Blind Corner

Château Rayas

Réservé Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grenache Blend 1985

Tasted blind. Reddish tawny color. Edges suggest its old. Notes of strawberry, raspberry, iron, roses. Some zing and power in the nose. Slaps your face when tasted. Sappy. Powerful impact. Long finish. Other guesses were in Burgundy land eg Griotte but I went with 90 Rayas. Bingo. — 5 years ago

Alex, Shay and 14 others liked this
David L

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Incredible

Château Palmer

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1955

Tasted blind. Tawny color, translucent with amber rims. Notes of black cherry, cedar, some spice and a little barnyard floor. Sweet fruit in the mouth, with tannins fully resolved. Guessed 1955 Calon Segur. Perfect looking bottle, the cork revealed this bottle was reconditioned by the Chateau in 2000. — 6 years ago

Shay, Eric and 16 others liked this

Whetstone Wine Cellars

Catie's Corner Viognier

My first viognier with some age on it. Major coconut cream pie, with other stone fruits as supporting cast. Still noticeably high alcohol, but maybe because I usually drink fairly low alcohol whites. Interesting and tasty wine. — 7 years ago

Colin liked this

Domaine Armand Rousseau

Chambertin Grand Cru Pinot Noir 2014

No. 6 in the Gevrey lineup of 9. Tasted blind as stated previously. Lovely perfumed nose of ripe fruit and balanced oak. Classic Burgundian palate. I thought perhaps Charmes at the time as I found the palate light to medium weight and was amazed when revealed as a Rousseau Chambertin having had zero experience with this famous Cuvée and expected something more full bodied. Savoury tannins with some tartness. Jancis says drinking window of 2024 to 2045! — 7 years ago

David, Amr and 8 others liked this

Witchery Wine

Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Greg Ballington
8.9

Fourth of the blind tasting for Father's Day weekend.

Deep and dark purplish ruby red. Dark fruits with a touch of acetone or whiskey on the nose. Some cigars and dark cocoa as well. Heavy tannins (7.5/10) and medium bodied. A touch lighter than expected. Extracted dark fruits and bitter dark cocoa on the palate. A little unbalanced with a medium plus finish. This is still a baby and needs time to settle. Drink till 2029.
— 8 years ago

Sean BallingtonIndia Okoh
with Sean and India
Shawn, Daniel P. and 9 others liked this

Château Cheval Blanc

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 1997

Great breeding trumps a below-average vintage. Blind, the nose alone gives away the DNA of this phenomenal wine. This Merlot-dominated Cheval has a beautiful core of cocoa powder, prune and plums. Structure from sweet oak and cab franc skins come through on the finish. Excellent, but a world away from the 2000 that's a palate-reference for me. Don't wait on this one, this well-stored bottle felt past its apex. — 9 years ago

Velma, Jason and 20 others liked this

Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2011

Gary Westby
9.9

Tasted blind... And guessed it was 2009 Leoville Las Cases! This is a powerhouse and more proof that vintage charts are made to be defied by over achievers. This is all potential... If you buy it, bury it deep in the cellar! — 10 years ago

Daniel, Bo and 13 others liked this

Corner Creek Distilling Co.

Corner Creek Reserve Bourbon Whiskey

Beautiful honey-amber color in the glass. Nose is a little hot with airplane glue and spice. Palate is much softer, still warm though with oak and loads of vanilla and spice. Nice neat, better with a few drops of spring water. — 10 years ago

Kenny liked this
Kenny Baldridge

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That's a hit!

3 Blind Moose Cellars

California Cabernet Sauvignon

Second type of cab I've tried, very different flavor. I'm a fan of California Reds!
— 11 years ago

La Rioja Alta

Gran Reserva 904 Rioja Tempranillo Graciano 2007

Shay A
9.4

Monthly WTF wine group night. Our theme was American oak vs French oak. All wines tasted blind. We started off with two bottles of bubbly and finished with two non-themed reds.

My contribution for the evening. I’m posting my previous review of this wine below as it’s been consistent the few times I’ve had it over the last 12-18 months. Love these wines!

Youthful. Icredibly perfumed with typical sweet dill and coconut American oak on the nose. Gosh, I could smell this stuff all day. Aside from needing time away, it needs roughly an hour of decanting to hit stride. Tobacco, cherry tart, and great herbal nuances on the finish.
— 6 years ago

Jack ThompsonRyan GWill Adams
with Jack, Ryan and 4 others
Mark, Dr. and 39 others liked this
Eric

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Thanks @Shay A . That makes great sense.
Philip Ficarra

Philip Ficarra

The 2009 is Spectacular!!
Mark Flesher

Mark Flesher

Between this and the 05 Cimarossa Ponente, these were my wines of the night. Love these bottles from La Rioja Alta. Dark black fruit, hint of sweet fig, chocolate, tobacco, herbs, spiciness on the finish. Elegant on the back end, yet had just enough grip and jagged edges that it makes you keep coming back for more. Nice. I'd really like to buy cases of these and just put them away and forgot it existed for 25 more years or so. Fat chance.
9.5

R. López de Heredia

Viña Tondonia Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2002

Wow. This is young, and the nose is a bit of dark red berry suffusing a sea of resolving American Oak. The American oak is so pronounced that, had I tasted this blind, I might have taken it for Ridge... :) This has decades ahead, even if -only- a Riserva. Like La Rioja Alta 904, a fantastic value in old school Rioja... — 8 years ago

P, Eric and 12 others liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1961

Contender for WOTN and absolutely stunning!!! Drank much younger and tasted blind the consensus around the table was that it was an 82. Such a special bottle — 8 years ago

Holli Short
with Holli
Cody, Holli and 13 others liked this
David L

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WOW!
Bill Bender

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The year of the home run! Looks like this bottle hit one too!
Cody Short

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An absolutely stunning wine from an epic vintage that stood out against some incredible competition. Can't wait to open the 61 Latour in a few years.

Château Calon-Ségur

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend

Absolutely fantastic for the price, I'd pay double what it costs in a blind test. — 10 years ago

Château Montrose

Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1989

We went 2/2 tonight. This bottle was a testament to perfect storage. Cork was perfect, and the wine was dark ruby with ever so slight bricking at the rim. Awesome. More approachable than the 90 and makes you wanna curl up with it for a long time. Better than the bottle I had at the Montrose vertical a month ago. Blind I would guess 10 yrs newer. For this price point and quality it's a must add. Edged out the Margaux. — 10 years ago

Holli and Howard liked this

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

Towering about the other 5 wines in tonight's blind tasting, massive redfruits, great acidity hides the massive tannins, great wine that seems close to first growth quality!! — 11 years ago

Mark liked this

Corison

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Cathy Corison
9.5

Poured blind. Loved. In a pretty spot at 17 years old. — 11 years ago

Mo, Beau and 12 others liked this

Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

Baron de Pichon-Longueville Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2014

Shay A
9.4

Monthly WTF guys blind tasting group. This month was our annual, and famed, Left Bank vs Right Bank theme. All wines served blind as usual. Started off with a Rosé and a champagne. Great night.

This was one of my favorites of the night. One of the best young Bordeaux’s I’ve tasted. Ripe and modern nose (fruit forward) with smoked meat and baked blackberry pie. The palate revealed cocoa/dark chocolate, baking spices and a hint of blue fruit wrapped by black fruit. Big. Will obviously get better, but was shocked how good this was now. I called this ‘12-14 Left Bank.
— 6 years ago

Andrew HeffleyJack ThompsonMichael Rariden
with Andrew, Jack and 6 others
Jack, Michael and 37 others liked this
Somm David T

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So young! Just a new born.
Shay A

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@David T : Couldn’t believe how good it was! 4hr decant certainly helped.
Severn Goodwin

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Very nice!

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2012

Easy to blind taste and guess it’s old world. Just that consistent Opus flavor I love....old world earthiness but new world brightness. Still has years to go. — 7 years ago

Paul, Paul and 13 others liked this

Pétrus

Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 1964

Tasted blind. Deep dark and opaque. Red center with amber rims. Looks young. Very rich and luscious in the mouth. Black cherry, forest floor, tobacco leaf and a hint of old wood. Amazing impact out of the gate, but this declined in what it gave as the night went on whereas the 53 Lafite got better. — 7 years ago

Ken, Daniel and 9 others liked this
Ron R

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😮

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2002

We threw this in as a ringer in a tasting of older CA bdx blends and ring it did! Blind i thought this was old monte bello, glad i wasnt ridiculously off base. — 7 years ago

Shay and Bill liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

James Parker Huston, CWE
9.7

Wow. Tons of fruit left on this beast. Called 89 Leoville Les Cases blind. — 8 years ago

LM, Amr and 7 others liked this

Russian River Brewing Company

Blind Pig IPA India Pale Ale

Hair of the Pig. First time at the Englander without having just come from a Raiders game. Bring on the crazy. — 10 years ago

Jim McCusker
with Jim
Jim, Carla and 9 others liked this
Jeffrey Long

Jeffrey Long

Spectacular finish!
Mark

Mark

Awful IPA, what are you talking about.

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1995

WOTN Left Bank blind tasting, deep cigar-box and cassis nose, lighter in body than my last tasting, it's gaining intensity and secondary stuff, mushroom, bright red fruit. 45 second finish. — 10 years ago

Bill, Velma and 2 others liked this

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1998

Love is blind tasting. A much better showing than the 89. Pleasant and smooth. Pleasant for $169 is just not worth the special occasion price. — 10 years ago

Domaine Jean-Louis Chave

Hermitage Syrah 2000

Tasted blind, the first thing that struck me on the nose was the amount of forest floor and pine.
Filled the mouth with concentrated fruit , some pepper and very smooth tannins.
— 10 years ago

Serge liked this

Château Musar

Bekaa Valley Red Blend 2005

Would be great in a blind Bordeaux tasting — 11 years ago