Jay Kline

9.4

Opened and decanted hours prior to dinner; enjoyed over the course of a couple hours. The 1989 appears a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of tart, ripe, and dried fruits: cassis, blackberries, black cherry, black plum, tobacco, Poblano pepper, mixed dried flowers, some cocoa, pencil shavings, dried green herbs, a touch of leather, some organic and gravelly earth and fine warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Fabulous stuff with plenty of fuel left in the tank. Drink now through 2039. — 6 months ago

Victor Charcan

9.3

Tipicity! You know it’s Bordeaux, and great, the moment you smell it. Yet this dark fruit, pencil lead one took me to the wrong bank. It felt fresh, and less dark. Blackberries and plums, for sure. A great wine. So young… — 9 months ago

Matthew Goldenberg

9.1

My first experience with a bdx with this type of age. It had a note of green pepper on the nose and had a lot of life left. — 9 months ago

i2

9.0

This was interesting... Imagine swishing rusted nails in blackberry juice and taking a healthy sniff and sip. I hope you’re up to date on your Tetanus shot, because this bag of metal will punch you in the throat…in a good way. Pair with something lightly flavored. — 3 years ago

Mario Vaillancourt

9.3

Le nez prend un peu de temps à se placer, nez assez classique de rive-gauche par la suite, ne montre aucune fatigue, superbe texture, une finale longue et savoureuse, très beau. 92-93

The nose needs some air, the cork was wet with some aromas of wet cardboard at first but things got for the better after with no apparent defect and a classic left bank nose. Gorgeous balanced Cos, not the most powerful at this point but gracious, showing no fatigue also with a long delicious finish.

— 4 years ago

Skip Smyser

9.7

Haven’t had this top of class of 2000 in awhile. It so outperforms most of that vintage. Tannins are perfect. Lush red fruit that lingers forever. Spent a little time tending the vineyard and decided to treat myself. WOW!!! Only two bottles left. Boo🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 5 years ago

Rick Riddle

9.8

This ”left bank” Bordeaux eludes a sophisticated sexiness from start. In the glass, it’s inky, dense, purple intimidates you at first, but the silky, well balanced full bodied with soft tannins puts your mouth at ease. From the nose to finish, it is apparent that it had spent a substantial amount of time in French Oak. Notes of cassis, black cherry on the palate add a chocolate mole as it begins to breathe, with a finish reminiscent of those Welch’s Strawberry Fruit Snacks (in a great way) on a lengthy finish. Pairs great with a smoked Gouda, but almost equally as good alone. While the $150 price May scare you away, it is worth every penny. Savor every sip! — 7 years ago

with Meagan

Jay Kline

9.2

From back when Mouton was still a Second Growth. Decanted prior to service; enjoyed over the course of several hours. This bottle of the 1966 pours a garnet color with significant rim variation; medium viscosity with light staining and signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of ripe and desiccated red and black fruits: cassis, blackberries, green pepper, tobacco, leather, old wood, organic earth and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium. This was a good showing for the ‘66 and certainly has life left in it however, there’s no need to hold out. Drink now. — 6 months ago

Alessandro Dalle Carbonare

9.7

97-98. Best wine tasted in the right bank.
Pure flowery and fruity aromas of incredible precision.
In the mouth it is simply perfect. Given the challenges of the vintage it is really incredible.
Technical yes, but not lacking personality.
A real great wine. — 8 months ago

Bruce Leboff

9.3

A crowd pleaser. A touch of Cali cab sweetness A no send crushed rose petals and blackberry. A scintilla of tobacco and lavender. A little wood on the palate. Well restrained. Drinking well - with lots of life left. NI’m brush on this one — 9 months ago

with David

Shay A

9.2

While not on the same level as the 2010 Left Bank I opened a few months ago, the profile of this 2011 Right Bank was squarely on the bridge between Sonoma and right bank Bordeaux.

About 60 merlot/ 40 CabFranc. 13.9ABV

Pours a slightly fading red-black. The entire time this was open, the aromatics sported a distinct funk that I’m struggling to describe…whatever comes before brett, that’s what this was. A mix of earth/forest, mineral, fig and a small hint of leather (I’ve come across a similar profile in older warm vintage right bank Bordeaux…but this is cooler vintage Sonoma). The palate is structured but in a nicely balanced phase…red and black fruits, more fig, and espresso at the finish.

Followed over the course of 4hrs from bottle, and while the last glass seemed to be a bit more integrated, I think these are in “drink now” phase. — 10 months ago

Deborah M

9.3

Another one from last night’s birthday dinner. I had a little left to revisit on day 2 and it is still amazing. What a classic. I could sit with this for a long time. The smokey, deep dark fruit/licorice, and velvety mouthfeel, all make this wine shine. This one will definitely improve with more age. Easily one of the top 5 wines of the year for me. — 3 years ago

Peter Collins

9.1

The nose was weirdly muted and indiscernible. Also a bit tight but the finish was full and nice. It’s good but for the price and time in the bottle, it just left me unimpressed — 5 years ago

Daniel P. Drake

9.3

Tonight I have the pleasure of tasting the 2012 Château Montrose Saint-Estèphe. 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

The nose has beautiful aromas of black currant, black cherry, blackberry, rose's, mushroom, pencil shavings, herbs, eucalyptus and mocha.

A very expressive palate of black currant, blackberry, black cherry, cassis, black pepper and green bell pepper.

This wine is full bodied with a silky smooth mouth feel, medium + acidity and medium + mouth coating tannins that extend out to a long clean dark fruit finish. A captivating wine to say the least and just another example of a left bank Bordeaux done right from Château Montrose. Enjoy your weekend and may your December be very eventful. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 7 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Presented to me double-blind at Tasting Group. The wine pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core and rust colored rim; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of light sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of ripe and drying fruits: lightly stewed blackberries, black cherry, plums, tobacco, dried green herbs, old fine wood, vanilla and 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.

Initial conclusions: this could be Tempranillo, Malbec, Merlot (or based blend), or Zinfandel-based blend from Spain, Argentina, France or the United States. However, the staining was a bit much unless there was a lot of PS in the blend so I eliminated Zinfandel. I also didn’t think this was purple enough for Malbec. This left me with Tempranillo or Merlot and I felt that this leaned more towards its structure than fruit so I was leaning Spain or France with 15-20 years of age and from a solar vintage. Ultimately, I chose Tempranillo, from Spain, Rioja, Gran Reserva from 2006…from a quality producer like C.V.N.E. Yeah, I can see Pomerol. Shoot. This is stuff and ready to drink now and will drink well through 2032+. — 7 months ago

Tom Casagrande

9.2

Super earthy at first, but with air the fruit/earth balance is equilibrating. Loads of irony/clay notes in the nose, with dark plummy fruit. Tannins are integrating but still present. This presents more like a 20th Century right bank wine than what is usual now, with fruit and softness but no overripeness and a nice sense of restraint. — 9 months ago

with Rebecca

Ken Venezio

9.8

Sometimes you're lucky enough to have great friends that share extraordinary wine. This is an amazing wine. A big wine with big bold flavors but it never left you feeling like it overpowered you. Structure balance and all the accolades. Could easily stand another 5-10 and not lose a thing. — 2 years ago

Will Stanley

9.4

The 2016 Chateau Musar, the winery’s latest vintage on release, is much less forthcoming on the nose than the 2013 and ‘15 that I’ve tried recently, despite - or perhaps because of - the fact that the Hochars consider 2016 to be a successful and very ageworthy vintage.

The nose is quite dense and tightly wound, much like a left bank Bordeaux presents in its youth, not yet revealing its cards besides aromas of cedar, steeped plum, smoked beef and cinnamon. The palate, however, is open for business - powerful and saturated, striking that wonderful Musar balance between dark fruit and tangy acidity, expanding towards a puckering finish with good length.

The lasting impression here is of a very modern rendition of Musar, with great clarity and purity to the fruit, fine tannins, refreshing acidity on the palate and great drinkability now (though equal potential to age). My preference of late remains the 2013, but that’s now quite hard to buy - so I’d happily have a case of this instead.

94+ — 3 years ago

Rania P

9.3

Decantered for 2 hours, low tanins, not too acidic. Big, bold, smooth. — 4 years ago

Bruce Leboff

9.4

A beauty with great depth. Lovely. Great balance and well interested tannins. Lovely. But lots of life left. — 6 years ago

with Michael and David