Ron R

9.3

Flinty and crisp on the nose nose and palate. A nice and typically French personality with lemon rind and copious amounts of salinity. Nice weight and texture with more brine than sweetness. Drinking well right now, but will sail on for another 7-10 years, with ease. — 9 days ago

with Anne-marie

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9.3

The 2017 Cantenac Brown is always a strong performer in this vintage. Here, it has quite an opulent nose that you could easily mistake for a 2018 with copious black cherries and violet scents. The palate is fleshy, rounded and fairly sumptuous with pure black fruits that disguise the backbone. There is a welcome marine influence with hints of shucked oyster shells developing on the finish. Give this several years in bottle. Tasted at the Cantenac Brown vertical at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2022)
— 2 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.7

Sourced from the Loess, Seven Hills, Holly Roller, Serra Pedace, Mill Creek Upland and Leonetti Old Block Vineyards, the red blend was aged for 22 months in French oak before bottling. The final blend is a smaller than usual portion of Cabernet Sauvignon (73%) and an unusually high portion of Malbec (22%) with just a touch of Cabernet Franc (5%). This wine needs a two hour decant before enjoying. Once aroused, this slowly unveils green bell pepper, blueberry compote, creme de cassis and sagebrush tones that fill this highly perfumed nose. The palate is decadent, revealing an exceedingly plush texture. With bright acidity and serious weight, the wine expresses copious dark fruits with sweet pipe tobacco, blueberry compote and dark chocolate shaving flavors. Seductive in its youth, this stunning new bottling will have an exceedingly long life ahead of it. Try to resist this beauty for at least another year. Drink 2020-2045- 97 — 5 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.1

Nabbed the restaurant’s last bottle of this. Not the riserva but the regular Taurasi. Dark blackberry and plum, tobacco, copious earth, mushroom and leather. Still quite structured but drinkable. Felt like it was maybe drying out a bit at the end but could have been getting the dregs. — 10 months ago

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9.3

The 2015 Les Carmes Haut-Brion is the first vintage vinified with 100% infusion, including 55% whole bunches. This has a much more intense bouquet compared to the 2014: copious blackberries, blueberry and crushed violet scents, hints of blood orange and a light cassis touch with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine density and precision, good grip, edgy tannins with clearly more mineralité percolating through the finish. Excellent. Tasted at the Les Carmes Haut-Brion vertical at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2022)
— a year ago

Eric

9.3

Singing on day two 🎶. The antidote for copious levels of stress. — 3 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.2

Fresh, lively and full of life, the 2017 ‘Arthur’ Chardonnay is another fantastic effort from this storied Oregon estate. On the nose this takes on gooseberry and fresh herbs that mingle with baked apple and shades of Challah bread on this distinctive nose. The palate is both bright and plush, showing a soft texture and delivering copious orchard fruit flavors that dance with shades of cinnamon infused sourdough bread. A delight to savor in its youth, enjoy this over the next five plus years. Drink 2019-2025- 92 — 5 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.1

This wine is massive. Intense and deeply balsamic nose, Worcestershire sauce and iodine, very savory. Some dark berry fruit extract underneath. Dense and intensely mouthfilling. Again, little discernible fruit but copious savory flavors. Massive body. Lengthy finish. A Shrek of a wine. (But the label is awful, very ugly.)

UPDATE: Night 3, this is softer and more in balance, with more ripe fruit peeking through to balance the previously inky savoriness. Upping from 8.9 to 9.1, but for the next few years, make sure this gets plenty of air. — a year ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

One of the great wines from Raphet. Sadly my last btl of 2 cases where again this btl over delivered offering up copious amounts of black cherry, berry fruits with sweet almost Leroy like spices, mineral & violet. I wish I could find more wines that drink this well at this $$$. Consistent with my many prior notes — 3 years ago

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9.7

The 2016 Angélus has an intense, powerful bouquet with copious black cherries, boysenberry, orange pith and iodine scents that threaten to overwhelm the senses. The medium-bodied palate offers supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, a dash of black pepper and impressive detail and persistence on the finish. This is an outstanding Angélus that clearly requires several years in bottle to realize its full potential. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
— 4 years ago