Bordeaux, France

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

1986 vintage. Ripped through six bottles (one corked) for a 1986 BDX dinner @ Mister A's-San Diego. All bottles appropriately aged fill and decent+ corks. Double decanted and tasted over the course of 5 hours. Mix of powdery and stubborn (non-chunky) sed amongst the 6 bottles. Light-medium body throughout. Somewhat muted experience overall. None of the bottles (with variation) shone/sung. Wine is firmly on the downside of the bell curve with best days behind it (based on the 5 + corked bottle examples). There was none of the usual P-L flavor markers but the body hung in there. Pains me to say this but drink up now unless you've got a larger format bottle. Maggie (+) would probably yield a higher score. 3.14.24. — 4 days ago

Paul, Lyle and 6 others liked this
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

Oh 😥. Sounds like a bust.
David T

David T Influencer Badge

While I respect, own many vintage from them, as well as, one of my favorite non 1st growth producers and love the style of 80’s Bordeaux (82, 86, 89) I don’t believe this vintage from them ever lived up to expectation or critics reviews.
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

@David T To be fair, had a few examples of this particular wine and vintage that ticked off the 9.6 mark for me. Don’t rate anything above a 9.7. When it was at the top of the bell curve and just on either side of that summit, it didn’t suck. Life rolls on.

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

David T
9.4

Leoville Barton is one of my favorite St. Julien producers and still one of the best values upon release of Left Bank Bordeaux’s. If my memory is correct, I think this was WS’s wine of the year a few years ago.

I haven’t had this since the release at UGC. It was so fresh then. It has definitely put on weight and showing some nice evolution. But, Anthony made his wines for the ages. This will rise 2-3 points with 20 years bottle age.

It is round and lush. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, purple fruits, blueberries, some creamy raspberries & dark cherries. Anise, light graphite, tobacco ash, leather, dark, rich earth with dry leaves, dry river stone, limestone marl, dark spice, dry herbaceous notes, hints of black olive, black licorice, dry stems, mix of dry & candied dark flowers, very nice round acidity and a well; balanced, structured, tensioned and polished finish that last minutes.

Would open this in 2032 and beyond.
— 10 days ago

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Château Montrose

Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1986

1986 vintage. Sampled 5 bottles for a BDX dinner at Mister A's-San Diego. Double decanted and tasted through 5 hours. Rustic and chunky. Zero finesse but it's Montrose. Can hold steady at this quality for another 7-8 years easy. 3.14.24. — 4 days ago

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Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2015

We visited there in the early summer of 2015 and now we got to try the fruits of their labor in the vineyard we witnessed at that time. A bio-dynamic vineyard with horse and plow 😁. Their wines are fantastic. This wine was richer in fruit and more expressive than perhaps characteristic for the Pauillac region. But the layers of earth infused flavors and the most subtle hint of ‘barnyard’ made it a sensation. Topped off with a grippy finish keeping the flavors lingering in your throat. www.spokenwines.com. — 3 days ago

Tammy de Weerd
with Tammy
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Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

2010 vintage. Classic Pauillac with ripe cassis, lead pencil, and cedar wood. Still very young, but a class act. Concentrated, profound, and impeccably balanced, with layers of black fruit, a serious structure of haute couture tannins and balancing acidity. Long, mineral finish. Impressive, but nowhere near its peak. — 8 days ago

Ira, Peter and 5 others liked this

Château Gruaud Larose

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

2016 vintage. Always understated style. Lean throughout. Light-medium body with dedicated, yet delicate, push. Distinctive producer. Enduring delivery currently. Obviously not for everyone but for those that get it, borders on obsession. Mushrooms. Drying earth. Light cedar. Cassis. Subdued sandalwood. Very close to being the Burgundy of St. Julien. Last tasted 9.20.21 and scored same. 3.16.24. — 2 days ago

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Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

1986 vintage. Sampled five bottles for a 1986 BDX tasting @ Mister A's in San Diego. Double decanted and tasted over four hours. Medium body. Pretty rustic early on and that stayed consistent till the end. Opened up a little later with a splash of bright cherry fruit. Should stay the course for another 5-6 years. 3.14.24 — 4 days ago

Lyle, Jan and 8 others liked this

Château d'Yquem

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2005

What a special treat!!! So enthralled by the moment that I forgot to take a photo with the dessert last night. 😜 This wine was stunning! Layered, complex, balanced. Pronounced and concentrated notes of dried apricot, peach preserves, marmalade, orange zest, Meyer lemon peel, citrus blossom, gardenia, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron, lavender honey, and beeswax. It coated the palate with a lasting finish. Again, such an absolute treat!! — 9 days ago

Deked1 J GreenePaul K
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James K

James K

So awesome! MN’s wine A-team.
Paul K

Paul K

@James K looking forward to getting us all together!
9.8
Vanessa

Vanessa

@James K @Paul K We would love that! 🥂🥂

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

Still shows some lovely primary redfruits, cassis, currants, quite tannic as well (characteristic of the 1986s I cellared), long, lingering finish, should show even better after my wife’s grilled lamb and my grilled steak come off the grill. I will say I was nervous when the final 1/8-inch of the cork severed off my old Ah-So cork puller, but not a problem!

Interesting sidebar — I purchased this upon arrival in 1989 at K&L in SF — by that time there were widespread reports of bad corks in Ducru from (at least) 1985 and 1986, so when I visited the shop I explained the situation and committed to purchasing 6 bottles, but only if I knew this batch didn’t have the cork problems — so, I said I’d pay for another bottle and we could open it together in the shop, I’d pay and also buy the other 6 bottles if it was NOT corked, and said if it was corked, then they’d pay for the opened bottle and I wouldn’t take the 6 other bottles — they agreed, we mutually tried the bottle then and there, no cork taint so I paid for 7 bottles total.

Telling the story in part because K&L has always been, IMHO, one of the classiest wine shops in the U.S., and they deserve credit agreeing to my deal (BTW, Wine Advocate had written about the cork taint issue within the preceding 3-6 months, so they were aware of the potential for it) — anyway, they’ve gotten a lot more of my business in the past 35+ years since!!
— 9 days ago

Jim Powers
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David T

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K&L is the gold standard Wine Merchant example for the rest of the country!
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@David T, I cannot disagree!!
Jay Kline

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@Doug Powers great story. Thanks for sharing!

Château Latour

Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Delectable Wine
9.8

The 2005 Latour is a huge wine predestined for long-term aging. Noticeably deep in color, it has a showstopping bouquet with intense black fruit, graphite and touches of dried blood and tobacco as it considers moving into its secondary phase. But that's going to be slow coming...it's in no hurry. The palate is medium-bodied and unapologetically classic in style. I notice this bottle is a little grainy in texture, the salinity perhaps heightened as it enters adulthood. The finish has a tangible sense of tension, but it remains backward and swarthy. Immense. Tasted at Woo Cheong Tea House dinner organized by Paulo Pong. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2024)
— 5 days ago