Little Bird

Château Palmer

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

2 hour decant(little fine sediment). A splendid dark magenta with some bricking. On the nose: subdued but enticing notes of blackberry, cassis, cigar wrapper, clove, pine, maybe a touch of brett. Taste: silky, still youthful at 20 wine with blackberry, red fruit, graphite, spice, and a medium smokey licorice tar finish. YUM..good but expecting more for the year..will wait a few years for next attempt. — 7 months ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland
with Brenda
Tom, Douglas and 18 others liked this
Rob Brobst III

Rob Brobst III Influencer Badge

@Tom Garland I have a small collection of 2005 Bordeaux. I might need to get a bottle this from ya!
Rob Brobst III

Rob Brobst III Influencer Badge

@Tom Garland and hold a private dinner to explore possibilities!!!
Tom Garland

Tom Garland

@Rob Brobst III Sounds fun! Pick em carefully...as Andrew said, some drinking well, while others need more time even at age 20. Cheers!

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1997

Decant for sediment (lots of chunky/fine sediment) and pour. A stunning medium ruby red color with little signs of aging. On the nose: big inviting notes of dark fruit/currants, worn leather, herbaceous, smoked meat, funky earth, menthol. Taste: silky, evolved, expressive structure with brambly plum, currants, old leather, dark chocolate, graphite, and a black raspberry-iron-dried herb long finish. YUM! It's what's you want in an aged Napa cab, and glad to have just acquired 3 more bottles. — a year ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland
with Brenda
Brenda, Deborah and 18 others liked this
Tom Casagrande

Tom Casagrande Influencer Badge

Another tip: I keep a bottle in the fridge to pour decanted sediment dregs into, and use it (except for the muddy bottom part) for cooking. That way my coq au vin or daube is braising in really good stuff from my cellar!
Tom Garland

Tom Garland

x Tom C, good notes. Thanks for the tips. Cheers!
Tom Garland

Tom Garland

x x I find the sediments can be bitter and usually try to remove them so they don't impact the wine. Hate them all over the side of the glass. Cheers!

J. Rochioli

Little Hill Pinot Noir 2008

2008 vintage. Had never come across the "Little Hill" until today. Light-medium body. Decanted and was fairly musty for 2-3 minutes before it started to blossom. Some blue fruit/menthol/eucalyptus throughout the experience. Demonstrative spice component on the back end. Could really only ding this on being slightly "watery" on the front palate. Otherwise, this is kicking now and has plenty of life and love to give. 5.27.23 — 3 years ago

Andrew, Severn and 13 others liked this

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1967

Decanted and really opened up in little more than half an hour. 54 years and still has vitality. There’s still some fruit but it is mixed with subtle acidity and soft tannins. A delight to drink and share with friends. Our friend was given the wine and wanted to share it. We all were quite happy.👍🍷🍷 — 5 years ago

Joe Becerra
with Joe

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

Artemis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Wanted to like this more. A little acidic aftertaste. — 5 years ago

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

2014. Just really good. May have aged a little longer, but definitely drinkable right now. — 6 years ago

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend 1995

Great Beaucastel, dark fruits, still a little structured, long finish, excellent!! — 9 months ago

Jim Powers
with Jim
Tom, Dave and 7 others liked this

Spottswoode

Family Estate Grown St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Always drinks well. Robust without being overpowering. Dark purple, blackberries, graphite and pencil lead. Fine minerals. A little pepper. — 10 months ago

Tyler liked this

Dom Pérignon

Brut Champagne Blend 2008

Medium lemon colour . Persistent and fine perlage. This is quite restrained at first with lemon oil , toasty baked pastry and oyster shell hints . On the palate this is really quite intense , honied lemon , ginger, toasty yellow fruits , toasted nuts and quite mineral, oyster shell hints. Long and complex on the finish , fresh acidity , intense and complete . Needs a little more time, will show even better in 5 -10 years or so and over the next 10-15 years . — a year ago

Jeroen, Tom and 18 others liked this
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

Have a couple of these and figured it was still a hold. Nice notes and score. Might have to open one. Cheers!🥂
Andrew Cullimore

Andrew Cullimore Premium Badge

Thanks @Somm David T , yes if you have a few certainly open one , but it’s best days are certainly a few years off ! Enjoy !

Oban

Little Bay of Caves 14 Years West Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskey

Not really a whisky drinker, but I can appreciate this Scotch. Very woodsy and dry. Cedar with orange bitters, and oaky vanilla bean. Clean fresh finish, with a long lasting Szechuan pepper tingle and wood chips towards the end. 14 yr single malt. — a year ago

Raul, Juan and 2 others liked this

Château Montrose

Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2000

2000 vintage. Briar, earth and slight brickish nose. Color as if bottled yesterday. Light-medium/medium body. Throwing some serious sed. Decanted for two hours and a little watery on the concentration but plenty of fruit. I suspect this would have fared better with a six hour decant/lounge sesh. Also follows on the heels of last week’s tasting of the massive and undying 1990 vintage so there’s that. — 3 years ago

Jan, Peter and 25 others liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1978

Birth year Bordeaux and this has been excellent. Very old school nose of copious tobacco, forest floor and dark berries. Medium bodied but gaining intensity over the course of 2 h - tannins completely melted. Bricking is apparent on first pour but the color grows darker with time. Perfect bottle that is a little past it’s prime but fun to step back in time. — 5 years ago

Vino, Jim and 6 others liked this

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe

La Crau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend

Really good. A little young but still good on the nose and light finish at the same time. Not incredibly complex but still intriguing. I could drink a LOT of this often. — 6 years ago

leon liked this

Ridge Vineyards

Monte Bello Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2024

Clear, deep ruby in color; on the nose, it's clean with pronounced primary and secondary aromas of black currants, black plums, and cedar. On the palate, it's dry, medium acidity, high tannins, medium alcohol, medium body, and a pronounced intensity of primary and secondary flavors. It tastes like blackberries, eucalyptus, graphite, and black cherries with a long finish. This wine is a little off balanced (the eucalyptus flavor is a little too intense), complex, and intense. Overall, I would rate it as very good. Nellie liked it with steak. — 10 months ago

Nellie Bauman
with Nellie

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1975

Medium deep garnet with a terracotta rim . This has some sous bois , earthy tobacco , coffee grinds , herbal touches , cedar and dried currants . On the palate this is quite dense and classic in profile , still quite a lot of tannin , sous bois , cedar , some cassis , tobacco and a little herbal. Quite stocky and chunky . Medium length , and balanced acidity . This is still quite dense on the palate , with grippy , slightly rustic tannins . Probably just past peak , but will hold over the next 5 years or so . Tasted at Hedonism Wines , London …. No label on the bottle ! — 10 months ago

Dave, Tom and 16 others liked this

Ridge Vineyards

Lytton Springs Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel Blend 2006

Cork giving out but why not after 19 years! Wine is escaping to fresh beauty with a little wet dog age that I like.
Holding her space in 2025
80% Zin, 16% Petite Syrah, 4% Carignane
14.7% is reigning it in on this varietal and well done! Doesn’t feel fire breathing at all 👏
— a year ago

See TaleggioErika Turner
with See and Erika
Erika, Joe and 1 other liked this

Château Cheval Blanc

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 1990

Meaty and intense. Lush with violets, a deep purity and smoothly intense. Really great stuff. A little more powerful than the 82 alongside but a whisper less refined — a year ago

Walker StrangisDavid Schachter
with Walker and David
Ceccherini, Tom and 12 others liked this

Château Gruaud Larose

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2011

Opened yesterday and 2/3rd of the bottle was left to rest. Yesterday the nose was made of tar, cigare, cedar and oaky notes. There was very little fruit. 24 hours after the same notes are still showing but I can smell some cassis, some meat juice and a tiny peppery note. This is very concentrated and intense. The palate is very well made with a very strong acid drive, some very nice matter on the sides, a great width, a plush mouthfeel, some cassis and meaty, salty touches, a great mid palate with grainy, dusty tannins that power up a very long finish that tend to expand on the rear: there is that grainy, dusty layer of tannins that carries on for a very long time, these cassis notes that bring a bit of tanginess, and some smoky, oaky notes linger for a while too. This is an aristocratic wine and my last bottle will rest for another 10 years at least. Off vintage but great bottle — 4 years ago

Martin, Andrew and 18 others liked this

Ameztoi

Rubentis Getariako Txakolina Hondarrabi Beltza Hondarrabi Zuri Rosé Blend

A really nice dry rose. At times felt a little sparkly — 6 years ago

Château d'Yquem

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 1989

Most interesting Sauternes I’ve tried. Started smooth with honey and then got more complex with a long finish that changed as it lingered, especially as the bottle got some air. Felt like it was maybe a little too powerful towards the end of my last glass, but I was maybe getting some sediment at that point. All in all an exciting tasting and it left me excited to try some of their other wines. — 6 years ago