(2022) From the Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina, there's a meatiness here, but also a sense of plushness with quite thick and rich red and black fruit, a touch of dark cocoa too. On the palate a big wine, substantial depth of black fruit, but a nice gravelly edge that gives it freshness. There's a sour cherry bite to the acidity too, again helping cut through the meaty density of the wine.
(2021) The 2018 vintage saw a late start to flowering but ended as an extremely good and ripe year. Fermented in concrete tanks with 20% whole bunches, then into French oak barrels for 11 months, 17% new. A pale, transluscent wine from 'down the hill', picked 18 days before their 'up the hill' vineyards. Lots of Pinosity with truffle and some beetroot notes, but there's a creaminess too, an inherent sweetness and hint of fudge. The palate has a fleshiness and sweet ripe fruit lusciousness, the whole bunches adding a little briar and spice, and the finish quite soft and giving, still very good acidity and the tannins tightly packed and quietly controlling the finish.
(2021) A lovely vintage for this estate, and this wine sourced from vineyards across the region. Around 5% whole bunches, this was fermented in open-top ferementers and aged in a blend of small and larger barrels, 10% new, though 15% stayed in steel "to promote a vibrant fruit profile." Medium-pale, some earthiness and farmyard characters here, the fruit is red berries and cherry. Plenty of fruit, this is dry and savoury, very bright acidity at this stage, quite punchy, the picture vibrant and tight with its racy tannins and overall savoury style.
(2021) Still a medium hued crimson colour, no whole bunches here, nine months in older French oak. Spicier than the previous wines, a little meatier in terms of its aromas. Mouthfilling and ripe fruit, really quite tangy, there's a plummy quality, but a rasp of tannin and souring acidity that gives some grip and real gastronomic appeal.
(2019) I loved my visit to Porseleinberg a few year ago, so great to taste a new vintage of this intriguing wine with its floral character. 100% whole bunch fermented, two months in concrete eggs and foudre. There is something flinty and slaty about the nose, a wild, earthy character, with the florals continuing, lots of tannin, a bit of rustic grip, but such a lovely mouthfeel, juicy but with an authenticity and touch of roughening edges that finishes spicy and long.
Firm and juicy, the touch of tight briar and leafy character, but stays fresh and tight, only old oak used. The 20% Gamay adds a dry tannin and a delicate cherry freshness, finishing with a bit of roughening tannin and a clean acidity. Price and stockist quoted at time of review is for the 2015 vintage.
(2016) Lovely fragrance of quality oak here, a touch of coffee, but mostly about exotic spices and Sandalwood, the fruit full and rich beneath, highly inviting and promising. A real big mouthful of cassis and glossy black plum, the tannin are fruity and dry, but the flesh of the fruit and the spice of the barrel are delicious. Long and layered, this is impressive Cru Bourgeois, with great length and the sweetness inherent in the fruit persisting.
(2016) A little more perfume here than the 2011, some cherry skins and a plummy fruit again, but such a welterweight of tannin in the mouth at present, just loads of structure and grip, spicy, meaty, the grip of tannin and oak just a little too strident for enjoyment at this stage. Needs time for sure.
(2016) Not yet released, this barrel sample showed smokiness and a slightly raw oak character at this stage, a little resinous, but a seam of rich black fruit beneath and a definite sense of chocolaty density and richness. Real power and structure here, the meaty core of this is pretty massive – these are big, serious, very structured wines, but not over-extracted. Price shown for the 2012 vintage at time of review. Score is provisional.
(2016) Very little new oak, but 10 months in barrel. Low pH. Has toasted oatmeal richness, with wheaty touches, a little honey and the fruit subtle and apple and citrus but really attractive. The palate has delicious fruit ripeness and sweet mid-palate fruit, but finishes with lovely clarity, just a hint of the saltiness.
