Pooneet K

9.3

Beautiful, beautiful wine. The last 96 we had was maybe a smidge more together but it’s marginal. Quite dark in the glass. Deep restrained red fruit on the nose. Tannins are slightly dusty but overall very seamless. Excellent refreshing acid. Perfect with a dry aged strip steak. — 6 years ago

Leslie Bartos

9.7

Wow! It’s been several years since our last bottle and it was worth the wait. Happy to have 4 more! Delicious fruit with plenty of brightness. Wonderfully balanced. — 7 years ago

with Tony

Conrad Green

9.8

A treat. Dark in color, slightly cloudy. A powerful nose with dark, very mouton fruit. Incredibly aromatic, blackcurrant, mint,graphite, dried herbs, eucalyptus. The palate is extraordinary. So dense and powerful for a wine of almost 70 years. Dark fruit with a savory undertow- leather, thyme, sour cherry, dark chocolate. Really precise flavors and long. After an hour or two in glass there’s notes of coconut and soft wood. Extraordinary. Clearly there’s a lot of age on this but the sheer quality makes for a really dynamic wine. An exceptional bottle, and a teal treat. — 8 years ago

with Howard, Tony and 1 other

Bill Bender

9.6

This was just a blockbuster--lavender and pencil lead burst from the glass and warm blue and red fruit follow. Impressive precision and length. Lush, silky and just plain gorgeous. — 9 years ago

with Michael and romo

Jason Chang

Proprietor NINE SUNS Winery, HOUYI Vineyard

9.3

I feel as if this would be amazing if not following the Rayas. Great nose but pretty wound up and tight still. Didn't open up much after being in glass an hour. Need to revisit. — 10 years ago

with Wai, Chris and 2 others

Michael Mugmon

9.4

With homemade pesto and fresh garbanzos. — 10 years ago

Nichole Mao

9.0

Dark berries, cherry, dried herb,
Same palate as nose, cigar box, coffee, high tannin, high but well balanced tannin, full body — 11 years ago

Jon Ruyle

9.1

Oh, happy! — 11 years ago

Patrick Knöfler

8.9

The wine was medium to dark garnet in colour. On day one it offered red fruit, cherry, balsamic vinegar, cola, leather, mushroom, earthy and vegetal notes and a wet sewer component on the nose. On the palate the the wine showed red fruit, cherry, blackberry, tobacco and earthy notes, the acidity was quite pronounced, the wine became slightly drying and even more acidic after some time in the glass, and the fruit faded a bit. Two days later, on day three, the medium-bodied wine was more balanced and showed red and dark fruit, some chocolate, some tobacco, spices and earthy notes on the nose, and red fruit, cherry, leather, tobacco, earthy and balsamic notes on the palate, with just a faint touch of greenness, paired with medium-plus well-integrated tannin, medium-plus acidity and very good length. I had almost written-off the wine on day one and then, surprisingly, it showed much better the third day. Holding-up well. 90 — 12 years ago

Jocelyn Yard

9.9

Liquid perfection and shockingly drinkable straight out of the bottle. Didn’t need to decant — 6 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Last night in MT at the lake. Gave this several hours of air. Nice dark tawny color. Vibrant in the glass. The nose is great right away and stayed on point through the evening. Notes of black cherries, warm raspberries, old cedar, some plums and a little leather saddle. Rich and silky in the mouth. Velvet glove. Long finish. Great wine. — 7 years ago

Peter Marks

Master of Wine, Educator Constellation Brands

9.0

Rose petal and violets mixed with fresh nectarine. Medium-full body for a rose and with nice dry texture on the long finish. — 8 years ago

with Adrienne

Daniel M

9.2

Very easy going ! Nose of cherry. Superb palate, quite simple yet elegant, on cherry and blood with a very long acid back bone. The glass keeps getting empty very fast ... love it — 9 years ago

Ara Aslanian

9.0

Lost most of its fruit. Great nose, drank a little funky at first but came around after a little time in the glass. — 9 years ago

with Emil and Edward

Andrew Lubeck

8.9

Rich though lacked some oomph. May have been open awhile (by the glass) — 9 years ago

Bill Bender

9.3

Musky, funky nose. Orange hues by candlelight in the glass. Warm, pleasing tannins. Fig, tar, flint. A nice intro to this maker. — 10 years ago

with Vickie

Robert Cunningham

Wine Educator DeVinimus, Wine Workshop

9.3

Lovely fruit. Drinking well. Fades with time in the glass however — 10 years ago

Jae Cho

9.1

Still tightly coiled, giving its perfumed nose after 1.5hours in glass. Medium to full with a focus long cab fruit — 11 years ago

BStro

9.0

$30 for the glass — 11 years ago

Nicole Holden

10

Sooooo good!! 👍👍 — 12 years ago

Oliver Seaman

9.1

Fressssshh — 7 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.0

Not exactly my style but it’s done well, so it’s good. Actually ended up enjoying this more than 75’s Cab. — 7 years ago

with Krystal

Jeremiah Allen

9.7

Pure magic! ‘67 is a legendary vintage, lucky to experience a flawless bottle. This was fully resolved and hauntingly aromatic. It’s was energetic and lasted in the glass. Probably another decade of life left for these Normale bottlings — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

When it comes to my B-day, there is only one fit, an old Pichon Lalande with my Ribeye. As a lover of Bordeaux, these two are my favorite pairing. It’s a very slow walk to the finishline. A small bite of steak and a sip of 89 Pichon Lalande. Then, repeat until finished. I had some concerns about this bottle. A slightly slippery and crumbling cork. The first sip was not bad, but not what you want or are expecting. After some time in the decanter, it really started to shine. On the nose; ripe, ruby, floral cassis, blackberries, dark sweet & sour cherries, baked strawberries, blue fruit hues, dry cranberries, baked rhubarb, saddlewood, soft, used leather, bay leaf, touch of sage, hint of spearmint, eucalyptus, vanilla, cinnamon, crushed dry crushed rock powder, black turned earth, dry brown soil with clay, tobacco leaf and perfumed red florals with violets. The body is full, round and silky. Tannins are well resolved at around 80%. The texture, length, tension and length are in a sweet spot. The fruits are ripe, ruby & expressively floral. Blackberries, dark sweet & sour cherries, baked strawberries, blue fruit hues, dry cranberries, baked rhubarb, saddlewood, soft, used leather, bay leaf, touch of sage, hint of spearmint, eucalyptus, vanilla, cinnamon, crushed dry crushed rock powder, black turned earth, dry brown soil with clay, scorched earth, tobacco leaf and perfumed red florals with violets. The acidity is just a little off but still nice. The finish is divided nearly equally in fruit, earth, florals and herbaceous. It’s very enjoyable but falls just a little short in longer, lingering length. This bottle had good storage, not great. Even so, still has another three to five years ahead. A bottle with excellent storage has another five years beyond this one. Photos of; the backside of Pichon Lalande, angled terrace view of their vines right next to Latour, my steak & twice baked potato (so good) and CEO Nicolas Glumineau. — 8 years ago

Vic Petroff

9.4

Yummy, rich, oxi butterscotchy glass of fun. — 9 years ago

Mike Mayer

9.3

Who says 2011 was a bad year? Beautiful garnet from the glass. Elegant floral and blue fruit on the nose. Deep blueberry, black berry and currant tastes on the palate. Excellently structured with sweet tannins and beautiful acidity. These grapes come from a great Oakville neighborhood. Great family owned winery! — 10 years ago

Mark Hammond

10

Wow! Great Petit Verdot and Merlot blend. We bought it when we were in Sonoma in 2015. — 11 years ago

with Liz

Daniel Gillard

9.6

Amazing wine. If it's drinking this good this soon, I can't imagine how good it will be in three, five or ten years! — 11 years ago

Coco&Lucie

9.6

One of my favorite of the appellation. Spice is perfectly balance with red fruit. It´s earthy, complex and refined. A piece of beef tenderloin on barbecue, fleur de sel and a glass of Beaucastel, what else?! — 12 years ago

Christanna Honer

9.3

Violet, vanilla, black currant and very cab franc like. Dry, dark fruit, tar and silky but bracing tannins. Vanilla and pencil lead notes, fruit developed in glass. — 13 years ago