Jay Kline

9.4

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2006 pours a deep straw color with a persistent mousse. On the nose, the wine is developing with lovely notes of slightly bruised apple, white flowers, lemon curd, brioche, slivered almond and a mix of chalk and limestone minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and creamy. I wish I could drink this all night long. Alas, only a single 750mL and not a Methuselah. Drinking well now and will only be taking on more secondary and tertiary character. But if that’s your thing (and I can get down), this will deliver well past 2036. — 5 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Light medium caramel core , light copper rim. Quite mature , with spiced creme brûlée , saffron , burnt sugar , some crystallised orange peel , desiccated coconut . Slightly monochrome . On the palate this is quite light , with quite high acidity and a burnt caramel bitterness . Medium sweetness only , quite refreshing acidity . Slightly bitter orange caramel finish . Drink now qnd over the next few years , won’t improve . — 8 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Medium deep garnet ruby , quite thin garnet terracotta rim . This is quite classic and more austere on the nose after the 1990s , grafite , cedar, sweet spice , earthiness and mint. More dry and four square on the palate compared to the 1990s but enough stuffing to fill out. Cassis , plum and blackberry , coffee , grafite . Refreshing acidity , slightly grippy drier tannin. Sous bois , grafite , herbal character with good length and earthy cassis finish . This got better with time in the glass and probably should have been decanted . This shows there is some upside , from now , with time in the glass, and over the next 10 years. The wine that improved the most during the dinner , quite impressive . — 8 months ago

Alex Hughes

9.3

Held up well over the 21 years. Complex red and dark fruits, smoke, white pepper. A little Brett that eased with air and ended up adding to the complexity. — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I bought 3 or 4 bottles of the 06 Heitz Napa. I think this is my first bottle. I either have none or one left. Better gets notes tonight! I think I gave others away. What was I thinking? Wine is meant to be shared.

What is better than paying around $33 for a bottle of wine, forgetting about it for twelve years and having it blossom on your palate the way it is tonight? This is a prime example of two things; you don’t need to spend a hundred(s) for a really good bottle of wine and their is absolutely no substitution for appropriate cellaring time.

The nose reveals; steeped, dark fruit wading in fruits of ripe/ruby; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, baked, black plum & strawberries, hovering raspberries with pomegranate, light liqueur notes. Mild alcohol vapors, black licorice, sweet tarriness, mixed dark fruit cola/licorice, mid, dark spices, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, saddle-wood, graphite, dark rich souls, forest floor with dry leaves, dry crushed rocks, dry twigs, tree sap, mint/eucalyptus, soft leather, dry tobacco with ruby, brilliant, fresh & withering, candied; dark, red, purple florals with a field of violets.

The body is, rich, ruby and creamy with fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, baked, black plum & strawberries, hovering raspberries with pomegranate that shows light liqueur notes. Mild alcohol vapors, black licorice, dark, steeped, black , assorted fruit teas, sweet tarriness, mixed dark fruit cola/licorice, mid, dark spices, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, caramel, mocha, saddle-wood, graphite, savory grilled meats, dark rich souls, forest floor with dry leaves, moist clay & top soil, dry crushed rocks, dry twigs, tree sap, mint/eucalyptus, hints of Provence herbs, soft leather, dry tobacco with ruby, brilliant, fresh & withering, candied; dark, red, purple florals with a field of violets. The acidy is like a cool waterfall on a warm day. The beautiful, elegant, extremely well knitted balance is in the realm of “forget about it”. Sometimes the right wine, when it’s right, moves the entire body. Such as it is tonight.

The tension, structure, length and balance have just hit their high point and will remain there for another five years into a slow decline over the next 10-15 years, stored impeccably.

This might be the best Napa Heitz I’ve bought & stored. It’s stunning and way over delivering its price point. One complex wine!!!

Photos of; Heitz Winery, tasting bar, tasting room garden patio and the Hwy 29 signage for the tasting room with the valley floor vines that surround their tasting room. — 6 years ago

Pooneet K

9.3

Really, really nice. Decanted for 1.5 hours and this guy is ready to go. Definitely a touch more fruit forward than expected, but still an excellent core of acidity that keeps it super lively. Very silky tannins at this point, no point to wait longer but also not at all over the hill. — 10 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

The nose on this wine is stunning baring the alcohol heat. Perfumed red florals and candied dark and lighter red fruits. While the wine is truly elegant, the alcohol is seriously burning the back of my throat. The bottle reads 14.1 but I think over 15 degrees. Maybe, they wanted to save on the higher alcohol tax. The wine starts so beautifully only to burn the back of my throat. The fruits are ripe, elegant and beautifully soft. Blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, raspberries, faint back palate of strawberries, sweet/soft leather, black licorice, violets & roses, rich delicate & sweet wet black earth, soft light baking spices, caramel, milk chocolate, figs & dates, amazingly sweet dark minerals, touch of black tar, touch of spice and a rich long elegant dark fruit liqueur finish. I would score this wine higher if it didn't punish my palate and throat with the burning alcohol finish. — 10 years ago

Martin Frowde

9.2

Drinking the 1991 in 2016 after over 2 hours of decanting. Wonderful light sherry type nose with a hint of pepper and quite brick red colour around the edges. Such a soft texture on the tongue though still a little astringency on the finish. Very good. — 11 years ago

with Georgina

Richard Steinberg

9.3

1994 delivers again. Red fruit. At peak but not over the hill. Smooth as silk. — 11 years ago

with Dan

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I’ve had a number of PC 96’s over time, none quite this good. The fill line & cork perfect. Very little sediment. Some bottle neck tannin burn. For me, Pontet Canet didn’t really hit its consistent, quality stride until 2005. Doesn’t mean they didn’t make a few beauties before then. Pontet Canet is proof that the 1855 Bordeaux Classification needs to be redone. Unlikely it will in my lifetime.

This 96 maybe just short of its precipice. Stylistically a little better than 94.

The nose reminds me of everything I love about older Bordeaux. Dark core of currants/cassis. Ripe, floral; blackberries, dark, baked cherries, sweet, black plum, poached/strawberries, raspberries, hints of baked rhubarb & blueberries, mixed berry cola. Sweet forest floor w/ leaves, sweet mushrooms, sweet led pencil shavings, steeped tea w/ hints of fruit, charcoal, dry tobacco/leather, some dry herbs, withering dark, red flowers, red roses with violets.

The palate is also everything I love about older Bordeaux. Dark core of currants/cassis. Ripe, floral; blackberries, dark, baked cherries, sweet, black plum, poached/strawberries, raspberries, hints of baked rhubarb & blueberries, mixed berry cola/red vines. Everything I understood the first time standing in the estate vineyard of Pichon Baron. Tasting limestone, dry river stone, dark, rich soils with dry leaves, dry stems. In fact, I’ve tasted vineyards soils everywhere I have been in every world wine region. Basically, everywhere in the wine world that has reliance. Many multiple times. Sweet graphite, steeped tea w/ hints of dark fruit, understated, layered baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanillin, dark cocoa, dark exotic spices, some anise to black licorice, charcoal, dry tobacco with ash/leather, some dry herbs-safe/bay leaf, limestone, dry river stone, dry crushed rocks, dark, rich, earth with dry leaves, dry topsoils, dry stems, withering/dry dark, red flowers, red roses with violets, excellent, rainfall acidity with an extremely well balanced/structured/tensioned, great length and an elegant finish that lasts minutes and falls nicely on dry earth and dark spices.

A very, very slow roll with my Ribcap. Definitely better with the steak than on its own.

This bottle tells me this 96 has plenty of good drinking ahead, another 8-10 yrs+.

ABV is 13%. Disappointing it ever changed. — 5 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Popped and poured; enjoyed from red Solo cups over the course of a few hours. This bottle of the 1982 showed very well today. It pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with beautiful notes of black currants, black plum, mixed brambles, tobacco, some green pepper, graphite, leather, earth, and soft warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. 1982: the vintage that keeps on giving. Drink now through 2042+. — 8 months ago

Steve Belmonte

9.5

Excellent as always. Smooth right out of the bottle. Gets better over time — 2 years ago

with Connii

Mike Saviage

9.7

Tasted blind. Dark reddish tawny. Mostly translucent. Amazing nose. Powerful. A spectrum of notes including red fruit, cola, pencil lead, black truffles, coffee, blood sausage and some dry dark soil. Animalistic. Massive fruit and structure with a long finish. Someone says "honey ham" as a note in the nose and we all agree (first ever note involving the word "ham"). This was a wine where everyone's score or appreciation greatly improved over the evening. A best ever Unico for me. (M's 60th bday 4th of 14) — 5 years ago

M S

9.0

Lighter than expected. Slightly spicy — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.4

Top year 904 @ £75 that was drank in Zalto burg glass as its like an aged burgundy

🐽 Paired w/ Iberian Ham 😍

🍷 Garnet ruby w/ brick

👃 Smoked burnt oak, soggy earthy leaves, leather, dark cherry & figs w/ balsamic & damson

👄 Med body of creamy stewed cherry w/ earthy balsamic & slight mocha

🎯 Med finish of above w/ earthy balsamic linger

Reaching peak but I preferred the 95 904 over this but the 890 94 was better than the 95! — 9 years ago

Louie Christensen

9.4

Everything you'd expect and more. All the rich dark fruit, chocolate and lush purple flowers, but none of the sticky over-ripe flavors. So balanced. — 9 years ago

Eric Egan

9.5

Another level... Still dense at the core, with steady, attractive bricking: Wonderfully dense nose of blackcurrents, pencil shavings, fine tanned leather, and a hint of woodland floor (fine moss, leaves, and fresh soil after an autumn shower). Velvety tannins and great acidity. Along with the '66 this is one of my all-time favourite Bordeaux vintages. Seems to be keeping up better than the '61s I've had over the last few years!

We drank half of it from the coravin before waxing the top in case the cork had lost too much elasticity to self-seal. I'll have the rest with my brother in a few weeks' time! — 10 years ago

Chris Bensick

9.2

Its always a surprise to open one of these old Montebellos and encounter what seems to be a much younger tasting wine. This one was about mid-shoulder and the cork although intact was pretty spongy. Nevertheless -- no browning, no hint of oxidation, just a very robust and savory mouthful from first to last. Very heavy sediment but the color in the upper glass was still intense. Getting a bit dry but by no means over the hill. 12.8% abv. — 10 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.2

5-Oh Bday Dinner... From a half bottle. Deep red and purple color. Mostly opaque and thick in the glass. There is still some good fruit in the nose with gravel and soil notes. Very round in the mouth. The wine hung in there over the hour it was consumed. Nice experience with an 80+ year old wine. — 11 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.2

Pretty deep ruby garnet , medium wide garnet rim . Aromatic and really classic with a mix or red and dark fruits , tobacco , grafite and cedar . On the palate this is quite linear , again with the red and dark fruits from the nose, cedar and grafite and quite rounded resolved tannins . Fresh acidity , good cedar with grafite length , very classic in style . Enough density and fruit to cover the rest of the structure. In a perfect place now at least in this format , and probably will be over the next 10 years . This was from an Imperial , at BBR in London . — 6 months ago

Robert Torretti

9.3

1990 Chateau Lynch Bages in Nebuchadnezzar. At a Lynch Bages dinner for the Commanderie de Bordeaux NY Chapter. Paired over the course of three courses vs the 1995, 1996 and 2000. The 1998 was also served earlier in the evening. So youthful, given the large format. Still got to experience different stages of evolution of the wine as it was poured throughout the night. Well balanced and beat out the other wines that night, with rhe 1996 showing more pepper and spice but also green bell pepper from the Cab Franc. The 2000 also showed strongly, but could not outshine the 1990. — 6 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.1

Slightly lighter garnet core , lighter terracotta rim . Quite muted on the nose , quite herbal and spiced notes, some red plum and floral sous bois , black tea . After a while this opens up slightly , showing a bit more detail , but never jumps out and grabs your attention as other bottles have. On the palate this is better , with the roundness and slightly sweet , red plum , summer fruits , sous bois and lightly herbal , grafite tinged , saline finish of reasonable length . Quite refreshing acidity and suave tannins . On this basis drink now and over the next few years. However , there are better bottles out there . This was disappointing compared with other bottles I’ve had , though the palate was more sound and it wasn’t flawed. A bit of a perplexing bottle. — 8 months ago

David Leiman

9.4

1984, surprisingly tanic, acidic, and Heavy dried fruit, prunes and dried figs. over oxidized tasting at first but interesting. From producer to cellar at breakers in palm beach. Small leak out the bottle on one side of the cork. Over time it settles and the dried fruit subsides and then the lighter acidic flavors of fresh berries comes forward. — 4 years ago

Matt Schicker

10

2010 vintage with plum, black currants, green olive, eucalyptus mint black cherry. Delicious!! — 6 years ago

Doctor No

9.2

Dried cherry, bit of raspberry and fresh plum, subtle toffee, garrigue, tobacco notes on a lithe frame. Improved over two days. Big nose of acetone present on opening was totally gone in 15min. — 7 years ago

Matt Brock

9.3

Brought out the good stuff for V-Day. Aerated and decanted this bottle of beast for over an hour. Intensely rich fruit, rounded out by tannins that have clearly softened given the age of this wine. So rare to experience a bottle of this magnitude. The first few sips have been absolute heaven, and the balance will surely get better. — 9 years ago

with Jennifer

Tom Kobylarz

9.8

If there were ever an archetypical Syrah, Jamet's Cote-Rotie would be a strong candidate. To me this is a pure expression of a classic Northern Rhone Syrah. It is not a single site, but a blend of terroirs, encompassing over 20 sites mostly from hard rock schist bedrock with little to no topsoil. There is NO Viognier in this wine like one might expect from most Cote-Rotie that might have 1-5% co-fermented.

Importantly, there is also a lot less of the oak character that can dominate and overwhelm many Northern Rhone wines. The oak maturation, while not short at 22 months, only uses 15% new oak with no trace of it on the palate as it is perfectly integrated. Grape bunches are whole cluster fermented and macerated for up to 3 weeks.

The 2007 we have here was drinking superbly for a young wine, showing lively and racy layers of peppercorn spice, roast beef, and warm blackberry and currant fruit from the hot 2007 vintage. While from a warm vintage, not a hair is out of place. Density and purity exude from the nose and hint at what a brilliant future this wine has. Perfect acidity and fleshy ripe tannin provide the backbone structure for father time to peel back the layers of this beauty. I will be chceking back in 5 years at the earliest. — 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

Ricardo

9.6

Beautiful fruit and soft tannins. Opens up over a 3 hr period. Amazing with a nice steak and French onion soup. — 11 years ago

Jeffrey Lew

9.2

Great color, like 20yrs younger. 1st nose was like red meat. After 4-5hr decant the fruit came out and had a nice tart cherry black currant bite. Somewhat austere but still a great example of older well kept BDX. Not for everybody, but for me very enjoyable. Awesome grip for over 40years old. Dare I say almost young. Great stuff. — 11 years ago