The 2008 Cheval Blanc is one of the go-to wines of the vintage. Now at 15 years old, it has retained the energy and focus it displayed from the outset: black fruit, crushed stone, wilted violet petals and touches of forest floor cohere wonderfully in the glass. The Cabernet here is more expressive. The palate has a slight chewiness on the entry, but it "relaxes" in the glass. It shows off its delicate lattice of tannins and perhaps a bit more backbone than I have observed on previous bottles. It's very intense on the finish where, as before, the Cabernet Franc takes charge. Superb. Keep it another three to four years if you can. Tasted at the Lia's Wings/book dinner at Medlar restaurant. (Neal Martin, Vinous, December 2023)
— 3 months ago
What a lovely wine! Lots of violet, forest floor, thyme, red cherry, black cherry, cassis, vanilla, clove, forest floor, dried rose, dried blackberry. The wine has an abundance of flavor but has a lot of finesse - it’s medium bodied with real elegance on the palate. Lovely tertiary qualities being to emerge - this is delightful. — 5 months ago
+2 hour decant(little fine/cloudy sediment). A brooding dark magenta color. On the nose: very aromatic notes..lots of blackberry, floral, pencil lead, wet forest floor, sweet oak. Taste: blackberry, cassis, bitter chocolate, herbs, pepper and a gravelly/new leather long finish with some still there kickin tannins. YUM! Gonna give my next bottle a few more years for a better score. — 2 months ago
Silky smooth nose, velvety and soft, with forewarned black currants, just a LITTLE pepper, dark cherry and maybe a little pine forest floor? Some sediment and still grippy tannin, but starting to really loosen, with prominent ripe red fruits of dark , brooding plum, cherry and dark fruits, with hints of graphite, wood, and smoke over a still zingy finish. — 3 months ago
Cherry, shitake mushroom, plum, forest floor. — 2 months ago
Since Fass is offering the 2019 as a cellar release from the winery i went back to taste the vintage. 2018, 19, 20, 21 are all excellent and different. The 18‘ is more wild and rich, the 19‘ quite elegant and the 20‘big while the 21‘ is probably my favorite a combination of 19‘ & 20‘. The 19 is classic E&M i would drink the vintage and not keep it. Light and elegant, dark cherries, lime, chalk and this hard to define E&M signature best described as black forest meadow with thyme and other herbs. I could drink this by the bucket. — 3 months ago
We opened the 2016 La Rioja Alta S.A. Viña Ardanza Reserva. This is a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha from La Bastida, Spain.
On thr nose there was cherry, plum, strawberry,black currant, anise, leather, herbs, baking spice and forest floor.
On the palate was cherry, raspberry, strawberry, herbs, baking spice, balsamic and anise.
This wine is medium to full bodied with a silky mouthfeel medium+ acidity and medium to medium + fine supple tannins that lead to a long red fruit forest floor finish. Welcome to another weekend and I hope everyone has great plans with wine in mind. Please enjoy the weekend and please stay safe and healthy. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 5 months ago
Anne Meijers
Structured and what a length! — 2 days ago