Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Deep Ruby, purple edges, with aromas of fresh berry fruits, cigar box spice and earthy mineral notes. On the palate rich ripe fruit, blackberry & black cherry with hints of dried spices. Good balance with slightly firm tannins, opened quickly, and lively acidity. Long finish, complex ending with oak, herb, mineral and earthy character. Will improve with short term aging, but don’t wait too long as you might be disappointed! Very nice Shiraz! — 5 years ago

Frank Heinz

9.4

Linda Rudolph brought this to us from South Africa — 6 years ago

Nate Warner

10

This is a very balanced full body wine, nose has light black licerace with black current. Taste has medium tannins with short tail. Very smooth taste of berry. — 7 years ago

with Cody

David Walser

9.3

It’s Phelps Preferred Club weekend so to honor the occasion I brought a slightly aged wine to get us in the mood. Enjoyed with the short rib risotto dish and really enjoyed both the dish and wine. — 8 years ago

Alex White

9.4

Beautiful structure! cola & tobacco. Tannins mellowed after a short decant. I could drink this every day. — 8 years ago

Kenji Cal

9.2

Might have been too young to drink. No decanter. Just opened the bottle for 30 min. Took a little bit of time in glass to finish it's bloom. Great taste but short of my expectations for a grand cru — 9 years ago

Yuki Watanabe

9.5

Fruity, full body, live it — 9 years ago

Danny Owens

9.4

Had this with braised short ribs didn't know which one was better..this has all of the structure and weight with still lively fruit flavors. Balance and harmony at the dinner table. — 10 years ago

Neil Sims

9.5

Plenty of depth. It stayed with the deep flavors of the Archetype braised short rib very well. — 10 years ago

Chris Lucchese

9.0

1982 vintage. Not earth shattering, but really solid wine. The tobacco and dark fruit notes still coming through. Tannins are down, but acids still there. Great with some short ribs today. All in all, I would have this again. — 10 years ago

SparkleOps

9.0

Very short mellow burst of fruit juicy and mellow. — 11 years ago

Bryant Bickel

9.4

The usually tight tannic punch has faded and melded with the usual Washington velvet, a dark abyss of blackberry, plum, black cherry, it's in a nice place, I honestly wanted the kick in the mouth, but it's more elegant than you would expect. And I'm okay with buying her dinner, cause she delivers! She wore the long dress, thought I'd be looking at a short skirt, but this long dress is taking me home, thanks! She got feisty after she opened up & she delivers impressed! Give it 1hr and she will sing in your ear! — 11 years ago

"Odedi"

9.7

Celebrating 20K on Instagram with this beautiful wine!

Dark ruby in color with a short purple rim. Doesn't show age at all.

Fruity nose of blackberries, sweet cherries, black currants, figs, raisins, vanilla, cedar, licorice, cloves, cola, chocolates, mocha, caramel and black pepper.

Full bodied, smooth and bold, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry and extremely fruity on the palate with blackberries, black plums, cooked cherries, cedar, leather, earth, vanilla, licorice, spices, chocolates, mocha, coke, light earth, peppercorn, leather and tobacco.

Long finish with firm tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a great Napa Bordeaux blend. Showing great complexity and mouthfeel. Nicely balanced and fruit forward.

A fantastic wine from a great vintage. I've had a few different vintages of this, from older to younger, and this 2012 vintage is so nice right now. Will be even better in the next 10 to 15 years.

Thank you John for sharing this with me.

Rich yet elegant. Opulent and luxurious. Delectable and delicious.

Robert Parker 96 points.

Good right out of the bottle and much better after 3 hours of airtime. Fun wine for parties if it's in the budget. 😉

A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc. Aged in New French oak barrels for 24 months.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

97 points.

$250. — 5 years ago

"Odedi"

9.3

It’s time for my #FridayCabernetfix . Here is a gorgeous one from Napa.

Deep purple in color with a short purplish rim.

Fruity nose with blackberries, black plums, cherries, figs, spices, light cedar, toast, vanilla, licorice, graphite, black pepper, herbs, tobacco, chocolates, mocha and coffee.

Full bodied, bold and smooth, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry and still very fruity on the palate with blackberries, black plums, cherries, oak, vanilla, licorice, cloves, spices, chocolates, coffee, mocha, tobacco and black pepper.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This 11 year old Napa Cabernet from Oakville, is drinking very nicely now with a smooth mouthfeel. Spicy with nice complexity. A Nice wine to sip on by the porch. Delightful!

Peaking now and will be still good in the next few years. Good right out of the bottle and better as he opens up and shows some tannins.

I paired it with a herb and garlic prime rib dish.

Thank you, Mike for sharing this delicious wine with me.

14.6% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$95. — 7 years ago

Federico Gabriel

9.0

nice short finish not to tannic overall good buy — 8 years ago

Bob Willingham

9.0

62 years old and really good! This will sound weird but the Predominant flavor was bacon!! Paired well with red wine braised short ribs. — 8 years ago

Jean-Francois Pelletier

9.1

Good color. Muted nose at first but with a short decant, it started to show the dark fruit and leather notes that are typical of a good aged Bordeaux blend. Full body with a great balance. Long finish. — 9 years ago

with Frankie

Logan Allin

9.5

Bordeaux classic, very grassy/earthy, still some tannins left, could have laid down another 5 years, but opened up nicely and paired well with short-ribs and potatoes. Awesome NYE treat. — 10 years ago

Rollie Wright

Sales Wine Spectrum

9.4

2013
Celia Welch!! — 10 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.4

2007 vintage. Drinking with Frederic Rouzaud - not yet released. Medium lemon hue. Wonderful mineral, chalky, toast and yeasty nose. White peach. On the palate, integrated high acidity, no oxigenation, fresh as a daisy, short bread and dough. Lean and mean - no richness here. Angular and clean. Very enjoyable if very young. Really enjoyable. Not yet released. — 11 years ago

Jeremy Pollard

9.1

Juicy. Plump and juicy. Delicious fruit nose and palate. Some spicy vanilla and pepper to round things out. Yummy. — 11 years ago

Mark Treadwell

9.6

Nothing short of amazing. If properly stored as this was! — 11 years ago

Paul J

9.1

Disappointing! I used to be a big fan of this producer, but recent bottles have been lacking.

1 hour decant. Dark purple color. Nose has oak, vanilla, and plum. The body lacks depth and has almost no fruit. More New World than Old World. Short finish. My rating might be harsh at 91, but just had higher expectations. — 5 years ago

with Brooke

Jay Kline

9.2

Last night, a buddy of mine who’s a Disabled Veteran and Registered Architect, announced that he was assuming control of a SDVOSB Architecture firm. He had spent the better part of a year of trying to reach a purchase agreement. So it was an evening of celebration. He’s been a Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars fan for some time and he planned to pull the cork on a few bottles. We had a couple of rando bottles too but all were California Cabernet Sauvignon. I brought this bottle. It was part of my most recent delivery from Seavey and I was curious to try it out. Well...it was clearly infanticide. This was reductive at first and most of that blew off after about fifteen minutes. This was just so wound up. Delicious, fresh and almost crunchy fruit with a lot of structure. This was very bright compared to the Heart of Fay that preceded and just fell a touch short due to it being somewhat reticent. That being said, cellar time will be very kind to these and I would imagine this will show better down the road or with a lot of air, which this didn’t get. — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

When it comes to my B-day, there is only one fit, an old Pichon Lalande with my Ribeye. As a lover of Bordeaux, these two are my favorite pairing. It’s a very slow walk to the finishline. A small bite of steak and a sip of 89 Pichon Lalande. Then, repeat until finished. I had some concerns about this bottle. A slightly slippery and crumbling cork. The first sip was not bad, but not what you want or are expecting. After some time in the decanter, it really started to shine. On the nose; ripe, ruby, floral cassis, blackberries, dark sweet & sour cherries, baked strawberries, blue fruit hues, dry cranberries, baked rhubarb, saddlewood, soft, used leather, bay leaf, touch of sage, hint of spearmint, eucalyptus, vanilla, cinnamon, crushed dry crushed rock powder, black turned earth, dry brown soil with clay, tobacco leaf and perfumed red florals with violets. The body is full, round and silky. Tannins are well resolved at around 80%. The texture, length, tension and length are in a sweet spot. The fruits are ripe, ruby & expressively floral. Blackberries, dark sweet & sour cherries, baked strawberries, blue fruit hues, dry cranberries, baked rhubarb, saddlewood, soft, used leather, bay leaf, touch of sage, hint of spearmint, eucalyptus, vanilla, cinnamon, crushed dry crushed rock powder, black turned earth, dry brown soil with clay, scorched earth, tobacco leaf and perfumed red florals with violets. The acidity is just a little off but still nice. The finish is divided nearly equally in fruit, earth, florals and herbaceous. It’s very enjoyable but falls just a little short in longer, lingering length. This bottle had good storage, not great. Even so, still has another three to five years ahead. A bottle with excellent storage has another five years beyond this one. Photos of; the backside of Pichon Lalande, angled terrace view of their vines right next to Latour, my steak & twice baked potato (so good) and CEO Nicolas Glumineau. — 8 years ago

Joe Gillies

9.2

Drinking well now with a short decant but still young. Floral aromas that are very inviting. Cherry, strawberry, rose petals, and tar on the palate. Broke this out to enjoy since my 2 yr old son fed our 25 lb dog about 16oz of filet mignon and now I can say this paired well with McDonald's chicken nuggets and fries. — 9 years ago

Alex Lallos

Owner No Limit Fine Wines, Private Wine Consultant

9.2

Drinking phenomenally well. Hoisin sauce, asian plum, cassis, espresso, and cherry. Gamey and meaty as well. Beautiful stuff. Great with braised short ribs — 10 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

Black plum, plums, black licorice, raspberries ,cooked strawberries, light spices, a touch of light tar, silky dusty tannins, good acidity and finish. Also, went well with the braised short ribs. — 10 years ago

Michael Walsh

9.5

Still got it. A fantastic old Bordeaux with a classic nose and great flavor profile. A bit short on the finish. Tannins even still there for a few more years of life left. A great bottle. — 10 years ago

c l b

9.0

First night stand (with my coravin).

This was my first love (in the wine world) shortly after popping my wine-cherry. But didn't appreciate it to its fullest till now. Maybe it just aged well, maybe my awareness of all the different characteristics got better...in any case, I fell in love all over again...

Nose: Perfectly ripe blackberries and deep ruby cherries. Nice baking spices. The 2012 Faust smells like a $5-bottle in comparison (even though it cost about the same price the times that I became proud owners of both, especially with this particular bottle back when I was a poor graduating college student). Maybe that's how 9 years of experience affects your maturity...maybe I just need to drink more wine and edumacate myself, which I don't mind.

Tongue/mouth: Even though it's 12 years old, the tannins hold on for dear life to your taste buds (hasn't really incorporated itself to the rest of the nicely developed parts of its body). Drink with something fatty (like my short rib I happened to have). Then you can really enjoy the berriness of the wine.

I'm just so purely happy that I can enjoy a taste of it without the guilt of having to commit to it fully and leave it [the bottle] feeling empty. Thank you, Cory. — 11 years ago