David Kline

9.8

Incredible depth of color rim to rim without variation. Inky. Showing slight brick under strong light. Nose of rye toast, tobacco, turned earth, black cherry, oak bark, crumbly roses, dried lavender, and sage. Descriptors do not do justice to the seamless whole of the smells, which are sewn together with espresso and bay leaf, allspice and forest notes. Smooth and silky tannins slip over medium mouthfeel of dried mushroom and graphite, re-emerge as round textural tapestries, filled with candle smoke, dark, rich cherry and ripe black currants. A stunner that needed days of exposure to fully emerge. Enticing and exquisite.




#chateauhautbrion #hautbrion #premiergrandcruclassé #2009 #pessacléognan #graves #bordeaux #leftbankbordeaux #leftbank #grandcruclasséde1855 — 3 days ago

with Courtney

Tom Garland

9.2

Decant and pour. A wondrous garnet color with bricking. On the nose: captivating nose of dark plum, wet forest floor, herbaceous, spice, some funky barnyard. Taste: dark plum, cedar, earth, pencil lead, and a spiced green bell pepper/tobacco medium plus finish with a moderately tight tannic kick....drinks like a younger Bordeaux. — 12 days ago

with Brenda

Peter van den Besselaar

9.2

Vintage 2010 | cassis spicyness rich vanilla plums - a very wide range in smell - juicy wine with rondeur — 5 days ago

Rodney Miller

9.3

Golden edges, spices on the nose, an ample mouthfeel with cherry very much present. — a day ago

vinokeeno

9.1

2006 vintage. Lean and mean. Decanted and tasted after 1.5 hrs. Not too much sed. Nice little sprinkling of cocoa powder in a feminine nose but, otherwise, all business and very transactional. Difficult to love and hard to understand with this effort being pretty linear vs what we've come to know/expect/love from this property. Plenty of concentration but lacking that extra oomph of finishing depth and seems like it has topped out/not improving. 9.23.23. — 13 hours ago

vinokeeno

9.5

1990 vintage. Last tasted 01.20.23 (9.6) and 05.16.21 (9.4). This slots in just between. Tastes as if from a colder cellar because this specimen was as fresh (too fresh) as a daisy. Decanted and tasted after 2 hours. Tannins for tannins sake. And I love big tannins. Less evolved than the January visit and drinking better than the 5.16.21 visit. Still bleeping massive as it ever was upon release back in the day. Very little has changed. This wine and the 1989 Gaja Sorí Tilden Barbaresco the two biggest, uncompliant wines with years to go before really revealing those hidden charms that I've tasted in recent memory. Getting closer but not quite ready to settle down any time soon. Out of a larger format bottle, must be positively overwhelming…like jumping to hyperspace accidentally…or on a boozy dare. 9.21.23. — 3 days ago

Vanessa

9.2

Happy Labor Day holiday weekend in the USA!

We’re enjoying a night off from studying while sipping a lovely Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2011 paired with a grilled steak, baked potato, green beans, and mushroom / zucchini kabobs. Soon (and sadly) we’ll have to say “au revoir” to summer.

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste is situated on the left bank of Bordeaux, i.e., west of the Gironde Estuary, in the commune of Pauillac. Soils here are gravel-based, and free-draining, ideal for ripening the late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon grape, which dominates in this Bordeaux blend.

Pauillac is known for producing age-worthy, structured Cabernet Sauvignon wines due in part to the growing environment. No wonder it’s home to 3 out of 5 first growth wines in the 1855 classification, including, Château Latour, Château Lafite Rothschild, and Château Mouton Rothschild. This particular wine ranks highly, as well, as a fifth growth and understandably so.

Based on our research the 2011 vintage in Bordeaux seemed to fast-forward many typical growing processes and timelines; grapes were budding and ripening ahead of schedule with warmer temperatures early in the season followed by notably cooler temperatures in August, ahead of harvest.

It’s remarkable how variable seasonal conditions can affect a wine’s profile, especially in less consistent climates like Bordeaux where vintage variation is a serious thing… still, this wine is lovely.

It is deep ruby with a medium (+) intensity of developing aromas offering notes of ripe blackberry, cassis, black cherry, plum, black licorice, anise, violet, tobacco, leather, clove, nutmeg, cedar, pencil shavings.

On the palate, this wine is dry with medium (+) acidity, high tannins that are ripe and smooth, a medium (+) body, medium (+) intensity of flavors consistent with the notes. The finish is medium(+).

This is an excellent wine that is drinking well now and could age further.

Cheers to the beauty born in 2011 in Pauillac AOC with this Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste! — 21 days ago

with Deked1

David Kline

9.8

Graphite and raisin, fig and marinated porcini, smoky dried cherries, black pepper on grilled beef fat, toasted sesame, dried black and red currants, all within an aura of damson and violet and honeyed rose petal. Palate leaps with damson and dried and fresh bing cherry, dried spiced plum, cedar and dried lavender, black olive, moist tobacco, and perfectly toned tannins which come off as a separate, undefinable taste of fruit skin extraction with stunning depth; tea leaves meet dried blackberry in a redwood stand. Soft date and creamy fig follow to a tart raspberry end.




#châteauchevalblanc #chevalblanc #1ergrandcruclassé #1995 #stemiliongrandcru #saintemiliongrandcru #grandcruclassé #grandcru #appellationsaintemiliongrandcrucontrolée #misenbouteilleauchateau #stcivileduchevalblanc #gironde #bordeaux #rightbank #bordeauxrouge — 3 days ago

with Courtney

vinokeeno

9.3

1982 vintage. Tremendous color. Decanted and tasted over the course of two hours. Throwing respectable sed. Ridiculous body for a 1982, esp considering the Saint-Julien pedigree. Big, initial fruit in the entry palate that carried over into the mid-palate. Thinned out noticeably at the end. Woulda guessed 1990. Have had approx 7-8 '82's this year and they were all consistent throughout with the lean body. This one was a joker for sure. Based on this example, not improving but can leverage the performance for another 3-5 years without significant drop-off. Full disclosure...love older St. Julien reds but not a fan of Branaire. 9.16.23. — 8 days ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

Drinking well & still youthful at 27 yrs showing dark fruits, graphite, spice, cedar, leather & tobacco — 7 days ago