Marcus Pollack

9.5

Very peaty, campfire smoke hits the nose immediately. There’s a hint of raisin and some tar, then a long saline finish. One of the best Islay’s I’ve had. It is a beast; consider yourself warned if you prefer a lighter or fruitier flavor profile. — 7 years ago

Eric Breece

9.5

That is not a typo, limited release of Ardbeg. Very boggy. :) — 8 years ago

Olav Sa

9.5

End of bottle... — 8 years ago

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9.4

Beautiful. Right in the middle between youthful fruitiness and mature tertiary development, showing some elements of both. Delightfully perfumed on the nose, full in the mouth, and smooth on the finish. A real treat. — 9 years ago

Erik Nordman

9.6

Drank BTG out of double magnum for #largeformatfriday at Tilia. Absolutely outstanding. SO aromatic. All the elements of this wine have damn near perfectly integrated together after 20 years. Acid and tannin in near perfect harmony, both intense but yet so refined and balanced. Singing with fig, dried cherry, tar, star anise, clove, and dried rose and violet petals. Stunning. — 9 years ago

TJ Maxwell

9.4

Robert Mondavi Napa Reserve Cab 1977. Third time's a charm! Deep garnet color with earthy/mushroom black fruit nose. Classic 70's era Napa cab. Crisp, Bright fruit, touch of dust, w/ leafy elements rolled in. — 10 years ago

Eric Elkin

9.2

Really good Pinot. Sweet and sour cherry, minerality and a bit of roundness that makes it so appealing. — 10 years ago

Jeff Adams

9.5

Total joy after 17 years. Delicious and seamless unification of all elements. — 10 years ago

James Pendergrass

9.6

Super Tuscan at its finest. Cab elements were in the forefront and the other varietals were a strong supporting cast. Lots of $$$ but worth it at least once or twice. Especially vs Antinori... — 11 years ago

Deborah Heath

9.6

Islay flight #2: Kilchoman Machir Bay. From Islay's newest distillery. Heady convergence of peat, flowers, fresh mown grass — 11 years ago

Luca Felici

9.7

Great blend of scotch whisky from Caol Ila: smokey and fruity, soooo good! — 12 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.4

Color of black tea. Nose is peaty, fermented grains, spices, and some ripe fruit note. Taste follows similar notes with addition of sweet caramel. Aftertaste is some more salty mineral and baked apple. Flavors are right to the point with decent concentration. — 7 years ago

Matt

9.2

Showing great. Tannins could use some resolve but aromatically the oak is starting to seep in. Still a rustic charm that Guillemot always has that I love. Impressed by the dark fruit this possessed, black raspberry, black cherry, red blood orange. Savory elements like fennel, forest floor, sweet tobacco starting to pop up. Great glimpse of where it's headed. — 8 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.3

Tasted side by side with the 2013 Lineage. Tough battle but bottle age has definitely helped this bottling. Mix of deep garnet and ruby red. Straight from opening there were lots of savory elements mixed in with red and black berries. Some floral notes too like roses. As it opened up over the two hour period there was petroleum, dark cocoa and cinnamon. Over the evening, additional notes of dark ripe fruits and even more spices, even slightly savory ones. So balanced for how young this is. Started out with heavy tannins (8/10) but mellowed and rounded out to a solid moderate tannins (6.5/10) over the two and a half hour decant. Rounded medium plus body that will develop further with time. Started off with some darker cherries and light greenery with a bit of leather. Even a bit of spices. Great acidity giving this strong backbone and a semi-dry long finish. This will be singing given another five years and drink will over the next twelve. Tons of potential and very surprised by this caliber of wine coming out of Livermore Valley. Great job Steven! — 9 years ago

with Sean and India

Joe Hanko

9.5

Five years of oaky peatiness, finished with 7 months of close-"quarter"ed casking, I love it. — 9 years ago

Gabriel Vaughan

9.5

This is, in my humble opinion, simply one of the greatest scotches sold today that I have ever tasted. I kept some peated barley from the distillery for years after my visit and the remarkable smokiness from those grains lasted for years. — 10 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.5

1958 Giacomo Conterno Monfortino: from Jay. This was the Ying to the Mascarello's Yang. Lovely rich ruby colour with virtually no bricking on the edge. The nose developed over the course of 15 to 20 mins in the glass. Unlike the Mascarello that was shedding perfume from the moment it hit the glass, the Monfortino needed more air before becoming less brooding. Dark fruits on the nose. Purple plums, black cherries, some forest floor, light tobacco as well as some floral elements prevailed. The palette was a reflection of the nose so no surprises. The fruit was far from dried out and this particular bottle still had plenty of life left in it but from my recent experience this is the exception rather than the rule. I have had around 10 bottles of old Monfortino ('55 / '58 / and '61) over the last year and the bottle variation, as you would expect, is tremendous with the majority of them past their prime. The finish was strong and in keeping with the rest of the package with reasonable length and quality. Drink now. 95/100.

— 10 years ago

Barry Wiss, CWE, CSS

9.7

One of the Kings in the gin world. Great handcrafted gin from Islay. Make sure to use a tonic which is worthy. — 11 years ago

Adam Jesberger

10

Incredible. Beyond amazing. Porty elements with a cake, whipped cream chocolate icing type of nose and flavor profile. Raisins, dates and figs come to mind with chocolate cake on the palate. Long finish. Hands down best wine I've had from Australia. Seriously though, this smelled like chocolate icing. Beyond delicious. — 11 years ago

Nereida Morales

9.6

Favourite scotch. Perfect balance of smokiness and spice. Outstanding! — 12 years ago

Jean-Francois Pelletier

9.6

Garnet color. Intense nose of red fruits, spice, sous-bois and earth. The nose is just haunting. Palate is all about finesse, with all the elements fitting together beautifully. Soft red fruits backed by a great acidity and tension and an incredibly long finish. What a treat. — 8 years ago

with Frankie

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

In every difficult vintage, anywhere, you will find producers that make exceptional wines. This 91 Palmer is such a wine. I have to thank Clyde Beffa owner of K&L Wine Merchants who has been traveling to Bordeaux for 35+ years for highly recommending two 91 Bordeaux's to me. The 91 Pichon Lalande; which he described as "heavenly." It's just the word I would have used to described it 5 or 6 years ago. Also, this 91 Palmer. He described as, "​I love it-soft and silky." I would strongly agree. You see, critics gave the 91 vintage a horrific review as a whole. Bordeaux had two frosts in April and a cold growing season. These elements didn't prevent either of these producers from making beautifully elegant 1991 wines. I have said it many times and will say it again, taste wines even in difficult vintages. You'll find value and some excellent wines. As for this 91, it's in perfect form. Excellent on it's own and even better with the ribeye. It's so elegant, smooth, beautiful, ripe and well balanced with earth & fruit. The fruits are slightly stewed & baked. Blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, touch of rhubarb, cherries, strawberries. Dried florals, used leather, tobacco with ash, slight vegetal quality, anise, not too sweet black cherry licorice/cola, figs, dark earth with crushed rocks, dry stones, underbrush, understated spice and perfect acidity that drips over the palate. The length, structure, balance and finish are in perfect harmony & the finish goes on and on and on. As many times as we've been to Bordeaux, we never get tired of the drive on the D-2 through Margaux and Pauillac. Chateau Margaux & Palmer stand side by side in beautiful prodigious history to say nothing of Baron Pichon & Pichon Lalande. Every year, for my B-day, I have a great steak and an old Bordeaux. It just doesn't get any better than that. And as many of those nights I've had, B-day or not, this might have been the best. Perhaps topping or equaling the Ribcap at Bourbon Steak and the 91 Pichon Lalande. To quote Gary Westby, "it steak and claret night." 12% alcohol is so much more enjoyable than 15% plus. ❤🍷🎉🎂 — 8 years ago

with Gary

Christine Havens

9.4

In the immortal words of Hot Chocolate, "I believe in miracles, since you came along, you sexy thing." Pahlmeyer's 2012 Proprietary Blend is all that and more, delivering dense, hovering aromatics of smokey blueberry, sweet tobacco, sooty ash and vanilla bean. It's equally hedonistic in the mouth, a Bordeaux-style blend that is both glossy and luminous. Dense cream and blackberry notes build in intensity until at last, it reaches a finish that picks up trace elements of minerality and dried herbs. Sample — 9 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

9.7

Blowing up in all the right ways... Too bad @Doug Burress isn't here to be consumed in the flaming peat with me. This is a huge dram of sweet iodine and boggy goodness! — 10 years ago

Keith Parker

9.1

Tried at an Italian restaurant and very pleased. Great bouquet with hints of oak, chocolate and blackberry. Great finish — 11 years ago

Barry Wiss, CWE, CSS

9.6

The only islay whisky of the evening. My first time trying this one and this is now a favorite. Very elegant style and one of the less peaty and smoky Islays. — 11 years ago

Eric Breece

8.9

End of a nice unpeated Islay. Almost no smoke and smooth start to finish. — 12 years ago

Deanna D

9.3

Briney, salty and of the ocean with a smokey finish — 12 years ago