Fair Hare

Domaine Francois Lamarche

La Grande Rue Grand Cru Monopole Pinot Noir 2012

Another wine from the Burgundy dinner in Sydney 6 weeks ago. I have been figuring out how to get photos from my camera roll to Delectable. It is not always straightforward. Notes to come later. We had 2 vintages of La Grande Rue. This is the 2012. I found my notes. Not a big fruit influence from this cooler year. Initially a fair bit of oak and a fair bit of whole bunch. Medium weight at best. Meadows tells us that the wines ageing potential most closely mirrors that of Romanee Saint Vivant. After La Romanee, La Grande Rue is the smallest of the Vosne Grand Crus. — a month ago

Tom, Tom and 14 others liked this

Mount Veeder Winery

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

Cork was soaked through and spongy on this 22-year old magnum, but the wine was still drinking nicely, with a fair amount of fruit still evident and balanced well with still active acidity, floral notes, secondary earthy notes, and well integrated tannins. — 4 years ago

Milissa liked this

Dominus Estate

Napanook Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2005

Somm David T
9.1

If you didn’t know already, this is the second wine of Dominus.

The nose reveals; sour dark cherries, blackberries, baked strawberries, sugar style plum, black raspberries, sweetened, lean pomegranate, candied raspberries, blue fruits, vanilla, light clove, anise, steeped, black fruit tea, graphite, dark, rich, turned earth,sweet tarriness, limestone, alluvial soils, dry top soil, leathery notes, cedar, moist crushed rocks, dash of dry herbs with withering, dark, red flowers and old violets.

The body is medium full. The tannins nicely resolved but, still show a fair amount of firmness. The structure, tension, length and balance have hit a high point. Sour dark cherries, blackberries, baked strawberries, sugar style plum, black raspberries, sweetened, lean pomegranate, candied raspberries, a fair amount of blue fruits that hide on the nose, vanilla, light clove, dark spice anise, steeped, black fruit tea, graphite, dark, rich, turned earth, dark tar, limestone, alluvial soils, dry top soil, underbrush, tough shoe leather, cedar, moist crushed rocks, gritty volcanic minerals, dry clay, dash of dry herbs with fresh & withering, dark, red flowers and bright violets. The acidity is vibrant and fresh. The long finish starts ripe, bright candied fruits and slides into slightly dominate, dry earthiness and persists several minutes.

I would say this is still a hold for another 3-5 years. The 05 could show another point or two then. Just missing 92 now.

Photos of; Dominus and their estate vines, wine making legend, Christian Moueix, (been blessed to sit with him through a couple of dinners), their barrel room and the reverse view as you approach the winery.
— 6 years ago

Paul, Julie and 21 others liked this
Paul T HB

Paul T HB

Opened too soon,
Ron R

Ron R Influencer Badge Premium Badge

Nice write-up, David.

Beringer Vineyards

Private Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Shay A
9.4

I’ve had a fair amount of either 5-7yr old PR or 20-30yr old PR, but never one in-between. I was pleasantly surprised how enjoyable this was, and seems to be drinking at peak (but certainly not fading, at least this example).

Pop and pour. Deep purple with no fading. Couldn’t believe how Bordeaux-esque this smelled! Wow. Kiss of brett to it, just enough to make it interesting. Brambly black fruits, leather, herbs de Provence, vanilla pipe tobacco too. Supremely well balanced on the palate…baked dark fruits in a dense but tantalizingly elegant profile. Integrated oak in the background. Sweet tannin on the finish. Followed over two days and stayed strong. If I could find more of these at a good price, I’d jump on them.
— 3 years ago

Tom, Peter and 38 others liked this
Ron R

Ron R Influencer Badge Premium Badge

For the quality and consistency at this price, you can’t fail with Beringer. We really should have more in our cellar..

Viña Real (CVNE)

Gran Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2012

2020 fall. Similar to other recent bottles. Really nice wine for a fair price - I’ll be looking for some more — 5 years ago

Tenuta San Guido

Bolgheri Sassicaia Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2016

I’ll bracco. $395 fair deal for wine of this caliber. Full bodied needs time to decant still young but beautiful bouquet, finish and a high quality wine — 6 years ago

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

Artemis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

W Ryan in Albuquerque- such a fun science fair!! — 3 years ago

Daniel P., Tommy and 6 others liked this

Château La Vieille Cure

Fronsac Red Bordeaux Blend 2012

Always a solid bottle but in a double blind and bottle 8 of 8 it was never going to have a fair shake in the line up. Still showed why it’s great QPR. — 4 years ago

Jonathan, Milissa and 4 others liked this

Chateau Montelena

Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

You really can't give this one a very true rating right now. This bottle still has a lot of red fruited baby fat. After about 3 hours of air, it started to settle into more of a black cherry with hints of blackberry kind of a wine. But it definitely was not like that sooner. It is amazing how 15 years seems to be the dividing line and the characteristics change so much. It took a little coaxing. This one has a fair amount of herb influence. Also has some menthol or eucalyptus. Not sure that was there when I tried one of these even earlier. Overall, I make no apologies for opening this one now. It is still a very good wine. But when you know how these drink at 15 to 20 years, you know that it will continue to develop and change so much. Still a lot of stiff oak astringency at the moment. — 5 years ago

Severn, Deborah and 34 others liked this