Andrew Cullimore

9.0

No formal notes . Medium deep ruby . This seems a bit more advanced . This is a bit harder and more structured on the palate , more tannin , less velvety and a bit more astringent . More spicy , drier on the palate . This needed more time to open . This was quite difficult to judge , I wasn’t 100% convinced about this bottle as it just seemed a little oxidative, however it did actually seemed to come together better after an hour or so , but still quite hard and astringent in comparison to the others (especially La Mission) . Showed a touch more mineral and grafite on the finish too after a while. This needed time , and I would imagine another bottle might tell a different story . — 5 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1990 vintage. Excellent fill and halfway saturated cork. Used a Durand but surmise a regular waiter's friend, wielded carefully, could have done the trick with the cork. Decanted and tasted after 30 mins, one hour and two hours. Some obvious sed but not troublesome or overtly noticeable. Original owner-château direct on original release. Super cold cellar because this was lagging noticeably behind other '90's and LB's. Bigger tannic structure (for a generally feminine-styled house) than anything save a Latour, Mouton, Ducru Left Bank property. Even more guts than Lynch-Bages or Pichon-Baron '90's currently stored above 55 or so degrees. Surprising but made sense. Light-medium body. Appropriate color. 3-4 years left in this stage unless larger format in play. Slight, fleeting burst of richness in the frontal palate and a tad brickish and then it just flowed on, without speed bumps. A little cocoa powder and cedar/tobacco. Suspect 750ml specimens not stored as cold/religiously will be showing more in the 9.0-9.1 range and farther down the backside of the bell curve. 10.26.24. — 8 months ago

Robert Rothfield

9.6

From Magnum......4 hour decant......just spectacular! — 5 years ago

with Warren

D Scher

9.2

1984 vintage. Cork difficult to extract, ended up in several pieces. Beautiful deep color, little to no bricking even at this age. Seductive at one hour+ of air with black cherry, raspberry, some vanilla, green pepper, graphite. 12% ABV. From the FIL’s collection. — 5 years ago

Martin G Rivard

9.5

I truly am not a silver oak Fan but their old stuff has some Kung pow to it. It actually evolved after being opened in the glass for an hour. I prefer it to a new vintage hands down, no questions asked. This actually surprised me and is definitely the WOTN between these two. Truly, truly surprised me. Can’t go wrong for this price point! I found this one for sale for 80 bucks. Winner, winner chicken dinner in my book! — 7 years ago

with Christine

B

9.0

3L 1995 Shafer Hillside Select CS. Group dinner at Nmd. Probably should have decanted it longer than the hour we did. It was going through a really funky stage. Just very one-note and dull. — 7 years ago

Bret Barker

9.3

Off vintage but who cares? Tignanello is a personal favorite. Took a good hour to open up, this wine tastes surprisingly young. cherry, earthiness some mineral and a little smoke flavor as well. Very good — 8 years ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.5

Stinky at first. Cinnamon, clove, olives, cedar. Tasting this with Walter who is 89 at the Meritage it's from his cellar. Very good. Was decanted and held up for at least 1 hour impressive! — 9 years ago

Hannes Huefken

9.2

I recommend a three-hour decant. — 10 years ago

Vijay Parikh

9.4

With a four hour decant this bottle was brilliant! Notes of cedar, tobacco, cassis, dried blueberries it was an excellent accompaniment to the Matsuzaya beef — 6 months ago

Joe DAscoli

9.3

Super sweet and oaky on first open but matured up with a 3 hour decant

Still quite fruity but with steak, it gives a lot of red berry fruit and the oak is reasonable and the sweetness is gone with the airtime.

Overall good wine but I thought it lost out to the Paul Hobbs LPV ‘14. — 7 months ago

GaryWEdwards

9.5

Has finally entered a the period to enjoy with patience rewarded. A nice nose of earth, dark berries, and florals. Nice long finish with a bit of plum coming through. An hour decant to the benefit of the wine. — 9 months ago

Alan Hyde

9.2

Needed at least an hour to open up. Wasn’t good until then. Great combination of savory flavors. — 3 years ago

Jose

9.5

Decanted for about one hour. — 5 years ago

Aaron Hamrock

9.7

Young but couldn’t wait to try it. After an hour or so decant it started to open up. This is going to be an amazing wine in years to come. — 7 years ago

with Tim

Conrad Green

9.8

A treat. Dark in color, slightly cloudy. A powerful nose with dark, very mouton fruit. Incredibly aromatic, blackcurrant, mint,graphite, dried herbs, eucalyptus. The palate is extraordinary. So dense and powerful for a wine of almost 70 years. Dark fruit with a savory undertow- leather, thyme, sour cherry, dark chocolate. Really precise flavors and long. After an hour or two in glass there’s notes of coconut and soft wood. Extraordinary. Clearly there’s a lot of age on this but the sheer quality makes for a really dynamic wine. An exceptional bottle, and a teal treat. — 7 years ago

with Howard, Tony and 1 other

Tom Hamilton

9.0

Half bottle. Only breathed for a half hour and it hadn’t opened up. — 8 years ago

Howard Greenfield

9.3

3-4 hour decant. Opened up nicely — 9 years ago

Scott Samlan

9.6

Fantastic. Let it breathe for an hour. Drank w our two friends who own Manousakis Vineyard in Chania. Very special wine that is full bodied with soft tannins. Full of soft cherries and forest floor. It's the bomb — 10 years ago

Mike Obley

9.6

Lovely wine that took about an hour to really open up. Sad that this has gotten so pricy! — 7 months ago

with Lauren

Tom Garland

9.3

1 hour decant(decent chunky/fine sediment). A striking still dark purplish magenta with some bricking. On the nose: beautiful perfumed notes of dark fruit, spearment, stewed meat, worn leather, smokey earth. Taste: smooth, creamy, balanced, silky wine with some black raspberry, earth, mocha, metallic, and a long licorice black tea finish. YUM! Past it's peak for any fruit fans, but still some time with the tertiary/secondary flavors. — 8 months ago

with Brenda

Joe DAscoli

9.5

Did not make it to 3rd hour of decant. Everyone drank it up quickly. Wine got better with each minute. — a year ago

Dawn E.

9.3

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all!
Exceptional bottle...a bit more complex than the 2015! Delicious Mike Smith magic! I cannot say enough about this wine! QPR is outstanding!
One hour decant on this! — 5 years ago

Tom Garland

9.3

1 hour decant(some fine and chunky sediment). A stunning dark ruby red with hints of brown. On the nose: dark fruit, minerals, some of that aged cab sweet notes, creme brulee. Taste: black cherry, minerals, earth, floral, and a strawberry currant finish with a silky texture that coats the mouth. Medium acidity keeping it fresh..yum — 6 years ago

leon egozi

9.6

One hour decant and it was good to go — 7 years ago

Curtis Osborn

9.4

Curtis had this 7 years ago

Lori K

9.4

Great dark fruit with pepper. Nice blend. Low acid, great overall dark red. — 8 years ago

Manny Abascal

9.5

After 1 hour harsh and rough, but after 2 - 3 hours it came around brilliantly. Complex, balanced, silky texture. A special wine. — 9 years ago

Mahek Shah

10

Strong berry rich cabernet sav. Aromatics of plum, vanilla, blackberry. Soft to tongue with long finish with just the amounts of spice and oaky. Pairs well with grilled steak. Tannins enhanced after letting it breathe for 30 min - 1 hour. Depth in flavor, great with hearty meal to compliment. — 10 years ago

Mark Juckeland

9.5

Raison on the nose. Well balanced. Could probably breath more than an hour or so — 10 years ago