Martin Bergo

9.3

Sceptical from previous supertuscan encounters, I decided to try the original from Antinori (which I was sure was overpriced). Intense clear dark ruby color; the fruit hit me before the glass was even swirled and then reveals dark and red fruits in perfect balance with oak aromas; high acid, high alcohol, youthful delicious round mouthfeel of dark dried fruits and supple tannins at front of mouth, and with a medium-long finish. Well balanced, elegant, and powerful; and priced correctly. Had with pata negra, manchego and the organ of the Mormon Tabernacle sounding off Saint-Saëns' symphony. — 11 years ago

William Leslie

9.9

First off. You have heard about decanting.... This is a great example. Open and it tastes flat, give it time to breath and the flavors come out. The nose has a nice oak, smokey texture. Taste has a predominant black cherry flavor with nice ripe fruit flavors. Oak remains throughout the taste from start to finish with american oak flavors. An almost cigar smokiness hits immediately with a slight spice....not sure where to compare this to because it's not like a Zinfandel pepper, but more like an allspice. The overall feel is medium bodied with rich cherry flavors and well balanced for a smooth feel. This is a great introduction to Stags Leap without spending $150. — 11 years ago

Christopher Hoel

Sommelier/Senior Wine Advisor Soutirage

9.9

En magnum and off the hook!!! — 12 years ago

Jeffrey Lew

9.7

Ex-Chateau bottle. Testament to perfect storage. Light Amber edge with a darker core. Started off full of toast and just a whiff of brett. Slow ox for 2 hrs then poured. Amazing life for a 54yr old wine still in its stride. Light and dark fruit with seamless integrity and polish. Classic old BDX. After the initial funk blew off it kept developing in the glass. I could drink this all night long. Awesome — 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

Patrick Knöfler

8.9

The wine was medium to dark garnet in colour. On day one it offered red fruit, cherry, balsamic vinegar, cola, leather, mushroom, earthy and vegetal notes and a wet sewer component on the nose. On the palate the the wine showed red fruit, cherry, blackberry, tobacco and earthy notes, the acidity was quite pronounced, the wine became slightly drying and even more acidic after some time in the glass, and the fruit faded a bit. Two days later, on day three, the medium-bodied wine was more balanced and showed red and dark fruit, some chocolate, some tobacco, spices and earthy notes on the nose, and red fruit, cherry, leather, tobacco, earthy and balsamic notes on the palate, with just a faint touch of greenness, paired with medium-plus well-integrated tannin, medium-plus acidity and very good length. I had almost written-off the wine on day one and then, surprisingly, it showed much better the third day. Holding-up well. 90 — 12 years ago

Robert Bergstrom

8.9

A lovely DRC in the twilight of its drinking years. Upon opening we thought it would fall into the bitter tobacco and soy sauce category but it fell off the knife edge the other way and gave lovely rhubarb, tea notes and sweet tobacco. What a great experience. — 11 years ago

Dr Bob

9.3

1985: Nose a little off-putting, but drinking well. Tannins gone, beautiful balance, could use a bit more fruit. Kicks it with the Camposelle! — 11 years ago

Chris Edge

9.0

Pleasant wine, probably most expensive of evening at the Wine Society Dining Club dinner at Drapers Hall. Slightly gong off — 12 years ago

Pedro Rusk

Wine Educator Kendall Jackson

9.6

Sparkling Chasselas very limited and like many things that are hard to find the reward is great — 13 years ago