Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1971 vintage. Bottom shoulder fill initially had me worried. Decanted and tasted immediately and after two hours. Absolute ton of sed more appropriate for a vintage port. This was banging. Light-medium body. Chunky frontal palate. Plenty of charcoal in the mid-palate with some surprising freshness on a longer than expected finish. Not getting better but feel it can stay the current course for a spell (4-5 years). This was from a 750ml format but a larger format would undoubtedly be an upgrade. La Mission HB is a fave property and this reaffirmed those feelings. 10.13.23 — 7 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

1983 vintage. Had the requisite BDX "funk" in the nose upon opening. Coming hard with the Pompey/Crassus/Caesar triumvirate of cherry, cedar and earth in both the nose and flavor profile. Light-medium body. Decanted (mega-sed!) and tasted over the course of two hours. Not improving but slotted into this groove a few years ago and can see it performing these same dance moves for another 7-10 years. 7.22.23. — 9 months ago

Mike Saviage

9.6

From a great looking bottle with a fill almost into the neck. Double decanted and left in the bottle for 5 hours before attacking it. Amber color. Good weight and haunting nose. Notes of old cedar, mocha, plums, cola, dark fruit, molasses and some sweet red cherry. Early on it’s all about the amazing nose. But with time the wine gains weight and you have a gorgeous old St Estephe in front of you. Still giving its all, and although the fruit is somewhat faded, this has complexity and structure that still drives the experience. And that nose is simply stunning. Great showing. — 2 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 — 4 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. — 4 years ago

Jordan Wardlaw

9.3

Very secondary but still retaining loads of sweet fruit. Plums, figs, chocolate, coffee, cherry compote and leather are bursting forth right now. Double-decanted and tasted with Marc Hochar in Napa. — 6 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.2

A real teeth stainer, deep garnet red. Nice nose with lots of layers; earthy, dusty, hint of tomatoes, dark cocoa, dark cassis and dried dark cherries. Moderate tannins (7/10) and well integrated. Rounded and full bodied with black currants, spices herbs, strawberries and a hint of unsweetened cocoa. Very dry and long finish. Fine sediment in the glass and decanted for three hours. Drink till 2020. — 7 years ago

with Sean and India

Andrew Crane

9.0

Lemongrass, tobacco, anise, raspberry. Decanted 3 hours. — 8 years ago

Rich

9.7

My guest brought this in from there wine cell. I decanted the wine let it say for about 1 hour. I used a Osso to open this bad boy up, I didn't wanna break the cork. The cork came out smooth and beautiful. As for the wine, my guest gave me a lil taste and it was magnificent!! Smooth tannis bright fruit just awesome!! — 9 years ago

Andrew Crane

9.1

Decanted for 3 hrs, mellowed out those tannins — 8 months ago

Pooneet K

9.2

Decanted 1.5 hours. Not quite at the level of some other monte bellos I’ve had, but still very nice. Nose is wonderful - easily a 9.4+ nose. Lots of dark cherry and some earthy / hay / forest floor notes. But this doesn’t quite have the full mouthfeel and depth I was hoping for. Finish is slightly tannic with good acid. Nice pairing with pork chops - and a fun bottle for my son’s 2nd bday. — 9 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

1996 vintage. Decanted and tasted after two hours. Decent fill and not throwing as much sediment as expected. Cork in great shape and only bottom fourth saturated. Expressive nose of extreme, maritime cedar influence and graphite/lead pencil. Plenty of color with a very thin meniscus. Have never been the biggest Mouton fan (least fave of the First Growths) but this is in the zone/at the top of the bell curve/rollin rollin rollin rollin now and for the foreseeable decade+ without drop-off. Decidedly not improving, but on the hell yes plateau for 12-15 years. Nose substantially translates into the finish, adding sandalwood and that massive, muscular and intimidating dark, plummy thrust. Professional opinion suspects this would be tasting better in another 2 hours. Don't sell your biggies short (all too frequent mistake). They gotta stretch them legs. 7.7.23. — 10 months ago

Joe Flo

9.6

Still a young baby decanted 3hrs. — 3 years ago

David L

9.5

WHN virtual tasting. 07’ Valdicava, Brunello Montalcino. Medium garnet in color. Pull the cork three hours ahead of time. Decanted it for one hour. The nose is simply out of this world! Black licorice & dark berry aromas, with baked chocolate. On the palate, it is velvety, rich in blackberry, black cherry. You get tons of leather/tobacco running to the back of the palate. Juicy tannins, with a long finish. Drinking now. Cheers — 4 years ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.2

Decanted for 6 hours and 💥 💣 🤯 — 5 years ago

MaJ CappS

9.2

My first of the big Antinori wines, and as a birthday present to myself, popped the cork this year.

A fog laden forest of chestnuts and cedar form a vapor lock around this vegetable and herb stew slowly cooking over the campfire. All of these tastes, and smells swirl in this wine. Decanted 3+ hours. Going deeper..

When a wines finish lasts for longer than 5 minutes... Wow. — 7 years ago

Pooneet K

9.3

Really, really nice. Decanted for 1.5 hours and this guy is ready to go. Definitely a touch more fruit forward than expected, but still an excellent core of acidity that keeps it super lively. Very silky tannins at this point, no point to wait longer but also not at all over the hill. — 8 years ago

Martin G Rivard

9.6

This is always a rockstar at any event!!i decanted at 111am and this is drinking PERFECTLY!!!! — 8 years ago

with Ted, Christine and 2 others

Paul Borys

8.9

1934 Château Margaux

Top shoulder fill. Semi-opaque at the core, almost like an old burgundy with its brownish hews. Beautiful and graceful bouquet of roses, raspberries that have been baked, very elegant and healthy nose. At first very dry, with the fruit barely hanging on for dear life, but after 15 minutes in the decanted it comes alive with sweet fruit, high acidity and just a kiss of tannin. This is very complex and sublime for about a period of 20-40 minutes, what else could you ask for from a 80 year old bottle of wine.
THANKS DAVE !!

50-5-12-13-5=85+ — 9 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2006 vintage. Decanted. Still...tons of richness and fruit with nutmeg, cinnamon, damp cedar and sugarplum notes. Years to go...8.25.23. — 8 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

2009 vintage. Decanted and open for approx an hour before tasting. A little tight but Burgundian body and flavors. Wasn't picking up any Syrah notes in the nose either. 7.22.23. — 9 months ago

Vino Joe

9.6

Decanted over several hours. Lots of sediment. Cork was intact but soaked. Delicious and a bit sweet on first pour. Opened more over next hour. Deep color but not opaque. Could see through barely to bottom and lightened to the edges. Cedar cassis and black fruit. Quite smooth and refined. The reverberating finish lasted and repeated. Thoroughly enjoyed over five hours and it only improved with each hour. This was excellent. — 10 months 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. — 3 years ago

K. Syrah

9.1

2017. Decanted 4+ hours. Pains me to not give one of my favorite labels a 95+, but this hot vintage is simply missing the red fruit to go with all the rustic leather and barnyard funk that makes Pegau so unique. Rich but not sure fruit is going to come around. Discounted- $50 at Wine Library, elsewhere. — 4 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 — 4 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 — 5 years ago

Marvin Liu

9.3

Decanted over 1hr, drank really well for a 29yr old wine. Paired with rack of lamb and NY steak. Starting to@like these older bordeaux. — 7 years ago

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. — 7 years ago

with S.R.Alexander

Curtis Osborn

9.4

Curtis had this 8 years ago

Jean-Francois Pelletier

9.2

Drinking perfectly now. Decanted for a short time. Typical Napa red fruit, with full body and well integrated tannins. Very soft on the palate with a long finish. — 9 years ago