Doug Powers

9.1

Lovely mature CdP, redfruits, nice balance, medium-long finish, starting to show just a little oxidation. — 20 days ago

with Jim

WC Fields

9.1

Why does @Delectable show this as a white blend…regardless it fooled me for the better. — a month ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Oh…how I adore Elisabetta’s wines and getting to drink Granato with some age is a huge treat! Popped and poured; enjoyed over a two hour time period and it evolved very nicely in that time. The 2010 Granato pours a deep ruby with near opaque core. Medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of cassis, fresh sage, mild funk, granite rock and a soft expression of warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with good structure still. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and there is a drying sensation of almost licking a rock. As mentioned earlier, this opened up beautifully after about 30min and continued to shine. Admittedly, I don’t have a lot of data points on decade+ Teroldego so it’s hard to say for sure how long this could last however, when I consider that this is still developing and doesn’t show much in terms of secondary characteristics, I would say this still has a long life ahead. Drink now with a short decant or through 2030; possibly longer. — 4 months ago

Byron Hewett

9.1

This didn’t show as well as the 2019. It was missing the next gear. — 6 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Medium lemon yellow , persistent fine perlage . At first quite shy , needs a bit of time to get going . Then buttered pastry , confit lemon and roast nuts , quite bold and rich , just a hint of chalky minerality . On the palate the richer , deeper theme continues , those pastry and buttery notes , confit lemon and a creamy mouthfeel . Long balanced finish , the chalky acidity really helping to cut through richer , mouth filling profile . Coming back to this at the end of the meal , having sat 6 hours in the glass , this still shows remarkable freshness and life. This seems young to me still , certainly has everything for a long life ahead , better in 5 years perhaps and will show well a further 10-15 perhaps . — 5 days ago

Adam Gäfvert

9.2

The 2005 Pichon Baron show a fair amount of tertiary characteristics. It is dense and inky. Medium to full bodied. Currants, bayleaf, mushroom, forrest floor, truffle and tons of pencil shavings. — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

I’ve often struggled to appreciate Beaucastel, particularly when young. However, the more often I drink older Beaucastel, I find myself slowly starting to understand why these wines are so important.

Opened about two hours prior. The 2001 Beaucastel pours a pale, slightly hazy garnet with a watery rim. Medium+ viscosity with signs of fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous. Strawberry preserves, leather, bacon fat, and some chicory. On the palate, medium tannin, medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Is this the most powerful expression of Chateauneuf du Pape? No. But it’s balanced, complex and it makes me think and I like that.

As a sort of epilogue, I was able to enjoy this bottle with someone who drinks old Beaucastel more regularly than I do. He described this bottle as being one that is in-between plentitudes; which makes sense as some of the tertiary characteristics are beginning to show themselves. Subsequently, you can drink now but this will likely enter a new dimension in the next few years. — 4 months ago

Shay A

9.2

Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.

A treat to try this next to the ‘88, and also against a mini-flight of Leoville Barton. This ‘14 was shockingly odd…unbelievably high toned, sharp, and bing cherry driven aromatically. It actually has this weird cherry reduction profile but also a malic/butter note that needs time to blow off. Crème de cassis and red licorice on the palate with a small amount of graphite. A lot of Calistoga cabs for me show the warmth of the region and this evidently is in that vein, but it’s very Montelena-esque at the end of the day. I’d hold another 5-7yrs. — 12 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.4

Bit deeper garnet ruby . Quite dense and ripe fruited with good density on the palate , lovely roundness with mix of dark and red fruits , quite juicy with more noticeable tannin than the Echezeaux. Good balancing acidity really fills out well on the palate with good length . This is nice now but will continue to show well over the next 10-15 years . — 3 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1992 vintage. Very, very close to Japanese auction market quality with fill, cork, capsule and label nearly immaculate. Decanted and tasted immediately and over the course of 3 hours. Expected amount of sed. What a ride! Having tasted this back in the day when first released, recalled an unusual (for this property) amount of richness in the frontal palate. Wasn't there initially but rolled in for a cameo approx 45 mins after decant. Then...vanished at the 1 hour open mark. First whiff of the nose was fresh, clay kitty litter. This morphed into graphite after 15-20 mins. Body was surprisingly light early on, then fattened up after 30-40 mins to medium status. Impressions were of a leaner effort, then things got positively jammy with unexpected fruit hither and yon. This remained for approx 1.25 hours, then the entire performance, body included, thinned out with their old-school, estate-expected, aged leather punch combined with dark-skinned fruit, mountain grip and a little touch of grey sea salt. No food involved during the experience. The 1991 Montelena Estate Cab is nearest and dearest but this following vintage was an absolute, palate-bending acid(ity) trip. Looking forward to the next trip...er...show. 11.25.23. — 5 months ago