Jay Kline

9.3

Served to me double-blind. The wine appears a deep garnet color, moving to a slight orange rim and a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and desiccated black and red fruits: cassis, mixed bramble fruit, tobacco, earth, graphite, the smell of an old Library with rich wood and leather-bound books. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. I called Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend from France, Bordeaux, Left Bank, Pauillac, 2000. Wow! This is about as classy as they come. Beautiful showing. Loads of structure. Impressively youthful. Drink now through 2040. — 18 days ago

Ludovic Anacleto

9.3

I love this vintage now. Cedar, camphor and pine as well as dry roses and pot pourri. Long finish full of elegance. The marker of Pauillac for me is blood sausage/iron/cured meat and here it was just exploding. Great bottle, classic, perfect for a blind tasting. — 7 months ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

Tasted blind. Dark tawny color, mostly opaque. Eucalyptus nose. Also notes of black fruit, dusty earth, some wood and sweet spice. Well balanced in the mouth, with fruit and structure in harmony. I guess 78 HMV. Great wine! One of the best Cal Cabs I've had. — 2 years ago

Beth Petros

8.9

Very good blend for a good cause! Delicious fruit bomb 😊 — 4 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

2011 vintage. Decanted with some sed and tasted after 1 hour. Bigg structure with plenty of tobacco, underbrush and dark fruit. A complex kid. Lots of moving parts but really unified currently and moving towards a common goal. Total BDX ringer in a pricey blind. This has miles to go. 8.2.24. — 6 months ago

Adam Gäfvert

9.1

I have favoured Haut-Brion in blind tastings before, but not this time. This is not the most praised vintage by any means but still. Haut-Brion still comes with some expectations. It’s solid and well made, but fairly closed. There are of course signs of class and aristocracy shining through but too underwhelming at this occasion. — a year ago

Joe Weinberger

9.5

Tasted blind. Everyone was at least 5-10 years off. Hard to believe a 1986 could taste so fresh. Library release. — 9 months ago

Tyler Felous

9.5

Slight bricking. Nose is somewhat muted. So much rose and dark cherry. Really brooding. A classic Barolo. BYOB blind Italy theme — 6 months ago

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. — 9 months ago

Delectable Wine

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9.4

The 2012 Montrose has a taut and focused bouquet with crisp blackberry, tobacco and light earthy scents on the nose. Fine vigour and class evident here. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannins on the entry, fine acidity, lightly spiced with a nicely proportioned and focused finish. This is a solid, almost swarthy Montrose, though it is surpassed by more recent vintages. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, September 2022)
— 2 years ago