David White

9.3

Bordeaux blend 70% Cab Sauvignon 15% Cab Franc and 15% Merlot reaching it’s optimum range nice nose of red fruits and integrated tannins on palate. Good structure and acidity, nicely balanced with long finish. — 8 days ago

"Odedi"

9.5

Dark ruby/ inky in color with a short reddish rim. Not showing age at all.

Strong nose of black currant, blackberries, black plums, black cherries, cedar, vanilla, licorice, tobacco, light earth, herbs, mediterranean spices, black tea and peppercorn.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with black currants, black plums, blackberries, light cedar, earth, cherries, light vegetables, tobacco leaf, black tea, herbs, light vanilla, mediterranean spices and dark chocolates.

Long finish with round tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. Elegant and nicely balanced with great complexity.

Needs 2 hours in the decanter to open up properly, so be patient. Will continue to age nicely in the next 15 years.

This 17 year old Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley is starting to drink at its peak, although I'm drinking out of a Magnum.

Showing a beautiful nose with lots of complexity. Rich and extracted, elegant and powerful.

Robert Parker 97 points. Wine Enthusiasts 96 points. Wine Spectator 91 points.

Good by itself as a sipping wine, and will also pair nicely with a big piece of steak.

A blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. Aged for 24 months in all new French oak barrels.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

95 points.

$450 (Magnum). — 7 days ago

David Koenen

9.2

Lavender, chalk, peppery notes, wet earth, and a hint of black fruit on the nose. Sun-dried tomatoes; a full-bodied and concentrated style, yet somewhat closed—meaning it doesn’t quite reveal the whole story. Time will tell and I’m guessing it’s going to be a intriguing story. 92+ — a day ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.4

Excellent follow up to the classic 2016 Vintage. Blend of Mourvèdre (30%), Grenache (30%), Syrah (15%), Counoise (10%) and the balance (15%) made up of other approved CDP varietals led by Vaccarese’. Aromas of red and black fruit, garrigue, leather and earth. Flavors of black raspberries, currants and cherries, Asian spices, smoked meat and truffles. Long and lingering (slightly spicy) finish and beautiful balance. Full bodied and dense, but not overpowering. Fine grained tannins and amazing complexity. Great now, but there is another decade (or so) of aging potential. Just incredible. — a month ago

Nathan Renfro

9.7

Surprised ratings are low on this. I found it absolutely brilliant. Super smooth and great mouthfeel. Silky tannins, wonderfully balanced, ripe black fruit. — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.6

At this point, with this group, a Legends dinner simply wouldn’t be appropriate without at least one bottle of Chave Hermitage.

Opened about 90min prior to service; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1994 Hermitage pours a slightly hazy garnet with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with perfumed notes of dried brambles, dried blueberry, dried purple flowers, black olive, mushroom, espresso, leather, stony earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and slightly sanguine. Delicious with the 5 Spice Cured Duck prepared with marinated Bing cherries, crispy shallot and Olathe corn polenta. It was such a pleasure to taste the ‘94 Chave next to the ‘85 Gentaz. Two Northern Rhône Legends working with their respective terroirs. Where the Gentaz was all about the aromatics of Côte Rôtie, the Chave was brought more of the power from the Hill of Hermitage. Drink now through 2056. — 3 months ago

Chris Coulombe

9.4

Probably the best Zinfandel I have ever had. Now like a cab. Great aroma, flavor, balance. We had it at the CIA cooking class — 13 days ago

Paul J

9.4

Always great! Medium gold color. Still young. More reserved fruit than other vintages. Well balanced and just my style. — a month ago

with Brooke

David Koenen

9.6

Savory meat juices, lavender, black olives, and fresh, vibrant acidity that underscores the rich, ripe, and velvety character of this wine. It possesses a sandy, almost granular texture—most noticeable on the finish—and is elegant, long, and rounded. Truly magnificent. — a day ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

This needed lots of air showing mostly black fruits, menthol, leather, graphite, earth, sweet spice & wet tobacco. Although enjoyable now this will continue to develop for many years — a month ago

Andy Krell

9.6

Tastes of plums, dark cherry and rick dark fruits. Love it. Will buy again — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Presented double-blind at dinner. The wine pours a deep garnet with a near opaque core and a slightly orange rim with considerable variation; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of ripe and desiccated fruit: black currants, blackberries, plum, pipe tobacco, capsicum, pencil shavings, a touch leather, organic earth and a mix of dried herbs and some fine warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Really tasty stuff.

Initial conclusions: this is an old wine, likely 30-40 years old. That being said, it’s still very distinguishable as it’s showing varietal characteristics. This could be Cabernet Sauvignon (or a blend thereof), Cabernet Franc (or a blend thereof), or Merlot (or a blend thereof). I can see this being Napa because the fruit is still showing some generosity. But there’s a lot of non-fruits there too. Regardless, this was giving Left Bank vibes so I could also see this being Bordeaux from a great vintage like 1982. And that’s my call, Cabernet Sauvignon-blend from France, Bordeaux, Saint-Estèphe, from a classified growth like Calon-Ségur. Shucks. But I’m not mad about my choice! Old Opus One’s are tricky to differentiate. Drinking very well right now but this will live well past 2035. — 2 months ago

Barny

9.4

Wine 1500 🙈 ; opened for World Cup starting 2026 Mexico and South Africa; The cork popped off…; but still managed to get the fine juice out 😉; Vintage 2006, just like the „Summer Fairy Tale“ of the World Cup in Germany; and the wine leaves you wanting more „mehr Lust“, beautifully aged, fine fruit 😋 Wishing everyone a wonderful and peaceful World Cup — 5 months ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.0

Primarily Chenin Blanc with small amounts of Semillon and Grenache Blanc blended in. Light golden color. Expensive aromas of stone fruit, white flowers, flint and honey. Flavors of cooked peaches, ripe apples, tangerine and a subtle mineral backbone. A touch of honey on the long and lingering finish. Slightly creamy/silky texture. (Lees aging?) Vibrant and zesty acidity. Rich and round with a great mouthfeel. Consistently solid vintage after vintage. Appreciate you adding this one to the tasting lineup, Chris B. I need to drink more Chenin. — a month ago

Rick Phillips

9.7

Just peaking in my estimation. May sill have a couple or three years before its decline starts. Opened and sat in the bottle for 2 hours. Poured a glass which sat another hour. Bold forward fruits. Blackberry, Plums, Black Cherry, hints of spice herbs that quickly fade into a smooth, luxurious taste of velvety tannins. Backend is just as the Front, Luxurious Bold Fruit but just a touch of old earth, lite tobacco and chocolate/cherry. — 13 days ago

with Letha

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

My last of three.

The 05 vintage is basically perfect fruit etc…

This started a bit slow from an hour decant. It really pick up steam w/ the Waygu Ribcap.

The Bordeaux elegance & earth profound. The fruits are floral-laden. Dry blackberries, raspberries, both plum, with skin, dark cherries, dry strawberries, baked rhubarb, hints of raspberry, dark chocolate bar, light caramel, dark spice with a little heat, dry limestone. topsoil, dry riverstone, cigar box with ash, old used leather, dark forest floor with leaves, clove, touch of cinnamon, vanilla and a pinch of nutmeg sweet graphite, used charcoal, black tea, mid berry cola dark wuthering flowers, hence of lavender and old violets, perfect around acidity with a well-balanced structured, evenly tensioned finish that last minutes and lands on dry earth and spice with florals — 15 days ago

David White

9.2

Always consistent and the 2020 Pinotage at 6 years doesn’t disappoint
Deep ruby colour berries in nose and palate with long finish — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Opened about 90min prior to service; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2001 Monte Bello pours a deep garnet with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with lovely notes of black currants, blackberries, plum, tobacco, purple flowers, an intoxicating mix of exotic Eastern spices, some cocoa, inorganic earth and minerals. On the palate? The wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose, the finish is long and impeccably balanced. To my palate, this bottle has reached the age when Monte Bello starts to really become interesting. What a delight! Drink now with some air, through 2051. — 3 months ago

Mary H

9.3

An explosion of apricot flavor. Round and smooth, heavy weight, with sufficient but not overt acidity. A beautiful sweet wine. — 4 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

I’ll just commence this tasting note to see if it is accepted. Dense Ruby in colour. Blackcurrant and tobacco notes - ripe blue and black fruits - luscious texture. Anytime I’ve had a Napa (or Washington State) Cabernet I have always been impressed - probably better than most good Aussie Cabernets (and more expensive). Has a good future but irresistible right now. Have the last bottle in a year or two. Interestingly reverse osmosis was used to reduce the alcohol. Now at 13.9%. — 7 months ago