Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Ruby core with quite wide garnet , terracotta rim . Quite deep and reserved at first , floral , red berry , strawberry, raspberry , red cherry , very fruit forward . On the palate this is also very primary , with lots of sweet strawberry , raspberry and cherry . Really fruit driven , so young . Bright acidity , quite strict tannin frame . This is a mineral saline note after a while , lots more complexity hidden underneath all plushness of the fruit . Perfectly balanced and proportioned with a long finish . Really promising and the finest of all the wines on this night but you will need to wait for the real fireworks to begin , a wine for the future . Wait 10 years and will probably show well a further 15 -20. — a year ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Lighter ruby core quite wide garnet rim . Quite exotic red berries with dried spices, damson plum , needs time to open up . Touch of tobacco and cigar box. On the palate more mineral with very elegant spiced red fruits , good acidity , very rounded suave tannins . Long and well balanced finish — 3 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.1

Medium ruby core, garnet rim . More leafy and crunchy cassis, slightly foursquare , cooler slightly mint touches . Crunchy dark fruits on the palate , more tobacco , cedar , grafite notes , fills out on the palate pretty well. Good refreshing acidity , moderate quite fine tannins, slight green notes on the ok length . Good to drink now and probably won’t improve very much , now and over the next 10 years. — 3 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Bright Ruby with aromas of red/black fruits, floral and sweet notes. On the palate flavors of ripe blackberry, cherry, and currants with notes of licorice and sweet figs. Fine dusty tannins, medium+ finish ending with fruit and toasty mineral character. — 4 years ago

Joe Gillies

9.2

Amazing and very accessible right now. Black fruit with some smoke. Purchassd on sale at $24. — 5 years ago

Shay A

9.3

A few fun 4th Friday wines from tonight.

A bigger and more rich style of GL than I’m accustomed to, but in a good way. This powerhouse vintage is evident in this wine with so much concentration and complexity. Classical Bordeaux traits of herbs de Provence, leather, cedar and graphite. The core here is deep and dark with ripe black fruits, currant, potpourri and a finish showing sweet tannins. This will cruise for a while, but it’s very good now. — 6 years ago

with Dan

Chad Thompson

8.9

Might be the bottle but just a bit past its prime. Still good - sweet core, good acid, dark fruits. — 7 years ago

Dimitri Fedotov, C.S.

Sommelier Osteria 177

9.2

Gorgeous. Complex. Nice tannin trap at the end. — 9 years ago

LM Segal

9.3

Dusty sour cherry and cocoa nose on a beautiful dark cherry, sour plum and dark chocolate core. Long, fine tannins. One of 2 bottles was off but the "on" one more than made up for it! Not one of those super-long-term Flacc's, but quite yummy, very much a food wine. — 9 years ago

with Mark, Joe and 1 other

Tom Kobylarz

9.5

Regrettably the one Bodega I missed from a stomach bug on my trip last week, though I still love love you Spain and look forward to going back. Now back to the wine....
A beautiful ruby core with some orange and pink at the edges.
The nose is elegantly fruited, with dry flowers, cherry and American oak notes of coconut, dill and toast.
The palate is elegant, refined, while masterfully complex and persistent at the same time. The finish is long and crazy silky. One of the few GR from a very older producer that uses only proprietary fruit.

— 11 years ago

Dario Scimeca

9.2

This is in a great drinking window. A little funk on the nose that blew off and revealed a dense core of blue fruit and smoothed out tannins. — 11 years ago

with Heather

Andrew Cullimore

9.2

Medium deep garnet core with slightly wider terracotta rim . Quite exuberant nose , more dark fruits than the Barton , spicy , cedar notes , touch of funk , swimming pool note also . On the palate quite spicy more intense black fruits , cassis , sous bois , coffee , saline , mineral tinged sea spray notes . Balanced acidity and quite rounded but noticeable tannin . Long and denser on the finish than the Barton . Showing well now but can go another 10 years no problem — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Double decanted before service; enjoyed over a several hour period. The 1988 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and significant signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with dried dark fruit, tobacco, mocha, grilled meat, mushrooms, damp earth and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry. At this point, the tannins have integrated completely and are perceived as medium; acid is similar. Finish is medium. This leaned towards the more rustic, old school style of Bordeaux and I’m all for it. While this isn’t falling off a cliff, I would drink now. — 2 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Completely alive!
Quite deep still , medium garnet core , medium narrow garnet rim . Rounded smoked plum , undergrowth , touch floral . Plump and round in the mouth , mix of red and dark fruits , quite elegant and medium bodied , pretty good length . Still a touch of noticeable but very fine tannins, though very much integrated into the wine. Elegant and well balanced acidity . Based on this magnum , the wine is fully mature but with a lot of life left. Not the most complex or large scale Petrus by any means , however it has great texture and elegance , harmonious powder fine tannins , just a joy drink now and over the next 10 years perhaps. This was opened and then decanted just before service , followed over 2 and a half hours and was still going strong at the end. Magnum had a level of bottom neck . Drank at Noizé, London . — 3 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

You would never pick this as a 26 year old red wine from the colour. A rich Ruby red with no tawny rim. This has the Penfolds DNA of ripe plum, mocha, coffee bean and chocolate - a trace of liquorice. The palate is medium plus weight, balanced and harmonious maintaining that core strength. Those initially firm tannins have become supple. Drinking at its peak but could stay on this plateau for a couple more years. My last bottle of the 96 but I still have a few more bottles of the Bin 707 from 1996 which was a huge wine. — 4 years ago

Bill Bender

9.4

Very strong showing and actually really surprising for this vintage. Thank you so much @Shawn R. A very deep ruby core, noticeable chewy tannins, truffle, iron and cassis. Less sweet fruit than the ‘86 but more powerful. — 7 years ago

Alex Hughes

9.4

1989 vintage. One of the best Dunn’s I’ve had. Has held up great with that trademark dark cherry core still intact, and fruit followed by layers of earth and leather. Tannins are still there even after nearly 30 year but a great, layered and integrated wine. Excellent. — 9 years ago

George Chen

9.1

A little bready now but still sweet core and melted tannins. Cork was dry though but wine seemed fine. — 9 years ago

David Castricone

9.7

Sweet black licorice and bright chewy fruit core, wrapped in a silk layer with a ultra long finish. The mouthfeel is drawn out in some slow, ethereal motion. Still many years to go. — 10 years ago

with Kiley, Heath and 1 other

Paul Schmidt

9.7

An incredible wine. It tasted as if it were just a few years old. Beautiful core of dark fruit and earth. A gorgeous expression of the valley. As Austin Peterson, Ovid Winemaker, said as we drank this "man California wine!" — 11 years ago

with Ashley

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of three days. Consistently enjoyable throughout, but best after several hours of air and through Day 3. The wine pours, a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. No signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with expressive notes of ripe and dried cherry, plums, toasted coconut, fresh dill, cedar chest, and soft baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose however, the fruit is much more tart. The finish is long and tangy. A textbook example of old-school Rioja. Lovely. Drink now with patience and through 2036. — 2 years ago

Doug Powers

9.3

Cigar box, pencil lead, also some lovely spicy redfruit aromas, still pretty structured, but showing a deep core of lovely dried redfruits, some sweet fruit notes in the long, lingering finish, very fine LLC!! — 3 years ago

with Jim

Delectable Wine

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9.4

The 2017 Montefalco Rosso Riserva Pipparello bursts from the glass with smoky grilled herbs, shaved cedar, dried cherries, currants, hints of spiced citrus… the list goes on and on. It washes across the palate with soft, fleshy textures and masses of balsamic-tinged dark red fruits, yet at the core, stimulating acidity creates a wildly energetic expression. This finishes remarkably long and potent, already providing pleasure through its primary components. The 2017 has a long story to tell, as grippy tannins slowly resolve under an air of rosy inner florals. This is Pipparello on steroids. (Eric Guido, Vinous, November 2022)
— 3 years ago

Mark Grammer

9.4

Delicious. Fruit well balanced with a bit of earth and mocha. Tannins soft on this 08. — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

From a great old looking bottle with a mid shoulder fill. Cork is fully saturated and the crud under the capsule had formed a strong seal. Slow-ox’d for a few hours, then decanted for an hour or two before taken to L’Escargot in Carmel. Amber tawny rims with a reddish tawny core. Crazy nose right from the start. Notes of sweet black cherries, tobacco leaf, plums, black pepper, ash and crusty wood, pencil shavings, some just unwrapped cigar and some menthol. Silky in the mouth with firm structure and soft but present acidity. Long and memorable finish. Outstanding performance over several hours. — 6 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.7

Quite a young looking colour , ruby core still with garnet rim. Lovely expressive nose . Ripe blackberry , Asian spice, licorice , leather lots of complexity . On the palate rich and rewarding , sweet tannins and balancing acidity . Lovely ripe fruit , real length also , goes on and on. Lovely wine . — 8 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.3

Deep garnet red with ruby core. Tasted blind. Very tight and dark on the nose with dark cocoa, dark spices and soft dark berries. Heavy tannins (8/10) and full bodied. Very dark palate as well with black cherries, cassis, black currants, dark cocoa and a little woody. Long and lingering finish. Thought this was a bit older than a 2013 but powerful, needs some time to fully develop. Drink till 2032. (93+) — 9 years ago

with Sean and India

LM Segal

9.4

Great breeding trumps a below-average vintage. Blind, the nose alone gives away the DNA of this phenomenal wine. This Merlot-dominated Cheval has a beautiful core of cocoa powder, prune and plums. Structure from sweet oak and cab franc skins come through on the finish. Excellent, but a world away from the 2000 that's a palate-reference for me. Don't wait on this one, this well-stored bottle felt past its apex. — 10 years ago

Daniel Mahdavian

Consulting Somm-Daniel Mahdavian Ventures

9.0

Core of velvety crushed vanilla cherry candy, a bit closed, not showing as mature. Good little mint, herbs, black olives. — 11 years ago

Neil Johnston

9.0

Nice big balance of berries, earth and velvet finish. — 12 years ago