Neal Family Vineyards
Château La Violette
Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 2010
The 2010 La Violette has a well-defined bouquet with predominantly red fruit laced with scorched earth, leather and just a touch of cassis in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with a grippy entry. This has fine backbone, perhaps a good deal of Cabernet Franc in the blend. Very expressive towards the finish and extremely persistent. A class act that is just beginning to show what it is capable of. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal. (Neal Martin, Vinous, April 2020)
— 4 years ago
Château d'Yquem
Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend
The 2014 d'Yquem has a complex bouquet with buttered toast, almond, honey and peach skin aromas. It opens with greater zeal than its peers, there is more immediacy here. The palate is very well balanced with crisp acidity, a finely tuned and satisfying Sauternes with style and grace, evincing great tension and mineral drive towards the finish. Superb. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2018) — 6 years ago
Château Figeac
St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2003
Wow. This is full of cedar box and smoke, dark fruit, that french terroir of scorched earth, its medium body with smooth tannins. Decanted 1 1/2 hours.
I've had several vintages of Figeac and this one is a no nonsense vintage. Peaking in the next 1-3 years? Like my location Paul? @Paul T @Jade Moore @Jim Trobaugh @Neal Schaffer @Eric Shanks @TheSkip @Warren Sapp @Vanessa D @Bill Bender @Martin G Rivard @Connor McMahon @Neal Schaffer — 7 years ago
Neal Family Vineyards
Wykoff Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Very nice. Definitely pick up the terroir and some dustiness. — 10 years ago
Sbragia Family Vineyards
Neal Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Black cherry, raspberry, mocha, vanilla, eucalyptus, cassis and oak. Full-bodied and soft tannins. — 2 years ago
Château Belair-Monange
St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2016
The 2016 Belair-Monangé displays almost clinical precision on a nose of mineral-rich black cherry and raspberry fruit, plus hints of wilted violets and iris. The medium-bodied palate delivers firm grip on the entry. This is a clean, precise, correct Saint-Émilion with plenty of tension and poise toward the persistent finish. Very classy and noble. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
— 4 years ago
Château Haut-Bailly
Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2017
The 2017 Haut-Bailly matured in 50% new oak and bottled at the end of April. It has a fragrant bouquet with blackcurrant, wild strawberry, wilted rose petal and light truffle scents emerging with time. This is a less powerful nose than recent vintages, but I appreciate the understated style. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded, saturated tannin. There is good acidity here, quite spicy in the mouth with a gentle, if not overly complex finish. It is the kind of Haut-Bailly that will drink comparatively early, though it has the substance to last for 20+ years. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2020)
— 4 years ago
Château Brane-Cantenac
Grand Cru Classé en 1855 Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend
The 1961 Brane-Cantenac is a wine that I have been lucky enough to taste three or four times before. It’s a wonderful 1961 that comes racing out of the blocks, displaying vestiges of red fruit, autumn leaves, mint, chlorophyll and blood orange on the nose. It just feels multifaceted and more complex than the 1959, even if it does not quite reveal the same vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and impressive concentration. It is maybe a little rustic in style but certainly shows more depth and concentration than the 1961 Rauzan-Sègla that I tasted a month earlier. There is a touch of Earl Grey and tobacco lingering on the finish. Maybe this is in gradual decline, since it does not match the stellar bottle tasted back in 2010, yet it remains a great Margaux. Tasted at the Brane-Cantenac vertical at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, January 2019) — 5 years ago
Neal Family Vineyards
Rutherford Dust Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Below the Radar #MarkNeal. Does it right — 11 years ago
Château Calon-Ségur
Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2016
The 2016 Calon-Ségur has a very concentrated, multifaceted bouquet of blackberry, blueberry, cedar and wild mint. I adore this – so involving and so intoxicating! The palate is very well balanced with succulent tannins and a fine bead of acidity, full of tension and poise. Black cherry and blueberry emerge toward the satisfying, complete finish. A gorgeous Saint-Estèphe. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2020)
— 4 years ago
Château Mouton Rothschild
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1945
This bottle of 1945 Mouton-Rothschild is my fourth encounter and actually showed better than one poured three months earlier that came directly from the château. Ethereal as always on the nose, that distinctive menthol scent is present and correct, and this bottle is perhaps more elegant and almost Burgundian in style. The palate has heavenly balance, quite opulent and velvety, with morello cherry, raspberry preserve, orange pith and a delicate touch of cedar on the never-ending finish. Monumental. Tasted at Koala's 1945 dinner. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2020)
— 4 years ago
Château Canon
Saint-Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2015
The 2015 Canon has a tightly wound bouquet with mineral rich black fruit, raspberry coulis, rose
petal and desiccated orange peel. It takes time to come together, but it does. The palate is well defined, very focused with fine minerality. This is discreet but beautifully balanced, clean and precise with a sense of energy and precision on the finish. It is less showy than its peers at the moment, which
explains why I am more parsimonious with my score. Yet the potential is locked inside this wine and it will aspire toward perfection with a decade in bottle.Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, July 2019) — 5 years ago
Neal Family Vineyards
Napa Valley Zinfandel
Wine and cheese night!!.. — 7 years ago
Neal Family Vineyards
Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2013
Love this wine for its crispness and consistency. Great Napa Sav Blanc for summer time. — 9 years ago
Neal Family Vineyards
Second Chance Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
2005 Second Chance did not disappoint. — 9 years ago
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The 2003 Ducru-Beaucaillou, picked 15-25 September and matured in 90% new oak, has a ripe and opulent bouquet with lavish black fruit, fresh fig, dates and a touch of liquorice, though here is no sense of over-maturity here. It is fresher than a lot of ‘03s that I have recently tasted. The palate is well balanced with supple, rounded tannins. There is a real candied essence to this Ducru-Beaucaillou, with quite a pronounced liquorice finish that you want to go back to. This is ageing well - one of the better wines of this infamous growing season. Tasted at the Ducru Beaucaillou vertical at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, July 2022)
— 2 years ago