The Cellar
Heitz Cellar
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
I prefer indirect lighting like a patio room. Typically they would last 5-6 months before they bloomed out.
Just don’t buy one thats fully bloomed, sometimes they are in a store for a couple months. A fresh one would typically have 4-6 buds that haven’t opened.
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1986
Medium deep garnet ruby , quite thin garnet terracotta rim . This is quite classic and more austere on the nose after the 1990s , grafite , cedar, sweet spice , earthiness and mint. More dry and four square on the palate compared to the 1990s but enough stuffing to fill out. Cassis , plum and blackberry , coffee , grafite . Refreshing acidity , slightly grippy drier tannin. Sous bois , grafite , herbal character with good length and earthy cassis finish . This got better with time in the glass and probably should have been decanted . This shows there is some upside , from now , with time in the glass, and over the next 10 years. The wine that improved the most during the dinner , quite impressive . — 23 days ago
Krug
Brut Champagne Blend 2011
Light and precise. Chalky with lemon. A little simple compared to the best — 7 days ago
Dom Pérignon
Brut Champagne Blend 2015
Popped and poured; enjoyed from red Solo cups over the course of an hour. No formal notes. At this stage, the 2015 is more than giving, full of delicious ripe orchard fruits, tiny bubbles, racy acidity and minerals. I imagine this vintage will be really easy to love over the next 20 years or so. — a month ago
Château d'Yquem
Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 1991
Light medium caramel core , light copper rim. Quite mature , with spiced creme brûlée , saffron , burnt sugar , some crystallised orange peel , desiccated coconut . Slightly monochrome . On the palate this is quite light , with quite high acidity and a burnt caramel bitterness . Medium sweetness only , quite refreshing acidity . Slightly bitter orange caramel finish . Drink now qnd over the next few years , won’t improve . — 17 days ago
Château Cos d'Estournel
Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1982
Popped and poured; enjoyed from red Solo cups over the course of a few hours. This bottle of the 1982 showed very well today. It pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with beautiful notes of black currants, black plum, mixed brambles, tobacco, some green pepper, graphite, leather, earth, and soft warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. 1982: the vintage that keeps on giving. Drink now through 2042+. — a month ago
Château Latour
Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2005
A knockout left bank Bordeaux. I’ve read that the 2005s may go longer than the potentially even more vaunted 2000s and I might agree based on this bottle. Decanted 5 hours. Cork in perfect shape. Amazing depth of fruit and a ton of Bordeaux earth. Nose goes on and on as does the finish. Was an excellent pairing but a very good but simple roast chicken. — 13 days ago
Paul T HB
Free orchid samples for my stores, Heitz not free.
But so worth it. These need 15-20 years to live up to the name. — 14 days ago