Tom Garland

9.3

2 hour decant. A marvelous medium garnet color (decent fine sediment). On the nose: dark berries, cassis, forest floor, sandalwood, pencil shavings, chocolate, and cigar box. Taste: layered, balanced, still young wine with dark cherry/plum, cedar, dark chocolate, charcoal, and a lingering tobacco/leather finish. YUM! No hurry, a long distance Las Cases. — 5 months ago

with Brenda

Joe DAscoli

9.5

Opened and decanted for 2 hours before dinner and then really only opened up and truly hit expectations around the 3rd hour when paired with wagyu strip steaks.

This wine was savory tightly wound and tannic at first. Didn’t show much fruit until after the long decant and then it really changed.

With time, the fruits shown through with great complexity and great balance for the savory elements. — 7 months ago

Pooneet K

9.3

Delicious per usual. Last had 2 years ago and this is in a nice place. Perfect with skirt steak off the grill. A treat. — 9 months ago

Angelo Casagrande

9.0

Big and muscular, but I wouldn’t call it jammy or a fruit bomb. Maybe the mataro mellowed it a bit? I like Aussie Shiraz, and Penfolds is usually very good ( as was this). Big plum/ cherry action. Thanks bro. — 4 years ago

David Nicewicz

9.3

Birth year Bordeaux and this has been excellent. Very old school nose of copious tobacco, forest floor and dark berries. Medium bodied but gaining intensity over the course of 2 h - tannins completely melted. Bricking is apparent on first pour but the color grows darker with time. Perfect bottle that is a little past it’s prime but fun to step back in time. — 5 years ago

Ayda Gordon

9.0

Juicy and bold at the front. Delicious and easy to drink! Starts out sweet, with a medium finish. — 8 years ago

with Thyla

Bill Bender

9.3

After a spirited tussle between myself and the Durand vs a dry and crumbly cork I was able to double decant this and segregate away the remnants of floating debris. I was immediately struck by the bouquet which was unmistakably borne from Cabernet Franc (and I believe this blend is less than 10%). It was a positive sign. The wine is completely intact and boasts ample fruit albeit waning acidity. Simple Concord grape, bruised black plum and sweet oak flavors are holding on 2 hours in. This has some time left, but not much. This is a testament to Opus One quality in the early days (I believe this was the 3rd or 4th vintage) and while I think the ‘87-‘97 era was their best, this is an profound example of an exemplary wine at age 37! — 8 years ago

Ross Bathgate

9.2

On the downward side of its life and a little thin but still so delightful — 6 months ago

M. Pablo Pavan

9.4

Buenísimo, lo compraría otra vez! Para cenas finas, cumpleaños... — 8 months ago

Ross Bathgate

9.2

Signature Bailey wine, volatility evident with lovely spice and lifter nose from Viognier. Also some tart cherry evident which was unexpected. — 9 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2000 vintage. Last tasted 12.2.22. Scored a 9.6 then. This go-round, nice fill and pristine cork. Decanted and tasted over the course of 5 mins-2 hours. Throwing respectable sed. Darker than expected given the age. Huge funk on the nose which remained for approx 4-5 mins despite much decanter swirling/agitation. Wine angular and tight upon first sip after 5 mins. Large, decaying leaves presence in the nose that morphed into a beefy espresso mélange at the 15 mins decanted mark. Gradually started to unfold, revealing massive graphite and cocoa powder flavors. Some forest floor aromas/flavors cruised by around the hour mark. Really started to show anticipated balance slightly thereafter. No absence of tannins/structure. Plenty of time left on the "in the zone" plateau but feel the wine crested the top of the bell curve in the last year or so. Not improving but enough components to keep this one in the rocking Y2K conversation as best of show. 2.7.24. — 2 years ago

Alex Lallos

Owner No Limit Fine Wines, Private Wine Consultant

9.0

Another great bottle. 2009 out of 500ml (was meant for bistro and not import). Lovely from a ripe year. I prefer the less ripe / more restrained versions but this is as good as vacqueras gets. The new vintages are top notch but fun to try these older ones as well: modern and plush but still some old school roots. For around $20 it’s pretty insane (email me alex@nolimitfinewines.com and I’ll send you two bottles for the price of one) — 5 years ago

Keith Lite

9.5

A big bold plumy purple bomb As dense and luscious as a wine can get in a glass. Decanted for 2 hrs and its still a baby with blackberry, dark chocolate licorice and pepper on the nose and on the palate. A long long finish and loads of tannins to sum it all up — 7 years ago

with Bruce

Liliya

9.0

It was delicious! — 8 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.8

Missed trying one last year, definitely opening up earlier than my previous bottles. 2 hour decant with a NY Strip. — 6 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

1990 vintage. Last tasted 12.11.22 (9.6) and 8.20.16 (9.2-slightly off bottle). Tasted side by side with the 1989 (9.4) version of this wine. Ridiculous 1-2 heavyweight punch. Opened but not decanted. Tasted at the conclusion of lunch after an hour open. Not much in the nose but bringing it in the flavors. Still heavy bits of ripe plum and cherry with a substantial mid-palate. Larger format of this wine likely clocks in as a 9.6/9.7 but this was a 750ml. In the 750ml format, not improving and it's drink now and until 2028. Still, most likely, the best wine this producer has ever made. The 1989 has a case as well. Like the Lebowski rug, this one just tied the late-80's/early-90's BDX room together. 10.10.25. — 7 months ago

"Odedi"

9.6

#AgedWineTuesday

Here is a fabulous 99 point wine by Robert Parker.

Dark ruby in color with a short reddish rim.

Great nose of blueberries, blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, earth, vanilla, Mediterranean spices, espresso, cola, light herbs, chocolates, tobacco and black pepper.

Full bodied, smooth and elegant, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry and fruity on the palate with blackberries, black cherries, figs, cedar, chocolates, vanilla, licorice, spices, tobacco, herbs, light earth, cola and peppercorn.

Long finish with round tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley.

Showing nice balance and a great mouthfeel. Round and rich. Elegant and smooth.

This 22 year old still has a lot of power in it, and will continue to age nicely in the next 5 to 10 years.

Good right out of the bottle, and better after 2 hours of airtime.

So soft and powerful, with a great nose. This is a gorgeous wine right now.

A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec. Aged in all new French oak barrels for 24 months.

13.9% alcohol by volume.

96 points.

$250. — 3 years ago

Sebastian Corriere

9.3

At Bull and Bear w Kellie epically delicious! Number 2! — 7 years ago

Karen Man

9.5

2016 was the year. — 8 years ago

Rod Downey

8.9

Bold flavor, very enjoyable. — 8 years ago