Chapel Down

Château Sociando-Mallet

Haut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend 2020

2020 vintage. Last tasted 7.7.24 (9.3) and 3.15.24 (9.2). Medium-heavy body. Previously hesitant and reticent tannins beginning to creep into the finish right off the bat. Starts off fairly fruity, then tapers that down a bit at the end. Harmonious and über-pleasant. PNP now, double park it for a ten-spot or investigate somewhere in between. Consider the invitation proffered. Haut-Médoc doesn't move the needle at work (wish it did) but always more than happy to crush this Bordeaux bestie off premise. Consistent catch-all producer with "that's all?!" pricing. 12.03.24. — 21 days ago

Tom, Shay and 14 others liked this
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

Yep know about this producer. Given my limited time/opportunity to drink wine switched quite some time over to drink mostly Pinot for the reds.
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

Although for steak 🥩 Bordeaux Cabs are still the place to go.

Vietti

Castiglione Barolo Nebbiolo 2020

2020 vintage. Light-medium body. Obviously too youthful but dry and dusty today with the promise of better balance and focus down the road. 7.17.24. — 5 months ago

Ted, Bob and 11 others liked this

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1994

This magnum has been laying down for 30 years and is fully mature, medium bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with blackberry, tobacco, earth, coffee and black cherry on the nose. Soft textured, with no tannin remaining, the wine ends with a cherry. An Easter treat. — 9 months ago

Adriano CammarataDaniel CammarataMichael Cammarata
with Adriano, Daniel and 1 other
Tom, Douglas and 6 others liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2018

A. R.
9.1

Just don’t open this yet folks. Took about 4 hours in a decanter to open up at all. Very classic dusty and graphite nose. Powerful red fruit and tannins. Good mid palate. Good acid. Very long finish. QPR not great. Needs min 10 years to calm down. — a month ago

Jean-Philip, Ira and 6 others liked this

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Opened several hours prior and decanted off sediment and a portion of the cork that had broke and crumbled before returning to the bottle. The 2007 “Howell Mountain” pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core and very slight rim variation. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of dark fruit: black currants, blackberries, tobacco, leather, earth and gentle spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and savory. This is firing on all cylinders right now and the structure suggests the power of the 2007 vintage is not slowing down anytime soon. Drink now with a decant and through 2037 with ease. — 3 months ago

Tom, Ming and 12 others liked this
David T

David T Influencer Badge

One of the very best Howell Mtn. producers.

Domaine Chapel

Chiroubles Gamay 2020

Velvety rich fruit. Kiss of Brett. Ooggaa boogggaaa thats outstanding. — 9 months ago

Dylan and Tom liked this

Domaine Chapel

Beaujolais-Villages Gamay

Excellent beaujolais, we loved this one — 2 years ago

Charlie Palmer
with Charlie

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend 1998

Great cork. A bit of a let down after the Fonsalette. — a month ago

Severn liked this

Pio Cesare

Barolo Nebbiolo

Incredible now but could age for decades. Perfect choice to have before we hunker down for Hurricane Milton — 3 months ago

Rio DeArmond
with Rio
Jay liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

1989 vintage. Last tasted 3.28.24, 5.5.23, 4.4.23 and 12.9.22. Solid fill and cork. Recommended decanting but was denied. Mmkay. Eventually got clearance to decant after the bottle had been open for 1.25 hrs. Tasted after being open 5 mins, 45 mins and 2 hrs. Light-medium body throughout. Wine was funky and super tight initially. Had to talk a few of the “participants” down from their “this wine ain’t nothing” perch by telling them it needed at least an hour in the glass (since it hadn’t been decanted at that point). Wine threw expected sed on the decant. Started to loosen up at the 45 mins open stage and fairly exploded at the 2 hrs open (45 mins decanted) point. Dude that didn’t want to decant it gave me a wistful, regretful look at that point (since it blew the other 4 reds at the table away and was getting better) and it took waay too much willpower on my end not to say “Congrats on minimizing a fantastic wine experience, bro.” It wasn’t the best 1989 P-L specimen tasted semi-recently but feel this coulda delved into the 9.4 range without the unnecessary power trip from someone that didn’t even bring this wine to the shindig. Hopefully, this individual learned their lesson. 7.6.24. — 6 months ago

Shay, Ted and 9 others liked this
Norman Gennaro

Norman Gennaro Premium Badge

Can’t imagine declining a decant. Been too lazy to decant and generally regretted.