Donald Williams

9.5

Always a really nice wine at a great price. — 4 years ago

with Bonnie

Chris England

9.2

Fab 27yr Old Rioja @ £62 drinking like a Burgundy & perfect in a Zalto Burg glass

🏵 92 points

🍷 Garnet cherry w/ brown hue

👃 Leather & balsamic infused mulched spiced cherry w/ soft smoked oak, sherry, wet earth, cocoa, red berry, herbs & gooey date jam

👄 Med smooth, touch tart, red cherry & berry bathed in balsamic w/ a mocha touch

🎯 Med+ touch dry oaky driven red cherry & berry fruits w/ an earthy balsamic caramel figgy linger — 8 years ago

Chris MacLean

9.2

Showing a touch of integrated wood and lots of big black cherry fruit, with good persistence and a nice dry finish. Excellent now but should be better in 2-3 more years. — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

The nose on this wine is stunning baring the alcohol heat. Perfumed red florals and candied dark and lighter red fruits. While the wine is truly elegant, the alcohol is seriously burning the back of my throat. The bottle reads 14.1 but I think over 15 degrees. Maybe, they wanted to save on the higher alcohol tax. The wine starts so beautifully only to burn the back of my throat. The fruits are ripe, elegant and beautifully soft. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, raspberries, faint back palate of strawberries, sweet/soft leather, black licorice, violets & roses, rich delicate & sweet wet black earth, soft light baking spices, caramel, milk chocolate, figs & dates, amazingly sweet dark minerals, touch of black tar, touch of spice and a rich long elegant dark fruit liqueur finish. I would score this wine higher if it didn't punish my palate and throat with the burning alcohol finish. — 10 years ago

Lauren Fowler

9.4

Just beautiful. A touch of American oak. Vanilla. Perfect companion for Christmas dinner. — 10 years ago

Justin Ennis

10

This is the 1985 Napa Cab and was tasted out of 5 liter. This wine was excellent! Herbal notes with a touch of saddle. I was so surprised by how much red fruit was on the pallet with a wine this old! Amazing! — 11 years ago

Jonathan Lipsmeyer

9.5

This differs from the 07-09s in that it has an intriguing green aroma (bay leaf? Menthol? Geranium? Some strange stalky pollen?) and seems just a touch hotter at 13%, but my beloved skunky Black Forest wine is here and this is just gorgeous. Pomegranate and cranberry. Lacks just a tiny bit of heft on the finish to be truly stratospheric. — 12 years ago

Bruce Leboff

9.4

Excellent wine. Some hint of cherry and sandalwood on the nose. Touch of herbs as well. Nice and well balanced on the palate with a super long finish! Gracias #riojalta I will wait on the rest of the case to see it evolve. ! — 6 years ago

with David

Chris England

9.5

Grabbed @ £125 in Selfridges for Mrs Es birthday hotel room night slouch cap 😁 even bough a decanter to decant 🤣 great but will show better w/ age 😉

🍷 Opaque ruby

👃 Peppered cherry pie, a treacle raspberry bakewell tart tone & cocoa sprinkles w/ a light earthy dry cured meat herby smokey oak backbone & black berry fruits

👄 Med+ bodied dark cherry & raspberry chocolate pie w/ fine dry tannins & a blackberry undertone

🎯 Med+ touch dry dark cherry & raspberry chocy licky lips w/ a dark fruit linger — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Bruised golden apple, pineapple, golden raisins, ginger ale, brioche, citrus blend, touch of honey, yellow lilies, quince, orange peel, nut skin, toffee, brilliant acidity, chalkiness and rich long finish. — 9 years ago

Christanna Honer

10

Can't say enough about the depth and complexity. Brûlée, dulce de leche, saffron, cumin, cashews, touch of coconut, kaffir, ginger. Silence-inducing on the palate.

This is perfect. — 10 years ago

Cody Short

9.2

Drinking really well. Wonderful notes of tobacco, lead pencil, earthy and a touch of bell pepper. — 10 years ago

Kyo Jin

9.3

Thought this would be a bit lean, but pleasantly proved otherwise. Still very full fruit with a touch greenness. — 11 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.5

1998 vintage. Earthy and roasted almond. Ripe lemon rind. Full bodied. Rich mouth feel. Mocha. Acidity not overbearing - touch light? Long concentrated finish. Excellent — 11 years ago

Todd Stone

9.2

Very good Rosé champagne. Not as Brut as a typical white version- has a touch of sweetness but still dry. Very smooth, softer bubbles, strawberries & maybe even raspberries. — 6 years ago

with Gordon and Peggy

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

When it comes to my B-day, there is only one fit, an old Pichon Lalande with my Ribeye. As a lover of Bordeaux, these two are my favorite pairing. It’s a very slow walk to the finishline. A small bite of steak and a sip of 89 Pichon Lalande. Then, repeat until finished. I had some concerns about this bottle. A slightly slippery and crumbling cork. The first sip was not bad, but not what you want or are expecting. After some time in the decanter, it really started to shine. On the nose; ripe, ruby, floral cassis, blackberries, dark sweet & sour cherries, baked strawberries, blue fruit hues, dry cranberries, baked rhubarb, saddlewood, soft, used leather, bay leaf, touch of sage, hint of spearmint, eucalyptus, vanilla, cinnamon, crushed dry crushed rock powder, black turned earth, dry brown soil with clay, tobacco leaf and perfumed red florals with violets. The body is full, round and silky. Tannins are well resolved at around 80%. The texture, length, tension and length are in a sweet spot. The fruits are ripe, ruby & expressively floral. Blackberries, dark sweet & sour cherries, baked strawberries, blue fruit hues, dry cranberries, baked rhubarb, saddlewood, soft, used leather, bay leaf, touch of sage, hint of spearmint, eucalyptus, vanilla, cinnamon, crushed dry crushed rock powder, black turned earth, dry brown soil with clay, scorched earth, tobacco leaf and perfumed red florals with violets. The acidity is just a little off but still nice. The finish is divided nearly equally in fruit, earth, florals and herbaceous. It’s very enjoyable but falls just a little short in longer, lingering length. This bottle had good storage, not great. Even so, still has another three to five years ahead. A bottle with excellent storage has another five years beyond this one. Photos of; the backside of Pichon Lalande, angled terrace view of their vines right next to Latour, my steak & twice baked potato (so good) and CEO Nicolas Glumineau. — 8 years ago

Joyce Lin

8.9

Purple/red flower on the nose, candied cherry, tiny touch of black pepper, thyme, mint, cinnamon, nutmeg, medium plus tannin, a touch of tobacco, cocoa powder, beautiful and velvety. A very nice Chinon. Had pasta asparagus/mushroom pasta with anchovy garlic butter sauce with it. It's a wonderful pairing. — 10 years ago

Kristi

9.0

A touch of brett added intrigue without needing to dump the bottle. Otherwise the wine shows like many Bordeaux. Albeit with napa fruit. — 10 years ago

Jay Svoboda

8.9

I'm going to come clean, I'm not a huge Caymus fan. It's by no means a bad wine - far from it - but I've always felt they blend their Cab with too much Zin. I could be wrong on that account, but I don't think I am. Still, a nice brooding nose of dark red and blue fruit, with a touch of candied fruit and wet earth. — 11 years ago

Francis Wilden

Director Francis Wilden Food & Wine Consulting

9.0

2009: quite dense appearance; ripe black / red fruit w a faint touch of horse hair (Brett ); generously proportioned attack of ripe red and black fruit, leads onto medium weight palate which finishes fruitfully but without the verve of a "classic" vintage. A satisfying and quite delicious drink without being memorable. A lot of 09 burgundies would fit these descriptors. — 11 years ago