Dylan Thomas

9.0

Wine pairing omakase at Sushi Kuraku — a month ago

Jay Kline

9.0

Popped and poured; enjoyed over several hours. The 1994 Chateau Souverain, Cabernet Sauvignon pours a deep ruby fading to maroon via garnet, toward the rim. Medium+ viscosity with moderate staining and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous. The fruit is mostly red in profile and desiccated: cherries, strawberries, currants, green bell pepper, tobacco, leather, coffee, cocoa and warm spices. Tannins are still pretty firm. Acid is medium. Full of life yet and quite charming! Just goes to show that good winemaking, decent fruit and great provenance can allow even some of the more humble wines to age well (given proper cellar conditions). Drink now. — 2 years ago

JKT

9.3

Astonishing that this very old wine is drinking just great! The ‘74 Cab from Souverain was my very first early favorite way back then. Got this single sample and figured must be vinegar by now but be good for nostalgia for the long gone vineyard. Instead this is a delightful shock! Labels look great. Cork has top layer of crap but in good shape though the very bottom broke off. Wine has nice garnet color with little hint of its age. Still lively, well balanced and tasty even if not super complex. Nose is just straight out attractive with very ripe dark red fruits as background for the foreground earth and field and hay. No way I’d have guessed 46 year old Sonoma Pinot! Kept sniffing and satisfied even before tasting. Palate is light and lean but still lively and texture is firm and acidic carrying over to good finish. Like an aged but still athletic and elegant ballerina showing off. What a pleasant and memorable shock in these crazy times! Lot of 4 oldies from 70s, Sutter Home Zinfandels (2) Montevino and primarily for these but this Pinot already made it worthwhile for AA20. Adding two to 9.3 for the age! Back label says ‘74 was great vintage and wine ready to drink but will still be good in 3-4 years with proper storage. Ha! Day two still standing strong in Eto and dancing with delight. Enough for one last glass in day or two. Day three drank without food before dinner. Kept sniffing and sniffing. Elegant and complex nose with notes of sour plum and very ripe dark fruits. Only possible in such well aged vino! Memorable. Too bad only bottle. — 5 years ago

Anne Richardson

9.0

A fairly rich Merlot - we enjoyed it quite a bit! Flavors of blueberry and mocha. — 4 months ago

Emilita Bambina

9.0

Pretty good. Actually very nice. It was on sale, and if it is again I would buy it. — 3 years ago

JKT

9.2

Another incredible oldie that held up amazingly well. Cork looked like it’s ten years old with only bottom third stained through though it did break apart when pulled and lead seal is in excellent condition. Wine level showed no loss. Wonder if recorked at some point. Nice ruby color with little bricking. Whiff of worrisome sherry note that dissipated very quickly. Again like that Souverain Pinot a beautiful endlessly sniffable nose of almost fermented fruits and apples and autumnal forest floor carrying through to firmly textured palate but a relatively short finish. It’s a class act that still plays well. So second gem of the four. — 5 years ago

Hayley Lalchand

9.6

very deep notes of lush berry and spices, cherry, plums, soo decadent — 9 months ago

Mark Fischer

9.5

Crisp, refreshing, and dry — 2 years ago

Nina M

9.1

Snotty easy drink, velvety — 4 years ago

Garrett

10

Amazing wine. Soft on the pallet — 5 years ago