Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

Pontet Canet tasting and dinner with Alfred Tesseron.

The 13 was a brutal tannin vintage when I tasted it at En Premier. The tannins are still bitty but, nothing like they were out of barrel.

The fruit in the 13 shows the difficulty in the vintage. They are duller and it’s really stands out from other vintages and not in a good way.

It’s lean and there is nothing that really draws you in. Fruits are; dark cherries, rhubarb, blackberries, some blueberries@and the strawberries show some ripeness the other do not. Lots of dry earth, dry stones, some herbs, dark withering florals, decent acidity and a uneventful dry finish.

Photos of; Clyde and Alfred at the bar, their Amphora style cement tanks they ferment part of each vintage now, road signs of the good neighbors they keep and Chateau Pontet Canet. — 6 years ago

Patrick Hu

9.4

Amazing chilled! — 7 years ago

Ian Staub

8.9

Nose is honeyed, floral and saline, with some ripe apple. Nice acidic finish makes this one an easy sipper with some intrigue up front. — 8 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.2

Deep garnet red with lots of bricking on the edges. Light cassis and dark cherries on the nose with some tertiary notes like earthiness and damp leaves. Moderate tannins (6.5/10) and full bodied. Lots of complexity with light cassis and dark cherries, a little bit of tomato leaves and earthiness. Very well rounded and integrated with a long finish. This will only keep losing fruit and get earthier with time. Drink now. — 9 years ago

with Sean and India

Tom Jenkins

9.0

Another great "location" wine from Orin Swift. This one is a classic España red. A beautiful touch of Tempranillo/Rioja - very fruit forward; hints of dark berries and soft green apple finish. The wine finishes with a smooth red taste on the tongue - not too dry, just enough to keep you wanting more. For the price - this is an every day wine for sure! I could drink this alone!
— 10 years ago

Marty Winters

9.4

Turning people on to @Cathy Corison is one of my favorite things, we just keep running out of it... — 10 years ago

Miguel de Leon

Service Director/Wine Educator Casa Mono

9.6

Keep rosé Syrah #goodgod this wine is delicious — 10 years ago

Drew DiMatteo

9.1

I've really liked this wine since I first had it @Corkbuzz , a touch of brett to keep it funky and fun. #Chinon — 11 years ago

Gerald Gabillet

9.7

1989 is a Great wine. I will keep a very good memory. Now, I understand more why Las Cases is different! — 11 years ago

Dave O'Brien

9.1

Keep the summer going. — 11 years ago

Josh Weinstein

9.5

2002 vintage and it was absolutely perfect!!! Magnums help keep the grapes flowing — 6 years ago

with Kristen

Justin Wittkopf

9.7

This was just amazing tonight. Perfect blend of black cherry, plums, licorice, and earth tones, with broad palate and just enough acidity to keep everything lively and fresh. Killer. — 7 years ago

Jim McCusker

9.4

Well, I fired up a couple of fullblood waygu fillets for tonight (and Vanessa made a KILLER polenta), so the competition was tough. This is a terrific cab nevertheless. Classic nose of black fruits, violet, cedar, and black currants with a hint of leather. Not as tannic as I was expecting, but still had enough backbone to keep it interesting. If you have this, I’d suggest waiting a couple of years, as I suspect it will be more interesting once it starts acquiring more secondary flavors. Still a terrific cab! — 8 years ago

with Vanessa

Jeffrey Lew

9.9

Happy Holidays from Dr. Latour. And the Dr prescribed the 1990. This was a very stubborn bottle. Started off closed and wanted to keep sleeping. 4hrs later it finally woke up. This was screaming. Dried fruit, pencil lead and beautiful aromatics of leather, clove and camphor. Worthy of the vintage and chateau. Really awesome stuff. One of the best yet. Hope all of my Delectable friends have a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. — 9 years ago

Teresa G

9.0

A little sweet but worked perfect for the spicy dish I had it with. A good wine to keep in house for guests. I would buy again — 10 years ago

Fabien Lainé

Blogger VinDeling.com

9.1

Mature and very pleasant, it has way time to get even better, complex, fruity light notes with tobacco, olives and oaky notes - keep on evolving a great way — 10 years ago

George Tita

9.3

I have one more that I hope to keep my hands off for another decade or so! — 10 years ago

Ilya Genkin

9.8

Keep it, keep it! Did I say "Keep it"? So keep it! I'm deadly serious about that. Absolutely extraordinary shiraz. Multi-layered aromas as you tasting. Starts with pepper and other spices at first changing to black and red fruits and then some vanilla, nuts and florals aromas come. Well-integrated and very smooth tannins. Long, persistent finish. Very powerful yet delicate wine. Definitely can be drinked now, but will benefit from additional bottle age. Simply delicious. — 11 years ago

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.6

Shit picture. Great wine. Krug has long been one of my favorite '96s. Searing acid structure, but there's enough body, fruit and now secondary savories around it to keep it all together. Drinking now, but will go forever. A total skyscraper of a wine. — 11 years ago

Vinny Eng

9.5

I keep revisiting this liquid rockpile honeyed amazingness from @SacredThirst. — 11 years ago

with Heather

Dawn E.

9.4

Deep dark fruit!! Liquid Smoke....Cedar...Mocha...Milk chocolate.
Graham cracker ...Cassis...just enough spice to create a wonderful balance. As others have stated @Mike Smith magic! Tomorrow 58th Birthday...was going to keep tradition and do a nice long run in a.m....but Iowa weather has different plans..sometimes compromise is best! Could not have chosen a better wine! — 6 years ago

Holly Orchard

Certified Sommelier, President of Savvy Cellar Wines Inc.

9.1

Needed a little time to open up, but once it did, this wine had some wonderful layers. This opened with plum, blueberry, purple flowers and rich soil before changing over to more notes of leather, and subtle pepper and nutmeg. The tannins were still pretty firm but balanced. It was a good match for a filet with blue cheese/black pepper/parsley. It was interesting to keep finding the changes in the wine over a couple hours. — 7 years ago

Jason Lee

9.6

Classic. Can really taste the craftsmanship. So smooth and drinkable with enough beauty to keep you from chugging. Nothing but love for this bottle — 8 years ago

with Jenny and Esther

Patrick Hu

9.4

Fascinatingly yeasty. — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

Impressive new vinification improvements recently finished at Lafon-Rochet. As well, is their 2015. Gorgeous fruit and beautiful purple florals. A Chateau to keep on eye on going forward. — 9 years ago

Mike Blom

9.0

1982 wasn't rated highly as a vintage but this 5.0 liter shows great producers can still provide a solid wine.

Red rim and deep red core. Violets and red currants. Toffee, leather, coco bean in the initial flavors. Enough acidity to keep the finish lively. — 10 years ago

Marc Stubblefield

Wine Sales at Vino Carta and Kogod Wine Merchant

9.3

Spendy bubbles aren't usually my jam, but this is pretty great. So much minerality and lime centered citrus almost keep you from noticing just how big a wine this is. — 10 years ago

Ulrich Hoffmann

9.2

Still a classic. Bill and Jeff did a great job. Plenty of time to keep sampling. — 11 years ago

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.4

2011. Blanc. No one drinks enough of this. That's because there are so few things to which its a good partner, but it would be an incredible cheese-and-charcuterie wine. Broad and oily, there's just enough acid to keep you coming back for more. Sun-baked yellow orchard fruits dominate, but there's more exotic fruits too (mango and dried pineapple) yellow flowers, tons of almond husk bitterness, green olives, bay leaf, oregano, tarragon, white cheddar. Oak is assertively present but not overwhelming. Place dominates over grapes here, as it's a mix of Clairette and Grenache Blanc and a hodge-podge of other things. — 11 years ago

Joseph Moss

9.3

Gamay all day, every day! With some aging on it. Good to drink, still good to keep. — 11 years ago