Jay Kline

9.4

Opened several hours prior and decanted off sediment and a portion of the cork that had broke and crumbled before returning to the bottle. The 2007 “Howell Mountain” pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core and very slight rim variation. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of dark fruit: black currants, blackberries, tobacco, leather, earth and gentle spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and savory. This is firing on all cylinders right now and the structure suggests the power of the 2007 vintage is not slowing down anytime soon. Drink now with a decant and through 2037 with ease. — 9 months ago

Scott Kusalik

9.7

A baby. Decanted and enjoyed with dinner over 1.5 hours. Ripe fruit, violets, and chalky tannins. Excellent balance with an epic finish — 2 years ago

Martijn

9.3

Decanted 8 hours!
My tip that is a minimum. Now at 12 hours and a palate that is influenced by meat and cheese the wine starts to blossom. Cherry, cinnamon, vanilla and some almond paste. Nice rioja this is. — 4 years ago

Mario Vaillancourt

9.1

Decanted 90 minutes. Very dark opaque colour. Nose with dark fruits, some black currant early on but some spices as well and some oak. Tasted blind the nose seems more CNP then Right Bank. Palate is dense, powerful, nice acidity in the middle, ripe fruit, volume and depth along with a delicious finish with a slight dryness. Very good but there is a little bit of warmth to it caused by alcohol that makes the whole balance very slightly out of sink with the rest. 90-91

Carafé 90 minutes. Couleur foncée et opaque. Fruits noirs, cassis aussi, du bois un peu. Fait plus CNP que Rive Droite au nez. Bouche délicieuse, puissante, dense, du volume, belle acidité en millieu de bouche, finale est assez longue, un peu asséchante et une touche alccoleuse qui affecte un peu l’équilibre d’ensemble. Très bien malgré tout, mais pas certain que ca deviendra grand. 90-91 — 5 years ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.2

Decanted for 6 hours and 💥 💣 🤯 — 6 years ago

Charles Garrison

9.5

Rich, without being heavy; elegant and balanced; darker fruits with a wonderful finish; decanted 90 minutes and continued to improve through the evening — 6 years ago

Ted Corvey

9.3

Take this with a grain of salt because at this point in the night my taste buds were a little scorched. Very fragrant red fruit on the nose. Initially this was still tremendously wound up. I wish we had opened it and decanted for longer as after two hours it was still slightly tight but the lovely fruit flavors persisted over cocoa and tobacco leaf undertones. All in, I wish I had let this rest for a few more years, but still drinking pretty well now. — 8 years ago

with Scott and Kyle

Amy Huson

9.3

Pretty amazing although we drank the 2012 and I think it is still a bit young. Decanted it was better and the tannins mellowed some. Will age for many, many years! — 9 years ago

Bill Bender

9.0

Loved the funk and ripe sweat on the nose, like that time I climbed the rope in gym class....I was expecting resolved tannins and a softer entry but this is quite closed up. This was not decanted so I'd definitely suggest air and a little agitation to wake it up. — 9 years ago

Zachary Hauge

9.0

Decanted for 2 hours...delicious. — 10 years ago

Pooneet K

9.2

Very nice but not quite at the same level as the one we had a couple years ago. Certainly extremely Bordeaux in terms of typicity. Paired with some La boite peppercorn blend crusted wagyu filets from Allen brothers. Definitely ready to go, opened with cork pop for 3.5 hours and decanted for 1. — 10 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

It was Father’s Day and I had decided on grilled rack of lamb for dinner so I selected this bottle of 2011 Chateau Musar rouge from our cellar. According to Musar’s records, the 2011 vintage was one of the most challenging since the early 1990’s. It was ultimately a late-maturing vintage with harvest taking place on October 13th, the latest since the 1983 vintage!

I decanted this bottle about eight hours prior to dinner. It should be noted that immediately upon opening, the bouquet was strikingly gorgeous with powerful aromatics that were obvious from several feet away and this trait carried through until dinner time.

In the glass, the wine presents a deep garnet color. Slightly turbid with a near opaque core. On the nose, black plums, blackberries, cassis, tobacco, organic earth, exotic spices, leather, spiced meat, and pomegranate. I detect a touch of VA as well. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the nose with an added bit of red rope licorice. Lovely, long, savory…amazing. This was a brilliant compliment to the lamb (which was served with beets and goat cheese and fattoush) and everything I wanted in a Musar tonight. Drinking well now with a hefty decant and I expect well cellared examples to drink well past 2035. — 2 years ago

Rosie Johnson

9.4

This wine has a fresh berries taste. The year we drank was a 2000 vintage. Still needs to be decanted. But it’s excellent. — 5 years ago

Dan Cobb

9.5

Decanted 1 hr. 2001 vintage. Still had decent fruit. Dark chocolate on the nose. Had lost some of its structure and tannins. Very good pairing with the steaks tonight. w Michelle Carr — 5 years ago

B

10

1994 Screaming Eagle. Dinner w J&L B and D&M H while staying with D&M in Santa Ynez. Opened and waited about an hour. Decanted right before serving. Tons of jammy dark fruit. Opened more in the glass. JB mentioned full palate and balance. Great finish. Preferred this to ‘91 Dominus once this opened up. — 5 years ago

B

10

Magnum 1982 Pichon Longueville Contesse de Lalande. First time any of us had tried this. July 4 group dinner at Bouch (A&S, J&D B, McC). Loved this. Decanted and served pretty quickly. — 7 years ago

Jeff Shapiro

9.2

My first Latour and the tannins are still holding up.
Grilled bacon with layers of dark black/red fruits and earthy/floral undertones.
Decanted for 95 minutes. Can't wait to see how this opens up and changes with each glass.
Had with mushroom, green bean risotto. — 8 years ago

B

10

1989 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion Pessac Leognan Bordeaux. Anniversary dinner at Bouchon. Awesome! After reading notes from the last time we had this, we decanted abt 2 hours before drinking and this wine was perfect. Tons of dark fruit, eucalyptus, mint, and pencil shavings. Super smooth and complex with no harshness whatsoever. Really enjoyed this wine. Fave! — 9 years ago

Curtis Osborn

9.4

Curtis had this 10 years ago

Darrell K.

9.3

Big dark fruit up front, mixed berries and cherry notes, with a smooth silky finish. Decanted for two hours. — 10 years ago

John Malcolm

9.2

Delicious wine. Full-bodied. Ripe strawberries, raspberries, and cherries, with a bit of dark chocolate, coffee, and tobacco. Decanted for about five hours — 10 months ago

Adam Gäfvert

9.4

This was decanted in a cool wine cellar close to 12 h before we enjoyed it. It is very aromatic and inviting. Layered with dark fruits, pencil lead, five spice, nutmeg, preserves, orange peel, menthol and more. Great posture. Only 13,5 abv. — a year ago

Andrew Turner

9.5

Our 10th anniversary wine. Excellent once decanted. — 4 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. — 5 years ago

Aaron Hamrock

9.8

Decanted for two hours. This is absolutely beautiful wine. The@fruit acid and tannins are in perfect harmony. — 5 years ago

Jim Enloe

9.1

Very nice, different from the traditional Napa cab. Firm tannins, should be decanted. Last glass the next day did better (under vacuum) — 8 years ago

Nina DeMarco

9.6

Decanted for 3 hours and perfection! — 8 years ago

with Matt

Eric

9.5

This took a loooong time to show up. Opened for 6 hours, then double decanted. Still needed two more hours to show its colors. Tannic monster with amazing black fruit. Bright acidity suggests 15+ years ahead of it. Bad ass wine! Tastes several other vintages at the winery last summer. This was by far the best. — 9 years ago

with S.R.Alexander

Leslie Bartos

9.4

decanted 2 hours. cassis, cherry, but also a fragrant floral nose and earthiness more similar to a burgundy/pinot. very elegant wine, almost feminine and an intoxicating nose. well-balanced and it was delicious over dinner. the last few sips we noticed slight fading. A splendid wine for a birthday celebration. — 10 years ago

with Tony

Steve Bachmann

9.1

Still young, tannins not fully resolved. Decanted it too. Is leave it alone another 5 years. — 10 years ago