Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1998 vintage. Cork a little dry near the bottom so called out the Durand for a rescue. Less meniscus than expected. Dusty, earthy nose. Medium body. Heaps of allspice/sandalwood, prunes and baking chocolate hovering about in the medicinal/oily nose and (mostly) in the flavor profile. Ridiculously reminiscent of an aged (‘80’s-‘90’s) Branaire-Ducru St. Julien BDX. So much so that, if blind tasting, that is the guess. This is gliding along. No highs or lows to navigate currently. Not a showstopper by any means but one helluva ringer in a blind tasting. Some bretty influences here and there but nothing warranting a red card/dq. Picked up slightly more body and a noticeable cinnamon/clove note on the finish after being open for an hour. Also...some muddiness along with a sudden frontal-palate richness (at the 1.5 hours open mark) reminiscent of Petit Verdot involvement/influence. WTF?!?! Bring it! 4.21.24. — 2 years ago

Andrew Lohse

9.0

Gorgeous richness. Great QPR. — 3 years ago

TheSkip

9.1

Excellent value — 3 years ago

Joe DAscoli

9.3

Corked shredded and didn’t have my Durand. Mess. Wine decanted almost 2 hours and oxygenated. Dense and super full bodied. Really needed food and the Wagyu tomahawks were perfect. Very excited to be collecting these now — 5 years ago

Matt Waring

9.1

Intense, but lithe and perfectly balanced blue and black fruit. A+ cru Beauj — 5 years ago

with Christine

Eric Arnstein

9.0

Blackberry Gusher up front, with an arid wavy breeze to hang on as you wind sail off into the sunset. — 6 years ago

Steve S

9.2

Dried apricot and white prunes, honey, almonds/hazelnuts. Really fun. With Marco and Tim. — 6 years ago

Yoshinori Tsukuda

9.0

RP 92 points — 7 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

1982 vintage. Great, upper shoulder fill. Long, aging cork fully saturated but removed with a Durand. Splintered a little upon removal. Decanted and threw less sed than expected. Decaying leather, cedar, hot gravel and lightly roasted button mushrooms in the nose. Light-medium/medium body. All this + some undying cherry and plum flavors mixed in amongst remaining tannins. More thrust and fruit than anticipated with expected structure firmly in place. Really beautiful specimen. Based on this bottle, can hold steady without dropoff for another 4-5 years. 1.12.24. — 2 years ago

Pooneet K

9.3

Final holiday season bottle. Our last bottle of the 97. What a wine. This bottle was probably slightly below the one we had last year but obviously still such a treat. Only 12.9% - love it! Cork broke but the Durand saved it. Dark fruit aromatics are off the charts. Doesn’t have the stinky leather of a top Bordeaux, but still obviously in the same family. Wonderful pairing with some tenderloin with a mushroom sauce. Finish is very long and though it doesn’t have the refreshing quality of the last bottle we had still delicious.

Pulled a bottle of 09 as well and need to decide when to drink it. — 3 years ago

Paul T HB

9.4

Still plenty of life left, but use the Durand
K&L notes as follows, it is better than their 2000! We have been following the property for the last five years and we think it is on a great track with their new releases, but try this 20+ yr old beauty. It is elegant and has a long, lingering finish. Smokey, toasty aromas, tons of cassis fruit on the palate. In a blind tasting at K&L (January 2019), one of our top Bordeaux staff thought it was a first growth Pauillac from the 80s. A steal at this price.
Drink from 2019 to 2022 — 4 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.0

Goodness the value of a value Merlot based bottle of tastiness. Purpley it is. But it isn’t just purple drapes, there is a pot of hot spiced tea bubbling and someone is puffing a cigar just outside the window. Where are you looking to through this wine window? At your friends. Wearing purple masks but they are there for you. — 5 years ago

George Hesse

9.0

This is much better than yesterday’s SB. I would get again. — 6 years ago

Lars Miller

9.4

Graphite, black peppercorn, and deep dark fruit note on the nose. After opening, a definite barnyard note with fruit undertones. A very different type of syrah, unadulterated and no tricks in the making of it. Quite nice! — 6 years ago

Jonathan Glazer

9.0

This is a delicious, crisp and light wine. — 7 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1978 vintage. Great fill with a fully saturated cork. Used a Durand to remove and cork held up but big cork splinters shedding upon removal. Decanted and tasted over the course of an hour. Super silky, not chunky, sed. Light-medium body. Had to coax the nose out a little but revealed cassis, tobacco, dark plum, sandalwood and cherry pits. All these plus a slight, beef broth touch in the flavors. Not improving but can sustain another half-decade in this incarnation. Gorgeous, old BDX. Drink now till 2029. 12.8.23. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

This bottle of 1976 Chateau Lafite Rothschild was cellared in a wine cave part of its life and a modern cellar the more recent part of its life. The fill for this bottle was mid-shoulder and the label had been tattered from back when it was in the cave. Using a Durand, I was able to pull the cork intact and it was saturated but seemed to have done its job. The color was good and the wine was sound; in fact, it was very much alive and full of character! Opened about four hours prior to service and decanted for sediment (of which there was plenty). No formal notes. At this stage in its life, the 1976 Lafite pours a garnet color with an orange rim. The nose is straight up old-money. Classy aromas of desiccated red cherries & red currants, dried tobacco leaf, graphite, a mix of organic and inorganic earth, leather and dried baking spices. On the palate, the structure was still quite palpable with tannins till present and acid doing its job with aplomb. Confirming the notes on the nose. The finish is long and graceful with some nice stoney minerals. Drink now but well cellared examples could hold longer if you wanted…but if you’re even thinking about it, just open it! — 2 years ago

Chris Bensick

8.9

Last of the ‘75s. Mid-shoulder. Mature but not over the hill. Well, maybe starting a gentle decline. Another triumph for the Durand corkscrew. — 4 years ago

Shay A

9.7

WNH virtual Insignia Tasting. Vintages featured were ‘95, ‘96, ‘00, ‘01, ‘02, ‘09, ‘13 and ‘14.

This was the Wine Spectator wine of the year and received a 100 point score from Wine Advocate (for those interested in accolades and scores).

Knowing the pedigree here, I knew to expect some fireworks and tried to prepare accordingly. I gave this 24hrs upright after pulling from the cellar, and then decanted about 90mins, before consuming from the decanter over the course of the evening. The cork came out perfectly via the Durand and had absolutely zero seepage up the cork. My glass of choice was the new Glasvin Expression. Really like their glasses.

My first sip after opening had me looking at my wife saying “this is 18yrs old and is insanely youthful”. When hearing from my friends about their mid/late ‘90s, and for the ‘01, those offerings had basically zero merlot. The ‘00 had a similar amount to this (14%), and I think that component really elevated this to a more “elegant” style. The oak here comes across as a mix of French and American (though it’s all French)...the oak has such a distinct sweet note to it that I associate with American oak on Cali wines, yet isn’t full on coconut. Aromatically, it’s a beautiful display of cherry tobacco, black cherry cordial, violets, and elevated heady notes of black cherry pie. On the palate, there is creme de cassis, espresso, cocoa powder and mellowed red fruit before a finish that has surprisingly grippy tannin. This drinks like a bigger style left bank Bordeaux with how wonderfully integrated it is. Zero chance I’d call this 18yr old Napa cab if tasting blind. This easily has 5+yrs in this drinking window, and another 5-10 in the next evolution journey before really starting to slide. If opening now, decant 1-2hrs. One of the best expressions of aged Napa cab I’ve had this year. — 5 years ago

Charlie Evans

9.3

This was the red made from Grenache, Carignan, and Mourvèdre in Faugeres. This is a collab from Alex Durand. Wildly delicious wine. — 6 years ago