reasonably long/complex. Very popular indeed at the table.

9/8/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Really lovely. Would not have guessed chard or burg if blind. Needed a bit of time to open in the glass, and perhaps also to warm up. Very distinctive nose: floral, peach, pear and others I could not identify. Smooth, long, popular. No rush.

9/8/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Excellent, but surprisingly young seeming. Not yet fully integrated. I agree with the estimate of end date of 2030 currently on CT.

9/8/2021 - SimonS wrote:

A good bottle. Very fresh.

8/30/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Wow. Stunning wine. Colour is beautiful gold. Viscous wine. Massive nose of lychee and pineapple. In the mouth this is very sweet, sufficient acidity, smooth and looong. Matched tonight with blue cheese, this would be magnificent with pineapple cake or similar. Superb to drink now, but plainly has at least another decade in front of it, perhaps much more.

8/20/2021 - SimonS wrote:

For my taste, these are just reaching drinking time. 10 years to go at least.

7/17/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Magnificent. If you have these, now is the time. Resolved, fruit, length, still a bit of tannin. Ideal companion for a liver with balsamic red onion.

7/17/2021 - SimonS wrote:

I am enjoying these much more than before now that reduction has worn off.

6/18/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Yummy. Perfect now. Sweet mid palate. Mostly dark fruit profile. Tannins are fine ones. Only a hint of earth.

6/6/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Another bottle of total freshness - more like my first than my second.

5/10/2021 - SimonS wrote:

My first bottle (a couple of weeks ago) struck me as brand new with at least a decade or two of future life; this second one seemed to have a deeper yellow colour and a lot of biscuit on the nose. It was still fresh and lovely, but not as new born as the first. It also fell away steeply after a night in the bottle, whereas the first held up well. I am not 100% sure if this is bottle variation or taster variation, but I think it may be the former. Will report on a third bottle in due course!

4/30/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Delicious, resolved, sweet mid palate, light weight, balanced.

4/27/2021 - SimonS wrote:

This has come round beautifully after many years as a tannic monolith. Lush dark fruits are now to the fore on both nose and palate. Seems to be at the start of a decade of lovely drinking. I am gutted that I now only have one bottle left.

4/18/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Has aged very well. Mellow strawberries on the nose. Still a high acid wine in very traditional style but just right with right food (Guinea fowl with salads).

4/18/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Much preferred this now to when last tried. Reductiveness resolving well. Very drinkable indeed.

4/12/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Superb. Very strong mousse and totally fresh. Hard to believe this wine has any age, let alone nearly 20 years. Kept well overnight. Looks well set for another decade or two.

3/7/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Still totally fresh and lovely. Unoaked sangiovese. No rush.

2/16/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Heavy bottle, heavy wine. Impressive, dark, but should be better in a couple of years or so.

2/7/2021 - SimonS wrote:

Lovely this weekend. Hard to improve on the classic descriptors of violets and tar. No herbal notes (good thing). Some tannins remain but mostly integrated. Seems to be at ideal place on time line. I would suggest drinking over next 5 years or so.