Tight Lines

Château Troplong Mondot

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2008

This was fairly tight & needed some air to show mostly black fruits, full bodied with notes of earth, cedar, sweet spices, graphite, mocha & tobacco — a month ago

Shay, Scott@Mister and 3 others liked this

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

1989 vintage. Last tasted 3 years ago (9.6). Nice fill. Durand used to open. Cork 95% saturated with extensive bottle rim cleaning involved before pouring. Not decanted. Tight, minty nose throughout along with a decided, lingering zinc note under the tongue at the finish line. Tasted 2 hours after opening. Power but without delineation. Just a consistent, forgettable push. Nothing wrong with the wine...it just needed more air/time and a decant but it wasn't my call. Feel like the zinc flavor would have dissipated/blown off with more time. Good but more memorable for what it wasn't vs what it was. Pity and an entire wasting of what could have been. 11.21.25. — 7 months ago

Tom, Paul and 16 others liked this
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

Very interesting and diplomatic note.
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego Premium Badge

@Pinotman /// Andreas Had to bite my tongue.

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2006

Not sure I’ve had any other 2006 Bordeaux but decided to pull this to give it a go at nearly 20 years of age. Nice wine but perhaps not one that justifies the price point. At first quite tight, but after a 5 hour decant this really comes into its own. Lots of leather and dark blue and black fruit. Oak is really only apparent in structure now. Great acid. 13% which is nicely balanced. — a year ago

Severn, Andrew and 15 others liked this
Severn G

Severn G Influencer Badge Premium Badge

Oh yeah! Our favorite S-J producer ❤️
Jay Kline

Jay Kline Influencer Badge Premium Badge

@Severn G That’s a big statement!

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2003

2003 vintage. Decently respectable Pauillac nose. Solid color still. Wine open for three hours. Leanest body I've ever had with a P-L and lacking the complexity usually associated with this wine. Tight and not giving up much at the 3 hr mark. Nice but disappointing given the producer/vintage combo. Wish I'd had 6 hrs to wait hand and foot on this...perhaps it would have totally revealed the expected P-L charms by then. — 4 years ago

Rob, Peter and 22 others liked this

Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2012

A bit tight and closed in first sips, needs at least one hour to breath. Powerful and concentrated nose, strong mouthfeel with still young and sharp tannins, but a some finesse on the finish also. — 5 years ago

Dom Pérignon

Brut Champagne Blend 2008

A subtle and refined nose of lemon peel, a touch of almonds and some mint. The bubbles are so small and classy, tight yet so vibrant. The wine as such energy and freshness and is straight in the palate with excellent length, very elegant, so pure and an absolute delight to drink now, but might even be better in a few years. 95-96

Un nez fin et subtil de zeste de citron avec une touche d’amandes et de menthe. Les bulles sont serrées avec beaucoup de classe et d’élégance, tout comme le vin d’ailleurs qui est frais, très pur, droit, beaucoup d’énergie et avec une superbe longueur, pas le plus riche et le plus ample, un style droit et fin mais vraiment excellent. Se boit bien maintenant et sera assurément encore meilleur avec un peu de cave. 95-96
— 6 years ago

Mario, Ken and 35 others liked this
Hanibal

Hanibal Premium Badge

Très bon champagne en effet...quel équilibre
Mike R

Mike R Influencer Badge

Brilliant

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1990

1990 vintage. Last tasted 10.26.24 (9.3). Bottom neck fill. Opened with a Durand and decanted. Cork about 70% saturated. Throwing a mix of lentil-sized chunky and powdery sediment. Surprisingly dark color. Nose initially had the funk while decanting. Tasting 30 minutes after the open, the funk had blown off. Light body. Coffee grounds and tobacco throughout. Some damp and decaying forest floor matter/earth (but not mud) notes along with a cedilla of lean, dark cherry. Based on this specimen, feel this can hold tight in this phase for another 3-4 years. 2.27.26 — 4 months ago

David, Jeroen and 14 others liked this
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

Much respect for this producer.
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

@Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego, thanks for the update, I still have some of these in my cellar.

Krug

Brut Champagne Blend 2008

Intense and pure. Beautiful balance. Focused and saline with great minerality. Young and tight but so much in the future — 8 months ago

Bex Green
with Bex
David, Juan and 8 others liked this

Château Léoville Poyferré

Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2002

Such a deep and youthful colour!! Black fruit, ink, leather, cedar. Still tight and tannic, yet sufficient fruit, freshness and stuffing to go on for another decade…
Remarkable wine.
— a year ago

Dave, Jan and 7 others liked this

Château Pontet-Canet

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2008

#AgedWineTuesday

Dark ruby in color with a short reddish rim.

Full bodied with medium plus acidity.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, cooked cherries, spices, oak, vanilla, licorice, chocolates, light earth, light vegetables, herbs, tobacco leaf and black pepper.

Medium finish with grippy tannins and raspberries.

This 15 year old, Fifth Growth Bordeaux, is still young and tight. Needs 5 to 10 years in the bottle to mature properly.

I gave it 90 minutes in the decanter, but it probably was not enough.

Robert Parker 96 points. Wine Spectator 92 points.

Showing nice complexity with a nice mouthfeel. Grippy and rich.

Definitely needs food at this point, like a big piece of steak.

A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

13% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$125.
— 3 years ago

Paul, Joseph and 27 others liked this

Faust

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Classic Bordeaux style blend from several estate vineyards. Aged for 19 months in French Oak. Deep Ruby with purple edges, aromas of fresh berry fruits with cedar and spice. On the palate sweet cherry, blackberry and blueberry fruit, with savory oak & cacao notes. Tannins were smooth but tight, with an earthy herb touch on the long finish. Faust wines do not disappoint, even when young. Nice! A Fav! Great Value! — 6 years ago

Romain, Daniel P. and 5 others liked this

Mt. Brave

Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

V09. Delicious. Olive and bacon nose. Juicy black currant fruit. Smooth, tight , slightly chalk, mocha, & black pepper finish. Nicely balanced. — 6 years ago

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2016

Ken Z
9.5

Drank 1/18/19 at the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux event in Miami.  All wines from the 2016 Vintage.

Tasting pour, no formal notes taken.  Most of these wines are very tight, and will require 5-15 years to really come together.  Many will likely improve a few points with time.

Delicious black fruit. More complexity and depth than the Grand Puy Ducasse.
— 7 years ago

JT
with JT
Ken, Shay and 8 others liked this

Bodegas y Viñedos Vega Sicilia

Valbuena 5° Ribera del Duero Tempranillo Blend 1997

Mariano García’s final vintage at Vega Sicilia. What a great bottle.

The nose opens with damp forest floor, leather, cedar, and quiet red fruit; subtle, reserved, endlessly composed.

On the palate, it’s silk laid gently over structure: dried cherry, tobacco, graphite, and savory earth carried by fine-grain tannins and measured acidity.

The finish reads like the final lines of a great novel: inevitable, complete, and exactly as it should be. And already, there’s a touch of nostalgia, because I don’t know when I’ll encounter something like this again.
— 6 months ago

Ira, Daniel and 12 others liked this
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego Premium Badge

Awesome. Excellent notes.

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2012

Tight on PnP but opened up at 45 mins. — 7 months ago

Peter, Andrew and 6 others liked this

Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona

Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese 2019

Dark ruby red color. Smoky aromas of red berry/cherry fruit, rose petals, exotic spices, garrigue and violets. Plush red cherry fruit on the palate with additional notes of fresh herbs, black licorice, dried mushrooms and earth. Difinitive bit of black pepper spice on the long and lingering finish. Medium-plus body with noticeable (but not overwhelming) tight tannins. 15% Alcohol. Powerful. Probably needs a bit more bottle age, but certainly well crafted. — 8 months ago

Dave, Tom and 2 others liked this

Château Latour

Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2000

Dark and brooding with great rich fruit. Dark plum, leather, cedar, a whiff of iodine. Still tight and pure. Very good. Years ahead. — 2 years ago

Garth AncierMatt Lichtenberg
with Garth and Matt
Shay, Jan and 13 others liked this

Marchesi Antinori

Tignanello Toscana Super Tuscan Blend 2015

Tight and moody. This needs time. Even with a long decant it was reluctant to show much. The bones are there but tonight was a narrow underwhelming experience. — 5 years ago

Shay, Bob and 8 others liked this

Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

Baron de Pichon-Longueville Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend

The nose was weirdly muted and indiscernible. Also a bit tight but the finish was full and nice. It’s good but for the price and time in the bottle, it just left me unimpressed — 6 years ago

Château Cheval Blanc

St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2008

24hr decantertime... still slightly tight and hard. Next bottle in 10 years time... — 7 years ago

Shay, pascal and 17 others liked this