Shay A

9.2

Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.

Fun to open birth year wines around your birthday, especially when you can do a Bordeaux and Napa side by side. While not a great vintage, this held up well after a few hours and presented as expected. Clean and zero Brett. Great color! Deep ruby with hardly any bricking. Leather, cassis, vanilla pipe tobacco on the nose. Sporting a good bit of dusty red and black fruits (mostly tart raspberries and blackberries), there was a little savory truffle note mixed with an herbal and mocha finish. Still quite grippy. Pretty. — 5 days ago

Shay A

9.5

Opened as part of a 2-day tasting with Alex Macdonald while he was in town. Day two was a small group of us with killer wines (2010 Chave Hermitage, mag of ‘02 Krug, Selosse Substance, 1996 Latour, 2003 Mouton, 1992 Dominus).

Quick one hour double decant to prep this beauty. While La Mouline is my favorite, La Turque still incorporates the co-ferment with Viognier. 93 Syrah/7 Viognier.

Beautiful translucent ruby in the glass. As I get with certain Cote Rotie wines (especially Guigal), barbecue and bacon fat can be overwhelming when young, but this has channeled a really balanced profile. Aromatic notes of smoked meat, cherry liqueur, and espresso. Beautifully rich yet elegant on the palate. Great nerve of acidity with a finish sporting plenty of tannin to carry this a while. Black peppered raspberries, black fruit on the palate with a little bacon and a hint of sweet/tangy barbecue sauce note (delicious). Enjoy now with a short decant or hold another 5yrs. — 3 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Slightly deeper ruby garnet , narrower rim . Deeper and younger , touch of wood smoke then quite ripe black fruits , rounder with better definition on the nose than the 1994 . More degraded cassis and grafite noticeable than the wine before, tobacco , touch of seashell , marine influence comes though . On the palate the fruit fills out better than the 1994, quite dark and serious , grafite , tobacco and cedar , however the tannin is less rustic and better integrated . Nice balancing acidity. This has quite good length and is showing well now though could age a little longer. Probably is best drunk over the next few years — 8 months ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.8

The 2005 Latour is a huge wine predestined for long-term aging. Noticeably deep in color, it has a showstopping bouquet with intense black fruit, graphite and touches of dried blood and tobacco as it considers moving into its secondary phase. But that's going to be slow coming...it's in no hurry. The palate is medium-bodied and unapologetically classic in style. I notice this bottle is a little grainy in texture, the salinity perhaps heightened as it enters adulthood. The finish has a tangible sense of tension, but it remains backward and swarthy. Immense. Tasted at Woo Cheong Tea House dinner organized by Paulo Pong. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2024)
— a month ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

9.5

The 2008 Cheval Blanc is one of the go-to wines of the vintage. Now at 15 years old, it has retained the energy and focus it displayed from the outset: black fruit, crushed stone, wilted violet petals and touches of forest floor cohere wonderfully in the glass. The Cabernet here is more expressive. The palate has a slight chewiness on the entry, but it "relaxes" in the glass. It shows off its delicate lattice of tannins and perhaps a bit more backbone than I have observed on previous bottles. It's very intense on the finish where, as before, the Cabernet Franc takes charge. Superb. Keep it another three to four years if you can. Tasted at the Lia's Wings/book dinner at Medlar restaurant. (Neal Martin, Vinous, December 2023)
— 3 months ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy birthday honey. 🎂🥳🎉❤️

The Chateau that got my wife Sofia to finally love Bordeaux (1995). Expected more from the this property in 2000. But 2000 is still either the stubborn I think it is or just not as good as critically advertised. 20 years in bottle and think it needs at least 10 more years. Also, a touch of v/a-bandaid. It has nice balance with soft fruit & earth. It just lacks the wow factor for the property & vintage. Maybe, it is in a dumb faze. But, I’ve been waiting 20 years for 2000 to come out of its shell. I love this property but it is not up to its reputation…even for lesser vintages. It might be outstanding in another 20. This bottle is a little flawed and perhaps maybe (?) a better 2nd day wine. Tonight it is leaner than I would expect. Ripe; blackberries, black raspberries, plum, dark cherries, poached strawberries. Sweet lead pencil, charcoal, volcanic ash, spice, nutmeg, some cinnamon, vanillin, dry tobacco, sandalwood, limestone, dry crushed rocks , dry pebbles, dark, rich earth w/ dry leaves, dry herbs, hints of Worcestershire sauce, moist clay, withering mid floral bouquet with excellent acidity and a wire to wire finish that is balanced, nicely tensioned and elegance that lasts minutes. One of the few slightly flawed bottles in 25 plus yrs of collecting. I can count them on just over one-hand.

Picture of Sofia picking the 2012 Mouton Rothschild Merlot. — 6 months ago

"Odedi"

9.2

Inky in color with a short purplish rim.

Strong nose with black fruits, cedar, licorice, chocolates, light vegetables, wild flowers and peppercorn.

Full-bodied and smooth, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black cherries, currants, cedar, vanilla, spices, espresso, cola, herbs, licorice, dark chocolates, light earth and peppercorn.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This young Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Napa Valley is already delicious.

Rich and engaging. Powerful and dark. Still a little unforgiving. Spicy and fruit forward.

Much earthier on the nose than on the palate. Only after 2.5 hours it balances out, so be patient.

Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years, and has good potential to become a 94+ point wine. Would be nice to revisit it in 5 years.

I Had a few vintages of this wine and it is very consistent.

Good by itself as a sipping wine or with food. Will pair nicely with a big piece of steak.

A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and 5% Malbec. Grapes were handpicked and aged for 18 months in mostly French oak barrels.

14.2% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$95. — 2 months ago

Brad Jensen

9.3

Silky smooth nose, velvety and soft, with forewarned black currants, just a LITTLE pepper, dark cherry and maybe a little pine forest floor? Some sediment and still grippy tannin, but starting to really loosen, with prominent ripe red fruits of dark , brooding plum, cherry and dark fruits, with hints of graphite, wood, and smoke over a still zingy finish. — 4 months ago

Conrad Green

9.0

Plush and blowsy. Plum, violets, strawberry, black cherry. A pretty open knit fruit bomb. Quite high alcohol and a soft finish. Lacks a little structure and personality. — 6 months ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Great 05 fruit with classic Bordeaux profile.

Starts with the bright, ripe fruits that 05 gave. Blackberries, black raspberries, very, dark cherries, black plum, raspberries, plum, perfect graphite for days, cedar, fresh & slightly dry tobacco, forest floor with dry leaves, perfect, dark spices, dry crushed limestone, dry river stone, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanillin, salted caramel, dry, dark chocolate bar, steep tea with fruit, anise to black licorice, haunting herbaceous notes, saline notes, dry to moist clay, bright, mid to dark florals framed in violets, excellent acidity with amazing tension, beautifully balanced & structured, polished, wire to wire finish that lasts close to two-minutes. So round on the palate. Great with the El Salciciero ribeyes.

Corn picked today from my organic garden. Ten to fifteen plus year left. — 9 months ago