Off Vintage

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1988

1988 vintage. Feminine-styled. Ran into some resistance back in the day with the (re-) emergence of this Château and the massive 85/86 and 89/90 efforts. Eff all that. The 1989 AND 1990 vintages probs the best this Château has ever realized. The 1988 slid in then and performed delicate magick. That cocoa powder and blueberry combo still coming forth with undeniable impressions. Whereas those four “bigger” vintages rocked harder, all four have had more noticeable drop off. This 1988 just doing its best La Mission Haut-Brion/Haut-Brion impression and pulling it off. No rush to crush. 5.13.26. — 6 days ago

Bob, Sagee and 24 others liked this
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

Sounds awesome!!
Neil Valenzuela

Neil Valenzuela

😱 FOMO

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

A pair of 16’s off of Buccan’s list in PB. Way too young but started to develop slowly with air. I enjoyed both but leaned more to the Beausejour Duffau. — 16 days ago

Tom, Peter and 2 others liked this

Domaine du Pegau

Cuvée Réservé Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 2023

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of several hours. The 2023 pours a deep ruby/garnet with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity and moderate staining of the tears. On the nose the wine is developing with heady notes of tart cherry, mixed brambles, spearmint, red and purple flowers, old school permanent marker, licorice, tomato, green herbs, clove and stony earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and the body is, ooof…very nice. Another delicious vintage of Cuvée Réservée. Drink now through 2043. — a month ago

Scott@Mister, Sagee and 12 others liked this

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend 1988

Super clean and still quite youthful, this is a GREAT example of a 1980s CdP from a vintage of little surmaturite, so awesome balance and perfect acidity suggests this vintage will easily last another 5-10 years!! — 5 days ago

Jim Powers
with Jim
Scott@Mister, Tom and 5 others liked this
Tom Casagrande

Tom Casagrande Influencer Badge

What a triumvirate of CDPs!
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@Tom Casagrande, another example of a great bottle outperforming critical reviews — of the 3 CdPs, the ratings given years ago would have been higher for the ‘89 Beau and ‘90 Pegau!!

R. López de Heredia

Viña Tondonia Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2013

vintage 2013 | Awesome. Cinnamon. Truffle. Elegance and refinement. — 23 days ago

Brian, Doug and 17 others liked this

Château Gruaud Larose

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1966

It’s nice to be born just inside of a great vintage across Europe. Sound and fim, still. at Laurelhurst — a month ago

Brian, Tom and 2 others liked this

Jermann

Vintage Tunina Venezia Giulia White Blend

2026 Easter in Bergamo with Ester’s family and Aunt and Germano. Giulietta — 2 months ago

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

This was great but not same level as prior bottles. Perhaps a slightly off cork ? Medium dark rubi robe, nose of blackcurrant, top soil and balsam with hints of cedar. Ever so slightly reticent tannins but overall great length and good complexity. Great now, but no rush. — 12 days ago

Jose Roberto Palazzoveronique paillardAdriana Pagliano
with Jose, veronique and 4 others
Peter, Dave and 4 others liked this
Alexandre Pagliano

Alexandre Pagliano Premium Badge

This was great but not same level as prior bottles. Perhaps a slightly off cork ? Medium dark rubi robe, nose of blackcurrant, top soil and balsam with hints of cedar. Ever so slightly reticent tannins but overall great length and good complexity. Great now, but no rush.
Alexandre Pagliano

Alexandre Pagliano Premium Badge

Medium dark rubi robe, nose of top soil, cedar-wood, spices and other secondary notes. Medium bodied, long and with highly polished tannins, this is an excellent bottle, just slightly under the other we got from same 6 bottle case.

Caymus Vineyards

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2023

2023 Vintage. A very pleasant and easy drinking Napa Cab up front. Decent aroma on the nose, vibrant notes of cherry and blackberry, delicately structured tannins, with a very smooth finish. Not chewy or viscous, but still a bold Cab flavor that resonates with the right amount of spice. Would gladly enjoy again. — 11 days ago

Tom, Robin and 1 other liked this

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1982

1982 vintage. Last tasted 6.1.24 (9.4) and nearly 9 years ago (9.0). Courtesy of Monsieur @Bill Bender. Sweet fill. Opened with a Durand. Cork 95% saturated. A little reticent in the early going and decanted a third of the bottle to see if that would pull the juice out of a sullen funk. It did, so the remainder got decanted whilst throwing much less sed than expected. Medium body still. Slightly brickish and plenty fleshy with well-integrated complexity. Very pleasant and lingering finish. A great bottle with more than could reasonably be expected at this juncture. Thank you, Bill! 4.24.26. — a month ago

Bill Bender
with Bill
Douglas, Tom and 9 others liked this
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

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@Tom Casagrande @Bill Bender said he tried but the app was down (as it has def been challenging in the last few months).
Shay A

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@Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego @Bill Bender : Bravo on the Prevost and the Mouton!
Neil Valenzuela

Neil Valenzuela

😱FOMO