Bought at auction. First bottle awful. This one is lovely. Needed two hours of air to settle and integrate. Freeze dried strawberries, dried cherries, plum, dust, herbs like tarragon and thyme on nose. I could smell for hours. Palate is bigger than I expected more game and herbs than fruit. Leather with dried cherries. There’s more herbs and plums and cooked/reduced berries but not super sweet. Good tannin still. Pretty good and fun to try at 26 years. I am guessing warm vintage based on abv. — a month ago
Tasted blind. Deeper slightly brighter in colour, deeper ruby and a thinner garnet rim . Bit more closed and deeper in fruit , grafite , blackcurrants , wet stones , mineral . There is also a seaside , sea shore hint coming back to this . On the palate this has more volume than 1 , richer in style . More dusty and drier tannins , balanced acidity and good grafite tinged length . Mouton ? Lovely depth and expressiveness , exuberante, young still but with time really shows well. From now and over the next 10 -15 years. This was the Lafite , which surprised me , but still a beautiful wine. — 9 hours ago
Tasted Blind. Maybe slightly lighter appearance than 1 , with ruby centre and lighter garnet rim . Slightly more floral in tone, touches of spice and elegant redder fruits . The most aromatic of all coming back to this . On the palate this has lovely red fruits , very precise with a juicier mouthfeel , velvety tannins and refreshing acidity . Long very well balanced finish, slightly saline hint. Long and very pretty . Tonight more aromatic , more joyful than all others , long and detailed , in a lovely place now and over the next 10-15 years. Margaux ? — 8 hours ago
Tasted Blind. Again very similar appearance with ruby centre still , slightly thinner garnet rim . Different on the nose and on the palate to the others . Sweeter more toasty notes , earthy also , tobacco touches , bonfire , fire side hints. On the palate this has a spicy note , with a mix of red and black fruits , that earthy fireside hint . Good tobacco tinged finish . Juicier tannins , and balanced acidity . Really poised and pretty , spiced fruits, perfectly balanced . Lovely to drink now , though will give another decade of enjoyment . Haut Brion ? — 8 hours ago
Like the last bottle, this shows some VA (though nowhere as bad as the bottle from 3-4 months ago), redfruits, some earthy aromas as well, good depth and balance on the palate, lingering finish, overall a very good bottle of aged Clos des Papes CdP. — 14 days ago
Lunch with dad and Luigi. Such a great wine, first time trying it. Ton of sediment. Beautiful red fruits, very light bodied, loved it. — a month ago
Tasted blind. Again medium deep ruby with medium wide garnet rim . Again slightly aloof , showing a touch of herbaceous blackcurrant , mineral and slate notes . Probably the most closed of all coming back . Quite deep and rich again , mineral , blackcurrant, wet stones . Muscular tannins and balanced acidity , deep with a slight herbaceous touch on the decent finish . Latour ? Compared with the rest this is slightly pedestrian, even though it is still an excellent wine it’s not as thrilling as its Pauillac stablemates Lafite or Mouton. Perhaps needs even more time , come back in 5 years and will last well a further 10 -15. — 8 hours ago
Tasted blind. Medium ruby garnet , medium garnet rim . Quite classic and elegant, with cigar box , grafite and some dried earth , some slightly toasty notes also . On the palate this shows good balance , fresh acidity , classic blackcurrant , cigar box , earthy touch . Good depth and length , grafite tinged finish , quite correct and no extra sweetness or weight . Good length and a spicy , mineral , blackcurrant tinged finish . Lafite ? Still young , really well balanced. From now and over the next 10 to 15 years. This was actually the Mouton , which was a great surprise, but certainly a pleasant one ! — 8 hours ago
Quite deep with a ruby core , light garnet rim . Quite young looking . Quite tertiary , with cigar box , grafite some cassis and a grafite note , still very alive and relatively young . On the palate this is quite dusty and earthy , menthol, cassis , tobacco and that grafite hint . Ripe but noticable tannins and refreshing acidity with good lightly grippy length, quite classic . Compared to the Poyferre this is younger but sterner and more foursquare , but classic and unapologetically traditional claret in style. From now with a decant , but this will probably keep well and perhaps improve over the next 10-15 years . — 11 hours ago
#AgedWineTuesday
Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish/ brick rim.
Medium plus in body with medium acidity.
Dry on the palate with a beautiful nose.
Showing black plums, black currants, cedar, dried figs, licorice, dark chocolates, earth, rhubarb, tobacco leaf, light black tea and black pepper.
Long finish with soft tannins and tangy cherries.
This 32 year old Pauillac is still drinking beautifully, but a bit past its prime. Rich and elegant. Very complex and spicy.
This Second Growth Bordeaux needed 5 hours to open up properly, and was not that special right out of the bottle.
Nicely balanced with a nice mouthfeel, and still showing enough fruits to balance the earth notes.
Robert Parker 91 points.
Good by itself as a sipping wine, and with food.
A blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot.
12.5% alcohol by volume.
93 points.
$200. — 16 days ago
2012 robe plus foncée que 2013
Plus de corps — 4 days ago
Very mature. A little brown. Nice — 5 days ago
At this point, with this group, a Legends dinner simply wouldn’t be appropriate without at least one bottle of Chave Hermitage.
Opened about 90min prior to service; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1994 Hermitage pours a slightly hazy garnet with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with perfumed notes of dried brambles, dried blueberry, dried purple flowers, black olive, mushroom, espresso, leather, stony earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and slightly sanguine. Delicious with the 5 Spice Cured Duck prepared with marinated Bing cherries, crispy shallot and Olathe corn polenta. It was such a pleasure to taste the ‘94 Chave next to the ‘85 Gentaz. Two Northern Rhône Legends working with their respective terroirs. Where the Gentaz was all about the aromatics of Côte Rôtie, the Chave was brought more of the power from the Hill of Hermitage. Drink now through 2056. — a month ago

Again quite deep ruby , with a wider garnet rim , slightly cloudy appearance. This is a little more smudged on the nose with , earthy , slightly swimming pool note , tobacco and some dried flowers . However with time this starts to gain stature and complexity with cigar box , cedar and grafite notes . On the palate this is a little rounder and deeper in style , a bit more generous . More cassis and blackberry , along with some cherry . Herbal tobacco notes , fresh acidity and more rounded tannins , perhaps better length that the Ducru too. This also is showing well , if not as young as the Ducru , from now and over the next 10 years in this format. — 11 hours ago
3L. Textbook Pauillac. Proper yet lifeless - at Chris & Mary’s — 11 days ago
Light golden in color.
Beautiful nose of honeydew, apples, honeysuckle, tropical fruits, spices and melons.
Full-bodied with high acidity and long legs.
Sweet on the palate with apples, citrus, mangoes, spices, honeysuckle, herbs, honey and light earth.
Long finish with sweet honey notes.
This delicious 9 year old Sauternes is drinking beautifully now. Complex and interesting. Elegant and fruit forward. Nicely balanced with a nice mouthfeel.
Feels very fresh, but a bit subdued and earthier right now, compared to other vintages. Will continue to age nicely in the next 40 years.
Loved the nose more than the palate here. So expressive.
Wine Spectator 96 points. Robert Parker 99 points.
A blend of 75% Sémillon and 25% Sauvignon Blanc. Aged in all new French oak barrels for 24 months. Drank from a 750ml bottle.
14.5% alcohol by volume.
93 points.
$450. — a month ago

Douglas Braun
2016 - Vintage - red rim but still very youthful , boysenberry fruit , savory, cured meats, Stoney , medium to medium plus acidity very balanced - epitomized Hermitage — 16 days ago