Alex Xu

9.8

Sublime depth and complexity, mushroom, leather, black pepper, charcuterie, intergrated with beautiful red and black fruit. Beautiful texture and weight - rounded but with good heft. Lots of oomph — 9 years ago

Dan Tiedeman

9.8

Oh my!! Amazingly wonderful - complexity, finesse and just plain delicious!! Very much enjoyed a 2006 vintage on 6-19-16 — 10 years ago

Brian Filip

9.0

Dark inky purple. Strong aroma immediately upon open. Bold and silky smooth, but very much fruit driven. Pretty much just jammy blackberry and blueberry. A little sweet. Enjoyable and decadent, but would have liked a little more complexity. Probably just too young?
— 10 years ago

Ryan Bonnici

9.3

Delicate and rich with meaty nuttiness. A superfine bead, there is plenty of toast, dried fruit and hazelnut complexity. Magnificent! — 10 years ago

John Osgood

9.5

Disgorged 2011. Drinking excellent with a profound nose. Great texture on the palate with layers of complexity. The best bottle of Initial that I've had to date. — 11 years ago

with K

Yoon Ha

Master Sommelier/Wine Director Benu

9.8

So much life here, energy and freshness to spare. Lovely mature fruits, woodsy complexity over a velour texture. — 12 years ago

Austin Beeman

9.7

Awesome herb and complexity. Layered and complex. A definitive Napa Cab gem. $250 — 12 years ago

with Jim, John and 2 others

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.2

Deep garnet red with lots of bricking on the edges. Light cassis and dark cherries on the nose with some tertiary notes like earthiness and damp leaves. Moderate tannins (6.5/10) and full bodied. Lots of complexity with light cassis and dark cherries, a little bit of tomato leaves and earthiness. Very well rounded and integrated with a long finish. This will only keep losing fruit and get earthier with time. Drink now. — 9 years ago

with Sean and India

Rebecca Fletcher

9.1

2005 vintage. Blackberry, black cherry, earth, mushroom, black olive. M acid and body. M+ intensity, round tannin, finish and complexity. — 10 years ago

Stacey Bressler

9.4

Lovely complexity.
— 10 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.4

2004 vintage. Lunch with Gerard Basset at Hotel TerraVina. 1 hour decant. Dark ruby hue. Wonderful nose of leather, sweet spices, roasted meats, mulberry and blackberry, dark chocolate and licorice. Although developing still very fresh and youthful despite the obvious complexity of aromas. On the palette, the tannins hit you hard - grippy; high acidity that starts off quite searing but with air becomes rounder and attractive. Medium plus body and full concentration. Long finish. Gerard loved it and so did I! — 11 years ago

John Skupny - Lang & Reed Wine Company

9.6

Expressive without being effusive - great complexity - a joy with Bar Terra slices of Toro & Lobster ravioli! — 12 years ago

Mark Gunning

9.2

Classic Musar complexity on the nose. Not as tannic as the 2005 and a bit more approachable than the last vintage. Lots of black fruits. Still lots of ageing potential. — 12 years ago

Christanna Honer

10

Can't say enough about the depth and complexity. Brûlée, dulce de leche, saffron, cumin, cashews, touch of coconut, kaffir, ginger. Silence-inducing on the palate.

This is perfect. — 10 years ago

Charles (Chad) Bucklin

Owner and founder of C. T. Bucklin Wine Advising

9.9

My first #chateaurayas and now I understand the hype. Very Burgundian in style but this is just a unique wine deserving its own category. This wine had profound complexity and was perfectly balanced. It is so young. #chateauneufdupape #southernrhone #rhonevalley #grenache #ctbucklinwine — 10 years ago

Marty Mathis

9.9

Near to perfect as can be. IMO a $68.00 well spent (30 yrs ago). So moving in its complexity, refinement and sophistication. No where near decline. So inviting; I just wanted to dive my soul into the glass. Bravo! — 10 years ago

Jason Kissane

9.5

A great champagne! Lovely toast, complexity and very fine bubbles - 1996 vintage — 11 years ago

Jennifer Szychowski

9.4

So much complexity on the nose and simply stunning. — 11 years ago

Lesa Gough

9.1

Lovely jammy fruit, but made with restraint. Decent complexity and nice balance , great with food. — 12 years ago

Robert Cunningham

Wine Educator DeVinimus, Wine Workshop

9.4

Really wonderful classic Rioja. Opens after 1 hour. Superb depth and complexity. — 12 years ago