Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Deep Ruby with aromas of blue & black fruits, sweet spice & slight mineral character. A blend of mostly Cab Sauvignon with small amounts of Malbec, Petit Verdot & Cab Franc from their estate-owned Napa Valley vineyards, aged 18 months French (62%) & American oak (38%) (about 50% new). Palate, complex flavors, blackberry, plums & cherry with sweet spice, oak & tobacco notes. Well balanced with good acidity & developing tannins. Full-bodied, long finish ending with pepper & wood spice. Nice! — 2 months ago

Brian Borsook

9.9

An extremely well-cellared bottle with pristine cork. Deep, complex, full-bodied and tasting like it still has many good years. Notes of black cherry, currant, leather and spice. Comparable to the best left bank Bordeaux. — 3 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.4

Blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc, and half a % each of Malbec and Merlot, aged 15 months in 33% new French oak, 51% of fruit from Atlas Peak District, deep Ruby with aromas of vibrant dark fruit, sweet spice and herbs. On the palate flavors of cherry and blackberry with tobacco spice, toasty oak, cinnamon and floral notes. Fine tannins, long finish ending with fruit, spice, cedar, mocha and mineral character, Nice, should age well. — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over four days and fairly consistent throughout. The 2020 Riserva pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart red fruit: raspberry, Morello cherry, red plum, black tea, red flowers, dried green herbs, and gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Drink now through 2035 easy. — 3 months ago

Brandon Boesch

9.3

Wow this is too young! Opened it, had a glass, then left it on counter for 24 hours. Better, but still needs more air. Cassis, dried meats, cherry, herbs, a bit of wood, more red fruits. It’s all there just need to open it in a decade. — 4 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Youthful that will benefit with air, drinking beautifully with its bright red cherry, berry fruit, dried herbs, leather, savory spice, rose petal & tobacco notes — 5 months ago

Byron Hewett

9.1

This is a beauty. Sour cherry, mineral backbone with herbal savory hints. 11% abv. — 9 months ago

Colin Cahoon

9.3

Nose is dark red fruit with blackberry, blueberry, and cooked strawberry. Palate is dark cherry, cooked strawberry, ripe blackberry, rhubarb, ripe fig, caramel, cola, oak, cedar, mushroom, green pepper, cinnamon, and truffles. Medium tannins, high acid, medium alcohol, and long finish. An outstanding Chinon. — 2 years ago

with Susan

Hanif Perry

9.3

Plou plou goodness. — 8 years ago

Jiga Hitorn

9.6

Cherry tobacco, good acidity. Like a top Bordeaux — 10 years ago

John Willison

9.1

Bright cherry and citrus. Cranberry, rhubarb, sweet berry tannins. — 2 months ago

Andrew Belzer

9.5

Magnum! Leather, tart cherry, blackberry, cedar. Chalky tannins with bright acidity. What a treat! — 2 months ago

Shay A

9.3

(Two previous 1983 wine reviews never made it on here, so copying from my CT).

Continuing a run of ‘83s over the last 3-6 months, this not only showed quite well, but it was at its best after almost two hours in the bottle. Whereas the ‘83 Pichon was clean and elegant, this was a bit more dense and powerful. Beautifully expressive aromatics of potpourri, espresso, fig and leather with a flavor profile mostly on the red/black fruit side of the spectrum. The mid-palate showed good weight and continued to bulk-up during the evening. Old cherry-tobacco note at the finish. Honestly, this drank like it was more early ‘90s than it was early ‘80s. Good. — 3 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Dark Ruby with aromas of ripe berry fruit and floral spice, pure Caymus signature style, easy drinking, approachable as always. On the palate flavors of ripe blackberry, black cherry and currants with complex spice showing notes of cacao, cinnamon and rich vanilla oak. Fine soft tannins, nice mouthfeel, great balance with acidity, long finish, ending with notes of oak and mineral notes. Nice! — 3 months ago

Abbas Zand

8.9

Cherry and plum nose. Very fruity.
Red fruit flavors w/ vanilla and spice notes.
Good overall.
$29 — 4 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Medium Ruby color with aromas dark red fruits, black tea and ample floral spice, aged in 20% new French oak for 10 months. On the palate flavors of black cherry, blackberry and plum with tobacco, cedar, black pepper, tea and vanilla spice. Soft fine tannins, long finish, well balanced with acidity, ending with fruit, herb, spice and earthy wet stone character. Nice! — 5 months ago

Jess

8.9

Deep ruby color.
Aromas of tobacco, cherry, tomato leaf.
Dry. Flavors of tomato leaf, tobacco, leather, dried cherry. Rich, chewy tannins.

Intensity: 4/5
Complexity: 4/5
Balance: 4/5
Finish: 4/5 — 7 months ago

Neil Valenzuela

8.9

Medium ruby color. Aromas of cherry, cranberry, baking spices and hint of cedar/cigar box. Flavorful, cherry and cedar on the finish. Magnum bottle with MTG night. — 9 months ago

.

9.4

This was a late addition to a tasting of 2007 Tuscan wines I held last week, and was the only Brunello in the bunch. It was served last. Everyone really enjoyed this wine. After almost 4 hours of decanting, it delivered a silky mouth feel, terrific black cherry fruit, and perfect balance of acidity, fruit, and tannins. A sweet spice accent showed up in the finish. This was one of the best bottles of Il Poggione I’ve had to date. Delicious. — 6 years ago

Nöel Turner

9.0

Smooth and mellow. Fruity. — 10 years ago

Michael Smith

9.4

Great balance and when fresh bursting with "west coast" hop flavor. — 10 years ago

Marc Ouellette

9.0

Amazing dark plum colors, earth spices, cherry, red fruits- supple tannins and a smooth finish — 2 months ago

Tom Garland

9.5

It's Open That Bottle Night(last Sat in Feb), and thought this would be a nice pull to celebrate the occasion.

1 hour decant(decent sediment). A striking still dark garnet with some bricking. On the nose: perfumed stewed cherry/plum, smoked meat, worn leather, cigar ash,milk chocolate, rich soil, some band-aid(brett) Taste: smooth, polished, vibrant wine with plum, tobacco, bitter chocolate, worn leather, earth, and a long graphite coffee ground finish. YUM!!!! — 2 months ago

with Brenda

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Syrah, & Charbono. Deep Ruby color with aromas of ripe berry fruits and sweet spice. On the palate flavors of cherry, blackberry and plum with cacao, baking spice and vanilla. Fine tannins, long finish ending with fruit, spice and tobacco notes. — 3 months ago

Eric Urbani

9.2

Love the special character of these South African Chards — 4 months ago

Lea

9.2

Stunning. Cherry cola with a tinge of leather. Soft and magically complex. Love. — 4 months ago

Will Stanley

9.4

A gift from my old man for my thirtieth birthday this year. My last experience with this wine was the 2001, enjoyed around ten years ago. I described then how the wine lived up to its popular reputation. Happy to reaffirm that feeling with this 1994, that is an absolutely gorgeous, captivating wine that ticks every box one may have for older Rioja. It marries sweet with sour in that way that the best wines from this region do, a medley of ripe blueberries with sour cherry; bitter orange, coconut, balsamic, tobacco and cranberry. The finish is long, with flecks of sweetness that beg you for another sip. I would imagine that Faustino produce in excess of a million bottles of this stuff, given the size of their holdings, which only impresses me even more that it turns out so well. — 6 months ago

Jon Ebsworth

9.2

Light and supple with earthy cherry finish on the palate. — 2 years ago

Kai Wright

9.4

For a 2020 tree trimming, a trip to 1968 felt appropriate... and it’s got staying power.... Leather, woody herbs, prunes and dried cranberry, funky mid palate, a long cherry finish, bright acid. An elegant old guy. — 4 years ago

with Jedd, Kris and 1 other

Eric Guido

9.4

The nose was dark with woodsy floral tones offset by red berry, leather, hints of clove and star anise. It was soft with silky textures on the palate. Youthful but not tannic with perfectly balanced acidity enlivening flavors of tart cherry, spice, and minerals. The finish showed it's youthful structure with dried red fruits, inner floral tones and hints of cedar. This is beautiful and just entering what is sure to be a long drinking window. — 9 years ago