1982 Mouton Rothschild (final bottle of the original 24) tasted November 2021. The cork fell apart and wine was rescued using cheese cloth with help from Sarah, Emily, Laura and Max. Beautiful old cab nose with off-notes. Does smell of age for sure and the rim color is the perfect gradation of brick to darker interior. Very familiar lead pencil and tobacco nose like my memory of Mouton. Long finish with a little heat, some fruit and oak. Absolutely remarkably fresh for a 39 year-old wine. The finish is very long still! With air the nose became fruitier and taste also fruitier--so even more glorious with airing, and here's a wine nearly 40 years old that still improves with 30 minutes in glass, even after two decantings. Remained great after 1 hour. Max made a fabulous, best-ever duck dish.

 2018 Catena White Stones Chardonnay

Spice, cantelope, mineral and very fruity but balanced with acid and perhaps the longest finish of any chardonnay I've ever tasted. Of course with more time in glass more coplex nose. Ginger maybe provided the spice. The person who led tasting at Catena (attended with Max, Nov. 2019 trip to Argentina) said green peppercorn. Definitely a popcorn butter element, and some smoke. Carmelized pineapple. Finish is incredible, mineral-acid-fruit balance perfectly persists. Color is light golden yellow, not super dark looking considering how rich the wine tastes. Another hour on in glass: very fruity, almost like another wine. This one scored in high nineties with experts and I agree. Bottle tasted in 2021.

2013 Clos Mogador

 December 4, 2020. Ethereally complex and deep nose. Road tar, vanilla toffee, blackberry, coffee, mint, sweet flowers. Hint of Cabernet in the blend. Long perfectly balanced finish. Med-full body. Rim shows aging nicely, still deep purple center. 97 points from me, 98 from Parker, 94 from Vinous. Totally lives up to my expectations; this is consistently my go-to Priorat when I'm looking for the best. 

Update: had final bottle at Bin 54 with Sarah on July 14, 2023. Even better with 2.5 more years of age. And I preserved 1/4 bottle that was left with air pump preserver so as of July 17 still a beautiful wine of immense complexity and breeding.Mocha, mint, berry, flowers (esp on July 14). Long finish with some alcohol heat to keep the finish going on for minutes.

2016 Mas Doix Salanques

 Mas Doix is one of my favorite wineries. The top of the line wine is Mas Doix, second wine Salanques which I think is just slightly younger vines (still quite old). Had a wonderful tasting with the owner in 2016 (the year this wine's grapes were growing in the vineyard) with Tom and Daniel Banks. The owner had just hosted a tasting for S. Korean sommeliers and already had several older vintages of the flagship wine open so we had a particularly superb tasting, and he was very generous with his time so it was a really memorable experience. (As were several of our other tastings in Priorato.)

On this wine, the nose at 4 years old is opening up nicely, and so beautiful. The impressions of spearmint, flowers and pine needles join with the cherry fruit to mark this as a Priorat. Grapes are 65% grenache, 25% carignan and 10% syrah and that's what this smells like to me, Grenache dominating but spice, woodsy odors from carignan and syrah. Aged 14 mo. in oak. On palate there's plenty of alcohol and acid for long life and this carries a pretty long finish with noticeable but softish tannins. I'd guess this will peak in 2-3 years and last till the late 20s. I'd give it the same 93+ as Parker.

Parker says 93+ points: The 2016 Salanques is phenomenal, one of the finest vintages ever. It has an expressive nose combining notes of flowers, wild herbs and berries and subdued minerality, reminiscent of wet slate. The palate is medium-bodied, with a little less alcohol, fine, slightly dusty tannins and very good freshness. It's terribly balanced and tasty. It should develop beautifully in bottle. 18,000 bottles were filled in April 2018.

2018 Zuccardi Concreto Malbec

 Beautiful deep purple. On nose spicy blackberry and red fruit/berries too. Along with melon and tea. Goes down very easily! Very gentle soft tannins. Almost imperceptible alcohol 14%. Long finish. This is what Malbec can be when done right. I’d give it 94 points. 

Parker says 95. Says it’s stomped by foot! Concrete vats, egg shaped, as Max and I saw when visiting Zuccardi in November 2019.

2010 Saxum Broken Stones GSM

 August 6, 2020: first post in a long time. Want to at least occasionally record some observations as I'm now able to have an occasional glass of wine without ill effects. This evening I had some 2010 Saxum Broken Stones ($90), preserved nicely by Coravin for a few weeks since I first opened it. Incredibly complex featuring blackberry, coffee + cream, wintergreen and other mints, flowers, lavender and pine woods. The alcohol and acid were prominent at first but calmed down with some airing. Medium body with mild tannins at this point. Medium finish. Particularly impressive on the nose. 94+.

Parker said:

Even more perfumed and up-front aromatically, the 2010 Broken Stones is a brilliant effort. A multi-vineyard blend of 63% Syrah, 19% Mourvedre, 15% Grenache, and 3% Petite Sirah that was aged mostly in new French oak, it offers up a gorgeously pure array of black raspberry, charcoal, licorice, lavender, and assorted floral qualities on the nose. This flows to a full-bodied, deft, and elegant palate that has no hard edges, a weightless feel, and masses of fine, yet firm tannin on the finish. Give bottles another year or three, and then drink over the following 12-15 years.  96 points. Drink 2014- 2029.

John Duval Plexus GSM 2014 in Denver

As I can now (knock wood) seem to drink a glass of wine with no ill effects much of the time, I'm going to start trying to write again about good bottles I've had. Recently had 2010 Clos Mogador, which was very good but not as spectacular as expected, a bit one dimensional and flat for a Mogador; Beaune 1er Cru Jadot 50th anniversary, ditto, at birthday dinner with Linda at Elaine's, tannin is gone which is generally good but didn't have the expected richness and depth; and John Duval Plexus GSM 2014 which rated 92+ by Parker so chose for the Thanksgiving dinner shared with Emily at The Nickel, Hotel Teatro's restaurant in downtown  Denver. Coincidentally, John Duval, formerly chief winemaker of Penfold's, stays regularly at that hotel because he makes frequent trips to Denver for some reason.

I found the wine delightfully fruity and complex, smooth tannins, evolving and revolving around cores of mulberry, lavender, spicy vanilla. A good example of why I love Aussie reds when they're well-made like this one. Very easy to drink but not, I'd say, a mere "fruit bomb." Hope to visit Duval and other boutique winery tasting room/restaurant in Barossa in March.

Here's what Vinous says about this wine (93 points, quite strong for Vinous): (aged for 14 months in 90 percent used and 10 percent new large French oak barrels) Vivid ruby-red. Expansive aromas of ripe red berries, candied flowers and spicecake, complemented by a subtle mineral nuance. Juicy, concentrated and seamless on the palate, offering sweet raspberry, boysenberry and lavender flavors that become tighter and more lively with air. Shows excellent depth as well as vivacity; fine-grained, firming tannins build slowly on a long, floral-driven finish. In the context of high-end Aussie red wines, this one delivers exceptional value.