Doug Powers

9.5

Wow, this Zin is super aromatic, with fantastically pure crushed red and black fruits, some mineral, flavor profile shows lovely floral as well as the rich, deep red and black raspberry, while this wine needs further aging, it has impeccable balance and a very long, lingering finish, 13.5% ABV, 201 cases made, bravo to Joel!! — 2 months ago

with Jim

David Koenen

9.5

Birth year tastings, evening 4.
Polished leather, nuts, ecoline, grilled red pepper, tomato leaf, gingerbread, pepper, salty savoriness, tannins still present, still youthful, lots of future. Muscular! Beautiful. — 8 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Medium light garnet , quite wide terracotta rim . Top shoulder ullage . Slightly herbal , old mahogany, hickory , chestnut, minty , dried fruits with sous bois underneath, hoisin . On the palate this has some sweet red fruits , touch of coffee , old wood , earthy , meaty hints . Good acidity and slightly grippy tannins . Not bad length. This bottle shows surprisingly well considering its state , and is very drinkable . Drink now , as this deteriorated quite quickly once in the glass — a year ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Tasted blind. Dark tawny color, totally opaque. Odd nose that has everyone shrugging what this could be. Notes of black fruit, spice, roses, some tar. I'm in Italy and drag a few others into similar guesses as my 89 Giacosa Falleto Riserva. Lot's of "wows" when it's revealed this is old Pauliac. This performed well through the day, it's in solid shape. The Bordeaux descriptors are easier to figure out once the label was revealed. — 4 years ago

The Geek

8.9

At it’s absolute last drinkable moment in time. Opened and decanted (for sediment), the cork crumbled and disintegrated. This wine was delicious and beautiful...for about an hour. I went back and tried what was left about an hour and a half after opening it and it had already become “vermouth”, as a server at an Italian restaurant once told me about a too-old bottle of Barolo he’d tried. Drink them now if you have them, and do it quickly!

millennialwinegeek.com — 6 years ago

Jeff Murray

9.3

Wasn’t sure how this would turn out as it was a recent purchase and couldn’t vouch for prior storage. It was excellent. Would love to compare this vintage with a more recent one in the future. — 7 years ago

Byron Hewett

9.4

A mystery wine in the Burgundy tasting. No one guessed it was not Burgundy. Once a hint was given, one of our crew got it right away. — 8 years ago

Tom Garland

9.4

Decant and pour.  On the nose:  dark fruit, pencil shavings, green bell pepper, leather, mushrooms.   Taste:  a brooding, still austere, structured wine with dark fruit, cassis, smoked earth, cigar, minerals, crushed stone.  Some pronounced tannins want you to give it more time for a better score in the future.

At Cote, Last Vegas — a month ago

with Brenda and

David Hale Smith

9.9

Lucky to sit with a friend who bright two bottles of this beauty to share at Bordeaux Fest Near perfection from a magnificent special bottle. The year the wall came down with label art that looks to the future. Believe the hype. — 4 months ago

Joaquin Martinez

8.9

This is an old friend. An old experience I've had before but different. Younger, with more time needed to open but as the wine changes and evolves, its reminiscent to those brunellos of the past. This may not be the most ideal brunello year but it definitely satisfies the experience. Sometimes i wonder if any brunello will come close to those brunellos I had in the past but as the time passes, things evolve and change and maybe youll get glimmers of those brunellos but nothing exact. Well this is the first brunello of this decade of 2020, so we will see what the future holds! Definitely worth another try but after its aged a few months or years. Good nonetheless. — 9 months ago

Jose Matias

10

Probably one of the best wines I ever had the pleasure of drinking. I received it as a wedding gift several years ago. once my wife and I decided to drink it and we were blown away. The color was out of this world a mix of burgundy coupled with caramel hues in the light blessing it with a tint that was reminiscent of vin Santo. Not an expert just my opinion. — 3 years ago

Bruce Dunbar

8.9

A once beautiful wine, slightly faded at 20 years out. Still loads of ripe red fruit and elegance, but it was all high and mid notes with little bass and just a hint of pruning. Still made for a nice night. — 4 years ago

Stephen Redenbaugh

9.6

Mid-weight on the palate; showed a bit more interest than last bottle. A powerful wine with plenty of fresh baked bread and crisp green apple notes. Long, almost oily finish with a final kick of acidity hints at a long future. — 6 years ago

Mark Eastom

9.0

Magnum. Was great. Meaty spice, dark fruits, earth and pepper once it opened a bit. Christmas dinner wine with prime rib. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

I’ll just commence this tasting note to see if it is accepted. Dense Ruby in colour. Blackcurrant and tobacco notes - ripe blue and black fruits - luscious texture. Anytime I’ve had a Napa (or Washington State) Cabernet I have always been impressed - probably better than most good Aussie Cabernets (and more expensive). Has a good future but irresistible right now. Have the last bottle in a year or two. Interestingly reverse osmosis was used to reduce the alcohol. Now at 13.9%. — 2 months ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Château Pichon Baron 2023 – Pauillac, Grand Cru Classé en 1855. BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A commanding and traditionally styled Pauillac delivering power, precision, and aristocratic structure, driven by a 66% Cabernet Sauvignon–dominant blend with 27% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Semillon support. Dark fruit density, mineral authority, and refined oak integration create a wine that feels impactful today while clearly engineered for long-term evolution and layered complexity.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, cassis, blackberry, graphite, pencil shavings, cedar, cigar box, crushed gravel, subtle dark cocoa and savory spice.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied with firm yet polished tannins, excellent mid-palate density, vibrant structural tension, tightly knit acidity, and a long, authoritative finish that builds rather than fades.

Food Pairings
Dry-aged ribeye, lamb rack, beef Wellington, venison, mushroom-forward dishes, aged hard cheeses.

Verdict
A textbook expression of elite Pauillac: powerful, elegant, disciplined, and deeply age-worthy. The wine delivers immediate presence while clearly signaling even greater complexity and harmony with time in bottle.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is serious wine, fierce yet controlled, deeply impressive without arrogance, and loaded with finesse under the horsepower. A bottle that earns respect with every sip and promises an extraordinary future in the cellar. — 5 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

8.9

1989 vintage. From magnum. Nice fill and cork better than expected. Not decanted and first tasted after 7 (seven!!) hours after opening. Talk about task saturation...Light body with some brickish notes but back end concentration along with dark cherry and plum notes fronting earth + tobacco histories. Good length of finish. Drink whatever format ya got cuz it's definitely time unless you like playing wine pathologist and reconstituting tissue/flavors to flesh out what once was and rebuilding around the existing skeleton. Eminently doable as long as you're intimately familiar with the producer/wine, have previously tasted the wine and have really good notes/memory. 05.11.25. — a year ago

Matt Perlman

9.3

Gorgeous. Tiny strawberries, crunchy leaves, cedar, iron, some animal notes. Sweet spot in mid-transition from primary to secondary. Once again the strategy of blue chip producers in “lesser” vintages pays off — 5 years ago

Todd Doolan

9.7

Long, mint and cinnamon. Once in a while it is nice to feel like you are drinking a great bottle at exactly the right time. — 7 years ago

Abbey Chrystal

9.3

Very delicious once I stopped crying that we’d opened it a decade too soon. Stems and taut astringency, blackberry and pink peppercorns — 8 years ago

with Ken