Kyle B

9.0

Reserved for royalty is right. fantastic. — 3 months ago

with Terry

Dave Mayers

9.8

Absolute harmony and royalty in a glass. Popped with Goose in a random afternoon cause, why not. Blown away by its place right now. Balanced with richness and acid and then comes that Monty finish. Holy fuck! Not always moves by Leflaive, but the 14 was special. — 3 years ago

Dave Mayers

9.3

Wow. A stunning bottle of red from a master of white. This outperformed so many big boys from only miles away. An example of volnay excellence. And the texture is pure royalty. Soft velvet and pure fruit backed up by gentle acidity. Plushness Express. Can I get a ticket? Plz? Round trip. Everyday. Let’s do! With Madi and Massaman. After 2 hours ripe cherry and wet slate are pronounced. Feels like a wine with 20 yrs of age. Im in heaven. — 3 years ago

Jim Anderson

9.5

Russian River royalty in a bottle. Darker, sweeter fruit. Cherry, plum, currant, blackberry, black tea. — 5 years ago

Brad Jensen

9.3

Wow, delicious. Had as the finishing wine of a tasting menu and pairing at Otoko in Austin. Very bright, slight oaky flavors, dry but not puckering, and apparently made for Hungarian royalty. Will absolutely buy again. — 6 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.1

I’d been warned this was going to be an oak bomb and...nope. There’s oak but it isn’t, say, Guigal levels. And if there were a human oak detector equivalent of, well, bomb-sniffing dogs, that’s me. There are pleasant vanilla things going on with this. It tastes like expensive winemaking—focused voluptuous tannins, ripe fruit in a myriad of colors, earth that certain was trod by royalty and CEOs and...this is luxurious cab franc I would not know was in fact cab f but...do I care? Not right now, no. I’m enjoying my wine that is not an oak bomb. It simply is bomb. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

At the Downs Club Magnum Christmas Dinner. In this case me holding a 6 Litre Methuselah or Imperial as it is also known of Eldertons Best Cuvée - the Command Shiraz. A very generous gift from Cameron Ashmead of the Ashmead Family , the owners of Elderton for the support and business from the Club. Barossa Valley royalty was mentioned in a previous note and it applies here in spades. Rich dark chocolate and earthy berry aromas. A flat out delicious palate with soft resolved tannins and oak influence judiciously used. Will live for years particularly in an Imperial. A treat to taste this - thanks again Cameron. — 8 years ago

Ericsson

9.2

The Hyde Vineyard is like a Cathedral for Chardonnay. Merely tasting Chardonnay from this site, sought after by California wine making royalty becomes and extraordinary experience. Hobbs and Ramey have taken California Chardonnay to new highs with fruit derived from this soil. This example is no exception, with a good seven years of aging, the wine has developed deep nuances like nutty and brioche notes which soften as the wine breaths. Finish is long and refreshing with abundant citrus. Cheers. — 2 years ago

Dave Mayers

9.0

All the glitz but none of the power and other worldly tingles. A few sips gave me the that king wild rich finish but something about Droughin that I can’t quite get u to. Royalty but kinda boring royalty. With Bonmbers. — 3 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

A light gold in colour. A very different nose. - a caramel liqueur note originally - I have a feeling the nose on this will change frequently over the next few hours. Flinty, white florals, an oxidative note. Very fresh on the palate for a 16 year old wine. 86% Semillon and 14% Sauvignon Blanc. Certainly a wine that benefits from and is made to cellar. Robert Parker gave this 98 points and said it should last 30 years in the cellar. I can’t see it myself as the lemon citric acid has diminished greatly at this point. Obviously this is White Bordeaux Royalty and very pleasing but not for the stupid price I paid. One of the 1001 Wines. The next night I noticed the viscosity on the palate and a honeysuckle note. Oak is integrated. Certainly an experience but dreadful QPR. — 4 years ago

Devin Bray

9.2

90% Viuria, 10% Malvasia from La Rioja Alta, Tondonia is a very well respected family that's been making wine for royalty there for centuries. They developed the superb 2007 Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva following the founder of López de Heredia's admiration for the wines of Graves, France - renowned for their austere and dry whites. 2007 was a very good vintage in Rioja, much better than anticipated with perfect weather in the months prior to harvest. Hand destemmed and aged for 6 years in new Spanish oak. The wines are evolving slowly and in a positive way.

This has such fresh aromas of peaches and dried pears, dried apricot pit, as well as some fresh almonds and lemon pith in the mix. So youthful. The palate is beautifully fresh and super long, full of energy and lively grapefruit and lemon. Silky texture and a smooth, lightly toasted almond and beeswax finish, with a hint of salinity. María José López de Heredia considers 2007 a great vintage for their wines—extraordinary. — 6 years ago

James Webb

9.6

Dsgd 12/1/17 - how does one put this wine into words... it’s sheer complexity and unrivaled structural perfection. Its nose has caramel, mahogany, citrus, berries, flowers all packed into so many layers. The wine changes with air and temperature revealing all things interesting. They attack is so well balanced, as is the entire wine. It’s a black LBD of a wine with sequins all over. Not gigantic but also fully expressive, it sits on a throne of champagne royalty. — 6 years ago

LM Segal

10

The nose immediately established this CDP as royalty, and the palate followed accordingly. Silky smooth, big and round. Black fruit, Asian spice, black truffles. Pure as heck, layered with so much going on while your nostrils are sending your brain unseen before signals of red flowers, bacon frying and fairy dust. Should not have been better than the ‘01 but it was unanimous winner blind. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Mid crimson in colour. Lovely Cabernet aromas with a trace of blue fruits and a hint of violets. Very balanced and harmonious on the palate. Elegant. Plenty of flavour intensity and only 12.5% ABV. Tannins are fine but persistent. So balanced almost nothing stands out - the characteristics of a lot of great wines. Will cruise on to its 20th birthday and beyond. Cullen - Margaret River royalty. — 2 years ago

LM Segal

9.5

Beautiful in all respects, gently wafting black tea, red flowers. Layers of light and fully resolved red fruit, lots of secondary aromatics. Perhaps a bit past it’s prime but even so, obvious royalty. — 3 years ago

Dave Mayers

9.4

Royalty indeed. A bit too on the savory spectrum to take me to that magic place. Finish was a bit muted. — 4 years ago

Byron C Mayes

9.2

Stat bright pale straw. Lighter but inviting nose of Asian pear, toasted vanilla spice, and rocks. Palate is medium full yielding chalky pear, flinty citrus rind, and a hint of chalky vanilla. Medium long finish, especially as the wine warms up. The flagship wine of Domaine Dagueneau lives up to all the hype. “A red in white clothing,” as my drinking partner puts it. Allegedly, Didier preferred this wine with a rare steak. I totally get that, having had this with a lightly marbled New York strip (and shrimp). It’s Cabernet Sauvignon’s mother after all. So much complexity and general “stuff” in this wine! If you’re one of those who won’t spend a lot on white wines, you’re missing out. This is up there with Savienneres and White Burgundy among white wine royalty. Fork over the cash. You won’t regret it. Drink now through 2026. — 5 years ago

ESF

9.0

Along w/ Pra & Pieropan - the royalty of Soave. Ca’Rugate also make fantastic reds. Their wines always technically correct and strike the proper balance of extraction & finesse. This was no different: floral and citrus, vein of minerality, suave acidic backbone, delicious finish. — 6 years ago

Aaron Rankin

9.3

From mag. This is young and lively! No rush. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.3

At the Downs Club Magnum Christmas Dinner. Aromas of coffee grinds. Certainly considered as Barossa Valley Royalty with access to fruit from ancient vines. A powerful full bodied wine with glycerol and supple tannins. Extracted but not overly so. Very easy to like and to drink. A good future ahead particularly coming from Magnum. — 8 years ago