Frank Kuo

9.4

Color of cloudy purple with some bright ruby hue. Nose of nice dark fruits like cherry, cherry jam, blackberry, spice, some tobacco leaves, and some strength of alcohol. Taste of spicy tannins, oaky note, a bit refined sweetness, nice strawberry note, a touch of vanilla and zest, and some fresh grape. Aftertaste is medium long, with sweet and spicy notes surface more while tannins is pretty much marginal. A bit light considering she is a Bordeaux, but a crowd pleaser for sure. Not sure why she has lower ratings from others. — 4 days ago

Shay A

9.2

Monthly WTF group recap. Theme this month was “bring something special”. Normally we taste all of the wines blind, but we decided to do a relaxed night with amazing wines at a great restaurant. Spectacular evening!

If you aren’t familiar with this label, it’s a unique concept. The winery is located in Fredericksburg, TX yet the wines are from all over the world (fruit is cold shipped to the winery or made in the country they are sourced from). This is probably best now or over the next few years. It has typical orange blossom and honey notes, with a very creamy mid palate...like an orange creamsicle. Lots of sweetness without much nuttiness. — 6 days ago

with Michael, Steve and 8 others

E & K G

9.1

Crisp tropical fruit. I don’t drink a lot of white Bordeaux but this was real nice! — 4 days ago

David Koenen

9.0

Great stuff. Lime, wet rock, grape fruit bitterness, tension and good length. And it has some good years ahead of it too; popped the bottle 4 days ago and it still keeps on developing. — 15 days ago

Ken Z

9.1

Lemon tart and orange pith and floral notes on the nose. Lemon curd and honey on the dry palate. Bright, but well balanced acidity. Medium body and finish.

4/22/8/4/3+50=91 — 6 days ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.7

Ethereal, silky and marvelously poised, the 2011 Le Pin (WWB, 97) is sourced from an extremely small estate is located in the commune of Pomerol. It is amongst the world's most expensive red wines, as this was very graciously shared by my colleague Dr. Hong. I was most impressed by the opulent, pillowy texture of the wine, which is still quite primary now at the eight year mark. Elegant tannins line the massive core of dark fruits, all leading the breathtaking, near minute-long finish. This true heavyhitter really needs another ten years of bottle age to hit its stride and will provide drinking enjoyment past my lifetime. Drink 2025-2055- 97 — 14 hours ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.2

Really good Lalande de Pomerol from the Guinaudeau family. Its now called Les Perrieres de Lafleur, an allusion to the fact the vines are from Lafleur’s “selection massale”. Nose of floral notes, very precise sculpted mouth of dark berries and “rose fannee”, great acidity and balance, ends on tobacco notes. Its very accessible now but lors of potential to age. Great bottle and the quality price ratio is hard to beat ! — 18 days ago

Timmer McCarthy

9.1

Enjoyed the ‘13 so much last night, figured the ‘11 would be a perfect bottle to open on the train to Paris! — 6 days ago

with Laura

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

For our wedding reception in Cortona, I packed a magnum of 1986 Haut-Bages Liberal. Since then, we have bought it in all good Bordeaux years and have one on our anniversary. Sadly, I have an 86 somewhere in my EuroCave cabinets. I just couldn’t find it. It has been a challenging afternoon. Next year! A excellent vintage of Haut-Bages Liberal will just have to fill in.

The nose reveals; dark currants, heavily extracted blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum with skin, dark cherries, mix of purple fruits, sweet tarriness, dark chocolate, caramel, mocha, cinnamon, vanilla, light clove, some dark spices, lots of steeped, dark fruit tea, fresh Provenance herbs, anise, limestone minerals, dry clay, dry top soil, dry stones, a fair amount of graphite, fresh tobacco leaf, saddle-wood to cedar, leathery notes, dry underbrush, bright; dark, red, blue and violet florals.

Most of the 2000 Left Bank wines typically remain tight as a drum. This is just starting to open up and ascend.

The body is full, ripe, rich, lush and showing the beauty of the vintage. The tannins are rounded but, still show plenty of teeth and meaty, sticky, tarriness. The structure & tension are just starting to relax. The length and balance are really nice and will continue to better with many years in bottle. It’s still a hold for 7–10 years for its full beauty. Dark currants, heavily extracted blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum with skin, dark cherries, mix of purple fruits, strawberries, sweet tarriness, dark chocolate, caramel, mocha, cinnamon, vanilla, light clove, dark spices with palate heat, lots of steeped, dark fruit tea, fresh Provenance herbs, anise, expresso roast, limestone minerals, dry clay, dry, crushed rocks, dry top soil, dry stones, a fair amount of graphite, hints of black pepper, old & fresh tobacco leaf, saddle-wood to cedar, leathery notes, dry underbrush, bright; dark, red, blue and violet florals. The acidity is round and near perfect. The long finish is; ripe, well balanced with fruit and earth with penetrating earth/minerals and persists several minutes.

Happy Anniversary Sofia...would love to do it all over again as we did in 2012.

Photos of; the Piazza of the La Repubblica...the building we were married, us leaving for our reception and one of the better meals of our life, walking through town on the way to our reception and our wedding ceremony. — 12 days ago

Shay A

9.4

Monthly WTF group recap. Theme this month was “bring something special”. Normally we taste all of the wines blind, but we decided to do a relaxed night with amazing wines at a great restaurant. Spectacular evening!

Simply a glimpse at what is to come for this beautiful Sauternes. Orange blossom, honey roasted cashews and sea salt aromatics. Decadent and rich on the palate with candied mango, pineapple and lemon tart. This will hold for a decade or two and will be lights out. Thanks @Andrew Heffley . — 6 days ago

with Andrew, Michael and 8 others