Cameron Etezadi

9.2

Beautiful port which is more Merlot forward than brandy forward. Ripe fruit and caramel notes. — 22 days ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service; enjoyed over the course of a couple hours. The 2006 pours a deep garnet/purple with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and a decent amount of fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with heady notes of cassis, black cherry, plums, Kalamata olive, purple flowers, pipe tobacco, leather, earth, and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long with savory minerals. Absolutely delicious. Drink now, though well-stored examples should drink well through 2036 — 2 months ago

Delectable Wine

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9.5

The 2021 The Bard is fabulous. Rich, ample and beautifully resonant, the 2021 offers up generous dark red cherry/plum fruit, mocha, new leather, licorice, spice, menthol and pipe tobacco. Full-bodied and voluptuous, the 2021 flaunts tons of flavor intensity and vibrancy. It’s a gorgeous wine, especially considering it is the largest-production wine at Realm. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, December 2023)
— 2 years ago

LM Segal

9.7

Pure blackcurrant perfectly articulated with dark chocolate, blue fruit and pipe tobacco. Mostly cab that made me think older Dominus, a Bordeaux style in Napa. In a perfect place with a few hours in decanter. — 2 years ago

Paul J

9.5

Awesome as always! Make sure to give a long decant. Filled with dark fruit and chocolate. Tannins were bigger than normal. — a month ago

with Brooke

Shay A

9.3

(Two previous 1983 vintage wine reviews never made it on here, so copying from CT).

My experiences with 1983s has been fairly positive, and this PL certainly is among the better I’ve had from the vintage. Holding color nicely with deep ruby and slight bricking around the rim. Started off a bit dense and muddled, but hit stride about 30mins later with a mix of red and black berry fruit, cassis, a streak of herbal green down the middle (something I always get with PL). Excellent example of the fruit showing lots of flavor without being overly ripe. Leather, sweet pipe tobacco, graphite, and still some vibrancy at the finish with tannin structure. Clean and elegant at this stage. Showed well over the course of two hours. Drink up and enjoy. — 10 months ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.4

Vintage 2007 | Masterpiece. Mesmerizing smell, complex: a flower garden, scottish pipe tobacco, cinnamon, rinse applesyrup. Refinement and elegance. 😍 — 2 years ago

Ming L

9.5

This 2016 has a more powerful core and slightly darker fruits than the 2015 that o can remember. The structure is more pronounced, yet it remains impeccably balanced with seamless oak integration. Elegant!

Always a treat to taste a wine from Garguilo. — 2 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.0

100% Merlot from Maremma - coastal Tuscany. Red plums, pipe tobacco and spices as aromatics. On the medium bodied palate savoury red fruits with spices. Drinking this after most pro tasters had closed the drinking window but this is still holding up. It might have been slightly fresher and better a year or two ago but still quite good. One of the 1001 wines. 14.5%ABV - up there for a European red. I will have my last one by the end of the year 2025. — 6 months ago

Shay A

9.2

92-93 for me.

Consumed half bottle at pop, then corked for another 4hrs before consuming the rest. No change.

What a beautifully elegant and refined ‘09. The highest compliment I can give this is that it was a simplistic joy. Some wines make it easy to get nerdy and command your attention…some wines are underwhelming and not worth your time. This was squarely in the middle. It was a joy to not feel the need to overthink…it’s exactly what it should be. No bricking at almost 15yrs. Decidedly black fruit heavy (black currant, cassis, underripe blackberries) with a sprinkling of raspberries and black cherries. Aromas of sweet pipe tobacco, dark florals. Integrated on the palate with good structure and acidity…not a massive wine, but it put on a bit of weight/length the longer it was open. Still sporting a fair bit of tannin at the finish, but it’s balanced. Drink or hold. — 2 years ago