Adam Gäfvert

9.7

So appealing for such a young Dominus. Bursting aromatics of ripe currants, blueberries, baking spice, flowers, green leafs, pepper, iron. I know Dominus ages gracefully but this is a treat to drink already today. — 3 months ago

Ellen Clifford

9.2

She is red-fruit forward, she has brioche touches and sea salt nuances on the nose. The palate is that sort of balance there isn’t a proper word for but gosh it’s there. Finishes slightly toasty with a zip of lemon and a squeeze of cranberry. — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Flight #2 of our 1997 Retrospective and these were the thoroughbreds. Presented single-blind; no formal notes. Wine #2 had great color, was developing, fresh, focused, balanced; great structure. One of those glasses of wine you didn’t want to end and, for me, a tough call for favorite of the flight along with Wine #1. I vacillated between this being Dominus or Monte Bello; ultimately calling the former. This is in a beautiful phase of life. Monte Bello is one of those wines that needs decades to show its best. Drink now through 2040. — 4 months ago

Shay A

9.3

My last of a three pack, and this shockingly drinks almost identical to my last bottle over four years ago.

Lovely deep red in the glass with bricking around the rim. Fig bar, sweet black cherries and tobacco aromatics. Ripe red and black fruits on the palate...not over ripe, but definitely sweet. Channeling more of a cherry liqueur and concentrated mid-palate as it ages. Close to fully integrated. Quite smooth and still a lot of fruit playing a primary role, but it’s not getting any better. More sexy than intellectual (nothing wrong with either).

I’d imagine this will hold in this window for another couple years and then decline, but I didn’t expect it to hold in this same window for almost five years. Drink up. — 5 months ago

Austin Hohnke

9.2

Glossy and polished. Round and supple. Sun baked fruit. Not much in terms of getting the gears turning, but a delicious wine for simply wanting to sip delicious wine. — 8 months ago

Brandon Boesch

9.0

So ripe and big. Goes better with dessert than the meal. Huge vanilla oak with sweet berry jam, there is mint dark chocolate, and tannin, cedar on the finish. Overall when I really think about it, this tastes interesting, but there is a sweetness throughout the entire palate that I do not love. There’s an artificial sweetener like flavor. Really interesting. Decanted for 4 hours. — 8 months ago

Robert Torretti

9.4

A lovely bottle of classic Lafite Rothschild. Ordered with old friends and new at Waldhaus Sils on the fourth anniversary of my father’s death. He was biased to Cabernet Sauvignon / Left Bank Blends, and appreciated his Lafite, even if he stopped buying them as prices got out of hand. 1995 was chosen in honor of the year that I met my friend Julian, with whom I have worked at two companies across 20+ years and now count as a dear friend and peer in our industry. The bottle was in great shape, likely bought en primeur and stored in the Alpine retreat’s cellars (tour tomorrow!). Oscar, the manager and sommelier has been at the Waldhaus for 32 years, so it was purchased in his early days. The tannins were very well integrated, with some dark fruits, delicious tobacco and cedar, and a long finish. — 10 months ago

Paul Sombke

8.9

Incredibly smooth wine. Dry for a Pinot but great taste and no harshness at all. Fantastic. — 8 years ago

with Britini A.

John Doe

8.9

One of my favorites. I always keep a bottle on hand for when I am invited to a dinner party. — 8 years ago

Nikolai Efimov

9.0

An incredibly smooth and flavorful California blend, fantastic value and a great showcase for what California can do. — 9 years ago

Christian Fischer

9.3

Some specials on today at the Chelsea lounge at JFK. Thought I’d ask and look what we got. It doesn’t have as much of the typical Dom taste for me and it is still very very young, definitely still a baby. Great nose and packs a lot of citrusy flavors - they will certainly mellow over the years. Not a bad rendition, not quite hitting the super high marks with me right now, but very pleasant early p.m. bubbly on this holiday — 3 months ago

Jan de Weerd

9.1

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. — 3 months ago

with Tammy

Adam Gäfvert

9.8

The majestic 2016 Las Cases is one for the ages. This ultra complex and ultra appealing wine is already captivating and will very obviously have many decades to shine. You get currants, blackberries, salmiak, violets, tobacco, rosemary, pink pepper, soil and so much more. The texture gradually becomes creamier with fine tannins and fresh and long finish. Will become a perfect wine eventually. — 4 months ago

Anson Funderburgh

9.5

This was excellent. Delicious, fruity, juicy, very smooth and drinkable, light tannins and not very earthy for a Pinot. — 6 months ago

Ed Chin

9.2

I was expecting this to be tight and tannic. Nope this was lush and silky smooth. Perfect for the Napa cab lover that wants to try something different. The potential for a few more points is there if you can wait. — 6 months ago

Vino Joe

9.3

Way too early. I have a few 375mL bottles and was curious to learn how a wine like this might be even though it was well before it’s suggested drinking window. The bones and structure are evident and this should grow into a monster. It was still a very pleasant wine it was just holding back the whole time. Unfocused fruit and a bit too sweet but I think this score will be significantly higher for round 2. — 8 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Served to me double-blind. The wine pours a deep ruby color with a slightly orange rim. Medium+ viscosity and some moderate staining of the tears. There appears to be some sign of sediment as well. On the nose, the wine was intense with notes of dark cherries, a mix of red and black bramble fruits, licorice, some leather and dried gravelly earth. I don’t detect any use of barrique but maybe some large format oak. This has an old world nose to it that was really lovely. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose and while the fruit had some power, it came in a body that was pretty fit and tidy. Alcohol is medium+. The finish is long and had some stoney minerals too. I called Brunello di Montalcino from a warmer vintage like 2009. Whoa…2007 Beaucastel! Damn, they hit so different than most other CdP’s. So much more restrained! But now that it has been revealed and I’ve allowed more time for it to breathe in my glass, I totally get its sense of place. One of my big takeaways is that I need more experience with these wines, particularly with age because that’s when they become more interesting to me. This is drinking well now but I expect it will continue to do so through 2032 with ease. — 9 months ago

Marc Stubblefield

Wine Sales at Vino Carta and Kogod Wine Merchant

9.1

From magnum, and still a bit beefy around the middle, reflecting the vintage. Plush but with character, the perfect choice for those who generally find Beaujolais too thin. — 8 years ago

Leslie Bartos

9.4

decanted 2 hours. cassis, cherry, but also a fragrant floral nose and earthiness more similar to a burgundy/pinot. very elegant wine, almost feminine and an intoxicating nose. well-balanced and it was delicious over dinner. the last few sips we noticed slight fading. A splendid wine for a birthday celebration. — 9 years ago

with Tony

Kai Chang

9.2

Clear deep purple colour with watery rim. Clean medium intensity aroma with minty black cherry and black currant with hint of oak smokiness and vanilla. Dry on the palate full bodied medium alcohol with medium acidity and high but smooth velvety tannin. Flavours of earthy black currant, black cherry, and vanilla. Flavours last through into its long pleasant finish. Very good quality, drink now but can age for another 3 to 5 years for a even more balanced complexity. — 10 years ago

Brandon Boesch

9.2

Too young. Needed hours of air. Disjointed. A good amount of acidity. Some fruit showing through. There’s a lot of spice and herbs too. Will hold other bottles for a long while. — 3 months ago

Tom Garland

9.2

Decant for sediment and pour(decent chunky/fine sediment). A remarkable murky magenta color with bricking. On the nose: beautiful nose of stewed black fruit/currants, floral, herbaceous, burnt embers, spearment. Taste: classic old school Napa, juicy, balanced, savory wine with dark cherry, baking spice, smoke, sweet tobacco and a nice long earthy cocoa finish. YUM! Drinks well at year 20 and glad to have another bottle. — 3 months ago

with Brenda

David Stein

9.3

Let it sit for a while. — 4 months ago

with Bruce

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2004 vintage. Decanted and tasted after two hours. Used a Durand but cork was great. Top-notch fill. Super chunky sed..like vintage port. Nose good, not great, but biggie structure and balance all there. Medium body. Not a personal fave but may hafta pick up a few more of these for those inclined to partake. There will be 2004 Insignia going steady for quite some time. 12.22.23. — 5 months ago

Bruce Leboff

9.3

Opened for 2.5 hours - a weighty masterpiece. Rich nose of raspberry and hint of cedar and hibiscus. Well polished and smooth on the palate. Super long finish. Tannins well integrated. — 7 months ago

with David

Stuart Scheff

8.9

A bit beefy for a Pinot. Enjoyable — 9 months ago

Kevin Dale

9.6

Let it open up for about an hour and a half. Tasted well even out of the bottle, but the extra time made it worth it. — 9 months ago

Emyann Plcs

9.1

Great blend. I'm someone who prefers something a bit more dry, but would gladly have this bottle any day. Definitely recommend for people who are looking for something in between. Not too sweet, not too harsh. — 7 years ago

Jeff Shapiro

8.9

Dark cherry, licorice, pepper and smoke dominate this anniversary release. Overpriced for a bottle you want to open right away and not cellar BUT still delicious. Very low acidity. — 8 years ago

DAG

8.9

Needs more time in bottle for tannins to soften otherwise a very beautiful wine. — 10 years ago