Tom Garland

9.2

Opus One tasting

2019 Opus
2017 Opus
2012 Opus

The 12 drinks really well with time to go but hard to imagine it gets a lot better, the 17 was uninspiring with muted nose and subdued taste, the 19 has good potential in 6-9 years. Note: Pours were a little light for the price, so buyer beware! — 3 years ago

with Karin and Brenda

Scott Kahn

9.2

The alter ego is softer that Palmer, and this vintage is no exception. The tannins were well present even after a short decant, and they were beautifully integrated with the rich dark fruit of the vintage. — 5 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.7

Tried this 4 years ago! Deep Ruby with aromas of ripe dark fruits and complex spice. On the palate flavors of ripe concentrated blackberry, cherry and currants, still fresh and vibrant with a great mouthfeel, well balanced. Tannins were soft and full, long finish ending with cigar box spice, cedar and cacao. An elegant wine, developing nicely, great drinking now and will continue to develop through next decade. Wow! — 6 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.5

Great flight where both wines showed well & were neck in neck to which was the favorite. The 68 was so fresh & showing youthful. — 7 years ago

Arden Barnett

9.4

Coravin by the glass selection so I didn’t snag a picture of the bottle, but after 2 weeks at a tax conference in Orlando I deserved a nice glass of wine and a steak to end the trip. I have always heard of Chateau Musar, but have never had the opportunity to try any of their wines. Let’s just say expectations were exceeded. Such a gentle wine with well rounded notes of cedar, baking spices, wet leather and dried herbs like thyme and possibly sage(?). Complex finish that lasted for a good minute or so that left the taste of English breakfast tea and tobacco on the tip of my tongue. Really really fun wine. — 8 years ago

Kirk F

9.4

Mag. The cork blew up and we had to Macgyver our way out of the dust but the contents were superb. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I have to say this is my favorite Chateau to stand in front of and gaze. On the nose, spice, wild blackberries, dark cherries, blueberries, black plum, plum, leather, cedar, dark moist soil, wet stones, mint, tobacco leaf and dark fresh & dry flowers. It's drinking nicely with silty medium-medium + tannins & full bodied. Ruby, ripe wild blackberries, dark cherries, blueberries, black plum, plum, leather, cedar, dark moist soil, wet stones, crushed dry minerals, mint, tobacco leaf and violets, dark fresh & dry flowers. The acidity is round and mouthwatering. The long finish has great elegance, beauty, length, tension & balance. It's just starting to hit it's stride and has plenty of life ahead of it. Another 15-20 years. Who said 04 was a difficult vintage? This will continue to improve and will stun with another 10 years in bottle. Photos of the the exterior Chateau front & side, tasting room and Christian Seely Managing Director. Chateau Pichon Baron and Chateau Pichon Lalande were originally part of the same estate. Pichon Baron got it's name when Therese, daughter of the founder, received the estate as a dowry when she married Jacques de Pichon Longueville the first President of the Bordeaux Parliament. Chateau Pichon Baron changed because of the Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville. He took over managing Pichon Baron when he was only 19 years old! When the Baron passed away at 90 in 1850, he divided his Pauillac estate. The sons were awarded what became Chateau Pichon Baron and the daughters were given what later became Chateau Pichon Lalande. Pichon Baron went through three rough decades in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Part of the issues were, lack of investment and they machine harvested. The first really great vintages for them were 89 & 90 after Jean Rene Matignon, Jean-Michel Cazes join them and AXA Insurance Company purchased them adding capital. The 73 hectare vineyard of Chateau Pichon Baron are planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. However, the Cabernet Franc and the Petit Verdot are reserved exclusively for the second wine. The terroir is mostly deep gravel, sand clay soils. Pichon Baron uses 80% new French oak and rests in barrel 18 months. @ FogoDeChao

— 9 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

The first of my small tranche of 2019 Cuvée Reservée’s and I figured it would be fun to share with the Tasting Group. Popped and poured and presented double-blind. The wine pours a translucent, deep ruby with magenta rim, near opaque core, medium+ viscosity. On the nose, the wine was clean with macerated raspberry, cranberry, and pomegranate fruits. There were purple flowers, some black pepper and rocky minerality along with a slightly gamey note which was quite charming. Both the fruit and non-fruit characteristics were confirmed on the palate. The wine finishes dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. There’s a compelling sense of power and energy in this wine. Everyone was in the Rhône but most were in the North; from Saint Joseph to Cornas, citing that they believed this was Syrah. However, two in the group called Châteauneuf du Pape and one actually called producer (!!) but missed on vintage (2016). Universally, the wine was fawned over and the dude who called Pagaü thought he actually favored the 2019 over the 2016 he had a while back. While I’m not sure I would go that far, the 2019 is truly quite stunning already and seems to have the guts to see a very long and wonderful life ahead. These are currently enjoying their customary early drinking window however, that window will likely close within a year or so and then I could see this shutting down pretty hard until 2025 — 4 years ago

Mark Turner

9.3

Zoom event with Drew Bledsoe and Josh McDaniels. Vertical from ‘07, ‘14, ‘15, ‘16, ‘17, ‘17 estate, and ‘18. All were exceptionally smooth and silky with good depth of fruit. Notes on the ‘17: 87% CS, 7% Merlot, 6% petite Verdot. Tobacco and raspberry on the nose, blackberry, raspberry and oak on the plate with a long fruity finish. The least earthy of the bunch tonight. Still young, will benefit from additional age. — 5 years ago

with Jared, Aaron and 1 other

Gilbert Van Hassel

8.9

Yes it is biodynamic which I tend to dislike, moreover this wine travels very badly and most of the bottles I drunk in the USA were bad. Surprise this one is really good. Color straw golden (my wife immediately caught on and looked surprised until I told her “bio”. Slightly oxidative, smokey, good mineral content. Warm vintage but pulls it off. Best coulee I ever tasted in NY. — 7 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.6

One of my all time favorites, the 1982 Cristal is magnificent. Fresh, nuanced and exceptionally beautiful, the 1982 remains one of the all-time great Cristals. Apricot, almond and chamomile nuances suggest the 1982 is just starting to turn the corner into its plateau of maturity. This bottle lacks a bit of excitement, but, then again, the 1982 Cristal is not exactly the sort of wine I get to taste on a regular basis, so it is possible this is not the best showing. Hopefully, I will get a chance to taste it again soon. Even so, well-stored bottles will drink well for another decade-plus. “In my opinion, 1982 is the first vintage of climate change in Champagne,” Lécaillon explains. “Sugars were higher than we were used to seeing. As a comparison, the 1981 Cristal is also concentrated, but it is concentrated by low yields. In 1982, we had high yields and elevated ripeness, meaning it was the sun that ripened the fruit.” (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, December 2018) — 7 years ago

Tony Capone

9.4

‘98 was a very difficult year, but the wine proves there were great wines to be had. No oxidation, red garment , it still has a lot of life , eucalyptus, figs and plums . Still some acid with a long finish. If you find it open let it breathe and you won’t be disappointed. — 8 years ago

Ted Corvey

9.3

Take this with a grain of salt because at this point in the night my taste buds were a little scorched. Very fragrant red fruit on the nose. Initially this was still tremendously wound up. I wish we had opened it and decanted for longer as after two hours it was still slightly tight but the lovely fruit flavors persisted over cocoa and tobacco leaf undertones. All in, I wish I had let this rest for a few more years, but still drinking pretty well now. — 9 years ago

with Scott and Kyle

Stas Medvedev

9.3

🏅 Rating 93+/100 (4,35⭐)

Tasted from magnum.

Ruby color with tawny hue showing the age. First nose has a slight touch of iron. Fruit is ripe and sweet. Vegetable scent of tomato stems suggesting presence of Cabernet Sauvignon. Sandy tannins of Sangiovese. Amazing how bottle aging makes the wine so smooth and satin.

Mostly tertiary aromas, but very well holding the age and could last for at least 5 more years without any signs of decline

Elegant expression of famous Tignanello.

1981 was outshadowed by great 1982. It was 10th anniversary vintage and is considered a very fine one.

Key oenological data:
Average sugar content of grapes at harvest 21.00%
Average total acidity of the grapes 7.80%
Alcohol content after fermentation 13.00
Average fermentation temperature 28C
Length of fermentation 13 days
Acidity of wine after malo 5.90
Ageing in 225 litre barrels 20 months
Bottle ageing in our cellars 18 months

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I have published the article with a story of Tignanello, the emblematic SuperTuscan wine from Antinori.

\- What were the key factors of its success?
\- What makes this wine stand out from many other wines form Tuscany?

Best enjoyed with a glass of Tignanello.

Read the full article at www.stasmedvedev.lv/wine

---
Instagram: @wine_talks_club — 5 years ago

Mike Beltran

9.1

Decanted and really opened up in little more than half an hour. 54 years and still has vitality. There’s still some fruit but it is mixed with subtle acidity and soft tannins. A delight to drink and share with friends. Our friend was given the wine and wanted to share it. We all were quite happy.👍🍷🍷 — 5 years ago

with Joe

Ron Siegel

9.3

We were comped a 375 of Krug at the brand new Goodman’s Bar inside Bergdorf Goodman’s. — 6 years ago

Alex Hughes

9.3

Intense dark cherry with a long finish. Oak is well integrated + well developed tertiary aromas/flavors. Tannins were surprisingly soft for a Dunn this young. — 7 years ago

Boxer Briefs

10

Opened two bottles, both were in great shape. Manageable Brett, slight bottle variation, one seemed to be more concentrated than the other. Fun stuff, corks were in great shape. These aren’t getting better. — 8 years ago

Martin G Rivard

10

I completely forgot to post this. My brother from another mother Kirk Alexander uncorked these 2 Absolutely Phenomenal 100 point beauties for us to enjoy just because I came over!!!!!! ! Damn., I’ve got to go to his house more often!!!!!! All kidding aside., we were celebrating Veronica’s (his beautiful wife) birthday and what a truly special Evening.it was. There’s nothing better than uncorking a special bottle with friends that have become like family.
We love you Veronica!!! And put up with Kirk just because of you🤣😜🤣
— 9 years ago

with Dov and Christine

James Wells

9.3

A standard favorite in our home and one my father and I were able to enjoy together...a real treat! — 9 years ago