|
Wine Type
|
Vintage
Name
Variety
Locale
|
Date
Posted
Score
Helpful
Comments
|
|
Red
|
2010 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red Rhone Blend more
|
Wine Spectator, NY Wine Experience Grand Tasting...more wines than time...shorter notes (NY City): Nice to revisit this wine, still young. Massive wine...wow...
Deep inky purple, almost black. Thinking this is the darkest color I have seen on this wine, not sure if that means anything here...Nose of blackberry, kirsch, baking spices and smoke. Plate of dark, sweet fruits, savory notes and herbs. Rich mouthfeel and long finish...
Last tasting of this wine it was closed, this bottle very much open but still very primary. I am going to leave my bottles for a few more years, should be long lived and beautiful CdP. Big upside...95+
|
|
Red
|
2010 Château Cantemerle
Haut-Médoc
Red Bordeaux Blend more
|
Drank over 2 nights, opened bottle and then temp controlled.
Notes from 2 years ago:"Color is medium garnet, opaque. Nose of dark cherry, floral and brush. Palate showing blackberry, currant, tobacco, licorice, violets/floral, graphite. Medium weight and finish. Tannins still present, wine will continue to improve as they resolve."
This bottle PnP on first night, it was great right out of the bottle. More expressive and more depth than last bottle (from memory). Flavor notes similar to last tasting: blackberry, cassis, lavender, graphite all notable. Medium weight and finish
This bottle did not require a decant to show, may vary with other tasters experience.. It was better on the first night than second. In a really good spot now, should go another 10 years. Cantemerle one of my go-to "value" Bdx (i paid $35). Very consistent
|
|
Red
|
2009 Château Cantemerle
Haut-Médoc
Red Bordeaux Blend more
|
First bottle of my 09s, thought it would be a good time to check in on these. Wanted something medium bodied to go with my wood grilled Tuscan Chicken. Decanted for about 30 minutes, drank over an hour.
Dark purple/violet color, youthful. Nose showing dark fruits, cassis, earth. Palate was restrained and elegant, blackberry, cassis, earth/forest, violets, minerals. Medium weight and finish.
Still early in its development, drink well but this guy has another 10+ years in it. Should continue to improve - I just finished my Cantemerle 2000s, and they held up well. This is one of my go-to, everyday Bdx that pairs well with a range of foods. Nothing profound, just very consistent and enjoyable wine that doesn't break the bank. 91+
|
|
Red
|
2015 Ridge Geyserville
Alexander Valley
Zinfandel Blend, Zinfandel more
|
Impromptu (socially distanced) wine on our porch with some friends...great evening. First red of the evening, slow oxed for about an hour before serving
Bright garnet color. Expressive nose showing cherry, plums, spice. Palate of red cherry, pomegranate, smoke, pepper. Medium weight, long finish.
Very early in its evolution, this should continue to improve and probably drink well for another 15 years (best guess). The air time helped, would give this 2 hours decant if possible. Has upside from here, 93+ in time. Reliably great wine from Ridge...
|
|
Red
|
2010 Château Cantemerle
Haut-Médoc
Red Bordeaux Blend more
|
First bottle from a case bought from Gary's a few years ago. Brought to Agricola with us, opened at the restaurant.
Color is medium garnet, opaque. Nose of dark cherry, floral and brush. Palate showing blackberry, currant, tobacco, licorice, violets/floral, graphite. Medium weight and finish. Tannins still present, wine will continue to improve as they resolve.
Cantemerle is one of my go-to everyday Bdx wines, consistently good for the price. This is drinking well right now but I think will continue to improve with a few more years in the cellar. Tannic structure and depth suggest this wine could go a while (2030??). If you drink now, decant, otherwise rest a few more years...
|
|
Red
|
2005 Château Pontet-Canet
Pauillac
Red Bordeaux Blend more
|
With Subha and Jim at their place, very generous of them to open this. Had about an hour in the decanter
Notes from 2018: "Dark purple/black color, no sign of age yet at 10 years old...Nose of black fruits, anise, earth, wet stones. Full bodied wine, blackberry, currant, kirsch, smoke, baking spice. Balanced and ripe, wine is getting close to prime drinking window..."
Nose was notable on this showing, classic Bdx of dark fruit, minerals and some graphite. Smooth and elegant texture, medium weight and long finish. In a great spot, as expected. Likely continues to drink at this level for a while but worth drinking now
|
|
Red
|
2013 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
more
|
AT home with Val and Charlotte. First bottle from this vintage, purchased directly at release. Decanted for about an hour.
Medium ruby/purple color. Nose of blue and black fruits, earth notes. Elegant palate of cherry, black raspberry, blue fruit, blackcurrant, cassis...a touch of oak and caramel. Good persistence of the fruits through the mid palate. Tannins softened. Medium/full body, long finish.
A nice example of a '13 Napa Cabernet and its potential, a great vintage that has needed the time to settle. This bottle indicates it's moving into its drinking zone, great now and should drink at this level and evolve for the next 5+ years. No rush but worth opening one now.
|
|
Red
|
2012 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red Rhone Blend more
|
Dinner with the Perrin family, very gracious and generous hosts in CdP. Great experience to drink this with the vintner.
Medium red/garnet color. Nose is classic CdP, dark fruits, herbs, fragrant... Palate was dark cherry, baking spices, licorice. Smooth and elegant mouthfeel.
Very young, will definitely improve with cellar time. My guess is the wine will add weight and complexity with another 5 years cellar time. Good vintage for Beaucastel, this will be a long term winner...(94++)
|
|
Red
|
2000 Château Pontet-Canet
Pauillac
Red Bordeaux Blend more
|
Dinner hosted by MTWG (Mark the Wine Guy) with special guest Noe Tesseron (Vic's Restaurant - New York City): During the night we tasted the 78, 00, 04,05...this as the first wine of the Pontet-Canet flight. This was my contribution, first of my 2000 Pontet-Canet. It was great to have Noe Tesseron, son of the famous proprietor, join us for dinner. Restaurant decanted for about an hour+ prior to drinking.
Rich garnet/purple color, vibrant core, no signs of age. Nose was gorgeous, classic dark fruit, cedar, smoke, graphite/pencil. palate was dark berries, blackberry, graphite, floral notes, licorice. Mid/back plate showed more cherry and spices.
Ripe but still restrained. Classic Bordeaux elegance. this is why we cellar these wines: relaxing, complex and contemplative. This is one I could linger over for hours. Seems like it is just hitting stride, should drink at this level for another 5-7. This was my WOTN, a few others preferred the 05.
While this had a nice decant - close to 90 minutes - it would benefit and evolve from more air time than we afforded it. Score may go higher in time...wonderful wine
|
|
Rosé
|
2018 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé
Mourvèdre Blend, Mourvèdre more
|
With some friends, "socially distanced happy hour". First bottle of the 2018, nicely chilled. Drank over an hour...
Pale orange pink color.Floral driven nose, some orange zest and mineral. Lithe red fruit, strawberry, faint orange/citrus. Nicely acidic, but smooth. Nice red fruits through mid palate. Long finish by Rose standards.
Crisp and fragrant...really great. Consistently among the best rose in the world (IMO)
|
|
Red
|
2007 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée
Red Rhone Blend more
|
In our cellar, party for Lauren G. This was a late add for the evening, J/I stayed so we opened this after the 07 Sabon Prestige...splash decanted and drank over 45 minutes.
Medium color with a dark purple core. Nose was full of dark fruits and spice, bacon fat (really evolved in the glass). Dark fruits, cherry, spice, violet, oak. Medium/long finish
Was a good time to try this as I thought it was closed in its youth. Obviously a great CdP vintage, maybe just coming into its own. This is the more modern style CdP, richer and more fruit forward, traditionalists may not like it as much. Would really benefit from a decant, our last minute opening didn't allow for this - I would go for a couple hours decant for next bottle to do this justice...I think this will continue to evolve, drinking really well now
|
|
Red
|
2010 Shafer Relentless
Napa Valley
Syrah Blend, Syrah more
|
In NYC at Vic's Restaurant, great spot downtown and corkage friendly. This one was my contribution, first bottle from a stash bought at release. Decanted at the restaurant for about hour+ before drinking. We went a bit out of order, sampling this first with a sopressata pizza, a spicy pasta and then again later in the meal...
Dark purple color. Incredible nose...jumps from the glass; blueberry, blackberry, spices, meat, smoke and graphite. Palate was a full bodied, classic Syrah. Dark fruits, tobacco, spices/pepper, cassis and licorice.
A lot going on with this wine, it improved considerably later in the meal (after opened for about 90 minutes). Adding layers of nuance on the finish and accentuating the savory notes. Drinking like the best of Northern Rhone, would put this with Colgin Estate as the 2 best Syrahs in California not called SQN. Really special stuff, should last another 20+ years...
|
|
Red
|
2005 Château Pontet-Canet
Pauillac
Red Bordeaux Blend more
|
Another great dinner organized by Mark T -BYO and impromptu Opera with Patrick, Paolo, Hoksoo, Alex, Courtney (Vic's Restaurant - New York City): Opened later, drank after the 1990 Cos D'Estournel and 2000 Pavie Decesse, revisiting during the course of the evening.
Consistent with prior notes: "Dark purple/black color, no sign of age yet at 10 years old...Nose of black fruits, anise, earth, wet stones. Full bodied wine, blackberry, currant, kirsch, smoke, baking spice. Balanced and ripe, wine is getting close to prime drinking window..."
This took some time to really show, would have benefited from more air upfront. Elegant and still youthful, the wine has a long way to go if wanting to cellar. Excellent
|
|
Red
|
2010 Antinori Tignanello
Toscana IGT
SuperTuscan Blend more
|
Took this to Francisco's on the River (close to New Hope PA), great Italian BYO place. Its been some time since I had this vintage, these bottles in my cellar from release. Decanted at the restaurant, drank over about an hour.
Medium/dark garnet, no separation. Rich nose of dark berries, earth notes, tobacco. Palate showing black cherry, currant, balsamic, cedar. Dark fruits through the mid palate. Smooth texture, tannins resolved. Nicely structured. Full body, long finish.
This has aged nicely, I liked it young but its in an excellent spot now. While it likely has years ahead it's really worth opening at this point. Went well with the red sauce Italian. Sounds like there was some mixed experience with some of the tasters. This bottle was well stored and excellent out of the bottle. Improved over the course of the tasting, will give future bottles some time to open if venue allows
|
|
Red
|
2007 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve
Napa Valley
more
|
Brought 2 bottles of this to Union Square Cafe in NYC, corkage friendly spot, dinner with the finance team. Decanted for about an hour (could use more). Last bottle of this felt like it was young
Deep purple/magenta color, to the rim, no signs of aging, wine still loooks very young. Incredible fragrant/berry nose. This drank bigger than the I remember the last bottle. Dark fruits, cherry, blackberry, cassis, pencil/graphite, licorice. Medium tannins.
This is a big, fruit-forward wine. Has an upfront style you can't ignore, some sweetness on mid and back palate. Paired great with the pork chops, my guests having steaks gave this the thumbs up as well.
Built for the long term - this will go for a while - will try to let these bottles rest a bit. Excellent wine
|
|
Red
|
2011 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia
Red Bordeaux Blend more
|
At Coco Pazzo in Chicago, great list of Italian wines, most are on the young side (and expensive), but very extensive. Splash decanted, drank over an hour
Deep purple color. Nose of black fruits, violets. Palate is rich blackberry, plum, blue fruits, raisin and vanilla oak. Full bodied, long finish. Has a shade of sweetness on back palate
This is a hedonistic wine with a long life ahead of it. More expressive than I thought it would be at this stage. Still very young, will continue to evolve for some time but good now if you must open it...would wait another 5 years and should drink 20+ past that.
|
|
Red
|
2007 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve
Napa Valley
more
|
At home w my balsamic chicken risotto, not an ideal pairing but wanted to check in on this vintage of BV at 10 years, its been a few years since last bottle, BV a sentimental favorite. Slow oxed for about 30 minutes, drank over 2 hours.
Medium ruby/purple color, no separation. Less dark than lass time (from memory). Nose of dark fruits, earth and cedar. Palate was showing dark fruits, cherry, blackberry, cassis, pencil/graphite, and mocha/chocolate (mid palate). Tannins are fined and sweet at this point, making for a smooth texture.
This is evolving as hoped into a classic BV Cab, fruit forward, elegant and expressive. More settled than last bottles, moving into a good zone right now. The wine did better over the 2 hours, a reasonable decant is worth it if possible...Well stored bottles should drink at this level for some time, this could go another 20+ years...
|
|
Red
|
2012 Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas
Red Rhone Blend more
|
At L'Oustalet restaurant in Gigondas, spectacular restaurant owned by the Perrin family...worth the trip, amazing selection by the glass...this paired with "cochon" main course.
Dark red color. black/blue fruits on the nose, savory. Palate repeats with dark cherry, strawberry jam, cedar, tobacco. Some herbs and astringency on the back palate...savory finish. Nice acidity. This should have a long life, drinking well now
|
|
Red
|
2005 Château Lascombes
Margaux
Red Bordeaux Blend more
|
Still very young, took time to unwind. Nose had some barnyard, licorice, tobacco and cedar. Tart red fruits up front, oak (restrained), cocoa, currants. Would be a good wine to revisit on Day 2+. OK to drink, better to hold. Long life ahead
|
|
Red
|
2003 Château Léoville Barton
St. Julien
Red Bordeaux Blend more
|
With K&O for an impromptu get together. This followed a 2006 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée "Chaumes". Splash decant, drank over about 45 minutes.
Medium garnet color, opaque, no notable separation. Nose showing dark fruits, currant, pine, cedar. Palate is a lush and still youthful, on this evening I picked up dark cherry, plum, black currants, cassis, cocoa. Secondary notes of earth, truffle and dark fruits. Medium/full body, long finish
Classic Bdx profile, bigger in style consistent with the warm vintage (may be a love it/hate it result). I thought it was great on this showing, I would like to have spent more time with it. Still youthful and showing great depth - another 10+ years maybe? Only one bottle left...
|
|
Red
|
2010 Château Gruaud Larose
St. Julien
Red Bordeaux Blend more
|
Thought I would check in on this at 10 years old...Decanted for about 2.5 hours prior. Had with grilled steaks and veggies.
Dark, vibrant garnet/purple. Nose was classic Bdx/St Julien, rich black currants, earth, graphite, floral notes. Palate showing blackberry, meats/savory, licorice, coffee (?). Medium weight, persistent through the mid plate. Long(ish) finish.
Really spectacular showing on this evening, great 2nd growth Bdx from a great vintage. Drinking great now, not too early but still early in its evolution. Upside with time 94+
|
|
Red
|
2003 Château Pontet-Canet
Pauillac
Red Bordeaux Blend more
|
Wine Spectator, NY Wine Experience Grand Tasting...more wines than time...shorter notes (NY City): At NY Wine Experieince. Fun to taste the wine with Alfred Tesseron, having met Noe at a tasting earlier in the year. One of my favorite Bordeaux vintners, first time trying the 03 vintage.
Bright and dense purple color. Nose of red fruits, graphite, cedar, tobacco. Palate showed black currants, cassis, licorice, pine notes...classic Paulliac. Rich mouthfeel and long finish.
Really incredible wine, tannins are resolved and fine. Still leaning to the primary side, showing a long life ahead. Great now, will have another 15+ years ahead of it
|
|
Red
|
2005 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Red Rhone Blend more
|
Dinner hosted by Ashley and Bill...playing the part of somm for the evening, wine from my cellar (Chez Schofiled - Princeton, NJ): From a 3L, purchased at auction ~2012. Decanted and rebottled 3 hours prior. Served with main course of garlic spiced Cornish hens, couscous and greek potatoes.
Medium ruby/purple color, slightly cloudy. Nose showing red fruits, blackberry, truffles, spice, damp earth, licorice. Elegant palate of dark cherry, blackcurrant, baking spice/cinnamon, tar, rose petal. Spice persists through the mid palate. Medium body, medium/long finish.
This was brilliant on this evening. Guessing the 3L has this drinking at a younger stage. A taste when opened, it was very good. the air time really allows it to open, secondary flavors evolved over the evening. Went great with a nicely spiced entree...star of the show for me.
|
|
Red
|
1994 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único
Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo more
|
Paolo visits Princeton... (Cellars at Chez Walker): First bottle from my 94 stash of Vega Sicilia bought at auction several years back...last bottle of the evening. Decanted for about 30 minutes prior, drank over 2 hours.
Dark ruby color, no sign of age. Classic VS nose showing roasted dark fruits, mineral, leather and graphite. The bouquet evolved over an hour to add floral notes. Rich palate of blackberry, re currants, cedar, earth and truffle. Notes of chocolate add through the mid/back palate. Full body and long finish.
In my experience, Vega Sicilia takes some years to settle in. (I had an 03 a few years ago that probably needs about 7-10 years...) The wine drinks forever, the oldest vintage I have had is the 58 and it was going strong. I share this as the 94 seems to be at the front end of its drinking window. A great showing on this evening, should go for decades from here. Worth opening one now. The decant is a must at this point!
|
|
Red
|
2005 Château Pontet-Canet
Pauillac
Red Bordeaux Blend more
|
New York Wine Experience - lots of tastings...shorter notes...: At NYWE experience, nicely aged version of a BdX favorite of mine
Dark purple/black color, no sign of age yet at 10 years old...Nose of black fruits, anise, earth, wet stones. Full bodied wine, blackberry, currant, kirsch, smoke, baking spice. Balanced and ripe, wine is getting close to prime drinking window. Tannins still a little grippy, so it shows that it has long aging potential from here
|
