Ira Schwartz

9.5

Keeps going from strength to strength.
One can easily be fooled by this champagne’s light texture but make no mistake about it, this packs a punch! Similar to my previous bottle in 2023 but with more power, .Almost too easy to drink. — 6 months ago

Jan A

9.5

Really looked forward to this one, but a little bit too rich to warrant higher score. Missing the acidity/tension a bit.
Edit: and it was served too warm.. — 7 months ago

Ericsson

9.4

Tasting notes during visit to the winery where absolutely everything is done in-house by hand; preserving centuries old winemaking traditions. In the Tondonia offering one can really appreciate the time and patience dedicated to crafting this wine. The wine evolves to a rustic yet graceful profile with strong notes of dark berries with slight oak and dark chocolate. On the palate the wine is bliss, medium bodied, fully integrated, with balanced acidity and a long finish.

The juice is fermented in old large wooden “tinas,” then transferred to American oak barrels (made in house to medium toast specifications), stored underground in their +100 year old cellars for at least a year. After that it is bottled and stored in the same underground cellars and finally released about ten years later. Learning about their curated winemaking process was inspiring. — 9 months ago

Roberto Carli

9.1

Now I see how this wine can be so divisive. LOTS of brett at first, more band-aid than barnyard. Takes a while to get past it and then lots of exotic spices show up. But after 40 minutes in the glass still nothing primary. It’s got the funk I can appreciate in some good left bank Bordeaux but also feels somewhat single-threaded. — 4 years ago

Brendan Baker

9.3

Rich, green apple, stone fruit, brioche 🤤 — 7 years ago

Andrea Watt

9.1

Smooth, rich cherry and smoke. — 7 years ago

Peter Keohan

9.2

Good color lovely nose rich and long clean — 9 years ago

Mick Foy

10

As good as it gets for my taste. Big dark full bodied red with rich flavor and smooth finish. — 9 years ago

MiguelcRuiz

9.0

Dark and rich, one of my favorites — 10 years ago

Hande Erfus

9.0

Deep, rich wine. The 2007 vintage was more balanced. — 11 years ago

Conrad Green

9.5

Dark and briny. Gnarly fruit with dried herbs and intense meaty fruit. Mineral and deep. Rich and long. Great — 6 months ago

with BOT, Matt and 1 other

Hum

9.2

Rich cassis and tobacco … vanilla frosting … everything well integrated… faint graphite ? Touch of bell pepper. — 7 months ago

Michelle Connely

9.4

Consumed 12/2024. Bc Rich flavors, creamy texture, and mouthwatering acidity.  — 10 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

No formal notes . Medium ruby . Bit more coffee and roasted character at first , touch of oak perhaps. Quite rich and rounded on the palate at first, good acidity , good length . More red fruit , more delicate after a while , mineral , oyster shell , mineral and leaner on the long finish . Very classic , grafite tinged . This improved with air and really gained in complexity with time . I would be tempted to leave this a little longer or give it a longer decant . No rush here , will continue well for a further 10 years . Tied as my favourite wine of the flight with the Latour. — 10 months ago

Greg Gosselin

9.1

2017 is fab. Great QPR. Intense with backbone. Give it a few more years. it doesn’t get much better at this price-point. — 6 years ago

Peter Marks

Master of Wine, Educator Constellation Brands

9.7

Amazingly rich, bread dough, toasted almonds. Just about as rich as great Champagne can get. Complex, creamy and lasts forever. 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay. 6 years on lees; 6 g/L dosage — 7 years ago

michael

9.8

Nose eucalyptus dark fruit cut grass taste rich eucalyptus cut grass dark fruit earth — 8 years ago

Nick Stinnett

9.1

Smooth and rich with a great finish. — 9 years ago

Marie Stitt

Sales & Marketing Grassroots Wine Wholesalers

9.0

1988 out of magnum Xmas -- on point. Rich but acidity still very present — 10 years ago

Mike Blom

9.0

Deep reddish/purple color which has me on guard relative to Pinot. Worried that darker than lighter raspberry red has had Mega Red or other manipulation but this Pinot just has concentrated character. Varietal rose petal and cherry notes in aromas. You can see the broad influence from the 3 appellations that comprise the wine. Weighty on the palate without being too over bearing for the varietal. Great accompaniment to the saffron broth salmon this evening. — 10 years ago

Kai Chang

9.2

Clear deep purple colour with watery rim. Clean medium intensity aroma with minty black cherry and black currant with hint of oak smokiness and vanilla. Dry on the palate full bodied medium alcohol with medium acidity and high but smooth velvety tannin. Flavours of earthy black currant, black cherry, and vanilla. Flavours last through into its long pleasant finish. Very good quality, drink now but can age for another 3 to 5 years for a even more balanced complexity. — 11 years ago

Mary H

9.5

I’m an addict, what can I say? Full mouthful of bright fruit flavor, golden tropical fruit, honey, singing acidity and long finish. — 6 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

This was rich with black fruits, mocha, graphite, cedar, leather, under brush & tobacco — 7 months ago

Anthony Cammarata Jr.

9.2

At over 20 years old, the 2004 Opus One is showing beautifully, striking a balance between maturity and vibrancy. On the nose, it opens with an inviting bouquet of ripe blackberries, cassis, and dark cherries, layered with subtle notes of violet, tobacco, and espresso.
On the palate, the wine is smooth and full-bodied, with fine-grained tannins and a silky texture that coats the mouth without being heavy. The core is rich with dark fruit—black plum, currant, and a touch of blueberry—balanced by earthy undertones and a whisper of leather. Definitely one of my favorites. — 7 months ago

with Michael

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

The first couple times I tried 08 I was definitely too quick to judge. It needs a ton of air, and it’s different from the rich, oxidative, nutty house style of the past, particularly the warm and ultra forward 2006, the previous release. 2008 is indeed young, tightly wound with a pulsating core of energy.

The first glass offers very little. Subdued, austere and youthfully reserved. But ensuing pours eventually unleash its core of powerful clean orchard fruit, coffee bean and grilled nuts. On the palate it continues to become so much more textural with crazy gains in weight, depth and fruit intensity as the night goes on. It really fills the mouth, saturating the palate with a satin-like texture, ripping citrusy acids and saline laced minerals that follow deep into its finish. Enjoyable now with enough air (needs 2 hours), but no doubt one to hold. To live forever. — 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 — 6 years ago

with Bruce

Richard Hylton

9.3

Fantastic. Rich dark berry fruit with leathery sweet nose. Really lovely paired with roasted wild ducks. — 8 years ago

Brian Duffy

Sommelier & Beverage Director The Barrymore Las Vegas

9.5

Outstanding! There is the perfect moment for a bottle to be opened and tonight was it. It was the wine equivalent of a album that you can listen to from start to finish. — 9 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

Rob

9.0

Drink it again — 11 years ago