Cork Cutters

Château Lafite Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1953

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. — 5 years ago

Tom, Alex and 28 others liked this
Iwan

Iwan

Amazing
David L

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One hell of a pull

Domaine Billard Pere et Fils

Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Pinot Noir 2017

Drank 2017 from Cork 2018 on 22 Sep 2019. Light sweet zingy as is natural. — 6 years ago

Dom Pérignon

Brut Champagne Blend 1966

DP66
Pristine condition bottle. Cork flew out revealing surprising amount of retained fizz. Roast peach/rust colour. Oxidised nutty, orange peel, caramel notes with long length.
— 7 years ago

Hetty ForsythNick OxleyAntonia Edwards
with Hetty, Nick and 1 other
Hetty and Antonia liked this

Château Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 1967

Great Level but black cork. Looked in reasonable condition but a little muted and, although not faulty, it was a little unknit. Felt like a decent Pessac but without the fireworks you usually experience with HB; could sense the bonfire underneath but didn’t quite pop. — 7 years ago

Shawn, Sharon and 5 others liked this

Midleton Distillery

Redbreast 21 year Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Brilliant stuff, first time with this one but a real winner, round full flavour with a little fizz in the mouth — 9 years ago

Ridge Vineyards

Monte Bello Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Cork disintegrated, but otherwise no concerns. Very restrained with more fruit showing as it took on air. Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the bottles age. — 10 years ago

S.R.Alexander liked this

Diamond Creek Vineyards

Volcanic Hill Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1992

Fantastic drink! Still great fruit. The cork was in good shape, opened with oso. — 10 years ago

Château Haut-Brion

Graves Red Bordeaux Blend 1966

p w
9.1

2nd bottle in 2 mos - still very good despite low fill/soaked cork. — 11 years ago

MH liked this
Eric Egan

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Nice bottle! How low was the level?
p w

p w Influencer Badge

very low - 6-7cm & the cork had nearly dropped
Eric Egan

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Thanks. I got my hands on a couple of 66s the other day with levels around the top half of the embossed brand. Don't have much experience with ullage in this bottle shape so that's reassuring to hear!

Silver Oak

Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1989

Vance Gregory
9.2

Birthday wine. After 25 yrs this pretty Cab is holding up very well. Clean w dark fruits, mint and some spice. Cork did crumble but was able to salvage. @SilverOak memorable wine. — 11 years ago

Corison

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Eddie Townsend
9.5

I had just bailed on a bottle of overripe Napa Cabernet Sauvignon moments before pulling the cork on this little gem. Balanced, complex, and respectful of the quality mountain fruit that makes this wine so delicious. Terrific next to grilled meat. — 13 years ago

Julia liked this
Cathy Corison

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So glad you enjoyed it!

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1993

Wax was hard to get off. Essentially scrapped it off. Before cork even came out I could start smelling the wine. I thought it would be corked. Cork melted off even with an ah so. First sip just had a little bit of funk but overall very drinkable. Much like a French Bordeaux. Fruit is muted, dry. Dark fruit finish. Smell definitely is dry and has an older funk, herbal, medicinal - not in a negative way. Would have loved to seen how it would have done decanted but had no time. — 6 years ago

Matt liked this

Château Cheval Blanc

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 1982

John A
9.5

It cannot be 38 years old is all I could think when I popped the cork. I can only wish I was as youthful as this wine. Black fruit, chocolate, smoke/tobacco...elegant , structured. Delicious — 6 years ago

Billy and Mike liked this
Mike R

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Holy shit @John Adams

Château Gruaud Larose

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1982

A little cloudy and muted with a dry and brittle cork I don’t think it was stored perfectly . — 6 years ago

Rob, Theresa and 21 others liked this

Château Palmer

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1955

Tasted blind. Tawny color, translucent with amber rims. Notes of black cherry, cedar, some spice and a little barnyard floor. Sweet fruit in the mouth, with tannins fully resolved. Guessed 1955 Calon Segur. Perfect looking bottle, the cork revealed this bottle was reconditioned by the Chateau in 2000. — 7 years ago

Shay, Eric and 16 others liked this

Shafer Vineyards

Hillside Select Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 1996

Cork was very soft, but wine decanted beautifully. Great, fruity taste! — 8 years ago

Bill BeckMissy Gower
with Bill and Missy
Iwan, Billy and 2 others liked this

Domaine Leroy

Bourgogne Pinot Noir 1995

Always a good bottle for me. Been counting and already had 5 bottle of this great value wine from the queen of burgundy. Still holding up good with smooth and elegant mouthfeel. The wine keep evolving after each pour. There is still fruit, spice, core sweetness and overall silkyness. As usual the cork is mouldy — 9 years ago

Bill liked this

Caymus Vineyards

Special Selection Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

If there's a bottle of wine with a longer cork, Ive never had it...anywho, this starts with a nose of dusty spice and bramble with a really smooth palate of cassis, molasses, and stewed dark fruits...nice. — 10 years ago

James liked this

Riverbench Vineyard & Winery

Cork Jumper Rosé Blanc de Noirs Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2011

Peach, strawberry, little bit of nuttiness, lees and citrus. Pretty wine. — 11 years ago

Olga Raffault

Les Picasses Chinon Cabernet Franc 1989

A little rough in the aromatics. Cork was suspect, looked and smelled a bit funky. wine was otherwise youthful in the mouth with raspberry, tar, spice and plenty of lively acid. Have a few more '89s and think its time. overall a beautiful wine still but perhaps in aromatic decline. - 1989 vintage — 11 years ago

Jones Family Vineyard

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

En Mag,
Cork looks great, I say that because I’ve had several Colgins & David Arthurs from early to mid 2000’s which had horrible corks. Give this 45 minutes to an hour in the glass maybe longer since its a mag. One glass tonight then drink up tomorrow & Monday. It will be fantastic with a day or two. The 97 Mondavi reserve was best on Day 3 believe it or not🤷🏼‍♂️
— 6 years ago

Paul, Somm and 28 others liked this
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

Damn beautiful juice! QPR through the roof!
Paul T HB

Paul T HB

Definitely take a Mag of this over most $200.00 .750’s from other wineries

Chateau Montelena

The Montelena Estate Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

The cork was difficult but worth the struggle. This well aged Cabernet took some time to open up but the lush red fruit was refined and exceeded expectations. Lovely.🍷 — 6 years ago

Shay, Paul and 4 others liked this
Hugh O'Riordan

Hugh O'Riordan

Drinking the good stuff!!

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1998

Pristine cork, decanted for 5 hours: still balanced, complex, and harmonious as a 20 year old in a challenging vintage. Fruit still lively, with mellow tannins—this still has a few years left. Came out best for me in an evening of great old wines: ‘98 Corison, ‘98 Montelena Estate, plus de la Tour ‘99. Never underestimate the consistency of a great estate, year after year. Glad I have another bottle or two. — 7 years ago

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2000

Kirk F
9.4

Mag. The cork blew up and we had to Macgyver our way out of the dust but the contents were superb. — 8 years ago

Paul, P and 15 others liked this
P A

P A

@Kirk Feyereisen Cheers 🍷

Riverbench Vineyard & Winery

Cork Jumper Blanc de Blancs Demi-Sec Chardonnay 2014

Clean, crispy, refreshing, and delightful. Went well with pizza and jellybeans. — 9 years ago

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo 1991

Another one. In good condition even if the cork was impossible. Opened up well as it shed all the meaty, coffee age to be a elegant and assertive speaker. — 10 years ago

Andie Moody
with Andie
Ryan, Nelson and 4 others liked this

Bacci Wines

Invetro Super Tuscan Blend 2011

Glass cork. Cool! — 10 years ago

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

I'd get to drinking your 97's now. Good...great actually but beginning to lose a lot. Cork was quite soft on mine. Flavor...like California...but smoother ;-) — 11 years ago

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1978

Thanks to a good cork, still alive, with a super bouquet, although a bit faded in the mouth. Wish I was in as good shape! — 11 years ago

Bacci Wines

Invetro SuperTuscan Blend

And it has a glass cork! — 12 years ago