Beausejour Duffau 2008

St Emilion 1GCCB. V expressive nose! Crushed berries, open and accessible. Palate is complex, evolving and has a good grip. Ample fruit and some tobacco flavors giving nice dimensions. Finish is smooth but not as impressive...tapers off gently. Good wine (8.5/10)

Clos Fourtet 2008

St Emilion 1GCCB. Stony, gravelly nose. Nothing much happening, just faint vegetal aromas. V bitter and harsh tannins in the mouth. Q rustic and mouth puckering astringency makes it hard to enjoy...at least for now. Chunky (6.8/10) Note the generous RP92 rating, indeed that good on release or did the wine shut down after bottling?

Renard 2006

AOC Fronsac. Rather cool and agreeable nose of red berries interlaced w mint. In the mouth, sour plums, black tea theme and a tad astringent. Light bodied. A neat frame of tannins already q resolved. Not bad. However, finish is v abrupt. Not shabby but not a repeat purchase either (7.1/10).

Tinto Pesquera 2008

Castile, Spain. Caveat - this is an old review based on memory as I consumed this wine a while back. The nose has decidedly musky, woody, even animal aromas that need getting used to, much less enjoy, becos of the 100% Tempranillo grape? Not enough experience w Spanish wines to comment. For visuals, the colour is in a pinot noir shade of ruby. It is more enjoyable on the palate, presenting robust fruit and wood flavours yet have enough old world restrain not to mistake it for an Aussie red. This is definitely a well-made wine, but I just can't appreciate the gamey nose (7.5/10).

Beychevelle 2008

St Julien 4GCC. An agreeable light and floral nose. The palate is q acidic thou and the tannic struture is also all upfront, and overwhemingly so. Q difficult to enjoy at this moment but can detect the pedigree within (7.8/10).

About the Ratings.....

Unfortunately, there're accusations flying that scores contributed from this blog are 'screwing up the points system' (downwards) in a popular review website. What I can say is, the ratings here are admittedly stricter than the Parker scale, but only so that true 'star' wines are rated 90+ pointers. Don't want to end up w a 'Parker problem'...too many wines rated in the tight range of 85-95 and pretty average wines scoring 80+ out of politeness than anything IMO (70s is 'bad' in Parker-speak).

Overall, my scoring has a wider range:
'Bad to Average' - 5.0-6.9
'Good' -7.0-7.9
'Excellent' - 8.0-8.9
'Stars' - 9.0-10

I reckon this scale is around -5 to -8 fr the Parker scale. Hope no more 'complaints' arise and if they do, I'd urge them to simply just ignore this site & its ratings...and let live.

Clinet 2008

Pomerol AOC. Always one of my favorite Ch. An open nose - leathery, meaty rather than fruit-based, but not in a bad way. On the palate it has some hedonistic elements- v rounded, lush mouthfeel. A tug-of-war going on between the fruitiness that Merlot provides and a very masculine (and bitter) tannic structure, giving the wine much complexity and potential. Assertive finish. Not ready yet, this one is for the long haul (8.7/10). PS: You can literally see how young the wine is fr the dark inky purple drip stain on the label.

Croix de Beaucaillou 2005

2nd wine of Ch Ducru Beaucaillou, St Julien 2GCC. From a blockbuster vintage, expected alot. Nose needs a fair bit of coaxing to open up just so slightly after 20 mins - overtones of earth, forest floor, greens w just a hint of the signature fruitcake scent. Q restrained. V thin entry on the palate, but fortunately builds up quickly into a peppery and complex mid-palate. Good grip. Satisfying and long, albeit slightly bitter finish. Expected a more full bodied wine for '05...this tastes like a '07 esp of Ducru's pedigree (8.0/10)