Austin Hohnke

9.2

Capsicum, peppercorns, and cedar. Silky red fruits. A blind taster’s dream Chinon. Always good, but a stunning value in great vintages. Happy to have half a case of this. — 4 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

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

Patrick Derdeyn

9.3

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. — 8 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

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

with Sean and India

Ian Blackburn

9.7

What a ride! Make sure to give this 2-hours and let the magic begin. Muscular cherry + brown spice garden + mouth feel let you know how important this site is... tasted blind next to DRC La Tache 93 - at gwen restaurant during the "best bottle" dinner hosted by wineLA - The only problem is everyone thought this might be the La Tache - unbelievable power and concentration — 8 years ago

Jeffrey Long

9.4

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

with Jim

LM Segal

9.5

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

Marshall Parrish

9.0

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

Doug Powers

9.8

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

Cathy Corison

Owner/Winemaker Corison Winery

9.5

Poured blind. Loved. In a pretty spot at 17 years old. — 12 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Tasted blind. Reddish tawny. Nose is closed and not yielding much. I get cranberries, some cherries, iron and stones, some wood. Has a high pitched character to it. Has some pucker in it yet. Tight with ample acidity. I guess 97 Vogue Bonnes Mares. In my experience this wine has had some variations in its performance. Today it was better than most, but suffered by not getting ample air before it was served. — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

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

Doctor No

9.1

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

James Parker Huston, CWE

Sommelier Charlie Palmer

9.7

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

Cody Short

9.7

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 — 9 years ago

with Holli

Regis Zamudio

9.7

Love this blend from 2014 — 10 years ago

chris Holdstock

9.2

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

Jeffrey Lew

9.8

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

Sage Coody

8.9

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

Mike Saviage

9.6

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

Gunja Gargeshwari

9.0

I was not impressed but that’s because of being partial to Oregon Pinot. — 7 years ago

with Amit and Joe

Matthieu Bordes

9.5

One of the best wine on this vintage 2008 tasted blind and so easy to recognize this great wine just perfect ! — 8 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.3

Deep garnet red with ruby core. Tasted blind. Very tight and dark on the nose with dark cocoa, dark spices and soft dark berries. Heavy tannins (8/10) and full bodied. Very dark palate as well with black cherries, cassis, black currants, dark cocoa and a little woody. Long and lingering finish. Thought this was a bit older than a 2013 but powerful, needs some time to fully develop. Drink till 2032. (93+) — 8 years ago

with Sean and India

Sean Christensen

9.0

Amazing acidity. Very Burgundian. — 8 years ago

LM Segal

9.4

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

Ken Christie

9.0

Great finish. — 10 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

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

Ira Schwartz

9.4

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

Michael Egan

9.6

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

Michael Dix

9.4

Oldy and goody. Thanks Larry. Weirdly, if I tasted this blind I would have guessed Margaux. — 12 years ago