Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2022 vintage. Medium-heavy body. Needs time/patience but shows pretty well currently if you're out of either/both. 6.3.26. — 22 days ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.1

Château Kirwan 2023 – Margaux, Grand Cru Classé. BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A poised and expressive Margaux showing immediate charm while clearly structured for further evolution, delivering finesse, persistence, and a notably elongated finish compared to its peers in the flight.

Aromas & Flavors
Red cherry, wild strawberry, ripe raspberry, crushed rose petal, subtle vanilla, sweet spice, light cedar, gentle graphite undertones.

Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, excellent mid-palate energy, lifted acidity, and a long, persistent, and increasingly intense finish that carries well beyond the sip.

Food Pairings
Duck confit, herb-roasted chicken, veal chop with mushroom jus, lamb loin, aged Comté.

Verdict
Head-to-head with Château Prieuré-Lichine in overall quality, but Kirwan separates itself on finish length and persistence. Already surprisingly enjoyable today while still clearly benefiting from additional bottle age.

🍷 Personal Pick
The surprise overachiever of the Margaux flight, already fun now, but patience will unlock its real podium potential. — 5 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

A continuation of sharing my early impressions of the 2021 vintage in Barolo; Cavallotto is one of those benchmark producers for me, inextricably connected to Bricco Boschis, which they have farmed for nearly 100 years. Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2021 Bricco Boschis pours a brilliant garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of Morello cherry, dehydrated orange, cumin, tar, roses, talcum powder, fresh sage and fresh mint, and dried gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with structure like that of Helm’s Deep; the tannins are absolutely rippin’ and acid at medium+. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is extremely long, savory and drying, to the point that you feel it in your gums several minutes. A brilliant Barolo that has a very long life ahead. Drink now with plenty of air and patience through 2071. Pairs well with hearty lasagna and baseball. — 8 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of three days. Consistently enjoyable throughout, but best after several hours of air and through Day 3. The wine pours, a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. No signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with expressive notes of ripe and dried cherry, plums, toasted coconut, fresh dill, cedar chest, and soft baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose however, the fruit is much more tart. The finish is long and tangy. A textbook example of old-school Rioja. Lovely. Drink now with patience and through 2036. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Wrapping up a wild weekend, I finished this bottle of Cuchet-Beliando Cornas that I opened Friday evening. It was awesome on the pop and pour and continued to develop in a lovely arc through Sunday evening when I enjoyed my last glass. The 2017 pours a deep ruby/purple with a magenta rim and what’s basically an opaque core. Medium+ viscosity and moderate staining, with some signs of sediment. On the nose the wine is developing with notes of the most pure black and red brambles, some blueberries, a bit of animale, deli case, pimento loaf, lavender, a whole Pensey’s bag of Tellicherry pepper corns, black olives, cedar and gentle warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the palate although the brambles are a bit more red. The finish is long and with loads of meat and black pepper. This is a stunning Cornas that has some real class behind the feral Cornas curtain. I really love this…but I’m an absolute sucker for the Rhône. Drink now with some patience but this will be brilliant for decades. 2024-2057. Thanks for the assist @Lyle Fass — 2 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.1

Tight.
N:Reticent, herbaceous, black plums, cocoa. Plush red/brown velvet nose.
P: Way too young… patience my man,
But nice plums, tilled earth, dense, herbs, lots of acid,
This ain’t no Cali/Ore Pinot.
I say come back in five? yrs.
After 1 hr + in a decanter, Wow! Dirty leather,
Big.
Thank @ Fass Selections
From Skurnik:

The pick of the sites on the big hill, this is limestone again, and the wine is fascinating, bloody yet almost mineral; a truly complex mid-palate, animated and squirming; dark fruit and warm crust and a lingering multi-faceted finish. — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Better on Day 2. The 2023 pours a deep garnet/purple with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with lovely notes of black currants, blackberries, black cherry, tobacco, Serrano pepper, purple flowers, cocoa, and fine warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Tremendous balance. These will surely enjoy a long life. Drink now with patience through 2053. — 14 days ago

GaryWEdwards

9.7

At 25 years, patience rewarded in this now delightful vintage. No hurry here as this juice is a long distance runner with at another 40 years to enjoy. — 8 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two hours. The 2011 “Toscana” IGT pours a deep garnet color with a translucent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of mostly ripe, red fruit: Morello cherry, raspberry, new leather, black tea, freshly varnished fine wood, dried green herbs and dry gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long drying and grippy. Gorgeous stuff. Drink now with some patience and through 2031. — 10 months ago

GaryWEdwards

9.5

Has finally entered a the period to enjoy with patience rewarded. A nice nose of earth, dark berries, and florals. Nice long finish with a bit of plum coming through. An hour decant to the benefit of the wine. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Poured into a Swan decanter immediately prior to service and enjoyed over a several hour period. The 2013 “Villero” pours a deep garnet with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears and no signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with a gorgeous, powerful bouquet of dark and red fruits: black cherry, pomegranate, cranberry, tar, roses, talcum powder, and dry stony earth. On the palate the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long, grippy a freaking delicious. This is showing really well but there is no end in sight. Drink now with patience but this should reward an even great bounty done the road and turn heads through 2045+. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

One of my favorites in the in Bourguignon-style of Beaujolais are those of Thibault Liger-Belair. What I adore about Thibault’s approach is that his winemaking philosophy seems to suit M-à-V so well. Popped and poured; no formal notes. The 2016 “Moulin-à-Vent VV” is full of the undeniable dark fruit and structure and yet, incorporates a funky charm that seems to bridge Nuits-Saint-Georges and Beaujolais perfectly. To my palate, these 2016 VV’s are just entering the early part of their drinking window. I still think this is developing and it will take another few years before the secondary characteristics begin to show and that’s when the magic really starts to show with these wines. All of the pieces and parts are there…all that is required at this point s a little more patience. Good now but better with a little patience and after 2026. Should be awesome well through 2036 — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Splash decanted and served immediately; enjoyed over the next four hours. On the nose, it smells like 2015…gorgeous and giving with fresh, ripe cherry, dry earth and green herbs. The bouquet opened up over time and just seemed to gain power and intensity adding blood orange and red flowers. On the palate, this is bone-dry with silky texture and huge structure which also seemed to go from strength to strength. The finish is long and ever so satisfying. Drink now with a lot of patience or enjoy through 2040. — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Poured into a decanter about 30 minutes prior to service. The 2015 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of red currants, Morello Cherry, mixed brambles, red and purple flowers, tobacco, black tea, iron rich earth, subtle cool and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is phenomenal and has me asking myself, “why don’t I seek out more Grattamacco?” Wow. Obviously a winner with lasagna. Drink now with some patience and through 2045. — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Day 1 took a couple of hours to really start showing its best (though the quality was obvious). Day 2, it was much more open. The 2021 Margheria pours a garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of fresh raspberries, tiny forest strawberries, Morello cherry (especially on Day 2), tar, rosebushes, fresh sage, talcum powder and dry gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose; the fruit showed more ripeness on Day 2. The finish is long, loaded with minerals and very savory! Considering the amount of air this enjoyed, I expect a long life of enjoyment. You can drink now with patience but this will be better after 2031 and through 2061+ — 7 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

See several previous Delectable notes for this Cuvée. I have 2 bottles left after this one. Penfolds have a whopping drink window up to 2045. The colour is a pale mid crimson with a tawny rim. Mocha, dark chocolate and blackberry notes on the nose. From a low yielding cool vintage which is made for long cellaring. Absolutely superb at the moment. Great palate intensity (mulberry, black berry and dark chocolate) with mellow resolved tannins and a very long persistent finish. No wonder Penfolds tasting book is called The Rewards of Patience. — 10 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Best on Day 2. The 2013 “Les Pavots” pours a deep ruby with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and signs of light sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with wild brambles, Korean bulgogi, some purple flowers, tobacco, cedar box, some VA, and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and zippy. To my palate, a lot more interesting than the “Au Paradis” from the same vintage. There’s just a lot more going on. Drink now with patience and through 2040. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Chateau Siran was, at one point in time, designated one of the Cru Bourgeoise Exceptionnel. I’m not sure if it was politics or the classification was just too convoluted? Perhaps a bit of both? Regardless, I think they have since left the classification all together. That being said, things seem to be going just fine at the estate if this bottle is indicative.

Popped and poured into a Boa decanter about an hour prior to service. The 2020 pours a deep ruby with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of cassis, jalapeño pepper, pencil lead, tobacco, cedar chest, gravel, baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with sneaky, medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose with tart black fruit. The finish is long, dark and elegant, by Bordeaux standards. Drink now with patience (and a decant) through 2035+
— 2 years ago

Ronald LaMascus

9.3

Definitely worth the wait! Some folks said this vintage was at its peak several years ago but my patience is being rewarded!! Again, the cork was unbelievably tight but with perseverance a good waiters friend, finally wrestled it out without breaking. This wine definitely needs some air and time to settle down and get the full flavor and taste restored. I can taste parmigiana regganio, bruschetta, high grade EVOO and balsamic with a crusty bread. Veal and tomato sauce, even Osso Buco. I love Brunello and while this is not considered a top iteration, it’s still definitely worth drinking. — 3 years ago

GaryWEdwards

9.4

Again, patience rewarded! This baby has rich but softening tannins , bright fruits and that elegance that defines a Nebbiolo. I am told that this winemaker, in particular, never misses. This might be the vintage that supports that acclaim — 4 years ago

with Logan