Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

The Seasonal Grand Opening of the D&S Lounge. That’s going to require some BSR to celebrate.

As well, going to detail notes of this with my new Riedel Vintage Sommelier flutes, center picture. I’ve been wanting to write notes on this Champange in the new flutes as I wanted to do it one I am very well acquainted. As @Paul T- Huntington Beach & @Severn Goodwin have pointed out the many times I have posted it.

The nose is definitely more vibrant. Tangerines lead where they haven’t in my previous notes now using the new flutes. More pink rose petals, blood orange, pink grapefruit, leaner; strawberries, watermelon, warmed, creamed raspberries, apricots & cherries, liqueured marmalade, hints of scorched rhubarb, lemon/lime aid, chalky powder, delicate, grey volcanics, sweet, sea spray, bread dough, baguette crust, touch of brown sugar/molasses light, haunting, dry herbs, limestone and bouquet of; white, red, pink & orange roses.

The body is round with some gummy or gluiness. Everything about the mouthfeel is more delicate and softer. The bubbles smaller & more refined. Pink rose petals, blood orange, pink grapefruit, leaner; strawberries, watermelon, warmed, creamed raspberries, apricots & cherries, liqueured marmalade, hints of scorched rhubarb, almost a date presence on the long set, chalky powder, delicate, grey volcanics, sweet, sea spray, lighter intensity of white spices but, still has the heat & palate penetration, bread dough, baguette crust, touch of brown sugar/molasses light, haunting, dry herbs, limestone and bouquet of; white, red, pink & orange roses. The acidity is all fresh & lively with this cuvée. But, even that seems better. The finish is as always; well knitted & balanced, polished, fresh, persistent and never disappoints.

Photos of; the best room in our house for 6+ months of the year, our backyard. Aka, the D&S Lounge on Memorial Day Weekend 2020. — 5 years ago

Raj Harb

9.3

Float like a butterfly sting like a bee — 7 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Tasted blind. Dark blackish purple. Opaque. Huge nose. Notes of black cherry, cranberry, molasses, plum, tobacco leaf and a touch of menthol. Very primary in the mouth. Huge impact. Decent finish. Big wine. — 8 years ago

Lukasz Niedzielski

9.5

A bit reddish golden color; peach and apple on the move with hint red gooseberry; some tannins. Great surprise for Italian sparkling. — 8 years ago

Chris England

8.9

£99 Magnum that RP said "one of the most disappointing St.-Juliens I tasted 84pts" well I think he should retry the great numpty 😜 Still could do w/ 2-5yrs 👍 Great nose but palate still a little tight

🍇 63% Cab S, 25% Mer, 9% Cab F & 3% Pet V

🍷 Opaque ruby

👃 Smokey oaky earthy farmyard through shy blackcurrant & spiced plum w/ minerals, leather, musky cellar & wet leaves - fab nose 👍

👄 Med earthy mocha blackcurrant body w/ dry tannins & touch of tart cherry

🎯 Med dry earthy blackcurrant finish — 9 years ago

Silvia's Wine

Founder, V&N Cellars - Barcelona

9.0

A spicy Rioja. Dense and delicious. — 10 years ago

George Chen

9.3

Neck fill and cork tight and sweet sounding when you pull it. You almost can tell if a bottle will be good by how the cork comes out. Juicy still with dark cranberry notes, pure of fruit and melted tannins and acid backbone. Love it as not sure how these 75's would have aged. — 10 years ago

B

10

1985 Sassicaia. Second red wine at Redd Wood lunch w A, S, and K. This wine was perfect. Epic. We could not believe how perfect this wine was drinking. Thoroughly enjoyed it- it was enjoyable the way truffles are- hard to describe, but pleasing to all relevant senses. — 10 years ago

José Ortiz

9.3

Intensely aromatic. Black tea, rose petals, red cherry and tar. Every component feels accentuated but in a very balanced way. Lots of fruit, good amount of acid, solid tannic grip and long finish. — 11 years ago

C Urganci

8.9

A little stewed on the nose but tell tale pure finish... — 11 years ago

Marika Bala

9.8

Great Greek wine — 12 years ago

Jaehyuck Lee

9.0

드라이하고 가볍게 마시기 좋은 논빈티지 샴페인. 모르고 시켰는데 기분좋게 마셨습니다 :) — 6 years ago

with Boin

Linda smith

8.9

Nice smooth dry reserva wine. Slight Smokey finish Italy. Pignettis. Paired with cheese bacon tray enjoyed it better after it was able to breathe Zacch ordered a case Retail $29.99 — 7 years ago

with Elizabeth and Zacch

Cody Short

9.3

Outperforms the vintage. I find the 99’s are in a good place right now and this is one of the best I’ve had. Maybe a touch thinner than I am accustomed to with LMHB but still a phenomenal wine ready for prime time. — 7 years ago

Jason Keefer

9.7

Fantastic! Very tannic still but lush fruits, tobacco, — 7 years ago

with Natasha

Kyle Groombridge

9.1

Mmm this is gunna be good. It's tight and shut down at the moment, but this has a dark purple hue to it - way more color than previous vintages of d'Armailhac that I've had. Some cedar and graphite mixed with herbs and black fruit on the nose. Palate isn't as tannic as expected, but definitely needs more time to hit its stride. Very well-made however - I bet with a 3-hr decant it'd be fab. Good value as most of the '14's have been. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

I under estimated this wine last weekend as I didn't decant it. Some concern over a 20 year old CA Cabernet. However, this wine is still all there. There's something special when the right wine hits 20 years of age and there is simply no shortcut or substitute. The evolution in this wine is spectacular. Ripe plum, blackberries, dark raspberries, cooked strawberries, amazing baking spices, sweet dark earth and minerals, swede and soft leather, tobacco leaf, great balance, an amazing elegant finish and perfect acidity. I would have not expected this much from a Tapestry but there you go!!! Holding my 07's for much longer than I expected based on this 96. — 9 years ago

Charlie Beatty

Buyer wineworksonline.com

9.6

2013 out of a MAGNUM that is very Rare. The 13 has more structure and body. Fruit and tannin levels also are much bigger, overall I believe this 2013 will outlive the 12's. CB 96 — 10 years ago

with Karen

Sophia Primps

9.2

Acidity balanced with fruit. Not overpowering. Wonderful with fish. A lovely wine. Best to drink now. — 10 years ago

Jonathan Pytko

9.1

Not sure what this wine is, compared to the de la cote, but it has all the qualities of a stellar Pinot for a reasonable price — 10 years ago

Luc Richard

9.1

Very good little limoux and impressive for the price — 11 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

9.2

From S J vineyard very dark with blackberry coulis fruit violet floral and dark spices very big and brawny with sweet sappy fruit dark spices and a fresh finish excellent — 12 years ago

Jose Merino

9.7

This was a vertical of 38 vintages to celebrate Joseph Phelps Insignia 40th anniversary! The 74' and 77' were the wines that came on top from the 70's vintage. — 12 years ago

Sydne Ann

10

Opens up like a Georgia O’Keeffe painting. — 7 years ago

with Sándor

Kevin Cahoon

9.2

Fresh and bright with red cherry and plum fruit accented with tar, floral and brown spice notes. Palate has lovely texture with nice fruit and round tannins. Lacking a touch of depth and complexity that I would have expected with the bottle age. While not profound, very pleased to have 6 more bottles. — 7 years ago

Gregoire Letort

9.0

like a Barolo, aged very well after 11y, Nose very attractive and attack and mid palate very firm and full — 7 years ago

Chris England

9.2

A surprising lighter style Pauillac for an 05 but @ £90+ it’s in a nice place, but a touch disappointing compared to others such as the amazing 2000 😁

🏵 92-93 points

🍇 64% Cab S, 29% Mer, 6% Cab F, and 1% Pet V

🍷 Blackened ruby

👃 Warm oak, soggy earthy leaves, gravel, minerals, pencil lead through dark berries & plum w/ mocha

👄 Med body of smooth rich blackcurrant, damson & red/black currants w/ a mineral mocha & mineral undertone

🎯 Med red & dark berry kick w/ touch dry minerals, light mocha & liquorice

— 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I have a six-pack of this 05. I thought after 10 years in bottle, it would be interesting to check in on its evolution. While tasty, I’ll wait another 8-10 to open another. Even after 2-3 hours in the decanter, it’s still a very young adolescent. On the nose, slightly sour blackberries & dark cherries, dark currants, baked black plum, haunting blue fruits, anise, whiff of spice, steeped tea, dry stones, dry crushed rocks with dry top soil, caramel, vanilla with fresh & dry red florals. The body is thick & full. Tannins are starting to round out. It’s velvety on the palate. The fruits are; bright, fresh & ripe and really show the greatness of the 05 vintage. Dark currants, blackberries, dark cherries, baked black plum, haunting blue fruits, baked strawberries, cherries, raspberries on the long set, dark spice, clay & loamy dry top soil with crushed rocks, dry stones, cigar with ash, graphite, dry stems, slight herbaceous character, mint, used leather, clove, caramel, vanilla, fresh & dry red florals with violets. The round acidity is about perfect. The structure and length are still strong. The balance is in harmony. As for the long finish, it’s lush, ruby, rich and well polished. Photos of; Chateau Brane Cantenac, large wood vats, Henri Lurton and Estate vines. Producer notes and history...Chateau Brane Cantenac began in the early 17th century. At the time, the estate was known as Domaine Guilhem Hosten. Even that far back, wine was produced from the property. In fact, the wine was so highly regarded it was one of the more expensive wines in Bordeaux. It sold for almost as much money as Brane Mouton. This is interesting because of who went on to buy the vineyard in the 1800’s. The Baron of Brane, also known as “Napoleon of the Vineyards”, purchased the Chateau in 1833. At the time of the sale, the estate was called Chateau Gorce-Guy. To get the funds needed to purchase the Margaux vineyard, the Baron sold what is now called Mouton Rothschild, which was at the time of the sale, known as Chateau Brane-Mouton. Not such a good move with hundreds of years in hindsight! In 1838, the Baron renamed property taking his name and the name of the sector where the vineyards were located and called it Chateau Brane Cantenac. The Chateau later passed to the Roy family, who were well-known in the Margaux appellation in those days, as they owned Chateau d’issan. Moving ahead to 1920, the Societe des Grands Crus de France, a group of merchants and growers that owned several chateaux located in the Medoc including; Chateau Margaux, Chateau Giscours, and Chateau Lagrange in St. Julien, purchased Chateau Brane Cantenac. Five years later, M. Recapet and his son-in-law, François Lurton, took over Brane Cantenac along with Chateau Margaux. Lucien Lurton (the son of François Lurton) inherited Brane Cantenac in 1956. Today, the estate is still in the hands of the Lurton family. Brane Cantenac is owned and run by Henri Lurton. After being given the responsibility of managing Brane Cantenac, it was under the direction of Henri Lurton that large portions of the vineyard were replanted. Vine densities were increased, the drainage systems were improved and the plantings were also, slowly changed. The vineyard of Brane Cantenac is planted to 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc and .5% Carmenere. Carmenere was used for the first time in the 2011 vintage. The only other Chateau I know that still uses Carmenere is Clerc Milon. The 75 hectare Left Bank vineyard of Brane Cantenac is essentially unchanged since it earned Second Growth status in the 1855 Classification. At least that is the case with the 45 hectares used to produce the Grand Vin of Brane Cantenac. Those 45 hectares are planted surrounding the Chateau. Those vines are located just in front of the Cantenac plateau and are the best terroir that Brane Cantenac owns. They have other parcels, which are further inland and much of those grapes are placed into their second wine, Le Baron de Brane. Those additional hectares can be divided into 3 main sections. Behind the Chateau, they have 15 hectares of vines on gravel and sand, 10 hectares across the road with sand, gravel and iron and a 13 hectare parcel with gravel called Notton, which is used for their second wine. The vineyard is planted to a vine density that ranges from 6,666 vines per hectare on the plateau and up to 8,000 vines per hectare for the vines located behind chateau, in their sandier soils. The higher levels of vine density are always found in the newer plantings. The terroir of Brane Cantenac consists of deep gravel, sand and clay soil. Experiments in the vineyards are currently looking at becoming more organic in their vineyard management. Today, more than 25% of Brane Cantenac is farmed using organic farming techniques. It is expected that over time, the amount of hectares farmed with organic methods will be increased. Brane Cantenac has gone through 2 relatively recent modernization’s in 1999, when they added began adding the first of their smaller vats to allow for parcel by parcel vinification and then again in 2015 when they completed a much more complete renovation of their cellars and vat rooms. While Brane Cantenac is a traditional producer, they are no stranger to technology as they were one of the first estates to embrace optical grape sorting machines. In very wet vintages, they can also use reverse osmosis. To produce the wine of Chateau Brane Cantenac, the wine is vinified in a combination of temperature controlled, traditional, 22 oak vats, 18 concrete tanks and 20 stainless steel vats that vary in size from 40 hectoliters all the way up to 200 hectoliters, which allows for parcel by parcel vinification. 40% of the fermentation takes place in the oak vats. The oldest vines are vinified in vats that are selected to allow for separate parcel by parcel vinification. The younger vines are vinified more often together in the same vats. However, the Carmenere is entirely micro-vinified, meaning that those grapes were completely vinified in barrel, using micro-vinification techniques. This can also happen because the amount of grapes produced is so small. Some vats can be co-inoculated, meaning they go through alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation simultaneously. At Chateau Brane Cantenac, malolactic fermentation takes place in a combination of French oak tanks and barrels. The wine of Brane Cantenac is aged in an average of 60% new, French oak barrels for 18 months before bottling. The initial 2 months of aging is done with the wine on its lees, which adds more depth to the wine. There second wine is Le Baron de Brane. Le Baron de Brane is not new. In fact, previously, the second wine went under the name of Chateau Notton, which took its name from one of the main parcels where the grapes were planted. During the late 1950’s and into the 1960’s, having a second wine was important as the estate declassified 3 vintages, due to extremely poor, weather conditions in 1956, 1960 and 1963. Production of Chateau Brane Cantenac is about 11,000 cases per year. — 8 years ago

David S

9.0

Everything could ask for from a Chianti. — 11 years ago

Seth Liebman

Wine Director/Sommelier

8.9

Still needs a bit more time I think. The 95's were much better. — 12 years ago