Black Forest

Château La Mission Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 1994

Hard to resist opening as this is in a perfect spot with its red & black fruits, sweet tobacco, licorice, spice box, menthol, leather & floral notes — 2 months ago

Jeroen, Juan and 10 others liked this
John Howard

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@Ron Siegel one of our fave bdx’s. Will have to try the older vintages sometime.

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1990

1990 vintage. Last tasted 10.26.24 (9.3). Bottom neck fill. Opened with a Durand and decanted. Cork about 70% saturated. Throwing a mix of lentil-sized chunky and powdery sediment. Surprisingly dark color. Nose initially had the funk while decanting. Tasting 30 minutes after the open, the funk had blown off. Light body. Coffee grounds and tobacco throughout. Some damp and decaying forest floor matter/earth (but not mud) notes along with a cedilla of lean, dark cherry. Based on this specimen, feel this can hold tight in this phase for another 3-4 years. 2.27.26 — 3 months ago

David, Jeroen and 14 others liked this
Somm David T

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Much respect for this producer.
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego, thanks for the update, I still have some of these in my cellar.

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2008

Mostly black fruits, full bodied with cedar, leather, sweet spices & tobacco — 4 months ago

Jan, Jonathan and 7 others liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Somm David T
9.4

I remember when the 2005 Pichon Lalande was reviewed by RP, 89. I saw that & said, you would have to get in the way of the 2005 Bordeaux vintage to be that sad. I still bought 6 at a bargain basement price. A very good idea post 20 yrs+. Both Pichon’s don’t have a modern day history of getting in the way of a good vintage.

I also bought this one. 18 yrs in bottle and still acending. This will hold 5 more yrs and will last another 10 yrs properly stored.

I have visited Bordeaux 11 times. This chateau visually is still my favorite. It was showing a picture of this chateau to Sofia that launched our first visit. Sofia loved it and we have stared at it multiple times on every visit.

It was in our visit in 2007, I stood in the estate vineyard, looked & tasted their soils. After doing so, I said, “I get it.” I understood everything about what I was tasting in Left Bank Bordeaux’s early in my wine journey.

Sofia and I had dinner w/ Christian Moueix not long after the 2005 vintage was hyped/released. She asked him, when did you know you had something special?” He said, “as soon as I tasted the fruit at harvest.”

Tonight, it shows that it is a close relative, a sibling to Pichon Longueville. Cork, perfect.

The nose shows; classic left bank traits. Ripe, dark, brooding fruits, bright, mid berries, red cola, leather, tobacco, sandalwood, leather, led pencil, dark rich earth, limestone, dry river stone, hint of mushrooms, dark, red, fresh & withering florals.

The fruits on the palate show everything outstanding from the 2005 growing season. Ripe, juicy, brilliant; dark currants, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum skin, black cherries, baked/poached strawberries & some hovering raspberries. Dark chocolate bar to pudding, red cola, anise, dark spices w/ palate heat, dark, rich earth w/ dry leaves, pronounced graphite, dry tobacco, leather, limestone, dry twig, dry river stone, moist clays, moist herbs, cedar to sandalwood, withering & dry, dark flowers, red roses, some lavender & violets, beautiful rainfall acidity, excellent; balance, tension, structure, length w/ an elegant finish that lasts minutes and lands on spice & earth.

13.4 ABV. Nice.

#TheTwoHourRibcap

This held up vacuumed sealed the same night, refrigerated & enjoyed exactly a week later.
— 4 months ago

Peter, Scott@Mister and 16 others liked this
Bob McDonald

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@Somm David T A wonderful story David and I can see how you could fall in love with that photo of the Chateau.
Somm David T

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@Bob McDonald Thank you. Cheers! 🍷

Paul Jaboulet Aîné

La Chapelle Hermitage Syrah 2012

This was showing well with notes of red, black fruits, sweet on the palate with savory spice, earth, licorice, leather & tobacco — 5 months ago

Scott@Mister, Andrew and 6 others liked this

Caymus Vineyards

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

[Tasted on March 19, 2026 at Home]

Blackberry and black cherry fruit, with vanilla, chocolate and licorice notes. Plush wine which has aged well.
— 2 months ago

Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2008

Still youthful showing red & black fruits, cedar, leather, graphite, spice & tobacco — 3 months ago

David, Dave and 17 others liked this
"Odedi"

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Nice age here

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2017

Deep cherry red. Oak+ vanilla clove nutmeg. Black currant++ blueberry black cherry and berry. Leather+ meat. Elegancy more than complexity. It changed a lot over time. 30 min the started feeling the value of this. Compared with the last one, it has big potential, though it has already been ready to drink, since it is 2017 vintage. Fruitiness M Sweetness M+ Acidity M Silky Tannin M+ Bitterness M Body M++ Finish M++ 13.5% Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 17 @110000, AD, 250226 — 3 months ago

Sagee and "Odedi" liked this

Tenuta San Guido

Bolgheri Sassicaia Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2007

Dry(ish) January now over, time to get back to business!
Leathery, earthy, yet smooth and well balanced black fruit concentration. Not a bad start to 2026….
— 4 months ago

Neville Weston
with Neville
Andrew, Bob and 9 others liked this

Casella Wines

The Black Stump Durif Shiraz 2024

What’s Durif? Loved the combo with Australian Shiraz. Red and blackberry and cherry with a touch of oak and smoke. This was quite the fruit bomb with mild tannins and medium body. Please sir. . . I want some more. — 4 months ago

Marchesi Antinori

Tignanello Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 2004

plush plummy fruit. Rounded with black cherry and soft precision. Lovely — 5 months ago

Paul WoollsAra Aslanian
with Paul and Ara
Tom, Jay and 4 others liked this

Ridge Vineyards

Monte Bello Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2014

Yes—exactly that kind of wine: timeless, composed, and quietly authoritative.

It smells so good on first pour. Damp pine forest floor and clean mountain air register immediately. Everything else unravels from there; but that initial pop-and-pour sniff is pure magic.

On the palate, blackcurrant, cedar, graphite, and dried herbs unfold with control, carried by freshness and finely etched tannins in a medium body.

So classic, so intellectual, and deeply mesmerizing. Drink now or age.
— 5 months ago

Ted, Sagee and 9 others liked this

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo

Floral notes on the nose — roses, hibiscus, plus mint, and the dry fragrance of sun-bleached wood. Strawberries on the front. Medium tannic structure. Black tea high notes with hint mint on the mid palate. Citrusy finish with long acidic afterburn. My description fails in that it makes it sound like a light and floral wine. But taken altogether, this is wine is rock solid, and it hasn’t even begun to develop. — 5 months ago

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2000

Youthful, structured with red & black fruits, currant, cedar, spice & tobacco — 2 months ago

Joel, Tom and 10 others liked this

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1984

This bottle of the 1984 Insignia was opened about 30min before service and enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The wine pours a deep garnet with a slightly browning rim and an opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and plenty of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of desiccated black fruits: blackberries, black cherry, Chunky beef stew, mushroom, eucalyptus, leather, organic earth and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. A mature wine what’s still lovely; full of secondary and tertiary notes. Drink now. — 2 months ago

Tom, Daniel and 9 others liked this
Paul K

Paul K

Cool 😎

Château Lafite Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2011

Kevin Arndt
9.4

Dense, complex, still VERY youthful. Graphite, just ripe black currant, it’s a wine with concentration and strength without being overripe and brooding. Balance of alcohol within the structure is perfect. — 3 months ago

Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

Baron de Pichon-Longueville Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1990

Presented to me double-blind. The wine pours a deep garnet with an opaque core and some rim variation; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and signs of sediment. On the nose the wine is vinous with notes of cassis, blackberry, black plum, tobacco, menthol, leather, and mix of cool and warm spices. On the palate the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is really delicious.

Initial conclusions: this could be a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend or other Bordeaux-styled blend or a Tempranillo based blend from the United States, France or Spain. This saw French oak so I eliminated Spain. I thought the fruit was outshining the structure…so I liked the USA over France. And, based off the appearance, I thought this probably had 30+ years of age. Final conclusion: this is a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend from the United States, from California, Napa, Rutherford; 1994. Ugh…the 1990 vintage in Bordeaux has bit me twice now recently. Really awesome stuff! Drink now through 2040+.
— 4 months ago

Jan, Pooneet and 20 others liked this

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2021

Somm David T
9.5

Fruit is brighter, more brilliant than many other 21’s I’ve had. Texturally & fruit-wise senses more like the 23’s I’ve had. It’s gorgeous. Again, needs a decade or more in the cellar.

Round, lush, creamy blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, both plums, poached strawberries, dry, crushed rocks, limestone powder, nice balling spices, caramel, mocha, dry herbs, dry tobacco, lead pencil, dry river stone, leather, melted, dark chocolate, dark spice, fresh & withering dark flowers, red roses, nice round acidity, well balanced, bigger tension & structure, excellent round, excellent finish that last minutes and lands on spice, wet clay and Christmas cake.
— 4 months ago

Tom, Juan and 19 others liked this

Domaine Dauvissat-Camus

La Forest Chablis 1er Cru Chardonnay 2010

15 year old Chablis? Yes please. I was shocked at how fresh this still was. Only a hint of honey and a slightly darker color than I would have expected the current vintage to be. With that said the honey was there with some soft apple and minerality for days. This was a great wine with dinner. — 5 months ago

Château Cheval Blanc

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2004

Sweet smell, earthy taste, black berry — 5 months ago