Zena Schulman

10

Such a good pet nat!! — 2 years ago

Vanessa

9.2

Honoring my marvelous father with a meal and wine he would have appreciated with gusto.  We wish he was here to share it with us, but are deeply grateful that his spiritual presence remains so strong in our hearts today and every day.  💕

This blend is predominantly (78%) Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot.  🍷 It hails from the Haut-Médoc region on the “left bank” of Bordeaux, 🇫🇷 more specifically, the Pauillac AOC.  Pauillac is a highly-regarded commune, with favorable growing conditions, known for producing some outstanding quality wines.  👌👌 This wine is no exception. 😆

🏰 Château Grad-Puy-Lacoste is a cru classé, ranked among, and a neighbor to, the region’s top estates.  It’s incredible to think the first vines planted on this property date back to the 1500s, making it one of the oldest properties in the region.

We decanted this wine for several hours, which helped it soften and release its layered aromatics.  

👁 The color is deep garnet with notable tearing.

👃 On the nose it has medium(+) intensity and concentration of developing aromas.  The aromas include ripe black fruit such as cassis, black cherry, blackberry, and plum, as well as other non-fruit notes like black licorice, pencil shavings, and violet. It has secondary notes of clove, nutmeg, allspice, cedar, also tertiary notes of wet earth, tobacco, leather, meat, fig, and mushroom.

👄 This wine is dry and its flavors on the palate are consistent with the nose.
This wine has balance, complexity, a strong structure, with firm, grippy tannins, and a long elegant finish.  👏👏

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, vintage 2011, ABV 13.5%.  — 4 years ago

with Deked1

Jon Shares

8.9

White Pinot!? Not bad at all. — 6 years ago

Thomas koelblen

9.1

Fruity and strong — 6 years ago

Alexander Miller

8.9

Cab Franc is so underrated. Usually like French ones better but this one is awesome for Ca. Still has that vegetal quality but rounded out with tons of big Cali vibes fruit. Medium tanin. Yum. — 7 years ago

Mike Beltran

9.0

Very solid Bordeaux blend with lots of fruit flavors and balanced oak influence. Still very young and well reward cellar time over the next 5/8 years. Top rate Napa Cab at a fair price.. Nice job Bruce.... — 8 years ago

with Janelle and Joe

MH

Marketing/Public Relations, Joseph Phelps Vineyards

9.2

Decant this one. #RAEN — 9 years ago

Amanda

10

Spoon and stable. Great food, better company — 9 years ago

Flavio Menezes

9.8

Violets and pure cassis, painfully young, not because of what it is, but what it will be. So much left behind... or ahead! — 10 years ago

Byron C Mayes

9.7

Still really tight. Dark red purple. Classic cassis notes. Still plenty of time left. 2021 maybe? — 11 years 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

Lynn Derbyshire

9.0

Excellent!! Full mouth feel, with a little kick at the back of the throat. At Rockfish w D&S for C’s 70th. — 4 years ago

Avery Plank

9.3

2016 is 83% Zin & 17% Petite Sirah. More Zin than 2015. Again, if you miss the old Prisoner this is the wine for you. — 5 years ago

Chris Reilly

8.9

Really solid orange wine. Lots of tannins, not too much funk. Really nice. — 6 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.5

Rather suddenly, and without much explanation, Bordeaux found itself in the middle of my crosshairs as being the next place I wanted to conduct a deep dive in. With this shift in my general attention from New World to Old World I began to do more research on the various appellations, prominent chateaus, and nuances of Left Bank and Right Bank, as well as compile a spreadsheet highlighting specific bottles I wanted to seek out. For a reason unbeknownst to me, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou was the producer I wanted to start my deep dive with. I researched the history of the chateaux, learned about their wines, priced out vintages that were immediately available for my acquisition, and added it to my Bordeaux spreadsheet, waiting for the time to pull the trigger and purchase a bottle (or two) to start the trek with. As far as wines are concerned it was all I could think about: Ducru-Beaucaillou. Apparently, the mere act of researching a chateau left me beguiled, craving a wine I had never even had before! With all of this research in mind I’ve learned over the years that as much as I thoroughly enjoy researching and trying wine, it’s certainly more enjoyable to share the knowledge and the experiences with others. Enter @codyuzzel, who has heard more than his fair share of my wine ramblings over the years. One day we began discussing Bordeaux, Left Bank v. Right bank, and changes in our thought patterns about the region over the years, which eventually lead him to asking the million-dollar question: Are there any producers you’ve highlighted that you’re particularly interested in? I told him that Ducru-Beaucaillou was in my crosshairs, along with a handful of other producers that I’d explore once I’d tried Ducru. That’s when he texted me the picture; a picture of him holding a glorious bottle of 2012 Ducru-Beaucaillou. “I took this pic before we started this conversation.” Given the serendipitous nature of this occurrence he extended an invitation to pop the cork upon our next meeting, which is interesting in and of itself given that I had been thinking about visiting him at the wine bar just earlier that day. It’s moments like these that truly make the wine journey a sweet and rewarding one. Thanks, Cody, for your generosity and epic invitations.
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Anise, graphite, plums, and blackberries. Very polished and very delicious. — 6 years ago

with Cody

Olivia Walters

10

Like Guinness, with a mocha aftertaste. — 9 years ago

MH

Marketing/Public Relations, Joseph Phelps Vineyards

9.4

Lots of life left in this wine. What a treat. From 3 liter. #josephphelps biased review — 9 years ago

with Joseph

Ryan Mullins

9.5

With lots of life left — 10 years ago

with John

Cassi Meo

10

Always good with daddy — 12 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.6

From a great looking bottle with a fill almost into the neck. Double decanted and left in the bottle for 5 hours before attacking it. Amber color. Good weight and haunting nose. Notes of old cedar, mocha, plums, cola, dark fruit, molasses and some sweet red cherry. Early on it’s all about the amazing nose. But with time the wine gains weight and you have a gorgeous old St Estephe in front of you. Still giving its all, and although the fruit is somewhat faded, this has complexity and structure that still drives the experience. And that nose is simply stunning. Great showing. — 3 years ago

caleb tenenbaum

9.2

liked enough to buy again! — 5 years ago

Robert Pierce

9.6

Fantastic Pet Nat. Light and flirty. Grapefruit notes — 6 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

Amanda Thomas

9.1

Mineral and floral notes. Not very much fruit. Super refreshing! — 7 years ago

with Tim

Melinda Lafferty

10

Perfect for breakfast/brunch.....light crisp taste — 8 years ago

Omid

9.3

Still has 3-5 years left. Opened up very nicely — 9 years ago

Martin G Rivard

9.4

My favorite Napa field blend. Huge dark fruit nose., not for the faint of heart!! It is drinking incredibly well. Decanted 6 hours prior to drinking... was silky smooth yet with incredible intensity and depths of flavored. 😍 love it! This was the 3rd wine opened — 9 years ago

with Roderic, Cindy and 3 others

Lili Brock

9.3

Best moscato I have had with a higher ABV. Currently my moscato of choice! — 10 years ago

Charles Schneider

9.1

Showing well for the age. Texture was pure silk. Good bit of fruit still left in the old bones. Can't wait to show Jean-Louis Carbonnier. — 11 years ago

Eddy Mendez

10

Pretty darn good showing with tons of dark cab goodness and and nice structure early on but as it warmed from cellar temperature and opened the richness of the fruit started to outweigh the acidity and tannin structure. I guess it's a matter of what you want from a Cabernet. The 'Old World' Brother In Law and the rest of his loyal crew who value smoothness over all else thought it was "like buttah". I had to side with the spacewrangler. While this wine was not over the top or over extracted it left me wanting more structure. — 13 years ago