Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Medium lemon yellow , persistent fine perlage . At first quite shy , needs a bit of time to get going . Then buttered pastry , confit lemon and roast nuts , quite bold and rich , just a hint of chalky minerality . On the palate the richer , deeper theme continues , those pastry and buttery notes , confit lemon and a creamy mouthfeel . Long balanced finish , the chalky acidity really helping to cut through richer , mouth filling profile . Coming back to this at the end of the meal , having sat 6 hours in the glass , this still shows remarkable freshness and life. This seems young to me still , certainly has everything for a long life ahead , better in 5 years perhaps and will show well a further 10-15 perhaps . — 5 days ago

Peter Sultan

9.3

Broke out one of my cellared Raffaults for my homeboy who graced me with a home cooked Tuscan styled flank steak w rosemary & arugula, as well as Israeli cous cous w chickpeas, charred tomatoes, feta, & herbs. Light Cadmium red hued & strong color though ( good cork- not a guarantee w Raffault!); dense Hibiscus, fresh raspberry & some bramble on nose; on palate very clean & smooth mouthfeel, with the initial flavors repeated but a deeper blend of red fruits & a stronger presence of under brush. Super fresh & integrated. Elegant, & the Burgundy echo was hard to ignore. Not Uber complex but not monolithic either, which this line of Raffault can be in its youth ( or as it ages). Very impressive, & accessible now. Curious how my ‘02 & 07s will fare… — 16 days ago

with Owen

Andrew McIntyre

9.5

Birth year Latour for our 700th wine on Delectable! Very mature but still with lots of life. Leather, graphite and earthy notes and still so much power. A great pleasure to drink! — 6 days ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

Excellent 08. Chave and Allemand really nailed the difficult vintage in Northern Rhône, and 2008 Hermitage is showing beautifully tonight, fresh, elegant and detailed with aromas of juicy red berry fruit, bacon, roasted herbs and smoky minerals. While not an exceptionally deep and concentrated rendition in 2008, it’s really a considerable success, and it’s fully open, giving and ready to drink. — 6 days ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

This had lots of rich dark berry fruit with notes of graphite, sweet, savory spice, cedar, leather & tobacco — 12 days ago

Doug Powers

9.5

Shows a little bit of funky, faint Brett aromas, flavors are rich, dark-fruited, and more youthful than the ‘86 Mouton which we also opened, long, lingering finish, very fine!! — 5 days ago

with Jim

Andrew McIntyre

9.4

Wifes birth year wine was so impressive. Smoke and leather, very polished. Reminded me of a great Pinot. Great experience — 6 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.6

Medium ruby , slighter narrower ruby / pink rim , a little less bright . Slightly deeper , darker fruits , blueberry, violets , with scorched earth , mineral and grafite . On the palate , more intensity and power perhaps , more noticeable though still velvety tannin , dark fruits , mineral , saline , fresh cigar. Lovely fresh acidity , balanced alcohol . Long saline , mineral tinged, slightly toasty finish . Needs time obviously , but will be one of the great wines from a great vintage in 20 years, just wait — 5 days ago

Shay A

9.2

Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.

Fun to do a side by side with the ‘88, and also check in against the Montelena. Profile wise, this leans ripe and modern stylistically. There is a kiss of brett that takes you to Bordeaux but it’s mostly red and black fruit driven with a vanilla pipe tobacco sweetness, leather, cassis and a little bit of a floral note, especially aromatically. Big structure for the vintage, but open for business now if you can give it a few hours in the decanter. — 12 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.1

Garnet core , terracotta rim . Spiced red fruit undergrowth , touch of brown sugar , grafite , tobacco , dried mushroom, touch of smoke . On the palate quite elegant red fruited , dried cranberry , red currant , still very much alive , just enough acidity. Slightly short on the finish , but with a round palate and a slightly sweet , brown sugar tinged finish . Still very much alive and enjoyable . Better than expected — 14 days ago