The Blind Squirrel Winery

Secret Squirrel

Columbia Valley Syrah Blend

JFP
9.0

2018 blend pf Syrah, Mourvèdre and Grenache. Opened slowly but finished well with bbq ribs. A bit dry but at the price a reasonable buy in. — 19 days ago

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2011

2011 vintage. Decanted with some sed and tasted after 1 hour. Bigg structure with plenty of tobacco, underbrush and dark fruit. A complex kid. Lots of moving parts but really unified currently and moving towards a common goal. Total BDX ringer in a pricey blind. This has miles to go. 8.2.24. — 5 months ago

Jan, jesus and 19 others liked this

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

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 months ago

Pinotman, Tom and 18 others liked this

Chateau Montelena

The Montelena Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1990

Served to me double-blind. The wine appears a deep garnet color, moving to a slight orange rim and a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and desiccated black and red fruits: cassis, mixed bramble fruit, tobacco, earth, graphite, the smell of an old Library with rich wood and leather-bound books. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. I called Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend from France, Bordeaux, Left Bank, Pauillac, 2000. Wow! This is about as classy as they come. Beautiful showing. Loads of structure. Impressively youthful. Drink now through 2040. — a day ago

Pooneet, Tom and 14 others liked this

Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello

Monprivato di Castiglione Falletto Barolo Nebbiolo 2007

Slight bricking. Nose is somewhat muted. So much rose and dark cherry. Really brooding. A classic Barolo. BYOB blind Italy theme — 5 months ago

Jan, Andrew and 1 other liked this

Secret Squirrel

Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Delectable Wine
9.0

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon impresses with peppery florals, exotic spices and black currants. It's soft yet sincere, possessing juicy, zesty acidity and crisp wild berry fruits. A pleasant, bitter, balsamic spice tinge tapers off long and resonates with lavender and violet notes. $25.00 (Eric Guido, Vinous, March 2024) — 9 months ago

Doug, Tom and 13 others liked this

Écluse

Blind Dog Midnight Run Cuvée Red Blend

Very good blend for a good cause! Delicious fruit bomb 😊 — 3 months ago

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1986

Tasted blind. Everyone was at least 5-10 years off. Hard to believe a 1986 could taste so fresh. Library release. — 9 months ago

Daniel and LM liked this

Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2002

I love this vintage now. Cedar, camphor and pine as well as dry roses and pot pourri. Long finish full of elegance. The marker of Pauillac for me is blood sausage/iron/cured meat and here it was just exploding. Great bottle, classic, perfect for a blind tasting. — 7 months ago

Château Latour

Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1999

Delectable Wine
9.2

The 1999 Latour has a dark garnet color with little aging on the rim. The nose is closed initially and demands coaxing, eventually revealing blackberry, cedar and light pencil-shaving aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with soft tannins, displaying some secondary notes of clove, white pepper and a distinct earthiness that comes through on the finish. [Post-script: this is one of the few vintages I identified correctly!] Tasted blind from double magnum at a 20-year retrospective at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2024)
— 10 months ago