Out Of The Box

Marchesi Antinori

Tignanello Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 2019

2019 vintage. FLB collateral damage. Opened and decanted. Tasted after 20 mins, 1 hour and 1.5 hours. No noticeable development(s) during that time. Medium/medium-heavy body. Some chunk. Some refinement. Obvious quality evident. Similar to the 2016 vintage tasted 6.12.26. Very, very nice but ultimately incapable of reaching the stratosphere that multiple vintages of this wine have reached...and breached. Seek out the 2018 vintage of this noww and thank me later. 6.26.26. — 5 days ago

Somm, Jay and 12 others liked this

Château Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

Double decant and pour(some fine sediment). A splendid still dark magenta color with bricking. On the nose: Beautiful areomatics of blackberry, cigar box, worn leather, green vegi, bandaid(brett). Taste: savory, elegant, structured wine with some sour cherry, currants, tobacco leaf, charred earth, and a crushef rock-coffee medium finish. Sure, on the downside, but still drinks savory good tonight. — 2 months ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland
with Brenda
Tom, Bob and 12 others liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1988

More of a suave & polished version of LB that is showing well at 38 yrs. Notes of red & black fruits, spice box, earth, cedar, floral, leather & tobacco — 2 months ago

Rob, Tom and 8 others liked this

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1996


Evolved & aromatic
Cedar wood, cigar box and a touch of cassis with some earthy, gravelly undertone.
Evolved and yet very pure. And very enticing.
Beautiful, simply beautiful on the palate. Firm yet polished and ultra fine tannins, juicy acidity, juice creamy black fruit on the mid palate. Elegant with nice depth and great length.
Beautiful juicy austerity. Classic benchmark left bank Bordeaux. And delish!!!
— 2 months ago

Tom liked this

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2012

These used to be cheap - not any more 40$ for the new vintage this was 26$. Classic and super elegant. A ton of tannins left: 14%. Fermented dark olives. Dark cherries. Way better than the 2013 chianti reserva I popped for our italian dinner club. These are the wines kids should try - but hey our brillant marketing 🤡 priced them out of trying quality nebbiolo so they switch to cocktails and beer! Well done. Will go for 5-10 more years with ease. — 3 months ago

Daniel, John and 9 others liked this
John Howard

John Howard Influencer Badge

@Pinotman /// Andreas always so good. The single vineyard ones used to be the best high end values in the world imho. Not anymore. Still great though.

Château Latour

Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2001

2001 vintage. Sweet fill. Cork perfect (used a Durand) but more than a bit underwaxed so it was a positively Italian experience during the opening process. I trust those in the know completely understand what the hell imma talking about. Workout! Cork out in one piece and expected amount of sed. Medium body with overtures towards more. Blueberry, tobacco, plum and gravelly, wet earth impressions leading the charge throughout. Grippy tannins providing visible and raised guardrails during. A little editorial...the 2001's were generally emasculated/minimized after the supposed "vintage of the (which one?) century" in 2000. The 2000's have largely failed to deliver the anticipated goods whereas the "meh" 2001's (at vastly reduced prices from the 2000's) are rocking don't bother knocking now. Completely like the guy or girl that was always cute but totally caught fire after high school. A late(r) bloomer and completely underrated. This wine has an easy 20-spot of top-notch drinking ahead. 1.24.26. — 5 months ago

Ericsson liked this

Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2002

Ron R
9.6

Not the best of vintage in Bdx, but the winemaker clearly pulled off some acrobatics here.
Nose displays the usual Cos spice-box signature, along with notes of forest floor, sage and mushrooms. Palate is rich and dense showing no signs of age. Nice mature casis profile links up with brambles and sandalwood. Tannins continue to prop up this outstanding example.
— 7 months ago

Andrew MooreRick K
with Andrew and Rick
Paul, Ted and 25 others liked this

Château Margaux

Premier Grand Cru Classé Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1990

Decanted for 4 hours and was floral with hints of spice. Smoothed out over the evening to lush flavors of plum, cherry, blackberry and blueberries. Finished with lite taste of tobacco and old leather. — 15 days ago

Letha Phillips
with Letha
Rick, Bob and 5 others liked this

Domaine du Pegau

Cuvée Réservé Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 2022

2022 vintage. Medium-heavy body. Needs time/patience but shows pretty well currently if you're out of either/both. 6.3.26. — a month ago

Jan, Ruud and 10 others liked this

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1982

A complex, stunning, beautifully elegant wine!
Really well preserved bottle with very little ulage!
Needed a bit of time to open up and lose the damp smell - showing cedar wood, cigar box, red fruit, leather, a bit of mushrooms, complex & still evolving in the glass!
On the palate this was smooth, mellow with bright acidity, layers of juicy red fruit accents and tertiary aromas. The length was just incredible. Sophisticated & elegant.
A truly spectacular & special bottle!
— 2 months ago

Daniel liked this

Château Lafite Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Slight younger looking , a little more ruby both in the core but still mostly garnet rim.
This is high toned slightly redder fruit , less dense than the preceding 3 . Cherry , red plum , cedar, seaspray . On the palate this is again quite elegant and refined , cherry , red plum some cassis , red plum , cigar box . Not overly weighty with perhaps a little less noticeable tannin than some of the others . Long vibrant , spicy grafite tinged finish . Very elegant , reserved and I suppose very Lafite , this grows during the experience but was actually voted in last place by the group , that somehow doesn’t surprise me, at the end of the day one wine did have to come last, and this was relatively discreet only showing its real breeding and class with time in the glass. Needs time , but is very promising , probably another 5-10 years (as with almost all the others ) , will last well a further 20 if not more . The elegance and style of this wine is fantastic , this really grows in the glass . Had to be Lafite for me . Bronze medal here .
— 2 months ago

Jan, "Odedi" and 4 others liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Timothy Eustis
9.3

2016 out of magnum. Cigar box. Ripe tannins. Beautiful. — 5 months ago

Jay, Pooneet and 11 others liked this
Severn G

Severn G Influencer Badge Premium Badge

'16 in the zone now

Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

Baron de Pichon-Longueville Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2023

Château Pichon Baron 2023 – Pauillac, Grand Cru Classé en 1855. BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A commanding and traditionally styled Pauillac delivering power, precision, and aristocratic structure, driven by a 66% Cabernet Sauvignon–dominant blend with 27% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Semillon support. Dark fruit density, mineral authority, and refined oak integration create a wine that feels impactful today while clearly engineered for long-term evolution and layered complexity.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, cassis, blackberry, graphite, pencil shavings, cedar, cigar box, crushed gravel, subtle dark cocoa and savory spice.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied with firm yet polished tannins, excellent mid-palate density, vibrant structural tension, tightly knit acidity, and a long, authoritative finish that builds rather than fades.

Food Pairings
Dry-aged ribeye, lamb rack, beef Wellington, venison, mushroom-forward dishes, aged hard cheeses.

Verdict
A textbook expression of elite Pauillac: powerful, elegant, disciplined, and deeply age-worthy. The wine delivers immediate presence while clearly signaling even greater complexity and harmony with time in bottle.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is serious wine, fierce yet controlled, deeply impressive without arrogance, and loaded with finesse under the horsepower. A bottle that earns respect with every sip and promises an extraordinary future in the cellar.
— 5 months ago

Ted, Tom and 4 others liked this

Château Palmer

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1983

Slightly lighter garnet core , lighter terracotta rim . Quite muted on the nose , quite herbal and spiced notes, some red plum and floral sous bois , black tea . After a while this opens up slightly , showing a bit more detail , but never jumps out and grabs your attention as other bottles have. On the palate this is better , with the roundness and slightly sweet , red plum , summer fruits , sous bois and lightly herbal , grafite tinged , saline finish of reasonable length . Quite refreshing acidity and suave tannins . On this basis drink now and over the next few years. However , there are better bottles out there . This was disappointing compared with other bottles I’ve had , though the palate was more sound and it wasn’t flawed. A bit of a perplexing bottle. — 8 months ago

Scott@Mister, Ira and 21 others liked this
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

I bought a case of this wine on original release, and still have 5-6 left. Last one I opened, with ‘82 Pichon-Lalande and ‘82 Gruaud-Larose, it was CLEAR WOTN, it blew me away, nearly perfect. Of course, as my brother always tells me, there are great wines, but great bottles are never guaranteed!! Cheers!
Andrew Cullimore

Andrew Cullimore

Great anecdote @Doug Powers and very true. That event of yours must have been a fantastic experience! I have had this Palmer 83 a few times and it normally is a fantastic experience, seductive , aromatic … yesterday , was below par … from a beautiful looking case from an excellent UK cellar … but there you go! Nothing is guaranteed. Hopefully the next bottle will be back to par !

Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2010

2010 vintage. Decanted and tasted immediately. Lean and mean. Medium body but only because of the concentration. Dark fruits and plenty of espresso influence evident. Slightly less delicate than other P-C efforts fortunate enuff to taste. Tighter than the outstanding 2009 upon initial impressions. Needed more time to coddle this one but couldn't carve it out. ***EDIT 6.27.26***Delectable was having a moment during the review process and couldn't access previous wines/research properly, so went with memory. Ha so bad. It WASN'T the 2009 I thought I previously had. Actually confused vintages and had this exact 2010 vintage on 12.5.25 (9.6) with enough time to appreciate properly. The 2010 quickie was still nice at 9.4 but not nearly as good as being 9.6 romanced properly. 6.20.26. — 11 days ago

Joel, Jeroen and 14 others liked this
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

I might have exited the planet by the time the well made 2010 Bordeaux’s peak.

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. — 2 months ago

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

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego Premium Badge

@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

Shay A Influencer Badge Premium Badge

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

Neil Valenzuela

😱FOMO

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2012

1 hour decant(some chunky sediment). A striking deep garnet color with some bricking. On the nose: exquisite notes of dark fruit, herbaceous, cedar lined cigar box, floral, pencil shavings. Taste: silky, brooding, balanced wine with blackberry/dark cherry, loamy soil, graphite, tobacco, licorice and a minerally roasted coffee persistent finish. YUM!! — 3 months ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland
with Brenda
Tom, Brenda and 15 others liked this
Paul K

Paul K

NICE!!! 😊

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1997

Out of coravin…it needs to be decanted to show properly. — 4 months ago

Tom, Jan and 5 others liked this

La Rioja Alta

Reserva Viña Ardanza Rioja Tempranillo Garnacha 2019

This full bodied reserva wine offers big aromas of cherry, black licorice and black pepper. It was tight upon opening but I let it breathe in the glass for an hour which allowed vanilla aromas to come through as well. It offers silky tannins that keep the structure and mellow out on the persistent finish. This wine has flavors of ripe cherry, black pepper and leather. This is a beautiful and complex wine that I think will be even better in a few years. — 5 months ago

Spottswoode

Family Estate Grown St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

2020 vintage. With @Beth Novak . Decanted and tasted after one hour. Medium body. Nose practically leapt out of the glass with plenty to discuss. Flavors a bit more subdued but definitely present. Just enough back-end, tannic presence to hold court. This should be absolute dynamite in 3-5 years. Initial visit a bit over two years ago (9.5) and was more explosive but will cede that to the last impression getting more air time. Said then that this was my fave since the 1991 vintage and sticking by that. 1.2.26. — 6 months ago

Ted, David and 21 others liked this