Lost World

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend 1995

Timothy Eustis
9.0

1995. Lost something. But sure. In great shape and historically lovely. What a treat — 3 months ago

Severn, Scott@Mister and 3 others liked this

Bodegas y Viñedos Vega Sicilia

Unico Ribera del Duero Tempranillo Blend 2006

Wow. This Ribero del Duero stands with the best of Old World wines and maybe the best among what Spain offers. — 5 months ago

Ira, Jan and 1 other liked this

Leeuwin Estate

Art Series Margaret River Chardonnay 2019

Ron R
9.5

Not ready for prime-time just yet, but that didn’t prevent us from committing the felony.
Pale straw color in the glass links up with lemon curd and a hint of gooseberries. Robust acidity frames this up nicely. Finishes taught and with urgency. Drinking the best wines in the world can be a little like fumbling around in the dark. But with this, I can see in the dark.
— 6 months ago

Tom, Tom and 39 others liked this
Vin d’Ottawa

Vin d’Ottawa

I’m loving the seeing the dark take
Norman Gennaro

Norman Gennaro Premium Badge

Sounds like a great bottle and I would take it happily even if a bit early. Great writeup

Moshin Vineyards

Lost Ranch Pinot Noir 2012

We had the 2012 Vintage on 12/1-2/23. A real RRV PN with tastes of blackberry, black raspberry, baking spices and cinnamon. Medium bodied and well balanced. New World, but not overly fruity — 4 months ago

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

Paul J
9.4

Wow! Thanks to Steve K for sharing the retirement wine I got him. Decant for 3+ hours. Dark red color with ample bricking. Rustic, Bordeaux like on the nose and palate. Lost some depth but lovely texture and the age shows nicely. — 5 months ago

Brooke Weaver Jakubowski
with Brooke
Severn, Paul and 5 others liked this
Severn Goodwin

Severn Goodwin Influencer Badge Premium Badge

Very nice!

Tenuta San Guido

Bolgheri Sassicaia Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2017

Popped and poured, no formal notes. Despite its relative youth, the 2017 Sassicaia is showing very nicely right now. To my palate, this does as good a job as any in deftly straddling New and Old World…and just leans enough towards its structure and non-fruit characteristics to give it a sense of place. To be clear, there is plenty of fresh and delicious fruit, it’s just that the structure and the firmness of the tannin and acid is so “favoloso”. Drinking well in its youth but should drink very well through 2042. — 7 months ago

Shay, Lyle and 11 others liked this

Hamilton Russell Vineyards

Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Chardonnay 2020

A lovely melding of Old World finesse and New World exuberance. Green apple, pear, white peach, ripe lemon oil, flint, acacia, and the barest hint of toasted brioche. Mouth watering acidity but not at the expense of texture. Long, beautifully ripe finish. Stunning. — a year ago

Ira, Tom and 4 others liked this

Château Margaux

Premier Grand Cru Classé Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1949

1949 vintage (!!!). Very special half bottle, but more than half the volume lost to evaporation. Opened this gem at Totoraku yesterday to go with two full bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, 1996 and 1952 (!!). This Temple of Beef demands special occasion wines. Cork fell apart in the bottle so we poured it all in a decanter but did not wait to sip. Pale strawberry-orange color, surprising tart fruit nose, supremely delicate taste with just a bit of fruit and life left. Not the best bottle on the table but certainly not the undrinkable. Interesting experience. Would gladly do it again in the name of science. Oldest Red Bordeaux I have ever tasted. — 4 months ago

Ira liked this

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2016

Napa Bordeaux style blend, pop n pour with scents of wet earth and perfectly ripe red fruit. Exquisitely balanced on the palate, soft tannins, medium alcohol… Loved the wine, definitely old world character, but must say there is short finish (a bit disappointing with this caliber of wine to be explicit). Still, great wine. — 5 months ago

Vino, David and 22 others liked this

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1997

Opened about four hours prior to service and allowed to breath. Two bottles were opened tonight from the same cellar and one of the corks showed some small signs of seepage but both wines showed equally. No formal notes. The 1997 Opus One pours a fairly youthful looking deep ruby color with moderate signs of sediment and a near opaque core. The nose exhibited powerful aromas of dark fruits, organic earth, tobacco, leather, horse blanket (brettanomyces?!), and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry and the structure remains quite firm but the texture is plush and almost chewy. The notes on the nose are confirmed and the finish is long and satisfying.

But the tasting notes only tell half the story here. This was consumed alongside a 1990 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. Had these been served together double-blind, I would have absolutely understood if someone called both as left-bank Bordeaux. Yes, the texture was plush and yes, the color was dark(er), but only just. It was just waaaay more Old World leaning to me with the earth and presence of brett. Which makes me wonder, why hasn’t brett been noted very often in other TN’s for this wine? Only (Charlie Carnes and OneFive) really address it directly and maybe this is what most are getting at when they mention “Bordeaux-like” and all the Pauillac vibes. What I can confirm is that these notes were consistent between two bottles from the same case, still in their tissue paper, so I’m reasonably confident that this is characteristic of the 1997 Opus One. I digress; I liked the wine. There, I said it. It was a bit of a one foot in Old School Napa, one foot in New School Napa, handled with an Old World touch. I liked it even better side-by-side with the ’90 Mouton, especially considering the relationship between the two. That being said, folks that can’t get down with a little brett will be turned off by this vintage of Opus. In my case, I would enjoy another opportunity to drink the 1997 some time. Great now with some air to stretch its legs and should be enjoyable through the next decade.
— 8 months ago

Peter, Jae and 11 others liked this