Shuhui Ng

9.3

Blackcurrant, clay, liquorice, cigar, leather, tobacco. Medium bodied, acidic, well integrated tannins. Elegant, understated wine with brilliant structure. 22 years…. What a wait 🔴⚪️ — a month ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Fruit is brighter, more brilliant than many other 21’s I’ve had. Texturally & fruit-wise senses more like the 23’s I’ve had. It’s gorgeous. Again, needs a decade or more in the cellar.

Round, lush, creamy blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, both plums, poached strawberries, dry, crushed rocks, limestone powder, nice balling spices, caramel, mocha, dry herbs, dry tobacco, lead pencil, dry river stone, leather, melted, dark chocolate, dark spice, fresh & withering dark flowers, red roses, nice round acidity, well balanced, bigger tension & structure, excellent round, excellent finish that last minutes and lands on spice, wet clay and Christmas cake. — 5 months ago

Vijay Parikh

9.4

With a four hour decant this bottle was brilliant! Notes of cedar, tobacco, cassis, dried blueberries it was an excellent accompaniment to the Matsuzaya beef — 2 years ago

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9.8

The 2016 Palmer is a brilliant wine from Thomas Duroux, though I feel it will ultimately be surpassed by the 2018. You cannot argue with the nose: intense black cherries and raspberry fruit, crushed violets and crème de cassis (as if there was a touch of Pauillac in there). The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy, sensual tannins, perfect acidity, velvet smooth with layers of chocolate-tinged black fruit, hints of black pepper and cedar towards the sustained finish. It is a fabulous Palmer that will give much pleasure. Tasted at the Palmer vertical at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, August 2023)
— 3 years ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.6

The second vintage and wow this is stunning. Leaps and bounds better than the 19 and the 19 was a great effort. Nose is buttery and confectionary with stunning mineral depth. Smells almost chevalier or batard like. Hoisted up by its own Batard. Dazzlingly pure and my goodness this is just so ultra refined. Really penetrates my nostrils like the aromas are almost solid objects. Unreal. Palate is deep, rich and bracing. Wow the acidity on this is brilliant with icing on a cake texture and just so refined, classy and long my goodness this is long. So pure and so sappy. Amazingly clean. Just an awesome bottle of St. Aubin. Nose develops wet stones, fresh sea air and lemon drop. The balance here is exceptional. Treacly and elegant. Serious and playful while also being incredibly long. The length here is not to believed. This is one of the finest St. Aubins I’ve ever had. I can’t imagine why this is not a 9.7, but want to see what air can do to this.

Wow the cotton candy confection is just off the charts. Stunning. So clean. So airy. This is what white burgundy is all about. Fruit is coming around. Superb citrus and Meyer lemon. Some lime as well. Rieslingesque. — 4 years ago

Jim McCusker

9.6

Can’t afford to buy Realm anymore - their prices went through the roof right after their scores did the same a number of years ago - but as one of their original customers from the 2002 vintage I still have quite a few of the earlier vintages in my cellar. This 2009 Beckstoffer is absolutely fantastic. Classic Napa cabernet with great aromatics, great fruit along with some secondary flavors, and impeccable balance leading to a long, lingering finish. Just brilliant. — 5 years ago

with Vanessa

Will Stanley

9.2

First time drinking Viña Ardanza. Chose this 2009 to try before the highly anticipated 2010 Reserva Especial. This is so youthful at the moment and will doutbless improve with age (and plenty of it). There’s a prominence of oak & tannin now that sets it up well for the long haul. Medium bodied with plenty of acidity and a lasting finish. Was brilliant with a fatty sirloin. A great example of modern Rioja that should age well - and a promising forerunner to the 2010. — 7 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Both days outstanding but slightly different experiences. Day 1 was about power. Day 2 was about balance. The 2020 “Cuvée Réservée” pours a brilliant garnet with a translucent core; medium+ viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with heady, slightly funky notes of ripe brambles, garrigue, red & purple flowers, bacon fat, licorice, and dry rocky earth. On Day 2, everything was more open nit and the fruit showed more bruised with a slightly stewed profile. Lavender was the predominate floral profile too. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is textbook Pégau and I love it. Drink now through 2045+ — 5 months ago

Vijay Parikh

9.5

Splash decanted this 1993 La Tache and consumed over the next four hours. Aromatically brilliant and loads of promise but still young — a year ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.7

Brilliant, supple, olivey and open. — 2 years ago

GaryWEdwards

9.6

A combination of nutty and citrus zest . Beautiful wine in her youth. I would keep this baby deep in the cellar for at least 5, maybe 10, years. Brilliant even by Cristal standards and may be among their best ever — 2 years ago

David Koenen

9.4

Sweet, ripe black fruit. Charcoal, fresh and elegant acidity, brilliant balance. Starts very strong, then perhaps lacks a little length (in comparison to the Pichon Longueville ‘08). Powerful, but truly beautifully balanced, gorgeous exotic sweetness in the nose. — 4 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.6

Utter bliss. Vibrant, clean, mellow and intense at the same time somehow. Just brilliant — 5 years ago

Ron R

9.3

Current vintage from BM. The 18 is more approachable. Sherbet nose with urgency and tension on the palate. Let this rest a year before approaching.
Wifey’s donut holes. First time making these, and they were top drawer. — 6 years ago

with Benny, James and 1 other

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I remember when the 2005 Pichon Lalande was reviewed by RP, 89. I saw that & said, you would have to get in the way of the 2005 Bordeaux vintage to be that sad. I still bought 6 at a bargain basement price. A very good idea post 20 yrs+. Both Pichon’s don’t have a modern day history of getting in the way of a good vintage.

I also bought this one. 18 yrs in bottle and still acending. This will hold 5 more yrs and will last another 10 yrs properly stored.

I have visited Bordeaux 11 times. This chateau visually is still my favorite. It was showing a picture of this chateau to Sofia that launched our first visit. Sofia loved it and we have stared at it multiple times on every visit.

It was in our visit in 2007, I stood in the estate vineyard, looked & tasted their soils. After doing so, I said, “I get it.” I understood everything about what I was tasting in Left Bank Bordeaux’s early in my wine journey.

Sofia and I had dinner w/ Christian Moueix not long after the 2005 vintage was hyped/released. She asked him, when did you know you had something special?” He said, “as soon as I tasted the fruit at harvest.”

Tonight, it shows that it is a close relative, a sibling to Pichon Longueville. Cork, perfect.

The nose shows; classic left bank traits. Ripe, dark, brooding fruits, bright, mid berries, red cola, leather, tobacco, sandalwood, leather, led pencil, dark rich earth, limestone, dry river stone, hint of mushrooms, dark, red, fresh & withering florals.

The fruits on the palate show everything outstanding from the 2005 growing season. Ripe, juicy, brilliant; dark currants, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum skin, black cherries, baked/poached strawberries & some hovering raspberries. Dark chocolate bar to pudding, red cola, anise, dark spices w/ palate heat, dark, rich earth w/ dry leaves, pronounced graphite, dry tobacco, leather, limestone, dry twig, dry river stone, moist clays, moist herbs, cedar to sandalwood, withering & dry, dark flowers, red roses, some lavender & violets, beautiful rainfall acidity, excellent; balance, tension, structure, length w/ an elegant finish that lasts minutes and lands on spice & earth.

13.4 ABV. Nice.

#TheTwoHourRibcap

This held up vacuumed sealed the same night, refrigerated & enjoyed exactly a week later. — 5 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Girl. Sup? Shoot. This was utterly brilliant tonight. Classic Bordeaux yet, even at 26 years young, somewhat precocious still. A beautiful mix of deep, dark and red fruit with currants, blackberries and cherries with chocolate, purple flowers, green pepper, tobacco, earth, leather and awesomeness. Plenty of structure to keep this strutting for years to come. Fabulous balance and complexity. Drink now through 2047+. — 2 years ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.9

In such a killer spot. Wow. One of the all time greats, 1996 is explosive tonight, wafting from the glass with stunning aromatics of honeycomb, dried orchard fruits, roasted nuts and drizzles of caramel. The palate is expansive, textural, incredibly deep and sensual with brilliant density. There is such an incredible combination of freshness and secondary character of an aged Champagne, and its racy citrusy acids bring it all home. I have to believe there can be some bottle variation, but this one, absolutely perfect. Amazing wine. — 3 years ago

Nelson Javier Aviles

10

Very Good well recommended! — 4 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.5

Brilliant. No notes but more of a PSA to age your cru bojo — 5 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I bought 3 or 4 bottles of the 06 Heitz Napa. I think this is my first bottle. I either have none or one left. Better gets notes tonight! I think I gave others away. What was I thinking? Wine is meant to be shared.

What is better than paying around $33 for a bottle of wine, forgetting about it for twelve years and having it blossom on your palate the way it is tonight? This is a prime example of two things; you don’t need to spend a hundred(s) for a really good bottle of wine and their is absolutely no substitution for appropriate cellaring time.

The nose reveals; steeped, dark fruit wading in fruits of ripe/ruby; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, baked, black plum & strawberries, hovering raspberries with pomegranate, light liqueur notes. Mild alcohol vapors, black licorice, sweet tarriness, mixed dark fruit cola/licorice, mid, dark spices, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, saddle-wood, graphite, dark rich souls, forest floor with dry leaves, dry crushed rocks, dry twigs, tree sap, mint/eucalyptus, soft leather, dry tobacco with ruby, brilliant, fresh & withering, candied; dark, red, purple florals with a field of violets.

The body is, rich, ruby and creamy with fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, baked, black plum & strawberries, hovering raspberries with pomegranate that shows light liqueur notes. Mild alcohol vapors, black licorice, dark, steeped, black , assorted fruit teas, sweet tarriness, mixed dark fruit cola/licorice, mid, dark spices, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla, caramel, mocha, saddle-wood, graphite, savory grilled meats, dark rich souls, forest floor with dry leaves, moist clay & top soil, dry crushed rocks, dry twigs, tree sap, mint/eucalyptus, hints of Provence herbs, soft leather, dry tobacco with ruby, brilliant, fresh & withering, candied; dark, red, purple florals with a field of violets. The acidy is like a cool waterfall on a warm day. The beautiful, elegant, extremely well knitted balance is in the realm of “forget about it”. Sometimes the right wine, when it’s right, moves the entire body. Such as it is tonight.

The tension, structure, length and balance have just hit their high point and will remain there for another five years into a slow decline over the next 10-15 years, stored impeccably.

This might be the best Napa Heitz I’ve bought & stored. It’s stunning and way over delivering its price point. One complex wine!!!

Photos of; Heitz Winery, tasting bar, tasting room garden patio and the Hwy 29 signage for the tasting room with the valley floor vines that surround their tasting room. — 6 years ago