Ron from VA

8.9

2nd bottle? — 6 years ago

Monique Starkey

9.8

Delish! : ) — 6 years ago

Eric Urbani

9.2

This is a magnum of Jim Clendenen’s 2001 Harmony estate-bottled Chardonnay, “Nuits-Blanches Au Bouge” from the Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County. Bien Nacido and Le Bon Climat vineyards. If you aren’t familiar with Jim or his Au Bon Climat and Clendenen Family labels, you are in for a treat. — 6 years ago

Matt

9.5

Drinking beautifully with a Northern appellation feel to it, more Brune and schistous to me. Would love to know all the lieu dits that contribute and their proportion in the final blend. Its darken fruit profile, meaty/smokey and forest notes make the argument that it’s of northern origin. Its opening up for now there’s a rich stream of dark black fruits reminiscent of Black raspberry liquor, soaked plums, almost prune, and overripe black berry/cherry. There’s still freshness to the fruit however, nothing ox’d or decaying. Singed cedar, leather, ash, roasted meat and animal come next, followed by the garrigue and bacon fat. Threads of eastern spices and of course pepper. It elusive now, the aromas coming and going. Palate has some lovely richness and bones to accompany it well, never pushy, always with restraint and nerve. Reminds me of Barolo. Great “basic” cuvée for Rostaing this vintage. Day 2 this really got going, much more harmony and focus on the nose. Loads of bitter root and pastille notes developing among its dark content. Very delicious — 6 years ago

Christy

9.1

Delicious semi sweet red... — 8 years ago

Tom Dare

9.1

Dark fruit in good harmony, drink today or cellar, very balanced today and will get better. — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Nose of dark cassis, dry florals and coffee grounds. Ripe fruits that finish dry. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, strawberries paint the background, black tea, coffee grounds, fresh leather, dry stems, moist black earth, dry stone, some black licorice, black cherry cola, bright acidity, nice polish on the finish. This Montrose is well made. The structure, balance, length, tension, depth are in real harmony. Just needs 15 more years to be magical. — 10 years ago

Geoff Troup

Sales Eder Brothers, Cellar Fine Wines

9.5

Beautiful structure. Moving it around my tongue, there is not a single flavor bit in harmony. Terrific elegance. Grape jelly, spice, chalk, gravel, striking minerality and length. — 10 years ago

Alan Cohn

9.4

Anselme made a great champagne. More please. Drinking with @Harmony Knutson and @David Cohn — 11 years ago

Katelyn DeVan

9.0

Really good, smooth full bodied and drinkable. Tastes expensive, also very very similar to "Earthquake", by Michael David Winery which I like. — 11 years ago

Tim Terry

9.6

Perfect harmony — 13 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

Every major holiday demands a celebratory wine. This Saturday Labor Day weekend, it’s a 1986 Leoville Las Cases.

The other weekend, we had Ribcap’s with a good Bordeaux & Napa Cabernet but, it was not what I was looking for with an Allen Brothers Ribcap. Allen Brothers steaks are the top 1% of beef in the country.

This 86 Leoville Las Cases started slow but, in short order excelled. The cork (not from my storage) made me hesitate to an extended decant. Even with the Durand corkscrew, it was a little tricky to remove the cork. However, the wine was still sound.

My favorite pairing is a Ribcap & an old Bordeaux. For me, no meal is slower or better. I grew up the youngest in a family of seven...raised by a single mother. My father passed away while I was four months conceived. So, we ate fast and fought for every scrap.

The nose reveals classic Bordeaux notes & style. Ripe, funky barnyard fruits of; cooked; blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, strawberries, black plum, dark cherries, slight dry cranberries, pomegranate, blueberries & rhubarb. Steeped tea, cola/red licorice, anise, golden brown to slightly burnt pie crust, dark, rich, turned earth, dry stones, limestone, cedar notes, old tobacco, underbrush, graphite, dry crushed rocks, dry top soil, bay leaf, hints of eucalyptus/mint, old, soft leather, touch of mushrooms, just a hint of band-aid/va, with bright, fresh & withering; dark, red, blue, purple flowers framed is soft violets.

The palate is; smooth, elegant, ripe and juicy. The 86 still shows some baby, slightly tarry & teethe tannins. The structure, tension, balance and length are incredible. This 86 has years of life ahead of it if you enjoy them at this age and older as I do. Ripe, funky barnyard fruits of; cooked; blackberries, dark cherries, black, strawberries, black plum, dark cherries, slight dry cranberries, pomegranate, blueberries, faint raspberries notes, & rhubarb. Steeped tea, cola/red licorice, anise, golden brown to slightly burnt pie crust, crispy toast, dark, rich, turned earth, dry river stones, charcoal w/ ash, limestone/sandstone, dry clay, cedar notes, old tobacco with ash, underbrush, graphite, dry crushed rocks, dry top soil, bay leaf, some vegetal characteristics, hints of eucalyptus/mint, old, soft leather, touch of mushrooms, used expresso grounds, dark chocolate, caramel, mocha powder, hints of band-aid/va, with bright, fresh & withering; dark, red, blue, purple flowers framed is soft violets. The acidity is a gentle rain shower and perfect. The long finish defines elegance, balance in fruit & earth, well knitted and goes on for several minutes in perfect harmony ending with dry earth & juiciness over the top.

What a treat it is to drink Bordeaux of this age & older. I love the style of 80’s Bordeaux and really appreciate the 12-13% ABV of that decade. Wish that never changed.

Not sure this makes it to 2060 but, there is still plenty of life in it. Don’t be afraid to decant it 1-2 hours without question on well stored bottles.

Photos of; Chateau Leoville Las Cases, old large wood vats, their archway you see as you enter the property from the D2 & staff working their Estate vines. — 6 years ago

Brandon Boesch

10

Wow! Singing. Menthol, berries, hint of cream, herbs, cassis. I am influenced by drinking with the guy who made this wine while listening to him play songs from the album! Still excellent for an almost 20 year old wine. — 7 years ago

with Randy

Matt

9.6

The hallmark, and almost its give away, is its balance of all the complexities that come together to create a stunning wine of richness, precision, harmony and length. There’s so many facets to this wine and they all seem to be working together to weave a whole, uniformed wine. Reminiscent of Batard Montrachet, but with a little more CA sunshine to boot. So powerful but so playful and energetic on the palate. — 8 years ago

Drew Summers

Sales Northampton Wines

9.4

Muddled Harmony... — 10 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

It's simply Cabernet gold. You'll be hard pressed to find a Napa Cabernet better than this one...bar none! Including cult cab's! Look up mouth harmony in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of this bottle. Chuck is so selective in his fruit for his Cabernets, he's only made four times in fifteen years. — 10 years ago

Kerstin Diesch

9.3

Slightly sweet, hints of cherry, acidic and smooth — 11 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.6

Really dark opaque purple, with dense color tone not eased up on the rim. The bubbles are purple too. It shows a bit brownish tone on the rim. Beautiful dense legs on the rim flowing slowing downward. Nose of ripe dark sweet fruit, wood fragrance like cedar, leather, herbs, jam, raisin, and a slight hint of spice. All the fragrance is saturate, but in harmony. Taste of bright acidity, dried apricot, peppery, black tea, zest, dark chocolate, medium tannins, oaky, and peaty. Aftertaste is long with dark chocolate and coffee-mocha note, and a bit tea flavor. Wow. I hope I have another bottle for aging. — 11 years ago

David Musser

Sommelier The Little Nell

9.4

This wine is awesome.
Game
Earth
Fruit all in good harmony. Young and fresh. — 12 years ago

Emanuel Rohss

8.9

It’s good in terms of character, nice balance, but it’s not as substantial as it should be, it could’ve more depth and body. Sort of disappears a little too soon. At the same time I did enjoy it. Def worth a try — 6 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.5

I adore this wine. A weakness of mine. It need so much time. Nose is gorgeous. Mint. Ripe and floral. Berry fruit. So dense. So layered. So precise. But deep. Really impressive. Palate is so damn impressive. Smokey and pure with ripe and elegant tannins. Awesome. Best bottle by far of this 2012. Has really come into its own. Concentrated and so elegant with terrific structure. Sweet and granitic fruit. Awesome purity. Really great wine. Fresh and ridiculously energetic. Incredible harmony here. So long. You gotta really really wait on these for them to show well. Worth the wait. — 6 years ago

Natassia

8.9

I shall be the first to rate the 2016 vintage.. I find this Chardonnay to be almost perfect. I am usually not a fan of chards but Trefethen has the talent to make it palatable for every drinker. It has a marshmallow touch to it, light golden color, apricot on the nose and slightly lemony on the back of the tongue and tingly at the very top. — 6 years ago

with nachobiz

Evan Bienstock

9.4

A trip through old world wines — France, Italy and Germany. This 2011 Clape was great. Decanted for 3 hrs and still it’s youth was evident. But the structure and fruit and earth are in great balance and harmony. Clape can do no wrong. — 7 years ago

Bacchus Trip

8.9

Purple, aromas of fermented fruit, a briery blackberry front end with forest floor on the finish. Well structured and in harmony. 🍷🍷🍷✖️✖️ — 9 years ago

Todd Alexander

9.4

I thought this was still fresh, perfectly balanced, everything in harmony right now. — 10 years ago

Jeff Mastin

8.9

Acidity med minus tennis med well blended — 10 years ago

Charlie Tapp

9.6

Drinking really well right now. Plenty of fruit left. Blackberry, smoked meat and spice, all in perfect harmony. Paired beautifully with ribs. — 10 years ago

Dan White

9.0

Big. Red and in your face. One of my all time favorite Paso wines. — 11 years ago

Gillian Robb

9.3

Black fruit, sweet baking spice, oak for days. All the harmony. — 11 years ago

Nicole Hakli

Sommelier The NoMad Restaurant

10

Bertrand's mentors being Metras and Foillard: tastes like chaos in the best way ever! 100 year old vines. Wild brambly fruit, black tea, licorice spice with juicy texture. — 12 years ago