Rod

9.0

For my taste, the 97 has peaked. It did open up after a while with mild spices, yet remained very earthy. — 8 months ago

Ryan Guy

9.6

Fresh apricot, glazed almond, nutmeg, and cardamon spice. Layered with honeysuckle, pear, and green apple. There is a short crust, pear tart character on the nose. Still so grab and lively on the palate. Stone fruit, orchard fruit, toasted almonds, and Danish butter cookies. Linear acidity with bright, zesty finish with pithy lemon notes and tart apple. Lingering finish with a touch of warm spice. Waited a while to pop this one - it was well worth the wait! — 3 years ago

Daniel M

9.3

Opened yesterday and 2/3rd of the bottle was left to rest. Yesterday the nose was made of tar, cigare, cedar and oaky notes. There was very little fruit. 24 hours after the same notes are still showing but I can smell some cassis, some meat juice and a tiny peppery note. This is very concentrated and intense. The palate is very well made with a very strong acid drive, some very nice matter on the sides, a great width, a plush mouthfeel, some cassis and meaty, salty touches, a great mid palate with grainy, dusty tannins that power up a very long finish that tend to expand on the rear: there is that grainy, dusty layer of tannins that carries on for a very long time, these cassis notes that bring a bit of tanginess, and some smoky, oaky notes linger for a while too. This is an aristocratic wine and my last bottle will rest for another 10 years at least. Off vintage but great bottle — 4 years ago

Brian Gustafson

9.1

Pulled this from the cellar for an international guest. Still holding up well; much better than the 1983. — 7 years ago

Keith Fisher

9.4

This vintage is showing better as time passes. Could this end up aging better than 2002 which was more highly acclaimed? I liked this a little better than the last 2002 that I had. — 8 years ago

Ned Gray Creed

9.2

Hep! Step up to the value plate and come back for seconds. — 9 years ago

with Mark

Liz O'Neal

9.1

Just opened in 2017 - was tight the first evening and definitely needed time to open up. Earthy, mushroom/forest floor notes on the palate, despite bright acidic nose. Crowd pleaser - happy I saved this.

Purchased w/ dad in 2014 - industry price $55 — 10 years ago

with Hannah

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. — 11 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

Peter Mansell

9.6

In magnum. Took a while to open up but outstanding — 13 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Presented to me double-blind. The wine pours a dull purple/garnet color with a translucent core and significant rim variation, moving towards a rust color. The wine has medium viscosity with light staining of the tears and signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of cassis, dried blackberries, dried red and purple flowers, old leather bound books, tobacco, a touch of menthol, some earth, old wood and a sprinkle of warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Super high quality but a touch thin.

Initial conclusions: Due to the observable characteristics of color, rim variation, sediment, smell and flavor, I think this wine has significant age; 30+ years. However, this is still very alive and showing more than enough markers to give an indication of place. Subsequently, this could be a Cabernet-based blend or a Tempranillo-based blend from the United States, France, or Spain. For me, I’m getting new French oak vibes instead of American so I’m eliminating Spain. I also think this leans more towards its fruit than its structure and since this comes across a little on the thin side, I’m going to say this comes from a tougher vintage. My final conclusion is this is a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend from the USA, Napa, 1981. Wow! This showed really well.

It never ceases to amaze me how analogous the 1981 vintage was in both Napa and Bordeaux. I find it equally amazing how well that vintage has held up; particularly when considering its poor reputation, mostly based on the prevailing thought at the time. From my perspective, well stored examples are not going to fall off of a cliff but I would drink now through 2031. — 8 months ago

A B

9.3

Sediment. Spicy, yet very smooth up front. Decant. A slight tannic finish. Super Bowl dad Tara Erin Myra. — 5 years ago

Maddison

9.2

Needs at least 1-3 hours to open up! But once it does it’s a Bordeaux true to style; black fruits, spice, silky smooth with a touch of acid and tannin. — 6 years ago

Charles Antin

Senior Wine Specialist/Auctioneer Zachys

9.8

Rebouche 1988 at the Château. Topped up with another sacrificed 1928. Amazing purity and fruit. A pleasure. — 8 years ago

with Zachys

Ryan Johnson

9.4

Such a lovely balance of vibrant red fruit and searing acidity, wound up in a herbal and lipsticky funky nose. — 9 years ago

Pierre Arneaux

9.2

Wow. More flavor, much better than their regular cab. Silky, velvet, smooth. Chocolate. Rich fruit. Big, full flavor, lots of flavor. Not old world style for sure, not subtle. It's a big bomb. We would pay up to $75 for this so a bit overpriced to us.
— 10 years ago

Mick

10

This wine suited my tastes perfectly - a bold fruity nose, a medium sweetness up front, a smooth full body of cherry, blueberry, leather and blackberry to finish. Mild tannins. — 11 years ago

Nathan Phillips

9.5

After an hour of opening up this became fairly epic — 12 years ago

Bertus van Zyl

Assistant Winemaker Regusci Winery

9.1

Loved the brambles and berries from the Zin, great acidity. Took some time to really open up, this should hold up for quite a while. — 13 years ago

Rod

9.4

Opened up very well; earthy from age but still some complexity and fruit. — 9 months ago

Kevin Dale

9.5

Took about 90 minutes to open up, but it was worth it. Still in its prime and drinking great. — 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

Tom Garland

8.9

Our 3rd Taco Bell/couple of fun bottle Levi Stadium concert fireup this summer.

2 hour decant(little fine/cloudy sediment). A brooding inky black garnet color. On the nose: subdued notes of blackberry, currants, cedar, pepper, dusty earth, mint, pencil lead. Taste: hmmm, little FLAT.....tough to pick out any flavors. Hopefully just in a dumb phase right now....time to pop the other bottle. — 4 years ago

with Brenda

Keith Lite

9.5

A big bold plumy purple bomb As dense and luscious as a wine can get in a glass. Decanted for 2 hrs and its still a baby with blackberry, dark chocolate licorice and pepper on the nose and on the palate. A long long finish and loads of tannins to sum it all up — 7 years ago

with Bruce

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. — 9 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.0

1982 vintage. Color still fairly youthful. Meniscus not too wide/watery. Brickish, minty nose with big cedar & baking chocolate flavors. Holding up better than expected for a fruity vintage. — 9 years ago

Zack Sweeney

8.9

Gamey on the nose, tart fruit, earthy, would have benefited from decanting. opened up nicely in the glass when slowly sipped over the course of several hours. Smooth and complex. — 10 years ago

Ryan Mitrovich

9.5

Opens up incredibly — 11 years ago

Mike Shinn

10

Everything it's cracked up to be. What an amazing red blend. Delicious. — 11 years ago

E & K G

9.3

Needs about 40min to an hour to fully open up. Starts off Bordeaux-ish then finishes up like a Napa cab. — 13 years ago