5/13/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

This is an exceptional Spatlese opening pale and clear with a fragrant nose of freshly cut Fuji apples, white peaches, lime and white flowers. The palate has exceptional intensity of flavour yet a lovely sense of weightlessness all balanced by zesty acidity and a fine mineral touch. There is great persistence that lifts this wine out of a very competitive pack in 2019. Simply delicious.

5/11/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

A wine of two parts, this opened pale green gold with a reserved nose of green apples, lemon rind and limestone and a palate, though very pure and nicely balanced, that seemed to lack drive and weight. The remaining half decanted into a 375ml bottle and corked for 2 nights was a different wine with a more complex nose with pineapple and lime touches and a palate with a lovely line of pine-lime splice fruit on a background of apple, lemon zest, white nectarine and limestone. There was terrific length and grip in addition with terrific purity. The conclusion is that under Diam this wine really needs another 7-10 years to develop the full colours of a great Les Clos.

5/10/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

Private Dinner, The Brisbane Club. This wine opened beautifully with a persistent deep crimson colour and a scented nose of blackcurrant, blueberry, dark cherry, violets and cedar. The palate reflects the aromatics of the nose with a spherical impression of rich fruits and floral notes balanced by a long fine spine of gossamer tannins and persistent touches of cedar and dark chocolate. There is lovely purity and balance here with that touch of opulent merlot that makes the best Palmers so desirable and individual.

4/27/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

Another delicious bottle of this wine which opened with a deep crimson robe of colour and a rich nose of blackcurrants, garnet plums, fruit cake, cedar and dark chocolate. The palate initially is rich and round with an initially deceptive glossiness that with time in the glass developed classic Paulliac austerity and line to match the layers of fruit. There's a touch of 82 about this wine suggesting that time will highlight the structure and complexity of this alongside the delicious fruit characters.

4/23/2024 - drjb wrote:

Another corked bottle of this otherwise excellent wine !

4/23/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

Two corked, two in great shape, this bottle opened as the winemaker intended with mid intensity clear cherry red colour and a nose of sweet red berry fruits with wild strawberry and raspberry prominent with a background of rose and cherries. The palate has a fine rich line of fruit that persists well into the back-palate of minerals and fungi. There is a lovely line of compote of berry fruits that develops an almost liquor touch with time in the glass. A reminder of how fine Beaune can be.

4/23/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Home Dinner. This is a delicious riesling in classic Australian 'dry spatlese' style with a nod to Moselle 'feinherb'. There is a lovely line of lime and white stone fruit here with plenty of zest and minerality to a nicely balanced finish. There is also plenty of dry extract and grip here suggesting an interesting evolution ahead.

4/23/2024 - drjb wrote:

Cork taint in extremis.

4/23/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Home Dinner. Another fine mature bottle of this wine which opened with a deep crimson colour and a fine nose of red cherries, raspberries, Asian spice and red orange zest. The palate is medium weight with a lovely core of rich red fruits and a fine background of spice, citrus zest and limestone that persisted nicely. The balance and purity evident tonight has come with age and deserves that extra point.

4/17/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Wine Group Dinner 203, Harveys Bistro - 2009 Left Bank. This bottle opened with an initial closed nose that opened in the glass to reveal blackcurrants, black raspberries and cherries, cedar and charcoal, dark chocolate and lead pencil. The palate is finely constructed with beautiful linearity yet the fruit has a richness and mouthfeel that balances the austerity. Over time the line of rich fruit becomes more apparent and persistent into the wonderful pure finish. A classic long distance Las Cases.

4/17/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Wine Group Dinner 203, Harveys Bistro - 2009 Left Bank. This opened very well with a deep golden colour with copper edges and a rich nose of blood orange, apricot conserve, pineapples and leatherwood honey. The palate has beautiful richness and purity with a lovely persistent finish of toast, butter and leatherwood honey that covers a spine of citrus acidity that is perhaps a little softer than previous bottles. Overall this is a delicious bottle of Sauternes.

4/17/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Wine Group Dinner 203, Harveys Bistro - 2009 Left Bank. This opened beautifully with a deep pure crimson colour and a soaring nose of blackcurrants, garnet plums, dark raspberries, dark chocolate, cedar and charcoal with touches of white flowers. The palate is rich and layered with a Latour-like strictness that provides great length, purity and nuance. This is great wine.

4/17/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Wine Group Dinner 203, Harveys Bistro - 2009 Left Bank. This wine opened beautifully with a deep crimson colour and forthcoming nose of blackcurrants, garnet plums, lead pencil, dark chocolate and cedar. The palate is rich and layered with plenty of complexity that becomes apparent with air and time. This exudes pure Pauillac class and balance to counterweight the vintage richness.

4/21/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

A perfect bottle of 1er cru Gevrey, this opened with a still deep cherry red colour and clear nose of raspberry, redcurrants, strawberries with touches of rose, spice and mushroom. The palate has great shape with medium weight and intensity and lovely purity leading into a fine finish. There are some citrus and limestone touches on the finish providing grip and interest. A lovely bottle of mid-weight Gevrey.

4/13/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At a private dinner, Little Cove, Noosa. This wine opened well with a pale green colour colour and plenty of white peach, pear and citrus on the nose backed with some classic limestone touches. The palate is robust and flavoursome with plenty of Chassagne generosity and sparkle. There is good grip and length and an overall sense of everything we seek in Chardonnay on an early autumn night at the beach !

4/13/2024 - drjb wrote:

At a private dinner, Little Cove, Noosa. This 1995 has opened beautifully after years of slumber with a still deep crimson colour and a soaring nose of garnet plums, blackcurrants, dark chocolate and truffles. The palate is gracefully rich and round with plenty of dark plum and berry fruit backed by dark chocolate, violets and truffles. There's a fine line of refined tannins and touches of walnuts on the finish. A delicious Pomerol from a stern year.

4/13/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At a private dinner, Little Cove, Noosa. Again this wine opened with a delightful golden colour and a rich nose of citrus and tropical fruits with touches of apricot and yellow peach. The palate is intense and multifaceted with plenty of grip and drive to underpin that classic Prum lightness of touch. The only detractor here was the prominence of that petrol/kero character often seen in riesling, often part of the complexity but here it was intrusive as opposed to the last bottle and past bottles of old Prum. Is this a wine fault or a varietal characteristic ? I suspect somewhere in the future it will be seen as the former.

4/13/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At a private dinner, Little Cove, Noosa. This wine was opened and slow-oxed for 6hrs before dinner. The colour was a deep rusty red with a terrific nose of wild strawberry, raspberry and dark plums with plenty of spice and mineral notes. The palate is rich with lovely black and red berry fruit notes balanced with lovely touches of spice and a persistent line of minerality that really defines this wine. This is really quite delicious !

4/3/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

While this bottle was delicious it opened very much as a 2000 rather than 2010 with advanced maturity rather than the premox of a previous bottle. The nose and palate showed plenty of yellow stone fruits, grapefruit, nuts and honey characters and a delicious layered palate that evolved favourably with air to reveal a lovely purity. There was plenty of grip and drive here but the overall impact is of a much older wine.

4/7/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Home Dinner. This wine presented as a nicely mature St Emilion with tons of rich black berry and stone fruit characters on the nose and palate with touches of dark chocolate, vanilla and cedar. There is nice length and a real sense of proportion to this bottle in maturity.

4/7/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Home Dinner. This was a deliciously mature wine with a developed straw colour and a fresh complex nose of white peach, Nashi pear, white cherries, wild strawberries, honey and nougat. The palate is quite rich with fruit and nougat flavours leading into a developed line of caramel and honeyed cashew flavours. There was still plenty of grip and minerality providing great length to this beautiful Champagne.

4/7/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Home Dinner. This is a delicious bottle of Dom with considerable richness and grip rather than sheer elegance. There is a lovely mouthful of fruit well balanced by brioche and nuts leading into a fine finish where there was a real sense of grape tannin and matiere rather than acidity.

4/7/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Home Dinner.This wine opened beautifully with a developed amber orange colour and a nose of orange and lemon zest, candied grapefruit, apricot conserve and honeyed pineapple . The palate reflects the complexity on the nose and the richness is balanced by lovely matiere and grip that provides terrific length that persists beautifully on the back palate. There is a persistent touch of honey and creme brûlée that really lifts this wine.

4/7/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Home Dinner. Served with Crudo Pesce this wine opened with a fresh pale green gold colour and a complex nose of lemon rind, freshly cut Nashi pear, crushed gooseberry, mint and oyster shell. The palate is fresh and quite primary with zesty notes of lemon, apple, gooseberries around a core of Nashi pear all balanced with a bracing line of citrus and slightly herbal characters. A lovely example of this blend bottled under Stelvin it will leave for ages.

4/7/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Home Dinner. This wine opened very well with a deep crimson red colour and an immediate nose of blackcurrants, garnet plums, tobacco, walnuts and a touch of mint. The palate is beautifully layered with no sense of attenuation or green characters but rather a lovely transparency in addition to rich fruit characters leading into a very poised tannin structure that persists with a nice touch of raspberry on the back palate. A lovely bottle of Latour.

4/2/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

This remains a completely classic bottle of Margaux with a deep crimson purple colour and beautiful aromatics of blackcurrant, blackberries, violets, cedar and dark chocolate. The palate is rich and intense with layers of dark fruit flavours, tobacco, chocolate, violets and liquorice leading into a fine line of balancing tannins providing lovely persistence.
Wonderful !

3/26/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

This is a delicious bottle of young Riesling showing a very pale colour and primary nose with plenty of lemon-lime, white peach, white flowers and slate characters. There is lots of grip and body here with a fine zesty finish all of which will slowly evolve into something more complex. For now its a delicious and fresh bottle of wine.

3/22/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

This opened well with a deep crimson colour and forthcoming nose of dark cherries, garnet plums, wild strawberries leading into game and allspice notes as it breathed. The palate showed quite intense fruit characters and a quite structured line of fine tannins and savoury elements providing lovely length and and mouthfeel. This is a delicious bottle with plenty of room for evolution.

3/22/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

In perfect shape this opened with a deep yet clear dark cherry colour and a nose of mulberry, dark cherries, blueberry, thyme and touches of tar and roses. The palate is deeply flavoured with plenty of dark cherry and mulberry balanced by autumn herbs and a firm line of fine tannins that persist nicely in the mouth. Excellent.

3/19/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

This is old school Burgundy with a vigorous gout de terroir yet with a few hours in the decanter there was a terrific line of strawberry and red raspberry fruit that balance the savoury aspects of ceps, earth and allspice that were first evident on the nose. Quite delicious but this is not fruit forward red burgundy !

3/15/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

Classic Meursault with an intense Puligny minerality, this wine opened fresh and pale with touch of gold. The nose is open and complex with touches of white peach, Nashi pear, lemon and lime, white flowers and oatmeal. The palate reflects the nose in its complexity with plenty of matiere and grip leading into an intensely mineral finish of limestone, oatmeal and hazelnuts. Delicious at 14 years of age.

3/12/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

This wine opened beautifully with a deep crimson colour and a rich nose of blackcurrant, garnet plums, Christmas cake, cedar and blackberry leaf. The palate is beautifully layered with black fruits, spices and cedar wood leading into a finely tuned finish of gossamer tannins. There is a lovely line of confit fruits that persists right through the finish leaving a sensuous touch to the wine that puts a smile on your face.

3/7/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At home. Very similar impression to recent notes, perhaps somewhat more fresh. As always a delicious expression of Chardonnay.

2/26/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At 'The Bunker', Leura. This opened well as a fine example of classic Margaret River Chardonnay showing well judged fruit and a nice gravelly mineral persistence. There's plenty of flavour and character for this level.

3/2/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At Leura, NSW as an aperitif. This wine remains delicious in any setting with a golden barley-sugar colour and a rich nose of apricot, blood orange, cumquat jam, vanilla bean and spice. The palate is rich and round with delicious citrus and stone fruits, creme brulee and leatherwood honey characters that persist beautifully. There is plenty of grape tannin, minerality and acid evident here to make this wine a fine aperitif.

2/23/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At South West Rocks, NSW. A lovely picnic wine this opened with a deep green gold colour and a nose of white and yellow peaches, poached pears, lemon zest, vanilla and honey. The palate has developed a lovely complexity with the complex fruit characters still at the forefront but balanced by touches of caramel, honey and vanilla pod. The texture and mineral grip remain defining features here giving the wine real distinction.

3/2/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

A great family favourite this wine opened consistent with previous bottles with a pale golden colour and a nose of white peaches, red cherries, lemonade fruit, lime zest and slate. The palate is zesty with a fine line of fruits leading into a citrus inflected and mineral finish that persists beautifully. That feather light ballerina poise remains a defining feature of these wines.

2/19/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

A number of Australian wineries have display panels, protected from light, where single vintages of 25 or more bottles of the same white wine, eg chardonnay, riesling, semillon, have been bottled under good quality cork and Stelvin. While the Stelvin sealed bottles matured consistently and steadily, those under cork are all over the place at 10 years with the diversity of outcomes increasing over time.
So too do vintages of Bonneau du Martray CC a potentially great wine owned up until recently by a family led by a great premox denier even when presented with one in his own tasting room ! My experiences are consistent with everything demonstrated by those Australian wineries described above.
This wine unlike others from the same vintage is perfect with a firmly in place cork and clear pale green gold colour that speaks of freshness. The nose is rich and fine with plenty of lemon, lime and tropical fruits balanced by honey, cashews, white flowers and limestone in the rain. The palate is gloriously rich with a mouthful of fruit, flowers and pungent minerality that provides grip and persistence to burn. There is maturity here but no hint of oxidation or undue development. In short this is white burgundy that we dream of - pungent, long aging, savoury yet fruit driven and persistent. If bottled under a decent closure I would have continued to buy this wine beyond 2002 !
So that's 1 bottle of 7 so far that's fulfilled its full potential !

2/16/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

This wine opened with a deep dark crimson colour and an immediately forthcoming nose of dark raspberries, black cherries and garnet plums with touches of spice, licquorice and cedar. The palate is dramatic in its richness yet fine in the length of its fine tannic finish and lifted by a fine line of dark raspberry confit that persists into the finish. This is not New World or Bordeaux but a unique expression of Bordeaux grapes in a distinct Italian terroir. Delicious.

4/19/2023 - drjb Likes this wine:

Wine Dinner #195, Harvey's Bistro, Fortitude Valley - Soldera Vertical 1983-2016. This opened wonderfully fresh and seemingly young with a translucent deep cherry colour and a fine nose of dark cherries, black raspberries, blackcurrants and touches of thyme and sage. The palate was deep and intense with many layers of complexity and structure. There is great persistence and density here which is an interesting comparison to the more transparent 2015 and 16. A wonderful bottle of wine that is seemingly ageless.

4/19/2023 - drjb Likes this wine:

Wine Dinner #195, Harvey's Bistro, Fortitude Valley - Soldera Vertical 1983-2016. This opened beautifully with a translucent deep cherry colour and a fine nose of dark cherries, blackcurrants, raspberry and touches of thyme and sage. The palate has both lovely fruit and a savoury character of herbs and fruitwood with a layered intensity that just persists and persists. This is the 2015 and some while retaining the same lovely transparency. Bravo !

4/19/2023 - drjb Likes this wine:

Wine Dinner #195, Harvey's Bistro, Fortitude Valley - Soldera Vertical 1983-2016. This opened beautifully with a translucent deep cherry colour and a fine nose of dark cherries, blackcurrants, raspberry and touches of thyme and sage. The palate has both lovely fruit and a savoury character of herbs and fruitwood that goes on and on. There was a lovely transparency to this wine and the 2016. Superb wine !

2/12/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

Unlike the previous bottle which was double decanted 5 hrs before serving this was only briefly decanted which showed with the wine being quite tight and somewhat disjointed for 2-3 hours before opening to reveal a deep crimson colour and a classical Margaux nose of blackcurrant, garnet plums, violets and dark chocolate with touches of cedar. The palate showed a fine balance of rich floral blackcurrant fruit and fine savoury notes of dark chocolate, cedar, olive and tobacco leading to a final fine and persistent tannic finish. This remains very young in its evolution bot rewards a good long decant showing great class and Margaux character.

2/9/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

This remains brisk and grippy with fresh lime and white peach fruit on the nose and palate following with some pulpy density of fruit and a bracing acidity balanced by just a touch of sweetness. Flavoursome and characterful easy drinking that will last for years.

2/10/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

Uncovered in a cellar reorganisation this wine was a delicious surprise with a pale clear cherry colour and a bright nose of dark cherries, mulberries, wild strawberries, cinnamon and nutmeg with touches of game and earth. The palate was medium intensity with a fine balance between the fruit and the savoury notes of earth, porcini and Asian spices. There was a lovely delicacy and sense of weightlessness here with a fine line of fruit that persisted that suggested something beyond a Villages appellation. In great shape at 29 years post vintage.

2/8/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

This wine opens very fresh with a deep cherry red colour and a nose of dark cherries, mulberries, wild strawberries and touches of spice and earth. The palate reflects the fruits of the nose with a fine linearity and excellent persistence backed by a sneaky line of confit cherry fruit that develops with air. A delicious Villages wine.

2/6/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

Our last bottle of this 'lost cellar' wine, this opened consistently and with little evidence of age beyond previous bottles. There was a lovely scented nose of strawberry, redcurrant, red cherry, roses and game meats. This wine has a lovely mid-weight palate with a fine fruit character balanced by game, earth and stone touches providing elegance and shape. While the depth and intensity are properly those of an excellent village wine there remains a superb sense of place and complexity here that belies its age and appellation.

2/4/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

This wine opened with a dark crimson colour with plenty of depth and a nose of blackberry confit, loganberries, mulberries, lavender and truffle. The palate shows plenty of richness and texture with a solid core of fruits with some balancing notes of game, earth and summer truffles. This is not particularly persistent but there's some nice complexity and certainly plenty of flavour.

1/29/2024 - drjb wrote:

This wine continues to open very well with a deep crimson colour with touches of red on the edges. The nose immediately offers blackcurrants, dark plums, touches of dark chocolate coated figs, tobacco and cedar. The palate reflects the nose beautifully with a rich ball of fruit balanced by nice savoury touches and excellent persistence.

1/25/2024 - drjb Likes this wine:

At home dinner with friends. This wine brought to dinner by friends is a reminder of the lovely Rion wines of the 90s which while not attaining the highest levels of their appellations provided lovely fruit and complexity reflecting their origins. The colour was deep and the nose was a rich compote of red and dark berry fruits with touches of spice and stony earth. The palate has that classic Rion gentle ball of fruit that builds nicely in the mouth giving way to some interesting spice and stone notes that persist with the fruit to create a fine impression.