1st wine of the new year and had to open something fun. Of course, enjoyed with its classic pairing of chicken wings 😉
1.5 hour decant(minimal fine/cloudy sediment). A stunning dark purplish magenta color. On the nose: brambly red berries, herbaceous, wet forest floor, graphite, floral. Taste: silky, soft, juicy, layered beautiful mouthfeel wine with red plum, dark chocolate, dried herbs, touch of spice and a cedar espresso captivating long finish. YUM! — 4 months ago
Typical marguax, which I love. Opens up smoothly to notes of dark cherries, light plums, tobacco, cedar and earth/ forest floor. Tannins well integrated with 14 years of aging and 30mins of decanting. — 3 days ago
+2 hour decant(little fine/cloudy sediment). A brooding dark magenta color. On the nose: very aromatic notes..lots of blackberry, floral, pencil lead, wet forest floor, sweet oak. Taste: blackberry, cassis, bitter chocolate, herbs, pepper and a gravelly/new leather long finish with some still there kickin tannins. YUM! Gonna give my next bottle a few more years for a better score. — 3 months ago
The 2008 Cheval Blanc is one of the go-to wines of the vintage. Now at 15 years old, it has retained the energy and focus it displayed from the outset: black fruit, crushed stone, wilted violet petals and touches of forest floor cohere wonderfully in the glass. The Cabernet here is more expressive. The palate has a slight chewiness on the entry, but it "relaxes" in the glass. It shows off its delicate lattice of tannins and perhaps a bit more backbone than I have observed on previous bottles. It's very intense on the finish where, as before, the Cabernet Franc takes charge. Superb. Keep it another three to four years if you can. Tasted at the Lia's Wings/book dinner at Medlar restaurant. (Neal Martin, Vinous, December 2023)
— 4 months ago
Silky smooth nose, velvety and soft, with forewarned black currants, just a LITTLE pepper, dark cherry and maybe a little pine forest floor? Some sediment and still grippy tannin, but starting to really loosen, with prominent ripe red fruits of dark , brooding plum, cherry and dark fruits, with hints of graphite, wood, and smoke over a still zingy finish. — 4 months ago
#AgedWineTuesday
Dark ruby in color with a wide brick rim
Earthy nose with light oak, black fruits and tobacco.
Medium plus in body with medium acidity.
Dry on the palate with red and black fruits, wood, earth, vegetables, spices, tobacco leaf, dark coffee, licorice, dark chocolates, black tea and black pepper.
Medium plus on the finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.
This 35 year old is still drinking beautifully. This Second Growth Bordeaux is nicely balanced and complex.
Peaking now, and will continue to drink nicely in the next 10+ years.
Good right out of the bottle, and better after 4 hours. I did not decant it, but let it open up in the bottle.
Wine Spectator 96 points.
A good food wine that I paired with beef brisket. Gorgeous.
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
13.5% alcohol by volume.
93 points.
$275. — a month ago
#AgedWineTuesday
Dark ruby in color with a cloudy reddish/ brick rim.
Earthy nose and medium plus in body with medium acidity.
Dry on the palate with nice complexity.
Showing black currants, plums, cooked cherries, earth, wet leaves, herbs, light vegetables, coffee, eucalyptus, mediterranean spices and peppercorn.
Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.
This 28 year old is still drinking very nicely. A great Second Growth Bordeaux.
Good right out of the bottle, and better after 45 minutes of airtime.
Complex and engaging. Will continue to drink nicely in the next 5 years.
A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot. Aged in (65% new) French oak barrels.
13% alcohol by volume.
93 points.
$200. — 4 months ago
Medium ruby , touch of pink on the rim . Quite expressive dark fruits , cassis , blackberry , touch of spice and coffee , smoky soy sauce and tobacco. On the palate nice cool dark cassis and spicy blackcurrant , with fresh acidity and a saline mineral depth . Fine but noticeable tannins , well balanced and decent length. Drinking well now with a bit of time in the glass or in decanter . Now and over the next 7-10 years . A really good and enjoyable example of a second wine from a vintage that the more I try the more I like . — 4 months ago
John Bratincevic
NOSE: rodent (second time tonight!), barnyard, hay (redundant, but “barnyard” in my world means animals and their accompanying mess, hay is for the animals), wet rocks. Fruit is dry and receded and near-theoretical.
TASTE: elegant indeed. Medium weight, tannins nicely smoothed with age, dried herbs (old lady perfume), dried blackberry. 92. — 2 days ago