Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.2

The 2002 Guigal ‘La Turque’ is the finest Rhône wine that I have sampled from this challenging vintage. Flowering issues and problems obtaining phenolic ripeness plagued the N. Rhône in 2002 but the ‘La Turque’ was not lacking in richness. Black cherry, wild blackberry and huckleberry flavors connected with shades of iron and wet stone on the palate. Fresh and vibrant, this beautiful wine is drinking brilliantly now. Drink 2019-2029- 92 — 7 years ago

Brandon Boesch

9.3

Massive nose, massive wine. Huge fruit with jam, herbs, stone, and spice. Finish lingers with tannins and tart raspberry jam. Overall nice. Reminds me of a Santa Barbara Syrah. — 7 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Tasted blind. Tawny color, translucent with amber rims. Notes of black cherry, cedar, some spice and a little barnyard floor. Sweet fruit in the mouth, with tannins fully resolved. Guessed 1955 Calon Segur. Perfect looking bottle, the cork revealed this bottle was reconditioned by the Chateau in 2000. — 7 years ago

Tobin Trevarthen

9.1

Funky vegetal nose, opened up to a nice black cherry, tobacco, prune delivery with some Mediterranean spices added in. Cool year profile. — 7 years ago

Doctor No

8.9

Classic, if a bit foursquare. Subtle meaty notes, slightly faded black fruit, hints of white pepper, a little soil. — 8 years ago

Larry Copeland

9.0

Young nice wine. Nose little fruit - stone red and little fresh leather - drinks red cherry- lite — 8 years ago

Joe Lucca

9.0

When you have to travel on a Sunday, and that Sunday happens to be Mother's Day, you're not exactly psyched. This little oasis in the Delta Sky Club afforded me the opportunity to smile. Not a bad pour, regardless of the price. Typical Lynch-Bages cigar tobacco and leather with some luscious and velvety black fruit. Finished a little flat, most likely due to being open for a while in the fancy automated pour gizmo. But still smiling! — 8 years ago

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.3

Super deep and dark ruby red with an almost black core. Dark baking spices in the front of the nose followed by dark fruits, especially dark dark cherries. With some air there were some purple floral notes and more vanilla. Moderate tannins (7/10) and full bodied. Initially a little tight so we gave it a splash decant. Around an hour or so in, tons of cinnamon and other dark spices. Strong undertone of puréed dark berries and light herbs too. Long body but this needs a little more bottle age. Cannot wait to try it again at the release party next month. Drink till 2028. — 9 years ago

with Sean and India

Mike Saviage

9.5

Dark ruby. Translucent and regal. Floats in the glass. Leather saddle, cedar cigar box, spice, dirt, and gravel notes in the nose. Rich and powerful in the mouth with notes of black fruit, stone, a warmth of cassis. Long finish. Coats the mouth and lingers. Still youthful. In the early part of a very long drinking window. — 10 years ago

Daniel P. Drake

9.1

Tonight I am going with another Pinot Noir. I feel I am getting into a Pinot rut so this I promise will be it for a little while, but what can I say, I love me some Pinot. Well the nose comes on with good notes of black cherry, cranberry, allspice, clove, earthiness and floral notes of lilac. On the palate the black cherry comes through with notes of pomegranate, good tannins with green vegital notes, oak which all blends together very well in a full mouth feel. — 11 years ago

Sabrina Dempsey

9.1

Love the name and the taste! — 12 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Le Parc at Les Crayeres in Reims. Deep dark ruby color, opaque. Wild nose with notes of black cherry, violets, menthol, slate stone and some mocha. Very perfumed. Rich and silky in the mouth. Tannins integrated. This is ready for consumption. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

The nose reveals, ripe, brightly floral dark & red fruits. Blackberries, dark cherries, blue fruit heaven, black raspberries, baked strawberries & rhubarb, cherries, prune notes, and dry, slightly burnt cranberries. Mixed berry cola, steeped tea, vanilla, touch of clove, allspice, used leather, limestone minerals, dry stone, whiff of graphite, faint herbaceous notes, dry underbrush, old cedar, tobacco leaf, with withering red & dark withering flowers with violets.

The body is medium to full. The tannins round, nicely softened but still a little tarry. The structure, tension, length and balance are are harmonious and starting its climb to their peak. The mouthfeel is gorgeous and sexy. Brilliantly, bright, laced; blackberries, dark cherries, blue fruit heaven, black raspberries, raspberries, baked strawberries & rhubarb, cherries, and dry, slightly burnt cranberries. Mixed berry cola, steeped tea, vanilla, touch of clove, dark medium spice with heat, allspice, used leather, some sweet tarriness, limestone minerals, rich dark soil, dry stone, whiff of graphite, faint herbaceous notes, dry underbrush, old cedar, tobacco leaf, with withering red & dark withering flowers with violets. The acidity was very good and the finish showed it’s Saint Julien elegance. It’s a beautiful wine now and over the next 15-20 years.

Photos of, Chateau Leoville Barton, the “Gentleman of Medoc”, Anthony Barton, harvest work of their Merlot and their barrel cellar.

An hour and a half in decanter.
— 7 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Straw gold color. Caressing aromatic nose of lemon curd, river stone, spices and a little apricot. Really good balance of structure, fruit and acidity in the mouth. Lasting finish. Textbook white burg. — 8 years ago

Priscilla

9.0

Chris really likes this. Pris thought it was just ok. A little bitter. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

On the nose, stewed fruits of; black plum, blackberries, dark cherries, plum and blueberries. Mocha, chocolate, mixed berry cola, sweet spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, loamy mineral soils and dry dark florals. The mouthfeel is less concentrated than other vintages of Corison but that's indicative of the 10 Napa vintage generally. The tannins are nicely resolved with another 5-8 years before they are completely resolve. The fruits are; dark cherries, black plum, plum, black raspberries, blackberries with strawberries that dance around the rest of the fruit. There's nice barrel toast, vanilla, nutmeg, light clove, cinnamon, touch of wood shavings, liqueur notes, caramel, mocha chocolate, mix berry cola, loamy soils, dry crushed rocks, bramble, dry stems with nice soft round acidity. The finish is a little lean but tasty. Good balance of fruit and earth with long, rich elegance. Cathy slightly overachieved the 10 vintage as a whole. Photos of; her estate building, Cathy in her vineyard, grapes coming in at night (better to harvest when the fruit is cooler) and her estate vineyard in all it's glory. Producer notes and history...Cathy Corison grew up in Riverside, California. She studied biology at Pomona College and was on their men's diving team, because the school didn't have a women's team. In 1972, she had to take an extracurricular class. She signed up for a trampoline class, but changed her mind upon seeing a sign-up sheet for a wine tasting class. This class was the catalyst that sparked her interest in winemaking. After graduation in 1975, she moved to Napa Valley in California. She received her Master's degree in Enology from University of California, Davis. Upon moving to Napa, she started working in the tasting room at Sterling Vineyards and at a wine shop. During this time, she was getting her Master's degree at the University of California, Davis. She was told by her professor that she would not get a job in Napa Valley because of being a woman. However, if she wasn't the first Napa Valley female Winemaker, she was certainly one of the first. She tried to get a job at Freemark Abbey and was denied because they believed she could not work in the cellar. She almost took a job at Christian Brothers in the enology lab. However, she decided not to take the job and in 1978 she became an intern at Freemark Abbey and eventually became their Winemaker. She joined Chappellet in 1983 and was their Winemaker for nearly ten years. She founded Corison Winery, in 1987. The winery is located in St. Helena, California in a barn built by her husband, William Martin. Corison makes Cabernet and Gewürztraminer. They produce about 3,500 cases a year depending on the vintage. The winery makes a Kronos Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and as well as a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The Kronos is an estate wine that is made from organic grapes. The vineyard is dry farmed. The grapes come from one of the oldest vineyards in Napa Valley. The Napa Valley Cabernet comes from Rutherford. The Gewürztraminer is called Corazón and comes from the Anderson Valley. — 8 years ago

John Landis

9.5

Beautiful black cherry nose with deep translucent red color to the edge. Incredible fruit on entry and throughout the palate. Awesome wine with great finish! — 9 years ago

Berg

9.1

Big, meaty, hints of black olive, herbs, cherries...not too surprising as this is syrah, grenache, and mouvedre :) enjoyable, just a big wine. — 9 years ago

with Theresa

Katie McVan

9.0

Big fan. Good price. Great taste! — 11 years ago

John Caldarella

9.7

Drinking very well. Ripe black raspberries and dark chocolate on the palate. A little orange bitters on the finish. Delish! — 12 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.3

Tasted blind. Dark reddish purple color, opaque. Looks and smells rich. Notes of black berry fruit, tobacco, some cassis and a little anise. Chewy in the mouth. Powerful fruit and structure - this is still young. Easy to guess as a young Cal Cab, althought it wasn't that young. — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.2

Compared to a Spottswoode 06, this one seemed to have similarities but and it was over all this one has more tobacco and slightly less of the dark mature raspberry and black cherry. However, this one even after an hour was still a little disjointed and out of balance. I don't know if this is just on the decline or maybe a little bottle variation. I'd think about drinking this. — 7 years ago

with Dan and Shay

William Hughes

9.3

Aging beautifully! Still loads of currant and lavender. Add a touch of iodine and some more black fruit, mix with lean tannins and fine acidity. Here is to Maryland wines! — 7 years ago

Jim Enloe

9.0

Very nice, needs a little time to breathe, nuts has nice fruit and tannins in a good balance. I'm running out of bottles and will be disappointed! — 8 years ago

RustyR

9.2

Open. Cassis on nose. Dig and vanilla mostly back of the palate. Fat. Little more tannin would be a plus. But very little dark chocolate flavors and plum/prune. Good little expensive — 8 years ago

Rochelle

9.0

Smooth integrated fruit on day one today day two more Tannic more prune -cherry flavors and a little anise kick — 8 years ago

Joshua Crisp

9.0

Hints of vanilla bean waft from the glass, which gives way to more powerful notes of freshly ground white peppercorn and cedar dust, deeper notes of dark cherries and grilled field mushrooms rounding out the bouquet. The darker notes carry over to the palate, the fresh cherries and black currants gliding onto the palate to unfold into juicy blueberries and blackberries, accented with ripe cranberries and smooth chocolate. Tannins are subtle and refined, and finishes a little short though on some lovely berry and wet basalt notes. Great quaffer! — 9 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.1

Deep dark opaque blackish purple. Notes of mocha, black fruit, stone, eucalyptus, and warm berry pie. Nice mouth feel with integrated tannins. Finish is a bit flat though. — 9 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

Saturday night...time for steak and claret as my buddy Gary Westby says. In this scenario, I envisioned the wine being equal or even better than my steak. Not to toot my horn but most everyone that's had my steak simply says meaningfully that it is the best they've had. Myself, I've only had one better the Ribcap at Bourbon Steak in SF; which sadly closed as the hotel took back the space they were in. Hopefully, soon to reopen again elsewhere in SF. However, back to the Pichon Baron. I can't say I loved it. I wanted to love it as it is one of my favorite properties in Pauillac. The wine isn't bad but it just never shined. Maybe, it's just not a good moment in it's evolution to open. It's soft, elegant but missing the beauty, flavors and complexity I've come to expect. The fruits are dry blackberry, dark cherries, black raspberries, a touch of juicy strawberries and black plum skin. Dark dry powdery minerals, saddlewood, lead pencil savings, underbrush, dry dark earth, dry pebbles. There is not much on the mid palate, it finishes a little flat and the fruits never really shined. Surprising for such a warm vintage. Hoping it improves over the years as I've got 5 more. Unusual that the wine really needed the steak more than the steak needed the wine. — 9 years ago

Samantha Curtin

9.9

I'm not always a fan of Merlot but this was delicious! Very smooth — 12 years ago