Bells Up Winery

Spottswoode

Family Estate Grown St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon 1975

Took about 90 minutes to open up, but it was worth it. Still in its prime and drinking great. — 2 months ago

Joe, Tom and 6 others liked this

Corison

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

10yrs from vintage date and Cathy’s favorite spot. I wouldn’t disagree. More aromatic now but fruit still deep with velvety tannins. Kronos up next! — 3 months ago

Tom, Byron and 1 other liked this

Château Latour

Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2006

Delectable Wine
9.4

The 2006 Latour shows some reduction on the nose, although it soon blows away to reveal pencil-shaving infused black fruit, wild hedgerow and light cassis aromas. The palate offers up a mixture of red and black fruit. This has a firm grip with an uncompromising backbone. Dense yet refined, it is refreshingly saline toward the finish, yet there are a few hard edges to be addressed. Tasted blind from double magnum at a 20-year retrospective at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2024)
— 3 months ago

Paul Jaboulet Aîné

La Chapelle Hermitage Syrah 2006

thought it could be overvalued, but it lived up to its reputation. — 4 months ago

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1997

Flight #2 of our 1997 Retrospective and these were the thoroughbreds. Presented single-blind; no formal notes. Wine #1 had great color, was developing, and probably the earthiest of the group but still had a lovely fruit profile. A really nice balance of fruit and non-fruits. Robust structure. Notably, this was the only bottle in the flight that had Brettanomyces…and while I found it to quite charming, this is what ultimately got me hung up on whether I thought this was the Dominus or the Monte Bello. Ultimately I called the later. I really dig this and wish I could afford more Dominus in my life. Drink now and through 2035. — 4 months ago

Juan, Paul and 19 others liked this

Caymus Vineyards

Special Selection Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Shay A
9.3

My last of a three pack, and this shockingly drinks almost identical to my last bottle over four years ago.

Lovely deep red in the glass with bricking around the rim. Fig bar, sweet black cherries and tobacco aromatics. Ripe red and black fruits on the palate...not over ripe, but definitely sweet. Channeling more of a cherry liqueur and concentrated mid-palate as it ages. Close to fully integrated. Quite smooth and still a lot of fruit playing a primary role, but it’s not getting any better. More sexy than intellectual (nothing wrong with either).

I’d imagine this will hold in this window for another couple years and then decline, but I didn’t expect it to hold in this same window for almost five years. Drink up.
— 6 months ago

Ted, Jan and 29 others liked this

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2003

Fantastic flavor, immediately you can taste the age and enjoy it. It improves a good deal after opening up a bit. — 6 months ago

Ericsson and LM liked this

Beaulieu Vineyard

Private Reserve Georges de Latour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

David T
9.6

This was a nice pour out of 9L served up by their Winemaker, Trevor Durling. He and his team are a great group of people.

Really excellent evolution. Classic Private Reserve George Latour style. Fine, dark tarry tannins, dark cassis, wet clay, sandalwood, used tobacco, light herbaceous notes, understated lead pencil, some baking spices, dark spice, withering dark & red flowers, excellent round acidity, balance for days, soft structure & tension and an elegant, round, plush, velvety finish that close to two-minutes.
— 2 months ago

Shay, Ira and 16 others liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

1986 vintage. Ripped through six bottles (one corked) for a 1986 BDX dinner @ Mister A's-San Diego. All bottles appropriately aged fill and decent+ corks. Double decanted and tasted over the course of 5 hours. Mix of powdery and stubborn (non-chunky) sed amongst the 6 bottles. Light-medium body throughout. Somewhat muted experience overall. None of the bottles (with variation) shone/sung. Wine is firmly on the downside of the bell curve with best days behind it (based on the 5 + corked bottle examples). There was none of the usual P-L flavor markers but the body hung in there. Pains me to say this but drink up now unless you've got a larger format bottle. Maggie (+) would probably yield a higher score. 3.14.24. — 3 months ago

Paul, Lyle and 8 others liked this
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

Oh 😥. Sounds like a bust.
David T

David T Influencer Badge

While I respect, own many vintage from them, as well as, one of my favorite non 1st growth producers and love the style of 80’s Bordeaux (82, 86, 89) I don’t believe this vintage from them ever lived up to expectation or critics reviews.
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

@David T To be fair, had a few examples of this particular wine and vintage that ticked off the 9.6 mark for me. Don’t rate anything above a 9.7. When it was at the top of the bell curve and just on either side of that summit, it didn’t suck. Life rolls on.

Château Musar

Bekaa Valley Red Blend

Lively and effervescent. Strawberry, raspberry, tart cherry — fruit forward, balanced by acidity and herbal notes. Picking up bay leaf, dried herb, general green notes. Fun and unexpected. — 4 months ago

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe

La Crau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 1998

#AgedWineTuesday

Beautiful ruby in color, with a very wide reddish rim. Bricking at the very top.

Light nose with red and black fruits, light cedar and tobacco leaf.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with black plums, currants, cherries, earth, black coffee, oak, herbs, vegetables, spices, tobacco leaf, dark chocolates and black tea.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This 26 year old from the great 1998 vintage in Southern Rhone is drinking beautifully now. Soft and smooth, elegant and earthy.

Not so good right out of the bottle, and needed 90 minutes of airtime to open up properly, so be patient.

Robert Parker 95 points. Wine Spectator 94 points.

Will continue to drink nicely in the next 5 years.

Showing nice complexity and good balance.

I paired it with a Charcuterie board of meats and cheeses.

14% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$120 (current vintage).
— 5 months ago

Jose, Martijn and 24 others liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2003

Timothy Eustis
9.0

2003. But not the stewed fruit one might expect. Should have had some years ago. But it’s held up. Nice cigar box and dark fruit. — 6 months ago

Severn, Pooneet and 3 others liked this

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia

Bolgheri Red Bordeaux Blend 2004

Wow! This was amazing straight out of the bottle...such a powerful striking nose drifting up from the cork. There was everything there that you would expect to smell on a walk in tuscany. Herbs and dried earth...unmistakable Supertuscan. Dark in the glass and almost cloudy...i could drink this anytime and anywhere. — 6 months ago

Ira, Paul and 16 others liked this

Far Niente Winery

Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Ripe black fruit. Expected more oak, tobacco, leather but it’s really a juicy fruited lovely fruit forward wine drinking very well right now. Soft silky mouthfeel. Tannins softened very nicely. Backbone still there, would guess has 3-5 yeqrs left. Nice long finish. Holding up very well and a joy to drink now. — 2 months ago

Joe liked this

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

#AgedWineTuesday

Dark ruby in color with a wide brick rim

Earthy nose with light oak, black fruits and tobacco.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with red and black fruits, wood, earth, vegetables, spices, tobacco leaf, dark coffee, licorice, dark chocolates, black tea and black pepper.

Medium plus on the finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

This 35 year old is still drinking beautifully. This Second Growth Bordeaux is nicely balanced and complex.

Peaking now, and will continue to drink nicely in the next 10+ years.

Good right out of the bottle, and better after 4 hours. I did not decant it, but let it open up in the bottle.

Wine Spectator 96 points.

A good food wine that I paired with beef brisket. Gorgeous.

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$275.
— 3 months ago

Bob, Doug and 22 others liked this
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@"Odedi", great pull!!

Olga Raffault

Les Picasses Chinon Cabernet Franc 2017

Another outstanding Picasses that is far more accessible in its youth. Open but with more muscle, austerity, and brooding fruit than the ‘14. Need to revise my other rating up rather than this down. — 3 months ago

Spencer, romo and 5 others liked this

Château Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2006

Not the best Haut Brion. Very tight. Lots of sediment and lots of time needed for this to even start to open up. Decanted 4+ hours. Dense and thick. Ripe dark fruit. Strong earthiness. I liked it but it never found the top gear. — 4 months ago

Tom, Paul and 19 others liked this

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1997

Flight #1 of our 1997 Retrospective. Presented single-blind; no formal notes. This had a really compelling mix of fruit and non-fruit notes; multifaceted, balanced. Superb structure. Bordeaux-like. Called this “Insignia”. This was my favorite of the flight and the most complete wine in the line-up. Drinking well now and should hold that way well through 2027. — 5 months ago

Paul, Shay and 11 others liked this

Taittinger

Comtes de Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Chardonnay 2006

For me the question for this cuvée is never, “ is it good?”. The question is , “how good is it?” Not as powerful as other vintages but it makes up for it with balance and complexity. I am sure this will age but it is in a very good drinking window right now. — 6 months ago

Jan, Bob and 37 others liked this
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@Ira Schwartz, my wife’s favorite Champagne, as well!!
Ira Schwartz

Ira Schwartz Influencer Badge Premium Badge

@Doug Powers That puts me in very good company then ! Wishing all of the Delectable community a Healthy & Happy New Year.
🍾🍷
GaryWEdwards

GaryWEdwards

Some great wine here. I also 2007 Rosé which is equal to her pale brother, the Blanc de Blanc.

Château Gruaud Larose

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

1989 vintage. 375 ml format. Good fill but cork had some red streaks all the way up to the top and it was difficult to remove the top part of the "fused" foil. Decanted and tasted over the course of three hours. Expected sed. Light-medium body. Nose on point with the vintage/age and didn't seem abused/mistreated. Flavor profile a mishmash of chunky and resolved. Ultimately, came in slightly short on the balance ledger side. Lean, judicious fruit okay but not totally reconciled with the final exam. If enjoyed from a 750 ml format, thinking it might climb up to a 9.1 currently. Maybe. A maggie format (or larger) might reveal a revelation. 12.9.23. — 6 months ago

Ted, Ira and 11 others liked this