Jeremy Pauli

9.4

Simply beautiful. Wish we had more than 1 bottle in the cellar — 3 years ago

jochen rueckert

9.0

Alright not bad — 7 months ago

Suneal Vishnupad

9.5

Excellent though a bit sweet given we had started with two blends. Really big and powerful. Typical from Shaffer — 9 months ago

with Kayla

Jay Kline

9.3

I never would have anticipated drinking my birth year of Cheval Blanc out of a Solo cup yet, here we are. The ‘81 is ruddy still; deep garnet color with some browning towards the rim and loads of sediment. The nose shows some of the telltale green-ness of vintage but everything has found harmony: the fruit has blossomed and structure has integrated. Dark fruited with tobacco, dried purple flowers, mushrooms, herbs and soft eastern spices. Charming! No particular rush to drink these but lovely now. — 9 months ago

Dave Mayers

8.9

What a joy to find this bottle at a NYC steakhouse. It’s been a while. Initially turned on by these ancient Lebanese vineyards and organic practices. And blending fruit that we are Las Jaras use. Drinking well for being a ‘16. VA a bit high but reminiscent of some wilder Barolo — 2 years ago

GaryWEdwards

9.4

This '98 is not as muscular as the 2000 that we tried last month. Opening nearly immediate , soft with a graphite earthy thing going on. Very nice vibrant black fruits. — 4 years ago

with Logan

Mike Saviage

9.7

Tasted blind. Dark reddish tawny. Mostly translucent. Amazing nose. Powerful. A spectrum of notes including red fruit, cola, pencil lead, black truffles, coffee, blood sausage and some dry dark soil. Animalistic. Massive fruit and structure with a long finish. Someone says "honey ham" as a note in the nose and we all agree (first ever note involving the word "ham"). This was a wine where everyone's score or appreciation greatly improved over the evening. A best ever Unico for me. (M's 60th bday 4th of 14) — 4 years ago

John Gaviglio

9.5

We let it sit in the decanter for an hour before dinner. It was great. — 7 months ago

Pooneet K

9.2

Very nice wine and drinking fresher than the 2007 Tignanello we had alongside. Classic Napa, but also with the right level of restraint. Quite delicious. — 8 months ago

Doug Powers

9.3

Great color, still very youthful at age 25, this paired perfectly with some farm-raised elk loins we purchased in Reno 3 months ago that I grilled on the Weber, complex, long finish, really quite fine!! — 9 months ago

with Jim

Skip Smyser

9.6

Absolutely Awesome! My daughter just passed the Bar exam and we picked a marvelous wine to celebrate! Soft tannins, great minerality with mid pallet lingering aftertaste. Still has red fruit taste with hints of tobacco. Cellaring is well worth it. — 2 years ago

Marc Melser

9.6

We had the 2014 Vintage on 12/18/22. This is a fantastic wine from Quintessa. The winery produces consistently excellent wine. Tastes of blackberry, black cherry and oak. Fruit forward and well balanced. A winner. — 3 years ago

Severn Goodwin

9.6

The weekend upon us and we're hosting another dinner party for a couple of friends. Tonight's theme was Rhone wine, so good stuff on deck, with age.

Notes pending... (Entertaining guests first 😉)

Absolutely perfect, yet only coming into it's zone, decade to go here...

Notes from +24H open:
Nose has ripe cherry, dried cherry, dried blackberry, red velvet cake, ripe plum and dry, mineral-ly earth.

Palate has silky-sweet cherry, ripe red currant, (light) cigar wrapper, dried cherry, faint eucalyptus, faint wood notes, dry earth, faint iron notes on the long finish. Mild tannins persist today. Expect to enjoy this vintage another +10Y when held in proper storage.

This bottle was singing at the top of its register last night, slightly diminished today. Absolutely perfect cork, no Durand required for extraction. Acquired a mere two years ago, from a local retailer beginning to close down his shop. He purchased a case on release, stored in his cold cellar; when I got to hunting it only a single bottle remained.

I've had the 2000 vintage before, and it was a treat in a more youthful stage, but a delicacy with our meal last night. We baked a 3lb beef tenderloin (Kinderhook Farm; Valatie, NY) coated in an herb paste then an herbed panko crumb crust with parmesan. About a 50m cook, 30m rest yeilded a perfect 130° center. Served alongside smashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts with thick cut bacon. We had fantastic company, connecting again with a wine trade friend and his wife after a few years break in our dining schedules. — 4 years ago

Daniel M

9.2

You're not 40 every day and I wanted a special wine to celebrate that special day. Fortunately the wine bar / open kitchen restaurant we went to had that special wine, amongst 400 references, that I had been desperate to taste for a long while. I didn't take notes so it's all from memory, but the nose is what I liked the most. Coconut notes, leather, cherries, coffee... I spent probably 15 minutes in total smelling that wine. The palate was great with some acid drive, some matter but not in an overwhelming way, some gentle, well integrated tannins in the rear, before a long finish with savoury notes, red fruits, coconut and that gentle grainy tannic layer. A great experience to top up a day to remember.
Oh and if you happen to be in Warsaw, Poland and be looking for a great wine place, make sure to check out Kontakt - wino & bistro. — 7 months ago

Aylin Ulku

9.7

Spectacular We have stored this for 11 years and enjoyed it for our 5th anniversary, paired with lamb shank and lamb chops. opens beautifully perfect time to drink. Initially the finish had notes of leather, hint of dark fried fruit. — 9 months ago

Adam Gäfvert

9.4

This was decanted in a cool wine cellar close to 12 h before we enjoyed it. It is very aromatic and inviting. Layered with dark fruits, pencil lead, five spice, nutmeg, preserves, orange peel, menthol and more. Great posture. Only 13,5 abv. — a year ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.3

Took no notes but most friendly “Don” we had in years. Lots of potential. — 2 years ago

with Jose, veronique and 1 other

Lauren Young

9.0

Funk on the nose- old books. Needed more time than we had to decant. Barely opening at an hour. Lots of earth, tobacco, but thinner than expected — 3 years ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.4

Very fresh, bright, elegant and young, but accessible. An excellent Yquem in small format. We loved it ! — 4 years ago

with Adriana

Joe DAscoli

9.4

Seemed like the right time to open this. The candy like flavor that I see people complain about had blown off this wine and it just had this incredible purple inky color and rim to it. Very enjoyable. Still had good fruit and sweetness without losing too much luster. Caymus used to age forever but I would drink these up by 10th bday. — 4 years ago