Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.2

Never not delicious. Love Cristal with a little age. — 7 days ago

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. — a month ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.0

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 — 2 months ago

Taylar Hart

9.5

Just a little bit of age in bottle gives it a more earthy tone than its younger / 2020+ brethren. Different and nice. — 4 months ago

with Kelvin

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2015 vintage. Decanted and tasted immediately. Very little sediment. Medium-medium-heavy body. Structure and both ample grip and fruit in a beautiful balance currently and for the foreseeable future. No rush to crush. Revisit in a decade. Wowzers. 5.17.24. — 8 days ago

Ron Siegel

9.2

This was a little more advanced than past btls showing red berry fruit, cedar, leather, earth & tobacco — 2 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

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. — 2 months ago

Doug Powers

9.1

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

with Jim

Bob McDonald

9.4

I haven’t had a lot of experience with Napa Valley Chardonnay but this was most enjoyable. Rich and mouth filling, creamy. Stone fruit and almonds. Barb said white flowers on the nose. Apparently this was picked early and malolactic fermentation was blocked. Oak influence is totally integrated - balanced. I paid $147 AUD in Brisbane in September 2021. A lot dearer than what you might pay in the States I would guess. — 2 months ago

Delectable Wine

Follow to learn about our favorite wines & people.

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)
— 2 months ago