From a pristine magnum. A hint of oxidative note via oxidized apple peel, apple, pear, brioche, honey and smoke. Fully resolved but very fresh palate, really fine mousse, bright acidity and lovely long finish. The overall expression is quite fresh but there is a hint of apple peel in the background. I really love the fine mousse. Really nice showing in magnum format.

Ripe yellow fruits, peach, apple tarte, butter, spicy and limestone. Excellent concentration, slightly lacking acidity but nice mineral presence gives a good balance and a reasonable precision, and nice sweet finish. Although the fruit quality is yellow, there is good freshness. There is a slight hint of heat but it is not bothersome for me. Really well balanced Cali chardonnay.

Nicely aged Kistler, toasted oak, very ripe yellow fruits, peach, pineapple, oyster shall, quite salty a la saline, spicy spices and ginger bread. Excellent concentration, mature sweet yellow fruits, bright acidity, good mineral expression and medium long sweet yellow fruit driven finish. Aged well but better to drink up.

Very ripe yellow fruit driven nose, lemon curd, tarte tatin, a hint of oak and crème brulee. Very good concentration, dense ripe yellow fruit driven palate impression, slightly lacking acidity and medium long finish. One can argue that the wine lacks precision due to low acidity. For my palate, it is a well made very ripe fruit driven chardonnay.

Perfectly mature Bordeaux nose displaying decadent red and black fruits, cassis, caramel, strong note of cedar and lead pencil, dark spices and earth. This particular bottle shows abit more red fruit than usual. Perfectly harmonious palate, very polished and silky, good acidity, tannins masked by beautifully layered opulent fruit and long seamless finish with cassis and earth as the end notes. There is a hint of green that gives a good freshness. Really a great example of the 90 left bank Bordeaux, quite ripe and hedonistic while retaining the freshness that separates Bordeaux from Napa cab. Anther stunning showing. IMO, this, 89 Montrose and 86 Rauzan Segla may be the best QPR top end Bordeauxs that are extremely consistent.

Expressive nose displaying ripe black fruits, blackberry jelly, coffee, toffee, chocolate ice cream, Chinese medicine, a hint of alcohol showing as anise and earth. Very silky and polished creamy palate very little acidity, no noticeable tannins and lovely long finish. If you wonder how some of the “modern” Bordeaux will age, this will give a nice glimpse. One of the silkiest Bordeauxs. Not as complex and classic at the 90 LP, nevertheless some may prefer this for the sensual creamy palate. Really nice showing.

First time tasting this monumental wine since tasting at the 09 EP. Back then it was one of my top wines. Surprisingly expressive nose displaying perfectly ripe fresh blackberry, blackberry liqueur, lavender, chalk, bitter chocolate and ink. Pleasantly surprised by the incredibly polished and unbelievably layered palate, bright acidity, absolute purity and freshness, tannins mostly masked by the beautifully layered fruits, bright acidity and beautiful incredibly long finish. This is a monumental wine.

For my palate, this was served slightly too warm. Blackberry liqueur, cherry and alcohol/heat expresses in baking spices. Excellent concentration, youthful and intense black fruit, nicely integrated tannins and noticeable heat at the end. For people like me, SQNs need to served cooler than other reds. There is enough fruit so lessening fruit expression shouldn’t be an issue.

Slightly chill. Expressive nose displaying blueberry jam, blueberry liqueur, soy sauce and smoke. Excellent concentration, intense sweet blue fruit driven palate impression, bright acidity, nicely integrated tannins and impressive long finish. Showing exceptional balance. If you are a SQN fan, your scores would be at least a couple points higher. Still very youthful and may age well but no need to wait.

Expressive Napa cult cab nose displaying cassis, licorice, cedar and dark spices. Excellent concentration, unctuous yet silky palate, cassis driven palate impression and very long finish with cassis and cedar as the end notes. My mind plays trick trying to related to the ripeness of the 03 Bordeaux. Obviously no roasted flavor here. If you like HSS, this will really make you happy.

I believe the vineyard is located in Arizona and owned by Maynard James Keenan, the vocalist for Tool. Mostly red fruits, strawberry jam, vegetal and alcohol. It feels like a mediocre but correct Bordeaux blend from Virginia. Surprisingly it is a Rhone blend.

Absolutely perfect showing. Expressive yet perfectly harmonious nose displaying ripe but pure yellow fruits, honey, ginger, nutmeg, crème brulee, vanilla, botrytis and sweet spices. Incredibly concentrated yet airy and weightless, bright acidity and strong presence of mineral, ginger and sweet spices driven palate impression and seamless infinite finish. This particular bottle is incredibly expressive. No longer primary but still with ample youthful fruits backed by ginger and crème brulee. Absolute perfection!