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. — 10 years ago

with Kieran and Raina

Pierpaolo Petrassi MW

Master of Wine; Head of Beer, Wine & Spirits Waitrose

9.5

Had the honour of tasting the '71 and it proved amazing. Bordeaux is so often referenced in terms of how it will continue to develop and we rarely taste a truly mature vintage. This was it. Beautifully fresh, balanced, still packed with fresh fruit & tannins fully resolved but present and lending structure. Awesome. — 11 years ago

Yoon Ha

Master Sommelier/Wine Director Benu

9.6

An older chinon is rare for me. Fully resolved green tones yielding bay leaf, dried tobacco leaf and persistent high quality fruit in the mid palate. The warm year tannins still present on the finish. Always learning. — 12 years ago

Steve Haro

9.7

Loads and loads of Indian spice, liquid smoke and earth on the nose. Cinnamon and dark liquor cherry and pipe tobacco coat the tongue. Tannins and supple but ever present and the finish is long with notes of menthol and truffle. — 10 years ago

Darren Guillaume

9.7

This 2006 still needed decanting to open up. The tannins are silky and the fruit jumps out on the palate. It brought back memories of how the best wines of Saint-Emilion present themselves in tannic structure and darkness of in color. But 100% Sangiovese on the nose. Old world at it's finest. — 10 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! — 11 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

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. — 10 years ago

Lewis Chester

9.8

Chateau La Mission Haut Brion 1989 - Decanted 4.5 hours prior to drinking but with stopper affixed to the decanter. From Jay. Stopper was pulled from the decanter 30 minutes prior to pouring. This bottle was part of a case of 12 that went ex. Chateau seven years ago and has been professionally stored ever since. Inky purple in colour. Strong black fruits on the nose. Blackberries, Cherries, and blueberries all interwoven in a thick, lush, and seamless manner. Elements of wet tobacco are also present. The attack is strong but the mid palate is huge with incredible fruit levels. This a big full bodied Claret in every sense of the word yet in no way is it lacking in balance - a true multidimensional wine. To belabour the point, there is no over extraction here. From its colour all the way to the massive finish this wine makes no apologies for its masculinity and sheer presence. It's a hyper refined slugger! There will be decades of life left in well stored bottles of this wine but it's approachable now given sufficient air. Drink now to 2040 and probably beyond. 98/100.


— 10 years ago

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. — 11 years ago