Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Château Lynch-Bages 2023 – Pauillac, Grand Cru Classé, BDX, France 🇫🇷

Overview
A powerful, structurally driven Pauillac showing serious depth and long-term ambition, built on a 71% Cabernet Sauvignon–dominant blend with 22% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot support. The wine carries muscular architecture, dark fruit density, and firm tannic authority, currently showing some youthful rough edges but clearly positioned for future greatness with proper cellaring.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, cassis liqueur, blackberry skin, graphite, cedar plank, crushed gravel, tobacco leaf, dark cocoa and subtle savory spice.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied with firm, youthful tannins, strong mid-palate grip, vibrant supporting acidity, dense core concentration, and a long, structured finish that signals serious aging capacity.

Food Pairings
Dry-aged ribeye, grilled lamb chops, beef short ribs, rosemary-crusted venison, aged hard cheeses, slow-braised meats.

Verdict
A high-potential Pauillac still in its formative phase. The structure, depth, and terroir signature are undeniable, but integration will require time. A climber rather than a polished performer today, patience will be rewarded handsomely.

🍷 Personal Pick
This feels like a future star in development, powerful, slightly raw, but absolutely loaded with upside. Not a wine for instant gratification, but one that will evolve into something truly special with time. I’d happily cellar this and revisit around 2029 when the polish finally matches the horsepower. — 5 months ago

Damian

9.3

Very dark ruby color. Medium plus acidity with grippy tannins. Needs a lot of air and much better the next day. Smell of dark fruit, tobacco notes. On the palate more earthy notes of gravel, tar, graphite with coffee and dark fruit. Will improve with age. — 2 years ago

Nicolas Greinacher

9.1

Medium garnet, the 2001 Château Léoville Barton is an archetype for cooler vintage, aristocratic left bank Bordeaux. It offers well-defined aromas of blackcurrant, dried black cherry, wood spice, mushroom, forest floor, tobacco and gravel. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is dominated by a massive tannin structure, excellent fruit concentration and a long, persistent finish. Drink now until 2030. — 4 years ago

ESF

9.3

Yeah yeah, I know this is not considered a great vintage, but this is a Cracking Claret! Leaner in style and not a verbose powerhouse, it still delivers an elegant rendition of traditional Pauillac flavors. The cherry was more like kirsch liqueur, the cassis, graphite, leather, gravel, tobacco, the bay leaf... all beautifully delineated and intense. The mid palate was polished to perfection. Tannins are sturdy enough but seamless & integrated. The finish persists and invites another drink. Got these on a great deal from K&L back in the day and glad I did! In a great drinking window right now. — 5 years ago

Tom Garland

9.3

1.5 hour decant(surprisingly just a little cloudy sediment). A prodigious medium dark garnet color with little signs of aging. On the nose: funky stewed meats, blackberry, smoke, plum, minty pepper, creme de cassis. Taste: KABOOM! Rich, silky, full body wine with blackberry, earth, cedar, wet gravel, menthol and a cassis pencil lead long finish with some ashy tannins. In its prime drinking window and this 13.8% alc wine should rock another 10 years. Cheers! — 6 years ago

with Brenda

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.7

First time having this one, its a very nice bottle.
Stats, $225.00 release, $75.00 on K&L sale makes it even better!

And finally, there’s The Vow, which in this observer’s opinion is the marquee offering of the ’14 Gravel Series. Sourced from a narrow strip of rocky soil that runs through the South East corner of Round Pond’s Rutherford vineyard, T — 6 years ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.3

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2023 – Pauillac, Grand Cru Classé en 1855, BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A benchmark Pauillac delivering depth, precision, and classical balance at a very high level, driven by a 75% Cabernet Sauvignon–dominant blend with 20% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc as a support. The wine shows beautifully layered red fruit, refined structure, and seamless integration, expressing terroir purity and composure from start to finish.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, red cherry, wild raspberry, cassis, graphite, cedar, pencil shavings, subtle tobacco leaf, gentle cocoa and crushed gravel.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus to full-bodied with finely polished tannins, excellent mid-palate density, vibrant yet controlled acidity, elegant grip, and a long, harmonious finish that remains lifted and precise.

Food Pairings
Prime rib, grilled ribeye, rack of lamb, beef Wellington, mushroom-forward dishes, aged hard cheeses.

Verdict
A beautifully executed Pauillac that balances power and finesse effortlessly. Everything feels aligned, fruit purity, structure, tension, and length, making this a top-tier reference for the appellation and vintage.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is Pauillac done right, deep fruit, flawless execution, and a finish that feels complete and satisfying rather than forced. A wine that earns admiration through balance and quiet authority. Hard to pass, even harder to forget. — 5 months ago

Tom Garland

9.5

+1 hour decant(decent chunky/fine sediment). A splendid medium dark ruby red color with bricking. On the nose: Tantalizing perfumed notes of stewed plum/cherry, worn leather, smoke, forest floor, stewed meat, cedar, eucalyptus. Taste: creamy, elegant, with power and depth wine...plum, currants, smokey earth, graphite, saline, dusty crushed gravel, tobacco leaf, and a nice medium plus finish. YUM!! — 9 months ago

with Brenda

Inseon Hwang

9.5

Amazingly fresh and fruity for a 50 year old bottle. Organic earth, gravel and minerals to finish. — 4 years ago

Byron Fuller

9.5

Full stride and not going anywhere. Cedary, mentholly, raspberry white pepper nose. Decanted and really blossomed around an hour. Beautiful mouthfeel and coursing power shows up in the midpalate giving plenty of secondary fruit and gravel and tobacco. Just fabulous. These bottles were stored cold bit I’d be surprised it doesn’t last another 20 years. — 5 years ago

Tom Casagrande

8.9

Initially, upon opening, I thought this was too extracted and scorchy, but after just a bit of air that sensation receded and the wine softened and developed. Nose is classic Zin black raspberry fruit, and nice briary, soft herbal note, and some moist gravel, river stones notes in the background. Ripe, but not too ripe, and extracted, but not too extracted, in the mouth. Has a dry, full-bodied feel, with a bit a peppery heat and some scratchy tannin in the finish. Seems like fewer and fewer Zin producers are interested in anything other than a loud wine, but at least this isn’t too loud. — 5 years ago

Kris Dixon

9.1

Sweeter than most gewurztraminers I’ve had. — 6 years ago

Hum

9.0

Textbook... cedar, gravel, red fruit, cardamom, incense. Great finesse and silky tannins. Drinking great now, for sure an overlooked vintage. — 6 years ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Château Pichon Baron 2023 – Pauillac, Grand Cru Classé en 1855. BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A commanding and traditionally styled Pauillac delivering power, precision, and aristocratic structure, driven by a 66% Cabernet Sauvignon–dominant blend with 27% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Semillon support. Dark fruit density, mineral authority, and refined oak integration create a wine that feels impactful today while clearly engineered for long-term evolution and layered complexity.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, cassis, blackberry, graphite, pencil shavings, cedar, cigar box, crushed gravel, subtle dark cocoa and savory spice.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied with firm yet polished tannins, excellent mid-palate density, vibrant structural tension, tightly knit acidity, and a long, authoritative finish that builds rather than fades.

Food Pairings
Dry-aged ribeye, lamb rack, beef Wellington, venison, mushroom-forward dishes, aged hard cheeses.

Verdict
A textbook expression of elite Pauillac: powerful, elegant, disciplined, and deeply age-worthy. The wine delivers immediate presence while clearly signaling even greater complexity and harmony with time in bottle.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is serious wine, fierce yet controlled, deeply impressive without arrogance, and loaded with finesse under the horsepower. A bottle that earns respect with every sip and promises an extraordinary future in the cellar. — 5 months ago

Tommy

9.1

Rocky with lush, concentrated black fruit flavor. — a year ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

Margaux and Rack of Lamb. I’m in. The 05 vintage…magic!

Lamb w/ just enough fat, spice meet perfect ripe, bright, floral fruits of; blackberries, black plum, dark cherries, strawberries, red & black licorice/cola, perfect mid spice, sweet, lead pencil shavings, charcoal, cedar, not old, not fresh, tobacco, touch of nutmeg, cinnamon, vanillin, pea gravel, dry twig, dry limestone powder, steeped tea, dark, rich soil with dry leaves, herbaceous notes-bay leaf, moist clay, an array of fresh, withering, floral bouquet, amazing, rainfall acidity, perfect, tension, balance, structure and polished finish for days. Absolutely stunning! — 3 years ago

Brandon Boesch

9.3

Really nice. A lot of baking spice, raspberries, cherries, rose petals. Good tannin. Large structure but great with a hearty meal. — 5 years ago

with Randy

Mike Saviage

9.6

Tasted blind. Reddish tawny color, seems younger than previous bottles in the glass. Youthful nose. Notes of black cherry, hickory, plums, gravel, black truffles, some smoke and some unsweetened dark chocolate. Silky and light on its feet despite the youthfulness of its presence. Debate ensues if this is right or left bank. We settle on a guess of 61 Cheval Blanc. While the 61 Tratanoy is all about the mouth feel, this is all about the incredible nose and its youthfulness. (M's 60th bday 8th of 14) — 5 years ago

Melanie Anne Rainbow-Harel

9.2

Fruity but not overpoweringly, rich feeling in the mouth — 6 years ago

Andrew Kienle

8.9

Phenomenal balance even if not terribly complex. — 6 years ago