Fiona Riley

10

Amazing wine — 3 years ago

Eric

9.6

This is the Grenache Mouved. High end leather belts and bacon. — 5 years ago

Tom Garland

9.2

#6 on WS top 100 wines of 2007.

2 hour decant (decent chunky sediment). A dazzling dark ruby red color. On the nose: perfumed nose, black fruit, menthol, earthy, green veggie, graphite. Taste: a smooth and silky wine with dark fruit, spice, earthy, and a cherry pencil lead medium plus slightly tannic finish. Still just a little young and slightly austere...it will be better with a few more years on it. But with the decant, it will be enjoyed over the next couple hours this Saturday night! Cheers! — 6 years ago

with Brenda

Kirk F

9.4

Another spectacular effort from @Stanley Barrios thanks brother! So great to spend time with u and Elena tonight. Can’t wait to get into the new releases now and to visit again this summer. Bottle that Rosè!!! — 7 years ago

Andrew Anthony

10

Sharing some wonderful GSM with family! — 7 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

9.3

Fairly fruity on the nose. Hint of black pepper and something earthy/mineral. Flavor is very dry. Dried strawberries and red vines. Classic jammy Zin thing. Some pomegranate molasses perhaps. Fresh and zinfulliciuos. Plenty of tannin to give it more bite than Zin usually achieves. Complex. True. Enjoyable. — 8 years ago

Manny Abascal

9.4

Brilliant with many years ahead of it. Elegant and not over the top. Opened up nicely after an hour. Maybe decant next time. — 8 years ago

Kate Whitney

9.2

Drinking with some serious wine lovers in Westchester. This one rocks as hard as the crust across the top. — 9 years ago

Greg Gregory

10

Spectacular! Mind blowing. One of my top 10 of all time. On every serious wine lover’s bucket list, and here we had a nigh perfect bottle. While aromatically a little recalcitrant, you still got some of the Margaux violets and potpourri on the nose, hints of clove, all trying to shake off their doldrums. But on the palate, it was timelessly ravishing. The finesse, richness, balance and smoothness, with an underlying, almost flabbergasting mixture of complexity and delicacy, was just astonishing. The finish is marvelously sweet and intense, with chocolate and cassis and utterly seamless tannins. This is a miracle of wine making and an exaltation of vintage and terroir besides. Wow! And bravo! We can only pray for an encore of such a wine. — 10 years ago

James Hart

9.5

Spicy, liquorice plums, wrapped up in cedar wood. Very long finish. Top notch. — 12 years ago

K H

9.6

Top notch champagne $120 per bottle and worth it — 13 years ago

MaJ CappS

9.1

A Gary Larson cartoon comes to mind: Where smoked meat comes from - showing a cigarette smoking cow behind a barn.
This type of flavor from a good Rhone Syrah used to be common. Smelling this in a Wash state wine is amazing. Needs to be cellar temp for sure - lovely compote, blackberry nectar, a necco wafer, light tannin, yet mouth filling sweet tart acidity.
Reminds me of those old school wines of yore. — 3 years ago

Paul J

9.7

Our last bottle in London before we move back! Thank you to my team for the awesome gift!

1hr+ decant. Red color with brownish orange edges. Nose contains cedar, graphite, and green elements. Complex wine that has a nice balance of tannins and depth. Very lively and probably at the perfect drinking age. Long finish. Definitely a top echelon wine! — 6 years ago

with Brooke

Delectable Wine

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10

The 1945 Haut-Brion is poured against the legendary 1945 Mouton and might just have come out on top. It is difficult to put this wine into words. Showing modest bricking, it presents a sublime bouquet of vibrant red fruit, warm gravel, wilted rose petals and a hint of earthenware. It is crystalline in terms of definition. The palate follows suit with pitch-perfect acidity, a very slight, refreshing hint of balsamic, and finely chiseled tannins. Beguiling in every way, this is a profound Haut-Brion that is absolutely flawless. Tasted at Koala's 1945 dinner. (Neal Martin, Vinous, May 2020)
— 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

When in doubt, a sure bet is a well aged, good vintage Heitz. @Eric Shanks

I intended to grab an 06 but, mistakenly grabbed an 07. I’ve not had one of my 06’s yet...next weekend.

The one thing I do every time I open one of my ten year or older Heitz Napa Cabernet’s is smile & think, this was sub $35 at Costco. It’s the wine feeling/definition of stealing candy from babies.

The nose is a beautiful harmony of fruit, earth and florals. Steeped, somewhat stewed, candied fruits of; dark currants/cassis, blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, mix of purple fruits; boysenberries, ollieberries, & mulberries. Dark, sweet tarriness, anise to black licorice, touch of incense, fire ambers, dark spices with violets palate heat, chocolate pudding, vanilla, light; cinnamon, clove & nutmeg, dark chocolate, caramel, sweet, soft, dark spice, dark berry cola, dark cherry kirsch, dark, rich earth, limestone, crushed, dry rocks, dry top soil, moist clay, understated herbs & dry brush, brewed coffee, mint, some sage & bay leaf, tobacco, dry, old leather with amazing, fresh & slightly withering & candied; dark, red, blue, purple with a violet & lavender frame. The acidity is splendid. The long, ripe, ruby, lush, elegant, well crafted balance of fruit & earth is delicious and persists endlessly with a dark spice on the long set.

The body is; delightful, ripe, rich, lush & full. The structure, tension, length and balance are woven in a perfect tapestry. This 07 has another 10-15 years easily. The tannins are rounded, smooth but, still have a dark, chewy, tarriness with baby teeth. The beauty of the vintage is on full display. Steeped, somewhat stewed, candied fruits of; dark currants/cassis, blackberries, dark cherries, black raspberries, mix of purple fruits; boysenberries, ollieberries, & mulberries. Dark, sweet tarriness, anise to black licorice, touch of incense, fire ambers, chocolate pudding, vanilla, light; cinnamon, clove & nutmeg, dark & milk chocolate, caramel, sweet, soft, dark spice, dark berry cola, dark cherry kirsch, dark, rich earth, limestone, crushed, dry rocks, dry top soil, moist clay & dry brush, brewed coffee, mint, tobacco, dry, old leather with amazing, fresh & slightly withering & candied ; dark, red, blue, purple with a violet & lavender frame. The acidity is perfect. The finish is; rich, ripe, ruby, candied, well balanced fruit & earth, elegant and long sets into velvety, round tannins and mid dark spices.

Photos of; the winery, tasting patio, old basket press and wide shot of the winery & Estate vines. — 7 years ago

Jeff Loo

9.8

Barrel Sample. Absolutely stunning this vintage. Brilliant 2016, one of the top of the vintage. 97-99pts — 10 years ago

Andrew

9.7

Le Bernardin, your chef Eric Ripert is right about Bordeaux and French fish. — 11 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

8.9

One of chef de cave Geoffroy's favorite vintages, but not mine. The heat of the year and lack of Chardonnay makes for a flatter than expected Champagne. At The Relais & Chateau vertical of Dom Perignon with chef de cave Richard Geoffroy. — 12 years ago

with Cleora

Scott Stephens

9.8

Ulee's Cabin, on top of the mountain in Crested Butte, only accessible by Snow-Cat. — 13 years ago

Nicolas Ratsey

9.1

Wine spectator top 100 2013 — 13 years ago

Brandon T

9.6

My favorite in the TOP lineup hands down. Always great and paired well with shrimp and grits. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Oak Barriques in evidence with vanillin notes also showing plums and tobacco with a dark chocolate note. Quiet dense on the palate with dried cherry, red licorice, and an overall sweetness. A little different to my note of September 2018 where I talk about sweet and sour although that is still there to a degree. A bit weird this one - too famous for what it delivers. In the 2013 Wine Spectator Top 100 this was Wine #1 I will leave last bottle to at least 2024 on its 20th Birthday. — 6 years ago

Alberto

9.0

Long finish, high tannins , red fruit, silky, smoke... still long way to go, heaviest merlot I have ever tasted. First time I drink a top st emilio. Vintage surpassed my expectations (4/5) — 7 years ago

Kirk F

9.4

Amazing after 2 hour decant. @Stanley Barrios great recommendation. Stunning wine. — 7 years ago

Marc vanholst

9.3

Great nose - plum, forrest fruits, cedar, tobacco and earthy tones. Solid but slightly disappointing on the palatte. Good balance and for 2004 for sure a great performer but not a top Pontet. — 8 years ago

Bill Bender

9.6

A completely different wine than the Dominus. This was full throttle and slams you back in to your seat with its G forces. So ripe, almost over the top; but it decelerates just in time and the finish is so succulent it lingers in your mouth forever. Filled to the tip of the cork with graphite and teeth staining purple fruit. This is the malevolent bastard child of a young Colgin IX Syrah and 2000 Chateau Pavie. Gobsmacker. — 8 years ago

Christine Havens

9.5

As stately as I expected it to be (can one really expect anything less of a wine as legendary as Cristal in one of Champagne's most celebrated vintages?) glinting pale gold, the color of a freshly-minted coin. The 2002 Champagne Cristal Brut Millésimé is imbued with soaring notes of pear and smoke, brioche and chalk. Disgorged in 2009, this is a precise wine—it has a sort of crystalline weightless density, with fruit buoyed by a fine mousse, and edgy saline-tinged minerality emerging at the close. 10 grams dosage.

"You must be as precise as a Swiss watchmaker, I tell my team," our host, M. Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon, Chef de Caves at Roederer stressed. Precision in spades. — 10 years ago

Guy Lunardi

8.9

1990 Rieussec as part of a four Sauternes horizontal tasting. Drank end of December 2014. Deep deep caramel color for the bottle we had. A cork soaked to the top and ready to collapse. The bottle might not have been stored in the best of conditions. Still, an excellent Sauternes. Watch for oxidation from leaky corks. — 12 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

10

Three pounds of prime top sirloin and a mag of Montebello- report to follow. — 13 years ago

with Cleora

Jonathan Hird

9.8

This is up there in the top 5 wines I've tasted. — 13 years ago