Not up to the brilliance of the last bottle, but a lovely wine. Deep brick. Gorgeous nose filled with mature, blueberry fruit, violets, minerals. Creamy, complex, charcoal - wow. Palate is a step behind the nose - mineral streak shows itself again yet things fall off a little quicker than anticipated. An excellent bottle but not a great one. Drink up (95)
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Clairement pas au niveau des précédentes que j'ai goûtées !!!! Problème de bouteille sûrement....Bouquet de pruneau relativement faible,bouche disparate,seule la longueur est au rendez-vous aujourd'hui.Pour une cote maximum Parker,c'est clairement insuffisant today....J'en avais acheté une caisse de 12 il m'en reste 5.Habituellement coté 95/97....On verra le sort que réservera la suivante.
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This is a great bottle, justifying the august reputation RMP bestowed on on release (but not 100 points). Big, luscious, extravagantly red fruited. On its prime, outstanding balance and impressive to smell and to taste.
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Ullage well into neck, 1.5 cm. Almost purple with only 2 mm amber rim. Excellent nose of cedar, cigar box, blueberry, dark fruits and like damp forest. Wonderful taste with plenty of fruit left for its age. Could have been a bit more complex and finish was a bit short of what I expected, lasting only about 20 seconds.
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I could copy and paste my note from 2 years ago which was equally thrilling to drink. I think this is one of the upper echelon Bordeaux made over the past 30 years, and if anything it is gaining more balance as it ages while the fruit remains sublimely complex. Gorgeous stuff
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A lost Friday afternoon gathering – Cristal, DP, Giacosa, Produttori and etc. (Black Salt, Washington DC): Fully mature nose displaying generous black fruit, blackberry liqueur, blackberry jam, milk chocolate, caramel, sweet spices and mineral. Beautifully integrated palate, layers upon layers of generous black fruit, silky and fluid, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long generous black fruit driven finish. This is a well stored bottle. Although the palate is wonderful, the opulent nose is gone.
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Not the best example of this fantastic wine. Very prominent acid and mineral backbone but I felt the fruit never got unleashed. I would not have guessed 1990 if served blind. It was still very good though...
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48x 1990 (37x Bdx, 6x Napa, 5x others): This is my first time crossing path with this St. Emilion legend and it did not disappoint. At first it didn‘t show as spectacular, drinking probably on a 94 pts level but with time this started singing. Extraordinary concentration and substance, high precision and a fine structure (although not the same level of finesse as the best right banks). This is a rather Napa-esque expression of Bordeaux, a foreshadowing of the things coming in the years after but still on the elegant side. A hedonistic winner.
TN: Medium- expressive nose, lots of minerality and herbs with the fruit rather being in the background. Not much tertiary aromas on the nose. On the palate this much younger than the Angelus, with so much tension, soft but not yet fully melted tannins, good acidity, mostly fruit-driven, with minerality, herbs but with not much more. But with time in the glass the wines opens up, gains concentration, complexity (with some hints of tertiary aromas and layers of coffee, chocolate notes) and it gets rounder and creamier. Long lingering finish, impeccable balance from start to finish.
Decanting: Quick double decant roughly 3 hours before the tasting which was not quite enough. This bottle would have needed two, three hours in the decanter.
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Opulent, lush, flamboyant, showing and rich, from start to finish this had it all going on. Intensely concentrated, with layers of dark red plums, black cherries, thyme, crushed rocks and flowers, the wine coats your palate and seamlessly lingers.
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silky , dark fruit , good acidity, quite tannic still, impressively ripe and rich for a 30+ year old bordeaux and not really showing any signs of fading but in all i found it to be rich without really being fresh. clearly i have been spoiled silly by the patriarch.
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PnP, served at room temp. Quintessential right bank with brick red fruit, tight for only about 15 minutes and becomes quite plush with air. I’d start this one at cellar temp and follow it. It was really savory, with lots of umami and soy, along with some macerated strawberry. Acidity seemed to gain with time and the last glass was certainly the best. Lots of red clay minerals on the finish.
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M&PD dinner at Vendemmia. Final flight of the night (Bordeaux):
1989 Château Haut-Brion 1990 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) 1990 Château Cheval Blanc
I was dealing with a little long-haul covid, and felt weirdly intoxicated during this flight. So, I’m not going to rate the wines and just offer my limited notes.
My recollection was that all of these approximated 100-point wines; but I was feeling too weird there to be precise here.
1989 Château Haut-Brion
Very much reminded me of the nirvana of the 1990 H-B (which is one of the greatest wine of all time imho). When this wine is on, there is nothing better. How can something be so sophisticated but, at the same time, so sweaty and sexy. Pure but loaded with so much tar and earth.
1990 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse)
I’ve been lucky enough to have more bottles of this wine/vintage since my last note. This felt like it was a perfect representation of the vintage. It is very concentrated but still light on the palate. The finish is full of fruit and tar. An amazing wine.
1990 Château Cheval Blanc
I have not had much Cheval Blanc, so I was very excited to try this and it did not disappoint. The fruit, smoke and earth all hit you on the nose and don’t let up. I would call this classic Bordeaux but with a complexity that was impossible for me to parse in my weird state. My goal is to have this bottle on its own to focus on everything that is going on.
Have this about 3 hours in decanter but tasted along the way
Huge nose of licorice with black berry, crushed blueberry, earthy, tobacco, wet cigar, truffle, but entirely fresh. Textured, layered, really attractive and pretty palate; great acidity and backbone. Youthful tannins which frankly need more time but clearly has bones which still will improve. Forever finish
1990 Champagne / Bordeaux / N Rhone (London): Single blind side by side Montrose. Consensus was at the table that this was the slightly better wine. Beautiful aromatics of mature cab franc, full throttle but not too much so (i.e. alcohol seemed moderate), really draws you into the glass and easy to see why this is a legend of Bordeaux from a generally not too well known chateau.
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JR Group of Six Dinner (Vancouver, BC): Tasted blind next to the 1990 Château Lynch-Bages, 1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, and 1990 Château Angélus. The ripest wine of the flight yet still holding onto its old world roots. Dark fruits explode out of the glass coupled with black pepper spice, cedar, and a touch of oak. There was an underlying sweetness that showed on the palate yet it was well controlled, along with black currants, blueberries, clove, and a touch of menthol. This was texturally softer and showing more maturity than the Angélus, yet these will live for a long time yet.
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Super ripe and opulent. Almost over the top. Love the play between crazy fruit and earth. Wonderful 1990 right bank. Still fresh with plenty of time left.
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M&PD Covid Tasting Night #4. A spectacular line-up of wines tasted blind:
2014 Morlet Family Vineyards La Proportion Dorée 1990 Château Léoville Las Cases 2009 Sloan 1996 Château Mouton Rothschild 2010 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1990 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse)
Eric offers his usual insightful reviews here: www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2281587
A couple of additional thoughts from my pov:
This is phenomenal wine. Light and still crisp, even with its age, while still offering tons of fruit and a long finish. Eric claimed this wasn't the grandest expression of this wine. If he's correct, I need to get another bottle of this and taste excellence^1.
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M&PD Zoom Tasting: Bordeaux around the world (Zoom): Very Bordeaux-like. Quite earthy. Tobacco. Getting some pine notes. Mineral, precise. Cherry. Ausone? So much structure! In the end this was my wine. Not a shining example compared to other bottles. I feel like this needed a lot more air to really shine, although it is a gorgeous wine.
Very rich, thick, ripe and opulent. Almost port-like. Very good, but lacking acidity leaving it a bit flabby given the intensity of the fruit -- I also wondered if this may have been a less than perfectly stored bottle. Still quite delicious.
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Fabulous wine. I’ve still got a few left, but over the years this wine has ranged anywhere from merely exceptional to perfect and tonight was another great example. Essence of licorice, infused with blackberry and minerals, the nuances are constantly changing, at first showing raspberry, then dark chocolate, then blueberry. It grows in the glass...dark character and the cab franc lends just enough freshness to keep it balanced
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A bottle bought as part of a case en primeur for £16 in 1992 and before RP gave it its stellar rating. It remains a lovely drop - softer and less obviously vigorous than before but still beautifully balanced with some life ahead. Nose with an initial hint of smokiness before soft red fruits take over; lovely with grilled lamb chops. Good depth, still some grip and a soft lingering finish. Not sure if it will improve or how, but if it stays like this for a few more years it will have been a great purchase.
Perfect, especially after decanting and opening up. Initial front palate of red currant, opening Softly to Undertones of eucalyptus, bramble and Sweet tobacco. Finished with black fruit/boysenberry. Loved it!
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Housewarming party (Fairfax, VA): Beautifully mature nose displaying sweet black fruit, blackberry, blackberry liqueur, mocha, caramel, truffle and earth. Fully integrated palate, finely layered sweet black fruit, soft and silky, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, nicely integrated tannins and a seamless long sweet black fruit driven finish with mocha and truffle at the end. Although it is drinking beautifully, it lost the sexy opulent fruit, This seems at the peak but it will be interesting to follow how this will developed from here. Also, there is a significant bottle variation, Caveat Emptor!
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90 BDL going all out for its #dirty30 Open a bottle early morning, book and catch a two day coast to coast flight ( preferably with a Las Vegas layover ) and return to this SEX IN A BOTTLE!!!
Jokes aside, truly great bottles of this require 12 - 18 hrs in decanter! If u wanna live on the wild side I’d be ok with 6 hrs for Infanticides. Now if there was a wine that u could possibly “smell” the tannins, this is it.
In the handful of times I’ve had this wine it has never been the “port like” Parker tag, which I’ve been ok with. It is, however, a massively opulent and hedonistic experience. Loads of rich and concentrated black and purple palate staining fruits lead you into sensory overdrive! Imagine Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock’s intense performances in Speed and that’s the movie version of what ur drinking! $hit, let’s throw Dennis Hopper’s whacky a$$ in there too!
Crazy aromatics of scorched earth, espresso, black plums, fresh violets and sweet tobacco. This version of 90s MLB steroid era, testosterone filled BDL has a solid structure and is incredibly balanced ( no skipping leg day here )! There is no way this has reached peak maturity and may be a decade or two from it. It’s frightening, but this is only going to continue getting better.
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This mindblowing bottle hit every note on the scale! At 30 this is so rich, intense, opulent, concentrated, long and hedonistic, it's almost beyond belief. Bottled decadence with endless, non-stop waves of ripe, deep, palate filling fruit. The finish went well past the 60-second mark!
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So this is my third experience with this wine, and enough variation to make me wonder if the market is flooded with fakes of this bottle (plus the strange horizontal glue lines that peek through on certain bottles) OR simply quality control wasn't there. Regardless, this bottle was not a dark, port like experience with intense richness from a very late harvest. It instead reminded me a little of 1990 Cos, but a little lighter. It was medium light body with mid level aromatics of cigar box and a bit of gravel and then a moderately uninteresting palate. Almost like an ok 1995. None of the depth and richness that one should get here. If I paid $95 for this I'd think "fair deal". At this price it's embarassing. Given the massive bottle variation (or fraud, who knows?) I would steer clear of this bottle at all costs. Let other people gamble at these prices.
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1990 Bordeaux Dinner (The Bristol - Chicago IL): Single blind at 1990 Bordeaux dinner. Some thought this was simply getting tired, but that viewpoint just ignored that this bottle was lethargic, stewy and seemingly heat damaged.
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A full bottle with very very high shoulder fill, great looking cork and label. This was an utter disappointment. Quite bretty and austere with red fruit and cigar. Still tannic and bretty on the palate. I strongly recommend you look elsewhere for that "wine of the century" experience. Frankly, it's just past peak and also contaminated by brett with robs the wine of complexity in this case. It got a bit better with air, but I was expecting the ground to shake given the reviews. Caveat emptor!
I should mention to the haters out there that again the bottle was in great shape and served double blind to 11 people who are wine professionals and decades long drinkers along with 5 other 94+ Cellartracker wines. The bottle was not flawed unless Brett in a 30 year old Bordeaux is a flaw. Unfortunately, it’s hard to be biased by labels and Parker scores double blind. I’m sure there are better (and worse) bottles out there. I just want folks to know they might not get a better one.
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At a tasting we put on for our Couples Cru of 13 present, of seven 1990 Bordeaux (Angelus, Figeac, Beausejour Duffau, La Mission Haut-Brion, Pichon Baron, Lynch Bages, Montrose). All wines purchased on release and aged in my cellar. Last tasted 2013. Outstanding! Dark garnet-purple, still completely opaque, the darkest of the group. Deep rich smoky cassis notes, opened slowly. Very concentrated fruit, mild tannin in the background…it opened slowly but was wonderful two hours later. Very enjoyable now, would not guess it's 30 years old...seems much younger. This was second favorite, behind Pichon Baron. Remaining wine gassed until the next night, still outstanding. Ric
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Wow. This bottle lived up to the hype and then some. Rich and full, the palate was like silk. Gorgeous blackberry fruit. Lingered. To drink over the next 10 to 15 years. Amazing. (99)
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Gorgeous wine. The mouthfeel is brilliant with superfine tannins encapsulating the soft round body. Blueberry and chocolate flavors with lots of earthiness and complexity. Impossible to put down.
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What a nose the 1990 Beausejour sports. Janus-like - one face rich and savory with black plum, espresso, ganache, and Perigord truffle notes and the other face fresh and floral. Truffle, smoke, and thyme filled palate and an intense, savory finish. The nose is ready from the word go, but the palate requires time in the decanter to really develop.
This is a fascinating wine and perhaps one of the wines that heralded a new era in Bordeaux. Parker marked this 100 points, but Broadbent and Coates were luke-warm at best. Like Jancis Robinson, I tend to come in somewhere between. Personally, it's a style that I think has a place. Yes, rich and ripe but I don't think this loses its sense of terroir for a moment. A fun expression of St. Emilion that I personally enjoy.
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Decanted about 3 hours. Wine was slightly brown when poured, nose and palate were still nice but restrained relative to previous bottles. No change over a couple hours. Unfortunately, this bottle was probably past its prime, or maybe suffered from poor storage during its life.
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the shame of these mega-lineups is that rare soldiers such as this bottle which deserve time and contemplation get sandwitched in and knocked off without proper ceremony. A vinous war crime of sorts... Nevertheless I did my best nose- funky on first whiff declaring itself to be Bordeaux with a capital 'B'. cherry ensues mouth - very complex and still quite alive. Smooth, brandy-esque also with flavors of coffee. a classic revisited courtesy of the patriarch
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One of the best bottles of the 1990 BDL that I can recall. Oozing with complexity and completeness. This is a wine that still appears quite young in both color and on the palate. The nose showed off ripe dark fruits, mint, sous bois, fresh violets, and tobacco. Loads of concentration and incredibly well balanced, the wine still had a solid structure. The tannins and acidity give it a soft and fresh mouthfeel. This wine will age for decades, as it is evolving quite slowly. I am noting only a slight evolution in its tertiary aromatics from a few years ago. But as great as this wine is now, it is truly going to be even better in another decade. Personally, I don't feel this has reached its peak maturation.
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From a half bottle. Past peak in this format. I had high hopes but tasted like an aged Bordeaux. Tired, with dried cherry, cigar, and leaf. Not very energetic. Elegant and light. Could have found something similar and paid far less. Not planning on buying anymore 30 year old half bottles. I've had better luck with Left Bank halves probably because Cabernet Sauvignon is superior to Merlot.
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Decanted for 2 hours before serving. Parker nailed this wine. It was the most singular bordeaux I have ever had. Very perfumed and sexy on the nose with cinnamon cake, ripe black fruit, cedarwood, citrus, animal and meat. So intense but delicate and elegant at the same time. For that period of time in 1990, it was an extracted and modern bordeaux. In a RP100 tonight tonight, it outperformed 85 sassicaia (too reserved to show) and 75 la mission haut brion. On par with 89 Haut Brion. Ridiculously good but also unique. This wine still has not reached its youth peak. 97++
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There must be a lot of bottle variation with this wine and this was a weaker example. It’s still good but somewhat blurry and unfocused. The faint aroma of dark fruit and hint of beef bouillon is attractive and unusual but just too modest. Good density and vigor though and finishes well. It’s not too old despite the alarming almost brown color. Far from RP’s 100 point perfect wine, though.
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An intellectual sex bomb of a wine! Combining its potent blend of hedonism with concentrated layers of perfectly ripe, mineral-driven fruits, salty, velvet drenched tannins and a fruit-filled finish that lasts at least 60 seconds. This wine, if well stored is off the hook and off the charts. It is simply mind-blowing juice. Frightfully expensive, if you have patience, the 2009 and 2010 are both better, selling for about half the price of the 1990.
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god i love this wine.....retaining all its awesomeness. a dark fruited, powerful beauty. Thanks to RP for calling this out in its infancy so I could buy a case to enjoy over the years/decades.
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Flat out fabulous and surely one of the top five wines of the vintage. Beautiful bouquet of dark plum, rose and hint of truffle. Full bodied and sweet yet there’s some soil tones which add interest and complexity. Still some unresolved tannins in the lingering finish. Firm acidity lends depth and structure. Great now and for the future.
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A really nice bottle of this wine. Benefitted from some time in the glass, as it appeared to gain weight and become more interesting. I noted the color was a bit lighter than some other recent bottles. There was a noticeable funk on the nose that tapered with time. Lots of aromas of rich plum, truffle, tobacco, mushroom, and earth. Soft and silky tannins gave this a nice, smooth mouthfeel. A solid finish with good acidity and above-average length. Nice minerality on the finish, and some sweetness as well. This particular bottle seemed to be at peak. And while this bottle was perhaps a bit more advanced than some others of this wine, it wasn't tired at all.
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Decanted about 3.5 hours. Nose had a little funk when first opened but cleared up while in the decanter. This bottle was outstanding on the nose, palate, and complexity for the 3 hours following until it was gone.
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With the weight and heft of Vintage, dry Port, this got going and never stopped. Unctuous, rich and with so much density, you could eat it, or slowly sip from the glass, this had it all. The fruit, with its melange of ripe, over ripe, and perfectly ripe fruit, moved from black, to red and back to black again. The mineral driven nose, with its truffle, plum and smoke filled accents brought everything together. This is a wine for hedonists, that like to think about what's in their glass. This should age for decades, if properly cellared.
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The Judgement of Paris - reloaded: In this flight it was hard to tell which one was Bordeaux and which one Napa. Both wines were very round, rich and mature. More blue fruit in the Harlan and more chocolate in the Beausejour. The Harlan also had a bit more structure and bitter extract on the finish which helped with the richness and therefore had the slight edge. Both showed really well, albeit not as classic as I like my Bdx blends. Great wines nevertheless and a wonderful way to finish this awesome tasting.
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After a fabulous showing of a bottle provided by DrinkBordeaux a few weeks ago I was eager to see how this bottle, purchased recently from WineBid, would compare. It started off deep and kinky, reminding me of the best bottles of Tertre Rôteboeuf. Lots of black licorice and currant. Over the course of a couple of hours though, it faded and dried out in the glass. The cork was extremely dry although tight. My score is a blend of where it started and where it ended up.
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Still youthful and in need of more aging. Still, this drinks well with several hours of air. Benefits from a lot of time in the glass. I am always struck by this wine's complexity on the nose, though it doesn't always translate to the palate (at this stage, at least). The color is very dark and opaque. There are aromas of dark plum, menthol, truffle, tobacco, and dark chocolate. This has all the stuffing to develop into an even better wine. The tannins are prominent, but soft and silky. A very long finish with good acidity. This wine is clearly not yet at its peak, and will benefit from a bit more aging. You can get the sense that this wine is on the verge of greatness, but just isn't quite there yet. I must be patient with my remaining bottles.
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Medium ruby color, some signs of age. Nose showed dark fruits, pine and floral notes. Palate of light blueberry, dusted dark fruits, blackberry and tobacco. Medium weight and finish. Did not pick up substantial secondary notes with this bottle, but it may have just needed a longer decant or not been as good as prior tasters experience. CVA indicated his prior bottles were better than this one.
Hold off rating as I don't have a comparison for this wine. Very nice, seemed fully mature at this point. Drinking well....
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The bottle was purchased by me from a fine wine shop in 1995 and cellared since then. Label became moldy and fell off next to the bottle. Cork was fine. Decanted 3 hours. Wine is full bodied, highly concentrated with earthy tobacco notes. Finish is medium long. Totally enjoyable with plenty of life remaining.
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Spicy, smoky, licorice, incense, espresso bean, blackberry liqueur, roasted plum, wet earth and black peppery aromatics were in full force. And that was not even close to the main event. On the palate, the wine is intense, erotic and incredibly sexy in a good girl, gone bad way. The texture was akin to liquid silk. This decadent wine can be summed up as pure sex in a bottle. As a tip, I'm positive that the 2009 and 2010 at the same age will be even better!
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Decanted 2.5 hours. Needed another hour to get going. Nose improved but stayed a bit weak. Probably needed some more cellar time, at least this bottle.
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Annual Chicago winos visit - Pearl Clutcher, coche, drc, rousseau, D'Yquem and etc. (The Grill Room at Rosewood DC): Perhaps the most harmonious and ready example of my life. Perfectly harmonious displaying subtle yet decadent black fruits, blackberry, black cherry, a hint of milk chocolate and black truffle. Beguiling airy palate, silky and sensual, fully resolved tannins and perfectly seamless finish that quietly resonates. I wholeheartedly agree with Burgundy Al, “Absolutely wonderful, No need to say more.”
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A small impromptu dinner with Trip B (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner): Perfectly harmonious nose displaying decadent yet fresh black fruits, blackberry, black cherry, plum and bitter chocolate. Incredibly silky and sensual palate, beautifully layered fruits, no noticeable tannins and lovely long finish. It is a sensual/sexy wine but perhaps not the most complex and profound. This bottle is absolutely singing.
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Perfect 2 bottles, still deep ruby, amazing exotic nose and very plummy Merlot notes. 95+ on the nose. Sadly just not enough substance on the palate. Yes it is balanced but no real complexity and depth. Pretty one-dimensional. If this is 100 RP what would he rate the 90 Cheval Blanc that simply blew this away. Sorry but a first growth is a first growth for a reason and no one hit wonder can compete with the full symphony that Cheval brings in the great years. 90 Cheval eclipsing the 82 now and that is saying something! Lovely wine but more like a $150 bottle and not a $600 bottle if we are all being honest here.
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1989/1990 Right Bank Bordeaux tasting (Vienna Cafe & Wine Bar): Complex and complete. Struck by its very dark color, showing little signs of aging. Plum, dark fruits, mint, damp earth, and tobacco round out the aromatics. Complex, concentrated, and balanced, this wine seemed to have all of the necessary elements. Lots of structure; the tannins are round but still fairly prominent. High bright acidity contributing to lots of freshness on the finish. This wine has so much time left, and is just getting started. The immense amount of fruit, coupled with its solid structural makeup, bodes well for anyone who has this wine in their cellar. A standout on this evening.
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A private dinner (Restaurant Adam, Amsterdam, NL): Tasted blind. Complete, velvety, spicy, very rich, rounded, fully mature but with amazing fruit, incredibly layered and complex, black tea, beef stew, melting and harmonious, cool minerality, fresh mushroom, length and depth. Develops very quickly in the glass, lovage. Recently acquired at auction, provenance unknown, probably some storage issues. Perfect bottles must be otherworldly.
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a pristine bottle with fill level into the neck and poured to a deep ruby color.
powerful bouquet, with blackberry, spices and some vanilla. in the mouth this wine is liquid black licorice....very consistent with prior experiences. there are also coffee, blackberry and clove flavors. Tannins are still present but essentially blend in with that flavor profile
It's very singular as i can't really think of another wine that is so tilted to sweet black fruit and spices without a hint of acidity, and yet it's complex and lush.
i've never minded the lack of acidity, so what prevented a higher score? the impact is so powerful on entry and supported by spiciness, but then there's a little thinning out on the midpalate. For a while i had to slurp in some air to intensify the flavors. very minor quibble. it's still quite young except for that characteristic
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One of the most consistently stunning wines, this bottle was no exception. Still young in color, the nose, with its tobacco, blackberry liqueur, tobacco, smoke, Cuban cigar wrapper and dark plum aromatics really prime your pump. When the waves of dense, lush, opulent, sweet, fresh fruits begins to coat your palate, you know you're in for a true ride of pleasure. Balanced, powerful and harmonious, this is one of the few, expensive wines that is actually worth the money.
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Fantastic, with a perfect balance of ripeness and savoriness. I enjoyed it much more than I expected, as I thought I remembered the last bottle I had many years ago as another freakish high-scoring 1990 Right Bank wine in the vein of Troplong-Mondot. This was more like a more rustic cousin of the Cheval Blanc, but still showing great nuance and refinement.
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Wine Dinner Extravaganza (Capella Hotel Dining Room - Washington DC): Very ripe with very good spice, but this also came across as either slightly dirty, bretty or with hints of VA. Also not close to the quality level of previous times I've tasted this wine. A disappointing night for Bordeaux.
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One of the great wines of your life, with its unique, erotic textures, exotic perfumes and one of a kind character. The fruit is perfectly ripe, with just the right amount of over ripeness and al dente character to deliver a complex, tasting experience that needs to be tasted at least once. As good as this is, I'm betting the 2009 and 2010 are even better! We just need to be patient.
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Opened, decanted, and poured after the funk had had a bit of time to blow off. My initial reaction was cinnamon which is an interesting flavor for a wine, but works for it. A bit less multi-dimensional that I had hoped for, but I think it might also have been more towards last legs. Good wine though.
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This is the last of three bottles from a cellar that Scott Manlin and I bought many years ago. We were sitting at the coffee shop next to Mark's Duck House, waiting on Bob Parker for a lunch we had planned, when he showed me the cellar and the asking price. We bought it all and every bottle has been pristine. This bottle wasn't as good as the first two I drank. Still an amazing wine, but it didn't hit the ethereal category that the other two bottles did. Drinking extremely well now, with a huge future ahead of it. No need to hurry to open one.
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Well well well, it's the famous 1990 Beausejour Duffau. Perfect wine? Not a chance but still pretty stacked. Very full and fleshy with a structure that's still rough and kind of rugged; combined with an intense gravelly personality this had me figuring it was a Left Banker. Long life ahead for sure, this is still so structured.
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Decanted and drank over 3 hours. Exotic and very concentrated nose of bright black and red fruit, loads of coffee, chocolate, vanilla and violets. Really delicious flavors that matched the nose. There is a power and viscosity to this wine that is intense but note heavy. The only thing if I want to be picky is a lack of precision but the glossy, silky, sexy texture is so good it doesn't matter.
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New Year's Eve 2014 (My house): Opened roughly 3 hours before serving and not decanted. Very dark color and no real signs of fading. Powerful aromatics right from the start. Ripe red and black cherry with some blackberry as well. Dark chocolate, black truffle, leather and smoke too. Same fruit came through on the palate. Very dense and well textured. Almost port-like in some ways, but without the heat. Really fun to try.
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Had this last night at a '90 Bordeaux dinner (along with Montrose and LLC). This is an excellent and delicious Bordeaux, drinking well right now but will probably get better over the next decade or 2. The fruit is still a little 'big', the wine is still a little primary, amazing to say that after 24 years it still needs more time to be great. If served blind, I doubt I'd pick Bordeaux. Think given the size of this wine I would probably pick Northern California, maybe a Shafer Hillside or an Insignia or something like that.
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As good as this bottle was, it was not quite at the level of the best bottles. Yet, even with that in mind, the showy, mineral driven truffle, tobacco, black plum, cherry pie and earthy nose grabbed you. Full bodied, deep and concentrated, the tannins are plush, plush and powerful, allowing the wine to feel like pure, polished elegance. However this bottle was not quite as deep as the best bottles and slowly faded in the glass after an hour. All things considered, this was still an amazing treat.
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Another lazy Sunday gathering with 95 Latour, 98 Rayas, 90 BDL, 11 the stone terrace and etc. (Table Restaurant - Washington D.C.): Expressive black fruit driven nose, black truffle, dark chocolate and earth. Incredibly sensual palate, round and silky, lovely sweet dark fruit driven palate impression, fully integrated tannins, perfect balance and lovely silky finish that resonates. The beauty of this particular bottle lies in great balance and incredibly sensual texture. The nose is expressive but not quite explosive, hence my rating.
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It has always merited a three digit score and all the points were there tonight. So effortlessly elegant despite its sweetness with some earth, black fruit compote, strawberry, tart. Very suspicious that Parker would give this beauty a hundred points!?
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tasted blind - Earthy, leather , and surripe strawberry on the nose. in the mouth earthy funked out fruit, a very complex, powerful wow wine. did i say wow. My WOTN,. In my mind clearly better than the 90 montrose. Muchas Gracias a la Patriarch por traernos este (segunda vez!)
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1990 Dinner at University Club (Chicago): My first time with this famous wine. Super ripe black fruit, coffee and caramel on the nose. This carries through to the palate which is full on, bright and concentrated. Slight floral note. Very young and vibrant. This is big and powerful, but without being overdone or heavy handed. Certainly the most modern feel. of the Bordeaux we had tonight. Very very tasty.
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Birthday Celebration (Abigail's American Bistro - Highland Park IL): Incredibly ripe black fruit but with so much structure and concentration that it retains incredible charm, density and persistence. Perhaps not the most complicated wine of the evening, but certainly as fun and hedonistic as good wine gets.
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Hedonism Wines' Enomatic Sampling (Hedonism Wines, Mayfair): Good bottles have scored consistently with three digits and continues one of my absolute favourite bottles of Bordeaux. Unbelievably elegant and mature Bordeaux nose. On the palate, round with chocolate, cassis, truffles. Pretty mature, so won't last forever but irrestible right now.
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(Blind) Klar, mørk rød med lett oransje kant. Dyp, ekspressiv, mørk parfymert, krydret nese med solbær, mild lær og mørke fioler. Konsentrert og intens frukt med imponerende fruktdybde og kraft. Frisk syre. Solide, tørre, men medgjørlige tanniner. Sitter enormt lenge i med dyp, mørk krydret frukt og noe eik. En kraftpakke av en vin som vil trenge ytterligere lagring for å falle helt på plass.
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1990 Bordeaux Horizontal: Blind. Deeply colored, sweet-and-sour and a bit one-dimensional smell, lots of dark berries; quite long, more dark berries in the mouth, somewhat extracted, simple finish.
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1990 Bordeaux Dinner (Noisette, Portland, OR): The nose reminds me of dusty, dry field corn, dried cherries, and a sense of deep forest green. Brambles show all across the palate along with lots of acidity. The fruit shows great depth and clarity under the brambles, and the wine has a tart character in general. It still feels a bit young to me, with the brambles and acidic structure so evident in the foreground.
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BORDEAUX 1990 ALLA CIECA (ENOTECA ROSSORUBINO TORINO): Lo intitolerei: "Centrifugato di verdure di nonna Pina". Naso stordente di asparagi e piselli verdi, non ti molla mai... in bocca entra con grande corpo, ma il frutto lascia di nuovo il campo a un tono vegetale inebriante. Corpo, colore e tannini a profusione Davvero strano. Ovviamente non vale quel che costa!
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Deep garnet. Nose was of mocha, dark chocolate, leather and hints of dark fruits. Taste was of the same, some of the nose in the mouth, long finish, smooth. Very good but again somehow wanted more.
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One of the finest wines I have ever been fortunate enough to have. Popped and poured and decanted in the glass. This was simply amazing wine. Lots of barnyard aromas. I only wish I had been able to have more than one glass.
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one of the consistently great 1990s, and one of my favorites from that vintage.
plum liqueur spiced up with licorice and some minerality, this is still going strong. As I mentioned in a prior tasting note it does benefit from aeration and I would recommend at least an hour
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At a tasting we put on for our Couples Cru of 17 present, of eight 1990 Bordeaux (Angelus, Figeac, Beausejour Duffau, La Mission Haut-Brion, Leoville Barton, Pichon Baron, Lynch Bages, Montrose). All wines purchased on release and aged in my cellar. First bottle was corked. Second bottle was outstanding! Dark garnet-purple, still completely opaque, the darkest of the group. Deep rich smoky cassis notes, opened slowly. Very concentrated fruit, plenty of tannin in the background…it opened slowly but was wonderful two hours later. Very enjoyable now but should gain complexity while retaining its power over at least the next 5 years. Ric
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This bottle was less about power. Decanted for the afternoon and then opened for 4 hours before drinking. Complex, smooth, full and long with dark fruits and underlying smokiness.
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Shows some age in color at the rim. Big wine, with plenty of dense exotic fruit, minerals, and substantial tannin still showing for its age. Big and very good, far from maturity, although it continues to be far from perfect for my palate - but maybe time will prove me wrong. A-/?
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1990 Beausejour remains deeply colored. What I loved about this Bordeaux wine was, it started with a powerful fragrance filled with fresh herbs, ripe black fruits, spice, minerals, fennel, smoke and flowers. The flavors cascading across my palate were filled with plums and incredibly decadent, ripe black fruit. This amazingly concentrated wine has a mouth feel that is as exotic as Guigal's La Mouline from a great year! And the massive concentration had as much fruit and weight as a great year of Latour! Everything was in perfect balance with an worldly finish lasting 60 seconds or more. The wine continued developing in the glass for over 2 hours. It would kept getting better for several hours after that, but, it was difficult not to keep drinking it.
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Trip’s visit to DC - Capital Grill (Capital Grill at Tysons corner, VA): Very poor showing. No noticeable outer appearance of heat damage but I am sure this was exposes to relatively high temperature for a long period of time. Apparently came from a passive cellar in DC which explains. I need to find out what other wines came out from this cellar as I have had a number of heat damaged top end Bordeauxs, all from private cellar.
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I mentioned to Assaf that this should not be decanted as at this stage, pop and pour is the way to show the opulent exotic sexy fruit. Assaf agree that with a couple hours of air, the wine lost the magic. I highly recommend pop and pour on this and the 90 La Conseillante.
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Exotic clove, cardoman, and reoemary spices mixed with meaty flavors. A complex and profound wine. Decanted 2 hours in advance, explosive impression from the glass. Rich port like nature softened somwhat to reach a perfect balance and long finish. A wine reaching its apogee, though with many years left to evolve.
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Julien S-M's 1990 Bordeaux (RSJ, London): Blind. Stewed, spicy, beefy, soy nose. A little dry and quite linear on the nose. Guess BDL. Apparently unrepresentative of previous bottles. It's preferable to the Trop, but... ***. Apparently this was unrepresentative of previous bottles from the same case which were dense, dark-fruited and balanced. Cork was dry through the middle and the central part came out leaving a ring of cork remaining in the neck. Presumably a degree of oxidation.
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An Evening of Fundraising (Casa de Victor and Ingrid): opened and allowed to breath in bottle for 8+ hours nose - cinnamon, clove, lightly smoky, and stunningly perfumed, this wine had a memorable nose. Though i smelled mostly exotic spiciness, other picked up fruit as well. mouth - smoky, complex Asian spicebox, good mature tutti-frutti flavors followed again by more spiciness. Long persistence in the mouth with still prominent tannins. Based on other reviewer's comments, I had expected this to come across as more porty.
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i've been fortunate to have this wine at least 6 or 7 times. the first few times were so off the chart it instantly became one of my favorite wines, the last 2 times which were more recent I'd call it a high 90s wine. You MUST decant this for >1 hour in my opinion, both times I drank it recently it took awhile to get going...the first time it needed lots of aeration to develop magnificent secondary nuances, and the second time to shed tannins.
It is a very complex wine aromatically and in its taste. Deep dark fruit, hints of tar and coffee while and a little cinnamon gives it a nice zest to complement the layers of concentrated fruit. Long midpalate. Really sensational, and the 90 Cheval Blanc is in the same league, possibly better.
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Aromatics jump from the glass like a bullet from a gun! Licorice, truffle, crushed stone, black cherry liqueur, plum, spice, flowers, earth and forest floor notes start the party, but the main event takes place with an endless series of waves made from black licorice, essence of cherry, truffle, plum and chocolate. The motor oil, rich finish remains on your palate for over sixty seconds! And it’s still not fully mature!!!
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MNSC (The Principal): 2.5 hours in decanter. powerful and bursting with flavours but not as exotic as last time i tasted. seems like it's still holding back a little. should revisit again in a few years.
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There are great wines. There are the world's great wines. Some bottles go one step further offering "Oh My God," tasting experiences! 1990 Beausejour Duffau can be an OMG wine. With a perfume that explodes with black licorice, truffle, crushed rocks, smoke, black raspberries, BBQ, spicy black cherries, forest floor and tobacco scents, your nose is riveted to the glass. Once past the compelling perfume, waves of incredibly concentrated pure, ripe, dark fruits and minerality coats your mouth and palate, due to the amazing viscosity of the wine. The dry Port like finish of plum liqueur remains for over sixty seconds. This incredible Bordeaux wine tasting experience is only going to get better over the next few decades.
It will be interesting to see if the 2009 or 2010 reach this same level of perfection. This bottle was popped and poured into a decanter and served within a few minutes.
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Probably would have scored this higher if I had followed a proper protocol....We popped and poured this aged beauty (no decant). Color was still vibrant and showing very little fading at the rim. Nose was green veggies all the way with soil, leather, and hint of licorice. Great mouthfeel on this wine, you could chew it for minutes. Gripping tannins somewhat dominated the initial glass - leather, green bell pepper, asparagus, vegetal domination, with hints of cassis and licorice.
4+ hours into the bottle and the wine really started to open up and more fruit was showing albeit second fiddle to the leather, veggie components. This was a treat to drink and share with friends, but do yourself a favor and allow a long decant before you dive in. This was my first glass of wine with this much age and I was truly impressed how well balanced and structured this wine still is. I am guessing that it still has the stuffing to go another 2 decades.
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Gathering at HK country club (HK country club): Wow after all the nice Burgs this really stands out as a very masculine wine, with licorice, tea, smoke, leather. Very full and powerful palate that goes excellent with steak. This is definitely a 50+ yrs wine.
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Dinner at Collichio and Sons with Mike and Stuart et al (Collichio and Sons): Double decanted and rebottled for 5 hours before tasting. The nose knocked me on my ass. The depth and richness and intensity was unique in my experience. Black/purple after 20 years, this is one of the most concentrated, powerful wines I have tasted, yet it has great finesse. Have it if you can
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Stood up for a week and decanted 5 hours before drinking. There was a moderate amount of sludge on the bottom. This is a beautiful, young, full bodied sweetheart. It is decidedly a Right Bank wine with muscular softness. My 4th bottle since release and by far the best.
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It explodes from the glass with an array of ripe scents blackberry liqueur, caramel, tobacco, licorice, jam and espresso. Opulent decadence, is either the name of a Porn Star, or what this wine deserves to be called. Rich, deep, concentrated and intense, the amazing mouth coating finish fills every nook and cranny of mouth, palate and sense. This amazing wine is young and will only get better with time.
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Not port-like at all. The person that brought it opened in the morning. He thought the wine was bad and spoiled at first. Couldn't be further form the truth. Nose of tobacco, dired red fruit and some cedar and oak. More fresh fruit tones. Seamless, slides down the palate. Well intergrated. Has it all.
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Beautiful mature bouquet with beautiful oak, chocolate and a bit of white pepper. Same on the palate with beautiful soft and round tannin that still have bite. Perfectly balanced and at a perfect drinking stage now, but with enough power to last at least 5 years. But why wait? It will not be more perfect.
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This was stuffed with plums, blackberry, floral and wood aromas. This is a very sexed up, decadent, style of wine with an opulent character that will keep improving and adding complexity for years.
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Truffles, truffles and more truffles were in the nose, along with spice, herbs, tobacco, earth, dried cherries and lavender notes. This amazingly, rich, full bodied, concentrated, decadent Bordeaux wine is a perfect expression of St. Emillion. Elegant and exotic, ripe, complex and sexed up, this unique Bordeaux excited the palate and senses. Some bottles bring tears when you drink them. Others bring tears to your eyes when you finish them
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Deeply colored. A huge nose of blackberry liqueur, spices, herbs, minerals and coffee truly explode from the glass. Massive amounts of concentrated ripe fruit fill the glass and your palate. The wine ends with intense layers of deep, rich, opulent, decadent fruit that seem to last close to a minute. Very rich and velvety with motor oil weight that's thrilling to experience.
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One of the most remarkable wines I've ever had. Not quite is rich as the 1947 Cheval Blanc (still my favorite) but this is a mammoth wine. Double decanted for approximately five hours, although small samples taken at opening and one hour in indicate that it probably didn't need all of that.
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Justin's 31st Birthday (Olympia, WA): What a freaking BEAST of a wine! A crazy nose of roasted plum, gunpowder and chocolate. This shut down over time in the glass, but it is mindblowingly concentrated. This is more educational than pleasurable at this stage, but it is certainly crazily impressive stuff.
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Tasting Group Dinner - Bordeaux at Heidi's (Heidi's, Minneapolis): Black core, deep maroon to the rim. This started out very ripe, plump, and California-like, showing sweet, intense black fruit, flowers, earth, and milk chocolate. As this sat in the glass, a more interesting, minerally character emerged, and the wine took on an earthy character that I really liked. Sort of like a cross between a great CaliCab and a traditional St. Emilion, and a delicious one at that.
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Wednesdays at Heidi's: Double decanted about two hours before serving. The color is an impressive black-red and totally opaque. The nose offers a rich assortment of flavors including black fruit, mushroom, smoke and minerality. This started out a bit closed/reserved but opened up nicely as the evening progressed. The taste is stunning -- dark fruit, mineral, earth, tobacco and more. On the palate this is not quite as expansive as some of the other wines, but has a more focused power/intensity. Impeccably well balanced yet large scaled given the powerful structure and density of the fruit. Great smooth texture. I feel fortunate to have tasted this for the first time. Thanks Brad.
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Incredible purity of fruit. Balance, elegance, richness, extrodinary concentration and a complex finish that lasts over a minute. Very powerful. Interestingly, while in Bordeaux in June, I had dinner with their previous winemaker who told me a lot of the power in that wine comes from the large percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. 25% CS is in the cepage! Still young, this wine as good as it is will only get better.
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Tasted from a bottle that had not been moved was a treat. I experience this wine a lot in America, but having one that has never moved was even better as it showed so young. The man who brought it used to work at Beausejour and when I asked him what made this so much better and bigger than any other vintage, he said... "aside from the extra ripeness the wine was allowed to achieve, they also included a large percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend." 90 Beausejour, at almost 18 years of age remains young. Intense, ripe, rich, lush and exotic in style. A complex perfume is made even better with an amazing, seamless finish. This is an outrageous wine.
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The French Laundry...21 Courses, 11 Wines, Infinite Memories; 7/21/2007-7/22/2007 (The French Laundry (Yountville, Napa Valley, California)): Remaining in Bordeaux-phase, our next wine (at the French Laundry, in celebration of Amy Emery's 40th birthday) was the fabled RMP 100-pointer, Chateau Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) 1990. Another gem provided by Ken Johnson, this wine was the accompaniment to Wagyu sirloin, Nameko mushrooms, short-grain rice in rendered foie gras fat and pea tendrel. Amazingly youthful in appearance (deep ruby with red rim) and youthful on the nose (black currants, plums, cocoa, minerals and roasted meats), this was a monster of a wine, not even remotely close to its peak. Taking the term "full-body" to a new definition, this low-acidity, hugely tannic beauty showed similar primary flavors, a full middle and a long finish. This is an absolute blockbuster but is infantile and needs and minimum of five more years before a re-visit. Thereafter, it should drink well into my personal geriatric period (2030+). My final score was a "tentative" 95+, almost assuredly to increase with time.
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Deep color and an exciting, complex nose that explodes from glass! Flamboyant is the best descriptor I can think of for the palate. Endless layers of rich, opulent fruit cascade over your palate. The viscosity this wine displays must be experienced to be believed.
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from memory with dinner last night. decanted at cellar temperature. this wine is tight. dark color, lots of iron and mineral, rich fruit but lots of tannin. last glass, after 3 hours in decanter, was very, very good - starting to show some sweet fruit. i'm not a good enough judge to tell where it is going, but i think it will be very good - just not sure why it has been called a perfect wine. try again in a few years. A-
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The color is so dark, it looks like a 2000 Bordeaux. The glass explodes with ripe fruit, oak, and assorted spices. Massive layers of plush, decadent, opulent, plumy, black fruit coat your senses. The seemingly endless finish is kicked up with touches of licorice and chocolate. Still young and tannic. Stupendous wine
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More Bordeaux with Leve at Providence (Los Angeles, CA): I just love this wine. Right out of the bottle this was screaming, a sharp nose, smoky, soy, BBQ. The palate is hugely concentrated, a simply monumental wine with unreal structure and richness. Utterly captivating. The only thing holding this bottle back from 100 points was the prominence of the tannins. This was just a little less lush and round than a bottle enjoyed in DC in August.
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Dinner at Lampreia (Seattle, WA): Wow, what a stunning showing for this ethereal wine. On first pop this was tight with some hints of roasted plum, a bit of leather, but mostly blood and iron. However, over the course of 3+ hours this just kept opening and showing more depth and intensity. Roasted plum, smokey creosote, white flowers, a whiff of tobacco, blood and raw beef, wow, this just won't stop! And the palate was that much more generous, long, powerful, chewy, still so young. This is surreal wine and only rated as 99 since this is not quite up to the memory of a bottle tasted in August.
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Seattle Tasting Group 'End of Year Dinner' #3 (Sammamish, WA): This was my third taste of this wine and reminiscent of the first one: tight, beautiful yet somewhat unforgiving. (The second taste was utter perfection from the get-go.) The nose leads with soy and charcoal. The palate is very tight. Man oh man, that's one monster of a wine, intense, liqueur-like, somewhat brooding and closed but still pretty gorgeous. There is a ton here, but in this bottle it's pretty wrapped up right now.
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Pre-Parker warmup dinner at Citronelle... (Georgetown, USA): Wine of the night! The moment I smelled this I was shocked at how expressive it was. OMFG!!!! Iron, flowers, and amazing notes of Bordeaux simply burst from the glass. Then some horse kicks in on a nose that is so expressive and almost indescribably complex. Holy Toledo! The concentration in the mouth is just off the charts! The wine utterly floored me, about as perfect as a wine can be! Thank you Jeff Leve!!!
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This flamboyant juice is utterly captivating. The perfume blends toasty oak, exotic Asian spices, coffee, floral and licorice scents. The body is thick with a mouth feel that reminds me of a great vintage of La Mouline. I’ve read the proprietor claims, “the wine was made by accident, he left the fruit on the vines too long.” Why can’t he repeat that same mistake?
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Dinner at Sweet Basil's in Vail with Jeff. Move over Petrus! This is the essence of Merlot at it's finest. Rich and elegant, full yet balanced, ripe yet nuanced. I must find some more of this wine! Still has the tannins to last for quite some time too, so don't feel the need to drink all you have......sell some to ME!
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Wine tasting. Exceptional vibrant dark fruit aromas with lots of spice. Bright fruit on palate, long and unfolding toward long finish. Lingering and elegant. Great right now.
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'A Taste for Life' hosted by WineCommune (San Francisco, CA): This had a intriguing nose that even smelled dense and thick. Somewhat pruney at first, this revealed black fruit, flowers, with tarry notes. The longer this sat in the glass the more exotic the nose became, and it was clear this was a wine to spend many hours with. The palate was huge and gripping with pine resin and endlessly sweet fruit. The finish on this was absolutely huge. The longer I spent with this wine the more I liked it, although it never really unfolded like the others.
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At 14 years of age, 90 Beausejour is still inky black. Ripe black fruit, herbs, smoke, licorice and flowers made the perfume. The flavors cascading across my palate were filled with plums and incredibly decadent, ripe black fruit. This amazingly concentrated wine has a mouth feel that is as exotic as Guigal's La Mouline from a great year. The finish was other worldy lasting 60 seconds or more. The wine continued developing in the glass for over 2 hours
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Dark red colour with opaque, nearly black core. Quite roasted on the nose, like bacon on a hot frying pan. In the mouth the wine is a brute, very alcoholic, but fortunately sweet and full on ripe fruit. I was in no way put off by the alcoholic nature, as fruit the substance was there to back it all up. The aftertaste is one for the history books - so long and intense, so balanced and pleasant. In short, this wine is a show stopper and probably deserves an even higher grade than the one I bestowed upon it.
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12/2/2023 - Eric wrote:
ESTG Year-End Tasting (Newcastle, WA): Insane wine, utterly insane. Unreal structure. Raspberry, truffle, mineral, just wow, wow, wow! So fresh, so mineral. A powerful and dense core, tobacco, graphite, cherry, truly exceptional wine.
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10/22/2023 - dbkitc wrote: 95 Points
Not up to the brilliance of the last bottle, but a lovely wine. Deep brick. Gorgeous nose filled with mature, blueberry fruit, violets, minerals. Creamy, complex, charcoal - wow. Palate is a step behind the nose - mineral streak shows itself again yet things fall off a little quicker than anticipated. An excellent bottle but not a great one. Drink up (95)
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5/1/2023 - Dionysos55 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Clairement pas au niveau des précédentes que j'ai goûtées !!!! Problème de bouteille sûrement....Bouquet de pruneau relativement faible,bouche disparate,seule la longueur est au rendez-vous aujourd'hui.Pour une cote maximum Parker,c'est clairement insuffisant today....J'en avais acheté une caisse de 12 il m'en reste 5.Habituellement coté 95/97....On verra le sort que réservera la suivante.
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2/17/2023 - sdr wrote: 95 Points
This is a great bottle, justifying the august reputation RMP bestowed on on release (but not 100 points). Big, luscious, extravagantly red fruited. On its prime, outstanding balance and impressive to smell and to taste.
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12/26/2022 - RAB007 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Ullage well into neck, 1.5 cm. Almost purple with only 2 mm amber rim. Excellent nose of cedar, cigar box, blueberry, dark fruits and like damp forest. Wonderful taste with plenty of fruit left for its age. Could have been a bit more complex and finish was a bit short of what I expected, lasting only about 20 seconds.
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12/26/2022 - RAB007 wrote: 96 Points
Excellent but finish a bit short
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11/19/2022 - kr522 wrote: 98 Points
I could copy and paste my note from 2 years ago which was equally thrilling to drink. I think this is one of the upper echelon Bordeaux made over the past 30 years, and if anything it is gaining more balance as it ages while the fruit remains sublimely complex. Gorgeous stuff
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11/18/2022 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
A lost Friday afternoon gathering – Cristal, DP, Giacosa, Produttori and etc. (Black Salt, Washington DC): Fully mature nose displaying generous black fruit, blackberry liqueur, blackberry jam, milk chocolate, caramel, sweet spices and mineral. Beautifully integrated palate, layers upon layers of generous black fruit, silky and fluid, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, and a long generous black fruit driven finish. This is a well stored bottle. Although the palate is wonderful, the opulent nose is gone.
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10/24/2022 - cortoncharlie wrote: 93 Points
Not the best example of this fantastic wine. Very prominent acid and mineral backbone but I felt the fruit never got unleashed. I would not have guessed 1990 if served blind. It was still very good though...
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4/24/2022 - Cailles wrote: 96 Points
48x 1990 (37x Bdx, 6x Napa, 5x others): This is my first time crossing path with this St. Emilion legend and it did not disappoint. At first it didn‘t show as spectacular, drinking probably on a 94 pts level but with time this started singing. Extraordinary concentration and substance, high precision and a fine structure (although not the same level of finesse as the best right banks). This is a rather Napa-esque expression of Bordeaux, a foreshadowing of the things coming in the years after but still on the elegant side. A hedonistic winner.
TN: Medium- expressive nose, lots of minerality and herbs with the fruit rather being in the background. Not much tertiary aromas on the nose. On the palate this much younger than the Angelus, with so much tension, soft but not yet fully melted tannins, good acidity, mostly fruit-driven, with minerality, herbs but with not much more. But with time in the glass the wines opens up, gains concentration, complexity (with some hints of tertiary aromas and layers of coffee, chocolate notes) and it gets rounder and creamier. Long lingering finish, impeccable balance from start to finish.
Decanting: Quick double decant roughly 3 hours before the tasting which was not quite enough. This bottle would have needed two, three hours in the decanter.
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4/20/2022 - psyrah wrote: 91 Points
This bottle seemed tired and not up to the normal great quality. Probably bottle variation, as it came out of a case that had good bottles.
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4/8/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Opulent, lush, flamboyant, showing and rich, from start to finish this had it all going on. Intensely concentrated, with layers of dark red plums, black cherries, thyme, crushed rocks and flowers, the wine coats your palate and seamlessly lingers.
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3/6/2022 - King Julien wrote: 97 Points
Decanted about 3 hours. Outstanding on both nose and palate.
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3/1/2022 - soyhead wrote:
silky , dark fruit , good acidity, quite tannic still, impressively ripe and rich for a 30+ year old bordeaux and not really showing any signs of fading but in all i found it to be rich without really being fresh. clearly i have been spoiled silly by the patriarch.
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2/18/2022 - jviz wrote: 94 Points
PnP, served at room temp. Quintessential right bank with brick red fruit, tight for only about 15 minutes and becomes quite plush with air. I’d start this one at cellar temp and follow it. It was really savory, with lots of umami and soy, along with some macerated strawberry. Acidity seemed to gain with time and the last glass was certainly the best. Lots of red clay minerals on the finish.
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1/27/2022 - Brolawa Likes this wine:
M&PD dinner at Vendemmia. Final flight of the night (Bordeaux):
1989 Château Haut-Brion
1990 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse)
1990 Château Cheval Blanc
I was dealing with a little long-haul covid, and felt weirdly intoxicated during this flight. So, I’m not going to rate the wines and just offer my limited notes.
My recollection was that all of these approximated 100-point wines; but I was feeling too weird there to be precise here.
1989 Château Haut-Brion
Very much reminded me of the nirvana of the 1990 H-B (which is one of the greatest wine of all time imho). When this wine is on, there is nothing better. How can something be so sophisticated but, at the same time, so sweaty and sexy. Pure but loaded with so much tar and earth.
1990 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse)
I’ve been lucky enough to have more bottles of this wine/vintage since my last note. This felt like it was a perfect representation of the vintage. It is very concentrated but still light on the palate. The finish is full of fruit and tar. An amazing wine.
1990 Château Cheval Blanc
I have not had much Cheval Blanc, so I was very excited to try this and it did not disappoint. The fruit, smoke and earth all hit you on the nose and don’t let up. I would call this classic Bordeaux but with a complexity that was impossible for me to parse in my weird state. My goal is to have this bottle on its own to focus on everything that is going on.
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1/27/2022 - Eric wrote:
M&PD Tasting: France (Seattle, WA, USA): Unreal concentration. A perfect bottle of this wine. Deep, DARK, tarry, blackberry, tannic, powerful, utterly wonderful!
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9/18/2021 - mchern02 wrote: 95 Points
Have this about 3 hours in decanter but tasted along the way
Huge nose of licorice with black berry, crushed blueberry, earthy, tobacco, wet cigar, truffle, but entirely fresh. Textured, layered, really attractive and pretty palate; great acidity and backbone. Youthful tannins which frankly need more time but clearly has bones which still will improve. Forever finish
Upside from here, but already ripping
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9/17/2021 - europat55 wrote: 91 Points
Nose: 91; Palate: 91
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9/3/2021 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 97 Points
1990 Champagne / Bordeaux / N Rhone (London): Single blind side by side Montrose. Consensus was at the table that this was the slightly better wine. Beautiful aromatics of mature cab franc, full throttle but not too much so (i.e. alcohol seemed moderate), really draws you into the glass and easy to see why this is a legend of Bordeaux from a generally not too well known chateau.
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7/12/2021 - MattTM wrote:
JR Group of Six Dinner (Vancouver, BC): Tasted blind next to the 1990 Château Lynch-Bages, 1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron, and 1990 Château Angélus. The ripest wine of the flight yet still holding onto its old world roots. Dark fruits explode out of the glass coupled with black pepper spice, cedar, and a touch of oak. There was an underlying sweetness that showed on the palate yet it was well controlled, along with black currants, blueberries, clove, and a touch of menthol. This was texturally softer and showing more maturity than the Angélus, yet these will live for a long time yet.
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6/29/2021 - Val D'Orcia Likes this wine: 99 Points
Drinking beautifully. Balanced and long, full finish.
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5/31/2021 - johnh1001 wrote: 95 Points
Super ripe and opulent. Almost over the top. Love the play between crazy fruit and earth. Wonderful 1990 right bank. Still fresh with plenty of time left.
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3/3/2021 - bookert wrote: 93 Points
Very intense, almost new world like. Robust and concentrated.
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2/28/2021 - King Julien wrote: 97 Points
Decanted about 3 hours.
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2/23/2021 - Brolawa Likes this wine: 98 Points
M&PD Covid Tasting Night #4. A spectacular line-up of wines tasted blind:
2014 Morlet Family Vineyards La Proportion Dorée
1990 Château Léoville Las Cases
2009 Sloan
1996 Château Mouton Rothschild
2010 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon
1990 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse)
Eric offers his usual insightful reviews here: www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2281587
A couple of additional thoughts from my pov:
This is phenomenal wine. Light and still crisp, even with its age, while still offering tons of fruit and a long finish. Eric claimed this wasn't the grandest expression of this wine. If he's correct, I need to get another bottle of this and taste excellence^1.
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2/23/2021 - Eric wrote:
M&PD Zoom Tasting: Bordeaux around the world (Zoom): Very Bordeaux-like. Quite earthy. Tobacco. Getting some pine notes. Mineral, precise. Cherry. Ausone? So much structure! In the end this was my wine. Not a shining example compared to other bottles. I feel like this needed a lot more air to really shine, although it is a gorgeous wine.
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1/20/2021 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 95 Points
Very rich, thick, ripe and opulent. Almost port-like. Very good, but lacking acidity leaving it a bit flabby given the intensity of the fruit -- I also wondered if this may have been a less than perfectly stored bottle. Still quite delicious.
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12/22/2020 - kr522 wrote: 98 Points
Fabulous wine. I’ve still got a few left, but over the years this wine has ranged anywhere from merely exceptional to perfect and tonight was another great example. Essence of licorice, infused with blackberry and minerals, the nuances are constantly changing, at first showing raspberry, then dark chocolate, then blueberry. It grows in the glass...dark character and the cab franc lends just enough freshness to keep it balanced
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11/12/2020 - Theophilus Likes this wine: 93 Points
A bottle bought as part of a case en primeur for £16 in 1992 and before RP gave it its stellar rating. It remains a lovely drop - softer and less obviously vigorous than before but still beautifully balanced with some life ahead. Nose with an initial hint of smokiness before soft red fruits take over; lovely with grilled lamb chops. Good depth, still some grip and a soft lingering finish. Not sure if it will improve or how, but if it stays like this for a few more years it will have been a great purchase.
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9/28/2020 - Val D'Orcia wrote: 98 Points
Perfect, especially after decanting and opening up. Initial front palate of red currant, opening Softly to Undertones of eucalyptus, bramble and Sweet tobacco. Finished with black fruit/boysenberry. Loved it!
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9/24/2020 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Housewarming party (Fairfax, VA): Beautifully mature nose displaying sweet black fruit, blackberry, blackberry liqueur, mocha, caramel, truffle and earth. Fully integrated palate, finely layered sweet black fruit, soft and silky, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, nicely integrated tannins and a seamless long sweet black fruit driven finish with mocha and truffle at the end. Although it is drinking beautifully, it lost the sexy opulent fruit, This seems at the peak but it will be interesting to follow how this will developed from here. Also, there is a significant bottle variation, Caveat Emptor!
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7/11/2020 - soyhead wrote:
sexy nose, followed by very smooth, elegant, lovely pure red and dark fruits. a touch of savoriness as well on this absolutely delicious wine.
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5/12/2020 - La Flama Blanca Likes this wine: 97 Points
90 BDL going all out for its #dirty30 Open a bottle early morning, book and catch a two day coast to coast flight ( preferably with a Las Vegas layover ) and return to this SEX IN A BOTTLE!!!
Jokes aside, truly great bottles of this require 12 - 18 hrs in decanter! If u wanna live on the wild side I’d be ok with 6 hrs for Infanticides. Now if there was a wine that u could possibly “smell” the tannins, this is it.
In the handful of times I’ve had this wine it has never been the “port like” Parker tag, which I’ve been ok with. It is, however, a massively opulent and hedonistic experience. Loads of rich and concentrated black and purple palate staining fruits lead you into sensory overdrive! Imagine Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock’s intense performances in Speed and that’s the movie version of what ur drinking! $hit, let’s throw Dennis Hopper’s whacky a$$ in there too!
Crazy aromatics of scorched earth, espresso, black plums, fresh violets and sweet tobacco. This version of 90s MLB steroid era, testosterone filled BDL has a solid structure and is incredibly balanced ( no skipping leg day here )! There is no way this has reached peak maturity and may be a decade or two from it. It’s frightening, but this is only going to continue getting better.
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5/4/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
This mindblowing bottle hit every note on the scale! At 30 this is so rich, intense, opulent, concentrated, long and hedonistic, it's almost beyond belief. Bottled decadence with endless, non-stop waves of ripe, deep, palate filling fruit. The finish went well past the 60-second mark!
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4/27/2020 - Trent Walker wrote: 93 Points
So this is my third experience with this wine, and enough variation to make me wonder if the market is flooded with fakes of this bottle (plus the strange horizontal glue lines that peek through on certain bottles) OR simply quality control wasn't there. Regardless, this bottle was not a dark, port like experience with intense richness from a very late harvest. It instead reminded me a little of 1990 Cos, but a little lighter. It was medium light body with mid level aromatics of cigar box and a bit of gravel and then a moderately uninteresting palate. Almost like an ok 1995. None of the depth and richness that one should get here. If I paid $95 for this I'd think "fair deal". At this price it's embarassing. Given the massive bottle variation (or fraud, who knows?) I would steer clear of this bottle at all costs. Let other people gamble at these prices.
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3/11/2020 - Nanda wrote:
Single Blind 1990 Bordeaux (The Bristol - Chicago, IL): Hopefully/likely a flawed bottle -- nose of A1 steak sauce and mit. Advanced and plummy fruit where you can still sense the ripeness. Flat.
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3/11/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote: flawed
1990 Bordeaux Dinner (The Bristol - Chicago IL): Single blind at 1990 Bordeaux dinner. Some thought this was simply getting tired, but that viewpoint just ignored that this bottle was lethargic, stewy and seemingly heat damaged.
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1/18/2020 - Bordeaux_Jon Does not like this wine: 89 Points
A full bottle with very very high shoulder fill, great looking cork and label. This was an utter disappointment. Quite bretty and austere with red fruit and cigar. Still tannic and bretty on the palate. I strongly recommend you look elsewhere for that "wine of the century" experience. Frankly, it's just past peak and also contaminated by brett with robs the wine of complexity in this case. It got a bit better with air, but I was expecting the ground to shake given the reviews. Caveat emptor!
I should mention to the haters out there that again the bottle was in great shape and served double blind to 11 people who are wine professionals and decades long drinkers along with 5 other 94+ Cellartracker wines. The bottle was not flawed unless Brett in a 30 year old Bordeaux is a flaw. Unfortunately, it’s hard to be biased by labels and Parker scores double blind. I’m sure there are better (and worse) bottles out there. I just want folks to know they might not get a better one.
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1/5/2020 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 100 Points
At a tasting we put on for our Couples Cru of 13 present, of seven 1990 Bordeaux (Angelus, Figeac, Beausejour Duffau, La Mission Haut-Brion, Pichon Baron, Lynch Bages, Montrose). All wines purchased on release and aged in my cellar. Last tasted 2013. Outstanding! Dark garnet-purple, still completely opaque, the darkest of the group. Deep rich smoky cassis notes, opened slowly. Very concentrated fruit, mild tannin in the background…it opened slowly but was wonderful two hours later. Very enjoyable now, would not guess it's 30 years old...seems much younger. This was second favorite, behind Pichon Baron. Remaining wine gassed until the next night, still outstanding.
Ric
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1/2/2020 - dbkitc wrote: 99 Points
Wow. This bottle lived up to the hype and then some. Rich and full, the palate was like silk. Gorgeous blackberry fruit. Lingered. To drink over the next 10 to 15 years. Amazing. (99)
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12/22/2019 - nywine68 wrote: 97 Points
Gorgeous wine. The mouthfeel is brilliant with superfine tannins encapsulating the soft round body. Blueberry and chocolate flavors with lots of earthiness and complexity. Impossible to put down.
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11/30/2019 - englishman's claret wrote: 96 Points
What a nose the 1990 Beausejour sports. Janus-like - one face rich and savory with black plum, espresso, ganache, and Perigord truffle notes and the other face fresh and floral. Truffle, smoke, and thyme filled palate and an intense, savory finish. The nose is ready from the word go, but the palate requires time in the decanter to really develop.
This is a fascinating wine and perhaps one of the wines that heralded a new era in Bordeaux. Parker marked this 100 points, but Broadbent and Coates were luke-warm at best. Like Jancis Robinson, I tend to come in somewhere between. Personally, it's a style that I think has a place. Yes, rich and ripe but I don't think this loses its sense of terroir for a moment. A fun expression of St. Emilion that I personally enjoy.
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10/17/2019 - WKC Likes this wine: 97 Points
Pop and poured - drank surprisingly well right off the bat. An hour or two in improved slightly. Excellent.
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10/12/2019 - Francophile1 wrote: flawed
Corked unfortunately. Disappointing.
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8/2/2019 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Another lost Friday afternoon gathering – 88 DRCs, 90 Bordeauxs, Raveneaus, Dauvissats and etc. (Black Salt, Washington DC): Fully mature nose displaying decadent black fruit, blackberry jam, black cherry, a hint of plum, mocha and earth. Fully integrated palate, nicely layered sweet black fruit, soft and round, subtle acidity and mineral, fully resolved tannins and a long sweet black fruit driven finish. This particular bottle is fully ready. Very enjoyable.
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3/21/2019 - King Julien wrote: 94 Points
Decanted about 3 hours. Wine was slightly brown when poured, nose and palate were still nice but restrained relative to previous bottles. No change over a couple hours. Unfortunately, this bottle was probably past its prime, or maybe suffered from poor storage during its life.
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2/8/2019 - soyhead wrote:
the shame of these mega-lineups is that rare soldiers such as this bottle which deserve time and contemplation get sandwitched in and knocked off without proper ceremony. A vinous war crime of sorts... Nevertheless I did my best
nose- funky on first whiff declaring itself to be Bordeaux with a capital 'B'. cherry ensues
mouth - very complex and still quite alive. Smooth, brandy-esque also with flavors of coffee.
a classic revisited courtesy of the patriarch
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1/14/2019 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 97 Points
One of the best bottles of the 1990 BDL that I can recall. Oozing with complexity and completeness. This is a wine that still appears quite young in both color and on the palate. The nose showed off ripe dark fruits, mint, sous bois, fresh violets, and tobacco. Loads of concentration and incredibly well balanced, the wine still had a solid structure. The tannins and acidity give it a soft and fresh mouthfeel. This wine will age for decades, as it is evolving quite slowly. I am noting only a slight evolution in its tertiary aromatics from a few years ago. But as great as this wine is now, it is truly going to be even better in another decade. Personally, I don't feel this has reached its peak maturation.
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1/6/2019 - burgcamel wrote: 95 Points
Solid wine but this bottle didn't live up to the hype.
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12/22/2018 - Bordeaux_Jon wrote: 91 Points
From a half bottle. Past peak in this format. I had high hopes but tasted like an aged Bordeaux. Tired, with dried cherry, cigar, and leaf. Not very energetic. Elegant and light. Could have found something similar and paid far less. Not planning on buying anymore 30 year old half bottles. I've had better luck with Left Bank halves probably because Cabernet Sauvignon is superior to Merlot.
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12/18/2018 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 97 Points
Decanted for 2 hours before serving. Parker nailed this wine. It was the most singular bordeaux I have ever had. Very perfumed and sexy on the nose with cinnamon cake, ripe black fruit, cedarwood, citrus, animal and meat. So intense but delicate and elegant at the same time. For that period of time in 1990, it was an extracted and modern bordeaux. In a RP100 tonight tonight, it outperformed 85 sassicaia (too reserved to show) and 75 la mission haut brion. On par with 89 Haut Brion. Ridiculously good but also unique. This wine still has not reached its youth peak. 97++
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10/4/2018 - europat55 wrote: 95 Points
Nose: A/A+ Palate: A-
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9/22/2018 - sdr Likes this wine: 90 Points
There must be a lot of bottle variation with this wine and this was a weaker example. It’s still good but somewhat blurry and unfocused. The faint aroma of dark fruit and hint of beef bouillon is attractive and unusual but just too modest. Good density and vigor though and finishes well. It’s not too old despite the alarming almost brown color. Far from RP’s 100 point perfect wine, though.
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7/23/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
An intellectual sex bomb of a wine! Combining its potent blend of hedonism with concentrated layers of perfectly ripe, mineral-driven fruits, salty, velvet drenched tannins and a fruit-filled finish that lasts at least 60 seconds. This wine, if well stored is off the hook and off the charts. It is simply mind-blowing juice. Frightfully expensive, if you have patience, the 2009 and 2010 are both better, selling for about half the price of the 1990.
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7/7/2018 - Pietro1986 wrote: 94 Points
Great wine but was expecting more given all the reviews and the price tag.
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6/3/2018 - King Julien wrote: 96 Points
Decanted 3.5 hours. Very nice bottle.
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4/13/2018 - kr522 wrote: 98 Points
god i love this wine.....retaining all its awesomeness. a dark fruited, powerful beauty. Thanks to RP for calling this out in its infancy so I could buy a case to enjoy over the years/decades.
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2/24/2018 - Dehrmann Likes this wine: 96 Points
OdV dinner. Very special wine. Black ink, youthful color, silky texture, ripe plum, touch of truffle/sous-bois, spices, very long palate, exotic wine
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2/3/2018 - sdr Likes this wine: 97 Points
Flat out fabulous and surely one of the top five wines of the vintage. Beautiful bouquet of dark plum, rose and hint of truffle. Full bodied and sweet yet there’s some soil tones which add interest and complexity. Still some unresolved tannins in the lingering finish. Firm acidity lends depth and structure. Great now and for the future.
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1/8/2018 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 94 Points
A really nice bottle of this wine. Benefitted from some time in the glass, as it appeared to gain weight and become more interesting. I noted the color was a bit lighter than some other recent bottles. There was a noticeable funk on the nose that tapered with time. Lots of aromas of rich plum, truffle, tobacco, mushroom, and earth. Soft and silky tannins gave this a nice, smooth mouthfeel. A solid finish with good acidity and above-average length. Nice minerality on the finish, and some sweetness as well. This particular bottle seemed to be at peak. And while this bottle was perhaps a bit more advanced than some others of this wine, it wasn't tired at all.
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12/17/2017 - King Julien wrote: 98 Points
Decanted about 3.5 hours. Nose had a little funk when first opened but cleared up while in the decanter. This bottle was outstanding on the nose, palate, and complexity for the 3 hours following until it was gone.
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11/16/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
With the weight and heft of Vintage, dry Port, this got going and never stopped. Unctuous, rich and with so much density, you could eat it, or slowly sip from the glass, this had it all. The fruit, with its melange of ripe, over ripe, and perfectly ripe fruit, moved from black, to red and back to black again. The mineral driven nose, with its truffle, plum and smoke filled accents brought everything together. This is a wine for hedonists, that like to think about what's in their glass. This should age for decades, if properly cellared.
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11/1/2017 - Collector1855 wrote: 96 Points
The Judgement of Paris - reloaded: In this flight it was hard to tell which one was Bordeaux and which one Napa. Both wines were very round, rich and mature. More blue fruit in the Harlan and more chocolate in the Beausejour. The Harlan also had a bit more structure and bitter extract on the finish which helped with the richness and therefore had the slight edge. Both showed really well, albeit not as classic as I like my Bdx blends. Great wines nevertheless and a wonderful way to finish this awesome tasting.
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4/29/2017 - sdr Likes this wine: 91 Points
After a fabulous showing of a bottle provided by DrinkBordeaux a few weeks ago I was eager to see how this bottle, purchased recently from WineBid, would compare. It started off deep and kinky, reminding me of the best bottles of Tertre Rôteboeuf. Lots of black licorice and currant. Over the course of a couple of hours though, it faded and dried out in the glass. The cork was extremely dry although tight. My score is a blend of where it started and where it ended up.
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4/8/2017 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 96 Points
Still youthful and in need of more aging. Still, this drinks well with several hours of air. Benefits from a lot of time in the glass. I am always struck by this wine's complexity on the nose, though it doesn't always translate to the palate (at this stage, at least). The color is very dark and opaque. There are aromas of dark plum, menthol, truffle, tobacco, and dark chocolate. This has all the stuffing to develop into an even better wine. The tannins are prominent, but soft and silky. A very long finish with good acidity. This wine is clearly not yet at its peak, and will benefit from a bit more aging. You can get the sense that this wine is on the verge of greatness, but just isn't quite there yet. I must be patient with my remaining bottles.
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3/19/2017 - walkerjfw wrote:
BYO dinner with Ray/Shaun/CVA/Fabian - Bordeaux and "ABC" Whites... (The Milling Room - NYC): This was a generous and thoughtful contribution from CVA. A wine Parker raved about in reviews (100 pts..), my first experience with the wine. Decanted for about 45 minutes, drank over an hour.
Medium ruby color, some signs of age. Nose showed dark fruits, pine and floral notes. Palate of light blueberry, dusted dark fruits, blackberry and tobacco. Medium weight and finish. Did not pick up substantial secondary notes with this bottle, but it may have just needed a longer decant or not been as good as prior tasters experience. CVA indicated his prior bottles were better than this one.
Hold off rating as I don't have a comparison for this wine. Very nice, seemed fully mature at this point. Drinking well....
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2/3/2017 - tinybubbles Does not like this wine:
Disappointing and unrewarding. 85-86
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1/17/2017 - tcarter wrote: 92 Points
Flannery Beef & Bordeaux (Kali Restaurant): I think maybe something was off on our bottle. Good but definitely not mind blowing.
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1/7/2017 - Lightenup Likes this wine: 97 Points
The bottle was purchased by me from a fine wine shop in 1995 and cellared since then. Label became moldy and fell off next to the bottle. Cork was fine. Decanted 3 hours. Wine is full bodied, highly concentrated with earthy tobacco notes. Finish is medium long. Totally enjoyable with plenty of life remaining.
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12/12/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
Spicy, smoky, licorice, incense, espresso bean, blackberry liqueur, roasted plum, wet earth and black peppery aromatics were in full force. And that was not even close to the main event. On the palate, the wine is intense, erotic and incredibly sexy in a good girl, gone bad way. The texture was akin to liquid silk. This decadent wine can be summed up as pure sex in a bottle. As a tip, I'm positive that the 2009 and 2010 at the same age will be even better!
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11/13/2016 - King Julien wrote: 96 Points
Decanted 2.5 hours. Needed another hour to get going. Nose improved but stayed a bit weak. Probably needed some more cellar time, at least this bottle.
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11/4/2016 - soyhead wrote:
Nose - smoke, mesquite
Mouth - dark deep purple, spicy plum, good minerality but I'm seeing this on the declining end of the slope. Drink up
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9/30/2016 - dcwino wrote: 98 Points
Annual Chicago winos visit - Pearl Clutcher, coche, drc, rousseau, D'Yquem and etc. (The Grill Room at Rosewood DC): Perhaps the most harmonious and ready example of my life. Perfectly harmonious displaying subtle yet decadent black fruits, blackberry, black cherry, a hint of milk chocolate and black truffle. Beguiling airy palate, silky and sensual, fully resolved tannins and perfectly seamless finish that quietly resonates. I wholeheartedly agree with Burgundy Al, “Absolutely wonderful, No need to say more.”
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9/30/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote: 97 Points
Wine Dinner Extravaganza (Rosewood Hotel Dining Room - Washington DC): Absolutely wonderful. Beautiful right now. Nothing more to say. Savory WOTN.
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9/16/2016 - Collector1855 wrote: 96 Points
66x Parker 100-Pointers from Bordeaux 1947-2010 tasted blind (Switzerland): Tasted blind. Medium garnet. Nose of forest, oak, licorice, dark fruit. Medium bodied, pleasant to drink, well balanced, smooth. Good length. Group score: 17.67, group rank: 35/64
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6/23/2016 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
A small impromptu dinner with Trip B (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner): Perfectly harmonious nose displaying decadent yet fresh black fruits, blackberry, black cherry, plum and bitter chocolate. Incredibly silky and sensual palate, beautifully layered fruits, no noticeable tannins and lovely long finish. It is a sensual/sexy wine but perhaps not the most complex and profound. This bottle is absolutely singing.
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5/4/2016 - dchain Likes this wine: 93 Points
Perfect 2 bottles, still deep ruby, amazing exotic nose and very plummy Merlot notes. 95+ on the nose. Sadly just not enough substance on the palate. Yes it is balanced but no real complexity and depth. Pretty one-dimensional. If this is 100 RP what would he rate the 90 Cheval Blanc that simply blew this away. Sorry but a first growth is a first growth for a reason and no one hit wonder can compete with the full symphony that Cheval brings in the great years. 90 Cheval eclipsing the 82 now and that is saying something! Lovely wine but more like a $150 bottle and not a $600 bottle if we are all being honest here.
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3/25/2016 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 97 Points
1989/1990 Right Bank Bordeaux tasting (Vienna Cafe & Wine Bar): Complex and complete. Struck by its very dark color, showing little signs of aging. Plum, dark fruits, mint, damp earth, and tobacco round out the aromatics. Complex, concentrated, and balanced, this wine seemed to have all of the necessary elements. Lots of structure; the tannins are round but still fairly prominent. High bright acidity contributing to lots of freshness on the finish. This wine has so much time left, and is just getting started. The immense amount of fruit, coupled with its solid structural makeup, bodes well for anyone who has this wine in their cellar. A standout on this evening.
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3/20/2016 - Lord Rayas wrote: 97 Points
Gary's MNSC (Seventh Son): 3hrs in decanter. powerful and sweet, almost Harlan-esq.
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3/16/2016 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 94 Points
A private dinner (Restaurant Adam, Amsterdam, NL): Tasted blind. Complete, velvety, spicy, very rich, rounded, fully mature but with amazing fruit, incredibly layered and complex, black tea, beef stew, melting and harmonious, cool minerality, fresh mushroom, length and depth. Develops very quickly in the glass, lovage. Recently acquired at auction, provenance unknown, probably some storage issues. Perfect bottles must be otherworldly.
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1/10/2016 - kr522 wrote: 97 Points
a pristine bottle with fill level into the neck and poured to a deep ruby color.
powerful bouquet, with blackberry, spices and some vanilla. in the mouth this wine is liquid black licorice....very consistent with prior experiences. there are also coffee, blackberry and clove flavors. Tannins are still present but essentially blend in with that flavor profile
It's very singular as i can't really think of another wine that is so tilted to sweet black fruit and spices without a hint of acidity, and yet it's complex and lush.
i've never minded the lack of acidity, so what prevented a higher score? the impact is so powerful on entry and supported by spiciness, but then there's a little thinning out on the midpalate. For a while i had to slurp in some air to intensify the flavors. very minor quibble. it's still quite young except for that characteristic
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12/3/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
One of the most consistently stunning wines, this bottle was no exception. Still young in color, the nose, with its tobacco, blackberry liqueur, tobacco, smoke, Cuban cigar wrapper and dark plum aromatics really prime your pump. When the waves of dense, lush, opulent, sweet, fresh fruits begins to coat your palate, you know you're in for a true ride of pleasure. Balanced, powerful and harmonious, this is one of the few, expensive wines that is actually worth the money.
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10/10/2015 - MikeATL Likes this wine: 96 Points
Fantastic, with a perfect balance of ripeness and savoriness. I enjoyed it much more than I expected, as I thought I remembered the last bottle I had many years ago as another freakish high-scoring 1990 Right Bank wine in the vein of Troplong-Mondot. This was more like a more rustic cousin of the Cheval Blanc, but still showing great nuance and refinement.
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10/1/2015 - dcwino wrote: 93 Points
Annual Chicago winos visit - Dugat Py Chambertins, DRC RSVs, SQN and etc. (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): Medium nose displaying ripe black fruit, chocolate, a hint of cedar and earth. Subtle silky palate, sweet black fruit driven palate impression, no noticeable tannins and medium sweet finish. Not the best example but still enjoyable.
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10/1/2015 - Burgundy Al wrote: 92 Points
Wine Dinner Extravaganza (Capella Hotel Dining Room - Washington DC): Very ripe with very good spice, but this also came across as either slightly dirty, bretty or with hints of VA. Also not close to the quality level of previous times I've tasted this wine. A disappointing night for Bordeaux.
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8/25/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
One of the great wines of your life, with its unique, erotic textures, exotic perfumes and one of a kind character. The fruit is perfectly ripe, with just the right amount of over ripeness and al dente character to deliver a complex, tasting experience that needs to be tasted at least once. As good as this is, I'm betting the 2009 and 2010 are even better! We just need to be patient.
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8/21/2015 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Opened, decanted, and poured after the funk had had a bit of time to blow off. My initial reaction was cinnamon which is an interesting flavor for a wine, but works for it. A bit less multi-dimensional that I had hoped for, but I think it might also have been more towards last legs. Good wine though.
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7/13/2015 - jclary Likes this wine: 97 Points
This is the last of three bottles from a cellar that Scott Manlin and I bought many years ago. We were sitting at the coffee shop next to Mark's Duck House, waiting on Bob Parker for a lunch we had planned, when he showed me the cellar and the asking price. We bought it all and every bottle has been pristine. This bottle wasn't as good as the first two I drank. Still an amazing wine, but it didn't hit the ethereal category that the other two bottles did. Drinking extremely well now, with a huge future ahead of it. No need to hurry to open one.
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7/10/2015 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 94 Points
Well well well, it's the famous 1990 Beausejour Duffau. Perfect wine? Not a chance but still pretty stacked. Very full and fleshy with a structure that's still rough and kind of rugged; combined with an intense gravelly personality this had me figuring it was a Left Banker. Long life ahead for sure, this is still so structured.
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7/9/2015 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Mostly Blind dinner - 88 Krug, 02 Boillot Monty, 02 Laurent CdB, 89 Palmer, 96 Yquem and etc. (Black Salt, Washington DC): Decadent black fruit driven nose, mint, black truffle, a hint of cedar and earth. Very balanced palate, subtle sweet dark fruit driven palate impression, fully integrated tannins and long sweet finish. Knowing RJ, I can make correct guess. Love to drink one over dinner. Not as expressive as the last bottle but still enjoyable.
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7/6/2015 - johnh1001 wrote: 96 Points
Decanted and drank over 3 hours. Exotic and very concentrated nose of bright black and red fruit, loads of coffee, chocolate, vanilla and violets. Really delicious flavors that matched the nose. There is a power and viscosity to this wine that is intense but note heavy. The only thing if I want to be picky is a lack of precision but the glossy, silky, sexy texture is so good it doesn't matter.
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5/3/2015 - McKraftyWino Likes this wine: 97 Points
lovely gorgeously soft blackberry merlot presentation
70% merlot/30% cab franc and no cab sauv??!!
loved it!
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3/24/2015 - Lord Rayas wrote: 92 Points
disappointing bottle. decanted for 2 hours yet nose was rather muted. good structure but just didn't have the usual wow factor.
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1/28/2015 - Peliot Likes this wine: 100 Points
Honestly there is no point in me trying to write it up. Maximum perfection: smooth, balanced, gorgeous fruit, long, velvety. As good as it gets.
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12/31/2014 - MatthewF wrote:
New Year's Eve 2014 (My house): Opened roughly 3 hours before serving and not decanted. Very dark color and no real signs of fading. Powerful aromatics right from the start. Ripe red and black cherry with some blackberry as well. Dark chocolate, black truffle, leather and smoke too. Same fruit came through on the palate. Very dense and well textured. Almost port-like in some ways, but without the heat. Really fun to try.
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11/4/2014 - PeterH Likes this wine: 95 Points
Had this last night at a '90 Bordeaux dinner (along with Montrose and LLC). This is an excellent and delicious Bordeaux, drinking well right now but will probably get better over the next decade or 2. The fruit is still a little 'big', the wine is still a little primary, amazing to say that after 24 years it still needs more time to be great. If served blind, I doubt I'd pick Bordeaux. Think given the size of this wine I would probably pick Northern California, maybe a Shafer Hillside or an Insignia or something like that.
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10/20/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
As good as this bottle was, it was not quite at the level of the best bottles. Yet, even with that in mind, the showy, mineral driven truffle, tobacco, black plum, cherry pie and earthy nose grabbed you. Full bodied, deep and concentrated, the tannins are plush, plush and powerful, allowing the wine to feel like pure, polished elegance. However this bottle was not quite as deep as the best bottles and slowly faded in the glass after an hour. All things considered, this was still an amazing treat.
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9/21/2014 - dcwino wrote: 98 Points
Another lazy Sunday gathering with 95 Latour, 98 Rayas, 90 BDL, 11 the stone terrace and etc. (Table Restaurant - Washington D.C.): Expressive black fruit driven nose, black truffle, dark chocolate and earth. Incredibly sensual palate, round and silky, lovely sweet dark fruit driven palate impression, fully integrated tannins, perfect balance and lovely silky finish that resonates. The beauty of this particular bottle lies in great balance and incredibly sensual texture. The nose is expressive but not quite explosive, hence my rating.
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8/24/2014 - mwanasheria Likes this wine: 100 Points
It has always merited a three digit score and all the points were there tonight. So effortlessly elegant despite its sweetness with some earth, black fruit compote, strawberry, tart. Very suspicious that Parker would give this beauty a hundred points!?
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8/9/2014 - soyhead Likes this wine:
tasted blind - Earthy, leather , and surripe strawberry on the nose. in the mouth earthy funked out fruit, a very complex, powerful wow wine. did i say wow. My WOTN,. In my mind clearly better than the 90 montrose. Muchas Gracias a la Patriarch por traernos este (segunda vez!)
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8/2/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 96 Points
1990 Dinner at University Club (Chicago): My first time with this famous wine. Super ripe black fruit, coffee and caramel on the nose. This carries through to the palate which is full on, bright and concentrated. Slight floral note. Very young and vibrant. This is big and powerful, but without being overdone or heavy handed. Certainly the most modern feel. of the Bordeaux we had tonight. Very very tasty.
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6/24/2014 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Birthday Celebration (Abigail's American Bistro - Highland Park IL): Incredibly ripe black fruit but with so much structure and concentration that it retains incredible charm, density and persistence. Perhaps not the most complicated wine of the evening, but certainly as fun and hedonistic as good wine gets.
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6/20/2014 - fcxj wrote: 96 Points
Freak, needs a lot more time
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6/11/2014 - BOWAround Likes this wine: 99 Points
closest bottle to perfection I've had
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4/3/2014 - mwanasheria Likes this wine: 100 Points
Hedonism Wines' Enomatic Sampling (Hedonism Wines, Mayfair): Good bottles have scored consistently with three digits and continues one of my absolute favourite bottles of Bordeaux. Unbelievably elegant and mature Bordeaux nose. On the palate, round with chocolate, cassis, truffles. Pretty mature, so won't last forever but irrestible right now.
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3/6/2014 - -E- wrote: 95 Points
(Blind) Klar, mørk rød med lett oransje kant. Dyp, ekspressiv, mørk parfymert, krydret nese med solbær, mild lær og mørke fioler.
Konsentrert og intens frukt med imponerende fruktdybde og kraft. Frisk syre. Solide, tørre, men medgjørlige tanniner. Sitter enormt lenge i med dyp, mørk krydret frukt og noe eik. En kraftpakke av en vin som vil trenge ytterligere lagring for å falle helt på plass.
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3/6/2014 - LWI wrote: 92 Points
1990 Bordeaux Horizontal: Blind. Deeply colored, sweet-and-sour and a bit one-dimensional smell, lots of dark berries; quite long, more dark berries in the mouth, somewhat extracted, simple finish.
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2/24/2014 - subtlet Likes this wine: 89 Points
1990 Bordeaux Dinner (Noisette, Portland, OR): The nose reminds me of dusty, dry field corn, dried cherries, and a sense of deep forest green. Brambles show all across the palate along with lots of acidity. The fruit shows great depth and clarity under the brambles, and the wine has a tart character in general. It still feels a bit young to me, with the brambles and acidic structure so evident in the foreground.
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2/18/2014 - galenico wrote: 93 Points
BORDEAUX 1990 ALLA CIECA (ENOTECA ROSSORUBINO TORINO): Lo intitolerei: "Centrifugato di verdure di nonna Pina".
Naso stordente di asparagi e piselli verdi, non ti molla mai... in bocca entra con grande corpo, ma il frutto lascia di nuovo il campo a un tono vegetale inebriante. Corpo, colore e tannini a profusione
Davvero strano. Ovviamente non vale quel che costa!
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2/15/2014 - Lord Rayas wrote: 98 Points
deep, long and sexy. showing wonderfully after 3.5hrs in decanter.
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1/18/2014 - Harry Cantrell Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep garnet. Nose was of mocha, dark chocolate, leather and hints of dark fruits. Taste was of the same, some of the nose in the mouth, long finish, smooth. Very good but again somehow wanted more.
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1/16/2014 - GA Old World Guy Likes this wine: 99 Points
One of the finest wines I have ever been fortunate enough to have. Popped and poured and decanted in the glass. This was simply amazing wine. Lots of barnyard aromas. I only wish I had been able to have more than one glass.
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11/19/2013 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Bordeaux of the night once again, it surprised everyone with the intensity, power and beauty that is its trademark
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11/17/2013 - kr522 wrote: 98 Points
one of the consistently great 1990s, and one of my favorites from that vintage.
plum liqueur spiced up with licorice and some minerality, this is still going strong. As I mentioned in a prior tasting note it does benefit from aeration and I would recommend at least an hour
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11/9/2013 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 100 Points
At a tasting we put on for our Couples Cru of 17 present, of eight 1990 Bordeaux (Angelus, Figeac, Beausejour Duffau, La Mission Haut-Brion, Leoville Barton, Pichon Baron, Lynch Bages, Montrose). All wines purchased on release and aged in my cellar. First bottle was corked. Second bottle was outstanding! Dark garnet-purple, still completely opaque, the darkest of the group. Deep rich smoky cassis notes, opened slowly. Very concentrated fruit, plenty of tannin in the background…it opened slowly but was wonderful two hours later. Very enjoyable now but should gain complexity while retaining its power over at least the next 5 years.
Ric
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8/17/2013 - ricknat1 wrote: 95 Points
This bottle was less about power. Decanted for the afternoon and then opened for 4 hours before drinking. Complex, smooth, full and long with dark fruits and underlying smokiness.
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7/20/2013 - MC wrote:
Shows some age in color at the rim. Big wine, with plenty of dense exotic fruit, minerals, and substantial tannin still showing for its age. Big and very good, far from maturity, although it continues to be far from perfect for my palate - but maybe time will prove me wrong. A-/?
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7/1/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
1990 Beausejour remains deeply colored. What I loved about this Bordeaux wine was, it started with a powerful fragrance filled with fresh herbs, ripe black fruits, spice, minerals, fennel, smoke and flowers. The flavors cascading across my palate were filled with plums and incredibly decadent, ripe black fruit. This amazingly concentrated wine has a mouth feel that is as exotic as Guigal's La Mouline from a great year! And the massive concentration had as much fruit and weight as a great year of Latour! Everything was in perfect balance with an worldly finish lasting 60 seconds or more. The wine continued developing in the glass for over 2 hours. It would kept getting better for several hours after that, but, it was difficult not to keep drinking it.
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5/17/2013 - dcwino wrote: flawed
Trip’s visit to DC - Capital Grill (Capital Grill at Tysons corner, VA): Very poor showing. No noticeable outer appearance of heat damage but I am sure this was exposes to relatively high temperature for a long period of time. Apparently came from a passive cellar in DC which explains. I need to find out what other wines came out from this cellar as I have had a number of heat damaged top end Bordeauxs, all from private cellar.
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1/18/2013 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
1990 Bordeaux dinner with Latour, Beausejour Duffau, Montrose and etc (Capital Grille Tysons, VA): Wine no 2 - Ripe, sexy, blue fruits, lactic and chocolate. Big scale merlot based wine. With air, a hint of pencil and noticeable tannins. Initially thinking La Conseillante then ended up Léoville-Las Cases.
I mentioned to Assaf that this should not be decanted as at this stage, pop and pour is the way to show the opulent exotic sexy fruit. Assaf agree that with a couple hours of air, the wine lost the magic. I highly recommend pop and pour on this and the 90 La Conseillante.
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12/8/2012 - rocketview Likes this wine: 99 Points
Exotic clove, cardoman, and reoemary spices mixed with meaty flavors. A complex and profound wine. Decanted 2 hours in advance, explosive impression from the glass. Rich port like nature softened somwhat to reach a perfect balance and long finish. A wine reaching its apogee, though with many years left to evolve.
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11/13/2012 - SimonG wrote: flawed
Julien S-M's 1990 Bordeaux (RSJ, London): Blind. Stewed, spicy, beefy, soy nose. A little dry and quite linear on the nose. Guess BDL. Apparently unrepresentative of previous bottles. It's preferable to the Trop, but... ***. Apparently this was unrepresentative of previous bottles from the same case which were dense, dark-fruited and balanced. Cork was dry through the middle and the central part came out leaving a ring of cork remaining in the neck. Presumably a degree of oxidation.
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10/23/2012 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Trip’s visit to DC - Ristorante Tosca (Ristorante Tosca, Washington DC): Soft, expressive, big, sexy, a hint of green pepper. Caused me to think a left banker.
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9/12/2012 - soyhead wrote: 94 Points
An Evening of Fundraising (Casa de Victor and Ingrid): opened and allowed to breath in bottle for 8+ hours
nose - cinnamon, clove, lightly smoky, and stunningly perfumed, this wine had a memorable nose. Though i smelled mostly exotic spiciness, other picked up fruit as well.
mouth - smoky, complex Asian spicebox, good mature tutti-frutti flavors followed again by more spiciness. Long persistence in the mouth with still prominent tannins. Based on other reviewer's comments, I had expected this to come across as more porty.
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7/17/2012 - kr522 wrote: 98 Points
i've been fortunate to have this wine at least 6 or 7 times. the first few times were so off the chart it instantly became one of my favorite wines, the last 2 times which were more recent I'd call it a high 90s wine. You MUST decant this for >1 hour in my opinion, both times I drank it recently it took awhile to get going...the first time it needed lots of aeration to develop magnificent secondary nuances, and the second time to shed tannins.
It is a very complex wine aromatically and in its taste. Deep dark fruit, hints of tar and coffee while and a little cinnamon gives it a nice zest to complement the layers of concentrated fruit. Long midpalate. Really sensational, and the 90 Cheval Blanc is in the same league, possibly better.
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5/1/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Aromatics jump from the glass like a bullet from a gun! Licorice, truffle, crushed stone, black cherry liqueur, plum, spice, flowers, earth and forest floor notes start the party, but the main event takes place with an endless series of waves made from black licorice, essence of cherry, truffle, plum and chocolate. The motor oil, rich finish remains on your palate for over sixty seconds! And it’s still not fully mature!!!
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4/27/2012 - Lord Rayas wrote: 97 Points
MNSC (The Principal): 2.5 hours in decanter. powerful and bursting with flavours but not as exotic as last time i tasted. seems like it's still holding back a little. should revisit again in a few years.
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9/7/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
There are great wines. There are the world's great wines. Some bottles go one step further offering "Oh My God," tasting experiences! 1990 Beausejour Duffau can be an OMG wine. With a perfume that explodes with black licorice, truffle, crushed rocks, smoke, black raspberries, BBQ, spicy black cherries, forest floor and tobacco scents, your nose is riveted to the glass. Once past the compelling perfume, waves of incredibly concentrated pure, ripe, dark fruits and minerality coats your mouth and palate, due to the amazing viscosity of the wine. The dry Port like finish of plum liqueur remains for over sixty seconds. This incredible Bordeaux wine tasting experience is only going to get better over the next few decades.
It will be interesting to see if the 2009 or 2010 reach this same level of perfection. This bottle was popped and poured into a decanter and served within a few minutes.
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8/22/2011 - jpakma wrote: 96 Points
Probably would have scored this higher if I had followed a proper protocol....We popped and poured this aged beauty (no decant). Color was still vibrant and showing very little fading at the rim. Nose was green veggies all the way with soil, leather, and hint of licorice. Great mouthfeel on this wine, you could chew it for minutes. Gripping tannins somewhat dominated the initial glass - leather, green bell pepper, asparagus, vegetal domination, with hints of cassis and licorice.
4+ hours into the bottle and the wine really started to open up and more fruit was showing albeit second fiddle to the leather, veggie components. This was a treat to drink and share with friends, but do yourself a favor and allow a long decant before you dive in. This was my first glass of wine with this much age and I was truly impressed how well balanced and structured this wine still is. I am guessing that it still has the stuffing to go another 2 decades.
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7/13/2011 - dcwino wrote: 97 Points
Trip’s farewell dinner! (Cities restaurant - Washington D.C.): Perhaps not quite fit into the roster, truffle, chocolate, not very expressive, sensual silky palate but not as kinky as the others I had in the past.
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6/2/2011 - Pacalet wrote: 95 Points
Gathering at HK country club (HK country club): Wow after all the nice Burgs this really stands out as a very masculine wine, with licorice, tea, smoke, leather. Very full and powerful palate that goes excellent with steak. This is definitely a 50+ yrs wine.
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4/28/2011 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 100 Points
Dinner at Collichio and Sons with Mike and Stuart et al (Collichio and Sons): Double decanted and rebottled for 5 hours before tasting. The nose knocked me on my ass. The depth and richness and intensity was unique in my experience. Black/purple after 20 years, this is one of the most concentrated, powerful wines I have tasted, yet it has great finesse. Have it if you can
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4/19/2011 - Pre-emptive wrote: 99 Points
This is as close to perfection as a wine can be.
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10/11/2010 - gondrik wrote: 100 Points
Stood up for a week and decanted 5 hours before drinking. There was a moderate amount of sludge on the bottom. This is a beautiful, young, full bodied sweetheart. It is decidedly a Right Bank wine with muscular softness. My 4th bottle since release and by far the best.
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6/22/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
It explodes from the glass with an array of ripe scents blackberry liqueur, caramel, tobacco, licorice, jam and espresso. Opulent decadence, is either the name of a Porn Star, or what this wine deserves to be called. Rich, deep, concentrated and intense, the amazing mouth coating finish fills every nook and cranny of mouth, palate and sense. This amazing wine is young and will only get better with time.
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5/5/2010 - rdsboca wrote:
Not port-like at all. The person that brought it opened in the morning. He thought the wine was bad and spoiled at first. Couldn't be further form the truth. Nose of tobacco, dired red fruit and some cedar and oak. More fresh fruit tones. Seamless, slides down the palate. Well intergrated. Has it all.
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12/25/2009 - Zweder wrote: 96 Points
Beautiful mature bouquet with beautiful oak, chocolate and a bit of white pepper. Same on the palate with beautiful soft and round tannin that still have bite. Perfectly balanced and at a perfect drinking stage now, but with enough power to last at least 5 years. But why wait? It will not be more perfect.
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11/14/2009 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 95 Points
Paris Tasting in Zwolle (De Librije - Zwolle): 1990 Château Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) (Frankrijk, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac) Kleur: Diep robijnrood, oranje rand Aroma / bouquet: Snuffelwijn. Rijpe, ook rijke vooral tertiaire neus. Zoete kruidigheid, prachtig geïntegreerd hout, gebrand / zelfs wat gerookt (spek), pepertje Smaak / Afdronk: YIHAAAA! Sweet, soft and lazy, mooie zachte zuren, rijpe maar zacht-ronde tannines, mooie structuur en 'bite'. Veel materie en een enorme lengte. Prachtige balans en finesse. Algemeen / potentieel: Prachtig op dronk, reserves voor de komende jaren. Kelderbaar, categorie HEBBUH!! 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 95/100
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10/26/2009 - Zinlady wrote: 95 Points
Had a wonderful perfumey nose. It was not a heavy wine at first but when matched to the lamb chop it improved. Long finish, not too dark in color
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8/23/2009 - pakabear wrote: 96 Points
Such amazing balance on this wine. Not as extracted as I would have expected given it's reputation, but oh it's damn good.
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6/30/2009 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
This was stuffed with plums, blackberry, floral and wood aromas. This is a very sexed up, decadent, style of wine with an opulent character that will keep improving and adding complexity for years.
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6/13/2009 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Truffles, truffles and more truffles were in the nose, along with spice, herbs, tobacco, earth, dried cherries and lavender notes. This amazingly, rich, full bodied, concentrated, decadent Bordeaux wine is a perfect expression of St. Emillion. Elegant and exotic, ripe, complex and sexed up, this unique Bordeaux excited the palate and senses. Some bottles bring tears when you drink them. Others bring tears to your eyes when you finish them
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2/11/2009 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
Deeply colored. A huge nose of blackberry liqueur, spices, herbs, minerals and coffee truly explode from the glass. Massive amounts of concentrated ripe fruit fill the glass and your palate. The wine ends with intense layers of deep, rich, opulent, decadent fruit that seem to last close to a minute. Very rich and velvety with motor oil weight that's thrilling to experience.
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1/2/2009 - nvandyk wrote: 99 Points
One of the most remarkable wines I've ever had. Not quite is rich as the 1947 Cheval Blanc (still my favorite) but this is a mammoth wine. Double decanted for approximately five hours, although small samples taken at opening and one hour in indicate that it probably didn't need all of that.
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11/22/2008 - Eric wrote: 97 Points
Justin's 31st Birthday (Olympia, WA): What a freaking BEAST of a wine! A crazy nose of roasted plum, gunpowder and chocolate. This shut down over time in the glass, but it is mindblowingly concentrated. This is more educational than pleasurable at this stage, but it is certainly crazily impressive stuff.
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11/4/2008 - JScott wrote:
A bit muted on the nose. Palate also seemed more subdued than prior bottles. Suspect this one may have been abused as a child. Judgment reserved.
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6/1/2008 - BradE wrote:
Very good, albeit not great, bottle. Air helped. I'm at 96 vs. RMP's 100, but still good juice.
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1/3/2008 - BradE wrote:
I think I like this wine better each time I have it. Its really got that something extra. Nose, palate, and multiple personalities. Mmm.
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1/2/2008 - Siggy wrote: 96 Points
Tasting Group Dinner - Bordeaux at Heidi's (Heidi's, Minneapolis): Black core, deep maroon to the rim. This started out very ripe, plump, and California-like, showing sweet, intense black fruit, flowers, earth, and milk chocolate. As this sat in the glass, a more interesting, minerally character emerged, and the wine took on an earthy character that I really liked. Sort of like a cross between a great CaliCab and a traditional St. Emilion, and a delicious one at that.
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1/2/2008 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 96 Points
Wednesdays at Heidi's: Double decanted about two hours before serving. The color is an impressive black-red and totally opaque. The nose offers a rich assortment of flavors including black fruit, mushroom, smoke and minerality. This started out a bit closed/reserved but opened up nicely as the evening progressed. The taste is stunning -- dark fruit, mineral, earth, tobacco and more. On the palate this is not quite as expansive as some of the other wines, but has a more focused power/intensity. Impeccably well balanced yet large scaled given the powerful structure and density of the fruit. Great smooth texture. I feel fortunate to have tasted this for the first time. Thanks Brad.
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12/1/2007 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
Incredible purity of fruit. Balance, elegance, richness, extrodinary concentration and a complex finish that lasts over a minute. Very powerful. Interestingly, while in Bordeaux in June, I had dinner with their previous winemaker who told me a lot of the power in that wine comes from the large percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. 25% CS is in the cepage! Still young, this wine as good as it is will only get better.
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11/6/2007 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Tasted from a bottle that had not been moved was a treat. I experience this wine a lot in America, but having one that has never moved was even better as it showed so young. The man who brought it used to work at Beausejour and when I asked him what made this so much better and bigger than any other vintage, he said... "aside from the extra ripeness the wine was allowed to achieve, they also included a large percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend." 90 Beausejour, at almost 18 years of age remains young. Intense, ripe, rich, lush and exotic in style. A complex perfume is made even better with an amazing, seamless finish. This is an outrageous wine.
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10/29/2007 - Totatalitarian wrote:
This bottle showed very nicely. Nimble for its size, this is still one rich beast.
And did we tell you the name of the game, boy
we call it Riding the Gravy Train.
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7/22/2007 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 95 Points
The French Laundry...21 Courses, 11 Wines, Infinite Memories; 7/21/2007-7/22/2007 (The French Laundry (Yountville, Napa Valley, California)): Remaining in Bordeaux-phase, our next wine (at the French Laundry, in celebration of Amy Emery's 40th birthday) was the fabled RMP 100-pointer, Chateau Beausejour (Duffau Lagarrosse) 1990. Another gem provided by Ken Johnson, this wine was the accompaniment to Wagyu sirloin, Nameko mushrooms, short-grain rice in rendered foie gras fat and pea tendrel. Amazingly youthful in appearance (deep ruby with red rim) and youthful on the nose (black currants, plums, cocoa, minerals and roasted meats), this was a monster of a wine, not even remotely close to its peak. Taking the term "full-body" to a new definition, this low-acidity, hugely tannic beauty showed similar primary flavors, a full middle and a long finish. This is an absolute blockbuster but is infantile and needs and minimum of five more years before a re-visit. Thereafter, it should drink well into my personal geriatric period (2030+). My final score was a "tentative" 95+, almost assuredly to increase with time.
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12/2/2006 - PhDP wrote:
Chez Christine & Michel (Chez Michel & Christine): Très élégant, très cabernet (malgré forte dominante de merlot dans l'encépagement), très long, mais un peu fermé, aromatiquement assez discret.
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9/15/2006 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Deep color and an exciting, complex nose that explodes from glass! Flamboyant is the best descriptor I can think of for the palate. Endless layers of rich, opulent fruit cascade over your palate. The viscosity this wine displays must be experienced to be believed.
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8/9/2006 - burgcamel wrote: 98 Points
Still a little tight but has all the ingredients to be a truly great wine. I'll wait at least one more year before consuming the next bottle.
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5/27/2006 - MC wrote:
from memory with dinner last night. decanted at cellar temperature. this wine is tight. dark color, lots of iron and mineral, rich fruit but lots of tannin. last glass, after 3 hours in decanter, was very, very good - starting to show some sweet fruit. i'm not a good enough judge to tell where it is going, but i think it will be very good - just not sure why it has been called a perfect wine. try again in a few years. A-
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3/14/2006 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
The color is so dark, it looks like a 2000 Bordeaux. The glass explodes with ripe fruit, oak, and assorted spices. Massive layers of plush, decadent, opulent, plumy, black fruit coat your senses. The seemingly endless finish is kicked up with touches of licorice and chocolate. Still young and tannic. Stupendous wine
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2/17/2006 - Eric wrote: 99 Points
More Bordeaux with Leve at Providence (Los Angeles, CA): I just love this wine. Right out of the bottle this was screaming, a sharp nose, smoky, soy, BBQ. The palate is hugely concentrated, a simply monumental wine with unreal structure and richness. Utterly captivating. The only thing holding this bottle back from 100 points was the prominence of the tannins. This was just a little less lush and round than a bottle enjoyed in DC in August.
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1/28/2006 - Eric wrote: 99 Points
Dinner at Lampreia (Seattle, WA): Wow, what a stunning showing for this ethereal wine. On first pop this was tight with some hints of roasted plum, a bit of leather, but mostly blood and iron. However, over the course of 3+ hours this just kept opening and showing more depth and intensity. Roasted plum, smokey creosote, white flowers, a whiff of tobacco, blood and raw beef, wow, this just won't stop! And the palate was that much more generous, long, powerful, chewy, still so young. This is surreal wine and only rated as 99 since this is not quite up to the memory of a bottle tasted in August.
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12/10/2005 - Eric wrote: 96 Points
Seattle Tasting Group 'End of Year Dinner' #3 (Sammamish, WA): This was my third taste of this wine and reminiscent of the first one: tight, beautiful yet somewhat unforgiving. (The second taste was utter perfection from the get-go.) The nose leads with soy and charcoal. The palate is very tight. Man oh man, that's one monster of a wine, intense, liqueur-like, somewhat brooding and closed but still pretty gorgeous. There is a ton here, but in this bottle it's pretty wrapped up right now.
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10/28/2005 - Will wrote:
Right Bank Bdx Offline (The Square, London): Really profound wine, both on the nose and on the palate. Very serious stuff. One of the best bdx for sure.
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8/11/2005 - Eric wrote: 100 Points
Pre-Parker warmup dinner at Citronelle... (Georgetown, USA): Wine of the night! The moment I smelled this I was shocked at how expressive it was. OMFG!!!! Iron, flowers, and amazing notes of Bordeaux simply burst from the glass. Then some horse kicks in on a nose that is so expressive and almost indescribably complex. Holy Toledo! The concentration in the mouth is just off the charts! The wine utterly floored me, about as perfect as a wine can be! Thank you Jeff Leve!!!
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6/15/2005 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
This flamboyant juice is utterly captivating. The perfume blends toasty oak, exotic Asian spices, coffee, floral and licorice scents. The body is thick with a mouth feel that reminds me of a great vintage of La Mouline. I’ve read the proprietor claims, “the wine was made by accident, he left the fruit on the vines too long.” Why can’t he repeat that same mistake?
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3/20/2005 - G SQUARED wrote: 97 Points
Dinner at Sweet Basil's in Vail with Jeff. Move over Petrus! This is the essence of Merlot at it's finest. Rich and elegant, full yet balanced, ripe yet nuanced. I must find some more of this wine! Still has the tannins to last for quite some time too, so don't feel the need to drink all you have......sell some to ME!
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10/16/2004 - Burgundy Al wrote: 95 Points
Wine tasting. Exceptional vibrant dark fruit aromas with lots of spice. Bright fruit on palate, long and unfolding toward long finish. Lingering and elegant. Great right now.
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10/16/2004 - Eric wrote: 96 Points
'A Taste for Life' hosted by WineCommune (San Francisco, CA): This had a intriguing nose that even smelled dense and thick. Somewhat pruney at first, this revealed black fruit, flowers, with tarry notes. The longer this sat in the glass the more exotic the nose became, and it was clear this was a wine to spend many hours with. The palate was huge and gripping with pine resin and endlessly sweet fruit. The finish on this was absolutely huge. The longer I spent with this wine the more I liked it, although it never really unfolded like the others.
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5/21/2004 - Jeff Leve wrote: 100 Points
At 14 years of age, 90 Beausejour is still inky black. Ripe black fruit, herbs, smoke, licorice and flowers made the perfume. The flavors cascading across my palate were filled with plums and incredibly decadent, ripe black fruit. This amazingly concentrated wine has a mouth feel that is as exotic as Guigal's La Mouline from a great year. The finish was other worldy lasting 60 seconds or more. The wine continued developing in the glass for over 2 hours
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10/3/2003 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 97 Points
Dark red colour with opaque, nearly black core. Quite roasted on the nose, like bacon on a hot frying pan. In the mouth the wine is a brute, very alcoholic, but fortunately sweet and full on ripe fruit. I was in no way put off by the alcoholic nature, as fruit the substance was there to back it all up. The aftertaste is one for the history books - so long and intense, so balanced and pleasant. In short, this wine is a show stopper and probably deserves an even higher grade than the one I bestowed upon it.
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10/14/2002 - mnh wrote:
deep ruby, wonderful complex nose and great fruit, structure and finish.
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