Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Medium lemon yellow , persistent fine perlage . At first quite shy , needs a bit of time to get going . Then buttered pastry , confit lemon and roast nuts , quite bold and rich , just a hint of chalky minerality . On the palate the richer , deeper theme continues , those pastry and buttery notes , confit lemon and a creamy mouthfeel . Long balanced finish , the chalky acidity really helping to cut through richer , mouth filling profile . Coming back to this at the end of the meal , having sat 6 hours in the glass , this still shows remarkable freshness and life. This seems young to me still , certainly has everything for a long life ahead , better in 5 years perhaps and will show well a further 10-15 perhaps . — 9 hours ago

Freek Welter

10

Drinking, not tasting! Late release grande cuvee, vintage unknown, but somewhere between 1967 and 1981 — 15 days ago

Peter Sultan

9.3

Broke out one of my cellared Raffaults for my homeboy who graced me with a home cooked Tuscan styled flank steak w rosemary & arugula, as well as Israeli cous cous w chickpeas, charred tomatoes, feta, & herbs. Light Cadmium red hued & strong color though ( good cork- not a guarantee w Raffault!); dense Hibiscus, fresh raspberry & some bramble on nose; on palate very clean & smooth mouthfeel, with the initial flavors repeated but a deeper blend of red fruits & a stronger presence of under brush. Super fresh & integrated. Elegant, & the Burgundy echo was hard to ignore. Not Uber complex but not monolithic either, which this line of Raffault can be in its youth ( or as it ages). Very impressive, & accessible now. Curious how my ‘02 & 07s will fare… — 12 days ago

with Owen

Doug Powers

9.5

Initially this was incredibly closed, but after 2 hours in the decanter it’s starting to open, tannic, very structured, very 1986 in its leanness, but incredible depth and length, not perfect, but still outstanding!! — a day ago

with Jim

Shay A

9.2

Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.

Fun to open birth year wines around your birthday, especially when you can do a Bordeaux and Napa side by side. While not a great vintage, this held up well after a few hours and presented as expected. Clean and zero Brett. Great color! Deep ruby with hardly any bricking. Leather, cassis, vanilla pipe tobacco on the nose. Sporting a good bit of dusty red and black fruits (mostly tart raspberries and blackberries), there was a little savory truffle note mixed with an herbal and mocha finish. Still quite grippy. Pretty. — 8 days ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

Excellent 08. Chave and Allemand nailed the difficult vintage in Northern Rhône, and 2008 Hermitage is showing beautifully tonight, fresh, elegant and detailed with aromas of juicy red berry fruit, bacon, herbs and smoky minerals. Perhaps a little rough around the edges as expected for the vintage but really, a beautiful rendition this year and it’s fully open and ready to drink. — a day ago

Andrew McIntyre

9.5

Birth year Latour for our 700th wine on Delectable! Very mature but still with lots of life. Leather, graphite and earthy notes and still so much power. A great pleasure to drink! — a day ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.6

Medium ruby , slighter narrower ruby / pink rim , a little less bright . Slightly deeper , darker fruits , blueberry, violets , with scorched earth , mineral and grafite . On the palate , more intensity and power perhaps , more noticeable though still velvety tannin , dark fruits , mineral , saline , fresh cigar. Lovely fresh acidity , balanced alcohol . Long saline , mineral tinged, slightly toasty finish . Needs time obviously , but will be one of the great wines from a great vintage in 20 years, just wait — 17 hours ago

Andrew McIntyre

9.4

Wifes birth year wine was so impressive. Smoke and leather, very polished. Reminded me of a great Pinot. Great experience — a day ago

Ira Schwartz

9.6

Tasting group meet up with many of the regulars not able to attend . I knew the organizer invited someone whom we had not tasted with in about 15 years . He certainly made an entrance bringing this, in magnum no less. When poured it showed a fine mousse but it faded quickly. A very broad nose that hinted of some age. In the mouth it was like a sports car traveling a highway. Almond , brioche and some oxidative notes sped thru my mouth. The flavors accelerated only to linger similar to when you take your foot off the accelerator. Coasted effortlessly with no need to step on the brakes — 24 days ago