1986 vintage. Sampled five bottles for a 1986 BDX tasting @ Mister A's in San Diego. Double decanted and tasted over four hours. Medium body. Pretty rustic early on and that stayed consistent till the end. Opened up a little later with a splash of bright cherry fruit. Should stay the course for another 5-6 years. 3.14.24 — 2 months ago
#AgedWineTuesday
Beautiful ruby in color, with a very wide reddish rim. Bricking at the very top.
Light nose with red and black fruits, light cedar and tobacco leaf.
Medium plus in body with medium acidity.
Dry on the palate with black plums, currants, cherries, earth, black coffee, oak, herbs, vegetables, spices, tobacco leaf, dark chocolates and black tea.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.
This 26 year old from the great 1998 vintage in Southern Rhone is drinking beautifully now. Soft and smooth, elegant and earthy.
Not so good right out of the bottle, and needed 90 minutes of airtime to open up properly, so be patient.
Robert Parker 95 points. Wine Spectator 94 points.
Will continue to drink nicely in the next 5 years.
Showing nice complexity and good balance.
I paired it with a Charcuterie board of meats and cheeses.
14% alcohol by volume.
93 points.
$120 (current vintage). — 3 months ago
1989 vintage. 375 ml format. Good fill but cork had some red streaks all the way up to the top and it was difficult to remove the top part of the "fused" foil. Decanted and tasted over the course of three hours. Expected sed. Light-medium body. Nose on point with the vintage/age and didn't seem abused/mistreated. Flavor profile a mishmash of chunky and resolved. Ultimately, came in slightly short on the balance ledger side. Lean, judicious fruit okay but not totally reconciled with the final exam. If enjoyed from a 750 ml format, thinking it might climb up to a 9.1 currently. Maybe. A maggie format (or larger) might reveal a revelation. 12.9.23. — 5 months ago
The 2005 Palmer, picked from September 9 to October 10, remains deep in color. It has a lovely, intense bouquet with blackcurrant pastilles, raspberry, violet and juniper. It blossoms in the glass, gaining vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins, structured and dense, strangely Pomerol-like in style, with touches of black pepper and truffle furnishing the finish. Robust and muscular, it lacks a bit of flair and precision (like many wines of this vintage). I would afford this another couple of years in the cellar. Tasted at the Palmer vertical at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2023)
— 6 months ago
Blend of 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Merlot, aged in French oak for about 18 months, deep Ruby with aromas of dark fruit, sweet spice and herbs. On the palate flavors of cherry and blackberry with tobacco spice, toasty oak and floral notes. Fine tannins, long finish ending with fruit, spice, oak and mineral character, Nice, should age well. — 7 months ago
So beautiful and clear in its purpose, titillating on the nose and fulfilling its promises beyond. Balanced and velvety dark red fruit, hints of black tea and cassis but all in a more Old than New World Gestalt. Lots of secondary stuff emerging you just want to sip it slowly. If anybody wonders how well these age, track one down, it’s so worth it. Kudos @Cathy Corison for making this distinctive and enduring bottle! — 6 years ago
1989 vintage. Tasted 5.5.23 (9.5), 4.4.23 (6 different btls-avg 9.4) and 12.9.22 (9.6). Above average fill for the age and impressive cork (about 70% saturated). Decanted and tasted over the course of two hours. Threw a decent amount of powdery sed. Medium nose slightly muted for the first 10 minutes or so but then came roaring to life. Yes, still the hallmark blueberries and cocoa powder along with a dash of raspberry but bigg graphite with this bottle. Drank consistently great for 1.75 hours, then seemed to lose a little steam at the very end. Not improving but still think cellar dwellers need to be popped in the next five years to enjoy the magic before it fades. 3.28.24. — a month ago
Popped and poured. The 2021 “Cuvée Réservée” pours a deep ruby color with a deep but transparent core; medium+ viscosity and moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe red and black brambles, spiced meat, black pepper, some purple flowers and stony minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This comes across lighter and more Burgundian than the last handful of vintages; almost giving me some 2014 vibes (which is a vintage in the last decade that I adore). It’s really good and shows a bit more elegance that I quite like. Looking forward to tracking this vintage as time goes on. Drink now with some patience and should be cracking through 2041 with ease. — a month ago
Such a storied brand, it was a treat to finally try this. Opulent black bramble fruit with that Tuscan earthy spice on the nose. Hard to deny this was opened far too young as I imagine it would really be singing in 10 years. Lovely acidity, exquisite tannins on the finish. Next time it only makes sense to drink an aged wine of this caliber. #sassicaia — 3 months ago
Flight #1 of our 1997 Retrospective. Presented single-blind; no formal notes. This had a really compelling mix of fruit and non-fruit notes; multifaceted, balanced. Superb structure. Bordeaux-like. Called this “Insignia”. This was my favorite of the flight and the most complete wine in the line-up. Drinking well now and should hold that way well through 2027. — 3 months ago
My last of a three pack, and this shockingly drinks almost identical to my last bottle over four years ago.
Lovely deep red in the glass with bricking around the rim. Fig bar, sweet black cherries and tobacco aromatics. Ripe red and black fruits on the palate...not over ripe, but definitely sweet. Channeling more of a cherry liqueur and concentrated mid-palate as it ages. Close to fully integrated. Quite smooth and still a lot of fruit playing a primary role, but it’s not getting any better. More sexy than intellectual (nothing wrong with either).
I’d imagine this will hold in this window for another couple years and then decline, but I didn’t expect it to hold in this same window for almost five years. Drink up. — 4 months ago
Some blackberries, flowers and spice. Dinner at Anthony’s in HH — 5 months ago
Always a treat to have yquem. Nice amber in the glass. Lots of passion fruit on the nose and palate. Quite full and deep. Delicious - but, acid a notch under what I was hoping which keeps this from being higher. Still a lovely wine with a very long finish. — 6 months ago
Perhaps the best bottle of wine I have ever had! Pure perfection! Elegant, rich, perfectly balanced, huge aromas, still tons of fruit, and a finish that's still lingering. Better still, I enjoyed this bottle at Martin Berasetegui in San Sebastián, a 3 star Michelin restaurant. Outstanding!! — 9 years ago
Lots of eucalyptus at opening. 15 mins in it begins to settle in. Leather, mushroom on the nose with the ever present eucalyptus. Really well structure fruit on the palette, a tinge of acidity and a bit sharp on the finish. More time in the glass brings a balance that’s amazing for a 39 year old wine. Thankfully no one here to share!
— 2 months ago
The 2014 Cheval Blanc has an attractive nose with brambly red fruit, sous-bois, a pencil box and a touch of Xmas cake. It does not take too much aeration before it develops further aromas of black truffle and morels. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, fleshy, ripe and tensile with red peppercorn hints toward the slightly granular finish. Very harmonious and persistent. It is outstanding in the context of the vintage. Tasted at Bordeaux Index's 10-Year-On tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2024)
— a month ago
1995 vintage. Great fill, foil and label. Perfect cork. From a top-notch cellar. Decanted and tasted over the course of two hours. Volcanic ash-styled sed vs chunky-style. Big funk on the nose that resolved after 7-8 minutes. Wine was showing decently (in the 69-72 degree range) but lacking any tannic structure. Placed the decanter atop an ice bucket bath to drop the temp down to 60 degrees or so. Took about 20 minutes but the tannins kicked in the door to say hello. Fruit components stayed constant. Pauillac tendencies were all there. As is the case often with older BDX, the decaying matter/leaves at the onset transitioned to graphite/lead pencil and espresso flavors. This was a superior bottle in great shape. Top of this wine’s specific bell curve. Comparable bottles would look to be drinking this well for the next 5-7 years without dropoff. Out of larger format…could possibly push this into 9.4 status. 2.5.24. — 2 months ago
Way to ring in the New Year! Lithe, feminine nose led a nicely delineated palate of dark red fruit, cigar box and velvety tannins. Wonderful. — 4 months ago
Finally lost my Heitz MV virginity. One word, wow. The mint-eucalyptus was there on the nose. A very powerful wine that smelled powerful and tasted powerful. Besides the mint , hints of earth & cigar notes but clearly in the background. I was having a hard time trying to grasp how youthful and balanced the wine was on the palate. I found the fruit was on the darker side with lingering tannins. I left this in the decanter for three days. The nose really never diminished, the palate grudgingly. If I had to nitpick I felt it was lacking some of the complexity that I would have expected at this stage. — 5 months ago
After Bouland's Delys I had an immediate urge for Foillard's Côte du Py. Don't judge me...
Showing this to my best pal who lives in Dijon and who literally bathes in Burg. Pinot Noir. I think he likes it too😍.
Cola, cherry, hay, raspberry... Wow this nose doing its trick again. Massive acid backbone, radiant cherry all along with a bit of a Cola note, a bit of tannins in the rear, very gentle, and a super duper long fruity finish that goes on for a long long time. Who can seriously say they don't like it? — 6 months ago
Vino Joe
Wonderful wine. One of my favorite vineyards. This is always a high quality wine. This one is still young but getting its legs. Vibrant and fresh if not yet rounded out. There is complexity that will only build. The length is good now but I know will be significantly longer in near term. Cherry. Fig. Eucalyptus. Loved this wine. Looking forward to sampling the next few I have over ensuing decade. — a month ago