Little Giant

Giant Steps

Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016

See previous notes 20 weeks ago and 79 weeks ago. My last bottle of the 2016 GS Applejack Pinot Noir. The pale colour belies the strength of the palate. Quite delicious in fact. . Applejack Vineyard probably my favourite of the Giant Steps Cuvées. Red fruited - succulent savoury red cherry. — 16 days ago

Ming, Jose and 15 others liked this
Aravind A

Aravind A Premium Badge

@Bob McDonald thanks for the rec: had a lovely tasting there! We tasted through all the 22 PNs. For another data point: my wife and I both preferred the Wombat to the Applejack. Our favorite PN of the tasting was the Tasmanian Fatal Shore!
Bob McDonald

Bob McDonald Influencer Badge

@Aravind A I can’t disagree with your preference for The Fatal Shore. Under the new ownership of the Jackson Family the style may change a little from the fabulous winemaking of Steve Flamsteed. My recollection of the Wombat Creek was perhaps the use of more whole bunch in the ferment. They are all very good.
Bob McDonald

Bob McDonald Influencer Badge

Nocton Vineyard is also great.

Beaulieu Vineyard

Private Reserve Georges de Latour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1974

A little dried in the nose and brown at the edges. Great underlying fruit, but a touch dried out — a month ago

Paul WoollsAra Aslanian
with Paul and Ara
Aravind, Shay and 3 others liked this
Shay A

Shay A Influencer Badge Premium Badge

Had one of these about 10 days ago. Total sherry, unfortunately. Wish I had your experience.
Conrad Green

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This wasn’t great compared to others I’ve tried. Bottle variation I guess. When there are I’m doing they’re something else

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1982

1982 vintage. Great, upper shoulder fill. Long, aging cork fully saturated but removed with a Durand. Splintered a little upon removal. Decanted and threw less sed than expected. Decaying leather, cedar, hot gravel and lightly roasted button mushrooms in the nose. Light-medium/medium body. All this + some undying cherry and plum flavors mixed in amongst remaining tannins. More thrust and fruit than anticipated with expected structure firmly in place. Really beautiful specimen. Based on this bottle, can hold steady without dropoff for another 4-5 years. 1.12.24. — 3 months ago

Joel, Jan and 25 others liked this
Severn Goodwin

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Fantastic, a favorite BDX of ours, but no '82 in the cellar.

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe

La Crau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 1988

Lovely mature CdP, redfruits, nice balance, medium-long finish, starting to show just a little oxidation. — 7 days ago

Jim Powers
with Jim
Aravind, Bob and 4 others liked this

Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

1986 vintage. Sampled five bottles for a 1986 BDX tasting @ Mister A's in San Diego. Double decanted and tasted over four hours. Medium body. Pretty rustic early on and that stayed consistent till the end. Opened up a little later with a splash of bright cherry fruit. Should stay the course for another 5-6 years. 3.14.24 — a month ago

Lyle, Jan and 9 others liked this

Château Latour

Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Delectable Wine
9.8

The 2005 Latour is a huge wine predestined for long-term aging. Noticeably deep in color, it has a showstopping bouquet with intense black fruit, graphite and touches of dried blood and tobacco as it considers moving into its secondary phase. But that's going to be slow coming...it's in no hurry. The palate is medium-bodied and unapologetically classic in style. I notice this bottle is a little grainy in texture, the salinity perhaps heightened as it enters adulthood. The finish has a tangible sense of tension, but it remains backward and swarthy. Immense. Tasted at Woo Cheong Tea House dinner organized by Paulo Pong. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2024)
— a month ago

David liked this

Marcel Lapierre

Morgon Gamay 2018

Just a little bit of age in bottle gives it a more earthy tone than its younger / 2020+ brethren. Different and nice. — 3 months ago

Kelvin Kwong
with Kelvin
Kelvin liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1975

This was a little more advanced than past btls showing red berry fruit, cedar, leather, earth & tobacco — a month ago

David, Eric and 16 others liked this

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. — 22 days ago

Andrew, Paul and 16 others liked this

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

+2 hour decant(little fine/cloudy sediment). A brooding dark magenta color. On the nose: very aromatic notes..lots of blackberry, floral, pencil lead, wet forest floor, sweet oak. Taste: blackberry, cassis, bitter chocolate, herbs, pepper and a gravelly/new leather long finish with some still there kickin tannins. YUM! Gonna give my next bottle a few more years for a better score. — 2 months ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland
with Brenda
Brenda, Ira and 28 others liked this