2/4/2024 - Le Monty wrote:

Opened at 5pm, last sip at 10pm. This seemed more oxidative then I was expecting and somewhat flat. It was also very sweet on the finish, too sweet for me, no elegance. Maybe it is the vintage characteristic.

2/4/2024 - Le Monty wrote:

From 375. Great drinking young Bordeaux. Ruby red color, red and black fruits, cherry, raspberry, rhubarb, blackberry. It has the amazing acidity that I find in many wines from this vintage.

2/3/2024 - Le Monty wrote:

From half-bottle, decanted and drank with Pichon Baron. Purple hue, plum, saline, tannic, just not showing much. Similar to the Baron.

2/3/2024 - Le Monty wrote:

From half-bottle, decanted and drank with Montrose. Purple hue, plum, saline, tannic, just not showing much. Similar to the Montrose.

2/3/2024 - Le Monty wrote:

Great fruit and acidity, some tropical notes.

11/25/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Another very nice comes, toast, brioche, some brown sugar and red apple. Ready to drink.

12/2/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

The was showing a nice balance of age and acidity. Slight oxidative notes and yellow fruits, long smooth finish.

12/2/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

This was spot on, strawberry, raspberry, lemon, a touch of flint, wonderful.

12/2/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Very fruity and sweet, strawberry confection, whipped cream, white chocolate. A bit too sweet for my palate.

12/8/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

This was showing lots of fruit, lemon, honeydew, kiwi. Much more forward than the '08 a few days before.

12/10/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Drinking very well, nice acidity, touch of lime, oh so creamy on the palate with lemon, brioche, walnuts and toast on the back-end.

8/2/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Drank with Dream and his note is spot on.

4/11/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Lot's of red berries, quite vinous, good food Champagne.

4/11/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Tastes and smells like Comtes, just a bit short on the vintage, but good effort for the vintage.

4/11/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Third time with the bottle and last one was in 2019. This is started to enter its drinking window. Still tight on the nose with just white flowers, but the palate has lemon, ginger, grapefruit, nutmeg, red apples, espresso and a long chalky finish.

4/11/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Another great bottle of '82 Gruaud. Not as much Cordier funk as usual, but smoke, cedar, tobacco, red fruits and great acidity for an '82

4/11/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Watermelon and rhubarb up front, finishes with lemons and acidity. A pleasure to drink.

3/2/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

This was a great bottle of Comtes. The nose displayed honeysuckle, lavender, ocean breeze and spice. The palate adds toast, lemon, lime, white peach and honeydew. The finish brings it all home with light brown sugar, almond pastry and cotton candy as well as bright, mouthwatering acidity. This does remind me of the '02 on release, like WK mentioned, but a bit more acidity. Great to drink now, but should age nicely.

2/18/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

From magnum, deep yellow color, red fruit on the nose, lychee, red apple, red pear, nutmeg on palate with a chalky, lemony finish. This is at the perfect stage of maturity for me.

2/8/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

This is quite a bit softer than the '06, which I love. Showed fennel, roses, licorice, well-balanced and easy drink, but did not wow me. Gave it a 3 hour decant and it needed it.

2/8/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Perfectly aged DP, and my favorite post-80's vintage of this Champagne along with '08. Lot's of toast and honeysuckle on the nose, red apples, peach and pear on the palate. Long, sweet finish with plenty of acidity.

2/9/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Auction buy, brought to Gramercy Tavern, paired with '94 Unico that my dining companion brought. I had this bottle twice last year and those bottle were more mature. Showed asian spice, tobacco, herbs on the nose, dark cherries, coffee, black teas on the palate. Would have guessed much younger.

2/11/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Ex-chateau 2022 release, rebottled in 2011. Drinks like an '82 Bordeaux did 10 years ago. Slight bricking, touch of funk on the nose, red and black fruits, cherry, boysenberry, black raspberries, cassis, completely integrated, long saline finish. Reminds me of '82 Canon.

2/10/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Strawberries, raspberries, chalky. Very big right now, needs time to calm down.

2/11/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Lots of texture, creamy, chalky with flavors of lemon, tangerine, lime and lot's of acidity. Should age nicely.

2/5/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Drank side-by-side with the '16. Pulled the cork and took a quick taste 24 hours before service. Decanted for an hour before heading out to dinner. Nose was showing some salinity and asparagus, some plums on the palate but not much else. Tannins are a little bigger than the '16 and it does have a similar freshness to it. Easy to drink like the '16, just not exciting at this stage, and I was not expecting it to be. Worth trying but I don't plan on opening another bottle anytime soon.

2/5/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Drank side-by-side with the '19. Pulled the cork and took a quick taste 24 hours before service. Decanted for an hour before heading out to dinner. Tea and vanilla on nose, red raspberries and cherries up front, turning to dark cherries, black pepper, plum on back-end. Impeccable balance of acid and tannins, has the signature '16 freshness. Easy to drink but not showing much complexity at this stage. Should be very nice with more time in the bottle.

2/2/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

This was a late disgorgement bottle ('99) that I took to Z's 50th party. This did not have the fizz that another original disgorgement of '73 at the party had, but the palate was similar, toast, butterscotch and caramel with good acidity.

1/29/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Half-bottle Sunday. This was purchased at the Roy Welland auction along with the GE. It has been a while since I opened one of these and it has gained weighted and volume, drinking more like the GE. The nose has tomato vine and white pepper, palate showing rhubarb, cherry, as well as some cool fruit. Tannins are still big but balanced nicely with the acidity. Drank well on its own, but would go well with fowl or lean red meat.

1/29/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

This was drinking great. Some bricking, lots of spice and animal on the nose, sweet fruit on the palate with some iron and meat notes, nice acidity. Drank great with roast chicken. Purchased at Zachy's auction direct from Domaine. Attended a great dinner the night before with Erwin and had the chance to sample before bidding.

12/26/2022 - Le Monty wrote:

This is a great value and a crowd pleaser. Not the most complex but very drinkable.

1/8/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Big step up from the '11. Tomato vine, camphor, asian spice.

1/7/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Decent drink from half-bottle. Good for the vintage.

1/6/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Lots of biscuit and citrus. I needed something that would drink over 3 days without fading and this fit the bill.

12/31/2022 - Le Monty wrote:

Drank NYE. If you ask me, this is the Cristal Rose to own. This is so elegant and seamless, citrus and blood orange. Drink it from a big glass and enjoy.

1/10/2023 - Le Monty wrote:

Drank NYE. I have always loved this wine and this bottle was no exception. Dark cherry, bacon, iron, tar, smoke and long finish. In a great spot.

12/31/2022 - Le Monty wrote:

Drank NYE. Bursting with lots of red fruit, good acid and aromatics.

12/20/2022 - Le Monty wrote:

Drank at Chambers with 3 other WineBerserkers. Shifter nailed the note. There is so much depth to this bottle, a clear step up from the original release.

11/24/2022 - Le Monty wrote:

This was drinking great. Dusty tannins, sweet red fruit, smooth finish, everything you want in a old Napa cab.

10/27/2022 - Le Monty wrote:

I really love those old bottles of Mondavi, especially the reserve bottlings. This bottle was not a reserve, but it drank like one. Cork was in great shape and the color showed just a touch of bricking. This dispalyed some sour plum flavors upon opening, but as is usually the case with old Mondavi, this really came alive after an hour in the decanter. Deep,dark cherry, sweet plum, smoke, tar, coffee, licorice with a long, smooth finish. Just lovely.

10/27/2022 - Le Monty wrote:

Really lovely bottle of ‘08 Louis Salmon showing lemon upfront, orchard fruit on the mid-palate and finishing with sage and cardamom. This a a big, bold Champagne that drinks extremely well on its own. Another great ‘08 from the House of Billecart-Salmon.

10/11/2022 - Le Monty wrote:

Light salmon color, clean nose, pomegranate, strawberries, raspberries on palate. Light bubbles and comes across as a vinous style of rosé.

9/16/2022 - Le Monty wrote:

This was not as good as usual, a bit tart and short on the finish.

9/16/2022 - Le Monty wrote:

This was a bit more mature than usual. Showing lots of sweet red peach up front, burnt sugar and coffee on the finish.

9/3/2022 - Le Monty wrote:

The color is still a bright red with just a little bricking. The nose is very concentrated with dried herbs, smoke, creosote and cedar. When first tasted it came across a bit sour, but these old Mondavi's really benefit from a decant, so I let it sit for 2 hours before dinner. By then it had evolved showing more dried herbs, chocolate, cassis, coffee and plum. Well balanced, smooth and a paired really well with roast chicken.

8/27/2022 - Le Monty wrote:

Beautiful ruby color, on the nose - smoke, band-aid, gun powder and tomato vine. Palate shows white pepper, cranberry, iodine, iron and stems, yet deep and rich. Best glass was the last one about 6 hours after opening where everything had come together, however it is a bit too rich for me. I preferred it when it was younger, lighter and more fresh.

8/27/2022 - Le Monty Likes this wine:

Big whiff of fresh baked bread upon opening. In the glass the nose has saline, sea breeze and oysters, more reductive and Dom like. Palate shows some telltale Cristal lemon, but also rhubarb and lime. Finish is long with lots of acidity and white peach. Drank the first half of the bottle 3 hours after opening and the 2nd half 6 hours after opening where is showed more lemon curd and hazelnut. This has put on weight and is more enjoyable than it was a year ago as the acidity has calmed down. Drank from Glasvin Prestige glass which I think helped it open up.

7/16/2022 - Le Monty Likes this wine:

Finally found the right occasion to open this bottle, which was a dinner with Englishman’s Claret and our respective spouses. This bottle tows the line between oxidative and fresh. The older vintages provide toast, nuts, caramel and honey while the younger vintages add acidity, lemon and verve. A real pleasure to drink a Champagne with such history with other Champagne lovers.

5/15/2022 - Le Monty Likes this wine:

I have been drinking this Champagne since it was released and I have always liked it but thought it was a step behind '02/'06. It was missing some of the fruit of the other vintages and sometimes came across with a bit of green streak. It had a lot more depth to it, showing lemon, brioche, red apple, orange and baking spices. Much more Cristal like. Age has been kind to this bottle.

5/13/2022 - Le Monty Likes this wine:

Nice wine, but I don't get how this is rated the same as the '00. Had I drunk this blind, I would have guessed '14.