Fill into the neck and beautiful cork. Not as compelling asa 1978 or 1984 a couple of years back, but still a marvelous example of aged Cali Cab. Remarkable to me that there were about 3,000 cases each year. Hard to pick a winner in the first Cab flight. All showed well for their age - a really fun flight. — 7 years ago
Crazy good paired with dipping into gamba al ajillo (emphasis added), at Napa's groovy/real Zuzu, catching a classic deeply dirty nose while still sporting sun-drenched fruit that initially reworks one's first blush front mouth with an iodine edge that morfs into red and black fruit edgy with acid/tannin slow dancing to the depths and begging for another pinch of broth soaked chewy freshly baked bread and the associated next swig of this sweet juice...rhythmically stellar by day or by night😎🌌👣🍷🌀🎼
PS hit Zuzu (friendly, delicious and real...
— 11 years ago
Not my first bottle from this case... This one is not the best, but is still good. Herbal menthol nose subtle berries, nice acid. — 11 years ago
Ethereal genius from the old stalwart — 13 years ago
Had friends over for lunch on Saturday and had a match off with this 1997 Dominus with a 1997 Wynns John Riddoch - both from magnum. This Dominus I first tried at TriBeCa Grill in New York about 8 years ago and it was a wow wine for me. In fact the best Cabernet I had ever had outside of Bordeaux. No detailed notes but this was more savoury and less fruit driven than I remember. The consensus around the table was in favour of the Riddoch with me as the sole vote for the Dominus. No detailed tasting notes. — 7 years ago
Lättfotat och förföriskt vätskgodis. Omogna hallon. Småpartierna på systemet. — 8 years ago
Drank this over the course of 6 days using Coravin...still too young, but the wine really opened up by the last day. Smells and tastes like a Grand Bordeaux St. Julien wine as it should. I used to this wine to test the Coravin. It is clear that oxidation starts right after the first pour. — 10 years ago
First time tasting Jamet. Nice deepness on this hard vintage. Hints of smoky lard, cumin and pepper with a touch of flower. Ready to drink. — 11 years ago
Needed decanting as it was hard as nails when first opened. Great balance of fruit and acidity with tannins quite pronounced. Beautiful with assorted pastas at Collichio & Sons — 11 years ago
Um yeah... #BOOM status granted for this at the #yulwinethrowdown . 81 not the best of vintages and wines are reportedly past peak but this first growth was not. Very interesting flavour profile, certainly secondary characteristics but structurally still pretty sound. I was glad to find it still alive and in my opinion had many more years left before the big decline. Awesome privilege to have tasted. — 11 years ago
Needs to breathe a bit at first, but drinks well. Tastes more expensive than it is. Good red! — 13 years ago
The 1990 Cristal is remarkable. Polished, nuanced and light on its feet, the 1990 is all class. Citrus, orchard fruit and floral notes are wonderfully lifted throughout. A slight reductive note adds character on the finely knit finish. I can’t think of a better way to start this tasting. Simply put, the 1990 is a total rock star. Moreover, it is much more delicate than most wines from this ripe vintage. Amazingly, the 1990 tastes like it is still not ready! “Nineteen ninety was my second vintage here,” says Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. “It was ideal. The fruit was just perfect. We blocked the malolactic fermentation completely and only fermented 6-7% of our lots in oak, as opposed to the more typical 20%, in order to preserve as much freshness as possible. The wine was made by my predecessor, Michel Pansu, but I was learning. This was the first year I started working with oxygen by reducing sulfites in vinification to pre-oxidize the Chardonnay musts, as I do know, which allows me to get rid of all the unstable, oxidative compounds. With Pinot, on the other hand, you need a little bit of sulfur at crush or you lose the brilliant fruit. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, December 2018) — 7 years ago
First off. You have heard about decanting.... This is a great example. Open and it tastes flat, give it time to breath and the flavors come out. The nose has a nice oak, smokey texture. Taste has a predominant black cherry flavor with nice ripe fruit flavors. Oak remains throughout the taste from start to finish with american oak flavors. An almost cigar smokiness hits immediately with a slight spice....not sure where to compare this to because it's not like a Zinfandel pepper, but more like an allspice. The overall feel is medium bodied with rich cherry flavors and well balanced for a smooth feel. This is a great introduction to Stags Leap without spending $150. — 11 years ago
Great wine with pork or chicken — 13 years ago
B
1997 Spottswoode Cabernet. Opened and poured. Served with burgers and homemade fries. A little flat with a sharp finish at first. Not sure if it might have been stored incorrectly. However, it opened up as we ate and all that unpleasantness blew off. Blackberries, blueberries, cassis, vanilla, leather, spices. Should have decanted before serving. — 6 years ago