Bret Barker

9.7

We ended the night with Insignia and this Napa more than held up to the Bordeaux bottles. Deep purple with black cherry, chocolate and hint of cedar. Awesome, awesome wine. — 7 years ago

Christian Fischer

9.5

We are a road trip with my parents in VT and the restaurant has a phenomenal wine list which includes this beautiful Napa Cab at an insanely inexpensive price. This is absolutely lovely with black fruits, vanilla and oak. — 8 years ago

Narelle Burke

9.5

We are still in the reds from France...a lovely 2007! — 8 years ago

admiral von schnauzer

10

Sooooooo.. yeah. That happened. For real. First any d'yquem is cause for celebration. One significantly older than you is cause for alarm. Also from 375ml, so i would surmise "fully mature". Slight seepage, go figure, and during a cork test I got some movement out of it, so decided it was go time.

Note it was apparently still doing its job, the som got it out with my Durand in one piece. And yes. I will bring my Durand to a restaurant with old bottles for corkage because why would I want the poor som to go nuts and lose his mind with a screw-pull?

Colour was dark. Castrol gtx20-50 (used) with definite fading to amber. Reddish tones nearly through out. Browny honey y orangey colour as a whole, and remarkably dark.

Nose was intoxicating. As always. Very... bright. Alive. The aromas and high tones betrayed the dark colour. Honey, apricots, creme brulee scents poured forth readily, and i regret choosing to not give this wine a half hour in the decanter prior to consuming. Thicker than a regular white wine, but not like oil.

Still had some acidity. Texture was other worldly. Initial tastes were peary honey botritis fruity, and those faded to more stone fruit, apricots, honey comb, i swear light aromas of orange blossoms. We lingered with this for about an hour, well worth the time.

Oct 19, 2016. Abc cocina, Manhattan ny. — 10 years ago

Jim Barri

9.2

One of my favorites for past 10 years. I'm afraid new ownership could effects future productions we have wait and see. — 10 years ago

Peter Wassam

9.1

Gamey, rubbery, almost Shiraz-like burnt quality on the nose. Wild berries with zippy acidity and a rustic, herbal edge. Still has Malbec (or should I say Cot) concentration. — 10 years ago

Renee Dukeshire

9.8

Great with these amazing filets we had last night — 11 years ago

Marty Winters

9.2

Pleasantly surprised everyone seemed to really feel like these wines were never going to age, but here we are and they are tasting great. Wonder what another 10-15 will show. — 11 years ago

Janna Blackwell

9.4

Good stuff and we got it on sale!! — 11 years ago

with Susan

Melissa Higgs

9.9

Delicious! We really loved this one! — 11 years ago

Elena Pantaleoni

Owner/Winemaker La Stoppa

10

2002, great wine, elegant, deep, we could have drunk much more but unfortunately it was the last bottle! Marcel, you are always with us! — 12 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.7

The 1990 Cristal is remarkable. Polished, nuanced and light on its feet, the 1990 is all class. Citrus, orchard fruit and floral notes are wonderfully lifted throughout. A slight reductive note adds character on the finely knit finish. I can’t think of a better way to start this tasting. Simply put, the 1990 is a total rock star. Moreover, it is much more delicate than most wines from this ripe vintage. Amazingly, the 1990 tastes like it is still not ready! “Nineteen ninety was my second vintage here,” says Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. “It was ideal. The fruit was just perfect. We blocked the malolactic fermentation completely and only fermented 6-7% of our lots in oak, as opposed to the more typical 20%, in order to preserve as much freshness as possible. The wine was made by my predecessor, Michel Pansu, but I was learning. This was the first year I started working with oxygen by reducing sulfites in vinification to pre-oxidize the Chardonnay musts, as I do know, which allows me to get rid of all the unstable, oxidative compounds. With Pinot, on the other hand, you need a little bit of sulfur at crush or you lose the brilliant fruit. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, December 2018) — 8 years ago

Lee Sanders

9.4

This 1970 was a 9.4 to us! Full bodied and we think it could last another 10 years! — 8 years ago

Richard Worthington

9.4

Beautiful wine that continually evolved over the two hours it was open. We consumed 2 bottles and the second bottle was more powerful, slightly more forward tannins and acid than the first bottle which seemed a little more constrained/reserved. Flavors of black plums, dry cherries, hints of sage and tobacco - classic Mouton. Quickly replacing 1985 Vintage Mouton as my fav. Love it.
— 9 years ago

John Zuzek

9.5

What a lovely wine! We had this with spinach and mozzarella stuffed flank steak. The nose was vibrant with red and dark fruits, some bacon, and floral aromas. The palate was big, with blackberries, dark cherries and cassis, a little leather, some tobacco notes, and a little mint. Excellent!! — 10 years ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

9.0

Smells ultra complex, somewhat tired on the palate. We get the idea though:) — 10 years ago

Andrew Rodgers

9.4

Its what we had to go with beef stew tonight. Wish I had more. — 10 years ago

Sarah Stierch

Food & Wine Editor Sonoma Valley Sun

9.4

Happy birthday to me...from dad's cellar. Held up well! Thankfully not a dark moody Cab. Just what you would expect of an Opus of this age. We lost only 1 ounce to sediment. Didn't decant. — 11 years ago

William Goldsmith

9.6

Note to @Harry Hackett @Jordan Kirsch and @Ryann Swan we are drinking Napa cabs way too early this is so so good. — 11 years ago

Randy Fillingim

9.3

This bottle was given to me by a good friend and we drink it together on 8-4-2010. It was also my 60th birthday. — 11 years ago

Justin Francis

9.5

This beautiful 2005 cab was an anniversary gift from a great friend of mine @Jeff Savigny The vintage is the year we got married. The nose is so complex and yet so subdued, it practically blew my mind. A nose full of roses, tobacco, dark fruit and licorice with a hint of molasses and vanilla. On the palate very dry, with a faint aged acidity, yet very rich and delicious. You can spend just as much time smelling this as drinking it. This was a near perfect wine and a great anniversary present! — 11 years ago

Shay A

9.6

Part 1 of the final and main event for the Fall WNH. The most spectacular lineup of wines I’ve ever seen, and an overall wonderful ending to an amazing trip with fantastic people.

A baby, but already strutting its power. This is no doubt a modern take on Bordeaux with more rich/sweet black and blue fruit than others, but it reigns in before it gets too Nap-esque as the fruit is more underripe. Mid palate and finish show dark chocolate, bay leaf and a touch of leather. Because of the style, not too adverse to opening now with a 2-3hr decant, but this will improve for many years. Bravo, @Mike R . — 8 years ago

with Mike, David and 4 others

Phil Castellano

9.0

Fresh RI oysters and French champagne and McCusker....what else do we need???? — 8 years ago

with Jim

Chris England

9.6

🎉Celebrating today’s hot news of 3 Years Cancer Free!!!

Lou said “F#££ me that hits the spot” 🤣 my classy wife ha ha 🤣

We can best this thing 👊💥

Apologies for no notes but we’re a little too happy drinking right now 😍

💗 Love, health & happiness to you all my friends 😘 — 8 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

Mark Oldman

10

Oenomaniacs don't have pearly gates, we have Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache 1990. Outrageously sexy, with a celestial perfume of asian spices and underbrush and dried cherry. Eternal finish that tattoos itself on your tongue and palate. Medium to full-bodied, with startling freshness and grip for a quarter-centurion. La Tache 1990 will enthrall for another 30 to 50 years.

Also consumed this night:
Krug Grande Cuvee Champagne
Domaine Leflaive Batard-Montrachet 1996
Henri Jayer Echezeaux 1988
Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanee Cros Parantoux 1988
Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanee Cros Parantoux 1996
Domaine de la Romanee Conti La Tache 1996
Domaine de la Romanee Conti Romanee St. Vivant 1990
Dow Vintage Port 1955

— 11 years ago

Barbara Rogers

9.3

Birthday weekend continues! We were in Napa last year and while tasting this beautiful wine we got the call that we had cleared the wait list for the next evening at The French Laundry!An unforgettable weekend, earthquake and all. — 11 years ago

Sean O'Brien

9.4

This 2004 was simply amazing. The group of 6 of us enjoyed the first bottle from the case so much we drank 4 more.... Paired well with a simple salami (pork, donkey, beef, pepper, salt, and garlic) and a local bread. — 11 years ago

Rory Post

9.2

Earthy needed longer to decanter but we rushed it - was time to drink — 11 years ago

Bill Raney

9.5

Double mag that needs a lot of time to breathe. Great wine. Lucky we had some friends to help out on Christmas Eve and thanks Anne for sharing! — 12 years ago