Mary Rossillo

9.4

Tried the 2005 and the 2000. Both with beautiful base notes of earth and tobacco. Somehow the 2000 shone more with plum and berry flavors. — 6 years ago

Kendall Johnson

9.5

Ripe fruits shone in the palate, and the wine was a star at the holiday tasting #wsjwines #anotheronebitesthedust — 7 years ago

Paul Krzych

9.0

Floral and flinty. Some background fruit and great acidity. Went well with leftover turkey but would have shone with oysters. — 7 years ago

Randall Brater

8.9

Solid and tasty. Decanted for several hours and the tobacco and licorice shone through. Earthy and blackberry on the palate. — 8 years ago

James Forsyth

9.4

Château Margaux from 2005 is one of my favorite wines. Kirwan shows that the vintage shone fondly over other sites in the area. Cherry and mocha meld together, tannins grippy, texture velvety. Jolly good with a nice big slice of lamb shoulder at the East India club with a dear old friend. — 8 years ago

Ron R

9.1

Just opened the case, which came direct from the winery, en primeur.
I let this breathe for 3 hrs, reason being, I could smell sh%* in my glass. It took a while to evaporate, but in the end, the Bdx notes shone through. This needs food, as the acid structure overpower the tannins. Good light mouthfeel with a tart cherry finish. Drink this with rich meats or full-fat, soft cheeses. Still fresh and youthful, and has the stuffing to last for another 15 years, at least.
At 12.5 abv, the alcohol was nowhere to be seen. — 9 years ago

Lesa Gough

9.4

Lovely, lovely wine. Restrained fruit, kiss of richness, minerality and seashells shone through with acid and fruit to keep it both lively yet restrained. — 9 years ago

with Glenn, Tracy and 1 other

Keith Crump

9.0

2006 this took a day to come to life then it shone raspberry and summer good length and acidity — 6 years ago

Chris Haywood

9.2

Shone dried leaves black cherry nose. Power tannins! White pepper and menthol more prominent in your trap. Chalky lavendar hints. Pleasingly huge and tight. More brutal, less primary than the 2016, oddly. Down a point as the appeal is less universal even though this is more to my taste. — 6 years ago

Scott Taddeo

9.4

Very impressive youthful Clare rizz. Green apple skin, lime zest, white florals, talc, slate and radish. Finishing is immense and acid is so linear and focused. Often find young Aussie Riesling tough to really enjoy but this shone — 7 years ago

Kirk F

9.1

A nice start to the evening. A pale yellow in the glass, a slight bit of oak but the purity of the fruit really shone through. — 8 years ago

with Rick, Michael and 2 others

Matt Grills

9.0

Delicious. We had it as an aperitif and it shone. Bright and clear with a slightly woody nose it was a treat to enjoy the return of Vineland estates Gewurtztraminer. — 8 years ago

with Sylvia

Nico J. Snyman

9.9

This one has many great years ahead of it, quite indicative of the intensity of the vintage, likewise the vineyard, it needed a little time to open up, but the intensity of darker berried fruit really shone through, give it some more time... — 9 years ago

Ann Marie

9.3

One of the nicer roses I've had in a while. We had with sushi, but I think it would have shone with oysters. — 9 years ago

Jordan Lawrence

9.2

Tried two bottles of this. First was well-made and interesting. The second had a near effervescent characteristic that paired incredibly with the red fruit and minerality that shone through the wine. Would rate even higher if both tasted of the second bottle. — 6 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.9

Tribute to Romain. In one word, transcendent. For the most part because of the wine, but I can't deny that the occasion and company was also a major factor. A blind among people I hold dear to and one I consider my mentor.

I admit that there isn't much on my tasting notes. I remember how intoxicating the nose was on the 96' and how fast the bottle went from full to nil. A true succees! Notably, the 96' is in that drinking window where the fruit and terrior shone brightly, while the 95' was still blocky and dense. — 7 years ago

E & K G

9.1

Yes it’s still a baby, but was still very approachable and it changed in the glass as dinner progressed. All the positives of a young wine shone through (bright fruit and aromas, while the high alcohol managed to hide in the background) while the tannins were reigned in. — 7 years ago

Carson

9.0

The third of the birthday trifecta--probably shouldn't have finished with a wine of this caliber, but nonetheless, it still shone through. White pepper, balsamic, marjoram, dried leather and pipe tobacco. Burnt palette but still impressive. Needs a few more years to develop. — 8 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.3

The second wine in this flight was a favorite of the group, a classic 1985 Pichon Baron from the south end of Pauillac near Saint-Julien. When we first opened it there was talk of it maybe being corked, but we decanted it and the funk blew off and the wine blossomed into a beautiful old Cabernet. A gorgeous dark red color barely shows its age, a great first sign. The boquet shone with mints, red and black currants, a touch of bell pepper (in a good way), a strong note of pencil lead and a hint of smoke. The tannin were mostly resolved and integrated well in this wine, something I had read it had issues with in its youth. A long, elegant but focused finish, this wine is in a great place and very present once it woke from its slumber — 9 years ago

Randall Brater

8.9

This took a little time to open up, but when it did the Merlot shone through. Smooth, silky and black raspberry. — 9 years ago

with Jacques