Justin Farrar

9.7

All leather and cigars at first, and then the fruit showed up after an hour. Delicious. — 8 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

2002 vintage. Nice fill, good cork. Decanted with a respectable amount of powdery sed. Smelled great during decanting. Tasted 1.5 hours after opening/decanting. Expected light body with delicate tendrils. Medium body with a light palate footprint. Holy shazzbaat. This was absolutely firing. Like top of the pops, straight up to number one. Exceptional knitting and in a perfect spot now. Go all the way back to the inaugural 1982 vintage with this winery’s cabernet…thought my all-time fave was the 1991 altho the 1986 and 1987 were special. The 2020, picked early, thus avoiding the fires, is phenomenal as well. This was on another level and have had approx 150 bottles of Spottswoode Cab in the last three + decades. It was probably the best out of all of them. Difficult to imagine Napa Cab better than this. Power and finesse on display. Not improving but can hold this intensity for another 4-5 years. 12.24.24. — a year ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Mmmm....better. 1999 was a meh vintage to most critics. I find it has evolved to better things with this much time in bottle.

The nose reveals, ruby and candied; blackberries, black cherries, black plum skin, black raspberries, raspberries, poached cherries & strawberries. Touch cooked green bell pepper, mixed berry licorice, anise to black licorice, used leather, saddle-wood to cedar, dark, moist, black earth, limestone, stones, graphite, vanilla, cinnamon stick, clove, nutmeg and dark spice, coffee, dark chocolate with fresh & withering, dark, red, blue and purple flowers.

The body is just full. The tannins are soft, round, chewy and tarry. The structure, tension, length and balance are pretty good for 99. ruby and candied; blackberries, black cherries, black plum skin, black raspberries, raspberries, poached cherries & strawberries. more cooked green bell pepper on the palate, mixed berry licorice, anise to black licorice, used leather, saddle-wood to cedar, dark, moist, black earth, limestone, stones, graphite, vanilla, cinnamon stick, clove, nutmeg and dark spice, coffee, dark chocolate with fresh & withering, dark, red, blue and purple flowers. The acidy is nice. The finish is elegant, well balanced but, not as rich as other good vintages Palmer. It is spicy and persists minutes on the palate.

Photos of; Chateau Palmer, their barrel room, a photo of their vineyard soil structure-if you didn’t know where all that earthiness comes from, a picture is worth a thousand words and their tasting room. — 6 years ago

Jack Cranley, Backroads Wine Club & Cascadia Premium Wines

9.7

Facemelting. That is all. — 7 years ago

Todd Doolan

9.8

Surprisingly dark after all these years. Currant, mint & grandpa's baseball glove. Fantastic! — 9 years ago

Tyson Caly

9.7

Stunning. Still showed signs of fruit all these years later. Wow. — 9 years ago

Sam Coturri

Winery Sixteen 600, Enterprise Vineyards and the Moon Mountain District

9.8

I only got a taste. But that's all it took. One of the most remarkable things I've ever had. — 10 years ago

Stefan Fouant

9.6

Divine. Quite possibly the best Champagne I've ever had. I could drink this all day long. — 10 years ago

Max Kogod

Owner Kogod Wine Merchant

9.7

1977. Floored by extreme caramel note on nose and palate completely backed up by gorgeous purity of fruit, acid, levity and all the tertiary elements that make Martha's Vyd what it is. — 11 years ago

Joseph Moss

9.3

Gamay all day, every day! With some aging on it. Good to drink, still good to keep. — 11 years ago

Zach Quintanilla

8.9

Strong vanilla and red fruit on nose,medium minus body, medium smooth tannins, dry, medium smooth finish, some subtle peppery notes, excellent — 9 months ago

Chris McClellan

9.2

Coconut/vanilla/dirty earth, plush dried fruit makes it all worth it. Uber complex. Delicious — 3 years ago

with Deb and Gregory

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy 4th of July everyone.

I can’t think of many other N/V Champagnes we’d rather kick-off the long 4th of July weekend.

Happy Birthday America & Cheers! 🍾🥂 🇺🇸 🧨

Numerous notes all apply. — 5 years ago

WC Fields

10

A ten for ten. Everything you want, all that you need. Frames life in all of its wonder, not perfect but shows how time and commitment can appreciate and create wonderment, finesse, maturity, and lasting power. — 6 years ago

LM Segal

9.7

So beautiful and clear in its purpose, titillating on the nose and fulfilling its promises beyond. Balanced and velvety dark red fruit, hints of black tea and cassis but all in a more Old than New World Gestalt. Lots of secondary stuff emerging you just want to sip it slowly. If anybody wonders how well these age, track one down, it’s so worth it. Kudos @Cathy Corison for making this distinctive and enduring bottle! — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

A wine from Anthony that's finally ready. Just kidding. It's the volatile acidity holding this wine together. Completely resolved tannins. Ripe lean; blackberries, dark cherries, blueberries. It's almost all fruit with just a hint of earth and minerality. Fun to drink. I always like to ask, what were you doing in 1978? Nice of Lilian Barton to model the bottle for my photo. Thank you for bringing this wine. A real treat to try. — 9 years ago

Mike Mentesana

9.6

One of the best Bordeaux I've had in years, great structure and mouth feel, well defined and deep fruit and that touch of leather we all love. Amazing bottle! — 9 years ago

Mike Barbella

9.6

One of my Fav's of ALL time — 10 years ago

Garth Hodgdon

Sommelier Bouchon

9.9

1971. All the elegance and finesse with so much beautiful bottle age. A stunner — 11 years ago

Matt Baker

10

Z-Best!!! My personal fav of all time!!!! — 11 years ago

John Van Trijp

9.5

Not bad at all! — 12 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.4

No formal notes . Pretty deep Amber , copper colour . Intense marmalade , saffron , creme caramel . Rich on the palate with rich marmalade , saffron notes . Good acidity , but rich. Good length . This is drinkable now and shows quite an advanced colour , though due to its richness will probably carry on delivering for another 20 years , perhaps longer .

This was a rather fascinating evening put together by our incredibly generous host. All 2007 reds were served blind in two flights: 1st Mouton, Haut Brion, Cheval Blanc , La Mission Haut Brion then Latour , Lafite , Petrus and Margaux . Overall the wines showed well , and were mostly enjoyable to drink now , though there is no rush . This somewhat maligned vintage can give a lot of enjoyment in the right environment, I certainly wouldn’t hold back from opening or purchasing any of these wines . They mostly show good density of fruit , personality and elegance , with good freshness. These are not powerful wines , and at times perhaps the fruit can be a little cooler or greener but I was pleasantly surprised by the way they performed , just goes to show you should never write off a vintage without trying the wines ! — 10 months ago

Luis Arguero (@winefromAtoZ)

9.4

Shafer ‘Hillside Select’ Cabernet Sauvignon 1995: Balanced. Smooth. Vibrant. Full dark fruits, plum, tobacco, vanilla & oak. Long, distinguished finish. For me, this wine has aged extremely well and is still very luscious; the fruit still delivers, remaining full & soft, even after all these years. A 1995 Napa Cab doesn’t get much better than this. Amazing in every way! Cheers🍷 — 4 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 — 6 years ago

with Bruce

Shay A

9.5

Night 1 of the Fall WNH event in San Antonio. What a killer start to the extended weekend, all courtesy to Shawn and Jennifer for hosting! Tonight was Italian wines.

Another in the running for WOTN. Maple and rich! Cherry and vanilla tobacco on the nose with herbal spice and a strawberry tart finish. Young and acidic! There is a very underripe red fruit dominant profile here. Crazy how young it tastes for 23yrs old. Bravo @Shawn R ! — 7 years ago

with Mike, David and 5 others

Louie Christensen

9.4

Everything you'd expect and more. All the rich dark fruit, chocolate and lush purple flowers, but none of the sticky over-ripe flavors. So balanced. — 9 years ago

Lori Mike

8.9

Pours Mangue in color. ON THE NOSE: lime, strawberry and floral accents ON THE PALATE: citrus, strawberry, minerality with a nice burst of acidity on the finish. light body with a medium finish. — 9 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.4

1990. Slow burn with this one--firing on all cylinders with 2 hours of air. Hits all the aged pauillac notes — 10 years ago

with evie and V

Peter Plaehn

8.9

1995 from Mag. A beast that evolved all night. — 11 years ago

Fred Calatayud

9.4

1988 Insignia - great after all these years. This bottle survived especially well - the other 88s had lost their luster, but this one still has it together. — 11 years ago

with Sarah