Greg Gregory

9.8

You had blueberry, caramel, potpourri, plum and cassis on the nose, a gorgeous medley. The palate opening has licorice, espresso and blackberry. There is marvelous concentration here, somewhat emblematic of the vintage, but the supple tannins, and seamless texture, rein in potential excess. You get cedar, tobacco, and fascinating salinity past the mid palate, and its power has graciously mellowed, leaving you with a delectable expression of Petrus prowess. You get sumptuous black plums and sweet tobacco, with a blaze of Pomerol’s essence on the layered, ebullient finish. — 9 years ago

GHol

9.5

Not going to pretend I have the palate or the language to describe the subtleties and nuances of flavours, bubbles, colour and texture to match what this wine presents. Did I want to do headstands because my tastebuds were struggling to keep up with all the different contrasts of flavour and other possibilities this wine was throwing at me? Absolutely. Would I recommend it? Totally. — 10 years ago

James Webb

9.7

Stewed fruit - horse blanket - mossy forest floor - cherries, strawberry, tobacco. Palette of tart fruit, soft and building. Light dusting of tannins. Past prime but still amazing. — 10 years ago

with Megan

Benjamin Hickey

9.6

Super complex, great flavours, still some fruit but lots of secondary flavours. Amazing flavours, complexity, balance and length. — 10 years ago

Scorewine

Wine writer http://www.israelwines.co.il

9.1

Lovely champagne, so young and fresh, though it is at its sweet 16. Light gold color, lovely bubbles more on the mild side, I guess it was a bit more perky in the past, nose of citrus, grapefruit, hint of tropical and oak with a touch of yeast. Super fresh body, crisp and appealing, with long yummy fresh finish. A lovely champagne. My score 91, drink to celebrate life any day until 2020. — 10 years ago

Knightsbridge Wine Shoppe

9.7

Bright fruit, floral and crushed stone. Still a very focused wine with lots of energy and refreshing acidity. Has not seemed to age over the past few years. — 11 years ago

Greg Gregory

9.4

A remarkable wine, a bit like many ‘45’s in its power and concentration. And while those who are after some more of the La Chapelle structure may be disappointed (and I have sympathy with aspects of the assessment), this is such an full expression of fruit and terroir, that I can really only cheer. Plums, orange zest, pepper and currants on the enticing nose. The palate is awash in luscious, sweet fruit, soy tinged, with melting tannins, round and soft, pure velvet past the mid palate, and it finishes with gusto, batons twirling, with layered exuberance and appealing length. — 9 years ago

Noé

9.6

Blackcurrant and cherry brandy nose, mouth still young with juicy tanins and vibrant density, tanins are still in your mouth after 10 seconds, as the flavours of black truffles and dried shrooms — 10 years ago

Riccardo L.

9.4

Herbal, menthol, smoke, barrel, licorice and forest berries. What an impressive mixture of flavours! What a tour de force to pull off a wine like this on an off-year in Napa. So good. — 10 years ago

Michael Januszeski

9.4

A cab from one of my favorite Napa wineries. This 1997 Silver Oak has done exceptionally well over the past 18 years. I'll plan to tap his brothers over the next few years to see how far this vintage can go — 10 years ago

Adam Jesberger

9.0

Beaucaillou means beautiful stone. This for sure is beautiful, but a bit one sided right now. The nose is elegant, delicate and complex. The nose has loads of rotting macerated black cherry and dried black currants. For sure what one would love from an aged bordeaux, however, the palate was a bit flat. Mainly earthy and herbaceous and lacking fruit. The nose barely translated to the palate besides its sage and dried mushroom like earth. I did love it, but i think it could have shown better fruit on the palate a few years ago. Very difficult for me to find that perfect scale of aged tertiary notes with enough fruit presence to keep it balanced. This, for me, was past its prime. Not what id expect considering Bordeaux's classic aging ability. — 10 years ago

JCB

9.4

Extraordinary. Slightly, slightly past its peak. Lovely berries, currants and a hint of shoe leather. Twinge of gunpowder still there but faint. Fading, fading... — 11 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

9.6

Still has a bit of red currant berry fruit notes of cigar box spice and coffee dried herbs and earth. Very smooth and silky drinking a bit past it's peak but still nice. Excellent — 11 years ago

Jim Barri

9.2

One of my favorites for past 10 years. I'm afraid new ownership could effects future productions we have wait and see. — 10 years ago

LM Segal

9.4

Great breeding trumps a below-average vintage. Blind, the nose alone gives away the DNA of this phenomenal wine. This Merlot-dominated Cheval has a beautiful core of cocoa powder, prune and plums. Structure from sweet oak and cab franc skins come through on the finish. Excellent, but a world away from the 2000 that's a palate-reference for me. Don't wait on this one, this well-stored bottle felt past its apex. — 10 years ago

Mark clowes

9.0

Aroma of Spanish flowers complex flavours' spicy with smooth tannins 2001 vintage — 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

Joseph C Burke

9.4

Deep red with slight brick edging; nose of ripe black cherry, cedar and herbs; soft and luscious cassis and sweet oak on palate with a lingering finish of mushroom with a hint of sweet tobacco. Perfectly integrated and just past its peak from a 25 year sleep in my cellar. — 10 years ago

Jeremy Giesbrecht

9.5

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

Tom Higgins

Owner/Winemaker Heart & Hands Wine Company

9.3

Aromas of buttered toast, honeysuckle, almonds, and fig. Vanilla, ripe peaches, and truffles on the palate. Alc shows through a little more than the fruit at this point. The wine is a little past peak. — 12 years ago