First Class

Krug

Grande Cuvée Brut Champagne Blend

First edition, blend of 1967-1981, very fresh — a month ago

Michiel, Jan and 12 others liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

1989 vintage. Tasted 5.5.23 (9.5), 4.4.23 (6 different btls-avg 9.4) and 12.9.22 (9.6). Above average fill for the age and impressive cork (about 70% saturated). Decanted and tasted over the course of two hours. Threw a decent amount of powdery sed. Medium nose slightly muted for the first 10 minutes or so but then came roaring to life. Yes, still the hallmark blueberries and cocoa powder along with a dash of raspberry but bigg graphite with this bottle. Drank consistently great for 1.75 hours, then seemed to lose a little steam at the very end. Not improving but still think cellar dwellers need to be popped in the next five years to enjoy the magic before it fades. 3.28.24. — 2 months ago

Andrew, Paul and 16 others liked this

Silver Oak

Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

Yeah, what can I say. Nice wine for sure, but for some reason when I see the Silver Oak label my expectations rise. Realizing this is the Alexander Valley version. But 2011! Thirteen years old. Still rather single note, strong oak tannins still overshadowed what maybe underneath it. A bit disappointed I am afraid. We pulled it out with my first ever Tomahawk ribeye… so yeah. — 4 months ago

Tammy de Weerd
with Tammy
Ted, Skip and 2 others liked this

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2010

This should cellar longer. Maybe another 5 yrs before I try again. Decanted over 3 hrs. Tight in first hour. It needs a lot air now. Many layers and complex fruit. It lingers. Meaty after taste. Dark fruit. Earthy. I liked it very much and look forward to the next one. — 20 days ago

Tom, Tom and 23 others liked this

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2019

First time tasting the ‘19 vintage, and the Produttori edged out one of my fave under the radar barolistas this early on. Maybe because it released sooner? Both red fruited with sour cherries and elegant tamed tannin/acid, but the Produttori had another gear of sweet incense and hard candy. The vintage does remind me of a more approachable’13 from a tannin perspective. — 2 months ago

Lyle, Serge and 17 others liked this
Jay Kline

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I feel like Giacomo Fenocchio’s single vineyard Barolos need a lot of time (although Villero is usually a bit more approachable young)
Jae Cho

Jae Cho Influencer Badge

@Jay Kline yep, agree 100%. I have a few to lay down but I usually open one at release to see how many I want to buy.

First Drop Wines

Mother's Milk Shiraz 2021

Lovely red and black fruits in this Barossa Shiraz, nice depth and complexity, medium-long finish, just a touch of heat in the finish, very good. — 3 months ago

Jim Powers
with Jim
Ira, Severn and 4 others liked this

Louis Roederer

Cristal Brut Champagne Chardonnay Pinot Noir Blend 2002

Medium lemon yellow , persistent fine perlage . At first quite shy , needs a bit of time to get going . Then buttered pastry , confit lemon and roast nuts , quite bold and rich , just a hint of chalky minerality . On the palate the richer , deeper theme continues , those pastry and buttery notes , confit lemon and a creamy mouthfeel . Long balanced finish , the chalky acidity really helping to cut through richer , mouth filling profile . Coming back to this at the end of the meal , having sat 6 hours in the glass , this still shows remarkable freshness and life. This seems young to me still , certainly has everything for a long life ahead , better in 5 years perhaps and will show well a further 10-15 perhaps . — a month ago

Jeroen, Andrew and 15 others liked this

Château Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2011

I have favoured Haut-Brion in blind tastings before, but not this time. This is not the most praised vintage by any means but still. Haut-Brion still comes with some expectations. It’s solid and well made, but fairly closed. There are of course signs of class and aristocracy shining through but too underwhelming at this occasion. — 3 months ago

Andrew, Fabian and 3 others liked this