Severn G

9.2

2022 Independence Day Party 🇺🇲 with several members of our Tastevin crew and extended friends.🍷 Proof that our palates are wider than Burgundy. Notes may be light, scores will be honest.

750ml; Disgorged March 2021. — 3 years ago

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9.8

When I tasted the 2018 Pontet-Canet in barrel I described it as a "freak of nature." The 2018 is more than that, it is a freak of nature. Made from yields of just ten hectoliters per hectare, the 2018 possesses off the charts richness, phenomenal balance and head-spinning intensity. Crushed red berries, flowers, mint, cedar and rose petal saturate the palate in a Pauillac of breath-taking richness. The silkiest of tannins frame the phenomenally pure, long finish. This is a towering achievement from the Tesseron family and former Technical Director Jean-Michel Comme, who together spearheaded biodynamic farming in Bordeaux and built the present-day estate around a philosophy of non-interventionalist winemaking. In 2018, grapes were crushed solely by hand. Because of the tiny yields, the entire production was vinified in Pontet-Canet's new smaller concrete vats. All winemaking was done manually, without the aid of external temperature control or electricity. Put in another way, if Lalou Bize-Leroy made Bordeaux, it would taste like this. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, March 2021)
— 5 years ago

Uli Klumpp

9.1

Winemaker's comments: 76% Cabernet Franc, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, Bates' Ranch. Bright, fruity, berry bouquet. Balanced, soft tannins, good finish. Unfined and unfiltered. 159 cases produced. Bottled March 1997. — 5 years ago

Patricia Schnitzer

9.2

March 21, 2020. Dinner w/ J2 and Jack D. Jack D brought this wine. 70% Merlot, 30% Cab Franc. Black cherry, slate. Lovely. — 6 years ago

Raj Harb

9.5

Consistently brilliant bottle. Lot 13, disg March 2018. — 6 years ago

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9.8

The 2015 Screaming Eagle is fabulous. Rich and ample on the palate, with soaring aromatics from the Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2015 is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Ripe red plum, pomegranate, mint, kirsch, lavender and sweet spice notes are beautifully delineated in the glass. In this tasting, the Cabernet-based Screaming Eagle is quite a bit more open and accessible than the Merlot-based The Flight. Even so, it will be years before the 2015 Screaming Eagle is ready to drink. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, March 2018) — 7 years ago

Michael Piaker

9.2

19 March 2018. The Four Horsemen, Brooklyn, NY. — 8 years ago

Mark Farrell

9.3

Second time having this wine. This wine is kicking off a long weekend in Nashville with me and the wife. Very good. Not giving the detailed notes I usually provide, because I just wanted to enjoy without analyzing. So I will standby my rating before. Glad I have a few more of these. — 3 years ago

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9.8

The 2018 La Conseillante is a regal and utterly exquisite Pomerol from the very first taste. Technical Director Marielle Cazaux and her team turned out a jewel of a wine. Silky tannins and lifted, precise aromatics make a strong first impression. Inky dark fruit, pain grillé, lavender, spice, menthol and a kiss of new French oak all flesh out over time. More than anything else, what comes through is the new emphasis at La Conseillante on freshness and verve. The 2018 is a Pomerol of tremendous precision. It is, in a word: dynamite! (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, March 2021)
— 5 years ago

Jay Kim

9.1

Kennedy Town - March 16, 2021 — 5 years ago

Scott E. Becker

9.0

[Tasted on March 28, 2020 at Home]

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Dark cherry, black currant, coffee, sweet spice and dusty tannins. — 6 years ago

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9.6

The 2017 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is powerful and backward, with huge tannins wrapped around a core of black cherry, smoke, charcoal, licorice, blackberry jam and graphite. Exotic and rich in the glass, the 2017 needs time to soften, but it is immensely promising, not to mention utterly captivating. Tasted three times. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, March 2020)
— 6 years ago

Peter Zandbergen

9.7

Deg March 2017 — 7 years ago

with Elise

E & K G

9.4

The great vintage showed through beautifully on this one. A mesmerizing nose and palate - dried fruits, red flowers, earthy tones. Not everyday an MW calls it his wine of the year (it’s only March, but hey!). — 8 years ago

Patricia Schnitzer

9.2

July 7, 2021. Dinner w/KK 😁 Jack D, and J2. Celebrating KK return to CoMO, albeit just a visit. She brought pizza, I pulled out this wine. Perfect w/pizza and a lovely super Tuscan from Maremma. 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. Slightly different than the 2012 vintage I drank and rated in March. This is just as yummy, though less aged so more fruit (dark cherry) and less earth and leather. Still wonderful. Drank both bottles I had. Need more! — 4 years ago

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9.1

Crushed wild berries, violets, incense and sweet spices lift up from the 2016 Barrua. It is silky in texture with a polished display of red and black fruits, well balanced by tactile mineral notes that form toward the close. Hints of fine tannin linger throughout the pretty, purple-tinged finale. The 2016 could use another year or two to flesh out a bit, but I expect that it will always be a more lifted and leaner expression of Barrua. This is a blend of 70% Carignan, 10% Syrah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc. (Eric Guido, Vinous, March 2021)
— 5 years ago

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9.5

The 2018 Grand Puy Lacoste has a quintessential Pauillac nose of intense black fruit infused with graphite scents, pencil shavings and a very discreet marine influence. It is beautifully defined, less opulent than the 2018 Lynch Bages tasted alongside, yet maybe more complex. The palate is medium-bodied and taut, offering sappy black fruit, gritty tannins and a lot of crushed stone. The focused, graphite-driven finish could only come from this appellation. Superb. A wine to correct those bemoaning that Bordeaux no longer makes "proper Claret." (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2021)
— 5 years ago

Patricia Schnitzer

9.1

March 12, 2020. Another winner from GD Vajra! Bought this to prepare my palate for my planned visit to Barolo next month. My palate is more than ready even though the trip fell victim to coronavirus. Now, sending best wishes to all of Italy. I will visit as soon as possible! This wine is a lovely expression of cherry and earth. — 6 years ago

Scott E. Becker

9.1

[Tasted on March 31, 2019 at Home]

50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Brimming with plum, dark cherry and blackberry fruit, with cedar, spice, graphite and licorice. Rich and tannic, with nice balance. — 7 years ago

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9.6

The 2014 Angélus is now really beginning to blossom. It has an outstanding bouquet with plush but delineated black cherry and cassis fruit, crushed violet and just a hint of pencil lead. There is wonderful focus here. The palate is medium-bodied with tightly knit black fruit, graphite and spice. There is weight and presence, but it is effortlessly counterbalanced by the freshness and acidity, whilst the finish if extraordinarily long. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2018) — 8 years ago