Risky Business

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2014

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.
— 6 days ago

Pinotman, Tom and 18 others liked this

La Rioja Alta

Gran Reserva 904 Rioja Tempranillo Graciano 2010

Truly benchmark Rioja, La Rioja Alta’s ‘904’ Gran Reserva from the 2010 vintage - as fabled in Rioja as it is in Bordeaux - is a disarmingly gorgeous wine with superb ageing potential. I first tried this wine over two years ago, and found it a little closed at the time and was underwhelmed by the palate. The nose was terrific though, and that holds true today - it’s simply breathtaking, the sort of wine you spend ten minutes sniffing before taking your first sip. Today’s palate, however, is well and truly open for business. What a veritable explosion of flavour; a kaleidoscopic array of the best of both traditional and modern Rioja, all of it fresh, none of it tired, with a pure and ethereal presence of black and blue fruits, flowers, vanilla bean, clove, clementine and macerated cherry. When wine folk talk of a long finish, this wine gets a nod - it leaves an imprint on one’s palate that lasts minutes. I’m quite amazed by the improvement that two years has afforded this wine, both bottles bought at the same time and stored side-by-side in my cellar. At last, this has begun to show its potential and I cannot wait to see how it develops in the coming 20, 30, 40 years.

In the meantime, do not sleep on the 2010 Viña Ardanza, a wine that I have enjoyed many a time in the last two years, and one that would be included in my all-time list of value fine wines, were anyone to ask!

96+
— a year ago

Severn, Bob and 3 others liked this
Josh Morgenthau

Josh Morgenthau Influencer Badge

Great notes. Looking forward to trying this again!
Will Stanley

Will Stanley Influencer Badge

@Bob McDonald it’s a wine that rarely misses, so any vintages you have I’m sure are well worth having!
Will Stanley

Will Stanley Influencer Badge

@Josh Morgenthau in a good spot for sure!

Domaine du Pegau

Cuvée Réservé Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 2015

Oh yes…gimme all them funky cherries and all dat black licorice. There were also Ferrara Red Hots®️and a generous hit of black pepper. I simply adore Pegau; for all of its unapologetic character and authenticity. This 2015 brought the business tonight and was smashing with cassoulet, Toulouse sausage and duck confit. — a month ago

Eric, Severn and 13 others liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2006

2006 vintage. Lean and mean. Decanted and tasted after 1.5 hrs. Not too much sed. Nice little sprinkling of cocoa powder in a feminine nose but, otherwise, all business and very transactional. Difficult to love and hard to understand with this effort being pretty linear vs what we've come to know/expect/love from this property. Plenty of concentration but lacking that extra oomph of finishing depth and seems like it has topped out/not improving. 9.23.23. — 7 months ago

Severn, Ted and 13 others liked this

Jean Foillard

Côte du Py Morgon Gamay 2016

The Beaujolais 16’s are genereally very open for business. This wine has a clean nose with strawberry and cherry. Nice acidity, no red candy notes that I have come to really dislike with too young wines. Will be good for a handfull of years ahead. — a year ago

Josh, Ira and 3 others liked this

Bergström Wines

Cumberland Reserve Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2021

Great way to finish a two-week business trip in New York. Paired well with duck confit. — 3 months ago

Cantina Bartolo Mascarello

Barolo Nebbiolo 2012

Still ruby centre just, with terracotta rim. Quite ripe red fruits , spiced red cherry. On the palate quite mineral , and touches of liquorice , lovely red cherry and strawberry fruit . Sweet tannin and good balanced acidity . After a while a mineral , iron filing touch. Quite open and ready for business , good to drink now and over the next 10 years . — 9 months ago

Daniel, Tom and 4 others liked this

Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga

Riserva Rancia Chianti Classico Sangiovese Blend 2006

Nothing wrong with the classics. Dark garnet, juicy, broad, morello cherry, dank earth, porcini, open for business but could go longer — 2 years ago

Iwan, Lyle and 13 others liked this