Kim Reisman McKee

9.4

Dark red/purple to red rim. Red apple skin, rose, dried sour cherry on nose after 30 minutes in the glass, more iron and paint thinner when first opened. Medium acidity, waves of iron, earth and spice in the mouth, subtle fruit, slightly bitter and peppery finish. — 11 years ago

with Patrick

Ira Schwartz

10

The essence of ripe cherries and strawberries invade every nook and cranny of this wine. Extremely silky and smooth in the mouth which produces a finish that reminded me of the horizon when you are looking out from the deck of a boat, just does not quit. — 11 years ago

Carl Steefel

9.8

Informal gathering to drink some Bordeaux varietal bottles with steak.

1986 Cheval Blanc: This one showed suspect ullage, to the point where it had been hard to flip it. And in the end, it did turn out to be a controversial wine--was the orgasm 40 days, or was it 36 days? Hard to say... An extraordinary wine, classic in its own way, with fragrant dark flower and black cassis aromas wafting from the glass, and maybe more importantly for us, exploding in the mouth. Some of the more ordinary adjectives, like "smooth" and "balanced", are accurate enough, but obviously don't do this one justice. One could do a fluid dynamical description of the time evolution of this wine in the mouth, a broad attack that gave way in about 3 seconds to a sensation of acceleration and flaring across the entire breadth of the palate as the wine detonated, an oenological version of a jet... And then a persistent finish where the inner mouth perfume resonates as it fades slowly (or simply moved off to some parallel universe). — 11 years ago

Barb

9.7

Wow... So many flavors in this wine. It's quite a treat to your mouth. Smooth with a great mid taste and a long finish — 11 years ago

Valerie O'Shea

9.4

This was delicious, dull mouth feel, nice fruit well balanced and a gorgeous garnet color very easy drinking — 11 years ago

BurgundyFan

9.4

Excellent, 3 hours decanting and showing great complexity. On flavors is far superior than on the mouth, probably because of the vintage. Aromas of coffee, cherries, cigar box, layers and layers. Good structure and joined food very well. — 11 years ago

Filipe Botton

9.3

Perfectly integrated, complex nose and great mouth. I got surprised how concentrated it still is. — 12 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.2

A Clape. Firm, light ruby in the glass. Briary dried brush and black berry in the nose. Round and pleasing in the mouth. Ok finish. Likely past its peak but still enjoyable. — 11 years ago

Dock Hooks

9.4

Crazy good paired with dipping into gamba al ajillo (emphasis added), at Napa's groovy/real Zuzu, catching a classic deeply dirty nose while still sporting sun-drenched fruit that initially reworks one's first blush front mouth with an iodine edge that morfs into red and black fruit edgy with acid/tannin slow dancing to the depths and begging for another pinch of broth soaked chewy freshly baked bread and the associated next swig of this sweet juice...rhythmically stellar by day or by night😎🌌👣🍷🌀🎼

PS hit Zuzu (friendly, delicious and real...

— 11 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.5

1998 vintage. Earthy and roasted almond. Ripe lemon rind. Full bodied. Rich mouth feel. Mocha. Acidity not overbearing - touch light? Long concentrated finish. Excellent — 12 years ago