Life
Château Léoville Poyferré
Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2005
Hold for 10 - perhaps it’ll come back to life in a with some interesting tertiaries, but nothing special here right now. — 2 months ago
Ridge Vineyards
Monte Bello Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1997
Flight #2 of our 1997 Retrospective and these were the thoroughbreds. Presented single-blind; no formal notes. Wine #2 had great color, was developing, fresh, focused, balanced; great structure. One of those glasses of wine you didn’t want to end and, for me, a tough call for favorite of the flight along with Wine #1. I vacillated between this being Dominus or Monte Bello; ultimately calling the former. This is in a beautiful phase of life. Monte Bello is one of those wines that needs decades to show its best. Drink now through 2040. — 3 months ago
Louis Roederer
Cristal Brut Champagne Chardonnay Pinot Noir Blend 2002
Medium lemon yellow , persistent fine perlage . At first quite shy , needs a bit of time to get going . Then buttered pastry , confit lemon and roast nuts , quite bold and rich , just a hint of chalky minerality . On the palate the richer , deeper theme continues , those pastry and buttery notes , confit lemon and a creamy mouthfeel . Long balanced finish , the chalky acidity really helping to cut through richer , mouth filling profile . Coming back to this at the end of the meal , having sat 6 hours in the glass , this still shows remarkable freshness and life. This seems young to me still , certainly has everything for a long life ahead , better in 5 years perhaps and will show well a further 10-15 perhaps . — 3 days ago
Shafer Vineyards
Hillside Select Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Dominus Estate
Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1997
Flight #2 of our 1997 Retrospective and these were the thoroughbreds. Presented single-blind; no formal notes. Wine #1 had great color, was developing, and probably the earthiest of the group but still had a lovely fruit profile. A really nice balance of fruit and non-fruits. Robust structure. Notably, this was the only bottle in the flight that had Brettanomyces…and while I found it to quite charming, this is what ultimately got me hung up on whether I thought this was the Dominus or the Monte Bello. Ultimately I called the later. I really dig this and wish I could afford more Dominus in my life. Drink now and through 2035. — 3 months ago
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1989
1989 vintage. Tasted 5.5.23 (9.5), 4.4.23 (6 different btls-avg 9.4) and 12.9.22 (9.6). Above average fill for the age and impressive cork (about 70% saturated). Decanted and tasted over the course of two hours. Threw a decent amount of powdery sed. Medium nose slightly muted for the first 10 minutes or so but then came roaring to life. Yes, still the hallmark blueberries and cocoa powder along with a dash of raspberry but bigg graphite with this bottle. Drank consistently great for 1.75 hours, then seemed to lose a little steam at the very end. Not improving but still think cellar dwellers need to be popped in the next five years to enjoy the magic before it fades. 3.28.24. — a month ago
Château Musar
Bekaa Valley Red Blend 2000
Beautiful wine. So earthy, leathery, and powerful. This wine still has years of life left. A nearly perfect Cabernet Sauvignon blend with a Mediterranean twist. It tastes like an extremely high-end Chateauneuf-du-Pape dominated by a high-end Napa Cabernet. Perfect with my Greek lamb chops. I wish I could have left it open longer but I consumed it at my favorite BYOB Greek restaurant. If you find this wine at a reasonable price, buy it. At $90 a steal. — 3 months ago
Andrew McIntyre
Birth year Latour for our 700th wine on Delectable! Very mature but still with lots of life. Leather, graphite and earthy notes and still so much power. A great pleasure to drink! — 4 days ago