Galway Pipe

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

Shay A
9.2

Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.

Fun to open birth year wines around your birthday, especially when you can do a Bordeaux and Napa side by side. While not a great vintage, this held up well after a few hours and presented as expected. Clean and zero Brett. Great color! Deep ruby with hardly any bricking. Leather, cassis, vanilla pipe tobacco on the nose. Sporting a good bit of dusty red and black fruits (mostly tart raspberries and blackberries), there was a little savory truffle note mixed with an herbal and mocha finish. Still quite grippy. Pretty.
— 7 months ago

Pinotman, Tom and 18 others liked this

Realm Cellars

The Bard Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2021

Delectable Wine
9.5

The 2021 The Bard is fabulous. Rich, ample and beautifully resonant, the 2021 offers up generous dark red cherry/plum fruit, mocha, new leather, licorice, spice, menthol and pipe tobacco. Full-bodied and voluptuous, the 2021 flaunts tons of flavor intensity and vibrancy. It’s a gorgeous wine, especially considering it is the largest-production wine at Realm. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, December 2023)
— a year ago

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

See previous note from 96 weeks ago where I said that I would drink the last one when my son Hugh was home from NY (born 1987) which came to pass last night. Overall not as impressive as the previous tasting but retains its silky tannin structure. Very dark in colour - opaque. Notes of cassis and pipe tobacco - overall dusty without the depth of fruit of the previous tasting. Just medium bodied. Tasting Book recommend a drinking window till 2035 which I would not agree with. Leads me to think I will be drinking my bottles of 86 Mouton sooner rather than later. — 3 years ago

Ericsson, Andrew and 34 others liked this
Bob McDonald

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@Michael Herzog It’s a good idea to do this I think Michael. We also have a daughter Georgie who was born in 1989. We will be drinking an old Bordeaux from that year sometime in the next few days before they both return to work overseas.
Bill Bender

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@Bob McDonald I have a couple ‘89s. I need to check in on one soon. Hope you are are well Bobby Mac.
Bob McDonald

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@Bill Bender Nice to hear from you Bill. We are well and I hope you are as well. We ended up having an 89 Mouton when the kids were home. Wonderful aromatics. Weather cooling down. Hope it’s warm enough to go for a surf over Easter. Cheers.

Château Cantemerle

Haut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend 2009

Shay A
9.2

92-93 for me.

Consumed half bottle at pop, then corked for another 4hrs before consuming the rest. No change.

What a beautifully elegant and refined ‘09. The highest compliment I can give this is that it was a simplistic joy. Some wines make it easy to get nerdy and command your attention…some wines are underwhelming and not worth your time. This was squarely in the middle. It was a joy to not feel the need to overthink…it’s exactly what it should be. No bricking at almost 15yrs. Decidedly black fruit heavy (black currant, cassis, underripe blackberries) with a sprinkling of raspberries and black cherries. Aromas of sweet pipe tobacco, dark florals. Integrated on the palate with good structure and acidity…not a massive wine, but it put on a bit of weight/length the longer it was open. Still sporting a fair bit of tannin at the finish, but it’s balanced. Drink or hold.
— 8 months ago

Ted, Ira and 22 others liked this
Peter van den Besselaar

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Fine description

La Rioja Alta

Gran Reserva 904 Rioja Tempranillo Graciano 2007

Vintage 2007 | Masterpiece. Mesmerizing smell, complex: a flower garden, scottish pipe tobacco, cinnamon, rinse applesyrup. Refinement and elegance. 😍 — a year ago

Bob, Berry and 21 others liked this

Monte De Oro

Galway Vineyard Temecula Valley Muscat Canelli 2018

Light straw color. Sweet but with a crispness not common of muscat I’ve tasted. Nice but not a palate cleanser — 3 years ago

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2003

2003 vintage. Cedar and cinnamon lead into coffee rye and toasted black sesame, baked blackberry and plums, baked black currant and elderberry. Tertiary leather and pipe tobacco, with a jammy cassis to licorice finality. Silky smooth palate exhibits dark berries and a touch of smoke and graphite swirling around charred oak and cinnamon.


#chateaulynchbages #lynchbages #grandcruclasséde1855 #pauillac
#appellationpauillaccontrôlée
— 8 months ago

Paul, Severn and 8 others liked this

Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2017

Well … shit. With a slight chill this is just sublime. Much better integration of oak than its other Pauillac neighbors. Charcoal ash, subtle pipe tobacco, dark berry compote. Superb. — 8 months ago

Tom, Joe and 7 others liked this

Arnaldo-Caprai

Collepiano Sagrantino di Montefalco 2015

Cherry plum coming in hot. Dense and full bodied, wet earth and sweet pipe tobacco, hint of clove and fennel frond. Years of life ahead. Grippy tannins that beg for a steak. — 2 years ago

Guillermo and Lars liked this

Seavey Vineyard

Caravina Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Opened to celebrate my son’s 15th birthday and poured alongside the 2006 Eagle’s Trace “Latitude 38”. The 2006 Seavey Caravina pours a deep garnet color with a completely opaque core. No obvious signs of age in the glass. Medium+ viscosity. On the nose, medium+ intensity, with strong pipe tobacco notes, currants, black cherry, figs, some green bell pepper and leather. On the palate dark fruits dominate with black cherry, black currants and blackberries. The tobacco and leather is also there accompanied by semi-sweet baking chocolate, baking spice and some anise. The wine finishes dry with medium tannins, most of which are well integrated at this point. Medium+ acid. Medium plus alcohol. The finish is long. Another very lovely vintage of Caravina, aging gracefully.
— 3 years ago

Arden, Brian and 14 others liked this