First Fiddle

Benton-Lane

First Class Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Deliciously decadent, yet balanced Pinot that held up nicely with a Porterhouse steak! Ample plum, black cherry and sweet earthy notes with velvety-smooth tannins — 4 years ago

Paul liked this

Marchesi Antinori

Tignanello Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 1981

🏅 Rating 93+/100 (4,35⭐)

Tasted from magnum.

Ruby color with tawny hue showing the age. First nose has a slight touch of iron. Fruit is ripe and sweet. Vegetable scent of tomato stems suggesting presence of Cabernet Sauvignon. Sandy tannins of Sangiovese. Amazing how bottle aging makes the wine so smooth and satin.

Mostly tertiary aromas, but very well holding the age and could last for at least 5 more years without any signs of decline

Elegant expression of famous Tignanello.

1981 was outshadowed by great 1982. It was 10th anniversary vintage and is considered a very fine one.

Key oenological data:
Average sugar content of grapes at harvest 21.00%
Average total acidity of the grapes 7.80%
Alcohol content after fermentation 13.00
Average fermentation temperature 28C
Length of fermentation 13 days
Acidity of wine after malo 5.90
Ageing in 225 litre barrels 20 months
Bottle ageing in our cellars 18 months

======
I have published the article with a story of Tignanello, the emblematic SuperTuscan wine from Antinori.

\- What were the key factors of its success?
\- What makes this wine stand out from many other wines form Tuscany?

Best enjoyed with a glass of Tignanello.

Read the full article at www.stasmedvedev.lv/wine

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Instagram: @wine_talks_club
— 4 years ago

Severn and Ira liked this

Screaming Eagle

Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

My first ever "Eagle" and it delivers ! Clear 100 pointer for me - beautiful !
— 8 years ago

Dick, Stef and 5 others liked this

Silver Oak

Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Several stashed away and brought to the front of the cellar. The time is now. Slight variation from the last bottle. Olive tapenade nose at first then showing prune and raisins. Tannins still lift the profile of this wine. Bright acidity. Smoked Mushroom 🍄 complements a strong finish. — 8 years ago

Mike, Carl and 22 others liked this
Shay A

Shay A Influencer Badge Premium Badge

You told me about this on our last call and you thought it was a toss up...glad it showed well!
Matt Duncan

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How was the bouquet? The best AV's usually excel aromatically with age while losing mid-palate weight.

Domaine Jamet

Côte-Rôtie Syrah 2008

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. — 10 years ago

Martine liked this

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

An incredible complex layered Bordeaux blend, is better now than when I first experience it out of barrel. @winewatch @cheapwinefinder #WINE @Sassodoro @sociallybrenda @larrywyn — 10 years ago

Erik and Joseph liked this

First Press

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Great wine with pork or chicken — 12 years ago

Bodegas y Viñedos Vega Sicilia

Unico Ribera del Duero Tempranillo Blend 1961

Tasted blind. Dark reddish tawny. Mostly translucent. Amazing nose. Powerful. A spectrum of notes including red fruit, cola, pencil lead, black truffles, coffee, blood sausage and some dry dark soil. Animalistic. Massive fruit and structure with a long finish. Someone says "honey ham" as a note in the nose and we all agree (first ever note involving the word "ham"). This was a wine where everyone's score or appreciation greatly improved over the evening. A best ever Unico for me. (M's 60th bday 4th of 14) — 4 years ago

Josh, Jan and 14 others liked this
David L

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Quite the year to be born. Damn… Insanity tasting! Happy birthday!!!

La Rioja Alta

Reserva Viña Ardanza Rioja Tempranillo Garnacha 2012

First time we had it, a gift from a friend. Dark rubi color, black fruits and flowers on the nose, very sweet tanins and medium body. Great wine at the price point. — 4 years ago

Adriana Pagliano
with Adriana
Adriana, Severn and 2 others liked this

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

Dark ruby. Opaque. Notes of dark plums, cassis, rhubarb, tobacco. Has a green element to it. At first it’s very linear and one dimensional in the mouth but rounds out with air. Nice for the vintage. — 7 years ago

Jonathan, Brian and 7 others liked this

Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1998

At first, cassis and cherry shine on the expressive and generous nose. But soon lovely notes of treebark, licorice, forestfloor and grilled bell-pepper add in.
Slightly slender and feminine on the mid-palate, this wine could use some more flesh and stuffing.
Wine definately scores on the nose!
— 8 years ago

Dick, Stef and 6 others liked this

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2006

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. — 9 years ago

Harlan Estate

Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend 1990

The first vintage release from Harlan estate. Now I can say I have been lucky to try every vintage of this wine. Long finish, with a lot less of a ripe attack than anticipated. Long life ahead of this wine made in a different era in napa. #timetraveling — 10 years ago

Drew, Maxence and 8 others liked this
Jason Heller

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Have you had the 1987-1989?
Marty Winters

Marty Winters Influencer Badge

@Jason Heller I have had the 89 but no 88 or 87 yet.

Parker Coonawarra Estate

Terra Rossa First Growth Red Bordeaux Blend 1996

Jason
9.8

Ethereal genius from the old stalwart — 12 years ago

Jamie liked this

Domaine du Pegau

Cuvée Réservé Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 2018

One of the few producers that I purchase each and every vintage. I find that Laurence Feraud’s wines are consistently some of the more interesting and enjoyable wines made in all of Chateauneuf du Pape; particularly when value comes into play. This bottle is my first experience with her 2018 vintage and the first bottle of a small tranche that I swooped up upon release. Popped and poured; consumed over 5 hours. The color is deep ruby with a near opaque core; glossy and gorgeous to behold. Medium+ viscosity. On the nose, this is classic Pegaü with loads of dark cherry and bramble fruit, a veritable hillside full of garrigue, lavender, black pepper, and something that reminds me of old books. On that palate, the fruit is equally generous, brambles and cherries, exotic spices, Herbs de Provence and a somewhat sanguine-like character to it. Substantial structure, though it seems to be a notch lower than the previous three vintages at this point in its young life. The tannins are very sneaky. Almost imperceptible for the first hour and yet, by hour four, they were very much making themselves known (in the Medium+ range). Acid is also Medium+ indicating these have an exciting life ahead. The finish lasts for well over a minute. All in all, another lovely Pegaü that will likely live in the shadow of some of the more heralded vintages in the last ten years however, that doesn’t mean this isn’t a stunner. Absolutely lovely stuff and I very much look forward to enjoying these well into the 2030’s. — 4 years ago

Ira, Ely and 16 others liked this

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

Artemis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Mike R
9.0

Road wine so ease off me please and I usually enjoy stag leap but last night so so

First off o smiled but because I drank entire bottle

Color was fine smell was aromatic but from there the other things were off

Taste was not what I expected as was too much heat and alcohol and finish was weak

Sadly I have a few and will be handing off as gifts to people I really don't know when needed - sorry to al future gift receivers
— 8 years ago

Mike, Jonathan and 38 others liked this
Weijie Shi (Jay)

Weijie Shi (Jay) Influencer Badge

Agree. Got some heat attack as well last time I tried it.

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend

This lost the papal battle due to jamminess but it was the first indication of greatness for this 2000 vintage — 9 years ago

Anthony, David and 1 other liked this
David Mayfield

David Mayfield Influencer Badge

99s are much more to my liking than 00s--I agree with you. Too ripe.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin

Yellow Label Brut Champagne Blend

Look what we found in our cellar and cupboards before we left. Veuve (not Grande Dame) in plastic flutes (not crystal), caviar (not Beluga), and a huge hunk of smoked salmon (not King). We're on a tight budget, but we're celebrating our RTW departure with the view of Vancouver in the background. This is the first bit of time to relax that we've had in a month and we're still trying to do it with a little style. — 9 years ago

Brian, Hermes and 7 others liked this
Dan Fredman

Dan Fredman Influencer Badge

Context is everything..

The Prisoner Wine Company

The Prisoner Napa Valley Zinfandel Blend

Needs to breathe a bit at first, but drinks well. Tastes more expensive than it is. Good red! — 12 years ago