Jay Kline

9.6

Presented to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine pours a deep garnet/purple with an opaque core and some moderate rim variation; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with beautiful notes of ripe and slightly dried black and blue fruits: dark brambles, plum, fig, purple flowers, leather ball glove, something spicy and green that has me debating between rotundone or pyrazines (but which?), rocky earth and fine baking warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Alcohol is medium. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. What a beautifully made wine.

Initial conclusions: this could be Cabernet Sauvignon (or a blend with associated Bordeaux varieties), Cabernet Franc, Merlot (blended with associated Bordeaux varieties) or Syrah from France, the US or Australia. This is older; probably 20+ years of age based on the secondary characteristics or dried fruit and old leather. While the fruit plays a starring role here, the alcohol seems almost modest so I can’t place this in Australia or the US. The problem I’m having, are there pyrazines or rotundone? I don’t get a lot of black pepper or animale, or olive for that matter…so I’m leaning towards this being Bordeaux. Final conclusion: this is a Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine with a blend of Bordeaux varieties, from France, Bordeaux, Pulliac, from a classified growth, 2004. Whoa!!! 2005 Clape?! What a treat! I feel like I should have nailed this wine. Alas…I still have to get better at differentiating between pyrazines and rotundone with age. Drink now with a decant, through 2045+ — 2 days ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.1

Vintage 2005 | Modest pleasure bringer. 100% Merlot. In the prime of its life. Equals st Emilion Grand Crus. Cedar, tobacco. Roundness in taste. Autumn leaves. Always happy to open a bottle 🙃 — 4 years ago

Kate Sky

8.9

Only modest bubbles left. Nice drinking with perhaps a bit more honey and fruit than I like. — 4 years ago

Jeremy.Buss

9.2

We are celebrating a 21 year old and someone who is . . .uh, older (me!). Pulled out this Italian red to complement homemade lasagna and our family dish called Italian delight. Decanted for over an hour. Modest spice, tobacco, cherry, dry blackberry, and has a slight burn - which sounds bad but it is actually a great finish on this wine. Light red and purple colors that give a slight reminder of a Pinot but tastes much heavier. Loved having this along with a great Bordeaux tonight!! — 5 years ago

Michael Phillips

9.5

Mature medium body well rounded modest soft tannins. — 6 years ago

Kevin Løk

9.2

Pet Nat, natch. Floral and subtle apple notes. Very tart and has that kind of micro-effervescent mineral quality but it just smacks your palate. This is not a pink Pellegrino, if you will. Though, it is a modest 10.5% ABV, and as a real hand-to-mouth kind of drinker, I’m always into something I can mindlessly pound. Highly recommended. — 7 years ago

with Brendan

Paul J

9.5

Modest gold color. Stone fruit, lemongrass, and maybe a hint of vanilla on the nose. Same on the palate, which is well integrated. Medium depth and finish.

Give this a little decant, revising from 94-95. — a year ago

with Brooke

Will Stanley

9.5

Just rock-solid Châteauneuf, this is exemplary and for me personally my exact sweet-spot in terms of the varied styles from this region. The nose takes a little coaxing, but has a great yin / yang profile of pure, fresh blue fruit, liquorice, violets, and garrigue, versus seared meat, iron and loamy earth. This all puts it square in the middle of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ schools, broadly speaking, and it’s a wine that has the best of both worlds as a result.

The palate is huge, an iron fist in a glove of velvet and so much more, but in no way imbalanced or over-extracted - not overtly alcoholic, at a modest 14%. It spreads out in waves across the palate, ripples which are felt long after the finish. This is clearly a baby now, but it drinks well and will see its 20th birthday in damn fine fettle. Excited to have a case in the cellar.

Decanting not required nor recommended. — 3 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.3

The 2012 Angélus has a fragrant bouquet: a mixture of red and black fruit, truffle, crushed stone and light wilted flower scents. Very pretty. The palate is medium-bodied with fine delineation and good acidity, quite sappy with modest depth. Fairly structured with a dash of white pepper and peppermint on the finish. This Angélus has tons of personality and is drinking well now. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
— 4 years ago

Craig Williams

9.1

Approachable now with red fruit aromas, cranberry, cherry; modest structure and acidity. Clean medium long finish. Good quality and drinks above its level. — 5 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Henriot often flies under the radar and I get it, there are so many options out there...but don’t sleep on this house. This, their most modest offering, delivers immense pleasure for the price. A near 50/50 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (I guess they use 5% Pinot Meunier) the Brut Souverain displays well ripened pears, lightly roasted nuts, slightly burned brioche and a kiss of citrus. The texture is rich and creamy. The finish is long and satisfying. No disgorgement data. While there is a code on the back, I was social and wasn’t going to give myself the brain damage to decode that mess. — 5 years ago

Benno

9.3

Soaring aromatics that are quite special. Boysenberry and sois bois palate. More modest on the palate with moderate length only and slight graininess to tannins. very drinkable - love it! — 6 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.1

Other vintages of this don’t have the most stellar reviews but I think this excels. Dear Chablis, please stay humble. It hit my nose with ever so much chalk. Then I took a sip and realized the chalk was just hiding all the lemon-honey-cough-drop-without-being-medicinal goodness in this bottle. It isn’t the most complex but rather just powerful and modest enough to keep me intrigued. Extra bonus it was not overly spendy. — 7 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.1

Vintage 2010 | modest appellation good producer and this combination results in a classic 100% Merlot that offers cedar and tobacco and a taste with still some astringency — 3 years ago

Dave Mayers

9.5

Another perfectly aged modest Syrah. Could have tricked me for deep red burg. Such a producer. — 3 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.4

Vintage 2015 | My good winefriend @BerryMarinussen makes a plea for Riesling with beef. Searing is my favorite GC from Dirler Cadé. And this 2015 has a nice modest sweet in taste. Goes excellent with Cantonese beef and mango. Total happiness. — 4 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.2

Vintage 2015 | 60 % Cabernet Franc 40 % Cot from vignes that are 30 to 50 years old. 18 months barrel aging, 8 months in bottle. 35 hl/ha. I decanted the wine 2 hours in advance. Medium transparency, cardinal red rim. Red currant and blackberries, full bodied with character, fine acidity. Drinks supple with a bitter touch. This is really good. Certainly for its modest origin. But you can’t say that - it seems - these days because dedicated winegrowers can be found everywhere. | Paired with ostrich stew. — 4 years ago

CA Haynam

9.1

Mild fruity aroma, deep purple and barely transparent, flavors of dark fruit including plums and blueberries with low tannins and modest oak (aged for 19 months in oak). Excellent — 5 years ago

Walter Fahr

9.3

Ridiculously good Malbec for a modest price. Deep ruby color with a fragrant nose. Very smooth and paired perfectly with a steak, red meat and chocolate. Could sip on this wine for days. 2017 vintage in January 2021. — 5 years ago

Ross Vick

9.3

Okay, what ever. I like it. Nice mouthful of dark ripe cherries with an essence of leather and tobacco. Modest grip and smooth silky finish. Definitely a 2 Bottle dinner wine. — 6 years ago