Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2018 vintage. Needs a 7-10 split of years to lose the baby fat and precocious ways. Undeniably delicious now and don’t see this shutting down in a noticeable way over that decade. 4.8.23. — a year ago

Vino Joe

9.4

This went down quickly. Very young but smooth and easy nonetheless. Earthy and the fruit was there but flattened. I was impressed with how much punch it had at less than five years. — 3 years ago

Peter Coulthard

9.3

Waitrose. Delightful English white. Melon and peach, grassy and zesty freshness to it, slight acidity to cut through things but without lingering. — 4 years ago

Brett Rogosin

9.0

It’s been open about 3 days and airing about 4 hours in the bottle. The nose is musky barnyard with wet oak, damp forest floor, wet leather and dark red fruit. There’s still some chalky tannins with acidity that rushes down the sides of your mouth and tongue. The red fruit carries forward, but more underripe with skins intact. It’s cleaner on the palate with a bit of damp cellar and dry earth, with notes of leather and red plum skin. The red plum and leather hang on into the finish. It’s a solid showing that I’d like to see where it develops over the next 3-5 years. — 4 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Dessert last night was a layered, guava, mango, raspberry, passion fruit cheesecake. I did a dual pair with 14 Kobalt Sauvignon Blanc and this 83 Rieussec Sauternes. The 83 won hands down.

Look at that color! 👀 The older they are, the darker they get. I’ve seen one nearly black, a 1928 D'yquem a number of years back. A good producer/vintage of Sauternes will out live almost anyone’s life span properly stored. This 35 year old 375ml was no exception to that rule.

The nose reveals; brown sugar, molasses, dried; pineapple, apricots, peaches, nectarines, orange citrus, touch of light colored citrus’s, marmalade, mixed nuts with skin, toffee, caramel, tea notes, soft limestone minerals, gravel with pebbles and dark withering flowers/lilies.

The body is full, rich and gorgeous. The palate is nicely integrated and complex. The fruits are a combination of candies and dried. Brown sugar, raw sugar cane, molasses, dried; pineapple, apricots, peaches, nectarines, mango, prunes & dates. Candied, lemon, lime & grapefruit. Orange citrus, marmalade, honeycomb, mixed nuts with skin, toffee, caramel, Lipton tea notes, soft limestone minerals, gravel with pebbles and dark withering flowers, yellow & orange lilies. The acidity is like a rain shower and the elegant, rich, well balanced and polished finish lingers on your palate and dances mentally in your brain. There is also granulated sugar on the palate. Huge RS!

Producer notes...Rieussec is aged in an average of 50% new, French oak barrels for 18 to 24 months, depending on the character of the vintage. Chateau Rieussec is owned by the Lafite side of the Rothschild family and all their used oak barrels come from Chateau Lafite.

Photos of; Chateau Rieussec, grapes awaiting the onset of botrytis, their roughly 25-30 year Estate vines and their barrel room. — 5 years ago

David Kline

9.5

Dense red currant is ‘wrassled’ down by fennel aromas, mint and black cherry with strawberry and blackberry hidden beneath its thick canopy of fern and forrest; including moss and mushroom. Actually amazing! Not going to ever guess that this herbaceous monster with rim to rim colt density is an 11 yr old Calistoga! Meaty notes of grill and marinated fungi. Celeriac root, fennel and licorice notes define this angel with a minty coolness persisting! Blackberry and black cherry emerge in the finale to shine like young wine despite the years!#Larkmead #2007cab #Calistoga #Napa #napacab — 6 years ago

with Courtney

Peter Sultan

9.3

Columbia county 2.0: end of a meal, nightcap of sorts. So so perfumed with dill & vanilla & tree sap, as if Willy Wonka decided to get into winemaking. Really just lived for a while breathing this in. On palate it’s remarkably agile & light, even though the body of red fruits is firmly medium boned. No signs of decay or slowing down- even the cork was perfect-easily can go on another several decades ( it feels). God what a treat. — a year ago

with Owen

Arden Barnett

9.6

Well, I never thought I would go from drinking a ranch water and a glass of White Zinfandel to a monumental vintage 1st growth Bordeaux. 🤷🏻‍♂️

When my 93 year old grandfather with dementia brings Chateau Margaux over for taco salad night, you just gotta do it....

Chills went down my spine as the scent of this wine hit me while I was pouring it in the decanter. Forest floor, wet leather, muddy earth, dried plums, and black cherries create a harmonious perfumed nose.

On the palate there was this truly amazing finesse and lightness that just stunned me. Black fruit, kirsch, light cocoa and leather hit you head on. After the fine grained tannins hit, there was this ever evolving finish that lasted for minutes. There was a slight minerality on the finish that was also extremely pleasing. Velvety, simply luxurious.

What an experience. Must say the pairing of the night was a little piece of candied ginger and a glass of this.... spectacular.

Great wine, even better company. What wine is all about. — 4 years ago

Katie Stamas

9.3

OK, I’m in. This English sparkling wine thing is legit. Fresh, crisp and nicely balanced toasty biscuit character. — 5 years ago

Austin Paramore

9.2

First candle lit dinner with Remi. JB and Ali got her down while Ali artfully cut and ate her steak with one hand. Also, the grill caught on fire, but JB saved the steaks at the perfect level of char. The spinach was delicious, and the dirt that Ali left on it from the farmers market will help tremendously with digestion. — 5 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.7

Another beautiful btl that shows no signs of slowing down. This was exotic & rich showing cherry, plum fruits, cassis, violets, truffle, fruit cake spice & tobacco. Everyone’s favorite of the Bordeaux flight. — 5 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.5

The 2014 Pichon Lalande has the edge over Pichon Baron a few months ago. It is a tight race but here Pichon Lalande edges it. It has a wonderful, complex, intense bouquet with blackberry, briary, graphite and mint – just a straight-down-the-line Pauillac with all the aristocratic flair you look for. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, layers of pure black fruit laced with graphite and mint. It is blessed with a satin-like texture, not a hair out of place from start to finish, with a long, persistent aftertaste that completes a fabulous wine for the vintage. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2018) — 6 years ago

Alexandra Black

9.0

One of my favourite wines. Crisp white. Not too acidic. Enjoy it again and again — 6 years ago

heidi schlegel

10

This tastes like a road trip down the Rhone. Perfect for my husband's birthday! — 3 years ago

Mike R

9.5

Wine Nerd herd virtual tasting of various vintages from 90s, 00s and 10s - mine was the 2013 - 88% CS, 8% PV, 3% merlot and 1% CF from various vineyards in the valley floor region - four hour decant - this is less fruit than you would expect but certainly an amazing wine - Napa finest at a modernist style Bordeaux blend - nose was rich with tobacco leather cocoa and forest floor - heavy to medium body yet the wine was soft because the fruit was muffled - mid palette with black blue and red fruits - orange peel cinnamon and sweet silky tannins integrated nicely - this could easily go 30 more years but not sure it will get better so if willing to decant and maybe even double decant for an afternoon this wine is ready for being paired with a cowboy bone in rib eye steak and will not let you down - truly an enjoyable experience as was all vintages tasted last night - HUGE SMILES — 3 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.6

Always my favorite vintage of Dominus showing no signs of slowing down. Purchased on release this is still youthful showing great balance & depth with red & dark berry fruits, plum, sweet spices, leather, tobacco & lead pencil. — 5 years ago

Louise Willems-Grevelink

9.5

Lekkerste rose die ik tot nu toe gehad heb. Licht droog en bloemig van smaak. — 5 years ago

Josh Weinstein

9.5

Oh yeah Mags going down — 5 years ago

with Kristen

Deborah Fontaine

9.5

Outstanding cab/merlot blend. Sister of sexual chocolate. Excellent price point. Around $20. — 6 years ago

Jean-Francois Pelletier

9.2

Garnet with browning. Initially quite funky on the nose, but with some air opened nicely. Leather, black fruit and graphite. Medium+ finish. Good but on its way down. — 6 years ago

with Frankie, Stanley and 1 other