First of 3 of these. Structured and mineral. Hold for a while. — 8 years ago
Exotic American oak but complemented well with red fruit, spice and a kiss of oak. Drinking very well today, decanted for 45 minutes, did the trick. Will hold for easily another 20 years, no problem but so delicious now. — 9 years ago



Explosive nose with brambly, dark fruit, white pepper, and some asian spices floating through in the mix....restrained, as always, for a zinfandel but still giving a mouthful of plums, cedar, spice and tannins that hold on for awhile....these are neck and neck with Hartford single vinyards for my favorite red zins.... — 9 years ago
Hold it - '13 — 9 years ago
1947 vintage: amazingly fresh (hints of fresh fruit, but mainly candied, dried and cooked fruits), very intense and long (so many roasted, spicy and confected nuances), still sweet but I don't think it would hold up to many desserts, much better as the start to a meal, pair with super rich foods — 9 years ago
Drink or hold. — 11 years ago
Outstanding!! Worth the wait to drink at age 21. This wine will hold for several more years. — 11 years ago
Loved the brambles and berries from the Zin, great acidity. Took some time to really open up, this should hold up for quite a while. — 13 years ago
Served from magnum. The 1979 Gruaud Larose is drinking beautifully. Light brick rim to dark ruby color. Just a touch of Bret in the nose but plenty of plum-like fruit. Nice acidity with plenty of fruit up front. Ripe. Soft tannins with nice lingering fruit in finish. Perfect now but will hold for several years to come. Drank on my 64th birthday with BBQ ribs. Great pairing. — 8 years ago

Garnet. Orange medium-sized rim.
Lovely balanced with aromas of cigarbox, dried red apples, figs and chocolate. Really a blend of red ripe fruits and dark fruits. Peppery.
Dry. Medium acidity. Medium high plus tannins. Medium plus alcohol. But very well integrated. Full, lean body.
Great balance.
Serve at 16 degrees celsius with braised ox, cabbage and butter fried artichokes.
Drink now ord hold for another 4 years. — 9 years ago
Big, bold and full of life. Red fruits and chewy tannin. Drink or hold for a few more it's got plenty of life. — 10 years ago
Here I am again with a pop goes the bramble weasel moment. Even at a listed 15.5 alcohol (certainly a lie) this beast had some elegance and subtlety. I think it's a testament to terroir. Even over ripe as this is (to me) it has the depth, and more importantly, width of flavors to hold up to the glycerin floating on top, like grease from my father-in-law's chili cook-off, red ribbon special. On the third day it seems that the wine rested a bit, and it sang a good hymn with my bacony crepinette. — 11 years ago
hold on to this to 30+ yrs — 12 years ago
Last Friday was our normal 4th Friday happy hour at the storage facility, but since this month had 5 Fridays, why not keep the party going?!
Such a baby! Still needs time in the bottle. Decanting helps, but only so much. Like a young Bordeaux, this can go an easy 20+ yrs from now. Very dark and heavy in the glass. Tight. Blackberries, black currant, cassis, cedar, olive oil, herbs. Heavy on the palate as it's working its way to integrating fully. Hold! — 9 years ago
What a beautiful person inside and out! I'm blessed beyond measure to be able to call him "Dad". Words can't adequately express how much I Love him. We opened a few bottles last night that I will hold near and dear to my heart forever. We are celebrating his completion of 6 rounds of chemo therapy in his battle against Prostate cancer. This is his 3rd time in the ring against this opponent and it appears that he's won with a unanimous decision by knockout at this time!!!!!! Love you dad!!!!! So proud of your strength through this process. My Father was born in 1940. A difficult year to say the least:
Germans entered Bordeaux in June of 1940. As dictated by Hitler himself, it was the sworn duty of each and every commander to search and seize whatever could be used for the advancement of the German cause. Bedlam broke out. Chateaux' were ransacked, wine cellars were looted if not used for target practice. The Chateauxs were forced to continue producing wines. It's poetic justice that Mother Nature provided the Germans with the worst growing season from 1940 to 1944!!!! The Germans left Bordeaux in 1944 to the cheers of the residents "Au Revoir Les Allemands"!!!! The 1940 bottle that we enjoyed this evening survived World War II. It Survived the ransacking, pillaging & plunder of countless German soldiers. It's outer capsule showed evident signs of its struggle but it's inner beauty was unblemished and glorious. I've had many, many vintages of Latour from 1928 and on but none have ever tasted as perfect as the one we enjoyed tonight. This 1940 was perfect. It was a fighter, it never gave up, it never relinquished in the face of adversity. That's my Father, that my role model. He's a beautiful person inside & out. I think 1940 is the best vintage that I have ever had the privilege to enjoy. Special thanks to my good friends Michael Troise whom provided me with much of the insights in regards to the incredibly difficult vintage and David Page whom gifted this bottle to me for our celebration this evening. I will never forget your generosity. It was a glorious evening to say the least!!! Wine has a way of bringing people together and encapsulating an evening and event. I couldn't think of a better way to rejoice in his victory than to open a Father & Son birth year wine. — 9 years ago
Very savory. Nose features cracked peppercorns and smoky, stony minerals, with cassis fruit definitely in the subservient position. Mouthfilling yet only medium bodied. Linear, light, and long, with savory notes dominating. A unique style. Can hold or maybe improve over next several years. — 10 years ago
I'm not sure of the make-up but I get a Bordeaux profile from this so I don't think it's pure cab. Very floral with hints of cedar on the nose. Dense dark fruit, licorice, tobacco. To my palate this wine has the closest flavor profile to TRBs own Rivers-Marie cabs. This was decanted 2 hours and probably could have benefitted from more. I'd say hold or decant 3+ hours for optimum drinking ....but it is a rich, expressive wine right now. — 11 years ago
'03, soft tannin, deep flavor and long finish. Could be hold a few more years. — 12 years ago
Byron Hewett
2004 is a power vintage for Brunello. Terrific underlying material. I will hold mine for another ~5 years. — 8 years ago