On Q

Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2023

fresh, airy, elegant style on lighter site….93+ — 12 days ago

Peter, Ronald and 2 others liked this

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

Double-decanted prior to service. The 1988 pours a garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with beautiful notes of cassis, brambles, tobacco, capsicum, leather, inorganic earth and a mix of herbs and fine spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose, the finish is medium+. The label is beat to hell but the condition of the wine inside the bottle was perfect. Classic, old school Bordeaux from a classified growth. Drink now through 2043. — 15 days ago

Somm, Juan and 15 others liked this
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

I don’t know that paper labels pair well with older Bordeaux. 😂

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2018

Timothy Eustis
9.5

2018. Absolutely gorgeous on nose. Cigar box, dark fruit, beautiful development. Bit of a tannic behemoth. But backed with ripe and fine tannins. In palate complexity and a long finish. Brilliant. — 21 days ago

Tom, Lyle and 6 others liked this

Château Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2001

Medium ruby garnet , medium garnet rim . This is quite aromatic with dusty summer fruits , tobacco , burnt embers , quite classic . On the palate this is quite strict with refreshing acidity , spicy mix fruits , slightly gritty tannins. Quite good length , with dusty , grafite tinged finish . Quite classic and lean in style , with good balance and length . Perfect now and over the next 10 years . — 21 days ago

Tom, Ira and 8 others liked this

Château Musar

Bekaa Valley Red Blend 1978

I do love Musar. The bottle variations can throw you for a loop, but this one came out with a beautiful nose and a great palate. I sampled it by CoraVin the morning before taking it to Eulalie in Tribeca for dinner with old mates visiting from London who love Musar as much or more than I do. It had beautiful color and was translucent. I must have jostled it too much on the subway downtown because when we opened it, it was cloudy and had some fine sedement. Did not decant but allowed it to evolve over a couple of hours. I have a couple more bottles and will look forward to trying them. Enjoyed with lamb dishes and quail stuffed with foie gras and other offal. Delicious! — 22 days ago

Ira liked this

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1996

Tasted blind. Medium ruby garnet , medium garnet rim . Quite classic and elegant, with cigar box , grafite and some dried earth , some slightly toasty notes also . On the palate this shows good balance , fresh acidity , classic blackcurrant , cigar box , earthy touch . Good depth and length , grafite tinged finish , quite correct and no extra sweetness or weight . Good length and a spicy , mineral , blackcurrant tinged finish . Lafite ? Still young , really well balanced. From now and over the next 10 to 15 years. This was actually the Mouton , which was a great surprise, but certainly a pleasant one ! — a month ago

Jeroen, Tom and 9 others liked this

Tenuta San Guido

Bolgheri Sassicaia Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2015

Number 1 on Spectator in 2018 — a month ago

Joe, Stef and 1 other liked this

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1985

Presented double-blind at dinner. The wine pours a deep garnet with a near opaque core and a slightly orange rim with considerable variation; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of ripe and desiccated fruit: black currants, blackberries, plum, pipe tobacco, capsicum, pencil shavings, a touch leather, organic earth and a mix of dried herbs and some fine warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Really tasty stuff.

Initial conclusions: this is an old wine, likely 30-40 years old. That being said, it’s still very distinguishable as it’s showing varietal characteristics. This could be Cabernet Sauvignon (or a blend thereof), Cabernet Franc (or a blend thereof), or Merlot (or a blend thereof). I can see this being Napa because the fruit is still showing some generosity. But there’s a lot of non-fruits there too. Regardless, this was giving Left Bank vibes so I could also see this being Bordeaux from a great vintage like 1982. And that’s my call, Cabernet Sauvignon-blend from France, Bordeaux, Saint-Estèphe, from a classified growth like Calon-Ségur. Shucks. But I’m not mad about my choice! Old Opus One’s are tricky to differentiate. Drinking very well right now but this will live well past 2035.
— 2 months ago

ESF, Peter and 10 others liked this

Dom Pérignon

Brut Champagne Blend 1988

Apricot in color. Soft peach and obeyed notes. On the palate delicate orchard fruit, dried fruit, wet stone, soft fizz, a hit of salinity in the finish. Poised and delicious — 2 days ago

Bex Green
with Bex
Matt, Jay and 2 others liked this

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe

La Crau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 1998

@Doug Powers as promised . Dry leaves and plums on the nose. In the mouth spices, cherry , earth and good acid . Certainly the magnum format kept this alive. However for me it had not become complex and had a very clipped finish. — 7 days ago

Tom, Brian and 23 others liked this
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@Ira Schwartz, I have recently (last 3-4 months) had 750-ml bottles of the 1999 and 2000 VT that, were, frankly disappointing compared to the VT bottles I purchased in the 1980s. They used to be 30-40 year wines that developed slowly in the cellar, those 1999/2000 bottles were fully mature and one bottle was past it. All my VT purchases were from Kermit Lynch, so I don’t really know what changed?

Krug

Brut Champagne Blend

introed to me at cote 550 as the “monster” champagne they serve on JAL. I loved it though. holds it’s own against a steak — 14 days ago

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2009

Dark ruby/ inky in color with a short reddish rim. Not showing age at all.

Strong nose of black currant, blackberries, black plums, black cherries, cedar, vanilla, licorice, tobacco, light earth, herbs, mediterranean spices, black tea and peppercorn.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with black currants, black plums, blackberries, light cedar, earth, cherries, light vegetables, tobacco leaf, black tea, herbs, light vanilla, mediterranean spices and dark chocolates.

Long finish with round tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a gorgeous Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. Elegant and nicely balanced with great complexity.

Needs 2 hours in the decanter to open up properly, so be patient. Will continue to age nicely in the next 15 years.

This 17 year old Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley is starting to drink at its peak, although I'm drinking out of a Magnum.

Showing a beautiful nose with lots of complexity. Rich and extracted, elegant and powerful.

Robert Parker 97 points. Wine Enthusiasts 96 points. Wine Spectator 91 points.

Good by itself as a sipping wine, and will also pair nicely with a big piece of steak.

A blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. Aged for 24 months in all new French oak barrels.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

95 points.

$450 (Magnum).
— a day ago

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2021

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of two days. Delicious throughout. The 2021 pours a bright garnet color with transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of Morello cherry, raspberry, cranberry, red flowers, orange zest, some tar, talcum powder, dried herbs and dry, organic earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is about as sapid of a young Classico I’ve had from Produttori. It’s a bold wine right now but some time on its side will bring more into balance. Drink now with some patience through 2051. — a month ago

Zach, Sagee and 16 others liked this
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

Have six of these on hold for a bit longer.
Jay Kline

Jay Kline Influencer Badge Premium Badge

@Somm David T you could easily enjoy one now because the fruit is so special. But years and years to go

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1982

Quite deep with a ruby core , light garnet rim . Quite young looking . Quite tertiary , with cigar box , grafite some cassis and a grafite note , still very alive and relatively young . On the palate this is quite dusty and earthy , menthol, cassis , tobacco and that grafite hint . Ripe but noticable tannins and refreshing acidity with good lightly grippy length, quite classic . Compared to the Poyferre this is younger but sterner and more foursquare , but classic and unapologetically traditional claret in style. From now with a decant , but this will probably keep well and perhaps improve over the next 10-15 years . — a month ago

Jeroen, Jan and 7 others liked this

Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

Baron de Pichon-Longueville Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2000

1/2 hour decant(decent sediment). A gorgeous still dark purplish magenta color. On the nose: seductive perfumed notes of dark fruit, smoked meat, funky earth, cigar box, pencil lead, vanilla oak. Taste: savory wine with dried dark fruit, graphite and gravel, iron, and a kinda astringent smokey tobacco finish. Not my cup of tea...maybe bottle flaw. — a day ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland
with Brenda
Tom, Dave and 8 others liked this

Château Calon-Ségur

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

I always get excited when there’s a bottle of Calon-Ségur open. Classic Saint-Estèphe and, to my palate, these wines consistently deliver what I want from a Left Bank Bordeaux. I believe this bottle was double-decanted prior to service. The 1988 pours a garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with winsome notes of ripe, tart and dried fruits: cassis, mixed brambles, pencil shaving’s, tobacco, capsicum, a whiff of horse blanket, gravelly earth and a mix of herbs and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose, the finish is long. I absolutely love it. This is the picture of Bordeaux in the dictionary. Drink now through 2048+. — 15 days ago

Jan, ESF and 10 others liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Somm David T
9.4

My last of three.

The 05 vintage is basically perfect fruit etc…

This started a bit slow from an hour decant. It really pick up steam w/ the Waygu Ribcap.

The Bordeaux elegance & earth profound. The fruits are floral-laden. Dry blackberries, raspberries, both plum, with skin, dark cherries, dry strawberries, baked rhubarb, hints of raspberry, dark chocolate bar, light caramel, dark spice with a little heat, dry limestone. topsoil, dry riverstone, cigar box with ash, old used leather, dark forest floor with leaves, clove, touch of cinnamon, vanilla and a pinch of nutmeg sweet graphite, used charcoal, black tea, mid berry cola dark wuthering flowers, hence of lavender and old violets, perfect around acidity with a well-balanced structured, evenly tensioned finish that last minutes and lands on dry earth and spice with florals
— 9 days ago

Jeroen, Rick and 8 others liked this
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego Premium Badge

F. Haven't had the 05 and it's a fave BDX producer. Priorities...

Château Margaux

Premier Grand Cru Classé Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2003

+1 hour decant(some sediment). A gorgeous dark garnet with bricking. On the nose: mesmerizing areomatic notes of dark red fruit, currants, forest floor, floral, cigar wrapper, pencil shavings. Taste: velvety, vibrant, fresh wine with brambly dried blackberry/cherry, earth, graphite, wet stones, and a cedar gamey raspberry long finish. YUM! What a treat to drink, and a success for 03...not too ripe, hot, or roasted. — a month ago

Tom, ESF and 19 others liked this
Dave

Dave

Wow!

Château Latour

Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1996

Tasted blind. Again medium deep ruby with medium wide garnet rim . Again slightly aloof , showing a touch of herbaceous blackcurrant , mineral and slate notes . Probably the most closed of all coming back . Quite deep and rich again , mineral , blackcurrant, wet stones . Muscular tannins and balanced acidity , deep with a slight herbaceous touch on the decent finish . Latour ? Compared with the rest this is slightly pedestrian, even though it is still an excellent wine it’s not as thrilling as its Pauillac stablemates Lafite or Mouton. Perhaps needs even more time , come back in 5 years and will last well a further 10 -15. — a month ago

Jeroen, Tom and 9 others liked this

Château Lafite Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1996

Tasted blind. Deeper slightly brighter in colour, deeper ruby and a thinner garnet rim . Bit more closed and deeper in fruit , grafite , blackcurrants , wet stones , mineral . There is also a seaside , sea shore hint coming back to this . On the palate this has more volume than 1 , richer in style . More dusty and drier tannins , balanced acidity and good grafite tinged length . Mouton ? Lovely depth and expressiveness , exuberante, young still but with time really shows well. From now and over the next 10 -15 years. This was the Lafite , which surprised me , but still a beautiful wine. — a month ago

Jeroen, Tom and 16 others liked this