Shay A

9.2

A few days late in posting the Wednesday Wine Committee wines. Standard format with 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds and 1 dessert wine. All served blind.

Enjoyable and drank younger than its age. I always get a cherry swisher sweets note with St Estephe wines. Very tart black cherries, currant, tart plum and herbs all over this wine. Tannins still holding up nicely. Not getting better, but will probably hold for a bit. I guessed mid-‘90s left bank Bordeaux. — 6 years ago

with Dan, Will and 1 other

Jay Kline

9.3

I simply love this expression of Clos des Papes. It’s so fresh and pure with abundant red fruit and a healthy hillside of garrigue. So much tension. Just lovely. Why hold when you can drink these beauties right now. — 6 years ago

Byron Hewett

9.5

Fantastic. Powerful. Delicious. Ready to go, but will hold for years. — 7 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

Beautiful expression of Unico, showing complex aromatics, both elegant & floral This btl is consistent with previous btls, fully mature & should hold for many years. — 8 years ago

Joakim Bogström

9.1

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. — 8 years ago

Derek Hearst

9.2

This is developing really well but I would hold on to this vintage for a few more years. Nice smooth tannins at this stage that give a nice backbone to the earthy tobacco and stewed cherry and raspberry. This was enjoyable now but the best days are ahead. — 8 years ago

Annie Marlow

9.5

Absolutely amazing. Thin body, rich tannins. Excellent with high fat foods, can hold its own. Absolutely rebuy. Delightful. — 8 years ago

with Tony and Bryan

Lewis Chester

9.2

1986 vintage. From Jay. Cracked saddle leather, menthol, dried figs, black cherries, and cassis on the nose with a hint of aniseed ‎ and fennel seed. Very vibrant dark fruits on the front and mid palette - ripe black cherries mixed with blackberries prevail but they tail off relatively rapidly. The finish is curt and somewhat dry/tannic. I don't see this wine improving with any additional bottle age but with its tannic nature it should continue to hold for quite some time. 92/100. Drink now until 2030. — 9 years ago

Adam Greenberg

9.5

Great Cabernet. Thought it might not hold up to the 40th anniversary. Personally I think this is amazing — 10 years ago

Dave Smigielski

9.3

Love love love. Leather and Cedar. Still extremely youthful. Drink or hold — 10 years ago

Paul K

9.4

@Ryan Mullins and @Jeff Loo are spot on. This needs 10 years. I double aerated back into bottle for 12 hour corked decant and after two hours open in glass this is still closed. You can still taste the potential though. There is a density and purity of fruit behind it that I’m excited to open up one day. Was still a great experience. 94 for now. Will hold remaining bottles for at least 5 years. Please yell at me if u see another post of this wine before then. — 6 years ago

Byron Hewett

9.2

2004 is a power vintage for Brunello. Terrific underlying material. I will hold mine for another ~5 years. — 6 years ago

Raj Harb

9.3

First of 3 of these. Structured and mineral. Hold for a while. — 7 years ago

JJ Lumia

9.4

I know, I know. Too early. I couldn't hold out any longer. BUT. This. Is. Awesome. Oozing plenty of goodness with mushroom, barnyard, and bacon fat. Oh the bacon fat. If you want a fruit-forward, uninteresting Syrah, well...ok. This isn't for you. But if you have some game or are willing to lugnut up and try a real Syrah, uncork this beauty. And this beauty can easily go 10 more years without breaking a sweat. — 8 years ago

Martin G Rivard

10

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. — 8 years ago

with Ryan, Christine and 1 other

WC Fields

9.0

Tasted. No doctors made me pay through the nose like Mr. @Bill Bender but I feel his pain. My impatience won't allow me to buy this "en quant." Drink now or forever hold your peace! $200/btl means I hold my wallet... — 9 years ago

Karen Troisi

9.2

Very nice wine - all notes indicate this is 100% cab but it drinks like a blend (very smooth especially for the vintage). Fruity but not as fruit forward as I expected. One word - smooth. Drink or hold. — 10 years ago

Bill Bender

9.2

Well made, great stuffing. Still a little tannic and tight. I'd hold or decant several hours. — 10 years ago

Andrew Schirmer

9.4

Always à point. Sour cherry, oak, softening tannins. Lovely now, hold for 10 and see what it brings. — 6 years ago

with Alsu

Hayden B. Oothout

9.1

Solid cab from a reputable Napa family winery. Give this one a little bit of time to open up and yum! Pairs perfectly with prosciutto & ricotta pizza. Drink now or hold for a couple of years. — 6 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.1

Decent drinking PB in a difficult vintage. Black currant & red berry fruit with a slight austere style showing, earth, cedar, leather & graphite. Med bodied that is fully mature & should hold for a number of years. — 7 years ago

Jeff Loo

9.3

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. — 7 years ago

Lee Lightfoot

9.5

Fully resolved but can still hold on another decade. Truly stunning. — 8 years ago

Rob Sternthal

9.3

Still drinking well. I'm not going to be able to hold on to these. Oh well. Fruit forward. Better than all other years for this wine. — 8 years ago

Colin McCartney

9.3

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.... — 8 years ago

Tyler McNulty

9.1

Hold it - '13 — 8 years ago

Justin Brilman

9.1

Big, bold and full of life. Red fruits and chewy tannin. Drink or hold for a few more it's got plenty of life. — 9 years ago

Neil Cornish

8.9

Darn. Not showing tonight. Dominated by acid and tannin. Fruit just isn't ripe enough to hold up. Did better with food — 10 years ago

with Jon, Michael and 1 other

Michael Housewright

Writer/Photographer Wine Enthusiast Magazine

9.2

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. — 10 years ago

with Juliet

Rob Mondavi

Owner/President of Winemaking Folio Fine Wine Partners

9.5

Wow!! Cool place. Stellar wine. Wish I had more. Drink or hold. It's on!!! — 11 years ago