Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Medium deep ruby , garnet rim . Lighter cooler fruits , touch of spicy cassis , dry spices , touch of coffee . Lighter, redder fruits on the palate, cranberry and redcurrant with some cassis , quite light and small boned , grafite and tobacco notes . Good acidity , with lighter but still gritty tannins . Ok length . This is quite light but enjoyable now and over the next 5-8 years — 9 days ago

Shay A

9.2

Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.

Fun to open birth year wines around your birthday, especially when you can do a Bordeaux and Napa side by side. While not a great vintage, this held up well after a few hours and presented as expected. Clean and zero Brett. Great color! Deep ruby with hardly any bricking. Leather, cassis, vanilla pipe tobacco on the nose. Sporting a good bit of dusty red and black fruits (mostly tart raspberries and blackberries), there was a little savory truffle note mixed with an herbal and mocha finish. Still quite grippy. Pretty. — a month ago

"Odedi"

9.3

#AgedWineTuesday

Dark ruby in color with a wide brick rim

Earthy nose with light oak, black fruits and tobacco.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with red and black fruits, wood, earth, vegetables, spices, tobacco leaf, dark coffee, licorice, dark chocolates, black tea and black pepper.

Medium plus on the finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

This 35 year old is still drinking beautifully. This Second Growth Bordeaux is nicely balanced and complex.

Peaking now, and will continue to drink nicely in the next 10+ years.

Good right out of the bottle, and better after 4 hours. I did not decant it, but let it open up in the bottle.

Wine Spectator 96 points.

A good food wine that I paired with beef brisket. Gorgeous.

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$275. — 2 months ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Bruce Phillips and his wife were pouring their 2021. Talked w/ him at length. Very nice couple.

The 2021 showed well young with room for improving with 10-25 years in bottle and beyond. It showed some evolution, wasn’t all primary. Elegant, very well balanced with excellent structure and finish. Drink 2033-45 properly stored.

The general Napa consensus on 2022 vintage will be a story of did you pick before or after the 6 days of extreme heat during the harvest window. One producer told me his would add 5% of 2023 to some of his 2022’s, which is allowed. He mentioned that he was going to add 15%. But, I think he just misspoke? Get ready for an amazing 2023 vintage from Napa. It was a cooler, not hot-hot, which was a near perfect growing season for long slow even ripening. Some say a vintage of a lifetime and others would only say exceptional.

The Saturday-Sunday Pavilion tasting at Pebble Beach Food & Wine is an excellent four hours to taste a lot wine, taste curated dishes from chefs from all over the country and meet the people behind the bottle. These short ribs were one of the top two or three things I tasted at the Pavilion Saturday. — a month ago

Joe Fischer

9.4

A really nice wine with Easter dinner. Aromas of chocolate, cherry, and leather. On the bud, cherry, plum, stewed fruits, earthy, and a mild spice note. Nice long finish. — 2 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

Classic old school style of GL that was fresh showing good acidity mostly black fruits, cassis, leather, cedar, sweet & savory spices, graphite with a smoky, tarry, cigar ash on the finish. — 2 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

Another great btl of this vintage showing pure flavors of black cherry, red berry fruits with graphite, mineral, smoked meats, licorice, spice, olive, pepper & violets. — 3 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Medium ruby , quite narrow ruby pink rim . Light spice and mix of summer fruits , floral , seashell , mineral notes . Touch of scorched earth and cocoa . On the palate a mix of summer fruits, with a saline kick in the mid palate , long and involving, balanced alcohol, very balanced acidity with velvety but noticeable tannins . Very elegant and graceful . Will need time, but less than the Haut Brion , in 15-20 years this will be fantastic . — 21 days ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

1998 not the best Napa Cabernet vintage. However, good producers still find their way through difficult vintages. Joseph Phelps is the rule rather than the exception.

This was poured out of magnum and drinking beautifully by their Hospitality Manger.

Nicely ripe, lush juicy fruits of blackberries, blackberries, both plums, some purple & blue fruits. Dash of spice & lead pencil, anise-black licorice, soft baking spices, caramel notes, some dark chocolate, fresh dark flowers, round acidity and a well balanced, softened structure & tension, elegant, nicely evolved finish that lasted a full minute. — a month ago

Jan de Weerd

9.5

We visited there in the early summer of 2015 and now we got to try the fruits of their labor in the vineyard we witnessed at that time. A bio-dynamic vineyard with horse and plow 😁. Their wines are fantastic. This wine was richer in fruit and more expressive than perhaps characteristic for the Pauillac region. But the layers of earth infused flavors and the most subtle hint of ‘barnyard’ made it a sensation. Topped off with a grippy finish keeping the flavors lingering in your throat. www.spokenwines.com. — 2 months ago

with Tammy