There Wine

Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2009

This one was up there for me. — a day ago

David, Shay and 8 others liked this

Château Lafite Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2023

So deep and layered nose. Just wanna dive in and stay there. What a wonderful World. Despite The palate does not fully respect the nose, it is very balanced and integrated. Don’t say 2023 isn’t a good vintage!! 98-99. Elegance. — 16 days ago

Vino and Andrew liked this

Domaine du Pegau

Cuvée Réservé Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 2015

Oh yes…gimme all them funky cherries and all dat black licorice. There were also Ferrara Red Hots®️and a generous hit of black pepper. I simply adore Pegau; for all of its unapologetic character and authenticity. This 2015 brought the business tonight and was smashing with cassoulet, Toulouse sausage and duck confit. — 2 months ago

Eric, Severn and 13 others liked this

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

Still shows some lovely primary redfruits, cassis, currants, quite tannic as well (characteristic of the 1986s I cellared), long, lingering finish, should show even better after my wife’s grilled lamb and my grilled steak come off the grill. I will say I was nervous when the final 1/8-inch of the cork severed off my old Ah-So cork puller, but not a problem!

Interesting sidebar — I purchased this upon arrival in 1989 at K&L in SF — by that time there were widespread reports of bad corks in Ducru from (at least) 1985 and 1986, so when I visited the shop I explained the situation and committed to purchasing 6 bottles, but only if I knew this batch didn’t have the cork problems — so, I said I’d pay for another bottle and we could open it together in the shop, I’d pay and also buy the other 6 bottles if it was NOT corked, and said if it was corked, then they’d pay for the opened bottle and I wouldn’t take the 6 other bottles — they agreed, we mutually tried the bottle then and there, no cork taint so I paid for 7 bottles total.

Telling the story in part because K&L has always been, IMHO, one of the classiest wine shops in the U.S., and they deserve credit agreeing to my deal (BTW, Wine Advocate had written about the cork taint issue within the preceding 3-6 months, so they were aware of the potential for it) — anyway, they’ve gotten a lot more of my business in the past 35+ years since!!
— 2 months ago

Jim Powers
with Jim
Severn, Bob and 13 others liked this
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@David T, I cannot disagree!!
Jay Kline

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@Doug Powers great story. Thanks for sharing!

Château Montrose

Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2019

Deep and quite opaque , narrow ruby rim . Quite a lot of wood spice though with time in the glass there is a lot underneath that oak , dark cassis , ripe blackberry and a mineral undertone . Quite round and ripe on the palate , almost ‘new world’ in style compared to some of the preceding vintages , rounded but gritty tannin , balanced acidity . Generous and round, but with balanced alcohol , good length. Dark cassis , blackberry dark cherry notes. A strong oyster shell , saline component after a while in the glass . Needs time obviously , even though this is quite round and ripe. Intense with great potential. Better in 10-15 years will last well a further 10-15. — 3 hours ago

Jan, Jeroen and 2 others liked this

Ridge Vineyards

Monte Bello Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2020

Wonderful wine. One of my favorite vineyards. This is always a high quality wine. This one is still young but getting its legs. Vibrant and fresh if not yet rounded out. There is complexity that will only build. The length is good now but I know will be significantly longer in near term. Cherry. Fig. Eucalyptus. Loved this wine. Looking forward to sampling the next few I have over ensuing decade. — a month ago

Shay, Joseph and 18 others liked this
Ron R

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When did you take delivery of this?
Vino Joe

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Sorry. Just saw this: ordered in Aug ‘23. Picked up Jan ‘24

Château Latour

Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2006

Delectable Wine
9.4

The 2006 Latour shows some reduction on the nose, although it soon blows away to reveal pencil-shaving infused black fruit, wild hedgerow and light cassis aromas. The palate offers up a mixture of red and black fruit. This has a firm grip with an uncompromising backbone. Dense yet refined, it is refreshingly saline toward the finish, yet there are a few hard edges to be addressed. Tasted blind from double magnum at a 20-year retrospective at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2024)
— 2 months ago

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

Shay A
9.2

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

Fun to open birth year wines around your birthday, especially when you can do a Bordeaux and Napa side by side. While not a great vintage, this held up well after a few hours and presented as expected. Clean and zero Brett. Great color! Deep ruby with hardly any bricking. Leather, cassis, vanilla pipe tobacco on the nose. Sporting a good bit of dusty red and black fruits (mostly tart raspberries and blackberries), there was a little savory truffle note mixed with an herbal and mocha finish. Still quite grippy. Pretty.
— 19 days ago

Pinotman, Tom and 18 others liked this

Caymus Vineyards

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

At our second special Caymus dinner on Sky Princess serving this wine. I’ve had lots of Caymus wines over the years. This is in line with the brand, but not what I remember from the wines from the late 70’s. As the price increased, I lost interest. It’s ok, but I feel there are better wines at the price point for the Cabernet Sauvignon. — a month ago

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

1986 vintage. Ripped through six bottles (one corked) for a 1986 BDX dinner @ Mister A's-San Diego. All bottles appropriately aged fill and decent+ corks. Double decanted and tasted over the course of 5 hours. Mix of powdery and stubborn (non-chunky) sed amongst the 6 bottles. Light-medium body throughout. Somewhat muted experience overall. None of the bottles (with variation) shone/sung. Wine is firmly on the downside of the bell curve with best days behind it (based on the 5 + corked bottle examples). There was none of the usual P-L flavor markers but the body hung in there. Pains me to say this but drink up now unless you've got a larger format bottle. Maggie (+) would probably yield a higher score. 3.14.24. — 2 months ago

Paul, Lyle and 8 others liked this
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

Oh 😥. Sounds like a bust.
David T

David T Influencer Badge

While I respect, own many vintage from them, as well as, one of my favorite non 1st growth producers and love the style of 80’s Bordeaux (82, 86, 89) I don’t believe this vintage from them ever lived up to expectation or critics reviews.
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

@David T To be fair, had a few examples of this particular wine and vintage that ticked off the 9.6 mark for me. Don’t rate anything above a 9.7. When it was at the top of the bell curve and just on either side of that summit, it didn’t suck. Life rolls on.