Jim Wagonfeld

9.1

Aerated 2 hours and the consumed over 2 days. Almost purple in color. Nose of loam, dark fruit and cedar. Palate of dark berries, plums, graphite and licorice. Smooth tannins. Finish of medium length. We enjoyed this with a strip loin roasted in my BGE. Favorable PVR. @andrew schirmer and @nancy dwight were sheltering in place. — 3 days ago

with Judy

"Odedi"

8.9

It's time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday . Here's a nice one from Saint Emilion.

Dark ruby in color with a short brick/ reddish rim.

On the nose, blueberries, cherries, licorice, oak, vanilla, wildflowers, spices, peppercorn, pencil lead, dark earth and coffee. Not very powerful though.

Full bodied with medium acidity and nice legs.

Dry on the palate with cooked cherries, oak, licorice, spices, chocolates, tobacco, diet cola, coffee, earth, vegetables and wet leaves.

Medium minus on the finish with firm tannins and tangy cranberries.

This 8 year old is drinking nicely now, although not from a great vintage. Easy drinking with a nice mouthfeel and nice complexity. Showing some over ripen fruits, which might be a storage issue. A good food wine, though.

Needs a couple of hours to open up properly.

I had it blind, and called Right Bank Bordeaux 2011.

A blend of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Franc. Aged in French oak barrels for 15 months.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

89 points.

$100. — 23 days ago

Andrew Lohse

9.0

Black cherry, raspberry, vanilla, mocha / med+ bodied with some earthy notes. Pretty red fruit strong on nose — 13 days ago

Tom Casagrande

9.0

Open and low-toned nose has dark plum and blackberry, a bit of vanilla, and a liquid mineral/iodiney note. Soft and intense, it’s got mostly savory flavors that cling nicely and are a bit athletic right now. A couple of years will put this already nice wine in an even better place. — 3 days ago

Paul Jakubowski

9.5

1 hour decant. Dark purple color. Right in the drinking window. Floral and graphite nose. Deep, dark cherries on the palate with elements of earth, vanilla, oak, and blueberry. Complex and high quality. I’ll be sourcing more! Big wine! — 7 days ago

with Brooke

Shay A

9.1

Wednesday Wine Committee from this past week. A fantastic hosting by @joe leatherwood . 1 sparkler, 2 whites, 5 reds, 1 dessert wine. All tasted blind as usual.

Not familiar with this producer. Since I don’t have much context to go on, it’s hard to get a pulse on typical profile, but when comparing to the other 2000 Bordeauxs in the lineup, this seemed much older. Old baked fig, cocoa dusted dates, scorched black plum and pipe tobacco. Aged funk on the palate with leather, dried black cherries, and an herbal finish. A touch syrupy too. I called this old Brunello. — 20 days ago

with joe, Dan and 2 others

Ian Hamel

9.0

Way young and aromatically not very expressive at first. It’s got a nice medium texture with some openness to the weave - nothing monolithic. With several hours the nose opens a bit but this really needs some time — 8 days ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.0

Vintage 2005 / I wanted a comforting wine, so better choose an older one. I wanted a reliable wine, so choose a right bank Bordeaux. I wanted a wine that cheeres me up, so it became Saint Emilion. Lots of red fruit. Well ripened, velvety taste, spicyness. Paired with a Flemish stew and cauliflower gratin. I think this is my last bottle, the best tasted. — 10 days ago

Daniel P. Drake

9.3

Last night I opened the 2016 Château Barde-Haut Saint Emilion Grand Cru. What an exquisite Right Bank Bordeaux a blend of 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc.

The nose has fragrant aromas of black cherry, black plum, black raspberry, fig, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla and damp earth.

The palate show luscious notes of black cherry, raspberry, green bell pepper, plum, herbaceous notes, black currant and crushed rock.

This wine is medium to full bodied, well balanced, rich fruited mouthfeel with medium + acidity and medium + fine tannins that lead into a black fruit finish. Again we are all preoccupied by the goings on of the events of the last several weeks that seem to be turning everyone into weak minded individuals. Please be strong, go about your lives as normal and most of all stay safe. Enjoy your wine and be good to each other. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 21 days ago

Tom Garland

9.3

A difficult vintage...hot July, cool August, lots of rain during Sep harvest...but there are some stars who did careful grape selection.

2 hour decant (lots of chunky sediment). A dazzling inky garnet color. On the nose: graphite, cedar, chocolate, plum, and spice all jump from the glass. Taste: full of red cherry, cedar, orange peel, earth, coffee with good acidity and some slightly bitter/dry tannins still working themselves out ( give it a few more years). A creamy and elegant wine...great success for the vintage! — 23 days ago