Jim Maynard

9.0

2012 in Feb 2021. Big wine with some distinctive tastes. Great fruit with prominent minerals and graphite or iron. Comes off just a bit angular. Still lots of backbone and was still holding well the second day. Has a few years of life yet. Decant at least an hour. Has upside if things integrate a bit more. — 3 years ago

Byron Fuller

9.0

Very serious. Big, beef-blood character. Way more extracted style than I recall from the ‘99. Will be interesting to revisit in a decade. Big upside development potential. — 4 years ago

Scott Soren

9.3

At 93 pts now, has tremendous room for upside. Long finish with tremendous mouth feel will@peed to a long lasting Brunello. Its early for this , but hope to buy more to stand the test of time. — 5 years ago

Mark Francone

9.5

An all time favorite producer that always delivers, lots of upside here — 6 years ago

Brandon T

9.2

Didn’t really know what to expect here, but this surprised to the upside. Tons of cherries and assorted other red fruits. — 6 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Huge upside to this. Hold. — 7 years ago

Jeff Loo

9.3

Great showing, ripe but not overripe. Beautifully integrated with great tannin and acidity that lingers. Lots of upside, would like to try again in 20 years! — 7 years ago

Evelyn Marin

9.4

From the "bucket list" section of the wine list. Lovely sous bois on the nose. Sweet dark red fruit on the palate with medium acidity. Beautiful Grand Cru with great upside. — 7 years ago

Kat Lynn

10

Bought from June and drank with the upside down dellaroccos pizza — 3 years ago

Andrew Shaheen

9.1

Excellent wine. Many years of upside ahead of it. Some subtle oak, with tons of classic minerally Chablis character — 4 years ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.5

It is highly challenging not to be drawn to the intense golden hue of this brilliant cold vintage Chardonnay. Needing an hour in the decanter to fully evolve, this stunning wine opens with an intense bouquet of roasted pineapple, apricot and Pazazz apple with wild mushroom undertones that all shine brightly in the glass. The soft and downright silky mouthfeel impresses as this gracefully glides across the mid-palate. Bright honeydew melon, pineapple upside down cake, vanilla cream and damp earth tones round out the palate. The combination of weight and tension in the glass is really thrilling. While gorgeous at the eight year mark, this beautiful wine still has a decade or more ahead of it. Drink 2019-2031- 95 — 5 years ago

Henrik Poulsen

9.5

95+ points for me at this point but with SO much upside potential that the rating may seem conservative in 5+ years. — 6 years ago

Andrew Shaheen

9.2

Always a favorite. Showing nicely with lots of upside — 6 years ago

Alan Weinberg

9.2

Beautiful lovely wine with upside potential — 7 years ago

Mike Evans

9.4

Drinking incredibly well, dark fruit with a little spice and just a touch of menthol. It still has a lot of upside but you won't regret drinking it now. — 7 years ago

with Robin

Mike Levin

9.0

Better than I thought so young with upside — 7 years ago

Ira Schwartz

9.3

A very complete nose of brioche, citrus and apple pie. In the mouth air is needed to really give this a chance to strut its stuff. Prominent but not overwhelming acid at first but an hour of air makes this as round as a beach ball. The palate starts to duplicate the nose with an hour or so of time. Another positive ‘08 champagne ,with upside from here. — 4 years ago

Steve Pollack

9.5

Terrific now but further upside. — 4 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Masterclass in San Francisco with Saskia De Rothschild, Chairwoman DBR Lafite. Chateau Rieussec is another property that the Rothschild’s own.

1997 a difficult vintage for reds in Bordeaux. The upside is, when the reds lag, the whites almost always shine.

The nose shows; marmalade, dry peaches & apricots, pineapple, citrus blend, fresh orange peel, burnt almonds, almond cake, nut skin, burnt toffee, honey, caramel, beeswax, waxiness, toast, limestone, gravely stones, fruit blossoms and yellow florals.

The body is thick, gluey and rich. The mouthfeel magnificent. There is almost a dry tannin presence but it is it’s dry, gritty volcanic minerality, marmalade, dry peaches & apricots, pineapple, citrus blend, fresh orange peel, burnt almonds, almond cake, nut skin, burnt toffee, honey, caramel, beeswax, waxiness, toast, limestone, gravely stones, fruit blossoms and yellow florals. The acidity round and splendid. The finish is rich, well balanced, elegant, polished and delicious.

All wines arrived weeks ago directly from the Chateau.

Photos of; the Crown Room on the 23rd floor of the Fairmont where the Masterclass was held, glass of 1997 showing color, Saskia De Rothschild, Chairwoman DBR Lafite presenting and another view of the city of San Francisco/Bay and the Golden Gate Bride in the background.
— 5 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

I bought my first vintage from this producer & terroir beginning with the 2010 vintage and what a vintage to start. I bought four bottles for right around $50 or a little less. They were so amazing, I drank through them in no time at all. For those of you that read my posts, that’s not normally what I do. I like to drink one & age the rest. Since then, I have looked & looked for more. I’d finally given up hopes of finding more until recently I struck gold. I should have bought all nine bottles but a calmer head prevailed. It’s definitely changed since having it fresh. On the nose, the fruits are slightly macerated. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, glazed nuts, soft, delicate, chalky minerals, a touch of jasmine & yellow lilies. The body is much rounder & thicker than when it was young. Waxy. So, beautifully layered across the palate. Much of the palate matches the nose. Heather honey, beeswax, golden & green apple, apricots, peach, pineapple upside down cake, slight orange citrus blend, mango, slight molasses character & glazed nuts with citrus blossoms, yellow lilies & jasmine. The minerals are much more grippy & bold as they cut across and set on the palate. The acidity round & phat. The texture is amazing as is the length, balance & beautiful, rich, long finish that lasts two-minutes plus. So glad I found more of this wine! Hubert Lamy seriously over deliver the terroir & the price point by a country mile. If you are not buying this wine on pre-arrival, you are missing great wine and excellent value. Can’t say enough good things about it. Especially, the 2010. I expect the 15 to hold similar quality. Photos of; Olivier Lamy, Olivier working in this vineyard, barrel room and their Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Vineyard. Producer notes and history...There have been Lamy’ s growing vines in St-Aubin since 1640, today it is run by Olivier Lamy. Olivier is a new breed of Burgundian grower keen to progress. He trained Méo-Camuzet & made a number of vintages before taking over in 1996 from his father Hubert. Hubert Lamy used to sell fruit to négociants, but that stopped in 1997. He grubbed up and sold off peripheral vines, keeping only the best and oldest sites. Currently he is experimenting with different planting densities in a quest to capture even greater expression of terroir. The Domaine produces both reds and whites and now has 16.5 hectares of vineyards, mostly in St-Aubin but also own a few parcels in Chassagne-Montrachet and a tiny plot in the Grand Cru Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Yields are kept low and recent innovations have been introduced with selection tables in the cuverie to ensure that only the healthiest and ripest grapes are used. His more recent move to reduce the amount of new oak with the introduction of demi-muids 300-600 liter barrels have also helped to improve the wines. Vinification is traditional and the wines are matured with only 20-30% new oak for 12 months before minimal filtration and then bottling. The quality is very high and is often superior to many wines from much more prominent villages that sell at twice the price or more. — 6 years ago