Idle Hour

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend

Funk on the nose- old books. Needed more time than we had to decant. Barely opening at an hour. Lots of earth, tobacco, but thinner than expected — 4 years ago

Realm Cellars

The Bard Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2011

3 hour decant and this is so so good! — 8 years ago

Underground Wine Project

Idle Hands Red Blend 2014

Excellent wine! — 9 years ago

Rick liked this

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1995

Lost some of the fruit. Got better after an hour with food. — 10 years ago

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend 2013

Shay A
9.2

Typical stink on the nose, but if that deterred you, you sorely missed out. After being open an hour+, this baby came alive and really flexed some mixed fruit, herbal, and dense earthy notes. Solid CDP for the price! — 10 years ago

Château Talbot

Saint-Julien Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1980

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! — 10 years ago

Anthony and Matthew liked this

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1987

Maxwell Burns
9.8

Stunning at almost 30 years of age. Decanted for an hour or so, opened beautifully. Pipe tobacco, plum, dank pit (Moe the bartender), tons of anise, soft tannins with some grip, holding up incredibly well. I would have guessed mid to late 90's napa cab based on looks and taste... thanks @Matthew Nagy what a treat. — 10 years ago

Polina BurnsMatthew NagyBen Brenner
with Polina, Matthew and 1 other
Joshua and Ira liked this

Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

Baron de Pichon-Longueville Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1992

Great cedar and cassis nose with a matching palate. Persistent without being boring. Earthiness coming out after an hour to balance chocolate covered berries. — 11 years ago

Beaulieu Vineyard

Private Reserve Georges de Latour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Pours clean dark purple into the glass showing no age. I'll be damned if one couldn't enjoy the dark fruit aroma from 5 feet away. Wow. Dark fruit, leather and pleasant oak quality supplemented with a silky tannic structure that gave a 60 sec finish. Not the most complex Latour I've enjoyed at this point but this bottle actually tightened up over an hour after opening indicating much life ahead. Sheeeit! — 11 years ago

Anthony and Lundmark liked this

Clos des Papes

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend

Sam Coturri
9.5

That perfect balance between bright red fruit and dark aromatic herbs. Ready to drink now (after being open for an hour or so) — 12 years ago

Anthony, Matthew and 1 other liked this

Scarecrow

Monsieur Ètain Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

V M
9.1

Opened nicely after hour but needs more time for the tannins to soften a bit. Raspberries on the nose but Less forward fruit and more nuance. This shows flavors of berry and plum with strong notes of balsam wood and hints of chocolate and spice. This has potential to get better in a couple years but delicious now just decant for at least an hour — 13 years ago

G and Brian liked this
G G

G G

By the way thanks for the recs on myriad, mathiason and bevan!
V M

V M

That's awesome congrats! No prob on the recs. Parker released his napa scores yesterday and bevan got their first 100 pointer. Feels like they could be the next SQN
G G

G G

Got that e-m, it must be an incredible feeling to achieve that! It will be fun to continue to taste and I will have to put a tasting dinner together for that comparison... Getting any sleep?

Greer

Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

From Magnum......4 hour decant......just spectacular! — 6 years ago

Warren Grossman
with Warren
David, Billy and 13 others liked this

Silver Oak

Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

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! — 8 years ago

Martin, Shay and 19 others liked this
Joe Lucca

Joe Lucca Influencer Badge

Awesome. Totally agree @Martin G Rivard the old stuff was blue chip. Lost their way over time. 1999 is my favorite 90s vintage. Still have a bunch in the cellar.
Matt Duncan

Matt Duncan Influencer Badge

Come see the new Alexander Valley winery @Martin G Rivard @Joe Lucca Our best wines are ahead of us!

Château Montrose

Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1988

A bit out of my league, but incredible. Funk, ash, herbs de Provence, licorice. Opened slowly, as expected. Pure velvet after an hour. Probably the only opportunity I'll have to try this. — 10 years ago

David, Chris and 3 others liked this
Ellen Clifford

Ellen Clifford Influencer Badge Premium Badge

Wow!! What was the occasion/or who was opening for you? I've tasted a 1983 Pauillac and ever since wanted to taste more old Bordeaux...
Dan White

Dan White

@Ellen Clifford No special occasion, just enjoying with friends. My friends parents have a big stockpile in their basement of random old(er) wines. We usually just go searching and try new stuff. Pretty rad! :)

La Rioja Alta

Gran Reserva 904 Rioja Tempranillo Graciano 2005

Classic Rioja and right in the window for '04 904. Hour of air time at least. — 10 years ago

Myriad Cellars

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

.
9.1

Terrific nose. Needs an hour or so of air to fully unfold and show what it has to offer. Nice light touch of spice in the finish. — 10 years ago

Steve, Anthony and 11 others liked this

Tenuta San Guido

Bolgheri Sassicaia Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2004

Needs two hour decant. Muted nose and higher acidity until it opened. Pretty cab blend with higher tartness at the finish. Unfortunately this was the weakest among a very strong line up last night. — 11 years ago

Château Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 1934

5-Oh Bday Dinner... From a half bottle. Deep red and purple color. Mostly opaque and thick in the glass. There is still some good fruit in the nose with gravel and soil notes. Very round in the mouth. The wine hung in there over the hour it was consumed. Nice experience with an 80+ year old wine. — 11 years ago

Caymus Vineyards

Special Selection Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1984

Birth Year wine, so I'm a bit biased. Took about an hour to open up. Great cherry and floral notes. Wish I had another. — 11 years ago

Quilceda Creek

Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

Charlie Beatty
9.7

Power full with 1 and 1/2 hour decanting I think this wine needs serious ageing . Brooding huge powerful wine much more like a great Bordeaux !! Love it but next time will open and decant 4 hours or more!! I rate this 98+.. Impressive — 12 years ago

Charlie and Brian liked this

Shafer Vineyards

Hillside Select Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

3 hour Audoze followed by a 2 hour decant and poured back in the bottle for dinner. This was extraordinary! Every bit as impressive as the ‘01 and ‘02. Robust blackberries, graphite, a smooth yet substantial mouthfeel and a sensational lingering finish. I recall reading a review of the Shafer HSS that descried the wine as “an elegant sledgehammer”....a perfectly succinct and apt description — 7 years ago

Bill, Stanley and 38 others liked this
Mike R

Mike R Influencer Badge

Love extraordinary Sir @Bill Bender
Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

05 is my favorite, typical decant for me is 4 hours, drink over the next two hours and it just keeps getting better, still have a couple mags of 05 & 2 .750’s
Michael B

Michael B

@Bill Bender one of my all time favourites.

Witching Hour

Reserve California Deep Red Blend 2014

Lori K
9.4

Great dark fruit with pepper. Nice blend. Low acid, great overall dark red. — 9 years ago

Witching Hour

California Red Blend 2015

Wow. Very good blend. It doesn't say on the bottle but from the taste and location I'll guess Cabernet, Merlot, And Zin?

Heavy blueberry and cherry on the palate to begin...Very vanilla heavy on the nose. Great wine, and great for the price.
— 9 years ago

Duckhorn Vineyards

Three Palms Vineyard Merlot 2005

First wine from happy hour at Wine Watch a few weeks ago. — 10 years ago

Ron, Frank and 6 others liked this

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2006

Ryan Carey
9.2

5 hour decant. Dark dark fruit. Blackberry and a nutty (almond and pistachio?) finish. Still ridiculously tannic. Strong acid right now. Wouldn't open another 06 for many years. — 10 years ago

Eric, Pazzu and 41 others liked this
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

Yes...Anthony makes wines for your children to inherit. 😜

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2011

Took about an hour to open up but eventually opened up nicely. Sour Cherries, roses, raspberries. Still young with persistent tannins on the finish. Give it a couple more years. — 11 years ago

Jim liked this

Château Calon-Ségur

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2004

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 — 11 years ago

R. López de Heredia

Viña Tondonia Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2002

Twelve years in and this wine is so damn perky. Let me get back to you in another hour. Maybe it will be a tad less exuberant and a bit more relaxed. No matter what happens it's still gonna be delicious. These folks are so delightfully reliable. 13.0 abv — 11 years ago

Tony and Anthony liked this

Domaine François Raveneau

Montée de Tonnerre Chablis 1er Cru Chardonnay

2009. Shy! Cream to drink, iodine to smell. Became more expressive after about an hour in the decanter. Very pretty, without angles but not quite round either. Curious. Cull&Pistol in Chelsea Mkt — 12 years ago

Edward and Gabriel liked this
Gabriel Cabezas

Gabriel Cabezas

this went with the scallop looking thing on IG??

Silver Oak

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Needs about 40min to an hour to fully open up. Starts off Bordeaux-ish then finishes up like a Napa cab. — 13 years ago