Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

There are few simple life pleasures that are as good as my Ribeye and a well cellared, very good vintage of Pichon Lalande.

One of my favorite New Years Eve traditions is to have an old Pichon Lalande and my Ribeye. This one was close to Heaven.

I come from a mother who raised seven kids on her own as my father passed away five months before I was born. An amazing feat on her part. I say this only to say, if you didn’t eat at rapid pace, you didn’t get your fair share. So, I learned to eat quickly as we all did.

However, this steak and a Pichon Lalande takes over an hour and has lasted two hours on several occasions. One small bite of steak and a small sip of the right Pichon Lalande and my eyes roll as my head dips in complete appreciation and study. This 86 was no exception! Pichon Lalande is simply my favorite steak wine.

The nose on the front end reveals some barnyard but, dissipates as it opens in the glass. Saddle-wood & cedar, forest floor & dark cassis. Ripe & slightly baked; blackberries, dark cherries, mixed dark berry liqueur notes, blueberries, black raspberries, black plum, plum, cherry notes on the glass edges and high nose. Black licorice, limestone minerals, dry stones, dry brush, steeped tea, light herbaceous notes, burnt caramel, vanillin, dark spice with bright red & blue flowers and dark withering florals.

The body is medium full and flat out gorgeous as it tantalites the palate. It’s a slow sipper. The tannins are slightly tarry & well resolved with years ahead. The structure, tension, length and balance have hit full harmony. Dark cassis, ripe & slightly baked; blackberries, dark cherries, mixed dark berry liqueur notes, blueberries, black raspberries, black plum, raspberries, plum and cherry notes on the glass edges and high nose. Black licorice, sweet tarry notes, limestone minerals, dry stones, dry brush, saddle-wood & cedar, forest floor, dark expresso roast, pipe tobacco, soft leather, dry crush rocks, steeped tea, light herbaceous notes, burnt caramel, vanillin, dark spice with bright red & blue flowers and dark withering florals. The acidity is like a waterfall over the palate. The long finish can only be described as ripe, ruby, well balanced Heaven and it is persistent for minutes. Puts on weight with an hour & half plus in the decanter. Tannins also...round, slightly gritty and dusty.

Happy New Year! 🥂🍾🎉🎊🎀🎈

Photos of, Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, painting of Virginie, Countess of Lalande and their barrel room. — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.7

🌲 Ever wondered what to do with all those old wooden wine boxes ?

Well other than drinking what's inside them (the best bit) here are some ideas you may love 😎

We recycle small boxes into flower 🌺 containers with a metal wine glass holder 🍷 that you can easily move around the garden 👍

Our latest creation is using long ones for small tables to put the snacks, decanter or chiller on 😁

We also use boxes to store garden materials as well as making shelves for towels in our gym 💪

What would you do ?
— 8 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Needless to say, we slayed some dragons tonight. Let the birthday week continue!

This was the one wine that was poured blind from the evening. I guessed Napa (check), I guessed early 2000s (check), but figured it a petite sirah, mainly due to the amount of lively fruit in this! Since my experience with Caymus is limited to the 40th anniversary, you can imagine how my eyes were opened. At 16yrs old, this was blueberry pie, cassis, chocolate liquor and great oak integration. Tannins were PERFECT at this point. Open if you have it! — 8 years ago

with Mark

Tom Kobylarz

9.8

If there were ever an archetypical Syrah, Jamet's Cote-Rotie would be a strong candidate. To me this is a pure expression of a classic Northern Rhone Syrah. It is not a single site, but a blend of terroirs, encompassing over 20 sites mostly from hard rock schist bedrock with little to no topsoil. There is NO Viognier in this wine like one might expect from most Cote-Rotie that might have 1-5% co-fermented.

Importantly, there is also a lot less of the oak character that can dominate and overwhelm many Northern Rhone wines. The oak maturation, while not short at 22 months, only uses 15% new oak with no trace of it on the palate as it is perfectly integrated. Grape bunches are whole cluster fermented and macerated for up to 3 weeks.

The 2007 we have here was drinking superbly for a young wine, showing lively and racy layers of peppercorn spice, roast beef, and warm blackberry and currant fruit from the hot 2007 vintage. While from a warm vintage, not a hair is out of place. Density and purity exude from the nose and hint at what a brilliant future this wine has. Perfect acidity and fleshy ripe tannin provide the backbone structure for father time to peel back the layers of this beauty. I will be chceking back in 5 years at the earliest. — 9 years ago

Martin G Rivard

9.3

@David A Lentine @Gina Sabean @Christine You know that you are drinking GREAT wines when you can say that a Realm Beckstoffer To Kalon came in last. I love this producer beyond measure!! Every wine they make is a hit. Everyone tonight agreed that drank by itself it would have been amazing. However, it still needs a few years to open up and spread its wings!! All of my bottles were decanted for 8 hours today, I began formulating thus rodeo of a lineup around 11am. The Realm had huge dark fruit but too many rough edges in comparison to the others. In all honesty, these are so good that we are splitting hairs but alas they must be ranked and that is how the Cookie Crumbled this evening. — 9 years ago

with Christine and Gina

Tom Kobylarz

9.4

Classic Meao that is intense but at the same time light on its feet. But that is what you get when you combine the great 3 main terroirs of the Meao property: schist, granite and riverside alluvial mounds. Power, grace and depth are achieved on the palate without trying hard. The wine delivers layer upon layer of flavor and complexity effortlessly. The wine is young, so the longer you can decant the better. A few hours is ideal, but open in the bottle for 1 day is better (how we had it). More black to dark red fruits, spice and the most intense depth and complexity of all the the Meao on the day.
Tasted at Quinta do Vale Meao 10/16/2015, bottle open 24 hours.
#meao #dourovalley — 10 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! — 10 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Last nights notes are from memory and enjoyed with as true Italian pizza as you can find in the States.

We had the 09 last weekend, which was good and likely somewhere around it’s peak. However, I must say, it was not stored in ideal controlled temperature. Rather, laid down in dark, cool to mild temperatures with humidity.

2010 was a very strong vintage in Piemonte...much better than 2009. So, this bottle was much better than 09. While this bottle was stored well, it was not ideally. It’s still about two years away from approaching its peak.

After a short, decant it showed meaty round tannins, dark currants, big presence of baking spices, dark spice, more wood notes than the 09 with beautiful blue & purple florals.

Once it opened up, its showed its sweet & sour dark cherries, spiced plum, hues of blue fruits, silky texture, more elegance, nice round acidity and amazing slightly perfume blue and purple florals.

Photos of; Produttori winery, their beautiful Nebbiolo fruit, the hilltop town of Barbaresco and surrounding vineyards. — 7 years ago

Martin G Rivard

9.9

Shawn and I both agreed this had the nose of the night!!!! Huge, opulent and incredibly enticing. I could literally taste of the wet leather when I was enjoying the nose. It's beauty is timeless. I have to tip my hat to any producer that can produce a wind which would hold up for 65+ years. Truly, truly incredible. It involved in the glass for well over three hours with no signs of fading. We literally went back-and-forth all night between this and the Mouton in regards to which would be the WOTN. Absolutely stellar. One of the best Latour that I've ever had. The only thing better than drinking my last bottle of this vintage is sharing it in the company of our great friends Shawn and Jennifer Rose. Nothing makes a bottle more special than the company of those with whom you are sharing it with.@Shawn R @Christine — 8 years ago

with Christine and Shawn

Mike R

9.3

First off I use words from a theme of an immortal movie called Midnight Cowboy but modified to fit this post everybody talking at me - I can hear the words there saying - that is either a song for the insane or a cry for me to step up my game as my friends are crushing it lately with there wine choices of late

now that the wine is decanted for two hours and will be another hour before friends show up the first sip is so darn good / epic in fact - big bold and beautiful

Love the deep deep deep reddish color - tannins are so refined and the finish is exceedingly long that smiles are automatic

We have one more special wine tonight so stay tuned — 8 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

9.3

Bordeaux improves with age so reliably, I hope I can keep my hands off some of this long enough to see it mature. This bottle had very Margaux like perfume, big dark fruit and a long finish. This is richer than most claret we drink, but still has the acidity needed for pairing with steak. #steakandclaretnight — 8 years ago

Marion Brewer

9.0

Natty Light. As in: a light, delicious natural wine. Apparently a 12 year old helped make it so we can all just quit now. — 8 years ago

David L

9.5

13' Edge Hill Bacigalupi Chardonnay. I've written about this several times. We pulled the cork & let it open for about 90 minutes. Sensational bottle! Perfect for a little basketball and then a little Monday night football. HTTR ! We have several bottles of this..I can always count on@Martin G Rivard to send a few bottles every now and then. Thanks as always! — 9 years ago

J Mcconeg

9.5

This is still a pretty young wine at ten years in. We opened this and decanters for a few hours and it still displays a lot of youth. The big fruit flavored come out with a little swirling. Enjoy, but be patient if you can. — 9 years ago

Regional Wines & Spirits

9.6

Because, it's Saturday. And we can. Enjoying more after being open for several hours and a few degrees warmer. Vive La France! — 9 years ago

Scott Kahn

9.5

A truly great wine! Dense and rich from start to finish! Can a wine be any more integrated and smooth, and yet soooo wonderful supporting a fine cut of meat?! Yes it has the Rutherford dust you'd expect, but it is so much more. — 10 years ago

Jim Yonkus

8.9

Malbec can b drinkable..#keifeandco — 10 years ago

Tucker Knight

10

So good, We are doubling up! Great wine is all I can say. — 11 years ago

Severn Goodwin

9.3

Love this bottle, a killer value, can be found in a retail setting for under $30. Please see my prior notes.

The palate on this bottle is a little more chalky (limestone) than I remember, this is a good thing! Last time we had this wine it was in the winery cellar in Ludes. I miss and don't miss those stairs into their very deep cellar.

I really can't wait to go back to France, we loved Burgundy, but the Champagne region is equally full of amazing producers, big and small. — 7 years ago

Jared Sheffield

9.0

Very happy about we tried this out. Great price point at $15 and will be an everyday staple. It didn’t take too long to open up. Dried cherries, blackberries, prune, and some cocoa. Has medium spice and full of tannins. I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed. — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.5

To celebrate our 2-yr wedding anniversary while in Alaska, we had 5-course dinner at one of the premier spots in the state, which just so happened to be at our resort (at the top of the mountain). A Wine Spectator recognized restaurant with an incredible wine list!

First wine of the night and possibly my wine of the night. This opened my eyes to how good french white wine can be. The smell was addictive...orange marmalade, honeycomb, papaya. The acidity on this was surprising as it cut through the salad dressing easily. The wine glided across the palate and left you craving more. I want as much of this as I can find. — 8 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.0

Dare I say we went back to Seasons 52 for another round of $10/glass Caymus? Yes...we did, and it won't be the last round, I can tell you that. — 8 years ago

with Krystal

Justin Hansohn

9.5

I saw someone else' comment on here, 97 vintage, saying 'past.' What a chump. Once again, if you are rating this wine any less than 9.2 we don't want to hear it. Keep your nit-picking sniveling mutant face away from this juice. Don't buy it. Only buy this if you respect that it says clos de la coulee de serrant on the bottle. That is by far what's happening and no one cares about your opinion. This appellation exists because your opinion is not that important. This appellation speaks louder than 99.9999% of professional careers since careers have existed. If you don't approach with respect you will be slapped and there will be no apologies. Don't buy this unless you can take the heat. STFU. — 8 years ago

Winston Jones

Host OrganicWineReview, Assistant Buyer Savvy Cellar Wine Bar

9.3

Yes, Please!
Memories of Turkey are flooding my mind. Wine can take you back. — 8 years ago

Joe Kaiser

9.4

What is the saying. "One bottle of Champagne is never enough, but two can be one to many". So we finally found 1/2 bottle of this LOVELY Champagne! Ripe red fruit on the nose & a very faint hint of star anise with a lacy mousse, the finish is superb the wine almost evaporates! Maybe two bottles aren't to many? — 9 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. — 9 years ago

Suzanne

9.7

My student brought a bottle to me as a gift. We opened and drank it during her painting lesson (yes, we are both of age). It was a delicious medley of "fruity-butter richness", crisp and fresh. What a great sipping wine on a snowy day. My student and I polished it off and she STILLL managed to do an amazing sea scape. — 9 years ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.8

World Class! Nose: Tart blackberries. rosemary, cardamom? black currant. I would spend at least 3 minutes to figure out the nose! Taste: Tart Black Forest wild morello cherries, leather belt, Black Forest tyme yes there is a thyme which grows in the meadows of the Black Forest. Color: light. Best Pinot made in Germany. If you have any ANY, ANY chance ever to get your hands on this wine get it. Usually highly allocated.
Imported by Lyle Fass or Stephen Bitterolf (vom Boden) often only one keg made. 300 bottles.
Can run with burgundies at 120$ any day tasted side by side with 2013 Mark Haisma Morey St. Denis.


.
— 10 years ago

Brent Kugman

9.0

We love it inexpensive and can be served to a variety of wine wine enthusiasts. — 10 years ago

Clement Lau

9.4

Opened on 8/17/2013, very clear and youthful looking. It had a very nice nose with big fruit aroma. So I decanted half of the bottle. It tasted very thin. We poured the second round from the bottle. We can taste the balance among the fruit, alcohol and the acidity. You should open and drink it if u have the 2000 la tour carnet now. — 12 years ago