Tasted blind. From magnum. Medium gold color, leesy nose. Notes of citrus, almond paste, mint, grapefruit and some ginger. Rich and glycerol in the mouth. Lots of acidity. We're all over the map on deciphering what this is. But we circle back to Burgundy and my guess is 89 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlie. This wine tonight certainly benefited from aging in the magnum format... we're all amazed at the freshness and quality this 92 still had. — 2 years ago
A punchy nose with struck match, honeyed lime. Stone and flint. Rick and great acidity subtly laced throughout. Excellent — 2 months ago
Quite light in colour, light crimson - transparent. Sweet red fruits - strawberry and raspberry, savoury overtones. Possibly the lightest table wine Grenache I’ve ever had. When you compare this to Rayas or Bonneau Celestins you realise what a chameleon Grenache can be. Serrat is the personal side project of Yabby Lake winemaker, Tom Carson. Only 580 bottles produced. See previous Delectable note in August 2022. — 6 months ago
I made no notes at the restaurant so doing this from memory. Firstly when the menu is degustation, I never get the matching wine option, preferring to choose a bottle that goes with all courses as much as possible. This light to medium bodied Grenache fits the bill and ticks all the boxes - best district for Grenache in Australia; old vine Grenache, a terrific vintage in South Australia; and a hands off, alternate producer. Grenache can be such a chameleon from barely medium weight with stalky red fruits like this one, with a lovely red floral perfume, to full bodied versions like Rayas and Bonneau Celestins. Barb and I really enjoyed this. Also, Delectable, this was a Grenache Carignan blend - not offered in your database. Continuing our road trip through the Mornington Peninsula. — a year ago
Great perfume. Strong burn, bit “alcoholic” in the middle yet with a great finale that really shows hints of the other more renowned cuvées. Less animality than expected. — 9 months ago
Lee Pitofsky
One of the last couple vintages from the master, and while it won’t be as legendary as the finale of 2015 (which is one to hold), the cool 2014 vintage has been managed beautifully, and allows for early drinking. After 2 hours in the decanter it’s wonderfully expressive and aromatic wafting layers of kirsch cherries, saddle leather, camphor and violets. The palate shows striking richness and an impeccable balance of elegance, ripeness and concentration, which is quite the feat in this vintage.
When you think of vintages in Rhône that are considered to be less heralded, such as 2008 for example, typicites just don’t exist for the likes of Bonneau and Rayas. (08 happens to be one of my favorites for both). Ultimately there are no bad vintages for Bonneau, just different ones. Beautiful wine. — 13 days ago