Day 2 after having a small glass day 1 and thinking really needs time. Family over and drank after two easy Napa cabs. Rhubarb, strawberries, cherry, tobacco, flint earth, chocolate dusted raisins, and moist earth. Others reacted negatively to this on first taste but came around after half a glass. I loved this from go today. Really different style. Guessing it will be a great 25 year wine. — 16 days ago
Gigi, Paris. AMJK — 9 days ago
Vintage 2015 | deep dark colour, more red than brown rim, strict in smell: cedar, vanilla, flint, tertiary notes, while still fruity in taste, some tannins, so can still improve. A real classic: refined Margaux elegance. Paired with tenderloin steak Cantonese style with garlic and paksoi, one of my favorites to pair excellent wine with. — 2 days ago
2022 vintage. Medium heavy body with a feminine-styled effort so plenty of smoke, cocoa powder and blueberry. Tannins not even hanging out on the corner and no visible storefront or corresponding street truck. Waay too young but still waay too delish at this point. 67% Cab, 30% Merlot, 3% (combined) CF and PV. 03.12.25. — 6 days ago
Flight 4 , wine 2. This was quite a difficult wine to read at first , again quite closed , mineral and tobacco edged . Dark fruits. On the palate rounder than expected , good richness and balance , dark cherry , blackberry fruit . Good rounded tannin and ok length . Quite obviously Bordeaux in the context of this tasting , though I had this as the Lynch Bages 1982 when it was actually the Brane Cantenac 1986 …..I give up ! 90
This was an interesting , though challenging tasting , all served blind in flights of 2 wines , 3 flights of 1 Napa and 1 Bordeaux and 1 of 2 Bordeaux; served in a random sequence . The fact that at least a couple of wines were not pristine didn’t help , though if you will taste 8 , 40 year old wines that is probably par for the course . I found it relatively easy to spot whether what was in the glass was Napa or Bordeaux but didn’t actually get a single wine completely correct ! Probably overall the winner of the tasting was Napa (won the 3 rounds 2-1) as they had more suave polished , rounded personalities. Many put the wines the wrong way round , imagining that Napa was Bordeaux etc. The 1982s in general showed poorly too much funk and brett on the Lynch and Talbot but the Duhart showed surprisingly well . The 86s both showed pretty well and equalled the Dominus (even though I didn’t think we had a pristine bottle) . The Montelena was enjoyable , though was the first to oxidise whilst the Inglenook was the biggest positive surprise , still drinking surprisingly well at 47 . — 25 days ago
2022 vintage. First time seeing/tasting the 2nd label of Château Lascombes. Flips the main label blend of approx 70% Cab/30% Merlot to 70% Merlot/30% Cab. Turnabout is fair play-and delicious. Just enough grip and grab tannins along with slip and slab fruit punch. $25.10 a bottle resto cost. Send a case and let’s see where it leads. O3.12.25. — 6 days ago
2000 vintage. Last tasted 02.09.24 (9.5) and 12.02.22 (9.6). Decent fill, solid cork. Decanted and tasted after 5 minutes. High decant had the appropriately aged, BDX funk in the atmosphere where multiple guests could smell it. Compacted, light body. Explosively complex flavors and notes. This is at the top of the bell curve currently. Possibly another 4-5 years in these lands. Yet again, need to pick up more. The very definition of finesse. 03.08.25. — 9 days ago
Tom Garland
1.5 hour decant(decent chunky/fine sediment). A remarkable purplish magenta color. On the nose: very aeromatic notes of black & red berries, truffles, loamy soil, worn leather, tobacco leaf, floral, herbaceous. Taste: soft, elegant, balanced, layered mouthfeel wine with blackberry, dark plum, leather, crushed granite, dried herbs, and a spiced cedar long finish with some dusty tannins. YUM! At the start of its drinking window with 20-30 years to go, so no rush. — 3 days ago