Jakub Kalinowski

9.1

You gotta love aged Bordeaux!
Black currant galore with some back currant leaf, a whiff of mint, barely a hint of cigar box. So fresh & enticing.
Poised, so balanced, very, very elegant on the palate.
Mellowed, yet present tannins, so finely polished. Juicy acidity, still some fruit on the mid palate. Nice length, great precision. What a lovely wine! — 2 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.8

Tasted blind. Dark amber/tawny color. Notes of brown sugar, hickory, earth, saddle leather and some cola. Sweet to the taste with lots of complexity. Fruit is still present, with tannins fully resolved of course. Guesses by the boyz are 50’s Bordeaux, but I think it’s older. I’ve had two really old bottles of Chateau Margaux from the 20s and 30s, and I think it’s in that camp so I go with a guess of Margaux from the 20’s. Bingo. We’re told this was given many hours in the decanter and then we consumed it over 3 hours… it was alive from start to the last drop. What a great experience to drink grape juice that is nearly 100 years old. Bravo and thanks Stan! — 5 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Tawny with reddish amber rims. Dark yet translucent. Great old Chave nose. Black cherry, wet forest floor, smoked meats, menthol, slate stone and rhubarb notes. Vibrant in the mouth right out of the gate. Lots of structure and pucker. Fruit present but starting to fade. This was at peak first two hours and then started slowing down, opposite of the Trimbach CSH next to it. Still this was really good ~37 yr old grape juice. — 6 years ago

Scott Kahn

9.5

This wine has reached a new peak; fully integrated tannins alongside chocolate that melds away to review a long finish of vanilla cream. The earthier profile of red fruit is present as is a nice complement of peppery spice. If you can access a bottle this is a must drink wine that will carry the night. — 6 years ago

Mark Grammer

9.3

Excellent nose with a lot of fruit on the palate. Long finish with firm tannins still present. Could cellar at least 5-10 years before peaking. — 7 years ago

Jörgen Lindström Carlvik

Owner, Brix Wine Consultants

9.3

A bit angular a first. Needed lots of time. Obvious oak even after 4 hours, shading its powerful fruits and serious minerality. At present, it lacks details. The ugly duckling of the 3 today... heat on the finish too. 93+ — 7 years ago

Steven Gullo

9.3

From Magnum. Opens up quickly with a very complex nose of tobacco, leather, warm spices. The American oak is certainly present with dill and toasted coconut. In a very good spot to drink now. Paired nicely with Easter Lamb! — 4 years ago

Bruce Leboff

9.3

Elegant and refined. A hint of mushroom and scent of forest floor. Tan is still present but gentle- good to drink now. Lovely. — 4 years ago

with David and Michael

Mike Saviage

9.7

From a great old looking bottle with a mid shoulder fill. Cork is fully saturated and the crud under the capsule had formed a strong seal. Slow-ox’d for a few hours, then decanted for an hour or two before taken to L’Escargot in Carmel. Amber tawny rims with a reddish tawny core. Crazy nose right from the start. Notes of sweet black cherries, tobacco leaf, plums, black pepper, ash and crusty wood, pencil shavings, some just unwrapped cigar and some menthol. Silky in the mouth with firm structure and soft but present acidity. Long and memorable finish. Outstanding performance over several hours. — 5 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Tried 6mos ago. Began 1916, Juan Gil Giménez, great-grandfather of present generation, built winery in heart of Jumilla. Blue label spent 18 months in new oak (wine formally known as 18 mos representing time in bottle, now “Blue Label.” Monastrell, Cab Sauv & Syrah blend (60/30/10), low yield, aromas of red berry and toasty oak. Palate shows flavors of dark berry fruits, espresso, cacao and hints of sweet spice. Big dusty tannins, well integrated with oak, lingering, well balanced. Aged well, still going! — 6 years ago

Rick Baumgarten

9.3

From Magnum. Surprised this was so good. Lascombe was have some issues back then, but this certainly matured well. Smokey and earthy with some forest floor, but fruit still present. — 7 years ago

Velma Cooper

9.4

Velma had this 7 years ago

Maurizio Abbà

10

One of the highest quality Italy can offer at present time. Dark ruby with brick endings, it looks as powerful and as majestic straight from the beginning. After several years of aging in bottle, the flavors are able to express at heir best: from a start of black cherry we go to licorice, passing through wet leaves, tobacco, and finishing with a slight hint of cedar wood. Palate is deep, powerful, yet perfectly round, with silky tannins creating a perfect harmony of sensation. An incredible product — 8 years ago

John W

8.9

Garnet coloration. On the nose, cherry, leather and oak. A fainter nose. On the palate, cherry, leather and vanilla. Not much of a finish. Still good tannins. Rather faint palate. A little more present palate then following day. — 4 years ago

Will Stanley

9.5

Decanted for around an hour, the recently released 2013 Grand Vin from Chateau Musar is an enormous wine at present in its youth. Gradually, it opened into a gorgeous, exotic and utterly unique product of this unlikely corner of the wine world. There’s plenty of Bordeaux-like character in the form of dark fruit and cigar box, but there are notes too of cranberry, liquorice, clove, mandarin and five spice. The mouthfeel, as a whole, has a quasi Brunello quality to it, with its bright cherry fruit and mouthwatering acidity. But woe is anyone to compare this wine to any other, for it is incomparable. One of Serge Hochar’s last vintages before his passing in 2014, and one that will doubtless have a long life. — 5 years ago

DAD Wine Lover

9.5

My Birthday Present...... 🍷 — 6 years ago

with Daniela and FEFI

Greg Gregory

9.8

Wow. I think this was many people wine of the night and with all the incredible somms present that’s saying something. Alive, fresh, focused, elegant, bright. Blockbuster. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.5

Day 2 of Napa in the books!

20yrs young! This was also served to us blind and we all guessed it was mid-late 2000s Seavey Cab. All the red and black fruit notes are still present with mellowed out tannin. Very smooth and polished. Big note of baked mixed berry (cherry, blackberry) pie that is covered in a cloud of sweet vanilla pipe tobacco. Ripe & rich up front, savory in the middle, balanced finish. Incredible for its age. — 7 years ago

Tony Capone

9.5

Wow, this wine was fabulous, Dark rich color, black plums, licorice and some light tobacco, a very dense wine, tannins are still present, this wine is still aging beautifully, the finish was long and elegant. Only two left. — 7 years ago

Ted Corvey

9.2

Beautiful expression of Bordeaux. Aged gracefully with years to go. Graphite, restrained but still present fruit, leather, and coco. Was a favorite for @Scott Petrus and I, but hated by the neophytes. — 8 years ago