Alexandre Pagliano

9.2

Very dark purple ink robe, nose of cedar wood, top soil, flowers and cherries, with a touch of spices. Its high octane but light on its feet, less complex than the usual as it has no cabernet franc. Frankly long and very complex, an excellent Evangile, that is very drinkable now but has a lot of potential. A few pros noted the marked wood tannins during the futures tastings, here its well integrated and will probably be better in a few years. — 4 months ago

with Jose, veronique and 1 other

Freddy R. Troya

9.2

Château Cantemerle 2023 – Haut-Médoc, BDX, France 🇫🇷

Overview
A beautifully expressive Left Bank blend of Cabernet Sauvignon 71%, Merlot 18%, Petit Verdot 7%, and Cabernet Franc 4% that delivers immediate charm while retaining classic Haut-Médoc structure and aging potential. The wine shows vibrant fruit purity, polished tannins, and a well-judged touch of oak, making it approachable young yet capable of evolving gracefully over the coming decade.

Aromas & Flavors
Ripe blackberry, black cherry, cassis, and plum layered with subtle cedar, vanilla spice, graphite, and a gentle floral lift. Fresh berry brightness carries through the palate, framed by light savory notes and a refined oak accent that enhances rather than dominates.

Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied with supple texture and finely integrated tannins. Juicy, energetic entry with excellent balance between fruit concentration and freshness. Smooth mid-palate flow and a clean, persistent finish that stays lively and inviting.

Food Pairings
Grilled steak, roast chicken, lamb chops, mushroom risotto, charcuterie boards, aged Gruyère or Comté, and classic bistro fare. A versatile table wine that shines across a wide range of savory dishes.

🍷 Personal Pick
Cantemerle never disappoints, this is pure drinking pleasure wrapped in Bordeaux elegance. Juicy, polished, and instantly enjoyable, yet grounded with just enough structure to remind you why Haut-Médoc remains timeless. A perfect bottle when you want serious pedigree without serious effort.

Did You Know?
Château Cantemerle is classified as a Fifth Growth in the historic 1855 Bordeaux Classification and is known for producing some of the most consistently approachable and age-worthy wines of the Médoc, often offering outstanding value relative to its pedigree. — 4 months ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Château Léoville Barton 2023 – Saint-Julien, Grand Cru Classé en 1855, BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A classic Saint-Julien expression showing clarity, harmony, and structural polish, driven by a 77% Cabernet Sauvignon–led blend with 20% Merlot Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc as a support. The wine balances ripe fruit concentration with restraint, delivering precision, finesse, and a seamless flow from attack through finish.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, ripe blackberry, red plum, cassis, graphite, cedar, subtle baking spice, crushed stone, light tobacco and gentle floral lift.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus body with finely woven tannins, excellent balance, fresh integrated acidity, supple texture, and a long, graceful finish that feels effortless rather than forceful.

Food Pairings
Herb-crusted lamb, roasted duck breast, grilled filet mignon, mushroom risotto, aged Comté or Gruyère.

Verdict
An elegant, dependable Saint-Julien that delivers purity, structure, and drinking pleasure without excess. Refined, polished, and quietly authoritative, a wine that rewards both immediate enjoyment and patient cellaring.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is the kind of wine that wins through composure and precision rather than horsepower. Easy to enjoy today, yet layered enough to keep you leaning back into the glass. Subtle sophistication done right. — 4 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.5

Always a great La Mish experience drinking their 66. This was in perfect condition drinking half its age showing red & black fruit, smoke, cedar, leather, sweet savory spices with cigar ash & tobacco — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.6

Double decanted the night before. The 1998 pours a deep garnet purple with a opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous and imbued with an incredible perfume of ripe black cherry, black plum, purple flowers, pipe tobacco, cocoa, a mix of organic and inorganic earth, and fine warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is a wine in its prime and it’s a beauty. Drink now with some time for it to breathe before service and this should drink well through 2048. — 4 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Mostly black fruits, full bodied with cedar, leather, sweet spices & tobacco — 4 months ago

Iwan

9.2

Lovely perfect drinking window. — 4 months ago

"Odedi"

9.7

#AgedWineTuesday

Celebrating 25,000 followers on Vivino, with this fabulous sweet wine from Bordeaux.

Dark gold in color.

Full bodied and smooth with high acidity.

Sweet on the palate with great complexity and mouthfeel.

Showing lemons, red and yellow apples, tropical fruits, spices, caramel, honey, peaches, lemons, citrus, turmeric and honeysuckle.

Long engaging finish.

This 17 year old Sauternes is drinking exceptionally now, although it will continue to age nicely in the next 30 to 50 years. A delicious dessert wine from a great vintage.

Rich and fruit forward. Beautifully balanced with enough acidity to balance the high sugars. Showing a wonderful nose that I kept smelling on for a long time.

Already showing great complexity, sweet and expressive. Opulent with great elegance.

Wine Spectator 98 points. Wine Advocate 100 points.

I've had many different vintages of this wine, and it is always very impressive.

Good by itself as a dessert wine, or with food. I paired it with blue cheese.

A blend of 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. Aged in all new French oak barrels for 30 months.

14% alcohol by volume.

97 points.

$700. — 4 months ago

Ericsson

9.5

Its peak is slowly declining, drink now. The wine is still pretty incredible. It’s balanced with decadent fruit, medium body, med alcohol, completely integrated tannins, and a long black plum finish. — 4 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I’ve had a number of PC 96’s over time, none quite this good. The fill line & cork perfect. Very little sediment. Some bottle neck tannin burn. For me, Pontet Canet didn’t really hit its consistent, quality stride until 2005. Doesn’t mean they didn’t make a few beauties before then. Pontet Canet is proof that the 1855 Bordeaux Classification needs to be redone. Unlikely it will in my lifetime.

This 96 maybe just short of its precipice. Stylistically a little better than 94.

The nose reminds me of everything I love about older Bordeaux. Dark core of currants/cassis. Ripe, floral; blackberries, dark, baked cherries, sweet, black plum, poached/strawberries, raspberries, hints of baked rhubarb & blueberries, mixed berry cola. Sweet forest floor w/ leaves, sweet mushrooms, sweet led pencil shavings, steeped tea w/ hints of fruit, charcoal, dry tobacco/leather, some dry herbs, withering dark, red flowers, red roses with violets.

The palate is also everything I love about older Bordeaux. Dark core of currants/cassis. Ripe, floral; blackberries, dark, baked cherries, sweet, black plum, poached/strawberries, raspberries, hints of baked rhubarb & blueberries, mixed berry cola/red vines. Everything I understood the first time standing in the estate vineyard of Pichon Baron. Tasting limestone, dry river stone, dark, rich soils with dry leaves, dry stems. In fact, I’ve tasted vineyards soils everywhere I have been in every world wine region. Basically, everywhere in the wine world that has reliance. Many multiple times. Sweet graphite, steeped tea w/ hints of dark fruit, understated, layered baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanillin, dark cocoa, dark exotic spices, some anise to black licorice, charcoal, dry tobacco with ash/leather, some dry herbs-safe/bay leaf, limestone, dry river stone, dry crushed rocks, dark, rich, earth with dry leaves, dry topsoils, dry stems, withering/dry dark, red flowers, red roses with violets, excellent, rainfall acidity with an extremely well balanced/structured/tensioned, great length and an elegant finish that lasts minutes and falls nicely on dry earth and dark spices.

A very, very slow roll with my Ribcap. Definitely better with the steak than on its own.

This bottle tells me this 96 has plenty of good drinking ahead, another 8-10 yrs+.

ABV is 13%. Disappointing it ever changed. — 5 months ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.2

Château Talbot 2023 – Saint-Julien, Grand Cru Classé en 1855, BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A youthful yet promising Saint-Julien showing early elegance, fine balance, and clear upward trajectory. The blend delivers freshness, precision, and layered fruit while still carrying a few youthful edges that signal excellent aging potential.

Aromas & Flavors
Red currant, black cherry, raspberry compote, graphite, cedar shavings, crushed herbs, light cocoa dust, subtle floral lift.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus body with fine-grained tannins, lively acidity, polished mid-palate, slightly angular finish that tightens at the end, a clear marker of youth and future integration potential.

Food Pairings
Herb-roasted chicken, duck breast, pork tenderloin, grilled mushrooms, mild aged cheeses (Tomme, young Comté).

Verdict
A high-quality, early-showing Saint-Julien that already flashes elegance and balance, but will benefit significantly from a few years of cellaring to soften edges and broaden complexity.

🍷 Personal Pick
The talent is obvious, can be enjoyed now. I’d happily cellar this and come back when smooths out a bit more and when aromatics stretch their legs. — 4 months ago

James Burge

9.4

Jeroboam 2005. They say this was a challenging vintage. This bottling beats the challenge. 21 years from harvest it opens up beautifully. Luscious leather, dark cherry with tobacco and currant. The nose is as if you stepped into a new car 2 hours after someone baked christmas spice cookies. — 4 months ago

with Ali

romo

9.0

Too much of everything for me. — 4 months ago

Ericsson

9.6

Magnum, still tasting incredibly balanced. Dark cherry, plum and cassis predominate but secondary notes of leather and mocha quickly follow. The acidity is palpable. The finish is long with setting flavors of ripe dark fruit. — 4 months ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.7

One of the legendary vintages for the Château, 1986 is drinking beautifully with a captivating and ultra complex bouquet and a seductive, detailed palate with killer concentration, Paulliac power and melting tannins. Stunning wine and fully on brand for dinner at The Eighty Six! — 4 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

1961 vintage. Ahoy there! Lower neck fill. Durand employed. Opened (not decanted) with plenty of cork splintering/crumbles despite the Durand and meticulous/slow movements. Cork stayed intact but just barely and about 80% saturated. Extensive (3-4 minutes) cleaning of the bottle lip and inch-deep, upper neck to remove fused cork residue. Tasted 45 mins, 2 hours, 4 hours and 6 hours after opening. Heavier body than expected given the producer. A bit of a slap in the face as it rolled in as medium/medium-heavy body which is hilarious. Nose initially a mysterious, century+ sitting room with plenty of decay, dust and past. Things shifted to soy/teriyaki sauce fairly shortly after with a little 5-10 minute fried chicken nose that vanished. Various (dark/semi-sweet) chocolates and cherry reduction sauce eventually emerged. A paced, harmonious narrative stayed constant throughout. Gorgeous experience. Didn't exactly diminish my impressions of H-B being the best first growth in BDX. It's generally the lightest and least-flashy. 1.23.26. — 4 months ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.2

Château Branaire-Ducru 2023 – Saint-Julien, Grand Cru Classé en 1855, BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A structured and expressive Saint-Julien showing youthful intensity and precision, driven by 65% Cabernet Sauvignon–led blend with 28% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc as a support. The wine delivers power, polish, and depth, yet remains clearly in its developmental phase, signaling strong aging potential.

Aromas & Flavors
Black cherry, cassis, dark plum, graphite, cedarwood, crushed stone, subtle cocoa, fresh tobacco leaf, light violet lift.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus to full-bodied with firm, polished tannins, vibrant acidity, tightly wound core, excellent structural grip, and a long, focused finish that hints at future complexity.

Food Pairings
Chargrilled ribeye, lamb chops with rosemary, venison, mushroom ragù, aged Manchego or Comté.

Verdict
A serious, high-potential Saint-Julien that stands confidently in the mid-pack today while clearly projecting upward trajectory. Best enjoyed after a few years of cellaring to allow texture and aromatics to fully integrate.

🍷 Personal Pick
You can feel the horsepower under the hood, this just needs track time. Not quite ready for full send yet, but absolutely worth waiting for. Future star energy all over this bottle. — 4 months ago

David White

9.3

50% Cab Sauvignon 35% Merlot some Cab Franc and PV
Well integrated tannins, nice rich berry nose and great balance fruit and acidity on the palate. At eight years has still time to mature more but showing it’s there for the long run.
Very nice package overall — 4 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

8.9

Medium deep ruby garnet with wide garnet rim . Open and classic on the nose with tobacco , grafite , herbal , mint , seaweed and some mixed summer fruits . On the palate this is quite fresh and slightly lean in style , quite rustic , bitty tannins and a herbal touch. Mixed summer fruits on the mid palate and a reasonable earthy tobacco tinged finish . Best drunk now and over the next few years on the basis of this bottle . — 4 months ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.7

2020 vintage. A class act, impeccably balanced, layered, concentrated and very elegant, with silky tannins and an impressive finish. — 4 months ago