Rule Of Three

Duckhorn Vineyards

Three Palms Vineyard Merlot 1988

Shay A
9.2

I picked up a couple ‘88s recently as I’m always looking for birth year wines and opted to open this one first. Rough label, but provenance was great.

Consumed from bottle over the course of two hours. After 10-20mins of blowing off so 30+yr funk, this became a total surprise! Faded ruby with bricking but that’s the only sign that this had age. Aromatics sported sweet cherry tobacco, older floral/potpurri, and a mix of red and black berry fruits. Juicy and vibrant on the palate! Shocked. Core of red and black fruits carry the profile with fig, herbs and a little bit of leather. Good spine of acidity here. Not much tannin at the finish, but it’s classically old Napa merlot. Drink up and enjoy!
— 6 days ago

Norman, Doug and 19 others liked this
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

That’s a label alright!

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

Part of a Chateau Mouton Rothschild vertical from 1988-1990. Early on, this was a probably my favorite of the three Moutons and showed well throughout the course of the evening. Expressive red and dark forest fruits with tobacco, leather, earth and baking spices. The structure was still showing its tensile strength. This has a long life ahead. Drink now through 2040. — 5 months ago

Jan, Ira and 10 others liked this

Three Sticks

One Sky Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay 2021

A little green in flavor (as in unripe), too acidic, but had some elements of tropical fruit, just not full and ripe. Has potential but not the best. — 7 months ago

Ridge Vineyards

Three Valleys Sonoma County Zinfandel Blend 2019

Ruby in color with a wide reddish/brick rim.

Fruit forward on the nose and medium plus in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity.

Showing sweet cherries, raspberries, blueberries, black currants, plums, chocolates, light oak, earth, cola, herbs, spices, light vanilla, licorice, peppercorn and tobacco leaf.

Nice tangy finish with soft tannins.

This 6-year-old Zinfandel blend from Sonoma County is drinking at its peak. Spicy and fruit forward. Elegant and juicy.

Great right out of the bottle, but even better after a few hours of air, when the complexity really comes to life.

The alcohol is very nicely integrated by now. Easy drinking and nicely balanced. A great sipping wine.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$35.
— 4 days ago

Paul, Doug and 16 others liked this

Heitz Cellar

Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1978

Shay A
9.5

After missing a ‘70s and ‘80s Heitz vertical many years ago, I vowed to seek out a bottle as all the comments from the tasting were astoundingly positive. My last bottle of Heitz Martha’s was the ‘01 (which was great) a few years ago, but at 46yrs, this was quite the experience.

The ‘78 has a bit of a legendary status, so expectations were high. Upon opening, the cork was in good shape (sigh of relief) and the color was unbelievably dark ruby with some bricking (another sigh of relief). The singular signature menthol/eucalyptus began to fill the glass, alongside aromatics of red berry fruits, espresso, some sort of sweet brown sugar/caramel note, and a savory-graphite type note too. Beautifully elegant on the palate with more red fruit, herbs (bay leaf?), and even some pipe tobacco (subdued, not in your face), but it sports the classical old Napa cab profile that is pure. Spectacular wine, and I could simply smell the wine all day…the aromatics were so powerful the entire time.

Open in bottle for three hours and powered through the entire time. Wish I had another so I could have the same experience!
— 4 months ago

Severn, Vanessa and 31 others liked this
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

These are awesome totally forgot which back vintages i had.
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Yeah, some of those old-school, back vintages of Martha's Vyd don't exactly suck. Jelly.

Three Wine Company

Contra Costa County Petite Sirah 2017

Spiced jam with a hint of floral notes. Layered and hard to nail down the exact bouquet, but it’s delicious. — 2 years ago

LaShondra and Tom liked this

Spottswoode

Family Estate Grown St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

2018 vintage. Decanted and tasted after 15 mins and one hour. Beautifully feminine and expressive nose leapt out of the decanter. Medium body. Nice balance of dark fruits and tannins but slightly disjointed. A bigg Napa vintage so either another decade or a three hour tour...er...decant would seem to be the ticket here. 01.31.25. — 2 months ago

Ron, Ted and 21 others liked this

E. Guigal

La Mouline Côte-Rôtie Syrah 2013

The best of the three Guigal wines at the moment. Juniper and bay leaf dominated the palate in this wine that seemed more integrated and developed than the other two. Went well with venison. — 4 months ago

Marc, Tom and 11 others liked this

Flanagan

The Beauty of Three Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2019

Absolutely delicious drinking very well right now. Nice balance of fruit and tannins!
— 6 months ago

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1998

Somm David T
9.4

1998 not the best Napa Cabernet vintage. However, good producers still find their way through difficult vintages. Joseph Phelps is the rule rather than the exception.

This was poured out of magnum and drinking beautifully by their Hospitality Manger.

Nicely ripe, lush juicy fruits of blackberries, blackberries, both plums, some purple & blue fruits. Dash of spice & lead pencil, anise-black licorice, soft baking spices, caramel notes, some dark chocolate, fresh dark flowers, round acidity and a well balanced, softened structure & tension, elegant, nicely evolved finish that lasted a full minute.
— a year ago

Shay, Paul and 18 others liked this