All Good Things

Heitz Cellar

Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1978

Shay A
9.5

After missing a ‘70s and ‘80s Heitz vertical many years ago, I vowed to seek out a bottle as all the comments from the tasting were astoundingly positive. My last bottle of Heitz Martha’s was the ‘01 (which was great) a few years ago, but at 46yrs, this was quite the experience.

The ‘78 has a bit of a legendary status, so expectations were high. Upon opening, the cork was in good shape (sigh of relief) and the color was unbelievably dark ruby with some bricking (another sigh of relief). The singular signature menthol/eucalyptus began to fill the glass, alongside aromatics of red berry fruits, espresso, some sort of sweet brown sugar/caramel note, and a savory-graphite type note too. Beautifully elegant on the palate with more red fruit, herbs (bay leaf?), and even some pipe tobacco (subdued, not in your face), but it sports the classical old Napa cab profile that is pure. Spectacular wine, and I could simply smell the wine all day…the aromatics were so powerful the entire time.

Open in bottle for three hours and powered through the entire time. Wish I had another so I could have the same experience!
— a day ago

Severn, Vanessa and 24 others liked this
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

These are awesome totally forgot which back vintages i had.
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Yeah, some of those old-school, back vintages of Martha's Vyd don't exactly suck. Jelly.

Billecart-Salmon

Brut Rosé Champagne Blend

Several years in the cellar have done good things to this bottle. — 8 months ago

Shay liked this

Clos des Papes

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend 2009

Lovely wine that really opened up and let the fruit come out with some air time and was a surprise pairing with Mexican food. First dinner in new apartment. A good wine to start things off with. — 4 years ago

Tom and Ethan liked this

Château Brane-Cantenac

Grand Cru Classé en 1855 Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2008

#AgedWineTuesday

Ruby in color with a wide reddish rim and medium plus intensity.

Pretty nose with red and black fruits, wood, earth, tobacco, black coffee and spices.

Dry on the palate with raspberries, cherries, plums, light oak, spices, chocolates, licorice, peppercorn, forest floor, earth, black tea, vegetables and herbs.

Medium finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This 16 year old from Margaux, is drinking very nicely now. Showing nice balance and elegance. Soft and very dry.

Good right out of the bottle, and gets much earthier as it opens up, with lots of earth and forest floor notes. Really enjoyed the nose.

The 2008 vintage was not a good one, and although it's still very tasty, I don't see it getting any better from this point.

I've had a few vintages of this Second Growth Bordeaux, and I found it to be all over the place. The 2016 was my favorite so far.

Wine Advocate 92 points. Wine Spectator 87 Points.

Paired very nicely with a burger and fries.

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

13% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$130.
— 2 months ago

Bob, Paul and 12 others liked this

Fantesca

All Great Things Freedom Red Blend 2013

Ric
9.7

Wine was outstanding with notes of dark berries, spice, and oak, with a smooth finish. — 8 months ago

Robert Mondavi Winery

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Overrated. I’ll go as far as to say all Napa wine is overpriced these days.

Like… it’s good. But really, I can buy a better Italian wine for half the price.

These days, the best American wine is coming from Oregon, not California. Don’t @ me.
— 3 years ago

Doubleback

Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Zoom event with Drew Bledsoe and Josh McDaniels. Vertical from ‘07, ‘14, ‘15, ‘16, ‘17, ‘17 estate, and ‘18. All were exceptionally smooth and silky with good depth of fruit. Notes on the ‘18: 90% CS, 5% Malbec, 5% Merlot. Least favorite of the night. Still a good wine but perhaps a bit too young, or just different enough from the others that I liked ones with a bit more age. This wine had a little more density than the others and perhaps a little more earth and graphite coming through that masked the fruit. It still had the classic doubleback elegance of the others but I felt we were not seeing this wine’s true expression. It only had about 1 hour in the glass and perhaps I need to pull another bottle, decant for a few hours and see what it does. — 4 years ago

Jared Elder IIAaron HamrockEric L.
with Jared, Aaron and 1 other
Aaron, Eric and 15 others liked this
Eric Urbani

Eric Urbani Influencer Badge

@Mark Turner I double decant these. How was the ‘07? And go Pats!
Mark Turner

Mark Turner

@Eric Urbani I thought the ‘07 was drinking great. I had several bottles over the years and it has lost some of its bravado. It was a very smooth, elegant wine but I plan to drink the remainder in my cellar over the next 2-3 years. I don’t see it holding up for another 10.

Château d'Yquem

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2007

The complexity has arrived! Lovely color on this one. Not all my 2007 looks this dark yet but this one had a rich depth and most toasted fruit notes. This is a very good but not great vintage. — 4 months ago

Tom, Jan and 17 others liked this

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2012

Delectable Wine
9.5

The 2012 Opus One is a terrific choice for drinking now. Silky and beautifully perfumed, the 2012 is wonderfully open-knit in this tasting. The purity of the fruit is alluring, There's still a good bit of freshness, too. Naturally, the 2012 reflects the medium-bodied style that is typical of the year, but all the elements are very nicely balanced. Crushed red berry fruit, mint, rose petal, spice and blood orange linger. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, May 2024)
— 6 months ago

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2001

#AgedWineTuesday

Here is a fabulous 99 point wine by Robert Parker.

Dark ruby in color with a short reddish rim.

Great nose of blueberries, blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, earth, vanilla, Mediterranean spices, espresso, cola, light herbs, chocolates, tobacco and black pepper.

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

Dry and fruity on the palate with blackberries, black cherries, figs, cedar, chocolates, vanilla, licorice, spices, tobacco, herbs, light earth, cola and peppercorn.

Long finish with round tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley.

Showing nice balance and a great mouthfeel. Round and rich. Elegant and smooth.

This 22 year old still has a lot of power in it, and will continue to age nicely in the next 5 to 10 years.

Good right out of the bottle, and better after 2 hours of airtime.

So soft and powerful, with a great nose. This is a gorgeous wine right now.

A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec. Aged in all new French oak barrels for 24 months.

13.9% alcohol by volume.

96 points.

$250.
— a year ago

Steven, Shay and 19 others liked this
"Odedi"

"Odedi" Influencer Badge

@Dawn E. very much so 🍷