Brilliant Mistake Wines

Château Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 1997

Girl. Sup? Shoot. This was utterly brilliant tonight. Classic Bordeaux yet, even at 26 years young, somewhat precocious still. A beautiful mix of deep, dark and red fruit with currants, blackberries and cherries with chocolate, purple flowers, green pepper, tobacco, earth, leather and awesomeness. Plenty of structure to keep this strutting for years to come. Fabulous balance and complexity. Drink now through 2047+. — 2 months ago

Bob, Ceccherini and 14 others liked this

La Rioja Alta

Reserva Viña Ardanza Rioja Tempranillo Garnacha 2015

The 2015 Viña Ardanza is only the third vintage of this wine that I’ve tasted, yet it has quickly become perhaps my favourite Rioja - for quality, value, style, and sheer pleasure. This is a match for the brilliant 2010, with an outrageously pure and beautiful nose of balsamic paste, bitter orange, black cherry, fig and vanilla. The palate is supple but firm, quite dark in character, with a gorgeous medley of black and red fruits, perhaps slightly fuller bodied than the 2010, and carrying through to a long, bitter orange, tar and tobacco-laced finish.

This is just such superb stuff, and to say it sells for around £20-30 a bottle, it’s a cellar must.
— a year ago

Egon Müller

Scharzhofberger Kabinett Riesling 2015

Absolutely brilliant. Sensational combination of richness, concentration, and freshness. — 4 months ago

Ira, John and 6 others liked this
John Howard

John Howard Influencer Badge

The best!

Louis Roederer

Cristal Brut Champagne Chardonnay Pinot Noir Blend

A combination of nutty and citrus zest . Beautiful wine in her youth. I would keep this baby deep in the cellar for at least 5, maybe 10, years. Brilliant even by Cristal standards and may be among their best ever — 10 months ago

Ira liked this

Domaine Ghislaine Barthod

Les Cras Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2015

A bright Ruby red in colour. Red florals, touch of violet with red cherry and notes of compost heap. A dusty component to the nose Barb thought. Not as much perfume as I was expecting in a Premier Cru Chambolle. Medium bodied and latent. More mineral, dusty and earthy than a new world Pinot Noir. A perfect match with Duck a l’Orange. One of the 1001 wines. This was a major stuff up. I meant to drink the 2013 and picked the 2015 by mistake which is nowhere near ready. — 2 years ago

Ray, Douglas and 20 others liked this

Paolo Bea

Santa Chiara Umbria Bianco Malvasia Blend 2015

Splash decanted about 15min prior and served just below cellar temp. The 2015 Santa Chiara pours a brilliant, burnished gold color. No real signs of particles or gas. Medium+ viscosity. On the nose, the wine is medium intensity and remarkably clean! This stands in stark contrast to other orange wines from Paolo Bea like Arboreus and Lapideus which are wild AF. Instead, the olfactory is greeted with the most deliciously fresh smelling Pink Lady apples, apricots, tangerines, and yellow flowers. On the palate, the wine is dry and the tannins, while they grab my attention, are probably closer to medium. Medium…bordering on medium+ acid. On the palate, the pomaceous and stone fruits predominate along with some herbs and minerals all wrapped in a gorgeously textured package. Super well balanced. The finish is long, a touch bitter and provides plenty of zip to work with the Cacciucco that we made for dinner. An absolutely lovely, and quite becoming, orange wine that’s drinking so well right now. Bottle #4419/6400. — 3 years ago

Brian, Andrew and 7 others liked this

Domaine François Raveneau

Montée de Tonnerre Chablis 1er Cru Chardonnay 2013

Not sure there are better 13 whites than Raveneau. Lafon also comes to mind. It’s an early drinking vintage (by Raveneau standards) while you wait for 12 and 14. Also, no Chapelot this year so it’s blended in here. A multi hour advance decant has it rocking, stunningly aromatic, soaring with layers of créme fraîche, baking spice, crushed stones and a whisper of botrytis influenced saffron. The palate shows immense power, concentration and depth of waxy yellow fruit chiseled with Chablisen minerality. Brilliant tension and racy lemony acids provide a seamless balance to its power and richness. MDT always hits 🫰🏻 — 7 months ago

Mark, Paul and 8 others liked this

Clos Rougeard

Saumur Champigny Cabernet Franc 2011

Delicious, brilliant nose and structure. Full of berry and jam — 2 years ago

Romain, Tom and 6 others liked this
Douglas Braun

Douglas Braun Influencer Badge

Amazing wine

Tenuta San Guido

Bolgheri Sassicaia Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2008

Sweet, ripe black fruit. Charcoal, fresh and elegant acidity, brilliant balance. Starts very strong, then perhaps lacks a little length (in comparison to the Pichon Longueville ‘08). Powerful, but truly beautifully balanced, gorgeous exotic sweetness in the nose. — 2 years ago

Jan, Peter and 2 others liked this