Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Been awhile since I pulled out an Insigna.

The 03 Pichon Lalande is the better wine and steak pairing. However, Napa Cabernet is the choice to finish steak and enjoy on its own after. You never want to do Napa before Bordeaux IMHO. It’s much harder to adjust from sweeter to something more earthy.

Enjoyed the 05 as my score reflects. I don’t remember it being as sweet as it was in previous tastings. Still quite good. It just tipped my sweet scale a little too much.

The body is, rich, lush & round. It’s achieved good evolution after 13 years in bottle and will continue to improve over the next 6-8 years and last another 15 years. As I mentioned, the fruit was ripe & sweet. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, plums, hints of blueberries and strawberries haunting the backend. Rich, dark earth, Rutherford dusty tannins and dry soils, purple cola, touch of fresh tobacco & graphite, light baking spices of; cinnamon, dash of clove, nutmeg and vanillin, anise to black licorice, saddle-wood, used leather, dry stems, some dry, crushed rocks/limestone with red, dark, purple and blue florals. The acidity round and nicely executed. The finish was similar wire to wire. It’s, lush, rich, elegant, touch too sweet, polished, well balanced & knitted with a soft, persistent, dark spice on the long set. Very enjoyable second bottle.

Photos of; Joseph Phelps Winery & sloping estate vines, inside lounge are with views of the back side, tasting terrace and front lobby/salon area upon entering past check in. — 6 years ago

with Christina and James

Paco Suro

8.9

Solid #drycreek Zin. — 8 years ago

Nathan Wegener

8.9

Pleasant and balanced with warm fruit and dusty oak good value. — 8 years ago

Stanislav Lobanov

9.0

16.5/20 (90/100) — 9 years ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

Full body and rich with notes of caramel, raisin and toffee — 9 years ago

Daniel Martinez Cardenas

9.3

www.winex.com — 10 years ago

Kevin dawson

9.0

Heavy peat up front, but very smooth finish. Phenomenal for an 8 year! — 10 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Another great wine from Chile. Crimson red with aromas ripe red and black fruits and floral notes. On the palate this wine shows strawberry, blackberry and blueberry flavors with cinnamon spice and black pepper. A blend of 92% carmenere and 8% petit verdot, this wine had a long and silky finish with smooth tannins and ended with cacao notes. — 10 years ago

Jon Grace-Cox

9.0

Very tasty. Smooth, with a pleasing bite. — 11 years ago

Regina Tochterman

8.9

Trader Joe's can make decent wines, apparently. Good table wine. Would get it again for a weeknight dinner or to share with my friends. — 11 years ago

Alvaro Bustillos

9.0

8/17 gober barrio fede barrio lalo romero jcsap mazf romulo z4 — 6 years ago

Meghan C

9.4

NYE 2019-2020 — 7 years ago

Aaron Krauss

10

Sweet and not smokey or Petey. Rhonda loves it. Harper Seldin gave us a 10 year old bottle. — 8 years ago

Bret Barker

9.4

Too young I know I know but my buddy was paying. Who am I to say no? Very good wine but so tannic with deep fruit and some mineral tones but needs more time. Have to invite my friend out in 8 years and buy another bottle! — 8 years ago

David L

9.5

12’ Alexana Revana Vineyard Block 8 . The very best five barrels each year. 11 months in barrel, additional 14 months in bottle before release.

A complete waste if you don’t decant this for two hours. Gorgeous color. Nose- Dried flowers & hint of spearmint. Palate- Dark raspberries, dark stone fruits, spices, black pepper. Touch of cola.
Moderate acidity. This would benefit with a little more age. @Martin G Rivard Santa with another delivery to my door. Can’t thank you enough. Love you buddy! — 9 years ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.6

Mari and I are proud to have worked on this one. Cherry trees, fresh raspberries, clean soil, red flowers, rose with stems, light toast, cotton candy, iron. Insanely great! — 9 years ago

with Mari

Lance Aker

9.1

Dark cherries and black currant. Deep purple color. Really gets better after being open for an hour. Moderate+ tannins. Had another glass 24 hours after opening and I think it was even better. — 10 years ago

Sarah Cross

8.9

Dad's fav! — 10 years ago

Kaitlin Ohlinger

9.4

Loved it- distinctly old world, olive, violet, tar, smoke. Memorable! @RedMtnAVA rules. #delectableapp — 11 years ago

Adrienne Stillman

9.5

Love 7&8 wines and this does not disappoint. Very solid showing, wonderfully complex and balanced. — 12 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy Spring! It’s one of our favorite points in the year. More; daylight, a little warmer in CA and everything starts to bloom which, means a long summer of gardening and being outdoors every day/night is not far off.

Since it was such a great day and basically most Californians are shut-Ins, the voluntary self quarantining was getting to me. I did the landscaping and got an afternoon of fresh air today. A breath of fresh air...ahhh! Wow, was it needed after Gavin’s Newsom’s estimate of 25.5 million Californians would be infected with Coronavirus over 8 weeks yesterday.

So, a good night to celebrate another day of being virus free with my 2nd favorite N/V Rosé Champagne.

All my numerous previous notes apply.

Stay safe everyone and remember the new terminology of the new decade...social distancing! Cheers! 🍾🥂

Photos of; Spring in our backyard & a Billecart Grand Cru Vineyard.

— 6 years ago

David Snyder

9.1

Wines from Fifi are always great — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

This wine has all the makings of being great one day. It’s just about 8-10 years more years away.

The wine is just staring to round out, integrate and show its elegance. Ruby, creamy currants, earth, graphite, tobacco leaf, stones, dark most soil, round acidity and a very well polished finished.

This is my favorite Ribeye wine and it didn’t disappoint...only that is still too young. 95-96 in another decade.

Photos of, the Chateau & grounds, newer tasting room & barrel room and Estate vines that are adjacent to Chateau Latour. — 8 years ago

Rob Brobst III

9.3

Nice wine. It came to the party wearing a backpack, glasses and a hat with a mosquito net. — 8 years ago

with Jade and Paul

David L

9.3

13' Vineyard 7 & 8 Chardonnay. Big boy Chardonnay. Pop & pour. Love drinking this wine. — 9 years ago

E

9.0

Berry, tannin, smooth, cherry. really nice! Costco, $8. With calzone. — 10 years ago

Thijs Hendriks

9.4

Deg 8 jan 2015 — 10 years ago

Antoine Cauchard

8.9

Bière brune qui titre à 9.2. Mousse abondante, et petit arrière goût de caramel boisé. Pour moi, une de mes brunes favorites — 11 years ago

Jorge Escobar

9.5

Very good wine for the price. Perfect for a weekday evening. Dry but very comfortable. — 11 years ago

Lydell Sarge

9.8

Very Smooth, fruity strawberry taste — 13 years ago