Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

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 — 11 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.0

1966 vintage. Mid-shoulder fill. Lip under the foil an anthrax fever dream. Cleaned than up with an ice cube and a napkin. Used a Durand but this cork merely chuckled at it. Worst cork I’ve ever (tried to) extracted with a Durand. Bring out the funnel with screen to sift/filter out all the semi-ancient cork sed. Wasn’t going to decant as per usual guest wishes so went with the smallest decanter. Tasted 15 minutes, 45 minutes and 1.5 hours after opening. Light, well aged-Burgundy body. Substantial, (STILL!!!) feminine-styled offerings fruit/spicewise. Ummm…reason why Pichon-Lalande-and La Mission Haut-Brion-are my two fave BDX big guns. This was still showing better than you woulda thunk. 8.14.26 — 3 months ago

Robert Stackowiak

9.0

Plum and tobacco on the palate from the Syrah with nice fruitiness from the Grenache. Wonderful balance at a cheap price point. June 2026. — 5 months ago

Lawrence Bernstein

9.3

2/26 - amazing qualities all around. A fruit driven wine with lots or red plum and darker blackberry notes. Nice cedar and tobacco notes. Firm tanins. Outstanding mouthfeel. Soft finish. 93 — 9 months ago

Brian S

9.0

Same winemaker that makes Pichon Comtese, 53% Cabernet, 46% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc. Red and blue fruit, bay leaf, black soil, touch of bell pepper. — 10 months ago

Conrad Green

9.2

Light oyster shells, lime, limestone, salinity. Light and pretty and long — 4 years ago

with Gregg

Tom Garland

8.9

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. — 3 days ago

with Brenda

Peter Sultan

8.9

Black currants, black tea, blackberries in a relatively svelte body w integrated, moderate tannins. — 2 months ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.5

2020 vintage. An excellent introduction to the grand vin at a fraction of the price. Highly recommended. Abv. 14%. — 4 months ago

Doug Powers

9.1

Very intense mineral and floral aromas and flavors in this lovely Lirac blanc, depth and complexity from the old vines really show in the long, lingering finish, drinking beautifully tonight! — 7 months ago

with Jim and

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2014 vintage. Excellent cork and fill. Decanted with minimal sed and tasted after 1.5 hours. One of the few outlier exceptions (Haut-Bages-Libéral, Pichon-Lalande, et al) that proves the general, big and bold, Pauillac rule. Delicate impressions from start to finish with impeccable balance. Medium body. Plenty of flavors and sensations without big, overt commitments to any of them. Playing the field and we are all the better for it. Drinking beautifully now without any perceived or obvious Scylla/Charybdis pitfalls in the next decade. 01.16.26. — 10 months ago

Josh Morgenthau

9.0

Floral, with some darkness and bitterness on the palate. Quite a bit of volume and texture. — 3 years ago

Daniel Bloom

9.2

N; like violet pastilles. Swampy funk, blows off, stones, interesting blue/black
with a touch of garrigue.
P:Lithe, somewhat saline upon entry,
trips over the tongue, such nice mouthfeel. Blackberries, slightly prickly tannins, this wine could go 10 more years. The panoply of flavors hints at tomato leaf, black fruits, with that ever present chewy tannin structure lurking.
Mind you, we PnP this one.
I could drink this …a…long ….time — 4 years ago

Ted

9.3

My third vintage of a 4 bottle vertical. Dark chocolate and dark berries. Showing no signs of aging. — 11 days ago

with Jeni

Chris MacLean

9.5

Very special — 21 days ago

with Sarah

Doug Powers

8.9

Honeyed, white stonefruits, floral, solid acidity, good balance, lively and still pretty crisp, lingering finish, but not one to hold, ready to drink. — 4 months ago

with Jim

Doug Powers

9.3

This 2017 Lirac is 99% Clairette (and 1% Grenache Blanc) from an old head-pruned vineyard with 125-year-old vines which always produces such an unique white wine, some of the previous vintages have seemed to develop rather quickly, but this well-balanced beauty is still going strong at age 9, long, lingering finish, Rudi nailed this vintage, lovely!! — 8 months ago

with Jim

GaryWEdwards

9.7

Drinking even more beautifully than 18 months ago. Beautiful nose, big fruits, and that whole cigar leaf thing going on, with hints of chocolate. But the reward here is the generously long finish. Wow! — 10 months ago

Anthony Hughes

9.3

Dark cherry and raspberry, leather, and a dry finish with moderate tannins. — 2 years ago

with Nikkisa

Ed Chang

9.2

Wine flight at Sunday Vinyl. So great to see @Bobby Stuckey and the crew. And nothing like a Macintosh set up for sound. “It is so choice. If you ever have the means I highly recommend it.” — 4 years ago