Delectable Wine

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9.5

Tasting the 1990 Léoville Las Cases just a few days after the 1989, it is clear which is the best vintage…this one. It has a sublime nose of melted black fruit, tar, cedar and bay leaf that shrugs off the heat of that summer better than most others. At 33 years of age, you could just lose yourself in these aromatics. The palate is clearly holding up well: beautifully defined and supple yet with typical Las-Cases backbone and depth. It builds magnificently in the glass toward a harmonious finish that reminds me of the 1985 in terms of its fleshiness. Wonderful. Tasted at the Lia's Wings/book dinner at Medlar restaurant. (Neal Martin, Vinous, December 2023)
— 2 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Old tawny color. Mostly transparent with clear rims. Great old wine nose. Notes of ripe plum, red fruit, some earth and spice, a little kirsch and some herbs. Silky in the mouth. Great texture. Very Burgundian. Still at a nice peak in terms of where it’s at. This was from a great looking bottle with a high fill. Good stuff. — 4 years ago

Richard Hylton

9.5

Beautiful magnum of 1990 Grand Annee! A real treat—super elegant, balanced, and flavorful. — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Medium gold with more active bubbles than the 90 Dom next to it. More intense and complex nose. Notes of stones, citrus, some mushroom, toasted nuts and a little old ripe apple. Nice richness and mousse in the mouth, with a solid line of acidity to deliver a balanced overall impression. With air this became more creamy and enjoyable. Great stuff, paired well against tuna tartare and some other appetizers. (Bday 2 of 13) — 5 years ago

Eli Barton

9.5

This was phenomenal. It’s incredible how youthful and powerful a 29-year old wine can be. Wonderful spicy nose, not a hint of age, beautiful color, great complexity, acidity, and length. This was a real pleasure and very memorable experience. — 6 years ago

with Vicki, Jason and 1 other

Scott D

9.1

Classic Raffault. Secondary Chinon notes of earth, leather but still beautiful fruit showing through — 7 years ago

with Carlie and Lou

Mike Saviage

9.5

Still ruby center with bricking rims. Clean and almost opaque. Big nose with notes of chicory, pencil lead, dried raspberries, dry earth and menthol. Perfectly balanced in the mouth with nice fruit matching softened tannins. Great finish. Oops, I thought I had grabbed the 90 Clape Cornas, this was an accidental upgrade. — 9 years ago

Jeffrey Lew

9.6

Crazy nose of black tea and spice. Nice acidity also. Totally surprised me. Great bottle. — 9 years ago

Paul Woolls

9.6

Just coming around. Magnificent. Elegant. Pure bliss. — 10 years ago

Chris Garmon

9.7

A very special wine for a great dinner — 11 years ago

Doug Powers

9.5

Minerals and a cool climate redfruit aroma and flavor profile, soft tannins, nice balance, seems to show it has another 10-15 years of further development, but also a long, lingering finish and drinks very well tonight! — 2 years ago

with Jim

Mike Saviage

9.4

Taken to The Pocket in Carmel. Nice dark murky tawny color, opaque. Black fruit nose including notes of blackberries and blueberries, gravel stone, mocha, some menthol and some wood. Tannins are resolved, leaving silky fruit. In a good drinking window. — 3 years ago

MRM

9.4

Excellent — 4 years ago

Shengli Hu

9.4

Spices, lemon zest, Brioche, vanilla, honey, and minerality. Energetic and lively. Still years ahead of it. — 5 years ago

with Dylan

Michael Herzog

9.1

Fruit had greatly peeled away but was a fun one to open after this long and really enjoyed it with some beef tenderloin. — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.6

Bright cherry color core with tawny rims. Masculine nose. A bit closed at first. Notes of raspberries, briary wood, spice, rhubarb and some dark moist soil. Becomes a bit medicinal with air in a good way. Power grows with several hours of air. My last note was “massive”. Great bottle! (Bday dinner 7/13) — 6 years ago

Steve Pollack

9.2

Drink up. Getting tired and oxidized. Not as good as bottles 2-4 years ago. — 7 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.3

Super fun wine to get us ready for the Bordeaux Masters Class this afternoon.

Medium garnet core with bricking in the edges. Layered nose with some definite bret, not off putting at all. Notes of barnyard, leather and dried red cherries. Well integrated and balanced. Moderate tannins (6/10) and medium bodied. Very rustic on the palate with some dried red cherries, forest floor and cedar. Long finish. Enough finesse to go another year or two but why wait, drinking well right now. Drink till 2019. — 9 years ago

with Sean and India

Mike McGlone

9.4

Wine of exceptional quality and depth. Great with lamb dinner. — 10 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

1990 vintage. Finally...tasted a bottle that confirmed both the excellence of this particular vintage and this particular producer. Was 0 for 10 prior to this with a few 9.0's, 9.1's and a 9.2 being the highest score. Still much more sleek than the '86, '88 or '89 vintages and currently pretty close stylistically to the linear '96 vintage. Soft yet intriguing nose. Light-medium body. Better than good concentration mid-palate and through a 30-second finish. Some of that beguiling cocoa powder and blueberry feminity confirming a beautiful effort. 4.22.23 — 3 years ago

Michael Dierberg

10

Perfect wine. Amazing. — 4 years ago

with JiaMin

Ed Tostanoski

9.2

It’s got the nose but the palate wasn’t quite there to back it up. All the classic flavors were there just not quite coming together in balance. Still delicious though! — 5 years ago

B

10

1990 Chateau Rayas. Opened and poured right away. Drank this after the 1990 Guigal La Turque and 1990 Chave. This was by far the winner. Elegant, feminine, burgundy-esque. Absolutely perfect. — 5 years ago

Hua Ming Siow

9.8

Lovely Petrus nose with superbly integrated fruit and fine tannins. Medium body with good length. A special memory. — 6 years ago

Michael Funes

9.9

Does not get much better than this. — 6 years ago

Jennifer Lakari

9.2

Golden hue, yeasty notes. Delicious — 7 years ago

Edmond Ng

9.8

It would have been a wonderful wine had we not have it after the '82 Comtesse de Lalande. Still could taste and smell honey. — 8 years ago

Gabriela Feffer

9.8

Jantando no Gero com meu amor! Só nos 😻 — 9 years ago

George Chen

9.4

Still wound pretty tight...intense backbone, plenty of flesh underneath, bit mysterious still...need a few more years! — 9 years ago

Paul Luce

9.5

Pure, Blackberry & black cherry. Absolutely gorgeous. A master class in preparation to drink, Dr Cassetta has skillz — 10 years ago