Andrew Cullimore

9.6

Medium lemon colour . Lovely lemon, buttered pastry nose , still so fresh and lively . Mineral with a honeysuckle note , touch of blanched almond . On the palate quite rich and complex , with high acidity and mineral , honied , brioche notes , still quite fresh though with lots of creamy lemon hints. Long mineral tinged finish . Lovely now and over the next 5-10 years . — 2 years ago

"Odedi"

9.2

To celebrate my 9,000 reviews on vivino, here is a beautiful Pinot Noir.

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Strong fruity nose with bing cherries, raspberries, sweet strawberries, spices, oak, vanilla, licorice, chocolates, tobacco, earth and black pepper.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry and fruity on the palate with blueberries, black cherries, light earth, herbs, spices, vanilla, cedar, black pepper, light cola, dark coffee and licorice. black pepper.

Medium plus in finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This Pinot Noir from Burgundy is already drinking very nicely, but still extremely young. Well balanced and smooth with nice complexity and mouthfeel.

I had it blind right out of the bottle. That was a nice surprise. I called 2018 Burgundy Pinot Noir, but I did not see this kind of bottle coming... What a great experience to blind taste such an iconic wine.

There is always an aura when drinking these kind of wines, but drinking them blind, gives you a perspective that might be missed otherwise.

Needed 2 hours in the decanter to open up properly, and bring more complexity. Much better once it opens up.

Robert Parker 94 points.

I had an older vintage of this wine a year ago, and it is such a different wine. Will continue to age nicely in the next 30 to 40 years.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$2,500. — 3 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Light straw . Quite rich and ripe on the nose , lemon oil , camomile, roasted nuts , touch of patisserie . Quite rich and decadent on the palate , yellow fruits and citrus peel. Pastry elements also coming through . Good length , round but good balance . For now and the next decade — 4 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.5

78% Cab Sauv, 12% Merlot, 7% Cab Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec, deep Ruby, concentrated youthful aromas, ripe black fruit, subtle nutty spice & creamy chocolate. Aged 24 months, 85% new & 15% 1-yr American oak. Palate fresh fruit flavors, sweet plum, blackcherry & dried blackberry, bits of oak & cacao peeking through. Tannins present, but a tad persistent. Long & elegant finish with vanilla & slight mineral tang. Drinks well now continue to develop over the next 15+ years! Outstanding! Tasting Sample! — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Mid to dense Ruby. Herbaceous aromas with graphite and black currant. A sweet fluid palate showing black currant of medium plus intensity and partly resolved Tannins. Oak has been absorbed. In a great spot at the moment - excellent balance. Drink remaining 4 bottles in next few years but it is essentially at its peak. A really good wine but from an Aussie point of view tasting more South East than West Australia. Had another bottle 25 weeks later on the 6th October 2020 with consistent notes. The main feature was that it was less herbaceous than it usually is for Margaret River. Showing more ripe berry fruit and cassis in this warmer year. More McLaren Vale in style. Still very good. — 6 years ago

Manny Abascal

9.4

Brilliant with many years ahead of it. Elegant and not over the top. Opened up nicely after an hour. Maybe decant next time. — 8 years ago

JJ Lumia

9.5

From the Haro-Lumia Tasters Dozen. Faint notes of cherry are evident, but secondary flavors dominate this medium-bodied wine. While lighter on the palate, it is full of forest floor, mushroom, and tobacco flavors. The finish is long and ends with a hint of menthol. Just a beautiful, seductive wine that will only get better over the next 10 years. A WS Top 100. — 9 years ago

Eric Linderman

9.5

No 4 in magnum — 9 years ago

with Jill and Stephen

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Deep Ruby color with aromas of black fruit, chocolate and spice. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, barrel aged for 24 months and another 15 months in the bottle before release. The attack on the palate was rich ripe berries and cherries, a hint of sweetness and the right touch of oak. The wine has nicely integrated tannins and medium plus length finish which should give way to let this wine age for the next decade, especially the 1.5 liter which can last longer that the standard 750ml bottle. — 10 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

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Bright ruby garnet with quite narrow garnet rim . Quite closed at first with mineral , cassis , sous bois , cigar box , touch of smoke . On the palate very intense with lots of cigar box tinged cassis , blackberry , cedar , coffee. Gritty but integrated tannins , fresh acidity . Very long and complex on the finish . This is still young but is starting to show what it can do , perfectly balanced and enormously long . Precise and for Las Cases very elegant . Now and for the next 10-15 years . — 2 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Second wine of this estate located on the southern edge of Saint-Julien, blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, deep Ruby with purple edges, aromas of ripe black and blue fruits, adding notes of cedar and earth. On the palate flavors of blackberry and ripe blueberry fruit with tobacco, oak and spice. Fine grippy tannins, medium+ finish ending with fruit, spice and wet earthy notes. Should continue to improve over next 5-6 years. — 3 years ago

Paul K

9.1

Glad I picked up a bunch of these from Costco a few years ago. Great value! Looking forward to enjoying for the next few years. Don’t think this is a long term lay down but over next five years a great mid week bottle. — 4 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

Tasted blind. Deep tawny color. Heavy nose with lots of drama going on. Notes of old wet cedar desk, red fruits, pepper, mocha, dark moist earth and some spice. Great structure. Has a perfect balance of fruit that strongly remains in the picture with structure and acidity. Silky, coats the mouth. Might have been the WOTN until the next bottle was poured. — 4 years ago

"Odedi"

9.0

It’s time for some Merlot on this#MerlotThursday.

Ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

On the nose, plums, black currants, strawberries, sweet cherries, light cedar, licorice, vanilla, earth, herbs, chocolates, tobacco, spices, dark coffee and black pepper.

Medium plus in body and soft, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with currants, black plums, cherries, oak, light vanilla, spices, dark chocolates, coffee, peppercorn, earth, light vegetables and herbs.

Medium finish with fine tannins, tangy raspberries and peppercorn.

This young Bordeaux from Saint Émilion is already showing nice complexity with a nice mouthfeel.

Tasty and interesting. Tangy and rich. Needs a couple of hours to open up properly.

Still young, but starting to drink nicely now. I am surprised of how approachable it is already. Still a little unbalanced, and needs another few years in the bottle to mature properly. Would be nice to revisit it in 5 years.

This 2018 vintage is showing a lot of potential. A little lighter than the 2016 I had a couple of weeks ago.

A good quality wine that will age nicely in the next 15 to 20 years.

I paired it with Brie cheese and crackers.

A blend of 68% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$55. — 5 years ago

Mike R

9.5

Wine Nerd Herd a week ago in Iowa with gracious host @Eric LaMasters on Thursday night for paired tasting - the herd delivered some amazing wines — 7 years ago

with David, Aaron and 3 others

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.3

Taken from what was generally a tough vintage in the Northern Rhone, the 1997 ‘La Chapelle’ Hermitage is a striking rendition at more than twenty years of age. Bulls blood, iodine, red cherry puree and crushed mint flavors provide some serious refinement. Silky throughout, this will continue to evolve over the next five to ten years — but is marvelous right now. Drink 2019-2025- 93 — 8 years ago

Bruce Leboff

9.4

An excellent example of French Syrah Well integrated. A slight chocolate nose. Slightly dry on the palette but well balanced and enjoyable. Finish is medium to long. Well executed. Lots of life left. Fun to drink over the next 10 years and see it evolve. — 9 years ago

with Michael and David

Richard Rosensweig

9.3

Sassicaia's little brother delivers delicate violet, black currant, and a dusting of chocolate. Jammy, but also balanced like a classic Bordeaux with lighter tannins. Enjoyable young it will undoubtedly get deeper in the next 4-5 years. — 10 years ago

Joe DAscoli

9.2

Final red wine of the night. Moving more towards bold fruity forward wine to cap the night. Dessert wine next. — 10 years ago

Nathaniel Jones

9.1

A classic Aussie Cab Sauv with no fruits bombs! — 10 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

9.4

50-100 years old 3500kg per liter very small under2tons per acre 100% new barrels better for barrel fermentation deep dark earth soy espresso dark berry and plum fruit meaty dark and wild animal very aromatic black licorice 2010 the best vintage ever2008amaxing next to 2005and of course 2004 very rich and well endowed on the palate very round and silky tannins a big but well balanced wine lots of dark spices and fresh on the finish dark spices and some wild animal like but has lots of fruit earth and dark earth with layers of everything here and in balance. Finish 50+ most excellent — 14 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.1

Medium deep ruby , medium wide ruby rim. Slightly more generously fruited , compared to the 2011 . Blackcurrant , cassis, touches of spice , less austere or mineral . Quite round and ripe , rich on the mid palate , but without a lot of tannic structure , balanced acidity. Decent length , with a touch more tobacco and saline quality on the finish. This is drinking well now and will continue to show well over the next 8-10 years or so — 2 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Paler colour than the 76 , medium old gold colour . Quite a lot of bubbles still. This shows much more linear and mineral , quite chalky on the nose and palate but has enough fresh lemon tinged fruits to cover the bones . This is fresher and younger on the palate than the 76 . Long more focused on the finish, higher acidity . This is perfect now and over the next 5-10 years I would imagine . Very much alive and vivid for a Champagne of this age. — 3 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.6

Deeper ruby , narrower rim , just touch of garnet . Quite deep and rich , deeper darker fruits , quite mineral. More cedar and dark cassis , grafite , iron fillings , touch of mint quite ripe rounded but present tannins . Good balanced acidity, robust but very long on the palate . Also needs more time really though is surprisingly enjoyable now because of the roundness of the fruit and ripe tannins , better in 10 years and will last well over the next 20- 25. Bigger boned , fatter and more robust and powerful than the Lafite 2000, though still hugely complex and satisfying. — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured from my cellar. The cork was absolutely perfect. The 2005 pours a rather turbid, deep garnet at nearly 17 years old. There's quite a bit of fine sediment that clings to the edge of the glass with each swirl. Medium+ viscosity. On the nose, this was initially a bit grumpy but within minutes, it relaxed and started to show some real charm. A fully developed wine, this is becoming a bit of a Leather Daddy, full of leather (obviously), bruised and desiccated red, black and blue fruits, Christmas spice fruit cake, coffee, damp earth, and candied nuts. On the palate, the fruit remains quite stunning and confirms the mix of bruised and desiccated fruit with a sort of sherried character. Loads of salmiakki (salted licorice), spiced nuts, pepper, coffee and, you guessed it, leather. The wine was dry, technically, but almost gives the sensation of some RS with all of the over-ripe fruits and the texture was almost sappy, in some ways. However, while this was absolutely rich and well-endowed, it was not cloying. Tannins have fully integrated (though still present) and the acid was like a girdle keeping everything held together. This remains a rather large personality even if it's showing its age. Definitely in a lovely spot...but how much longer will that last? If this wasn't my last bottle, I would probably be drinking these over the next five years unless you want the full Leather Daddy experience...which is okay if that's your thing. — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Been awhile since I pulled out an Insigna.

The 03 Pichon Lalande is the better wine and steak pairing. However, Napa Cabernet is the choice to finish steak and enjoy on its own after. You never want to do Napa before Bordeaux IMHO. It’s much harder to adjust from sweeter to something more earthy.

Enjoyed the 05 as my score reflects. I don’t remember it being as sweet as it was in previous tastings. Still quite good. It just tipped my sweet scale a little too much.

The body is, rich, lush & round. It’s achieved good evolution after 13 years in bottle and will continue to improve over the next 6-8 years and last another 15 years. As I mentioned, the fruit was ripe & sweet. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, plums, hints of blueberries and strawberries haunting the backend. Rich, dark earth, Rutherford dusty tannins and dry soils, purple cola, touch of fresh tobacco & graphite, light baking spices of; cinnamon, dash of clove, nutmeg and vanillin, anise to black licorice, saddle-wood, used leather, dry stems, some dry, crushed rocks/limestone with red, dark, purple and blue florals. The acidity round and nicely executed. The finish was similar wire to wire. It’s, lush, rich, elegant, touch too sweet, polished, well balanced & knitted with a soft, persistent, dark spice on the long set. Very enjoyable second bottle.

Photos of; Joseph Phelps Winery & sloping estate vines, inside lounge are with views of the back side, tasting terrace and front lobby/salon area upon entering past check in. — 6 years ago

with Christina and James

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

When it comes to my B-day, there is only one fit, an old Pichon Lalande with my Ribeye. As a lover of Bordeaux, these two are my favorite pairing. It’s a very slow walk to the finishline. A small bite of steak and a sip of 89 Pichon Lalande. Then, repeat until finished. I had some concerns about this bottle. A slightly slippery and crumbling cork. The first sip was not bad, but not what you want or are expecting. After some time in the decanter, it really started to shine. On the nose; ripe, ruby, floral cassis, blackberries, dark sweet & sour cherries, baked strawberries, blue fruit hues, dry cranberries, baked rhubarb, saddlewood, soft, used leather, bay leaf, touch of sage, hint of spearmint, eucalyptus, vanilla, cinnamon, crushed dry crushed rock powder, black turned earth, dry brown soil with clay, tobacco leaf and perfumed red florals with violets. The body is full, round and silky. Tannins are well resolved at around 80%. The texture, length, tension and length are in a sweet spot. The fruits are ripe, ruby & expressively floral. Blackberries, dark sweet & sour cherries, baked strawberries, blue fruit hues, dry cranberries, baked rhubarb, saddlewood, soft, used leather, bay leaf, touch of sage, hint of spearmint, eucalyptus, vanilla, cinnamon, crushed dry crushed rock powder, black turned earth, dry brown soil with clay, scorched earth, tobacco leaf and perfumed red florals with violets. The acidity is just a little off but still nice. The finish is divided nearly equally in fruit, earth, florals and herbaceous. It’s very enjoyable but falls just a little short in longer, lingering length. This bottle had good storage, not great. Even so, still has another three to five years ahead. A bottle with excellent storage has another five years beyond this one. Photos of; the backside of Pichon Lalande, angled terrace view of their vines right next to Latour, my steak & twice baked potato (so good) and CEO Nicolas Glumineau. — 9 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

From the wine list at EMP bought by a new friend at the table next to us to go mano a mano against the 88 La Turque I shared. Slightly darker red and more pure in color. Amazing aroma that is more linear than the animalistic La La but in the same league. Hit its stride right out of the pop and pour gate. Lovely perfume with a more briary nose but speaks Cote Rotie from the get go. Perfectly integrated fruit and structure. Best Jamet I've had. Thanks to Danny for this treat. — 10 years ago

Ryan Carey

Founder Wine Confidential

9.5

Drinking by myself tonight. This should do the trick. Yes, individual notes to follow, but wanted a pic of these two beauties next to each other first — 10 years ago