Bordeaux, France

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

1989 vintage. Last tasted 3 years ago (9.6). Nice fill. Durand used to open. Cork 95% saturated with extensive bottle rim cleaning involved before pouring. Not decanted. Tight, minty nose throughout along with a decided, lingering zinc note under the tongue at the finish line. Tasted 2 hours after opening. Power but without delineation. Just a consistent, forgettable push. Nothing wrong with the wine...it just needed more air/time and a decant but it wasn't my call. Feel like the zinc flavor would have dissipated/blown off with more time. Good but more memorable for what it wasn't vs what it was. Pity and an entire wasting of what could have been. 11.21.25. — 2 days ago

Tom, Paul and 4 others liked this
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

Very interesting and diplomatic note.

Château d'Yquem

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 1991

Light medium caramel core , light copper rim. Quite mature , with spiced creme brûlée , saffron , burnt sugar , some crystallised orange peel , desiccated coconut . Slightly monochrome . On the palate this is quite light , with quite high acidity and a burnt caramel bitterness . Medium sweetness only , quite refreshing acidity . Slightly bitter orange caramel finish . Drink now qnd over the next few years , won’t improve . — 20 days ago

Matt, Anthony and 7 others liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

Medium deep garnet ruby , quite thin garnet terracotta rim . This is quite classic and more austere on the nose after the 1990s , grafite , cedar, sweet spice , earthiness and mint. More dry and four square on the palate compared to the 1990s but enough stuffing to fill out. Cassis , plum and blackberry , coffee , grafite . Refreshing acidity , slightly grippy drier tannin. Sous bois , grafite , herbal character with good length and earthy cassis finish . This got better with time in the glass and probably should have been decanted . This shows there is some upside , from now , with time in the glass, and over the next 10 years. The wine that improved the most during the dinner , quite impressive . — 25 days ago

Scott@Mister, Ira and 12 others liked this
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego Premium Badge

A previous, all-time fave. Haven't had it in a larger format in the last decade which I feel would yield a 9.5-9.6 now. Out of a 750ml package currently, feel like the 1996 (difficult to source) is the superstar right now.
Andrew Cullimore

Andrew Cullimore

Yes @Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego I would imagine in large format this would be spectacular, in regular bottle still needs a little time to show its full colours . I remember having this at my 21st birthday party in 2001 …. Everyone complained it was too young and tannic , typical 1986 , though in 12 people (and pretty light drinkers I might add) we still managed to struggle through 7 bottles !

Château Margaux

Premier Grand Cru Classé Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1990

1990 vintage. Last tasted 11.19.25 (9.6)…yes…two days ago! Someone’s gotta do the dirty work. Comparable experiences with the cork, fill and flavors from the 11.19.25 visit. Not decanted. Tasted one and two hours after opening. After one hour open (not decanted)...a 9.4. two hours...a 9.5. Perhaps decanted, surmise it could have touched 9.6 but we'll never know. This specimen slightly more advanced but still ridiculously phenomenal. 11.21.25. — 2 days ago

Tom, Somm and 8 others liked this

Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2022

Well super highly rated. Quite fruit driven and juicy. Easily drink now. Hard to pin down / i am a a pinot guy after all. Could age for 15 years or so but would not keep it too long. — 3 days ago

Rick, Iwan and 3 others liked this

Château Palmer

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1983

Slightly lighter garnet core , lighter terracotta rim . Quite muted on the nose , quite herbal and spiced notes, some red plum and floral sous bois , black tea . After a while this opens up slightly , showing a bit more detail , but never jumps out and grabs your attention as other bottles have. On the palate this is better , with the roundness and slightly sweet , red plum , summer fruits , sous bois and lightly herbal , grafite tinged , saline finish of reasonable length . Quite refreshing acidity and suave tannins . On this basis drink now and over the next few years. However , there are better bottles out there . This was disappointing compared with other bottles I’ve had , though the palate was more sound and it wasn’t flawed. A bit of a perplexing bottle. — 25 days ago

Scott@Mister, Ira and 19 others liked this
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

I bought a case of this wine on original release, and still have 5-6 left. Last one I opened, with ‘82 Pichon-Lalande and ‘82 Gruaud-Larose, it was CLEAR WOTN, it blew me away, nearly perfect. Of course, as my brother always tells me, there are great wines, but great bottles are never guaranteed!! Cheers!
Andrew Cullimore

Andrew Cullimore

Great anecdote @Doug Powers and very true. That event of yours must have been a fantastic experience! I have had this Palmer 83 a few times and it normally is a fantastic experience, seductive , aromatic … yesterday , was below par … from a beautiful looking case from an excellent UK cellar … but there you go! Nothing is guaranteed. Hopefully the next bottle will be back to par !

Château Latour

Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

A knockout left bank Bordeaux. I’ve read that the 2005s may go longer than the potentially even more vaunted 2000s and I might agree based on this bottle. Decanted 5 hours. Cork in perfect shape. Amazing depth of fruit and a ton of Bordeaux earth. Nose goes on and on as does the finish. Was an excellent pairing but a very good but simple roast chicken. — 15 days ago

Ira, Neil and 18 others liked this

Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2008

With air this developed nicely showing mostly black fruit, cassis with sweet spices, graphite, cedar, leather & tobacco — 9 days ago

Daniel, Ted and 17 others liked this

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2017

Good but not really top shelf. Yet this is again excellent at this 100 pointer tasting. — 3 days ago

Rick, Matt and 8 others liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1990

Medium ruby garnet, quite thin garnet terracotta rim . Quite rich , with ripe red fruits , some tobacco , warm spiciness , cigar box , ripe cassis , sous bois , after a while touch of coffee. On the palate this also shows good roundness with ripe red and dark fruits, cassis , red plum , grafite , touch of earthiness . Balanced acidity and rounded sweet tannin . Quite juicy with a grafite edged finish . Pretty good length. This is at peak now . For now and over the next 5 -8 years. Quite generous and showy , ripe but balanced, a good showing. — 25 days ago

Scott@Mister, Ira and 22 others liked this