Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Something for my Wagyu Burger.

I do enjoy this producers style/craft. Also, enjoy the elegance of St. Julien. 2012 is a vintage Sofia & 1 worked harvest at Clerc Milon. So, the 2012 vintage will always be a special vintage for me, even if it was only one that was good to very good for the right terroirs and producers. Just wasn’t special like; 00, 05, 09, 10, 16 or 19 etc..

Having said all that, this Ducru is not the 2012 star of the region. It’s elegant but falls short on depth, character & umpf, which are things I have grown to expect and have experienced from this producer in many vintages.

The palate shows, soft, round & velvety M-M+ tannins. Ripe; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, some of both plums, slightly baked strawberries & circling raspberries. Slightly dry tobacco w/ ash, soft leather, sandalwood, mid, dark, rounded spice, nutmeg, clove, some cinnamon & vanillin, dark most earth with clay & dry leaves, herbaceous notes, very soft & elegant graphite, a touch of of mid berry cola/licorice, dark withering flowers, red roses, nice acidity with nicely balance, good tension/structured, elegant finish that last nearly two minutes and long sets on rounded dark spice.

@EmiratesLoungeDubai — 7 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy 4th of July everyone.

I can’t think of many other N/V Champagnes we’d rather kick-off the long 4th of July weekend.

Happy Birthday America & Cheers! 🍾🥂 🇺🇸 🧨

Numerous notes all apply. — 6 years ago

Paul J

9.3

Would have benefited from a decant and more age. Definitely young and fairly tight. Has all the right characteristics to be great, but let this guy age. — 7 years ago

Daniel Kozaczuk

9.5

Wow, incredible, and still holding up after all these years. Upon opening, basically no fruit, all secondary characteristics, especially on the nose. As it opened up, some dark cherry appeared and eventually the nose and palate came together. A sensory journey 48 Years in the making and a pleasure to partake. — 8 years ago

with John, Spencer and 1 other

Nico J. Snyman

9.3

No bubbles left, some seepage on the cork, but funnily enough it was still quite special, confit ginger, mandarin marmalade mixed with vanilla beans, custard, creme brûlée, just the caramel on the finish showed it wasn't stored correctly, all things considered quite extraordinary. — 9 years ago

Thomas Brenner

9.3

Cherries, blackberries, macerated raspberries and slight smoke, with present tannins, yet ultra smooth. Wonderful finish. Very mild, but boasts a red and black rush of berries, all while completely mellow. Masterful. — 10 years ago

Hermes Ortiz

9.7

2002 SHAFER Cabernet Sauvignon
"Hillside Select"
Napa Valley, California
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Silky smooth.
Soft, lush tannins.
Dark, Black Fruit.
Blackberry and Blueberry Flavors.
All Elements in harmony.
Great Balance.
Extra long finish.
"Wine of the Night".
Still has another 5 - 10 years of life ahead. — 11 years ago

with Jeffrey

Mike Barbella

9.6

One of my Fav's of ALL time — 11 years ago

Matt Baker

10

Z-Best!!! My personal fav of all time!!!! — 11 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.4

Medium deep ruby , quite thin garnet ruby rim . Cassis , blueberry , blackberry , iris , pain grillé. On the palate this is quite dense and rounded , with more dark fruits , cassis , blackberry and a savoury , saline seaweed tinge on the finish . Fine but noticable , sweet tannins , and fresh acidity , quite rounded and richly fruited but very balanced . Good length with grafite , mineral and creme de cassis . Polished and quite decadent but all elements very balanced . Just drinkable now with time in decanter , really fruit driven still, but will improve well over the next 10 or more years and last well a further 10-15 . This shows some of the ripeness and exuberance of 2009 paired with the flamboyance of Mouton , makes for quite a pairing a very promising future ahead. — 8 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

2002 vintage. Nice fill, good cork. Decanted with a respectable amount of powdery sed. Smelled great during decanting. Tasted 1.5 hours after opening/decanting. Expected light body with delicate tendrils. Medium body with a light palate footprint. Holy shazzbaat. This was absolutely firing. Like top of the pops, straight up to number one. Exceptional knitting and in a perfect spot now. Go all the way back to the inaugural 1982 vintage with this winery’s cabernet…thought my all-time fave was the 1991 altho the 1986 and 1987 were special. The 2020, picked early, thus avoiding the fires, is phenomenal as well. This was on another level and have had approx 150 bottles of Spottswoode Cab in the last three + decades. It was probably the best out of all of them. Difficult to imagine Napa Cab better than this. Power and finesse on display. Not improving but can hold this intensity for another 4-5 years. 12.24.24. — a year ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

A lot can happen in three weeks. Cheers 🥂 to that!

Top photos, April 11th. Bottom photos, May 1st.

Happy May Day all. Hope yours was as nice as ours.

Numerous notes still stand. — 6 years ago

Ragan Ramsey

10

All time favorite — 9 years ago

with Billy

Todd Doolan

9.8

Surprisingly dark after all these years. Currant, mint & grandpa's baseball glove. Fantastic! — 9 years ago

Louie Christensen

9.4

Everything you'd expect and more. All the rich dark fruit, chocolate and lush purple flowers, but none of the sticky over-ripe flavors. So balanced. — 9 years ago

Jeff Ball

9.5

Berries, minerals and alcohol. A bit spicy after opening. All in all, great balance. Nice finish. Can't go wrong! — 10 years ago

Alex Powell

9.1

This is indeed quite a lovely old school rioja, the nose awash with savoury leafy tones, tobacco and warm earth, dried plums and unfortunately the coconut dill of american wood....very refined palate, mid-sized, fluent and sweet n sour throughout, delicious peat moss and mud tones, plenty of dried fruit, however a creaminess to the texture and a splash of cedar on the finish detracts from its otherwise unmistakable beauty. I just can't help but feel this would be so much better without the american oak. I can only wait for the day all top riojan wines cast aside the shadow of their past, and believe wholesomely in the grandeur of their unique terroir. — 11 years ago

Devin Finn

9.2

Not at all shitty. — 11 years ago

Joseph Moss

9.3

Gamay all day, every day! With some aging on it. Good to drink, still good to keep. — 12 years ago

Ericsson

9.4

One of those great treats. And yes. Ridge is all about the acid. — 8 months ago

romo

9.4

Not for beginners, it feels easy to say this is oxidized, but it’s so much more if you pay attention and do not drink it all in one sitting, which will be difficult. — 10 months ago

LM Segal

9.5

Beautiful in all respects, gently wafting black tea, red flowers. Layers of light and fully resolved red fruit, lots of secondary aromatics. Perhaps a bit past it’s prime but even so, obvious royalty. — 3 years ago

Keith Lite

9.5

A big bold plumy purple bomb As dense and luscious as a wine can get in a glass. Decanted for 2 hrs and its still a baby with blackberry, dark chocolate licorice and pepper on the nose and on the palate. A long long finish and loads of tannins to sum it all up — 7 years ago

with Bruce

Jack Cranley, Backroads Wine Club & Cascadia Premium Wines

9.7

Facemelting. That is all. — 8 years ago

Chris England

9.1

An off vintage that shouldn't have improved! @ £47 this 07 is drinking lovely right now w/ all tannins soft & integrated 👍

🍇 70% Cab S, 27% Mer & 3% Cab F

🍷 Opaque ruby

👃 Mineral & pencil lead driven earthy spiced blackcurrant & dark plum w/ leather, wet leaves, mint & smokey cedar/oak

👄 Med+ body of creamy smooth blackcurrant & dark plum w/ mocha & minerals, all well integrated now

🎯 Med+ ripe dark fruit, mocha & mineral coating — 9 years ago

Tyson Caly

9.7

Stunning. Still showed signs of fruit all these years later. Wow. — 10 years ago

Sophia Primps

9.5

Still has wonderful fruit after all@these years. — 10 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.4

1990. Slow burn with this one--firing on all cylinders with 2 hours of air. Hits all the aged pauillac notes — 11 years ago

with evie and V

Max Kogod

Owner Kogod Wine Merchant

9.7

1977. Floored by extreme caramel note on nose and palate completely backed up by gorgeous purity of fruit, acid, levity and all the tertiary elements that make Martha's Vyd what it is. — 11 years ago

Dave Smigielski

9.5

Um...yeah this doesn't suck at all — 11 years ago