Blackberry, peppered beef and olive flavors attack the palate in abundance. The tannins remain firm; this still has 5 years. The finish is long and peppery. Personally I've always preferred the Old Lakeville Road Vineyard and its more Rhone-like approach to Gary's Vineyard and was disappointed when it was stopped. Was elated when I was able to acquire a couple bottles as mine were long gone. — 9 years ago
When first opened, the attack was berry focused (raspberry, strawberry, red cherry). This CNP quickly opened up taking us into a forest on a brisk morning- leaves, twigs and herbal spice. Young but very drinkable. (Nice pairing = braised rabbit, root vegetables, prunes in a light tomato herb sauce, dusting of red pepper flakes. — 10 years ago
The Diddler. It definitely has a diddle in it. The first wave across the tongue is a sweet melody, floating flowers and oak, a juicy melon sweep and then an assaulting attack that is most welcome in the mid-palate. You keep coming back for more knowing exactly what’s going to occur, and yet excited when it’s the same intensity and taste. Truly a white wine I enjoy repeatedly. — 10 years ago
2011 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru: from Jay. Far Left of Picture - Faded straw color. Reserved on the nose (especially in comparison to the Carillon). White fruits and flowers on the nose but all quite restrained. Lilly and orange blossom with a touch of green apple. With more air it started to express greater concentration although it never became tropical other than the slightest whiff of unripe lychees. An elegant although restrained wine. On the palette the wine had a silky texture with little in the way of attack. The mid palette was broad and somewhat lacking in precision with a tendency to waft across rather than to envelope. It's party trick is the immense finish and you feel that the wine, at this stage of its development, is in a rush to take you straight to the end and for good reason. The finish is quite outstanding given its young age and I can only imagine what it will be like in 10 years when the mid palette has had the chance to put on some weight and hopefully more complexity. Drink: 2020 onwards. 94/100.
— 10 years ago
1937 Lafaurie-Peyraguey: seventy-eight years had nothing on this still-fresh show-stopper. Lucid amber color, tangy marmalade-tinged flavor, medium-weight that is not tiring to drink at all. Threads the needle with perfect balance of honeyed intensity and bright acidity. One of the best #Sauternes ever to grace these lips. The perfect #wine when the wolves of life are howling outside your door. — 11 years ago
Had it December 2007.
Still an eternity ahead😱😱.
Still purple in the middle,
Multi coloured fruits, flowers and spices.
Silky, slim with elegance. Determined. Sweet attack.
Beautiful sweet fruit the liquorice and black pepper, then incense, then thousands of other things coming one by one with an incredible order and neatness. So drinkable that you cannot believe is a 1989. Everything is so perfect and in balance. When you say Bordeaux is royal, elegant not powerful. 😍😍🙏🙏 — 9 years ago
Nice little surprise when we got home. Dark ruby with garnet edges. Some greenery, red berries and a little bit of marmite on the nose. Attack of red cherries on the palate, definitely seems to be French in style with a dry finish. Beautiful moderate tannins (6/10) literally melted in our mouths. Full bodied with a great backbone and structure. Super long finish that seemed like it would not disappear. Drink till 2030. — 9 years ago
Needs to blow off some of its heat-when it does, has a more balanced approach to a very fruit laden-blackberry rich attack — 10 years ago
This is the king of Baberas... Stunning, flowy in the trap, taste sensation. The baroness fell in love again when she tasted this..... And not with me.. There is rumour she has been spotted liking the bottle... We will be back for a full out attack on this bottle of sin and joy... Long live the king- we bow to you and your joyous juice — 10 years ago
You will feel the mix of cherry flavour with the vanilla finish, when you are calm, at peace. Passive. It has savoury tannins and juicy acidity. Use the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.” — 11 years ago
First wine we are sampling of Gio's wines. Insanely dark in color, dark purplish red with an almost black core. Very intense aromas with a gamey but slightly tight attack straight from the bottle. As it opened it there were some notes of smoked/cured meats, grilled herbs, iron and thick savory notes. Day two and day three only added complexity to the nose with some coriander, cloves, cinnamon and light caramel. Full bodied with moderate plus tannins (7.5/10). Very dusty and tight with slight minerality on day one. Needed to open up and when it did the complexity only grew with savory notes, very dark fruits and dark cocoa. Slightly dry and long finish. Needs some time to fully develop but will be even better in a year or two. Drink till 2028. — 9 years ago
Thanks @Steve Distler from O'Brien Estate for rushing this out to us! We decided to save it for the weekend after Valentine's Day when we could sit back, watch some netflix and really enjoy this beauty. After reading the reviews online from the likes of Parker etc, we decided that this needed a big decant. We popped it open right before lunch and came back to try it out 8 hours. Deep and dark purple, almost black. Insanely thick and coats the sides of the glass. Fruit bomb on the attack! Tons of fruit, creme de cassis, blackberries, and baking spices like cinnamon. Was still very tight initially, after another two hours started to show some earthy undertones, and mesquite smoked wood. Heavy tannins (8.5/10) and full bodied. This baby is a powerhouse. Heavily extracted, voluptuous, plush and silky with a kick. As soon as you take a sip it coats your throat with cassis and even more dark berries. Long and dark finish, carries the dark fruits throughout. A little heat in the finish most probably just due to age. This wine definitely needs more time in the bottle. If we had anymore we wouldn't touch this until 2017 with a long long decant. A ton of potential! This wine is made from 100% Merlot, and aged 75% new French oak. Only 100 cases produced. — 10 years ago
First thing I said when I smelled this: "Awwwwyeaaahhh". I still stand by that. Smoky meaty roasted raspberry, boysenberry and pink peppercorn, tea leaf, fresh green leafy herbs. Ripe and powerful attack, but the smoky salami and campfire ash notes are what linger on the palate. Impressive stuff. — 10 years ago
#LOVE this #2004 #Chesler #Selene #Meritage ($50) #LeDuWines #Nyc This wine is made my one of the trailblazer #FemaleWinemakers in #CA #MiaKlein who prices her wine as she feels she should, not as Napa prices command. Interestingly, this is a Brooding, Muscular, Strapping, #Masculine wine... #Ironic ? As it's made by a #Woman ? :) Intense Spice on the attack (when it first hits your tongue), then immediately #Savory ( #Herbal Sage, Roasted Green Bell Peppers, Tomato Leaf) #BlackFruit (Cassis, Blackberries, Black Cherries & Blueberries... Milk Chocolate, BIG #Spice #BigRedChewingGum (#Cinnamon ), Clove, Black Pepper, #Floral Violet SO much #Complexity So many Layers... I could go on & on. The finish is long... It's Savory, and the Spice sits on the top of the cheeks of your mouth & the top of your tongue (just like when u spit out your stick of Big Red Gum! ;) I can't say enough about this wine. For this price, this wine should have a Cult Following. I almost don't want to tell people about it, so I can buy the rest of the bottles for my self. 👏👏👏🍷👍 60% #CabernetFranc 22% #Merlot 18% #CabernetSauvignon 💃 — 10 years ago
Eric Ford
Very good Merlot from Tasting Room, we both liked it. — 9 years ago