romo

9.4

Bit volatile day one, all business day two. Big Xmas spice, feather light feel. Beware the bottle variation. — 10 months ago

Mike Beltran

9.1

Decanted and really opened up in little more than half an hour. 54 years and still has vitality. There’s still some fruit but it is mixed with subtle acidity and soft tannins. A delight to drink and share with friends. Our friend was given the wine and wanted to share it. We all were quite happy.👍🍷🍷 — 6 years ago

with Joe

Paul J

9.3

Would have benefited from a decant and more age. Definitely young and fairly tight. Has all the right characteristics to be great, but let this guy age. — 8 years ago

Ragan Ramsey

10

All time favorite — 9 years ago

with Billy

ADAM STROMFELD

9.3

Yes this 41 year old beauty is still all there. Still great acidity and fruit some raisins and cooked plums. This evolved over 1.5 hours. More please ... — 9 years ago

with Frank and Joe

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Everything about this BSR is perfect right now. Certainly, one of my favorites and the start of Christmas dinner makes it all the better!!! The fruit is sensational strawberries, black raspberries, raspberries, watermelon, touch of tangerine, the acidity so fresh and perfect, powdery gentle chalkiness, soft minerals and a finish I simply love. — 10 years ago

Thomas Brenner

9.3

Cherries, blackberries, macerated raspberries and slight smoke, with present tannins, yet ultra smooth. Wonderful finish. Very mild, but boasts a red and black rush of berries, all while completely mellow. Masterful. — 10 years ago

Hermes Ortiz

9.7

2002 SHAFER Cabernet Sauvignon
"Hillside Select"
Napa Valley, California
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Silky smooth.
Soft, lush tannins.
Dark, Black Fruit.
Blackberry and Blueberry Flavors.
All Elements in harmony.
Great Balance.
Extra long finish.
"Wine of the Night".
Still has another 5 - 10 years of life ahead. — 11 years ago

with Jeffrey

Mike Barbella

9.6

One of my Fav's of ALL time — 11 years ago

Devin Finn

9.2

Not at all shitty. — 12 years 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. — 2 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

Matt Duncan

9.4

Fresh, herbal, red. Unlikely most folks would accept this amount of pyrazines in a young wine today, but at 40 years it elevates aromas of all kinds. — 9 years ago

Nico J. Snyman

9.3

No bubbles left, some seepage on the cork, but funnily enough it was still quite special, confit ginger, mandarin marmalade mixed with vanilla beans, custard, creme brûlée, just the caramel on the finish showed it wasn't stored correctly, all things considered quite extraordinary. — 9 years ago

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. — 10 years ago

Jeff D.

9.7

In a great place...bursting with spicy, rich stewed raspberry fruit with a sultry finish. All around great wine, despite being in a 375mL. Wish it was a 500mL, could use another few sips of it. — 10 years ago

Sophia Primps

9.5

Still has wonderful fruit after all@these years. — 11 years ago

Alex Powell

9.1

This is indeed quite a lovely old school rioja, the nose awash with savoury leafy tones, tobacco and warm earth, dried plums and unfortunately the coconut dill of american wood....very refined palate, mid-sized, fluent and sweet n sour throughout, delicious peat moss and mud tones, plenty of dried fruit, however a creaminess to the texture and a splash of cedar on the finish detracts from its otherwise unmistakable beauty. I just can't help but feel this would be so much better without the american oak. I can only wait for the day all top riojan wines cast aside the shadow of their past, and believe wholesomely in the grandeur of their unique terroir. — 11 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.8

With all its age this is such a complete wine. Wow. — 12 years ago

Joseph Moss

9.3

Gamay all day, every day! With some aging on it. Good to drink, still good to keep. — 12 years ago

LM Segal

9.5

Beautiful in all respects, gently wafting black tea, red flowers. Layers of light and fully resolved red fruit, lots of secondary aromatics. Perhaps a bit past it’s prime but even so, obvious royalty. — 4 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

A lot can happen in three weeks. Cheers 🥂 to that!

Top photos, April 11th. Bottom photos, May 1st.

Happy May Day all. Hope yours was as nice as ours.

Numerous notes still stand. — 6 years ago

Jack Cranley, Backroads Wine Club & Cascadia Premium Wines

9.7

Facemelting. That is all. — 8 years ago

Todd Doolan

9.8

Surprisingly dark after all these years. Currant, mint & grandpa's baseball glove. Fantastic! — 9 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. — 10 years ago

Tyson Caly

9.7

Stunning. Still showed signs of fruit all these years later. Wow. — 10 years ago

Jeff Ball

9.5

Berries, minerals and alcohol. A bit spicy after opening. All in all, great balance. Nice finish. Can't go wrong! — 11 years ago

Matt Forester

9.6

1994. Hard to believe it's a 1994. I'm sure I've never tasted a better 1994 from Bordeaux. Currant, cassis, some vegetal notes, leather, barnyard. Beautiful with some power. Doesn't taste to me like it is fading at all. — 11 years ago

with Matt

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. — 12 years ago

Matt Baker

10

Z-Best!!! My personal fav of all time!!!! — 12 years ago