Good Decisions

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend 2012

Somm David T
9.3

From 375ml.

A very good Rhone producer visited in 2015.

At pop & pour, the fruits almost had a mid berry bubble gum character. That toned down almost immediately. Fruits are ripe; blackberries, black raspberries, baked plums, raspberries, dark cherries, juicy strawberries, chocolate bar to fudge, grilled, smoked meats, black pepper, dark spice, nutmeg, clove, iron pan, black tea, a touch of rubber toy, slight tarriness, dry herbs, roasted chestnuts, tobacco leaf, dry crushed rocks, dry top soil, hints of mint, dark, red flowers, violet’s, nice acidity with a well balanced-structured, stiffly tensioned with a lush finish that lasts 90 seconds and lands on earthiness & spice.

Plenty of life left in this 2012, even in 375ml.
— 3 months ago

Jay, Scott@Mister and 18 others liked this

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2003

So rounded and glossy. High toned with black cherry and some mocha and good acidity. Excellent stuff. — 5 months ago

Rick K
with Rick
Jay, Shay and 10 others liked this

Château Margaux

Premier Grand Cru Classé Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1961

From mag. soft raspberry fruit. Slightly tart. Very good purity. A little light compared to the wines alongside — 5 months ago

BOT Matt LichtenbergPaul Woolls
with BOT, Matt and 1 other
Ceccherini, Bob and 10 others liked this
Jay Kline

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Château Gruaud Larose

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2010

It has a nearly opaque, dark fruited appearance that opens up to very appealing and persistent aromatics and flavors of blueberries and blackberries.

There is still a good amount of primary fruit; it is medium/full, well structured with a good balance of juicy acidity and refined tannins at the finish. New oak is there, but unobtrusive.

Overall, this 2010 is a reserved and savory St. Julien that doesn’t whack me over the head with gobs of oak and loads of sweet jammy fruit. It is definitely “worth a search” if you don’t have it.
— 8 months ago

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

Artemis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

BlackBerry, Oak, Tobbaco aromas, chocolate, a bold Cabernet Sauvignon with really good quality — 9 months ago

"Odedi" liked this

Joel Gott Wines

815 California Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

JFP
9.2

Very pleasant with cheese and pate. Nice sipping wine as well with good body. — 10 months ago

Seghesio Family Vineyards

Sonoma County Zinfandel 2019

Very very very good mouth feel!! — 4 years ago

LM, "Odedi" and 4 others liked this

Silver Oak

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Decanted 1 hr. 2001 vintage. Still had decent fruit. Dark chocolate on the nose. Had lost some of its structure and tannins. Very good pairing with the steaks tonight. w Michelle Carr — 6 years ago

David, Billy and 2 others liked this
Matt Duncan

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Cheers @Dan Cobb ! 🍷

Carnivor

California Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Reggie Love had the 2014 vintage, a steal at $9, very good and very purple, easy to drink, definitely buying again — 9 years ago

Sandra liked this

Tenuta San Guido

Bolgheri Sassicaia Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 1995

Alex Pitts
9.4

Good breeding — 11 years ago

Catherine liked this

Marcel Lapierre

Morgon Gamay 2014

JKT
9.2

As good as a Morgan can get? Frances, lift, complexity, Gamay fruits. — 4 months ago

Ira liked this

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2019

So freaking good. Explosion of dried flowers, plum, freeze dried strawberry, sage, other herbs, some stone. Outstanding! — 4 months ago

Eric, Scott@Mister and 10 others liked this

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2021

It is time for my #FridayCabernetfix.

Deep inky in color with a short purple rim.

Beautiful nose of blueberries, black currants, cooked cherries, light oak, vegetables, licorice, earth, chocolates, Indian spices and peppercorn.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with plums, currants, light oak, spices, chocolates, licorice, coffee, light tobacco leaf, herbs, peppercorn, earth and black tea.

Long finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux. Showing a nice mouthfeel. Fresh, complex and rich.

This second growth wine is still young, but already enjoyable, even by itself.

Drinking beautifully now, and will continue to age nicely in the next 15 to 20 years. Would be nice to revisit it in 7 years. Has good potential to become a 94+ point wine.

Well balanced, and good by itself as a sipping wine. A good food wine too.

A blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot. Aged in French oak barrels for 18 months.

12.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$215.
— 5 months ago

Vanessa, Daniel and 19 others liked this

Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2008

Vintage 2008 | 17 years, great drinking but also potential to ripen further. Real Pauillac character: strong wine with good structure, cherries and mint. — 6 months ago

Jeroen, Berry and 22 others liked this
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

Sounds lovely!

Château d'Yquem

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2007

No formal notes . Pretty deep Amber , copper colour . Intense marmalade , saffron , creme caramel . Rich on the palate with rich marmalade , saffron notes . Good acidity , but rich. Good length . This is drinkable now and shows quite an advanced colour , though due to its richness will probably carry on delivering for another 20 years , perhaps longer .

This was a rather fascinating evening put together by our incredibly generous host. All 2007 reds were served blind in two flights: 1st Mouton, Haut Brion, Cheval Blanc , La Mission Haut Brion then Latour , Lafite , Petrus and Margaux . Overall the wines showed well , and were mostly enjoyable to drink now , though there is no rush . This somewhat maligned vintage can give a lot of enjoyment in the right environment, I certainly wouldn’t hold back from opening or purchasing any of these wines . They mostly show good density of fruit , personality and elegance , with good freshness. These are not powerful wines , and at times perhaps the fruit can be a little cooler or greener but I was pleasantly surprised by the way they performed , just goes to show you should never write off a vintage without trying the wines !
— 8 months ago

Anthony, Andrew and 13 others liked this
Audrey Nadeau

Audrey Nadeau

H a p p i n e s s!

Josh Cellars

Cabernet Sauvignon

Fairly serious Cab for the money; characteristic dark fruits - black currant in particular, good structure with balanced acidity, some menthol notes — 10 months ago

La Rioja Alta

Reserva Viña Ardanza Rioja Tempranillo Garnacha

I grab my wines by random out of the fridge. I grabbed it from the cheap zone and we really pleased with the quality as it is excellent.

Turns out it is not cheap, it's like $35-40. It's still good just not a great value
— 5 years ago

Taittinger

Comtes de Champagne Grand Crus Brut Blanc de Blancs 1990

Drink up. Getting tired and oxidized. Not as good as bottles 2-4 years ago. — 7 years ago

Keith, Ira and 9 others liked this

J. Lohr

Seven Oaks Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Very smooth wine. Great price but not as good as the Kirkland Columbia Valley cab/Merlot blend. — 9 years ago

J. liked this

Apothic

Winemaker's Blend California Zinfandel Blend 2013

This wine is inexpensive, kind of sweet, and good for unwinding. I was happily surprised! — 11 years ago

R. López de Heredia

Viña Tondonia Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2004

Medium ruby garnet quite narrow terracotta rim . Quite herbal , dried strawberry and red cherry nose , touch of iodine , sous bois , dried mushroom notes , discreet roasted coffee note after a while. Quite pretty red fruits on the palate with good freshness , strawberry , earthy cherry and a marine , iodine like note , sous bois underneath . Quite elegant and well balanced acidity with fine tannic grip . Good red fruit , earthy tinged finish . This is showing more advanced than the 2001 Reserva , and would like to try another bottle of this , as I suspect this half is a bit below par. On the basis of this bottle drink now and over the next 5 or so years . — 4 months ago

Tom, Shay and 4 others liked this

Caymus Vineyards

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Somm David T
9.6

I think if you read this nonsense I post, you know how I feel about this producer, past & present. This 07 is outstanding & top of its bell curve. It is so good to revisit these great vintages of Caymus Classic.

This is fresher than the 97. It is rich/lush, cassis to currents, ripe, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, raspberries & strawberries. Dark chocolate, mocha, classic, beautiful, Caymus Classic spice that I miss dearly in their new wines, black licorice, fudge, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg & vanillin, most top soil, limestone, dry herbs, dry tobacco, barrel shavings, taut leather, volcanic grey clay, dark, fresh & slightly withering flowers, violets, beautiful round acidity, balance, structure, nice tension and elegant finish that last minutes and falls on spice and evoluted earth tones.

This bottle is in fine shape. Still strong and will last another 10 years of fine drinking. Phenomenal vintage and time to enjoy.
— 4 months ago

Rob, Vanessa and 14 others liked this

Jean Foillard

Côte du Py Morgon Gamay 2022

Unbelievable. So much flavor, so light yet good texture and long finish. Probably my favorite. — 6 months ago

Tom liked this

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1986

Flight 2 , wine 1 . Quite deep garnet , less terracotta rim . This had a whiff of oxidation about it at first which seemed to somewhat dissipate with time . Some dark spiced fruits , liquorice and menthol hints , cedar and sous bois . On the palate good ripeness and spiced dark cherry hints . Good acidity and rounded tannin . Nice length also , offering some spiced black fruits and menthol hints . Don’t think this is a pristine bottle but was enjoyable none the less , I was unsure at first if this was Napa , but coming back to it … and reading my notes , it became quite obvious . However I had this down as the Ch Montelena , not the Dominus — 8 months ago

Anthony, Jan and 8 others liked this

Daou Vineyards

Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2023

Cherry and plum nose. Very fruity.
Red fruit flavors w/ vanilla and spice notes.
Good overall.
$29
— 9 months ago

Beaulieu Vineyard

Private Reserve Georges de Latour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1980

Somm David T
9.4

With Christmas Prime Rib seasoned in Maldon salt, fresh garlic, Thyme, Rosemary. Pepper, Basted in butter, meat juice, drenched on Campari Tomatoes & Shallots.

This bottle was good but it’s not up to others I’ve had in the last year.
— 10 months ago

Bob, Brian and 20 others liked this

Château Musar

Bekaa Valley Red Blend 2014

Now I see how this wine can be so divisive. LOTS of brett at first, more band-aid than barnyard. Takes a while to get past it and then lots of exotic spices show up. But after 40 minutes in the glass still nothing primary. It’s got the funk I can appreciate in some good left bank Bordeaux but also feels somewhat single-threaded. — 4 years ago

Krug

Grande Cuvée Brut Champagne Blend

2001 vintage? Please. Only Krug could produce a wine this good from such a bad vintage. It has massive strength, minerality, a finish that dances on your palate. Tastes 20 years younger. You almost forget how wimpy the mousse is. — 6 years ago

Craig Williams
with Craig
Larry, Craig and 6 others liked this
Craig Williams

Craig Williams

This was amazingly great!

Belle Glos

Meiomi Pinot Noir 2013

Great wine, good quality for the price — 11 years ago

Bodega Catena Zapata

Alamos Mendoza Malbec 2013

So good! My favorite Malbec currently. — 11 years ago