Frank Kuo

9.4

Color of cloudy purple with some bright ruby hue. Nose of nice dark fruits like cherry, cherry jam, blackberry, spice, some tobacco leaves, and some strength of alcohol. Taste of spicy tannins, oaky note, a bit refined sweetness, nice strawberry note, a touch of vanilla and zest, and some fresh grape. Aftertaste is medium long, with sweet and spicy notes surface more while tannins is pretty much marginal. A bit light considering she is a Bordeaux, but a crowd pleaser for sure. Not sure why she has lower ratings from others. — 2 days ago

Aaron Tan

9.6

Just when you thought the oldest wine of the night was the 38' FKA Schmitt Pettenthal TBA, this pops up. Again I'll let SC describe the wine again:

Chateau La Mission Haut Brion 1923 was the oldest wine of the pre-auction dinner. Still so fresh with a lovely complex attack, a bit hollow [on the] mid-palate that shows an average vintage, and a long finish with a surprisingly good tannic structure. Stunning!

To add to this, I'd like to say WeinArt did an amazing job sourcing and cellaring this impeccable bottle. Kudos to them! — 8 days ago

Shay A

8.9

I think this bottle was either in a dumb phase or was just slightly off. Aromatic notes of leather, bay leaf, old cherries and earth. Still some tannin but seems slightly evolved for its age...I would have thought this was at least 7-10yrs older. Graphite, more leather, and very underripe red fruits on the palate. — 8 hours ago

with Dan and Weston

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

For our wedding reception in Cortona, I packed a magnum of 1986 Haut-Bages Liberal. Since then, we have bought it in all good Bordeaux years and have one on our anniversary. Sadly, I have an 86 somewhere in my EuroCave cabinets. I just couldn’t find it. It has been a challenging afternoon. Next year! A excellent vintage of Haut-Bages Liberal will just have to fill in.

The nose reveals; dark currants, heavily extracted blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum with skin, dark cherries, mix of purple fruits, sweet tarriness, dark chocolate, caramel, mocha, cinnamon, vanilla, light clove, some dark spices, lots of steeped, dark fruit tea, fresh Provenance herbs, anise, limestone minerals, dry clay, dry top soil, dry stones, a fair amount of graphite, fresh tobacco leaf, saddle-wood to cedar, leathery notes, dry underbrush, bright; dark, red, blue and violet florals.

Most of the 2000 Left Bank wines typically remain tight as a drum. This is just starting to open up and ascend.

The body is full, ripe, rich, lush and showing the beauty of the vintage. The tannins are rounded but, still show plenty of teeth and meaty, sticky, tarriness. The structure & tension are just starting to relax. The length and balance are really nice and will continue to better with many years in bottle. It’s still a hold for 7–10 years for its full beauty. Dark currants, heavily extracted blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum with skin, dark cherries, mix of purple fruits, strawberries, sweet tarriness, dark chocolate, caramel, mocha, cinnamon, vanilla, light clove, dark spices with palate heat, lots of steeped, dark fruit tea, fresh Provenance herbs, anise, expresso roast, limestone minerals, dry clay, dry, crushed rocks, dry top soil, dry stones, a fair amount of graphite, hints of black pepper, old & fresh tobacco leaf, saddle-wood to cedar, leathery notes, dry underbrush, bright; dark, red, blue and violet florals. The acidity is round and near perfect. The long finish is; ripe, well balanced with fruit and earth with penetrating earth/minerals and persists several minutes.

Happy Anniversary Sofia...would love to do it all over again as we did in 2012.

Photos of; the Piazza of the La Repubblica...the building we were married, us leaving for our reception and one of the better meals of our life, walking through town on the way to our reception and our wedding ceremony. — 10 days ago

Alexandre Pagliano

9.2

Really good Lalande de Pomerol from the Guinaudeau family. Its now called Les Perrieres de Lafleur, an allusion to the fact the vines are from Lafleur’s “selection massale”. Nose of floral notes, very precise sculpted mouth of dark berries and “rose fannee”, great acidity and balance, ends on tobacco notes. Its very accessible now but lors of potential to age. Great bottle and the quality price ratio is hard to beat ! — 15 days ago

Ken Z

8.9

Black cherry, wet rocks, and a touch of petrol (blows off after a bit) on the nose. A mix of red and black fruits on the medium palate. Medium tannins and finish.

3/21/8/4/3+50= 89 pts. — 4 days ago

"Odedi"

9.0

Here is my #MerlotThursday for this week. A nice one from Bordeaux.

Dark ruby in color with a short, cloudy, reddish rim.

Fruity nose of plums, cherries, licorice, oak, vanilla, spices, chocolates, cloves, herbs, graphite, earth, light vegetables and black pepper.

Full bodied and bold with medium acidity and nice legs.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, oak, vanilla, cloves, spices, licorice, peppercorn, earth, graphite and dark coffee.

Medium plus in finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cranberries.

This is a nice, yet young, Merlot Cabernet blend from Saint Estephe. Showing nice complexity and a great mouthfeel.

Needs a couple of hours to open up properly. Starting to show the tannins after 60 minutes of airtime. Needs 5 years in the bottle to mature, but already drinking very nicely.

Feels like a blend of left and right bank. Nice and engaging.

I paired it with cheeses, crackers and fresh fruit.

A blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. Kosher.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$50. — 4 days ago

Mark Turner

9.1

Birth year wine for my birthday. Always a roll of the dice with wines this old but this one was really good. Opened up nicely with a little time in the glass. Surprised at the clarity and minimal oxidation. Still had red tones not overly orange on the edges. Classic Bordeaux nose. Leather on the finish. Not a ton going on mid plate (more soft and subtle fruit). Overall very pleasing wine. I wish I was aging as gracefully as this! — 7 days ago

Timmer McCarthy

9.1

Enjoyed the ‘13 so much last night, figured the ‘11 would be a perfect bottle to open on the train to Paris! — 4 days ago

with Laura

James Forsyth

9.3

Catching up on a few wines I didn't post reviews for....the 1994 L'Eglise Clinet is, in my view, rather tasty. Ok it's not a regarded vintage and it's fading, but this medium bodied wine still has elements of its dark fruit in place, though some enjoyable tertiary notes are more pronounced. — 24 days ago