Ron Siegel

9.3

This had red & black fruits, earth, cedar, leather, sweet, savory spice with tobacco — 7 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Opened and double decanted several hours prior to service; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1996 pours a deep ruby color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with a lovely combination of ripe and desiccated fruit: cassis, brambles, horse blanket, cigar box, old leather, earth and spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Another lovely and immensely charming Poyferré. Drink now with a decant and through 2046. — 10 months ago

Christine Goettl Maslan

10

Amazing! So many complex and delicious flavors! — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

Pontet Canet tasting and dinner with Alfred Tesseron.

The 13 was a brutal tannin vintage when I tasted it at En Premier. The tannins are still bitty but, nothing like they were out of barrel.

The fruit in the 13 shows the difficulty in the vintage. They are duller and it’s really stands out from other vintages and not in a good way.

It’s lean and there is nothing that really draws you in. Fruits are; dark cherries, rhubarb, blackberries, some blueberries@and the strawberries show some ripeness the other do not. Lots of dry earth, dry stones, some herbs, dark withering florals, decent acidity and a uneventful dry finish.

Photos of; Clyde and Alfred at the bar, their Amphora style cement tanks they ferment part of each vintage now, road signs of the good neighbors they keep and Chateau Pontet Canet. — 6 years ago

Marissa Panton

8.9

Easy drinking wine. No aftertaste. Good table wine. — 7 years ago

Jonathan Pytko

10

Education wine, awesome earth and acid. Still has time in the bottle — 8 years ago

with Andrew

Michael Muehlbauer

9.3

Let it open and you will enjoy — 10 years ago

Tom Garland

9.5

1 hour decant(some chunky/fine sediment). A splendid dark medium garnet with little bricking. On the nose: expressive perfumed nose with dark plum/cherry, currants,milk chocolate, baking spice, floral, wet forest floor, touch of roasted meat. Taste: silky, balanced, elegant wine that is singing at 20 years with dried red fruit, earth, chocolate, cedar, minerals, saline, and a spiced-tobacco-green bell pepper long finish. YUM! — 7 months ago

with Brenda

Austin Hohnke

9.1

Wine 1, with rack of lamb. As my drinking history shows, Raffault is a perennial favorite. 2017 is easy access with medium weight, wild red berry fruit, tomato leaf, and earth. Drink over the next five years. Holding ‘09, ‘14, ‘15, and ‘18 with patience. — 10 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Mmmm....better. 1999 was a meh vintage to most critics. I find it has evolved to better things with this much time in bottle.

The nose reveals, ruby and candied; blackberries, black cherries, black plum skin, black raspberries, raspberries, poached cherries & strawberries. Touch cooked green bell pepper, mixed berry licorice, anise to black licorice, used leather, saddle-wood to cedar, dark, moist, black earth, limestone, stones, graphite, vanilla, cinnamon stick, clove, nutmeg and dark spice, coffee, dark chocolate with fresh & withering, dark, red, blue and purple flowers.

The body is just full. The tannins are soft, round, chewy and tarry. The structure, tension, length and balance are pretty good for 99. ruby and candied; blackberries, black cherries, black plum skin, black raspberries, raspberries, poached cherries & strawberries. more cooked green bell pepper on the palate, mixed berry licorice, anise to black licorice, used leather, saddle-wood to cedar, dark, moist, black earth, limestone, stones, graphite, vanilla, cinnamon stick, clove, nutmeg and dark spice, coffee, dark chocolate with fresh & withering, dark, red, blue and purple flowers. The acidy is nice. The finish is elegant, well balanced but, not as rich as other good vintages Palmer. It is spicy and persists minutes on the palate.

Photos of; Chateau Palmer, their barrel room, a photo of their vineyard soil structure-if you didn’t know where all that earthiness comes from, a picture is worth a thousand words and their tasting room. — 6 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.1

Light reddish amber, translucent color. Beautiful bouquet in the nose with notes of cherries and earth. In the mouth the fruit is less present and the finish is short. Great old rioja nose, but fruit is past it's prime. Drink up. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

The nose on this wine is stunning baring the alcohol heat. Perfumed red florals and candied dark and lighter red fruits. While the wine is truly elegant, the alcohol is seriously burning the back of my throat. The bottle reads 14.1 but I think over 15 degrees. Maybe, they wanted to save on the higher alcohol tax. The wine starts so beautifully only to burn the back of my throat. The fruits are ripe, elegant and beautifully soft. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, raspberries, faint back palate of strawberries, sweet/soft leather, black licorice, violets & roses, rich delicate & sweet wet black earth, soft light baking spices, caramel, milk chocolate, figs & dates, amazingly sweet dark minerals, touch of black tar, touch of spice and a rich long elegant dark fruit liqueur finish. I would score this wine higher if it didn't punish my palate and throat with the burning alcohol finish. — 9 years ago

Reilly Brock

9.4

Awesome! Everything I love about VT and CDP. Earth and fruit in perfect balance. — 11 years ago

Tom Garland

9.4

1 hour decant(lots chunky/fine sediment). A gorgeous inky purplish garnet color. On the nose: dark fruit, forest floor, smoked meat, floral, cigar wrapper, pencil lead. Taste: smooth, rich, creamy mouthcoating wine with blackberry/dark cherry, dark chocolate, earth, tobacco, baking spice, and a cedar/graphite medium plus finish with some slight dusty tannins. Had this 2 years ago, and it's improved. In the beginning of its drink window at 18 years? Wow — 8 months ago

with Brenda

Hazel Weaver

9.7

Everything but the kitchen sink, but just yummy yummy yummy, to many great flavors to mention, but if you're ready for a jolly good time, this is the one you want! — 4 years ago

Kevin Lee

9.4

Wow. Delicious. Dark plum, blackberry and a bit of earth and clove. Long finish with silky tannins. — 6 years ago

Matt Mason

9.0

Whole Foods, C Golden, apple, pear, nice acidity — 6 years ago

Scorewine

Wine writer http://www.israelwines.co.il

9.2

Visiting again this splendid Paulliac from the 2011 vintage. 2011 vintage was labeled as mediocre in Bordeaux and this lovely wine showed that it is actually a classic vintage with some great wines, so trust the chateau not only the vintage. The nose is tempting with notes if coffee, earth, oak, cassis, black fruits and hints of chocolate, the body is full with round tannins, acidity is splendid and finish is long. My score 92, drink to 2026, perhaps longer — 6 years ago

Alex Xu

9.7

Incredible. Jaboulet family apparently inconsistent in final years of ownership, but this one had everything. So dense still, with lots of kalamata olive, olive brine, cherry, blackberry, black pepper, leather, cured meat, earth. Savory, sweet, powerful, elegant, hit every end of the taste spectrum. Super long. In magnum — 9 years ago

Kyo Jin

9.3

Decanted. Not unforgiving, but still rigid. Showed some great potentials for a very long life ahead. Autumnal qualities with very concentrated redcurrant and earth. — 11 years ago