Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.3

The bottle of 2014 Pontet-Canet showed better than the previous one at the 10-Year-On tasting in London. This offers much more restraint on the nose. It's quite precise, with greater mineralité seeping through the black cherry and cassis fruit. The palate has a sorbet-fresh entry, fine tannins and a silky sheen. The oak is fully subsumed after a decade, plus there is a little more depth on the finish compared to previous showings. This is a fine example of the vintage, and bottles should drink well over the next 12 to 15 years. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Pontet-Canet dinner in Washington DC. (Neal Martin, Vinous, June 2024)
— a year ago

Gilbert Van Hassel

9.6

It is a great rayas almost at par with 2007 and 2010. Fully mature with this typical feminine Grenache taste. Wow happy to drink it once more. — 4 years ago

Philip Deibel

9.3

Home alone for 24 hrs! The perfect time to open something older. Fully mature Bordeaux... I mean Napa! Dried fruit and tobacco, there is still a frame of tannins but they are well integrated and slightly chalky in texture. Enjoyable but more mature than I prefer. — 5 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Classic La Mission that is fully mature showing red & black fruits with notes of smoky tar, leather, cedar, forest floor & cigar box. — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Tasted blind. Tawny color, translucent with amber rims. Notes of black cherry, cedar, some spice and a little barnyard floor. Sweet fruit in the mouth, with tannins fully resolved. Guessed 1955 Calon Segur. Perfect looking bottle, the cork revealed this bottle was reconditioned by the Chateau in 2000. — 6 years ago

Joe Loughran

9.5

Incredibly youthful. Lots of dark brambly fruit, plum, some leather. Fully resolved, moderately long finish, great balance. 25 years young! — 7 years ago

Chris England

9.2

Fab @ £63 & doesn’t disappoint but 05 nicer for a little more 💵

🍷 Opaque ruby

👃 Smokey torched oak, leather, gravel, minerals & pencil lead through spiced dark berries & plum

👄 Med body of dark ripe plum & blackcurrant w/ a touch of bitter mocha, liquorice & blackberry

🎯 Med+ plummy blackcurrant mineral loaded linger — 7 years ago

Michael Greene

9.4

Blackberries. Olives. Fully mature but plenty of fruit here. — 3 years ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.8

The 2019 La Conseillante is elegant and nuanced, just as it was from barrel. All of the freshness and energy that was present en primeur comes through in the bottle. There is an element of sophistication, of reserve, that needs time to be fully expressive. The 2019 is a wine of linear precision more than volume or density. It should age exquisitely for many years to come. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, February 2022)
— 3 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.2

Purchased on release in perfect condition. This was fresh, fully mature, claret like showing red fruits, dried currant, savory herbs, leather & sweet spices in a more leaner style — 4 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.6

Tonight I thought I would open this LMHB as the 2019 was released on futures yesterday. It may be a better wine but you are going to have to wait a long time to find out. The 66 is a wine where I have opened more than 6 cases in the last 5 yrs & consider it one of the great vintages for current drinking showing black fruits, cassis, saddle leather, smoke, tar, graphite, licorice, soy, tobacco & violets. This has been fully mature for 10 yrs & perfectly stored btls will continue to drink well for many years. One of the wines that keeps me searching & drinking old Bordeaux! — 5 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Great drinking vintage that is fully mature showing the classic Margaux style with red & black fruits, plum, earth, tobacco, dried herbs & flowers. — 7 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Another great btl of this vintage showing sweet red & black fruits, cassis, cedar, leather, with graphite & tobacco. This is rich bodied, fully mature & should drink well for many years. — 7 years ago

Philip Dobrin

9.1

Fully mature and delicious. Very Burgundian — 8 years ago

Scott Kahn

9.1

Beautiful bouquet! Soft tannic structure and fully developed dark fruit. Tar and graphite on the palette. — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured from my cellar. The cork was absolutely perfect. The 2005 pours a rather turbid, deep garnet at nearly 17 years old. There's quite a bit of fine sediment that clings to the edge of the glass with each swirl. Medium+ viscosity. On the nose, this was initially a bit grumpy but within minutes, it relaxed and started to show some real charm. A fully developed wine, this is becoming a bit of a Leather Daddy, full of leather (obviously), bruised and desiccated red, black and blue fruits, Christmas spice fruit cake, coffee, damp earth, and candied nuts. On the palate, the fruit remains quite stunning and confirms the mix of bruised and desiccated fruit with a sort of sherried character. Loads of salmiakki (salted licorice), spiced nuts, pepper, coffee and, you guessed it, leather. The wine was dry, technically, but almost gives the sensation of some RS with all of the over-ripe fruits and the texture was almost sappy, in some ways. However, while this was absolutely rich and well-endowed, it was not cloying. Tannins have fully integrated (though still present) and the acid was like a girdle keeping everything held together. This remains a rather large personality even if it's showing its age. Definitely in a lovely spot...but how much longer will that last? If this wasn't my last bottle, I would probably be drinking these over the next five years unless you want the full Leather Daddy experience...which is okay if that's your thing. — 3 years ago

Stas Medvedev

9.4

🏅 Rating 94+/100 (4,45⭐)

This is my 3rd and the last bottle over the past year. It definitely sits at its plateau now and fully awake. Difficult to say when the drinking window will close down. ⁣
⁣
Lots of energy and precision. Cabernet Sauvignon dominant. Perfumed black currant jam with leaves. Complex tertiary aromas make a beautiful bouquet. Balance of tannins, fruits and acidity at its perfection. Tannins have soften but not yet faded away.⁣
⁣
Undoubted 2nd Growth quality. — 5 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.5

It is highly challenging not to be drawn to the intense golden hue of this brilliant cold vintage Chardonnay. Needing an hour in the decanter to fully evolve, this stunning wine opens with an intense bouquet of roasted pineapple, apricot and Pazazz apple with wild mushroom undertones that all shine brightly in the glass. The soft and downright silky mouthfeel impresses as this gracefully glides across the mid-palate. Bright honeydew melon, pineapple upside down cake, vanilla cream and damp earth tones round out the palate. The combination of weight and tension in the glass is really thrilling. While gorgeous at the eight year mark, this beautiful wine still has a decade or more ahead of it. Drink 2019-2031- 95 — 6 years ago

Conrad Green

9.5

Very proud and round red and blue fruit. Lovely loaded acidity- fleshy yet balanced. A touch of sour on the finish. Excellent — 7 years ago

with Tony and Matt

David Gallagher

9.3

I just love piedmont and this barbaresco was great. Let it breath for 2 hours to fully appreciate it. — 8 years ago