Doug Powers

9.4

Gold Cap (Bessards-Meal blend), purchased at Marche-aux-Vins in Ampuis in January, 2009, this shows lovely aromatics of iron, mineral, some floral as well, very tight, structured palate with mostly black fruit flavors, clean, balanced, very long finish, ideally needs more cellaring, but I think I only bought 1 so that’s not happening, great Syrah from Hermitage!! — 2 days ago

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Doug Powers

9.3

Fascinating, after my recent run of so-so to DNPIM (do not put in mouth) CdPs from 25 or so years of age, here’s a “basic cuvée” of CdP (think $18-20 bottle on release) that is punching far above its weight, red fruits, very fine CdP that is drinking great now, long, lingering finish, and shows promise for another 3-5 years of aging!! — 3 days ago

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Doug Powers

9.5

Cork broke in half (actually 6-7 pieces), initially some “old cork” flavors show through, yet after 5 minutes in the glass those dissipate and we’re left with a lovely aged Raveneau with mature fruit, some lemon and mineral notes as well, very nice complexity and length, I’ve always been very lucky aging my Raveneau, this is clearly a success (shaky cork notwithstanding)! — 4 days ago

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Doug Powers

9.5

Violets, violets and more violets aromatically, after sitting in the decanter for 15 minutes, this wine decided to show its still youthful tannin, likely to inform me that it was still way too young to drink, long finish, but ideally needs more cellaring, one of my favorite Bordeaux ever, I have some more bottles so will wait on those, amazing!! — 3 days ago

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Doug Powers

9.0

Quite different than the somewhat “leaner” 1988, which has aged effortlessly, this is subtly fatter and more evolved (I guess 2 years make a big difference??), the lower perceived acidity makes this less compelling than the 1988, very good, yet clearly a little inferior to the 1988, it was clearly time to drink this one!! — 4 days ago

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Doug Powers

8.9

[70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc] This is rich, ripe and lush (14.5% ABV), sweet oak notes currently are pretty evident, I think this will settle down with 2-4 years of aging, some mineral and just a tad of a green note from the Cab Franc in the solid finish, not mind blowing, but a pretty reasonable QPR on this one!! — 6 days ago

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Doug Powers

9.9

So, my long time wine group buddy brought this bottle from his cellar, absolutely stunning 36-year-old Bordeaux, but honestly, it tasted like a 10-year-old wine, so fresh and so amazingly long on the finish, honestly needs another 25-30 years in the cellar, nigh perfect!! — 3 days ago

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Doug Powers

8.8

Solid 9-year-old Côtes du Rhône Villages (Seguret), good dark color, nice balance, medium-long finish. — 3 days ago

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Doug Powers

8.8

[90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc] This is decidedly less ripe than the Lalande de Pomerol (13.5% ABV vs 14.5% ABV), but has nice minerality, very good balance, medium-long finish, solid Grand Cru St. Emilion!! — 6 days ago

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Doug Powers

9.2

OK, opened one of these maybe one month ago or so, and it clearly had a compromised cork. I had purchased a box on release on a recommendation of a winemaker friend who was also the owner of my then-wine storage facility in Napa, IIRC the case cost maybe $120-135 or so. That compromised bottle was first one opened, but I had a gut feeling from tasting that prior bottle that another bottle with good cork would be rocking, and this one is, color suggests age, but super fresh, just off-dry fruit (so will pair beautifully with some tiramisu my wife made), great acidity and cut, lovely aged Mosel Riesling (a Terry Thiese Selection)!! — 7 days ago

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