Jay Kline

9.4

This bottle of 1976 Chateau Lafite Rothschild was cellared in a wine cave part of its life and a modern cellar the more recent part of its life. The fill for this bottle was mid-shoulder and the label had been tattered from back when it was in the cave. Using a Durand, I was able to pull the cork intact and it was saturated but seemed to have done its job. The color was good and the wine was sound; in fact, it was very much alive and full of character! Opened about four hours prior to service and decanted for sediment (of which there was plenty). No formal notes. At this stage in its life, the 1976 Lafite pours a garnet color with an orange rim. The nose is straight up old-money. Classy aromas of desiccated red cherries & red currants, dried tobacco leaf, graphite, a mix of organic and inorganic earth, leather and dried baking spices. On the palate, the structure was still quite palpable with tannins till present and acid doing its job with aplomb. Confirming the notes on the nose. The finish is long and graceful with some nice stoney minerals. Drink now but well cellared examples could hold longer if you wanted…but if you’re even thinking about it, just open it! — 3 years ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

Having had the coveted 2005 vintage just a few months ago, ‘04 is far more open and rewarding today. So seductive and captivating. Smoked meats, black fruits, balsamic glaze and hints of roasted sage leaves and tobacco. The tannins are integrated beautifully and the finish shows wonderful finesse, elegance and length. Gorgeous now but will continue to improve over the next 8-10 years. — 6 years ago

Edward Chung

9.2

A fantastic pairing with grilled rib eye! Needs time to open up... 2009 vintage - opened on April 1, 2018 — 8 years ago

Morten Bagai

9.5

I can’t get enough of this — 8 years ago

Peter Slagowitz

9.4

Fantastic 95 Super Tuscan. Nose had hints of vanilla, soft earth a light spice. On open was smooth if a touch flat then after 45 minutes it opened to let dark fruit notes of blackberries and cassis come out. Sublime. — 10 years ago

Josh Copeland

9.4

Sour Apple jolly ranchers, pencil shavings, lilac and honeysuckle on the nose with and butterscotch and barley on the palate. — 10 years ago

Martin Diehr

9.0

Unique / Bordeaux style wine. Needs time to open and despite the age, would improve with decanting this wine. Old world nose, well balanced on mid palate with forest notes and wild berries. Medium finish — 10 years ago

R Bl

9.4

Alexander Valley 1984. Brown brick red, still enough tannin for another 5-10 yrs. Beautiful cedary dust and fruit. Needed 1 - 1 1/2 hrs to open up. Harmonious, medium build. — 11 years ago

Diane Pandolfini

9.1

Took about 45 minutes to open up and become expressive- ripe red currant, mulberry and black raspberry, with a note of dried herbs and portobello mushrooms. — 11 years ago

Gary Hill

9.4

Perfect. Ready to drink. Do not wait. Open it! Went great with braised short ribs. — 12 years ago

with Laura

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.1

2003 vintage. Decently respectable Pauillac nose. Solid color still. Wine open for three hours. Leanest body I've ever had with a P-L and lacking the complexity usually associated with this wine. Tight and not giving up much at the 3 hr mark. Nice but disappointing given the producer/vintage combo. Wish I'd had 6 hrs to wait hand and foot on this...perhaps it would have totally revealed the expected P-L charms by then. — 4 years ago

Anthony Cammarata Jr.

9.0

Takes a while to open but when it does, classic Opus. Less tannin than other years with lots of dark berry flavors. — 5 years ago

with Daniel and Michael

Jean-Francois Pelletier

9.2

Deep color. More open than the 1990. Stronger fruit profile with herbs and almost a minty nose. Full body and lingers for a while. — 7 years ago

with Frankie

Anthony Lombardi

9.2

Another we brought to Korean BBQ dinner last night. 2012 is open for business and shows plenty of freshness to balance the powerful dark fruit. Excellent as always. — 8 years ago

Nicole Kyotani

9.8

Just enough fizz to open it without a corkscrew. Hint of almond and green, still holding a good amount of acid. — 9 years ago

Michael Horkay

9.6

Grand cru raveneau is awesome and I'm fortunate to try this. 2003 was a hit ripe year in burgundy and most producers made wine that was too over the top. There is a ton of lees contact and the wine took three hours to open. For raveneau virgins.... You can't pop and poor this wine. Ok back on target... Glorious meyer lemon and minerality with classic only raveneau can mimic. This is amazing soulful wine. — 10 years ago

Roy Goble

9.5

Fun to open 1986 wines — 11 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.3

2004 vintage from Clape. Deep ruby hue. Violet and floral, very plummy - dark fruits. Hints of sweet spice, nutmeg and cardoman, smokey notes. On the palate, medium plus body, high acidity - integrated and refreshing. Medium plus, plush and ripe tannins. Long finish. The plums to the fore. Still quite primary and youthful. Should develop nicely over the next 15 years. Open in 2025. — 11 years ago

Brian Bell

9.0

Way too early to open, but it's Christmas, so why not. — 11 years ago

Astrid Lewis

10

1947. Can't actually believe I have rated this in my lifetime. Although it had a significant amount of leakage and oxidisation, it was still bright, still had bags of fruit, tannins, acidity. What am incredibly generous wine to open to celebrate our new little company. Thx guys xxx — 12 years ago

with Pierpaolo and Chris

Edward Nelson

9.1

Wife wanted date night. Pulled this. Not great, very good. Needed a short time to open up. — 4 years ago

Heather Morren

9.0

Pretty good and didn’t make me super stuffed up. — 5 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.5

Even at 2 hrs after cork pop and a lazy man's bottle decant, quite a bit of this wine still taste like a barrel sample. The nose is youthful blackberry, blueberry, pencil shavings. Entry is a ton of youthful and herbal blackberry cassis. Graphite. The middle has a hint of dark baking chocolate and spice. Toasted youthful berries. Finishes with a lot of toasty oak tannin. Probably one of those integrated wines I have had from Pott. Just delicious. — 7 years ago

Manchester Sheldon

9.3

Violets and peppercorns on the nose, it needs some air to open up, dark wood and some earth on the background. — 8 years ago

Rob Sternthal

9.4

Young. Soft. Supple. — 10 years ago

Flavio Menezes

9.0

Very powerful, extracted. Will still improve, as it took over an hour to open up. Good with food, but I clearly see why I drink less and less Bordeaux. — 10 years ago

N M

9.2

Needed about 2.5 hours in decanter to open up. Could use more time in bottle. A classic big, bold, chewy California Cab. — 11 years ago

Sharyn Grant

9.0

Big quality fruit bomb - 2006 - drinking softly now, open 2 hours. Would like to see if the fruit resolves over the next few years. — 11 years ago

Sam Coturri

Winery Sixteen 600, Enterprise Vineyards and the Moon Mountain District

9.5

That perfect balance between bright red fruit and dark aromatic herbs. Ready to drink now (after being open for an hour or so) — 12 years ago

Mike Macfarland

9.1

Very light, comfy red — 13 years ago