The Way Back

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2008

Private Dinner on the beach to celebrate my wife birthday. The Ritz went out of their way to find this 2008 Opus One. Flavors just burst open after decanting. Fruit was smooth with hints of blackberry and cherry. No earthy or leather just smooth fruit front to back. — 12 days ago

Letha Phillips
with Letha
Rick, Joe and 12 others liked this

Beaulieu Vineyard

Private Reserve Georges de Latour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1965

Way past its time but glad to open it. This is from superbowl 2 if you’re counting. Glad we opened it tonight. — 2 months ago

Eric and "Odedi" liked this

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

Artemis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Opens up nicely. Heavy cherry on the front and some chocolate. Oak, on the back end. Medium tannin, medium body — 2 months ago

"Odedi" liked this

Louis Roederer

Cristal Brut Champagne Chardonnay Pinot Noir Blend 2014

Decanted in the glass for 30 minutes, with bottle open during that time and later. The best wine experience so far. I tried it before on a tasting and was not impressed. Brioche, toast, citrus, apple and racing acidity were still present in my mouth after 2 minutes of taking a sip. I prefer to drink it the way I described at the beginning vs straight from the bottle that was standing in ice. — 3 months ago

Salon

'S' Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Brut Chardonnay 2013

Way to young — 13 days ago

Joe, Daniel and 12 others liked this

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2022

Way too young. But beautiful — 2 months ago

Paul, Rob and 1 other liked this

Dom Pérignon

Brut Champagne Blend 2015

Medium lemon yellow , fine bubbles . Quite restrained and mineral focused on the nose , then lemon confit , quince, touch of orange flowers, with some pastry notes , white flowers , honeysuckle also . Quite intense and mineral on the palate , fills out well with some lemon oil and pastry notes also , but this is reserved and elegant in style , more mineral , chalky and more intense than the 2013 had last week. Really refreshing acidity . Long and complex on the finish , I would imagine this needs more time than the 2013 too. Come back in 5 years , will show well for a further 10-15 years , perhaps longer. Very promising . — 2 months ago

Ira, Bob and 14 others liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2004

Superb. Great way to ring on 2025 — 3 months ago

David Stein
with David
LM liked this

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1986

Flight 2 , wine 1 . Quite deep garnet , less terracotta rim . This had a whiff of oxidation about it at first which seemed to somewhat dissipate with time . Some dark spiced fruits , liquorice and menthol hints , cedar and sous bois . On the palate good ripeness and spiced dark cherry hints . Good acidity and rounded tannin . Nice length also , offering some spiced black fruits and menthol hints . Don’t think this is a pristine bottle but was enjoyable none the less , I was unsure at first if this was Napa , but coming back to it … and reading my notes , it became quite obvious . However I had this down as the Ch Montelena , not the Dominus — a month ago

Anthony, Jan and 8 others liked this

Château d'Yquem

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2007

No formal notes . Pretty deep Amber , copper colour . Intense marmalade , saffron , creme caramel . Rich on the palate with rich marmalade , saffron notes . Good acidity , but rich. Good length . This is drinkable now and shows quite an advanced colour , though due to its richness will probably carry on delivering for another 20 years , perhaps longer .

This was a rather fascinating evening put together by our incredibly generous host. All 2007 reds were served blind in two flights: 1st Mouton, Haut Brion, Cheval Blanc , La Mission Haut Brion then Latour , Lafite , Petrus and Margaux . Overall the wines showed well , and were mostly enjoyable to drink now , though there is no rush . This somewhat maligned vintage can give a lot of enjoyment in the right environment, I certainly wouldn’t hold back from opening or purchasing any of these wines . They mostly show good density of fruit , personality and elegance , with good freshness. These are not powerful wines , and at times perhaps the fruit can be a little cooler or greener but I was pleasantly surprised by the way they performed , just goes to show you should never write off a vintage without trying the wines !
— 2 months ago

Anthony, Andrew and 13 others liked this
Audrey Nadeau

Audrey Nadeau

H a p p i n e s s!