As Furnias

The Prisoner Wine Company

The Prisoner Napa Valley Zinfandel Blend 2016

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Strong nose of black fruits with cedar, vanilla, leather, spices, earth, chocolates and black pepper.

Full-bodied with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry and very fruity on the palate with black currants, black plums, blackberries, cooked cherries, light green vegetables, spices, pencil lead and peppercorn.

Long finish with soft tannins and tangy cherries.

This 10 year old red blend from California is still drinking beautifully. Complex and interesting. Nice to see that it aged nicely.

Showing slight RS on the palate, but I can live with that.

Easy drinking and good by itself as a sipping wine.

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Syrah and Charbono.

15.2% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$60.
— 7 months ago

Andrew, Ted and 9 others liked this
Dick Schinkel

Dick Schinkel

Big Cheers dear Winefriend 👌🍷

Marchesi Antinori

Tignanello Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 2016

Had the 2016 after I had the 2015. 2015 was exceptional. 2016 much darker red fruits. Loved it as it was opening uo more. Delish — 9 months ago

Paul and Dave liked this

Château Montrose

Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2023

So elegant Montrose. It builds up an epic journey in the aftertaste. Rich and opulent as usual but with a fine touch of incredible level.
Softer extraction resulted on a fruitier, more sapid and rounder wine than usual. It feels it’s going to be approachable in its youth.
— 2 years ago

Peter liked this

Caymus Vineyards

Special Selection Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Sold Caymus as a wholesaler in the late 90’s finishing up a grad degree at UofWisconsin-Madison. Invested in a case of the stellar 94 vintage. Still on its game. — 5 years ago

Louis Roederer

Cristal Brut Champagne 2012

The 2012 Louis Roederer ‘Cristal’ Chanpagne is a thrilling, dense new offering from this historic house. On the nose this takes on rich brioche and baked Pazzaz apple flavors that combine with lighter kumquat and marzipan tones that all meld in the glass. Fresh and vibrant, with a remarkably silky mousse, the weight and richness of this wine is impressive, while the bright character provides a wonderful foil. Rich layers of lemon zest dusted brioche with toasted hazelnut and Gravenstein apple with lighter vanilla cream and starfruit tones seamlessly combine on the palate. As several hours develop, the wine pieces itself together more magically with the intense citrus components melding with its weighty stature. Marvelous at this stage in its development, the 2012 Louis Roederer ‘Cristal’ Chanpagne will have an exceedingly long life ahead of it. Try to give this at least another year of bottle development before savoring. Drink 2021-2040- 97 — 7 years ago

Dr., Shay and 39 others liked this
P A

P A

@Dr. Owen Bargreen Dr. Cheers 🥂
Willem Jan Withagen

Willem Jan Withagen Influencer Badge

I recently opened a 2002. Was still a fresh great wine.. So I can imagine the 2040 as end date
Also a very nice review, btw.

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend

Drinking with some serious wine lovers in Westchester. This one rocks as hard as the crust across the top. — 9 years ago

Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

Baron de Pichon-Longueville Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1997

Entering yummy phase. If there is such thing as shouting in a restrained tone "BORDEAUX" — 10 years ago

Carla liked this

Dom Pérignon

Brut Champagne Blend 1995

A unique opportunity to drink this 1995 dom vintage! It was very unique. Light bubbles, almond aromas. Light gold color, not as powerful as expected. It was time to drink eat... — 10 years ago

Bodegas As Laxas

Rías Baixas Albariño 2013

Thought it was Condrieu. Elegant! — 11 years ago

R. López de Heredia

Viña Tondonia Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2002

2002 vintage which has been a maligned Rioja vintage. This is the perfect example of producer being the trump card. Excellent as always! — 12 years ago

Marc, Anya and 41 others liked this
Kuan Lim

Kuan Lim Influencer Badge

I have some 1981 Tondonia and Bosconia grand reserva that we need to compare side by side ...
Let me known when you are conning ??
Anthony Lombardi

Anthony Lombardi

I actually brought 1981's to a dinner at the Corson Building here in Seattle a few years ago. The Bosconia was the winner by the slightest margin. Actually everybody won who drank them.
Tom Kobylarz

Tom Kobylarz Influencer Badge

Great way to say vintages mean less when you have a great producer!

Shafer Vineyards

Hillside Select Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 1997

Delicious. Decadent. Still full of life as an almost 30 year old should be! — 8 months ago

Bryan Heath
with Bryan
"Odedi" liked this

Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Presented to me, double-blind. The wine pours a deep garnet color with an opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears, and some signs of light sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with a mix of ripe and desiccated, mostly dark fruits: cassis, black cherry, plum, mixed brambles, old leather, pipe tobacco, pencil shavings, and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (that is mostly integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long.

Initial conclusions: this could be a Cabernet-based Bordeaux blend, Tempranillo (or based blend) or Grenache-based blend from France, Spain or the United States. I feel like this leans more towards its fruit than its structure, even though it is a fairly well balanced wine in both regards. As a result, I am calling this a Cabernet-based Bordeaux blend from the United States, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain from a producer like Dunn, 2006. Shiiiiiit. To be honest, I’m not terribly surprised since this is Cos and from a warm vintage no less. Drinking well now and should through 2050+.
— 8 months ago

Pooneet, Jason and 23 others liked this

Krug

Grande Cuvée Brut Champagne Blend

Fabulous. Paired with lobster. Fresh and refreshing. Right up there with Cristal and Pol Roger Winston Churchill as my favorite champagne. — 3 years ago

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2005

Somm David T
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

Christina ChampagneJames
with Christina and James
Shay, Ira and 47 others liked this

Silver Oak

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Delicious as usual from Silver Oak. The seamless integration of tannin and fruit in this wine is just beautiful. It has aged well thus far, and could probably go another 5-10 years comfortably. For my palate and tastes, it’s a drink now. — 9 years ago

Micaela HoogeveenCami Madden
with Micaela and Cami
Matt, Susan and 1 other liked this
Adam Hoogeveen

Adam Hoogeveen

Thanks for making such great wine @Matt Duncan !
Matt Duncan

Matt Duncan Influencer Badge

Come visit!
Adam Hoogeveen

Adam Hoogeveen

We toured your winery in 2016 @Matt Duncan and absolutely loved it. We will be back sooner rather than later I assure you! Maggie was a great host and guide.

Ridge Vineyards

Monte Bello Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cork disintegrated, but otherwise no concerns. Very restrained with more fruit showing as it took on air. Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the bottles age. — 10 years ago

S.R.Alexander liked this

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo

Highly structured as they say. Nose very pleasant. Tastes like raspberry bush root salad. — 10 years ago

Curtis and Anthony liked this

Heitz Cellar

Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Neck fill and good cork. Immediate nose of cedar, anise, of course eucalyptus and even some hibiscus. It's deep in the glass and core was still tight, even bit tannic and firm acids. This vintage is drinking better now than the legendary 74's as some of that bigger vintage is falling apart. A real beauty! — 11 years ago

Marcel Lapierre

Morgon Gamay 2012

Paul Einbund
9.0

Tight and young but perfect as evah — 12 years ago

John and Scott liked this

Château Musar

Bekaa Valley Red Blend 2007

Classic Musar complexity on the nose. Not as tannic as the 2005 and a bit more approachable than the last vintage. Lots of black fruits. Still lots of ageing potential. — 12 years ago

Gavin, Natan and 1 other liked this

Silver Oak

Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

This was a gift from a close friend who worked for Silver Oak as a garden manager until they eliminated that part of their business. Beautiful color in the glass. Ruby with a hint of rust on the edge. Aroma is complex with berries and flint. Also just a hint of pine needles. Christmas trees. Flavors are full and fine. This is BIG BOY wine. Delicious. — 8 months ago

Douglas, Tegan and 10 others liked this

Spottswoode

Family Estate Grown St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Dark purple nectar as I poured into my wine decanter. The wine did not disappoint. Drank wine over 4 hours over a Christmas Eve dinner. . — 8 months ago

Michael Wong
with Michael

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2003

Served alongside beef short rib, xo sauce, pickled mustard seed, cumin stir-fried asparagus. Yes, the 2003 Dominus is big. However, it is also balanced and showing classic Napa typicity with beautifully ripe and some slightly wizened black and red fruit, tobacco, cocoa, some purple flowers and baking spices. I found this to be quite balanced after all the air it saw. Wonderful structure for continued aging as well. Drink now through 2043. — 2 years ago

Ira, Jan and 18 others liked this

Krug

Brut Champagne Blend 2008

The first couple times I tried 08 I was definitely too quick to judge. It needs a ton of air, and it’s different from the rich, oxidative, nutty house style of the past, particularly the warm and ultra forward 2006, the previous release. 2008 is indeed young, tightly wound with a pulsating core of energy.

The first glass offers very little. Subdued, austere and youthfully reserved. But ensuing pours eventually unleash its core of powerful clean orchard fruit, coffee bean and grilled nuts. On the palate it continues to become so much more textural with crazy gains in weight, depth and fruit intensity as the night goes on. It really fills the mouth, saturating the palate with a satin-like texture, ripping citrusy acids and saline laced minerals that follow deep into its finish. Enjoyable now with enough air (needs 2 hours), but no doubt one to hold. To live forever.
— 4 years ago

Jan, Shay and 6 others liked this

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

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

Bruce F Taub
with Bruce

La Rioja Alta

Gran Reserva 904 Rioja Tempranillo Graciano

Top year 904 @ £75 that was drank in Zalto burg glass as its like an aged burgundy

🐽 Paired w/ Iberian Ham 😍

🍷 Garnet ruby w/ brick

👃 Smoked burnt oak, soggy earthy leaves, leather, dark cherry & figs w/ balsamic & damson

👄 Med body of creamy stewed cherry w/ earthy balsamic & slight mocha

🎯 Med finish of above w/ earthy balsamic linger

Reaching peak but I preferred the 95 904 over this but the 890 94 was better than the 95!
— 9 years ago

Chris, Ellen and 15 others liked this
P A

P A

@Chris England Chris the total package sounds great Cheers 🍷
Chris England

Chris England

@Phil A especially as we brought them both back from Barcelona 🎉🍷

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend

Vintage 1986. not good as LLC from same application — 10 years ago

Serge liked this

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend

Very powerful, extracted. Will still improve, as it took over an hour to open up. Good with food, but I clearly see why I drink less and less Bordeaux. — 11 years ago

Château Cheval Blanc

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

Informal gathering to drink some Bordeaux varietal bottles with steak.

1986 Cheval Blanc: This one showed suspect ullage, to the point where it had been hard to flip it. And in the end, it did turn out to be a controversial wine--was the orgasm 40 days, or was it 36 days? Hard to say... An extraordinary wine, classic in its own way, with fragrant dark flower and black cassis aromas wafting from the glass, and maybe more importantly for us, exploding in the mouth. Some of the more ordinary adjectives, like "smooth" and "balanced", are accurate enough, but obviously don't do this one justice. One could do a fluid dynamical description of the time evolution of this wine in the mouth, a broad attack that gave way in about 3 seconds to a sensation of acceleration and flaring across the entire breadth of the palate as the wine detonated, an oenological version of a jet... And then a persistent finish where the inner mouth perfume resonates as it fades slowly (or simply moved off to some parallel universe).
— 12 years ago