Austin Hohnke

9.2

Had to see what this was about. Featured in Somm 3. Bright and stemmy on pop and pour. Red berries and spice tones coming in hot initially. Absolutely reads new world. Softens with time in the glass. Tasty and sense heightening. — 23 days ago

Doug Powers

9.4

Lovely vintage Porto, dark fruits, solid balance, starting to show its age, long, lingering finish, only quibble is that this doesn’t show the characteristic sweeter style (thus my comment on its age, starting to dry out just a tad). — a month ago

with Jim

Robert Swart

9.1

Special treat from friends. Excellent with biscuits and blueberry stilton and wensleydale. — 3 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Sweet black fruits - plums. Only medium weight - restrained. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot. 2012 was a cooler more moderate growing season, more claret style says Sam Middleton. This is not one of the great Quintets IMO. At its best Quintets is one of the best Cabernet blends in Australia. It still reinforces the fact that the Yarra Valley is one of the better terroirs for Bordeaux blends in Australia. Not for long cellaring. This is first of 3 of the 2012 vintage I have in my cellar. — 4 months ago

Donald Williams

9.4

Really held up great, even after being opened for months. — 5 months ago

with Bonnie

Doug Powers

9.4

[8 hour decant] This smells and (in particular) tastes like Dow’s, the drier style of classic Vintage Port, still shows lovely fruit and depth, just not as sweet as Fonseca or Graham’s, nor as structured as Taylor’s, longish finish, very, very sneaky fine!! — 6 months ago

with Jim

AHF

9.5

Moderately sweet, viscous and spirity. Balanced and firm, not cloying or sharp. Long finish. — 6 months ago

Doug Powers

9.3

[8 hour decant] This is from a very fine lot of 1977 Graham’s I purchased in the mid-to-late 1990s from a small Napa importer, and is at the level of the 1977 Fonseca we drank last week, sweet, nice weight and balance, long, lingering finish, very nice!! — a month ago

with Jim

Bob McDonald

9.6

Aromatics of struck match, lime and grapefruit - on the palate a surprising luscious texture. Overall there is fruit and mineral intensity. A fabulous new World Chardonnay - one of Australia’s best. A few years ago I conducted a blind tasting of 2015 Chardonnays which included all of Australia’s best like Giaconda and Leeuwin Art Series and a Premier Cru white burgundy just to make things interesting - the consensus winner on the day was the Bindi Quartz. — 2 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.7

One of the best Pinots I’ve had from anywhere this year. Also I should state the only note I’ve been able to put on Delectable out of 4 attempts. The previous 3 have disappeared. Light in colour and a beautifully fragrant wine with Medium + intensity. 98 points from Huon Hooke and he made this comment, “A mesmerising wine - surely one of Bindi’s best ever “. I can only agree. This is a top quality Pinot Noir no matter the origin and will probably reach the end of HH’s drinking window of 2034. This Is easily of Premier Cru and in some cases Grand Cru standard. — 3 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Black a new blend produced from classic varieties that do not make it into the Quinta do Noval vintage. Deep Ruby red color with pronounced aromas of berry fruits, spice and floral notes. On the palate flavors of blackberry, spice, leather and smoke. Long finish, full bodied, smooth tannins, ending with fruit, cacao and tobacco notes. Nice. — 5 months ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.5

Served this slightly chilled (12’C?).
Gorgeously fresh and pure dark fruit. Succulent, juicy, still primary….
Tannines and alcohol beautifully blended into the dense and viscous core. Only a slight hint of spice, chocolate and licorice now. Sweetness and freshness in excellent balance. It even feels more fresh than sweet at the moment. Certainly not too heavy nor intense.
This is so forward and yummy and sexy right now… I just don’t miss the complexity it might be lacking at this stage.
Sure, it has a few decades of life left and it could get more cerebral and complex…
But don’t bother. Drink it now! — 6 months ago

Jerry Raphael

9.2

Very enjoyable, with a lot going on. Loaded with blackberry and dark fruits, along with violet, licorice, spice, and floral notes. A nice long finish to round it out. This was a 375 ml bottle and cost $16.99 back in the day—hard to argue with that value.
I still have some older Vintage Ports resting in the cellar and will get to them in due time—no rush. NYE dinner at Anthony’s in HH was a great way to cap it off. — 6 months ago

Doug Powers

9.1

Big, rich, ripe LBV with awesome fruit and structure, lacks the subtlety of the 1977 Graham’s vintage, but a great LBV as a sipper!! — a month ago

with Jim

John Malcolm

9.0

Bright and fresh. Prunes, chocolate, hazelnut, orange peel, and vanilla. Excellent with a rich blue cheese. — 3 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.1

1994 vintage. 3.15.26. — 3 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

1994 vintage. Popped, decanted and filtered and tasted immediately. Opened six decades too early. The whole crushed violets and plummy thang definitely there alongside hints of sweet tobacco in her breath. With apologies, just another number in your little black book. These are the pros and cons. 1.24.26. — 5 months ago

Doug Powers

9.5

[8-hour decant] Ripe, rich, very youthful still, with a noticeable tannic backbone, but also shows a sweet palate (think Graham’s/Fonseca, though the Symington family owns Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s and Cockburn’s, among others??), this should easily evolve/improve another 10-20 years, very long finish, outstanding vintage Porto, super long finish!! — 6 months ago

with Jim

Tobin Spratte

9.4

Bananas foster, Christmas fruitcake, with balanced gun smoke aromas. Much fruitier and more concentrated than the Warres. Fantastic. — 6 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

Mid to pale crimson - actually transparent. The pale colour belies the aromatic and palate intensity. Aromatics of cherry and raspberry transforming on to the medium bodied sweet red fruited palate. A touch of Sous Bois. An excellent Pinot as always from the Applejack Vineyard from Giant Steps. — 7 months ago