Brett Vanderbrook

9.0

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

with Kieran and Raina

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

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

D J

9.9

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

GaYoung Kim

Graileys Fine Wines. Sommelier. Broker

9.3

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

Steven Spencer-Steigner

10

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

Rob Lateiner

9.6

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

Alexis Davis Iaconis

Hospitality Director Copain Wines

8.9

Bretty! Soft and still fruit present — 12 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

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! — 12 years ago

Thomas Droumenq

8.9

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

Scott T

VP/Senior Wine Specialist Christie's

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