David Shaw

9.4

Revisiting the vintage — a month ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.2

La Sirène de Giscours – Margaux 2015
Margaux, Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷

Overview
Second label of the prestigious 3rd Growth Château Giscours, this cuvée shows how even secondary bottlings from classified estates can age with grace. The 2015 blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, delivering structure, elegance, and finesse in perfect harmony.

Aromas & Flavors
Vivid layers of ripe blackcurrant, raspberry, and plum glide alongside subtle cedar, tobacco, and floral spice. Delicate hints of earth and minerality frame the fruit beautifully.

Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied with polished tannins, silky texture, and a seamless balance between freshness and maturity. The finish is long, refined, and quietly powerful.

Food Pairing
Versatile with roast lamb, duck breast, or aged Comté. It also complements charcuterie or hard cheeses in a more casual setting.

Verdict
An elegant Margaux that proves second labels are no afterthought. Still very much alive, refined, and balanced—an absolute pleasure to drink.

🍷 Personal Pick Highlight
This wine reinforces my belief that second labels can often surprise and delight. The finesse and silkiness here rival many first labels—proof that patience rewards and that Margaux elegance never fails. — 10 months ago

Anastasia B

9.3

Beautiful. From legendary Thierry Germain. Ungrafted rootstocks planted on sandy topsoil. 12,5% abv. Dense yet weightless. Like ballerina performing a physically demanding solo yet evoking a sense of lightness and grace on the edge of your tongue. High acidity, soft chalky-type (drying) tannins, but juicy. — 2 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

9.0

Lovely color. Lighter and lithesome. Woodsy scent with an incense and cedar vibe with elderberries. Flavors are elegant and classy. Bright. Has an old school medicine tonic vibe. — 4 years ago

Rachel Mulholland

10

Aerate this vintage and enjoy! The taste is silky, jammy, velvety and delicious from start to finish. This pairs well with a spicy / salty charcuterie board, including fruit. Love. — 5 years ago

Fredrik Finn

9.4

2015 Il Carnasciale is embracing the warm vintage with grace; Showing off with a deep but vibrant fruit that is eating up the expensive cooperage over its telltale gravelly minerality. An impeccable palate, sublime yet intense, powdery tannins and a pulsing fatigue with a nervy edge throughout a long and developing finish. Classy!
Have a taste and you’ll catch yourself jiggling over its profoundness. — 7 years ago

Lee Hill

8.9

Tannins, oak, and a boatload of fruit. Fun but not a lot of grace — 8 years ago

David Shaw

9.1

Dark ruby red, excellent clarity. Raspberry with a hint of sandalwood in nose, raspberry, rhubarb, white pepper and black tea in mouth. Tart — 7 months ago

David Shaw

9.2

New vintage! Pale yellow, excellent clarity. Citrus, thyme and black pepper notes in nose. High acid, good body, lots of skin tannins given blanc de noir style of 100% Cabernet Franc. Flavor descriptors of lime peel, lime, thyme and black pepper apply. Mineral finish — a year ago

Gene Bodemer

9.2

It's very deep and dense in color and has beautiful aromatics. Shows power and grace at the same time. Very Margaux like. It needs another five years at a minimum.. Could go another ten easily. — 2 years ago

Daniel veit

9.3

Power and grace all in one sip. — 2 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.9

The 2019 Ausone was picked September 20-27 for the Merlot and October 3, 5 and 7 for the Cabernet Franc, then matured for 20 months in new French oak with light toasting. This is very refined and focused on the nose, less opulent compared to recent vintages, and very sophisticated, with hints of Montecristo cigar interwoven through the red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine but quite firm tannins that frame the lightly spiced black fruit. Touches of pencil lead and white pepper appear toward the prolonged finish. This very composed Ausone might actually drink earlier than other vintages but unequivocally has the substance to age with grace in bottle. There is an abiding sense of completeness here. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2022)
— 4 years ago

David Shaw

9.0

Revisiting this before winter sets in... — 6 years ago

Riccardo L.

9.1

Body and grace. Beauty and beast? — 7 years ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Chappellet – Cabernet Franc – 2022
Napa Valley AVA · Pritchard Hill · California, USA 🇺🇸

Overview
A refined Bordeaux-inspired blend anchored by 76% Cabernet Franc, supported by 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot. The vines, planted in 1989, thrive in the volcanic soils of Pritchard Hill, yielding concentrated fruit with remarkable aromatic lift. Aged 22 months in French oak (60% new), this wine shows both the elegance and mountain intensity that define Chappellet’s signature reds.

Aromas & Flavors
Beautifully expressive with cedar, graphite, sage, red currant, rose petal and a hint of sandalwood. As it opens, deeper tones of black cherry, anise, white pepper and subtle earthiness reveal themselves with grace.

Mouthfeel
Velvety and layered, with seamless tannins and a poised structure. The palate shows depth without heaviness, leading to a long, complex finish that carries dark fruit, spice and a gentle mineral echo.

Food Pairings
Perfect with herb-roasted poultry, pork tenderloin, mushroom dishes, grilled vegetables or aged semi-firm cheeses. Anything savory or herb-accented will meet this wine beautifully.

Verdict
Elegant, balanced and quietly powerful. This Cabernet Franc stands as one of Napa’s finest expressions of the grape, capturing both sophistication and mountain character.

Did You Know?
Cabernet Franc is one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon (crossed with Sauvignon Blanc), giving this wine a noble lineage and distinct personality on Pritchard Hill.

🍷 Personal Pick Highlight
A wine I reach for when I want tradition, depth and grace in one glass. This is the “big papa” of Cabernets, and sometimes the best pairing truly is myself. — 8 months ago

David Shaw

9.0

Copeland Vineyard Rattlesnake Hills Cabernet Franc Rosé. Light pink, excellent clarity. Light aromas of cherry and herb. Back label suggests flavors of “cherry, pink grapefruit and tarragon”; I’d say that’s close but not quite right on the herbal note. Dry, high acid, refreshing and elegant. — 2 years ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.4

2015 vintage. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Excellent wine from a Cru Classé that remains very much under the radar and, therefore, the prices are very reasonable for the quality. This is also the smallest Margaux Cru Classé with 16 hectares of vines. Tasted at the Château alongside the 2017. While the 2017 is a very good Classic Margaux, it doesn't have the concentration and depth of the 2015, the first produced in the new winemaking facilities. It combines grace and power with impeccable balance and a very long finish. Also tasted the first vintage of an attractive new white wine ( 2022 vintage), produced at sister estate Château Labégorce, an intriguing blend from Chardonnay, Albariño and Petit Manseng (label is not finished yet). — 3 years ago

Jason Sliwa

9.2

Rich and elegant. Such a nice find in an excellent wine list. — 4 years ago

MaJ CappS

9.0

This has such a aromatic nose of alpine strawberry pie..

Medium to heavier bodied this mostly Cab Franc shines with boysenberry, the slightest hint of vanilla, herbs of thyme, saffron. Little acidity, and the tannins have faded as well. A very clean wine, and a winery worth stocking.
Another winner from Washington state. — 6 years ago

Cody Short

9.4

Loving the 2010's in Napa! Decanted 5hrs and just a beautiful wine with power and grace. Long life ahead — 9 years ago