Bob McDonald

9.1

Generally one of the best Cabernets in Margaret River and therefore Australia. Very dark Ruby in colour. Cassis and blackberry, ripe and rich. I would never pick this as Margaret River in a blind tasting. Where are the herbal notes? But still recognisable as a quality Cabernet. The 2009 Moss Wood was given a poor score of only 84 points by Huon Hooke who is one of Australia’s leading wine scribes. He said “over ripe fruit is the problem “. I have always rated Huon’s reviews and have been a long time subscriber to his website and always will be but I don’t believe he got this right. On 4th July 2012 he said “I can’t see this ageing well” and gave a drinking window of 2012 to 2018. Well tonight at 15 years of age it is drinking very well. James Halliday gave the wine 95 points. — 7 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

71st birthday wine from daughter Georgie’s birth year. Cedar aromas like an antique shop. Maraschino cherries Georgie said with touches of marzipan, and anise Dusty plum and cassis. Soft resolved tannins. A gorgeous First growth claret from a great vintage in 1989. Enjoyed this more than the previous tasting early last year. Really enjoyable. — 6 months ago

with Hugh and Georgina

Bob McDonald

9.2

Medium plus Ruby in colour - when swirled a tawny note shows. Dusty berry derived aromas - cassis/blackcurrant on the medium weight palate; cedar/cigar box with a touch of capsicum. A very good mature left bank Bordeaux from an excellent vintage. I had a bottle of this 3 years ago and received some commentary from other Delectable users that I was drinking this too early. It does have a longer life than I said 3 years ago but I am more than happy to drink it now. As LM Segal said about this wine on Delectable, “If you’ve got em drink em”. As always with Lynch Bages it deserves a higher rating than 5th Growth - but in summary not overly complex. — 9 months ago

David Walser

9.3

At our second special Caymus dinner on Sky Princess serving this wine. I’ve had lots of Caymus wines over the years. This is in line with the brand, but not what I remember from the wines from the late 70’s. As the price increased, I lost interest. It’s ok, but I feel there are better wines at the price point for the Cabernet Sauvignon. — a month ago

Karen Prettol

10

Very Good! — 2 months ago

Jacqui Hogans

9.3

What can I say about this wine that hasn’t already been said about Concorde, AGA ranges, or the second season of “The Sopranos?” — 6 months ago

with Dave

Tom Casagrande

9.3

Truncated notes. Kirsch, iodiney minerals, baking spice. Rich but balanced in the mouth by surprising acidity. Lotta complexity. Really nice! — 9 months ago

Nathan Renfro

9.5

My first bottle of the ‘16. This is drinking really well right now, and I can’t wait to see it in 10 years. Fruit is ripe, tannins are tight but approachable. Black and red fruit. Acidity still strong but also approachable. Overall well structured and integrated. Just gonna get better with time, but like I said, it can be pnp, but with patience it’ll be fantastic. I agree with WS 95 rating. — 9 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

I haven’t had a lot of experience with Napa Valley Chardonnay but this was most enjoyable. Rich and mouth filling, creamy. Stone fruit and almonds. Barb said white flowers on the nose. Apparently this was picked early and malolactic fermentation was blocked. Oak influence is totally integrated - balanced. I paid $147 AUD in Brisbane in September 2021. A lot dearer than what you might pay in the States I would guess. — 2 months ago

Doug Powers

9.4

Still shows some lovely primary redfruits, cassis, currants, quite tannic as well (characteristic of the 1986s I cellared), long, lingering finish, should show even better after my wife’s grilled lamb and my grilled steak come off the grill. I will say I was nervous when the final 1/8-inch of the cork severed off my old Ah-So cork puller, but not a problem!

Interesting sidebar — I purchased this upon arrival in 1989 at K&L in SF — by that time there were widespread reports of bad corks in Ducru from (at least) 1985 and 1986, so when I visited the shop I explained the situation and committed to purchasing 6 bottles, but only if I knew this batch didn’t have the cork problems — so, I said I’d pay for another bottle and we could open it together in the shop, I’d pay and also buy the other 6 bottles if it was NOT corked, and said if it was corked, then they’d pay for the opened bottle and I wouldn’t take the 6 other bottles — they agreed, we mutually tried the bottle then and there, no cork taint so I paid for 7 bottles total.

Telling the story in part because K&L has always been, IMHO, one of the classiest wine shops in the U.S., and they deserve credit agreeing to my deal (BTW, Wine Advocate had written about the cork taint issue within the preceding 3-6 months, so they were aware of the potential for it) — anyway, they’ve gotten a lot more of my business in the past 35+ years since!! — 2 months ago

with Jim