Matthew Cohen

9.3

12% petit syrah.

Nose: candid lilac. Very fresh. Clean. Mint. Very complex. Hint of herbs.

Palate: taut. Very precise cherry fruit. A hint of bitterness. Long. Grippy.

The source $35 ship from winery. 1 case. — 25 days ago

Tom Garland

9.4

1 hour decant(decent chunky sediment). A striking medium purplish garnet color with bricking. On the nose: Inviting notes of dried red fruit, currants, pencil shavings, floral, stewed meat, milk chocolate. Taste: fully mature, savory, silky wine with dried plum, ground coffee, earth, minerals, tobacco, and a sour cherry/green bell pepper/graphite long finish. YUM!! Drink em if you got em. — 7 days ago

with Brenda

Jan A

9.6

Could use 5 more years, but nevertheless a joy to drink — 8 days ago

Paul K

9.7

This is incredible. Such great balance of so many parts. It’s dense, savory, smoky, floral, and juicy with great acidity. The fruit is there but not pronounced, blackberry and cassis- just a balanced part of the whole. I could drink this every night. — 17 hours ago

Matthew Cohen

9.4

Nose: soft elegant plum. Hint of herbs. Florals.

Palate elegant plum. Some cocoa. So elegant. Seamless.

Very Burgundian.

*

25% list OC.

The source 43.50. Can ship one case . — 25 days ago

"Odedi"

9.6

Drinking this pre-release bottle of this iconic wine from Bordeaux.

Light gold in color.

Strong nose and Full-bodied.

Sweet on the palate with high acidity to balance the sugars.

Showing melons, tropical fruits, apples, light earth, guava, herbs, spices, papaya and honey notes.

Long finish with herbs and tropical fruits.

This is a gorgeous sweet wine from Bordeaux. Sexy, seductive and fresh. Creamy and buttery.

Showing great potential, but oh so young. Already delicious and complex. Round, opulent and powerful.

Loved the nose once it opened up (20 minutes in the glass).

Rich and extracted. Fruit forward and intense, yet elegant. Well balanced with a soft mouthfeel.

Good by itself as a sipping wine, or with food. Drunk from a Magnum.

A blend of 75% Sémillon and 25% Sauvignon Blanc. Aged in all new French oak barrels for 24 months.
154 g/l sugar.

14% alcohol by volume.

96 points.

$500. — 7 days ago

Mark Masterson

9.0

A little past done — 6 days ago

Jay Kline

9.1

This bottle of the 1984 Insignia was opened about 30min before service and enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The wine pours a deep garnet with a slightly browning rim and an opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and plenty of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of desiccated black fruits: blackberries, black cherry, Chunky beef stew, mushroom, eucalyptus, leather, organic earth and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. A mature wine what’s still lovely; full of secondary and tertiary notes. Drink now. — a day ago

Willie Carter

9.5

Already so lovely, but still so young. Medium ruby red in the glass with long, lusty legs and a wide brim. The nose is exactly what you think a classic Left Bank Bordeaux should be. Cassis, plums, and tobacco immediately upon opening. New leather and oak with just the right amount of earth. Very nice.

Big, powerful, and virile. Amazing balance and purity for a wine so young. Still a bit tannic at times but decanting certainly helps with that. Pretty fruit on the palate with blackberries and cherries. Soft vanilla undertones from start to finish along with licorice and more earth on the tongue.

Very impressive with such depth and such personality. As good as this is today it will be so much better if you can show patience. Put these away and try your best to forget about them and you will be rewarded. — 9 days ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I have written a few times regarding my tale of Caymus & Caymus Classic. Their vintages post 2011 and their vintages pre 2011.

I have at event tastings that Caymus was pouring, encouraged their staff to talk with Chuck to make both Caymus & Caymus Classic. Recently, I emailed them to pass on my thoughts to Chuck asking him to make both. If you liked Caymus the way it was, I encourage you to do the same. There is a dwelling amount of older, well preserved Caymus Classic vintages. info@wagnerfamilyofwine.com should you be so inclined.

Their post 2011 Caymus Cabernets are picked at higher brix and syrupy sweet. I get why Chuck changed. Many like sweeter Cabernets that drink easy young. That is not my wheelhouse.

In my intermediate wine days, I aged and enjoyed many pre 2012 vintages. This perfect bottle bought on the secondary market at around $70 is extremely well stored. The cork when I cut the foil looked slightly depressed, when I pulled it with an Ah-so was next to new.

I enjoyed this with a Ribcap, not the best wine for that steak but, ok. This 07 is more filet or NY Strip.

The nose shows; a very dark core of sweet currants. Ripe-lush-blackberries, black cherries, the blackest of plum to pudding, black raspberries, poached/slightly baked strawberries, circling raspberries, anise to black licorice, woven baking spices-cinnamon, clove, nutmeg & vanilla, caramel, dark chocolate, mellow dark spices, sweet tarriness & dark earth, dry crush limestone, moist, grey volcanic clays, dry top soil, dry tobacco, some sweet graphite, steeped black tea & withering/candied, dark, red flowers framed in liquid violets/lavender.

This bottle now nearly 18 years in bottle has not faded. It is at its precipice and will hold a few yrs. 2007 a grand Napa vintage. Decanted a little over an hour and enjoyed over the next 90-120 minutes. With this experience, another hour in the decanter is even better.

M-M+ velvety, rounded, tannins. The palate is round, ripe, lush, ruby fruits of; dark core of sweet currants. Ripe-lush; blackberries, black cherries, the blackest of plum to pudding, stewed plum, black raspberries, poached/slightly baked strawberries, circling raspberries with notes of liqueur overtones, anise to black licorice, woven baking spices-cinnamon, clove, nutmeg & vanilla, caramel, dark chocolate, black licorice, dark berry cola, distinct dark, Caynus Classic spices w/ palate heat, herbaceous notes, sweet tarriness & dark earth, dry crush limestone/rock, moist, grey volcanic clays, dry top soil, dry river stone, charcoal, notes of menthol, dry tobacco, leather, dry oak barrel shavings, some sweet graphite, steeped black tea & withering/candied, dark, red flowers framed in liquid violets/lavender, perfect, round acidity with an incredibly; balanced, well knitted-toned-structured, elegantly/smartly polished finish that goes on and on and long sets on beautiful earth & spice.

94+ This experience is becoming rarer & rarer. — 8 days ago