France

Louis Roederer

Cristal Brut Champagne Chardonnay Pinot Noir Blend

Good birthday dinner with outstanding wines. 2014 Cristal, 2013 marcassin chardonay, cos d’estournel 1982, figeac 1990, 2019 nuits St. George’s clos de la marechale mugnier. Cos unfortunately corked. — 9 days ago

Billy, Jan and 1 other liked this

Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2015

We visited there in the early summer of 2015 and now we got to try the fruits of their labor in the vineyard we witnessed at that time. A bio-dynamic vineyard with horse and plow 😁. Their wines are fantastic. This wine was richer in fruit and more expressive than perhaps characteristic for the Pauillac region. But the layers of earth infused flavors and the most subtle hint of ‘barnyard’ made it a sensation. Topped off with a grippy finish keeping the flavors lingering in your throat. www.spokenwines.com. — 4 days ago

Tammy de Weerd
with Tammy
Peter, Ted and 11 others liked this

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

Still shows some lovely primary redfruits, cassis, currants, quite tannic as well (characteristic of the 1986s I cellared), long, lingering finish, should show even better after my wife’s grilled lamb and my grilled steak come off the grill. I will say I was nervous when the final 1/8-inch of the cork severed off my old Ah-So cork puller, but not a problem!

Interesting sidebar — I purchased this upon arrival in 1989 at K&L in SF — by that time there were widespread reports of bad corks in Ducru from (at least) 1985 and 1986, so when I visited the shop I explained the situation and committed to purchasing 6 bottles, but only if I knew this batch didn’t have the cork problems — so, I said I’d pay for another bottle and we could open it together in the shop, I’d pay and also buy the other 6 bottles if it was NOT corked, and said if it was corked, then they’d pay for the opened bottle and I wouldn’t take the 6 other bottles — they agreed, we mutually tried the bottle then and there, no cork taint so I paid for 7 bottles total.

Telling the story in part because K&L has always been, IMHO, one of the classiest wine shops in the U.S., and they deserve credit agreeing to my deal (BTW, Wine Advocate had written about the cork taint issue within the preceding 3-6 months, so they were aware of the potential for it) — anyway, they’ve gotten a lot more of my business in the past 35+ years since!!
— 9 days ago

Jim Powers
with Jim
Severn, Bob and 12 others liked this
David T

David T Influencer Badge

K&L is the gold standard Wine Merchant example for the rest of the country!
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@David T, I cannot disagree!!
Jay Kline

Jay Kline Influencer Badge Premium Badge

@Doug Powers great story. Thanks for sharing!

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

1986 vintage. Ripped through six bottles (one corked) for a 1986 BDX dinner @ Mister A's-San Diego. All bottles appropriately aged fill and decent+ corks. Double decanted and tasted over the course of 5 hours. Mix of powdery and stubborn (non-chunky) sed amongst the 6 bottles. Light-medium body throughout. Somewhat muted experience overall. None of the bottles (with variation) shone/sung. Wine is firmly on the downside of the bell curve with best days behind it (based on the 5 + corked bottle examples). There was none of the usual P-L flavor markers but the body hung in there. Pains me to say this but drink up now unless you've got a larger format bottle. Maggie (+) would probably yield a higher score. 3.14.24. — 4 days ago

Paul, Lyle and 6 others liked this
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

Oh 😥. Sounds like a bust.
David T

David T Influencer Badge

While I respect, own many vintage from them, as well as, one of my favorite non 1st growth producers and love the style of 80’s Bordeaux (82, 86, 89) I don’t believe this vintage from them ever lived up to expectation or critics reviews.
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

@David T To be fair, had a few examples of this particular wine and vintage that ticked off the 9.6 mark for me. Don’t rate anything above a 9.7. When it was at the top of the bell curve and just on either side of that summit, it didn’t suck. Life rolls on.

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

2010 vintage. Classic Pauillac with ripe cassis, lead pencil, and cedar wood. Still very young, but a class act. Concentrated, profound, and impeccably balanced, with layers of black fruit, a serious structure of haute couture tannins and balancing acidity. Long, mineral finish. Impressive, but nowhere near its peak. — 8 days ago

Ira, Peter and 5 others liked this

Domaine Auguste Clape

Cornas Syrah 1997

As Noël Verset started to divest in his vines, there were several producers who came away with some real treasures. The most famous was Franck Balthazar who was able to purchase Verset’s prized holdings in Chaillots. Perhaps less known is Auguste Clape also purchased some ex-Verset vines in the Sabarotte lieu-dit. The 1997 Clape pours a much deeper color, nearly opaque purple. Dense brambles with some black licorice, lavender pastilles and minerals. Somewhat reticent even at 25+ years old. The venison, umami bomb, potato and pearl onion helped coax this Clape from slumber though. Drinking well now but easily has the stuffing to see 2037 and possibly beyond. — 2 days ago

Lyle, Severn and 6 others liked this

Dom Pérignon

Brut Champagne Blend 1996

Gentle wild strawberry and limestone. Really delicate and fragrant and delicious. So pretty and poised. I’d guess this is at peak — 6 days ago

BOT Matt LichtenbergPaul Woolls
with BOT, Matt and 1 other
Tom, Jan and 11 others liked this

Krug

Brut Champagne Blend 1996

warm hints of apricot, lovely tension and depth. Mature now. Very good — 6 days ago

BOT Matt LichtenbergPaul Woolls
with BOT, Matt and 1 other
Tom, Jan and 7 others liked this

Château d'Yquem

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2005

What a special treat!!! So enthralled by the moment that I forgot to take a photo with the dessert last night. 😜 This wine was stunning! Layered, complex, balanced. Pronounced and concentrated notes of dried apricot, peach preserves, marmalade, orange zest, Meyer lemon peel, citrus blossom, gardenia, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron, lavender honey, and beeswax. It coated the palate with a lasting finish. Again, such an absolute treat!! — 9 days ago

Deked1 J GreenePaul K
with Deked1, J and 1 other
Deked1, Vin and 25 others liked this
James K

James K

So awesome! MN’s wine A-team.
Paul K

Paul K

@James K looking forward to getting us all together!
9.8
Vanessa

Vanessa

@James K @Paul K We would love that! 🥂🥂

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

David T
9.4

Leoville Barton is one of my favorite St. Julien producers and still one of the best values upon release of Left Bank Bordeaux’s. If my memory is correct, I think this was WS’s wine of the year a few years ago.

I haven’t had this since the release at UGC. It was so fresh then. It has definitely put on weight and showing some nice evolution. But, Anthony made his wines for the ages. This will rise 2-3 points with 20 years bottle age.

It is round and lush. Blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, purple fruits, blueberries, some creamy raspberries & dark cherries. Anise, light graphite, tobacco ash, leather, dark, rich earth with dry leaves, dry river stone, limestone marl, dark spice, dry herbaceous notes, hints of black olive, black licorice, dry stems, mix of dry & candied dark flowers, very nice round acidity and a well; balanced, structured, tensioned and polished finish that last minutes.

Would open this in 2032 and beyond.
— 10 days ago

Shay, Sage and 16 others liked this