Mike Saviage

9.7

From a great old looking bottle with a mid shoulder fill. Cork is fully saturated and the crud under the capsule had formed a strong seal. Slow-ox’d for a few hours, then decanted for an hour or two before taken to L’Escargot in Carmel. Amber tawny rims with a reddish tawny core. Crazy nose right from the start. Notes of sweet black cherries, tobacco leaf, plums, black pepper, ash and crusty wood, pencil shavings, some just unwrapped cigar and some menthol. Silky in the mouth with firm structure and soft but present acidity. Long and memorable finish. Outstanding performance over several hours. — 5 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Beautiful drinking claret showing red berry fruits, leather, tobacco leaf & rose petal wrapped up in an elegant & floral style. — 7 years ago

Rob Mayes

9.7

Outstanding. Winner of the weekend. — 8 years ago

V M

9.6

A pauillac like nose of cassis, truffles, and violets reveal a palate full of dense berries and dark cherry cut by tobacco leaf and charred cedar wood. Finish still a bit tight. This is still drinking young but evolving well — 9 years ago

Rose’s Cafe

9.1

Nice! Juicy with notes of oak and vanilla. 😀🍷 — 9 years ago

Kelsey Redd

9.0

Chardonnay: tropical fruit, butterscotch, pineapple, peach, nectarine. Oak character. Rich texture and a creamy mouth-feel. — 10 years ago

Bill Bender

9.4

I thought this was in a very good spot, still has a lot of fruit with tobacco, bay leaf, cedar and round rich cherry predominating. Very inviting fresh violet nose. Lots of round edges and a medium long finish. My RWOTN. — 10 years ago

with Steve and romo

Kari Johnson

9.6

Smooth flavor, fruity, sweet but not too sweet — 10 years ago

Hermine Benard

8.9

Clear medium ruby robe. Clean pronounced nose of leather, meat, spice , mushroom, macerated strawberries, caramel and oak. Dry palate with medium acidity and body but medium + tannins. Flavors of pipe tobacco, licorice, dried cherries, bay leaf and wet soil. Complex flavors. Drinks like a meal. It will make you hungry. Should be great with aged manchego. Prob large American oak barrel aged. — 10 years ago

Lily Mirabelle Freedman

9.0

Tomato leaf, leather, and cool funk — 11 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Youthful & drinking like a 10 yr old Cab. Lots of red & black fruits, cassis, menthol, cedar, leather, licorice & tobacco leaf. — 5 years ago

Sidney Jackson

9.0

Not bad for the price def drink again! — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

The nose reveals, ripe, brightly floral dark & red fruits. Blackberries, dark cherries, blue fruit heaven, black raspberries, baked strawberries & rhubarb, cherries, prune notes, and dry, slightly burnt cranberries. Mixed berry cola, steeped tea, vanilla, touch of clove, allspice, used leather, limestone minerals, dry stone, whiff of graphite, faint herbaceous notes, dry underbrush, old cedar, tobacco leaf, with withering red & dark withering flowers with violets.

The body is medium to full. The tannins round, nicely softened but still a little tarry. The structure, tension, length and balance are are harmonious and starting its climb to their peak. The mouthfeel is gorgeous and sexy. Brilliantly, bright, laced; blackberries, dark cherries, blue fruit heaven, black raspberries, raspberries, baked strawberries & rhubarb, cherries, and dry, slightly burnt cranberries. Mixed berry cola, steeped tea, vanilla, touch of clove, dark medium spice with heat, allspice, used leather, some sweet tarriness, limestone minerals, rich dark soil, dry stone, whiff of graphite, faint herbaceous notes, dry underbrush, old cedar, tobacco leaf, with withering red & dark withering flowers with violets. The acidity was very good and the finish showed it’s Saint Julien elegance. It’s a beautiful wine now and over the next 15-20 years.

Photos of, Chateau Leoville Barton, the “Gentleman of Medoc”, Anthony Barton, harvest work of their Merlot and their barrel cellar.

An hour and a half in decanter.
— 7 years ago

Aaron Dornstreich

9.2

Just beginning to show edges of secondary, still young & structured. Savory, briar, leaf. Begging for food! — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

Dry light fruit perfume nose with herbs. Fruits have turned to rustic figs, prunes and dates, dry cranberries/rhubarb/pomegranate, dark cherries that have taken on a slight liqueur quality, ripe strawberries, spiced plum cedar, soft used leather, tobacco leaf, powdery crushed rocks, anise and a lean dry, high acid fig, date, prune and cooked light to mid red cooked fruit finish. Out of magnum. — 9 years ago

Steven Gullo

9.1

New Leather tobacco leaf, and black currants. Broad on the palate and dense concentration. Will improve over the next 20+ years — 10 years ago

Craig Williams

9.0

1.5 L bottle Other than a really poor quality cork that crumbled upon removal, this wine remains a youthful dark red with black currant, tobacco leaf-savory soy aromas. In good shape for such a modestly extracted wine. Demonstrates the strength of quality harvest conditions, which '94 was in many ways. — 10 years ago

Nathan Evans

9.0

Delicious! Very aromatic and sweet! — 10 years ago

Hum

9.7

2002 vintage...profound tomato leaf, graphite, old leather, cassis, wet tobacco... Silky yet firm on the palate. A little taut but still drinking so well right now. Really, a treat. — 10 years ago

DAL 9000

9.1

Very smooth initial flavor. Light bodied plummy that fills the nose with red berries after swallowing. More intense after it breathes. — 12 years ago

Daniel Tan

9.3

Acidity, sweetness, and tannins very well balanced. Medium full body. Black cherries with a distinct tobacco leaf finish. This Sangiovese Cabernet blend is less sweet and more cerebral than the typical Cabernet Sauvignon / Cabernet Franc supertuscan blend. — 6 years ago

Lynn Gowdy

9.0

La Rioja Alta 2007 Grand Reserva 904- cherry, forest spice, forest red and black berries, cinnamon, slight leather, mushrooms, bay leaf, dried herbs, sousbois, smooth drying resolved tannins that are fondue like, a small element of astringency. The color has fallen out yet very traditional style Rioja. — 7 years ago

William Hughes

9.3

Aging beautifully! Still loads of currant and lavender. Add a touch of iodine and some more black fruit, mix with lean tannins and fine acidity. Here is to Maryland wines! — 7 years ago

Hannah K

9.4

Really nice, cloudy, sweet, not too sweet, easy to drink, pretty — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

This is the most picturesque Chateau in Bordeaux. Oh...and they make a pretty amazing Bordeaux. It's a good first look at the 03 vintage from my five bottle set. There are steak wines and then there are steak wines. This was a 10 pair with the T-bone...Heaven. The tannins have softened but have many years ahead to get to that perfect place. The mouthfeel is full, round, creamy and elegant. The fruits have a not too sweet liqueur style. They are; blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, plum, sweet tobacco leaf, anise, used leather, black tea, used coffee grounds, rich wet black turned earth, stones, dry red florals, spice; clove, nutmeg, baking spices; very light vanilla, touch of caramel, dark chocolate and acidity that pours over the palate. There is the start of harmony in the structure, length, balance and tension. The finish lasts a full two-minutes and it crushed with the T-bone. Next bottle in 5-7 years. For the legions of you on Delectable crushing only young Napa Cabernet, you have no idea what you're missing in aged Bordeaux...forget about it...even vs. well aged Napa Cabernet. Respect!!! 3-4 hour decant and it needed every second of it. — 9 years ago

Christopher Legere

9.1

Good cab with fruit flavors — 10 years ago

Lili Brock

10

Excellent. Sweet but not overbearing. — 10 years ago

Mark Calkin

9.2

#wsetschool Deeply ruby coloured top level Rioja with large quantity of Graciano given it that deep intensity. Pronounced nose of black cherries, red currants and cranberries, with wet leaf notes. There are smoke and toast, cinnamon and cedar from its time in oak, and of course there are tertiary aromas from bottle ageing, like: tobacco, game, leather and dried fruits. This has medium (+) tannins and acidity and an excellent long finish. — 10 years ago

Joe Paradise

9.1

One of, if not my favorite, rioja producers. Fruit on the 03 is a bit crisper than other vintages. Cranberry, tomato (leaf?), deftly deliberate oxidation, earth and savory balsamic, all framed in lovely oak. Fine integrated tannin. Long savory finish — 10 years ago

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.4

2011. Blanc. No one drinks enough of this. That's because there are so few things to which its a good partner, but it would be an incredible cheese-and-charcuterie wine. Broad and oily, there's just enough acid to keep you coming back for more. Sun-baked yellow orchard fruits dominate, but there's more exotic fruits too (mango and dried pineapple) yellow flowers, tons of almond husk bitterness, green olives, bay leaf, oregano, tarragon, white cheddar. Oak is assertively present but not overwhelming. Place dominates over grapes here, as it's a mix of Clairette and Grenache Blanc and a hodge-podge of other things. — 11 years ago