Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I generally don’t embrace this cuvée. Especially, at its price point. I’ll take Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, Billecart St. Nicolas and few others before Cristal. But this 13 out of magnum shows promise.

Excellent with the Prosciutto & Melon. — 3 months ago

Jerry Raphael

9.4

I usually bring at least one older wine to a favorite BYOB restaurant for NYE dinner. I selected this 33 year old cab and trying to open it the cork crumbled and some came out and some stayed it so decanted through a tea strainer into my take out bottle. I could tell just by the color this wine had promise. Poured about 2 hours later and the color was deep dark red to the edge. Not much on the nose but the taste had a lot of black fruits and a bit of spice and seemed like a young wine. The finish was long and smooth. It was still drink great as we finished the bottle about 2 hours later. Luckily I have another bottle and have to figure out when I’m going to open that one. At Anthony’s in HH — 2 years ago

Paula Strebig

9.1

Dark red, moderate legs, cherry on the nose. Red fruit, hints of spicy cassis. Smooth, long, finish with something un- identifiable ( due to COVid). Paula’s Birthday at Briquettes steak house in Mobile AL- bacon wrapped fillet mignon, baked potato, grilled veggies & key lime pie. — 5 years ago

with Tim

Gilbert Van Hassel

9.5

Wine is going through a difficult period but contains such promise. Sharp, delineated, super long and super closedForget this for minimum ten years. I would probably score it higher in a few more years — 6 years ago

Gilbert Van Hassel

9.5

Full of promise and full of oak — 6 years ago

Mark Mannebach

9.1

Strawberry & rose notes — 8 years ago

Joseph Gannon

8.9

Youngish, which is to be expected for Raffault. Full of promise, revisit in five years — 9 years ago

Robert Swart

9.4

Rich layers of toffee, dark chocolate, baking spice, and a smoky depth from the heavy char. Drinks much more smoothly than it should for its proof. — 8 months ago

GaryWEdwards

9.5

Youthful and filled with promise of a great wine for decades to come. Benefits from generous decant to bring the lavender and dark berry together. — 2 years ago

with Logan

Tom Casagrande

9.2

A nice Bordeaux and a bunch of mesquite-grilled lamb chops. This Cantemerle is quite dense and youthful. Color shows almost no sign of age. With air, nose slowly unfurls to show lots of graphite, menthol, tight cassis fruit, underbrush, and crushed rock. Medium bodied, the flavors are tight too, and there is nice concentration, but it’s mostly promise for the future. Tannins are nicely managed and there is good acidity. 9.2+ — 3 years ago

yoav gottesman

9.5

3/4 hours before drinking , pure velvet & totally delivers on its promise — 6 years ago

Gilbert Van Hassel

9.4

Closed, don’t drink now but great promise — 6 years ago

Scott Kahn

8.9

A little to young in the palette but wonderful on the nose. A lot of promise in this bottle of for a future tasting!! — 8 years ago

Dana Thompson

9.3

Pretty darn amazing Languedoc courtesy of our friends from Paris. Four evolving layers of berry, then tobacco then great high notes. No way you can find this stateside. — 9 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.3

Quite medium pale ruby rim, wide garnet rim . Spiced red cherries , quite reserved , and some herbal balsamic , saline hints. On the palate more of the slightly herbal , earthy red cherry , strawberry . Fine and refined , quite fresh acidity and gritty tannins . Good length Needs time but shows good promise and excellent balance . Come back in 5 years , will drink well for a further 5-10. At Vinous Icons NY, Pier 60 , Feb 2025 — a year ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2014 vintage. Big graphite and iron nose. Intense and muscular. Medium-bodied. Complimentary fruit cradled by ridiculous tannins. Grippy and rambunctious. JC Superstar. Till 2048 at least. Not even close to entering “the zone” but so much promise once the tumblers fall into place. 10.21.23. — 3 years ago

Konrad Ziegler

9.2

Big flavor Pinot from Washington — 4 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.6

The 2018 Montrose delivers on the promise that it showed from barrel. I gave this a three-hour decant before broaching, since Montrose is always backward, albeit far less ferociously than even just a decade ago. It offers copious blackberry and blueberry scents on the nose, plus pressed violets and a light estuarine scent that becomes accentuated with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a silky-smooth texture. Finely chiseled tannins frame multilayered black fruit infused with crushed stone, and it has retained that subtle graphite element that lends it a Pauillac-like personality, though less so than out of barrel. This is a beautifully defined Montrose with entrancing symmetry, and it should drink earlier than other recent vintages thanks to a little more pliancy. (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2021)
— 5 years ago

Thor S

9.4

Good but too tight as others have said. It’s just too young. Certainly has incredible promise and strength now. But the 2014 has not found its way here in late 2019. It’s a wonderfully extracted and potent cab. Give it some time and it will likely yield outstanding rewards. - cheers — 7 years ago

Georg Salzner

9.5

Great fruit forward Pinot noir — 8 years ago