Delectable Wine

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9.2

The 2020 d'Armailhac has all the fruit of the en primeur wine, and all the tannin too, almost like a barrel sample. I imagine the 2020 is going to need at least a few years to shed some of that tannic clout. Dark red cherry, red plum, pomegranate, blood orange, iron, white pepper and mint literally saturate the palate. The 2020 is a dense, plush d'Armailhac. It's a real head-turner. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, February 2023) — 3 years ago

Tom Garland

9.1

MERRY CHRISTMAS to All!

1.5 hour decant(decent chunky sediment). An inspiring dark ruby red color with some bricking. On the nose: kaboom!! That sweet aged Bordeaux perfume!! with red cherry, cassis, smoke, touch of green vegi(luv it), little mint, vanilla, and a whiff of barnyard leather. Taste: smooth medium body wine with cherry, tobacco, smoke, cedar, crushed rocks. Some still there slightly bitter tannins at the end....a perfectly fine wine, but not as great as this vintage would have you think it should be....will wait a few more years for next try. — 6 years ago

with Brenda

Kirk F

9.2

Special birth year bottle for a milestone birthday this week. The cork was almost entirely intact and we double decanted to catch all the sediment. A beautiful brick color in the glass, evolving over 4 hours and drinking nicely. Plenty of fruit left and I also picked up a little salinity/olive savoriness. Glad a few friends popped by to share this with me #50inquarantine #socialdistancing 🍷😷🙌🏻 — 6 years ago

Rob Russell

9.0

Just had this in Bordeaux a few weeks ago. Like most wines of this vintage it took a bit of imagination to fully appreciate. It is clearly time to drink this wine, it may be on the downhill side of life. Overall a good experience for what was not noted as a premium vintage, but is a very solid wine. — 7 years ago

Ken Z

9.3

Drank 1/18/19 at the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux event in Miami.  All wines from the 2016 Vintage.

Tasting pour, no formal notes taken.  Most of these wines are very tight, and will require 5-15 years to really come together.  Many will likely improve a few points with time.

A bit disappointed with this wine. I slightly preferred the Cantenac Brown. It was good, but expected more in a great vintage. — 7 years ago

Jody Scharf

9.0

Sum of this wine equals good value of blended dark fruits. In Warren NJ — 8 years ago

Justin Hansohn

9.2

En magnum. A whole kaleidoscope of animal complexity for the first few hours, meats and poultry coming off in a beguiling way. Opened up into what could have been mistaken as a solid white bourgogne and ended in a deep subdued rich orange wine. Nice to see what happens over the years of this and the thanksgiving group experience had today. 👌🏼 — 9 years ago

Martin G Rivard

10

What a beautiful person inside and out! I'm blessed beyond measure to be able to call him "Dad". Words can't adequately express how much I Love him. We opened a few bottles last night that I will hold near and dear to my heart forever. We are celebrating his completion of 6 rounds of chemo therapy in his battle against Prostate cancer. This is his 3rd time in the ring against this opponent and it appears that he's won with a unanimous decision by knockout at this time!!!!!! Love you dad!!!!! So proud of your strength through this process. My Father was born in 1940. A difficult year to say the least:
Germans entered Bordeaux in June of 1940. As dictated by Hitler himself, it was the sworn duty of each and every commander to search and seize whatever could be used for the advancement of the German cause. Bedlam broke out. Chateaux' were ransacked, wine cellars were looted if not used for target practice. The Chateauxs were forced to continue producing wines. It's poetic justice that Mother Nature provided the Germans with the worst growing season from 1940 to 1944!!!! The Germans left Bordeaux in 1944 to the cheers of the residents "Au Revoir Les Allemands"!!!! The 1940 bottle that we enjoyed this evening survived World War II. It Survived the ransacking, pillaging & plunder of countless German soldiers. It's outer capsule showed evident signs of its struggle but it's inner beauty was unblemished and glorious. I've had many, many vintages of Latour from 1928 and on but none have ever tasted as perfect as the one we enjoyed tonight. This 1940 was perfect. It was a fighter, it never gave up, it never relinquished in the face of adversity. That's my Father, that my role model. He's a beautiful person inside & out. I think 1940 is the best vintage that I have ever had the privilege to enjoy. Special thanks to my good friends Michael Troise whom provided me with much of the insights in regards to the incredibly difficult vintage and David Page whom gifted this bottle to me for our celebration this evening. I will never forget your generosity. It was a glorious evening to say the least!!! Wine has a way of bringing people together and encapsulating an evening and event. I couldn't think of a better way to rejoice in his victory than to open a Father & Son birth year wine. — 9 years ago

with Ryan, Christine and 1 other

Patrick Kelly

8.9

Wonderful. Silk on the nose and palette. Lots of earth and perfect fruit. Medium finish with less oak or tannins than I would have thought since it should still have a few years in the bottle — 11 years ago

Tom Garland

9.1

2 hour decant (decent chunky/cloudy sediment). A purplish dark magenta color. On the nose: in your face aromas of plum, leather, cedar, currants, floral, mint and smoke. Taste: a smooth, dry, elegant, nicely balanced wine with black fruit, minerals, graphite, black pepper,, and a smokey herb long finish. Give it a few more years to come around, has potential. — 4 years ago

with Brenda

Mario Vaillancourt

9.5

A subtle and refined nose of lemon peel, a touch of almonds and some mint. The bubbles are so small and classy, tight yet so vibrant. The wine as such energy and freshness and is straight in the palate with excellent length, very elegant, so pure and an absolute delight to drink now, but might even be better in a few years. 95-96

Un nez fin et subtil de zeste de citron avec une touche d’amandes et de menthe. Les bulles sont serrées avec beaucoup de classe et d’élégance, tout comme le vin d’ailleurs qui est frais, très pur, droit, beaucoup d’énergie et avec une superbe longueur, pas le plus riche et le plus ample, un style droit et fin mais vraiment excellent. Se boit bien maintenant et sera assurément encore meilleur avec un peu de cave. 95-96 — 6 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Pale yellow with pleasing aromas of citrus and sweet peaches. One of the few barrel fermented Sauvignon Blanc's which adds a wonderful toasty oak flavor setting this wine apart from the rest. Complex palate of flavors, fresh fruit, lemons, grapefruit, peaches, Asian pears and baked apple with tea and spicy acidity. Slight herb notes with a smooth and creamy well balanced finish ending with a gentle sweet character. A Fav! — 6 years ago

Keith Lite

9.5

A big bold plumy purple bomb As dense and luscious as a wine can get in a glass. Decanted for 2 hrs and its still a baby with blackberry, dark chocolate licorice and pepper on the nose and on the palate. A long long finish and loads of tannins to sum it all up — 7 years ago

with Bruce

Ron R

9.2

This bottle isn’t as sharp and focused as the one we had a few months ago. It’s a little warmer than we normally serve, and that may be the cause of the friction here. Still very charming, tho... — 8 years ago

with Anne-marie

Shay A

9.2

Monthly WTF wine group. Special event this month as Ben provided all ‘80s Napa cabs. A few of us chipped in and provided some whites/bubbly.

Toasted Graham cracker, cassis, and even some old cedar wood. Structure was still in tact and young tasting. — 8 years ago

with Andrew, Will and 4 others

Tom Gordon

9.0

Nice blend of Cab, Zinfandel and a few others. Very smooth and nice finish. Looking forward to the filet with this. — 9 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Tasted blind. Tawny brownish red color with amber rims. Huge bouquet in the nose of roses, berries, pencil lead, minerals and some dusty dirt. Light on its feet in the mouth. Round soft fruit. Better than the last bottle of this a few months ago. — 9 years ago

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

Loren Larson

9.3

Complex and opens into a spectacular wine with richness across fruit balance and depth of body including a tannic edge. Wish I had a few more in the cellar. — 11 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.3

Fabulous 2003, not nearly as much brett as the 2001 I had a few weeks ago. Solid mature notes of cassis, cedar, fall leaves and loamy notes. The palate is elegant, but persistent with a fabulous attack the finish is perfumy and clean. #lebanonwine — 13 years ago

Jim McCusker

10

From back when I could afford Realm (was one of the early people on their mailing list thanks to a chance meeting with Juan Mercado), this wine was absolutely breathtaking. Classic Napa cab…and one of the few 10s I’ve ever given out. Just amazing. — 5 years ago

with Vanessa

Christian Fischer

9.4

After a coffee chat at work yesterday that ended discussing Hillside Select I was motivated to open one for the holiday weekend. Initially I was very disappointed as the wine was flat and uninspiring considering the pedigree and price tag. Read some reviews that this 2013 needs A LOT of air and sure enough after hours the wine began to evolve and markedly improve. It is an intense wine that lingers in the mouth for a long time. Smooth tannins, red fruit and tobacco flavors. Not my most favorite wine and not at the $229 I paid, but nonetheless a very good wine once it had the chance to get some air for a few hours — 5 years ago

HFly

9.0

Huge wine with lots of stuffing — probably opened this prematurely. Great fruit underpinned by massive tannins at this stage. Budged a bit on day two.
Will let other bottles wait at least a few more years and crack some Perbacco instead. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.4

Monthly WTF wine group night. Our theme was American oak vs French oak. All wines tasted blind. We started off with two bottles of bubbly and finished with two non-themed reds.

My contribution for the evening. I’m posting my previous review of this wine below as it’s been consistent the few times I’ve had it over the last 12-18 months. Love these wines!

Youthful. Icredibly perfumed with typical sweet dill and coconut American oak on the nose. Gosh, I could smell this stuff all day. Aside from needing time away, it needs roughly an hour of decanting to hit stride. Tobacco, cherry tart, and great herbal nuances on the finish. — 7 years ago

with Jack, Ryan and 4 others

Geoffrey Green

9.6

Pristine cork, decanted for 5 hours: still balanced, complex, and harmonious as a 20 year old in a challenging vintage. Fruit still lively, with mellow tannins—this still has a few years left. Came out best for me in an evening of great old wines: ‘98 Corison, ‘98 Montelena Estate, plus de la Tour ‘99. Never underestimate the consistency of a great estate, year after year. Glad I have another bottle or two. — 8 years ago

Ben Atash

9.5

9 y/o non-sulfite bottle stored impeccably. What a difference since my last tasting a few years ago. This is cruising at its peak. Soft tannins. Earthy complexity. Trademark garnet color persists, but red fruit subdued and mature. Proof that Marcel was the king of Beaujolais. — 8 years ago

with Elise

Shay A

9.4

Our monthly 4th Friday event at the storage facility. No requirements, just wine you want to share with others! Always an enjoyable time.

Special place in my heart for this winery. A few months ago, I had an '88 go celebrate my birth year. It was STELLAR. This is pushing forward easily...after an hour of air, the fruit and secondary earth and funk notes came out. So good! Thanks Walter! — 9 years ago

with Mark

Lehshel Kolter

9.0

Oak dominates with hints of blackberry, black plum, and violet. I would like try the 2011 vintage again in a few years to see how the tertiary flavors develop. — 10 years ago

Roel van der Burg

Sommelier at Restaurant Entrepot

9.4

So nice after a few years of bottle aging. All the way elegant. From magnum @ Saignant Angers — 10 years ago

with Piet, Alessandro and 2 others

Alan Dickinson

9.0

A little rough in the aromatics. Cork was suspect, looked and smelled a bit funky. wine was otherwise youthful in the mouth with raspberry, tar, spice and plenty of lively acid. Have a few more '89s and think its time. overall a beautiful wine still but perhaps in aromatic decline. - 1989 vintage — 12 years ago