Andrew Cullimore

9.0

No formal notes . Medium deep ruby . This seems a bit more advanced . This is a bit harder and more structured on the palate , more tannin , less velvety and a bit more astringent . More spicy , drier on the palate . This needed more time to open . This was quite difficult to judge , I wasn’t 100% convinced about this bottle as it just seemed a little oxidative, however it did actually seemed to come together better after an hour or so , but still quite hard and astringent in comparison to the others (especially La Mission) . Showed a touch more mineral and grafite on the finish too after a while. This needed time , and I would imagine another bottle might tell a different story . — a year ago

Greg Helmer

9.5

Oh so smooth and rich. A bold deep flavored Cabernet. This is what people drink Cabernet for. — 6 years ago

Greg

9.5

Enjoyed this stunning 1995 with a perfect steak meal. So glad I still have a few more on the shelf! — 8 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.4

This is ridiculous. Most interesting rose I've ever had. Nose is yeasty, earthy, minerally, so ripe and sappy. I could sniff this for hours. Way more depth of flavor than even good roses too: it's like sending a perfectly extracted Pinot red to a custom car shop to make into an awesome wine you can serve chilled. Terrific length and freshness. Dang! @Lyle Fass better get some more of this! (Oh, and another thing. I had to decant it because it threw a pant load of sediment . . . which is a GOOD thing!) — 10 years ago

with Lyle

B

10

Magnum 1998 Cheval Blanc. Third red for dinner at the house w B&K K, J&L B, and M&R H and BP. Awesome! So much fun to try this Bordeaux after the 2002 Domaine des Lambrays burgundy. This wine felt young, even though older than the Lambrays. A bit tight at first, despite decanting a few hours. Fun contrast of round vegetal and green noted, stronger tannins. Such a treat. Probably the fave of the night. — 10 years ago

Justin Ennis

10

This is the 1985 Napa Cab and was tasted out of 5 liter. This wine was excellent! Herbal notes with a touch of saddle. I was so surprised by how much red fruit was on the pallet with a wine this old! Amazing! — 11 years ago

Rachael Ryan

Sommelier Quince Restaurant

9.5

Why is this wine so good? Fantastic value. Wondering why there isn't more Gamay in the US. — 11 years ago

Pooneet K

9.3

Really delicious. Wasn’t sure what to expect at this stage, have others in storage for some evolution but this was wonderful tonight. Opened the bottle 7 hours before but no decant and it was very giving. Somewhat pale in the glass but so much red fruit on the nose and the palate. Almost feels slightly carbonic in terms of how it is expressing but I don’t think it actually is. Incredible length and freshness on the finish - great acid. Excellent pairing with a Tuscan style roast chicken and mushrooms. — 3 years ago

Hanibal

9.4

A monster. At age 25 this looks indestructible. So much fruit concentration on the attack and nice long aftertaste. Seemed liked it needs more time...weird ! — 6 years ago

Conrad Green

9.8

A treat. Dark in color, slightly cloudy. A powerful nose with dark, very mouton fruit. Incredibly aromatic, blackcurrant, mint,graphite, dried herbs, eucalyptus. The palate is extraordinary. So dense and powerful for a wine of almost 70 years. Dark fruit with a savory undertow- leather, thyme, sour cherry, dark chocolate. Really precise flavors and long. After an hour or two in glass there’s notes of coconut and soft wood. Extraordinary. Clearly there’s a lot of age on this but the sheer quality makes for a really dynamic wine. An exceptional bottle, and a teal treat. — 8 years ago

with Howard, Tony and 1 other

Deni

9.4

Absolutely amazing. Lots of good brett. Balanced and delicious. Great dark fruit aromas and flavors. So smooth. Medium high tannins and acidity. Perfect silky texture. A little funk on the nose and palate (positive). Aroma and flavors are out of this world. Leather bag full of cherries and raspberries. Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carmenere. Complex. Delicious 13.5% abv — 10 years ago

Jimmy Hayes

Estate Director Mayacamas Vineyard

9.6

This was explosive. So fresh but so concentrated. Brioche, hazelnut, toasted meringue. Powerful, wine. Really stopped me in my tracks. #tdc — 10 years ago

Emily Hauptman

10

Loved this wine!! So smooth!! — 11 years ago

Jason Boland

10

This gets a 11+ rating if it was possible. The gods would be so lucky to have a sip of this. Incredible wine for Christmas. Such a light color for the age. So round and perfect. Finish that never ends. Doesn't get better. — 11 years ago

Chris Bensick

9.0

What to say about my favorite Chateau? I’ve been lucky to have had so many vintages, starting with 1959, that I’m just tempted to say that it tastes like “old Leoville” and leave it at that….except that yesterday’s bottle of similarly aged Louis Martini Monte Rosso nudges it out by a nose…. This one has dried out more and is more astringent. But a fine bottle it is. — 4 years ago

Vanessa

9.3

Celebrating our completion of the WSET Level 3 exam today!

It was a labor of love. Results won’t be released for several months, but, hey, we poured ourselves into this prep and so wine not celebrate the milestone of getting ‘er done!

Cheers @win_tries_wine @deked1 — 5 years ago

with Deked1

Chris England

9.6

This may be the smoothest Hermitage I've had @ £83 it's like a pig rolling in velvet 🐷 so smooooth 😍 Great now but 97+ over next 5-20yrs 😎

🍷 Ruby w/ purple hue

👃 Cloves, Olives, thyme & piggy 💩 through blackberry w/ touch of liquorice & minerals

👄 Med+ body incredibly super smooth olive tapenade, blackberry & dark cherry - surprisingly well balanced @ this age 👍

🎯 Long dark fruit & olive pure silk finish — 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

Tim O'Rourke

9.6

What? So good. All the olive and pepper and leather that you would expect and plenty of game and mushroom as well. I don't suppose I'll have another chance to taste this, so I'll have to rely on memory of something so delicious. — 11 years ago

Francis Plante

9.4

Wow - you know I had my biggest wine disappointment with a 1998 Beaucastel and this 2005 brings me back on why i pay so much for Grenache. It was an amazing experience and it is still so very young. I unfortunately broke my decanter with this wine but it was worth it. I am glad i still have 2 in my cellar. See you in 6 years brother. — 11 years ago