1/8/2023 - T.E.D. wrote:

Carbone Miami dinner selection. Beautifully aged estephe. Aromatic leather, cigar wrapper and cedar with a evolved palate of cellar floor, forest, more roasted and toasted tobacco. This was a perfect bottle.

5/20/2023 - T.E.D. wrote:

Well composed and structured. Racy and flinty. Shaved stones, shells. Hints of herb.

2/11/2022 - T.E.D. wrote:

Grabbed this by accident, thought it was a Rosso! A baby and a regrettable pull. None the less over two days purity and structure prevailed, abundant cherry, herb, nettle, gravelly Kirsch, heavy perfume. Complex and long finish. Wil be beautiful in a decade.

6/19/2020 - T.E.D. wrote:

Tropical nose, coconut, pineapple, hints of vanilla bean and some cinnamon and spice. Quite complex and integrated. Palate is lush and round, with more chewy and dense notes of tropical fruits, toasted coconut, mango and papaya. Quite rich yet still refined. In a fine spot now. Highly recommend

10/11/2022 - mchern02 wrote:

This bottle seemed to be either corked or very very very advanced; unfortunate since I brought it

7/25/2022 - mchern02 wrote:

2 Hour Decant

Classic nose of cassis, smoke, blueberry, darkish fruits, a bit restrained. More effeminate and polished than the powerful 09 Pontet Canet next to it and actually more reserved; good texture but holding back far more than the PC. Better balance and a striking finish.

7/20/2022 - T.E.D. wrote:

Enjoyed over a fine meal with a close friend who only drinks Montrachet with age. Our assessment was mutual, although I found this wine to show a rich profile overall, with tropical fruits, and honeyed layers of yellow fruits and citrus. This was as complete a wine as one could imagine, and hit all the high notes of what a unicorn Chardonnay should provide.

4/27/2022 - mchern02 wrote:

PNP

Young, restrained nose with light citrus, apple orchard, and minerals. Fairly linear but bright, with excellent acidity and a weightless feeling while still packing a dimensional body. Balanced finish; quite nice and will likely take on weight with time.

2/6/2022 - Rudolph Schmidt Likes this wine:

After taking a sip of this wine-I instantly achieved orgasm, and my IQ doubled. Women found me more attractive, and I finally got that promotion. My hair started growing back, and my son began to respect me as a man.

That's my usual spiel about DP.

This is a good wine, but not outstanding yet. Hold this for the long haul, and you'll be rewarded.

Drinking this right now is like going home with the girl next door. It's safe. But wait a few years & things will start to get interesting, like going home with the college girl who'll try & stick a finger in your bum.

6/21/2020 - mchern02 wrote:

Ended up decanting this about 3 hours somewhat by accident.

Concentrated, addictive nose of spice, candied red and black fruit, and eucalyptus. Highly attractive palate with a velvety, engrossing and multi dimensional body with teasing red fruit surrounded with mouth coating acidity. Gives the feeling of lightness while remaining highly dynamic. The wine ends with superb finish of minerals and great length, with slight tension provided by the young but attractive tannins

A wine that is consistently great across the entire tasting and gotten better and better with time; I want to just sit and smell it but I would miss out on the fantastic palate and finish.

I wish I had more.

9/11/2019 - fcxj wrote:

Smells and tastes like poor man's Soldera.

1/21/2022 - T.E.D. wrote:

My first Araujo in quite some time, consumed out of 375. Youthful color, some fading along the edges. Aromatic and pure nose of boysenberry, black jam, cassis, touches of dusty earth and forest. Very nuanced and pure Cali Cab, yet refined and not cloying. Palate shows more pure berry fruit, mountain berry, with further undertones of forest, pine, cedar, and herb. Touches of tannin, with great mouth feel and structure. Reminds me of Schrader, yet more refined and note overly structured. One of the better Cali Cabs I’ve consumed in a while, bought on a whim from Benchmark recently. Still youthful, even out of 375.

10/6/2021 - T.E.D. wrote:

375 bottle. One of the zingyer and zippier grande cuvee Krugs I can recall. Very concentrated lemon, rinds, peels and verbena, followed by an almost over the top minerality. Very expressive and pleasing.

9/22/2021 - T.E.D. wrote:

19th edition. U Club selection. Pale salmon color. Nose is rich and fat, spring time fruit, orchard fruits and dough. Palate is almost over the top with mouth feel. More rich and opulent melon fruit, berry, hint of citrus, fresh bread and yeast round out the palate. This really improved over the course of 3 hours. One of the more opulent rose wines I can remember.

2/10/2021 - T.E.D. wrote:

Bought this on a whim having no idea of wine varietal or geography. Reminiscent of funky chinon or bourguiel or brouily. Highly aromatic and funk filled nose. Peppery, gamey, some Brett under tones, grape skins, grey flint and tart fruits. Very rustic and volcanic. Not for the faint of heart. Palate is light and lithe, beauj like with tart strawberry, watermelon rind, crushed rocks and stems. Unique and non traditional. Not for everyone I would imagine. More of a wine nerds wine. Canary Islands location makes this even more contemplative.

1/1/2021 - T.E.D. wrote:

Good color, limited bricking, still show youth. Nose was outstanding and stand out. All prototypical elements are there, earth, leather, mushroom, forest, cedar, pine, hints of black berry fruits. Layered and complex. Palate showed a bit lean, mid palate in particular. Very integrated and velvet like. I would say this is at peak. Profile flavors of pine, gravel and crushe stone. Hints of current. Really showing the typicity of haut brion and what makes that chateau unique among the rest.

12/10/2020 - T.E.D. wrote:

U Club NYC bottle. Very firm and showing good gravel, stone, minerals coupled with stone fruits and hard berry. Really aromatic and structured. We’ll made.

10/3/2020 - T.E.D. wrote:

Note after three days. Agree with others this takes real time after opening to come through and show those leathery, volcanic, minerally and Stoney notes. Initially quite clunky and weighed down with stewed fruits, after time showing almost some aged like bdx qualities - leather, tobacco, cassis and berry fruits. Hints of lead. Was quite sanguine on this initially but now feeling this quality.

9/2/2020 - KeithAkers wrote:

Dinner at Tarantino's (Tarantino's, Chicago, IL): Nose: Immediately this is clearly on a different level of depth and class. The nose is still a bit tight and coiled, but beautifully red-fruited with red cherries, strawberries, raspberries, herbs, licorice, juniper berries, rose petals, violets, tobacco, savory herbs, and morning dew tones.

Taste: The feel is Full bodied with mouthwatering, high acidity and youthful, high tannins. The structure still shows a good amount of youth but it isn't overpowering at this time. The feel is deep and classy with red cherries, strawberries, raspberries, licorice, savory herbs, and tobacco notes.

Overall: Even with it clearly being young, it was still a wonderful wine. There is clearly more that this can give and these weren't the best conditions for it, but that's just how these things go some times.

7/5/2020 - T.E.D. wrote:

Cloying and clumsy with elements of toasted oak, vanilla, leechy. Reminds me of a Cali Napa Chard
In a hot year.

7/4/2020 - T.E.D. wrote:

Nearly impossible to review. Completely shut down even after 4 hour of vigorous decanting. Shows immense structure and aging potential, some hints of gravel and stones with hard fruits. Worthy of a decade plus before even thinking about opening.

12/1/2010 - T.E.D. wrote:

In the wheelhouse of a typical mid teens bord. Some violet on nose. Not much on finish, some hints of cassis coming through. A bit of stem/greeness peaking through as well. Finish is lite.

5/17/2020 - dream Likes this wine:

A wonderful aged Pauillac nose of dark berries, tobacco and sweet graphite. Deep and delicious on the palate with great aged flavors of roasted nuts, sweet black currants and graphite minerals. The texture is of the finest silk and there is superb intensity with layers of liquid graphite that just float over the tongue. The finish has a wonderful mineral crunch along with complex notes of tobacco, warm gravel and that incredible graphite thing again. This is a perfect bottle and it’s showing very youthful and just magnificent with charred Filet Mignon. I’ve always thought the ’89 was the better of these two wines but I have to admit that I’m not sure anymore. 95+

5/18/2020 - nywine68 wrote:

Smoke and graphite on the nose. Nice lively acidity. Nuanced mature blackberry fruit with layers of mushrooms and damp earth and some licorice. Medium body with strong cigarbox notes on the long finish. Lovely.

5/9/2020 - T.E.D. wrote:

Very fresh and bright. On the nose strawberry, watermelon rind, fresh cut flowers. Palate is taught and tense. Crunchy berry, ash, mineral, coffee grind, and jolly rancher. Very satisfying and enjoyable now

11/24/2017 - T.E.D. wrote:

A thinking mans wine and not one for novices. Robust notes of rubber band, nutty oil, funky goat cheese perhaps. Very rustic and nuanced.

4/14/2019 - T.E.D. wrote:

Rich inky color. In the nose a broad array of violets, stone fruit, hints of must, tar and herby cola. Palate was round and relatively flat with stewed fruits showing, green veg, weak on the finish. Agree with others waning at this point and time to drink.

4/15/2020 - mchern02 wrote:

1.5 hour decant

Shy nose of wet leather, tea, tart cherries, cranberries and tightly coiled heat. Moderate body with plus acidity and calming fresh finish with good length and slightly drying tannins

5/8/2019 - mchern02 wrote:

2 hour decant; still too hedonistic for my taste.

1st is 6 bottles; will lay down for two or three years. I’m not sure this is in line to “get better” but maybrelax a bit

Just massive without a lot of structure or cohesive ended. Alcohol is high and it comes through on upfront bomb and somewhat heat-induced finish.

RE-bottled and will try again tomorrow. Updated notes to come

UPDATE: opened after 24 hours and poured another glass.

Mellowed a bit but still quite large. I wouldn’t call it at all a California fruit bomb just is quite big.

Nose: dark fruit, violet petals, a bit of green and a bit of anise.

Palate: mouth coating tannins and a mix of hotness; more dark fruits and plums. Not balanced from a structure and acidity

Finish m: fine length with a mix of tannins and heat.

Will wait 2-3 years for the next one.

I’d also wait another 24 hours and try again

Either way, better QPRs out there for sure

4/15/2019 - mchern02 wrote:

1 Hour Decant at Union Square Cafe.

Dark rich, big fruit forward with dark color. Nice mint and allspice on nose

Feel was powerful and highly structured

Long but unbalanced finish.

Felt "big" for a Heitz MV

Not worth the price