Marking Time

Château Cheval Blanc

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 1996

First time drinking Cheval blanc and was very impressed. Silky smooth, balanced and oppulent. Lovely wine — 12 days ago

Paul, Ted and 9 others liked this
Ron R

Ron R Influencer Badge Premium Badge

From a good vintage, too. You drinking way above our financial pain threshold 😏
Jan de Weerd

Jan de Weerd

My goodness. You are on a roll!!!

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 . — 11 days ago

Jeroen, Andrew and 14 others liked this

Silver Oak

Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1956

1986 vintage. showing well 4/10/24. balanced. medium tannins, medium acid. really lovely. I always thought that this wine needed time. — a month ago

Shay and Laura liked this

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2006

I guess I’m drinking this too soon! Need to better manage the cellar… tremendous fruit on the nose as I decanted that became more vegetal with time. Bright and leathery on the tongue, rich and luscious in the mouth. Strong tannins — easy to see how others are enjoying it at twice the age. — a month ago

Jay, Joe and 6 others liked this

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Excellent as always. Smooth right out of the bottle. Gets better over time — 15 days ago

Connii Gaiitan
with Connii
Joe, Ira and 3 others liked this

Château Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Medium ruby , slighter narrower ruby / pink rim , a little less bright . Slightly deeper , darker fruits , blueberry, violets , with scorched earth , mineral and grafite . On the palate , more intensity and power perhaps , more noticeable though still velvety tannin , dark fruits , mineral , saline , fresh cigar. Lovely fresh acidity , balanced alcohol . Long saline , mineral tinged, slightly toasty finish . Needs time obviously , but will be one of the great wines from a great vintage in 20 years, just wait — 12 days ago

Jan, Scott@Mister and 14 others liked this

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2012

Popped and poured; enjoyed over three days and showed very well throughout. The 2012 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core and some browning towards the rim; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with secondary characteristics just starting to show themselves. Also, the solar nature of 2012 is showing through with loads of truffles and overripe and desiccated red and black fruits: tartufo bianco d’Alba, dried cherry, bruised raspberries, red roses, leather, Fig Newtons, dried herbs, and some dusty and gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long, drying and savory. I’ve been a vocal fan of the 2012 vintage of Produttori since release and this might be the best showing yet. This is my last 750mL. My remaining bottles are magnums and I’ll look forward to enjoying those over the next 10-15 years. No rush, but this is a fun time to drink these as the truffle character is starting to peak through. — a day ago

Juan, Vanessa and 8 others liked this

Marchesi Antinori

Tignanello Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 2020

Decant and pour. They broke out the Giant glass.....black cherry, leather, tobacco, pepper, dried herbs, cedar, and tannic. Should round out over time. YUM! Super Tuscan tonight to start our Napa weekend...who woulda thunk. — 6 days ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland
with Brenda
Brenda, Bill and 16 others liked this

Château La Mission Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Medium ruby , quite narrow ruby pink rim . Light spice and mix of summer fruits , floral , seashell , mineral notes . Touch of scorched earth and cocoa . On the palate a mix of summer fruits, with a saline kick in the mid palate , long and involving, balanced alcohol, very balanced acidity with velvety but noticeable tannins . Very elegant and graceful . Will need time, but less than the Haut Brion , in 15-20 years this will be fantastic . — 12 days ago

Jan, Jeroen and 14 others liked this

Chateau Montelena

The Montelena Estate Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Shay A
9.2

Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.

A treat to try this next to the ‘88, and also against a mini-flight of Leoville Barton. This ‘14 was shockingly odd…unbelievably high toned, sharp, and bing cherry driven aromatically. It actually has this weird cherry reduction profile but also a malic/butter note that needs time to blow off. Crème de cassis and red licorice on the palate with a small amount of graphite. A lot of Calistoga cabs for me show the warmth of the region and this evidently is in that vein, but it’s very Montelena-esque at the end of the day. I’d hold another 5-7yrs.
— 19 days ago

Tom, Bob and 22 others liked this