Martijn

9.0

1997 vintage on 24.12.18 Cork broke into 1000 pieces.
Still a red fruit bomb. Drinking easily but I will keep my other bottles in the cellar. — 7 years ago

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

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

Taylor Beard

9.2

Lillies, lemon zest, peach on the big aromatic nose. Dried apricot (lots), lemon, orange, chalk on the palette. Lingering minerality and bitterness on the finish. Keep tasting and smelling new things throughout the first glass. — 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

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 — 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

Dave O'Brien

9.1

Keep the summer going. — 11 years ago

Mike Evans

9.3

Razor sharp acidity and minerality at the core, on the linear side at the moment but with enough flesh on the bones to keep it from being too austere. Right now it is better with food than on its own, but just sipping it still delivers plenty of pleasure. — 7 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. — 8 years ago

Erik Nordman

9.4

First time trying one of the Tempier reds. Damn, this is some towering, dense wine. Perfectly balanced though. Intense concentration without any overripeness or hyperextraction. Even this, the entry-level cuvée, obviously has the stuffing to age for a while. However, it's surprisingly giving now with expressive aromatics and layers of flavor. Nose of ripe strawberry and blackberry, fresh thyme, an almost smoky, arid, gravelly soil character, rich tobacco leaf, licorice root, a slight gameyness, and a slightly volatile, balsamic character. Palate is equally dense and ripe, but still has some lift to keep it from being quickly fatiguing. More ripe strawberry and raspberry, thyme herbaceousness, smoky gravel earth, tobacco, savory gaminess, and slightly volatile balsamic character. Medium (+) acid, medium (+) to high intensity incredibly fine-grained tannin, medium to medium (+) body. Begs to be joined by a rich lamb or beef dish to stand up to it. I'm gonna get another bottle of this and not touch it for quite a while because there's still so much room to unfurl and smooth out, even with it being as good as it is now because it's just almost too intense right now. Will be an amazing wine at maturity. — 8 years ago

with Cassie

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. — 10 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

Swii Yii Lim

9.5

Like an older version of the 2004 I tried in April. Concentrated coffee, milk chocolate and smoky fruit, with hints of struck match minerality. Good concentration and tannic grip; could still keep. Tried blind, and guessed it was a Pauillac or Leoville Las-Cases. — 11 years ago

Genie Ko

9.1

Love the packaging! Perfectly refreshing for this warm October night! — 11 years ago

Vinny Eng

9.5

I keep revisiting this liquid rockpile honeyed amazingness from @SacredThirst. — 12 years ago

with Heather

E & K G

9.4

Absolutely wow!! Tannins have been well integrated but there’s still enough acidity to keep it fresh. Good drinking now but this will continue to evolve for a loooong time. #makersdinner — 7 years ago

Patrick Hu

9.4

Amazing chilled! — 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

Andy Hall

9.0

Well I am the only one drinking wine tonight, so it is a 375ml Insignia to the rescue. This was very monochromatic when I popped the cork. Let it breath for an hour and it is still pretty short on the finish. Does not exhibit the layers that a typical Insignia vintage exhibits. Don't get me wrong, it is still good just not as sophisticated as expected. Spoiled I know, but we must keep up our standards. — 9 years ago

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

Eric Egan

9.3

It's young, no doubt about that. Might wait 5 years to open the next one... A lovely pure, greenish hue, fine, crystal clear; toast all the way - still closed but alluring; rounded and balanced, with good acidity. The fruit and sugar are present but well hidden. This will go on and on - a Bruce Forsyth like virility will keep this up for decades... — 10 years ago

Sariya Jarasviroj Brown

9.0

Took some days to open up and share. Earthy with a cherry chaser and a twist of acid to keep it lifted. Brett is a well known neighbor to this bottle but he doesn't overstay his welcome. Enjoyed! — 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

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

Joseph Moss

9.3

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