Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1999 vintage. Nice fill. Used a Durand. Solid cork with approx 50% saturation. Decanted and tasted after two hours. That decided Lynch-Bages medium heavy bod. Has dropped some, not all, of the overt primary fruit load. Pleasant spices and feminine characteristics easily noted and cataloged. Pretty harmonious now tho with a little chunkiness/tannic blessing as more of a fleeting kiss vs a big hug. Could easily go another decade in this ensemble. 6.14.26. — 15 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1990 vintage. Last tasted 10.26.24 (9.3). Bottom neck fill. Opened with a Durand and decanted. Cork about 70% saturated. Throwing a mix of lentil-sized chunky and powdery sediment. Surprisingly dark color. Nose initially had the funk while decanting. Tasting 30 minutes after the open, the funk had blown off. Light body. Coffee grounds and tobacco throughout. Some damp and decaying forest floor matter/earth (but not mud) notes along with a cedilla of lean, dark cherry. Based on this specimen, feel this can hold tight in this phase for another 3-4 years. 2.27.26 — 4 months ago

Nate Wall

Winemaker at Troon Vineyard

8.9

Excellent texture, seemed a bit more oxidized than I would have thought given the age - not flawed in any way, just unexpected. — 6 months ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.6

Drinking as well as it did 2 years ago, another soft cork that needed the Durand to open. But 30 minutes of air to blow off 23 years. After that it was fantastic — 8 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

2005 vintage. Last tasted 11.23.23 (9.4), 11.15.19 (9.4), 06.01.17 (9.5) Last bottle. Respectable, low neck fill. Used a Durand and excellent cork. Decanted with sticky (to the bottle) sediment and not that much floating loose to navigate. Tasted after 30 minutes. Those inimitable, sexy Cos stylings. Medium/medium heavy (still!?) bod. Richness. Ample fruit. Slight amount of aged George Clinton/Bootsy funk. Highly restrained tannins. Woah. This. Did. Not. Suck. Time to reorder. 9.13.25. — 10 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1998 vintage. Cork a little dry near the bottom so called out the Durand for a rescue. Less meniscus than expected. Dusty, earthy nose. Medium body. Heaps of allspice/sandalwood, prunes and baking chocolate hovering about in the medicinal/oily nose and (mostly) in the flavor profile. Ridiculously reminiscent of an aged (‘80’s-‘90’s) Branaire-Ducru St. Julien BDX. So much so that, if blind tasting, that is the guess. This is gliding along. No highs or lows to navigate currently. Not a showstopper by any means but one helluva ringer in a blind tasting. Some bretty influences here and there but nothing warranting a red card/dq. Picked up slightly more body and a noticeable cinnamon/clove note on the finish after being open for an hour. Also...some muddiness along with a sudden frontal-palate richness (at the 1.5 hours open mark) reminiscent of Petit Verdot involvement/influence. WTF?!?! Bring it! 4.21.24. — 2 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1978 vintage. Great fill with a fully saturated cork. Used a Durand to remove and cork held up but big cork splinters shedding upon removal. Decanted and tasted over the course of an hour. Super silky, not chunky, sed. Light-medium body. Had to coax the nose out a little but revealed cassis, tobacco, dark plum, sandalwood and cherry pits. All these plus a slight, beef broth touch in the flavors. Not improving but can sustain another half-decade in this incarnation. Gorgeous, old BDX. Drink now till 2029. 12.8.23. — 3 years ago

romo

9.1

Approachable in a non-Cornas way. -Deans house — 2 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

1990 vintage. Last tasted 1.29.25 (9.5). Same conditions as then. Reconditioned/Château refurbed bottle with high fill and newish cork (only 20% saturated). That nose tho…H-B fer sure. Opened with a Durand. Not decanted. Tasted after 30 minutes, 1.25 hours and 2.5 hours. Phenomnomenal. Everything. Everything. In its right place. In its right place. A refurbished bottle from Le Château from this vintage in a 750ml format…another decade at this high. For mere mortal bottles, likely half that. 4.17.26. — 2 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2001 vintage. Sweet fill. Cork perfect (used a Durand) but more than a bit underwaxed so it was a positively Italian experience during the opening process. I trust those in the know completely understand what the hell imma talking about. Workout! Cork out in one piece and expected amount of sed. Medium body with overtures towards more. Blueberry, tobacco, plum and gravelly, wet earth impressions leading the charge throughout. Grippy tannins providing visible and raised guardrails during. A little editorial...the 2001's were generally emasculated/minimized after the supposed "vintage of the (which one?) century" in 2000. The 2000's have largely failed to deliver the anticipated goods whereas the "meh" 2001's (at vastly reduced prices from the 2000's) are rocking don't bother knocking now. Completely like the guy or girl that was always cute but totally caught fire after high school. A late(r) bloomer and completely underrated. This wine has an easy 20-spot of top-notch drinking ahead. 1.24.26. — 5 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1989 vintage. From a 375ml. Opened not decanted. Great top shoulder fill. Used a Durand. Pristine cork. Throwing slightly less sed than anticipated. Dusty and earthy nose. Tasted 30 minutes and 1 hour after opening. Light-medium body throughout. Front palate a bit thin and watery but back end had some gamey/meaty notes intertwined with dirt clods. Despite the descriptors, maintained elegance for the duration. Seems to be holding the line here for a spell in the 375ml format. 10.17.25. — 8 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

1999 vintage. This review a bit of a mixed bag. “Inherited” this bottle and had been looking sideways at it for the better part of three years. Fill decent but both the front and back labels pretty trashed. The foil up top a tad crimped in places. Ugly duckling syndrome. See a ton of this at work and occasionally able to resuscitate what appears to be an abused bottle. Cut off the foil and there was some seepage at the top trapped between the cork and the foil. Not good. Extracted the cork in three passes (3!!!) with the Durand. Cork was half saturated and dunzo. Did not decant. Color was on point at least. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. 14.1% ABV. Less than expected sed. Poured out a fifth of a glass and let sit for 2-3 mins. Nose was big white pepper, roasted cashews and white sage…three notes that I don’t come across often over the years with Napa cabbage and flavors were hidden beneath for a spell. Gave it 15 minutes. That initial nose dissipated and a bit of magic unfolded. Light-medium body, cocoa powder, graphite, feminine, sumptuous milk chocolate, a little sweaty, dried legumes, spearmint, supremely resolved tannins. Echoes of Haut-Brion/La Mission Haut-Brion. This old-school, Stags Leap District Napa cab came through in the clutch. Seemed to gather strength the longer it was open. Given that this particular bottle was not exactly mint, more than a bit curious as to how a decently stored example of this wine would perform. Van the Man was right. Wild night is calling. Come on out and dance. 05.16.25. @Shay A — a year ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

1982 vintage. Great, upper shoulder fill. Long, aging cork fully saturated but removed with a Durand. Splintered a little upon removal. Decanted and threw less sed than expected. Decaying leather, cedar, hot gravel and lightly roasted button mushrooms in the nose. Light-medium/medium body. All this + some undying cherry and plum flavors mixed in amongst remaining tannins. More thrust and fruit than anticipated with expected structure firmly in place. Really beautiful specimen. Based on this bottle, can hold steady without dropoff for another 4-5 years. 1.12.24. — 2 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1982 vintage. Last tasted 6.1.24 (9.4) and nearly 9 years ago (9.0). Courtesy of Monsieur @Bill Bender. Sweet fill. Opened with a Durand. Cork 95% saturated. A little reticent in the early going and decanted a third of the bottle to see if that would pull the juice out of a sullen funk. It did, so the remainder got decanted whilst throwing much less sed than expected. Medium body still. Slightly brickish and plenty fleshy with well-integrated complexity. Very pleasant and lingering finish. A great bottle with more than could reasonably be expected at this juncture. Thank you, Bill! 4.24.26. — 2 months ago

with Bill

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2005 vintage. Nice fill. Opened with a Durand. Perfect cork. Decanted and tasted after one hour and 2 hours. Respectable amount of sed. Barely medium body. Magical. That twenty-year spell that Spring Mountain casts found this casually tossing out espresso crema, grilled dark plum, cassis and sandalwood. Can't see this improving but can it hold steady for a gauntlet of 7-10 years? Hell yes. Contribution to the FLB (Friday Lunch Bunch). 2.13.26. — 5 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

1990 vintage. Top shoulder fill. Nearly completely saturated cork. Durand used to open. Not decanted. Tasted 2 hours after opening. Light-medium body. WOTD just barely over the 1990 Château Margaux. More of a LMHB than Margaux fan so we'll call it a draw. Beautiful star anise nose and flavor component evident. Based on this sample, this could easily roll another 5-6 years before downshifting. 11.21.25. — 7 months ago

Joe DAscoli

9.2

Good but not great. Soft cork that fell apart and required the Durand. Not a good start. Never really shined the way this vineyard should. — 2 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Hints of Maple Syrup in the nose.

This is still very fresh. Ripe, juicy; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, dark cherries, black plum pudding, strawberries, notes of blue fruits, dark spice, black licorice, mid berry cola, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanillin, anise, cedar to sandalwood, dry herbs, mint/eucalyptus, used leather, dry, crushed, rock powder, notes of maple syrup, caramel, dark, red withering rose petals with violets, waterfall acidity and an elegant, balanced, softly tensioned, well knitted, smartly polished finish that lasts minutes.

Color is still dark. Cork came out whole with a Durand but was completely soaked.

What a treat to drink well stored old Napa Cabernet. Will hold another 3-5 years.

Bottle semi-recently acquired from the property via a Somm buddy. — 2 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2004 vintage. Decanted and tasted after two hours. Used a Durand but cork was great. Top-notch fill. Super chunky sed..like vintage port. Nose good, not great, but biggie structure and balance all there. Medium body. Not a personal fave but may hafta pick up a few more of these for those inclined to partake. There will be 2004 Insignia going steady for quite some time. 12.22.23. — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

This bottle of 1976 Chateau Lafite Rothschild was cellared in a wine cave part of its life and a modern cellar the more recent part of its life. The fill for this bottle was mid-shoulder and the label had been tattered from back when it was in the cave. Using a Durand, I was able to pull the cork intact and it was saturated but seemed to have done its job. The color was good and the wine was sound; in fact, it was very much alive and full of character! Opened about four hours prior to service and decanted for sediment (of which there was plenty). No formal notes. At this stage in its life, the 1976 Lafite pours a garnet color with an orange rim. The nose is straight up old-money. Classy aromas of desiccated red cherries & red currants, dried tobacco leaf, graphite, a mix of organic and inorganic earth, leather and dried baking spices. On the palate, the structure was still quite palpable with tannins till present and acid doing its job with aplomb. Confirming the notes on the nose. The finish is long and graceful with some nice stoney minerals. Drink now but well cellared examples could hold longer if you wanted…but if you’re even thinking about it, just open it! — 3 years ago