The Present

Seña

Aconcagua Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2007

Well this was interesting. Tasting after eachother:
Lynch Bages 2009
Sena 2007
Chadwick 2007
In all honesty I hope the LB is just in a numb phase. It didnt do the trick yet. Still has a lot of acids whilst drinking. The nose however is great but taste wise it doesnt match.
Sena is as Sena can be. In your face! Plenty of everything: blackfruit, sweet, ripe, some wood, umami always. Very yummi.
Then the Chadwick that is close yo perfection. That is Sena but distinguished. Calm but present. Lush and you taste it for minutes.
— 7 years ago

Dick, Eric and 5 others liked this

Far Niente Winery

Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Velma had this 8 years ago

P, Susan and 24 others liked this
Bob McDonald

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@Jeff Savigny Congratulations!
Trixie

Trixie

Very happy anniversary! 🌹
Ron R

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A great wine to memorialize a wonderful life event - good for both of you!

Painted Rock

Estate Grown Okanagan Valley Merlot 2013

Black liquorice on the nose is delightful. Spicy black fruit, very present tannins and huge body. Inky, deep purple colour. The finish is exceptionally long, where many of the secondary flavours appear (cedar, caramel, hot apple cider). Unbelievable for a young wine, and will get better and better with age. — 9 years ago

Château Troplong Mondot

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2014

Domaine de Mondot belonged to Father de Seze, who had the present-day chateau built in 1745. Very much taken by the estate, Raymond Troplong purchased it in 1850 and constituted the vineyard as we know it today. A blend of 90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, dark red with black fruit aromas and exotic spice. On the palate cherry and plum with oak, coffee and pepper spice. Big tannins need some time for this beauty to develop for the long term, but it's enjoyable now. — 9 years ago

Greg, Mo and 5 others liked this

Silver Oak

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

Deep ruby red with concentrated aromas of ripe black fruit with subtle nutty spice and bitter chocolate. The wine is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot. The palate offers flavors of dark fruit, sour black cherry and dried blackberries, with a firm touch of oak and leather. Tannins are present, but soft due to the age of the wine. The finish is elegant with a slight dry mineral tang, medium in length. Very Nice. Should last a few more years, but why wait, it’s perfect now! — 10 years ago

Montevertine

Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 2009

i can't even comment. 2009. cherry is present strong still. earth is subtly playing 3rd fiddle. love this — 10 years ago

Tim Hansen
with Tim
Karl and Les liked this

Caymus Vineyards

Special Selection Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1978

Second bottle of 78 I've had this year. The fruit is still present but soft, this wine has surprisingly held up beautifully and is drinking very well. — 11 years ago

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1985

Alexis Davis Iaconis
8.9

Bretty! Soft and still fruit present — 11 years ago

Eric, Anthony and 4 others liked this

Marchesi de' Frescobaldi

Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese 2009

Absolutely LOVE! Great holiday present from my generous partner. — 12 years ago

Domaine Jean-Louis Chave

Hermitage Syrah 2006

Chave Rouge 06. Plenty of heat and a little oak too it seems (could be wrong). Oak will integrate, heat is surprising. Serious peppered beef and teriyaki jerky. Some black red fruit - black cherry. Hints of jello tease overripeness but this remains sharp and poignant. The pure jello influenced fruit makes me think few stems here, too. Oak seems to present itself not as vanilla thankfully but in a beautiful hazelnut quality that matches the fruit perfectly and uniquely to syrah. Again, this could be something else other than oak. This definitely shows some jello/jelly, no doubt. Totally ripe red cherry actually. Importantly, this has no heaviness in terms of weight or thickness yet is pungently aromatic as first, smoked, peppered meat and second as fruit. This wine makes me think of, all in the same vein, concrete vats, minerality and tiny berries. The teriyaki quality makes me think these are high toast barrels? This should continue to integrate better and better over the coming years. I can't say I ever got the "bacon fat" thing before in N Rhone but this really has Benton's bacon fat to it. Amazing all this umami while still maintaining a bright ripe red-fruited cherry core. Prefer the '06 Jamet right now for its lower alcohol but certainly love the transparency and uniqueness of flavor here. This is likely a bit more structured than the Jamet. Again, I think time will treat this well. This is dried meat while the Jamet was about the long pepper spice. So interesting how different these expressions of syrah are. — 12 years ago

Randy, Phil and 1 other liked this

Château Lascombes

Margaux Merlot Blend 1976

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

Keith, Alex and 2 others liked this

Seavey Vineyard

Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

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.
— 8 years ago

Jason, Somm and 43 others liked this
Clive McNish

Clive McNish

@Shay A Great selection of Seavey wines enjoyed reading your reviews.
Patrick Derdeyn

Patrick Derdeyn Influencer Badge

Seavey is so wildly underrated

Heitz Cellar

Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

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. — 8 years ago

Marchesi Antinori

Tignanello Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 2011

My first of the big Antinori wines, and as a birthday present to myself, popped the cork this year.

A fog laden forest of chestnuts and cedar form a vapor lock around this vegetable and herb stew slowly cooking over the campfire. All of these tastes, and smells swirl in this wine. Decanted 3+ hours. Going deeper..

When a wines finish lasts for longer than 5 minutes... Wow.
— 9 years ago

Riddley, Paul and 4 others liked this

Château Sociando-Mallet

Haut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend

Jen El
9.2

Was a long ago present from Theo. Drank with daveed on his 51st birthday in point Reyes. May have lost some its fruit but the nose is beautifully rich, old word woody and the taste has a bright cherry compote with deep wooden tones. Lovely. Year: 2000 — 10 years ago

Tenuta San Guido

Bolgheri Sassicaia Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2012

Dark berries currants and spices on the nose with some eucalyptus and possibly sun-dried tomatoes. A nice nose that is more new world than old world. Lots of spices, dark berries, a little bit of heat from the alcohol with minerals, currents and some hints wood on the Finish. Full bodied some tannins present but well-integrated. The wine is tight young but showing potential in the future.. Needs to be cellared for a few years. — 10 years ago

Serge liked this

Robert Mondavi Winery

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1979

Paul Stroud
9.5

I thought this was perfect. Thanks Dad. Bought on current release and cellared until now. Plenty of plum, vibrant acidity, tannis present on the end. Great complex finish. I'm happy there are 6 more in the cellar — 11 years ago

Matt liked this

Silverado Vineyards

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1985

In honor of Raina's 31st birthday, we open this 31 year old wine. Nose has the classic dead leaves and cigar box. Faintest touch of soy sauce, in the best way. Pours a surprisingly dark purple with a rim of brownish brick red. Surprisingly fresh for being 3 decades old, and even more surprisingly there are still some tannins present. Drinking really well right now, but I don't think I'd hold it any longer. — 11 years ago

Kieran HanrahanRaina Fraley
with Kieran and Raina
Raina Fraley

Raina Fraley

Still pretty decent. Some metallic qualities and black pepper on the nose. Extremely subtle dried fruit and mushroom qualities on the palate. Not past its prime..but not sure it's at its best either. An enigma.
8.0

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe

La Crau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend

Morgan Harris
9.4

2011. Blanc. No one drinks enough of this. That's because there are so few things to which its a good partner, but it would be an incredible cheese-and-charcuterie wine. Broad and oily, there's just enough acid to keep you coming back for more. Sun-baked yellow orchard fruits dominate, but there's more exotic fruits too (mango and dried pineapple) yellow flowers, tons of almond husk bitterness, green olives, bay leaf, oregano, tarragon, white cheddar. Oak is assertively present but not overwhelming. Place dominates over grapes here, as it's a mix of Clairette and Grenache Blanc and a hodge-podge of other things. — 12 years ago

Anthony, Hai and 22 others liked this

Château Calon-Ségur

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1961

Scott T
9.5

Amazeballs! Half btl. Base neck. True '61 character still present. Needed 1hr to fully blossom. About twice the color of the Lafite 70 and 3x the complexity. A testament to great storage. Only one owner. (cellar inspection for upcoming online auction) — 13 years ago

Gary, Sunil and 3 others liked this

Valdicava

Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese 2004

drunk over two days, not decanted (should have for sediments). The wine gained in weight and structure the second day but I found very little variation otherwise. Dark red with lighter rim. I detect notes of black fruit, black cherry, white pepper, graphite and spices. In the mouth it is full and I think I could also perceive dark chocolate and leather. Tannins are still present but greatly supported by the acidity. The texture is layered and the finish long. I like this wine more now than a couple of years back and look forward to see it evolve more. — 7 years ago

E. Guigal

La Turque Côte-Rôtie Syrah

Jörgen Lindström Carlvik
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+ — 8 years ago

Keith, Eric and 16 others liked this

Château Cantemerle

Haut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

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

Ira, Ted and 4 others liked this

Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1997

Nose had some funk with leather, mineral and a hint of red liquorice. Evolved nicely with fruit coming out after an hour or so. Blackberry, blueberry were present after the earthy start. — 9 years ago

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2003

Pulled this 13 year old bottle to celebrate our 13th anniversary. Besides a cork that disintegrated, the wine was excellent. Aromas of cedar and wood on the nose, bright fruit and cassis flavors dominated the palate, medium bodied with tannins still present but well-integrated. This bottle was extra special as it was the first "high-end" wine we ever purchased so fun to drink it and compare to what we like today. It showed strong! — 10 years ago

Greg, David and 14 others liked this
Daryl Calhoun

Daryl Calhoun

Best Wishes! Enjoy!
Mike R

Mike R Influencer Badge

Very nice pull
Martin G Rivard

Martin G Rivard Influencer Badge

@Carl Fischer @David A Lentine @TheSkip @Howard Greenfield @Ryan Mitchell @Mike Rowe Wait.....We haven't known each other 13 years??? Lol Happy anniversary Bud!! I couldn't find Kyle on delectable or else I would have tagged him. Had a blast in NY and can't wait to see you in PB!
Have s GREAT weekend!

Olga Raffault

Les Picasses Chinon Cabernet Franc 1989

A stunning example of quiet composure and authenticity. Smoky dark berry & earthy character wraps around the astonishing, still-present acidity. Draws you in like listening to Sketches of Spain. Fantastic and full of life. — 10 years ago

Casey, David and 64 others liked this
Joe Weinberger

Joe Weinberger

@Anthony Lombardi I'm opening a bottle of the '89 next week for a birthday celebration. Did you need to decant before serving?
Anthony Lombardi

Anthony Lombardi

@Joe Weinberger - right before just to get off the sediment. The wine itself opens up pretty quickly.

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1975

GaYoung Kim
9.3

Powerful yet seamless!! Dried dark fruit still present amongst a plethora of earth, gravel, dark spice notes. — 11 years ago

Nicolas liked this

Château Gruaud Larose

Sarget de Gruaud Larose Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1993

Gary Westby
9.4

Lovely luncheon claret- not for the cult cab lover. The tannins are resolved and the body light to medium and the breed of the site is present- yum! — 11 years ago

Anthony and Hai liked this

Château Malescot St. Exupéry

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1975

This delectable taste of a fine old Bordeaux, a bit musty, tannins still very present, some complexity but most surprisingly so much length. Perfect with the veal chops in oregano and rosemary sauce. — 12 years ago

Caymus Vineyards

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

D J
9.9

Caymus Vineyards 2006 Can Sav - 26th BDay present from Dave and Val — 13 years ago