I a very good place right now. On the plateau in my opinion. Pushes all the classic Bdx buttons and in a fairly balanced way. Some may find the initial barnyard notes too much, but don't worry - they wear off within 10-15 minutes.
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Nose of orange-peel dark fruits, masculine, very Pauillac in style! A hint of bready notes, rather sweet and spicy! Medium body, spicy red fruits dominate the whole show, drinking incredibly nice now, but you can wait a bit longer! A triumphant performance from this vintage!
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Beautiful, classy, civilized wine. Floral nose with red and dark fruits, forest floor, leather, oak, spicebox, secondary and tertiary notes. Medium to full bodied, sweet tannins mostly resolved, smooth mouthfeel and a long, lingering, haunting finish. A joy to drink.
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A beautiful, mature Pauillac that is mid weight. Precise, with good length, good typicity (forest floor, tobacco, dark fruit). A bit lighter than usual due to the 1999 vintage but very drinkable and excellent with food.
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Tobacco, woody notes, dried cherry and cranberry. A touch rustic but all in all quite nice. Texturally well balanced with medium body, light tannin and chalky tannin. Nice now and is many years left. My guess is it will hit a stride in the next 3-5.
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Medium body, great nose, red fruits, cedar wood. On the palate also red fruits, dark berries, black currants, spices, tobacco and cedar wood. A little too much acidity, only light tannins are silky, somewhat short finish,
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Pronounced nose intensity with black fruits, toast, cedar, spices and earth, mushroom. Medium+ acidity and tannin. Aged beautifully, probably the best bottle out of the last 3 I drank.
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Lovely brick brown colour. Nose of dark cherry, animally bacon notes, resolved cedarwood and violet. The palate is savoury, still well structured, attacks with fruit and bacon flavours. Medium/long.
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Cork impossible to extract: crumbling into tiny fragments when the screw touched it, but otherwise stuck fast. Luckily, decanting resulted in a clean, fresh and elegant claret. Pencil case aromas to the fore, cassis following on behind. A long, well-balanced finish. Significantly better than my last bottle despite the terrible cork.
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Tonight this showed a slight bricking on the edges indicating it is past its apex, but still drinking very nicely. Consistent with earlier tasting when I wrote, classic Bordeaux bouquet and flavors of dark berry fruits, graphite, violets and hints of smoky tar, tobacco and cassis. Dark ruby colored, medium bodied, polished and nicely balanced, soft and almost delicate for a Pauillac, the tongue coating fine tannins are silky smooth on the lingering finish. At 22, the cork was dry and came apart upon extraction using a traditional server's corkscrew.
Gave it 90 points, one less than before, taking into account the aging and slight diminution in color. Drank BYOB at Marco's Kitchen, LaGrange (IL) https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/12/marcos-kitchen-lagrange.html
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Showing a light bricking at the edge and seemingly entering its prime. Dark chocolate, espresso, dried cherries and tobacco. Medium weight, moderate acid, and grippy tannin. This wine is delicious and great right now. Probably not the longest living Pichon but it’s very well made and truly Pichon.
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Still drinking well but fading fast. Magenta color. No oxidation. Pipe tobacco and cola nose. Still full bodied and lovely. Tannins all but gone though. My significant other didn't like it so much though, thought it was funky. She does have a good palette. Each to his/her own!
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After 45 minutes decanted, this deep garnet claret showed a typical Pauillac nose, medium intense cedar and leather overtones. The medium full body was again quite intense dark fruit and paired well with Filets. The finish was moderately long. This wine has plateaued nicely and will not benefit from further aging.
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Splash decant. Very dark rich color, no signs of bricking. Smoke, tobacco, asphalt and black pepper on the nose. Green pepper, smoky black fruit and an acid filled spicy finish. Tannins almost completely resolved but still a little bit of fine tannins on the finish. Definitely not a ripe vintage so makes for a more classically styled claret. Early days, but not sure how this will develop over the long run.
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Purchased this bottle at the winery, probably in the early 2000's. I haven't read anything good about this wine or even this vintage from any of the big name reviewers. So our expectation was low, at 20+ years we knew we were risking an over the hill wine. SURPRISE! As soon as I uncorked it, I could smell a deep dark nose. The cork was soft but not damp. The wine had seeped maybe 1/3 of the way to the top.
There was no oxidation whatsoever. Color was a very dark brick. The nose was big, dark fruit, a little oak and smoke. The tannins were smooth, but still evident. Still plenty of acidity. We paired it with a rib-eye. Wonderful.
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A strong bottle-stink blew off after an hour or so in decanter, leaving a very mature but clean wine (no brett which I suspected at first.) Velvety smooth with etiolated fruit - cherry? - behind the texture. Bright acidity, and well-integrated tannins. Obviously a classy wine, but this bottle at least has little oomph, and makes no great emotional impact. 13%, cork.
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After having read the reviews I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this auction purchase. Opened at a Pichon Baron lunch and enjoyed with 03, 07 and 16. This was the surprise favourite. Virtually no decant at all, just let it sit in the glass for 10 minutes and it opened up beautifully. Not a super concentrated wine like say 05, but still a serious wine with silky tannins and a lovely saline finish. I think now is the perfect time to drink this wine if you are lucky enough to have one in your cellar. In terms of 03 and 07 I would rate no higher than 90 but the 16 is amazing.
Medium red with thin brick edge. Blackberry, cedar, mushroom nose, or it Brett? Medium to full bodied this has sweet blackberry and blackberry fruit. A licorice bitterness to the finish and very fine tannin. Delicious today
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I honestly did not understand some of the low scores finding this wine dull. I think it is a great example of a mature top bordeaux that is showing great class at 20 years of age. It is very silky and smooth. Sad that i have only one left.
Seriously great drinking right now. Nice aromas of leather, moss, earth tobacco and licorice. Dark berries and mature stone fruit on the palate. Well balanced with subtle tannins. A really great Bordeaux, though the only negative I could state is that there was a tad too much "sour" on the back after a lovely, lingering finish.
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Pleasant enough but prosaic; just about holds it together and our interest in a difficult left bank vintage, but not going anywhere. A mediocre decade for this estate before things took a dramatic turn for the better with the 2000 vintage.
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I can't argue the wine is at its peak or not, everyone view is different! Still dark ruby in colour looks very healthy and young! Exceptionally fragrant at this point, mainly supported by ripe red fruits with a hint of mint! Smooth on the palate, rich and velvety in texture! Driven by red fruits, can be kept for at least a decade in a damp cold cellar, certainly ready to go!
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From magnum. Bought case of 6 mags from Sam's Marcey St. 10+ years ago, details not handy: probably 60/mag or less. Decanted with considerable sediment (magnum). This was delicious: rich and dark; persistent fragrance over a 2h dinner of veal chops; very good mouthfeel, semi-complex; good finish. Stored horizontally in a cool, dark basement since purchase. My evaluation: I've stopped giving scores on a "100-point scale" as I've become less convinced that they can be meaningful to others. I use a 4-category scale (perhaps with +/-)--not including flawed--which runs outstanding/notable/drinkable/poor. I consider this outstanding- when considering quality, age, and price.
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Smack bang in the middle of its drinking window. Beautiful evolved tertiary flavours of pencil and tobacco, with fruit in the background. Textbook Pauillac that defied the vintage's reputation. I think it will remain in this phase for a good 5 years, and might even do 10. Certainly not over the hill though!
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Medium bodied, but not exactly light, there is a leafy, herbal note on top of the bright red fruits, tobacco and cedar. The wine is fresh in nature, soft in texture and ready to drink, with its red fruit and tobacco leaning. This is not a wine for long term aging.
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Note: I use a rating scale on which 85 represents a very good wine.
As indicated by the score, an outstanding bottle. Excellent fruit, tannins integrated. This is why Bordeaux is the premier wine producing region in the world -- in my humble opinion.
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Wonderful nose and flavor upon opening. It did go backwards some during the decant and became a little astringent over the course of an hour. That began to fade away in the second hour. The wine is very plesant and has a great flavor, but it is a little thin and not very complex. It is showing some secondary aromas with some cedar and tobacco showing after the fruit. I did enjoy this wine and would buy more if the price was right and it was under $100.00.
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My first encounter with the red Baron. I had a half bottle with some, erm, Trader Joe's chicken nuggets – your typical Dad alone night in. Gave it a good two hours to open up. Pleasantly smooth upfront with nice sous bois tones. Not massive amounts of sweet fruit or a huge finish; but perfectly civilized. Look forward to trying more from some of the blockbuster vintages.
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So good. Such a treat. Mature, delicious, strong and elegant - pencil lead, tobacco box, cassis enveloped in organza. 125 Euro at Locanda del Colonello in Modica.
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Bordeaux Second Growths Lunch (Capital Grille NY): Tasted blind, this was my #2 and universally noted as one of the most balanced and complete wines of the tasting. I was surprised to find that it wasn't well reviewed here on CT. This bottle had ample menthol, vanilla, and cassis. A bed of dusty tannins carried the rich fruit to a deep and mouth coating finish. Hadn't lost a beat hours after opened.
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Last of the case, and a good thing at that... this bottle was going down the hill. Slight bricking tone, plum & raisin on nose, the tanins are all gone, but so is a lot of the fruit. The balance of what is left is still pretty classy, but it is now a pretty dull wine.
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Un bouquet sur notes de cèdre et de cuir, une bouche au jus soyeux avec une fraîcheur de fruit très agréable. Bue avec un plat de filets de palombes (saignants) et flageolets, un bel accord avec ce Pauillac de 18 ans. Vin à son apogée, je boirai ma dernière dans les 5 années à venir.
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Oooh, this is delicious today - lovely Pauillac typicity, blackcurrant fruit, with pencil lead character, and ripe fruit. V impressive from a tricky vintage.
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Decanted about an hour before drinking. Still slow to show itself. Some initial funk on the nose. By 2nd glass, funk gone and beautiful plum, cassis earth and tobacco nose appeared. Also on 2nd glass, smooth and balanced palate of cassis, blackberry, earth and mineral palate, but showing mostly delicious fruit. Not a drop of tannin. Dark purple in color. You would never guess the age of this bottle based on color. A very nice wine for the vintage.
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from 1.5L. This was actually much better than expected. Not showing any age on the rim, nose full of stewed dark fruit, pencil shavings and earth - tons of earth. Pallet was smooth and viscous with an incredible finish of over 60 seconds. Based on other notes, I think I got a great bottle with great provenance, I've been holding it for years.
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Rather thin. Perhaps this needs more time. Having had the 2004 several times in the past few years, that wine is leaps and bounds above this. Still a nice, off year BDX, but I'd have not guessed PB.
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Matured bordeaux wine. Very good nose. Ripe red and dark fruits on the palate, medium to full bodied, silky tannin. A bit pity was that it did not match with Chinese food that night. Would be perfect to go with steak, lamb, etc.
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Brick red, browning evident. Small amount sediment. Barn floor, mushrooms minimal fruit on nose. Palate mellow and mature, some mineral. Second in head-to-head blind tasting against 1998 Redmetal Bordeaux blend.
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Another lovely '99 tonight that was just a slight tick behind the best wines of the night but I'd be happy to drink this anytime. Richer and riper than the other wines tonight but terrific depth with a suave texture I loved. 92+ I'd buy this if I found a good btl.
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During a tasting, served semi blind. Dark ruby. Nose of dark fruit, pine, forest floor, some spices. Again, as so many Pichon Barons I have tasted from lesser vintages the wine comes across as very complete and balanced with strong dark fruit core buffered by good structure and acidity. This is very convincing for the 1999 vintage indeed. Classic Pauillac!
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A classic left bank wine. Decanted (large bottomed decanter) for about 1 hour. Seemed to help, although it was tasty upon opening. Can't add much to what previous CTers have noted, although I am not certain if more time will improve this. There is no reason to panic -- I suspect this wine has plenty of time left -- but I am not certain it will get a lot better.
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Drank at Otto's Alive and kicking but with some slight rough edges. The problem was we were drinking it with a '83 Cheval Blanc which is just not fair.
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Thanks Phil! Enjoyed this very much - less evolved than the last bottle. Baron and Latour fall into the same profile and this didn't disappoint. Walnut, blackcurrant, smoke. Firm, substantial. Mineral with time. Should offer all its charms in 5 years.
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Nose: Dark Blackberry, Anise, Currant and Walnut on the open. Toasted caraway seed was distinct. Earthy cigar, smoke and blackberry jam followed over an hour or so. Some bottle funk made this a bit cranky on the initial pop. Palate: Dense black fruit, walnut, graphite and some ash notes. Dense in the mouth with good complexity. Finish: Long with dark fruit and tobacco/charcuterie notes.
This was not quite as good as the bottle I had earlier this year in Bordeaux, but performed well. Some gain to be seen in 5+ years.
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At it's peak. Has the air of: "Great Pauillac terroir from a weaker vintage or a lesser terroir from a medium vintage."
Dbl decanted for ~4 hrs at home.
Browning tinge. Plentiful and promising, mature Bdx bouquet with heady winds coming from the stables with loads of Bdx earth, barrels and darker berries. Beautiful Brett! Blinded, I'd be darned if I didn't say: "Pauillac"
On the palate, this is a superbly balanced, elegant and thoroughly captivating wine. Long, complex, mature and beautiful. Not quite filling up the costume suggested by the fabulous nose. Still an awesome wine.
(Great grilling pleasures with Kosugi and Nishikawa families)
Final btl (of 2).
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Very honest Pauillac. Nice blackcurrant, very elegant, almost Burgundian. Fine tannins, Miss D says yummy. She guessed the vintage correctly. She wants a medal.
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Even though we PNP - pop and poured this without decanting, it immediately resonated from the glass with classic Bordeaux bouquet and flavors of dark berry fruits, graphite, violets and hints of smoky tar, tobacco and cassis. Dark ruby colored, medium bodied, polished and nicely balanced, soft and almost delicate for a Pauillac, the tongue coating fine tannins are silky smooth on the lingering finish. At sixteen, this is likely at its prime drinking now.
Bordeaux & San Sebastian Trip; 3/6/2015-3/13/2015: Nose: classic pauillac comes rushing from the glass. Cassis, blackberry, tobacco and pencil notes. Palate: enters with massive blackberry and quickly shows floral notes. Graphite, cherry and sweet pipe tobacco / vanilla abound. Tannin is ripe but dense in the mid palate. Finish : loaded with Cassis and leather ... will live on. Company/location may have improved this but I loved it.
Grand Hotel de Bordeaux with dinner ... Fois Gras & Oysters were exceptional.
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I am a huge fan of this vineyard which is, in my opinion, easily the best value of Pauilliac second growths sold here in the UK. This is still a bit racy for the vineyard and vintage but my bottle drank really well after 3 hours decanted and was still enjoyable 22 hours later. Yes it is not typical, possibly a bit modern, but, considering it is a 1999 Medoc, I believe it is very drinkable, however, that might be the wine talking!
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A private tasting and dinner (Bilthoven): A wine of real beauty, forward, fragrant, charming and elegant, flowers and mulberries, warm and generous, tobacco, almost Margaux in style, warm gravel, at perfect peak, lovely length.
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Quintessential Pauillac - on song. This is for drinking NOW. Opulent.. perhaps a tad one dimensional, but almost better for it. Doesn't try too hard; simplicity; simply gorgeous!
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Medium dark red. Balanced acidity and charm. Slight tannin with bold flavours. Distinct oak in the nose overriding the black currant. Definitely an old world nose.
I thought that this was a wine with great finesse and some complexity. 6/10.
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Currants and Raspberries balanced with leather and earth notes. Still seems to have plenty of ageing potential although the wine is well-balanced now with smooth tannins.
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Confraria - Maio - Bordeaux (Marcão House): This wine disappoint me. Ferrous aromas. In the mouth, a bit bland. Improved with aeration, achieving a slightly better balance. However, lower than expected
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Double decanted for about an hour and brought to dinner that lasted for three hours. Dark ruby in appearance and the bouquet is filled mainly with red fruits, smoke, lead pencil, forest floor and hint of menthol. Clean and balanced palate, the lack of complexity in the 1999 is more than made up by the enjoyable, smooth drinking experience. Tannins are still quite noticeable but very fine, leading to a medium finish with plum, tobacco and bit of tar. In a good drinking spot now, and will be enjoyable in the next 3-5 years.
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Opened 1 hour prior to consumption. Side by side with Leoville Las Cases 1996 "LLC" was opened 5 hours before consumption. Started with the Baron and boom the nose was there lovely as ever ready to go welcoming to drink this splendid juice. This bottle at the very end had a bit of sour apple and felt a bit more evolved then the previous 2 bottles on 6/17/2012 & 5/20/2013. One thing that is important here is the price. The Baron is around $100 and the LLC $200+ The LLC nose was a bit muted, this wine has been in a shut down mode for at least 10 years I remember one of my friends complaining about when is it ever going to be ready to enjoy the long wait. What did not offer on the nose made it up on the pallet very concentrated, tannic cab with a strong presence of spices would of liked to see a bit more fruit could have had a better score in my humble opinion. Was the LLC better than the baron, yes, was it mind blowing better, in my opinion no, I give the LLC a 95/96. Is it worth shelling out twice as much for it? That is up to you fine wine brother's to decide, enjoy!!!
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Tasted next to the 2004. This 1999 again surprised me in a good way. Terrific balance, fresh and quite intense, really quite rewarding. It could have had more complexity and the finish could have been a little longer, but this is at least a 92 for me if not a 93. The 2004 is similar in many ways but clearly younger with more acidity and more pronounced tannins, it is likely to mature into something very much like the 1999 I think.
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w veal chop. Tom visiting. Next to the Clerc millon 01. this was very different. very good nose. more barn yard smell but good fruit. color was wonderful and still very fresh. on palate a classic pauilliac a bit heavier than the Clerc. finish very good. yes this may not get better but it will live for quite a bit.
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Slow-oxed over the day, the decanted 30min before tasting. Young-ish overall impression. Red rather than black currants on the nose, cherries and some faint pencil shavings. Red and black fruit on the attack, liquorice,acidity joining in on the mid-palate giving nice balance and surprising intensity which continues into quite a long finish dominated by the acidity. The tannins are fine and pretty much fully integrated, it will likely not improve from here. Humm, this really is pretty good. And they say that 99 was at best a mediocre vintage..... Perhaps that finish could show a better balance? It leaves a slight tartness behind, but you would not notice if you ate anything at all with this - which I am just about to do. Looking forward to the rest of this bottle!
Color rich and dark to the rim not showing age. Full bodied structured legs. Typical Paulliac Pichon LaLande nose and Palate. Palate of medium to full bodied weight, integrated tannins, dark chocolate, vanilla, good acidity on the finish. Excellent
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Au Restaurant Violier, 3 macarons largement mérités! Fantastique, bravo! Très belle bouteille, bouchon en parfaite condition. Sur recommandation du chef sommelier, lui aussi parfait, nous avons renoncé au passage en carafe. Grenat brillant, avec un début de disque orangé. Au nez, notes rôties, humus, puis à l'aération, de roses fanées, tout en finesse. En bouche, beaucoup de finesse, de délicatesse, belles structure et longueur. Se boit parfaitement bien, mais a encore quelques années devant lui.
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From 375. Mature disc. Classic Baron nose - deep, potent cassis with plenty of smoke and coal; some mocha. The oak is integrated. Tannins a bit prominent. A little beef blood on the palate. Good Pauillac. Mature from 375.
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PNP this bottle took a bit more time than the last one I had in 6/17/2012 after 1 hour the wine was singing. What a lovely wine. Takes you to that place and put a smile on your face!!!
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The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Fast. It smells like Toast, Black currant (cassis), and Blackberry, eucalyptus. It tastes like Mineral, and Forest floor. The body is Full. The wine has Leathery texture. The wine finishes Long.
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Drank a bottle in February 2012 and I thought it was fading. Had another bottle last week and was blown away. It was fantastic. I saved a glass for the next day and it tasted great. Classic Pauillac. It had a solid core of fruit intermixed with graphite and charcoal. A real joy to drink.
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Still clean and crisp, with good cassis and well defined notes of pencil shavings, but not quite as good as the bottle opened last year. The fruit has dropped in intensity and the lackings of the vintage are more apparent. Very good bottle but not an excellent one.
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This was a real treat for an early Christmas roast beef dinner with all the trimmings. This Bordeaux stood out brilliantly as a beautiful example of how excellent wines from the Medoc should taste. Rich, complex, beautiful color and wonderful follow-through. Couldn't ask for more and worth the price.
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This one has been sitting in my cellar for over 10 years. Opened it at a restaurant without decant. A classic Pauillac with cherry, berry and fruits. A little bit short on the finish or it scores higher. Drink now.
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Big expressive nose of black currants, cedar, and later a strong coffee note. Palate shows more currants, touch of bell pepper, moderate concentration. Tannins are there, turning a bit dry on the finish, but a minty note comes through that really ties this together. Nose and palate are great, only the weaker finish than expected shows the vintage character. 91-92. I actually had this a couple years ago, still holding on, though don't see much reason to hold onto it further. Drink up and enjoy now.
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Aromas of graphite, cedar, blackberries. Still very youthful with strong black fruits and cassis, herbs, leather. Nice classic finish. Impressive '99 and close to par with the underrated '04 vintage.
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This was the first wine I ever purchased for my cellar. I had been holding onto it for a special occasion. Well, that occasion was the finish line of my first marathon in October, 2011. I don't really remember the aroma or palate from that moment but what I can say is that I don't recommend drinking wine right after a marathon. I felt light-headed after just a few sips. My family and friends and I drank this 1999 from plastic cups in the shadow of the Gateway arch in downtown St. Louis. The taste really didn't matter. It could have been totally flawed and I would still have been happy about the experience. The wine and the scene brought back memories of my late father. I thought of the happy times during his life and my first ever quality wine with him, a 1996 Cakebread Chard. That is what got me interested in wine!!! Later that day I drank what was left of the bottle and from what I can remember it seemed like it still had a lot of life in it. The tannins were pronounced but lightened up a bit through the finish. I can't say that I remember the taste but I finished the last drop with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. I hope to try this one again under different circumstances.
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I disagree that this wine need extended aeration. I Pop & Pour the aeration in the glass is enough to enjoy this beauty. All the elements of a classic Paulliac. In my opinion well deserved 95 because It delivers a fantastic wine from the very first sip to the very last one!!!
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Classic Pichon, pencil shavings, cedar and cassis. This is a profound and impressive wine, big in the mouth but clean and well defined. Slight saltiness and a refreshing crisp finish. Great stuff. Plenty of life ahead. Ridiculous that this should be worth half the "great" vintages, further proof that vintage reputations are not always justified.
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Classic Pauillac with graphite, cedar, tar and cassis fruit. Very firm tannins still, austere and closed. Quite a bit of brettanomyces in here too, which made me like the softer but cleaner 2002 slightly better. One for the cellar. - 89 points
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Not quite ready. Need at least 1.5 hr of decant. Stronger and fuller body than 1995 Margaux. Moderately tannic with some graphite and toast, medium to long finish.
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PnP. Should have been decanted for at least 2 hours. Still too young. Dark red color. Good, powerfull nose. Dark red fruit ón the palate. Tanins and acid is present. Good finish.
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San Diego WineSpectator.com Offline, 1/31/2012 (La Bastide Bistro, Scripps Ranch, San Diego): Not decanted; allowed to breathe in glass for 60 minutes. Outstanding notes of black fruit, charcoal, vanilla, spicy oak. Some caramel and cedar appearing later. A strong showing from the under-rated 1999 vintage. Approachable now but will gain complexity in a few years. Needs a proper decant.
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Opened on christmas eve. Really nice but probably not getting any better. Charming wine with lots of dark berrys. Not one of the better Pichon Barons, but it allways is one of my favourite Pauillacs. (paid 42 eur. in 2002)
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decant 2 hrs, ruby color. fantastic strong aroma of charcoal,smoke, cassis and toasty oak.smooth tannins with an elegant finish. med to full bodied. mature wine. definitely a good time to open. slightly overpriced for sgd $150.
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Thoroughly decanted for ~3 hrs at home. Browning tinge. Voluminous nose, just opening up with raw barrels, smoked barnyard, cedar and lovely sumi ink notes. On the palate very, very elegant. Still a youthful character with playful acids and slightly sullen tannins. Layers on layers of red berries, sumi ink, tannin and all the wonderful things that go with the territory ...and a finish of 60+ seconds. (At Madam Toki) This is a favorite terroir for wife and I. Next bottle (=last) in ~5 years' time, expecting even more from that one.
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just lovely well integrated medium/soft bodied Bordeaux. Great color, nice fruit on the nose with the regular smokey wood smell. on palate very well integrated reddish fruit with a decent finish. had it with lamb from the grill at the Rudy's. Pretty good and Jenny really enjoyed the french touch to her birthday.
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Classic Pauillac nose of cedar, graphite, pencil shavings and dark fruits. Palate was filled with juiciness, forest floor and soil. A little lean as expected from the vintage but I like this style. Drinking very well now. Delicious. A classic claret.
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B&L's Housewarming - Kabinetts and Bordeaux Blends (Brad's Place): This has come along very nicely from the first bottle I had some two-and-a-half years ago, following the solid trajectory that we thought it would take. In fact, I would say it is almost ready to go, even though there is more upside to be had over the next decade or so. On the night, it had a lovely Pauillac nose - cedar, graphite, dried earth, flecks of smoked meat, dark cassis scents, a whiff of cigar. Lovely suff. Really nice on the palate too, this was at a very nice place, with fine, almost velvety tannins framing pure cassis flavours accompanied by notes of spice and cigar on the midpalate, and then a nicely lingering finish where a whiff of smoke wreathed around a stream of stony, graphite mineral. Not the most powerful of Barons, nor the most complex, but really well balanced, very pure, classic stuff. A beautiful drink from a less than heralded vintage. No harm at all drinking this now if you have any, but it would be fun to watch it age over the next 8-10 years.
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Martin Weiner's Magnificent Ch. Latours (1934-2002) Plus the Best of ths Grand Cru Neighbors (Martin Weiner): Burgundy core with noticable browning. Moderate rim of peach also with brown tones. Nose was disjointed with spice, loam, graphite, and leather. The taste was chalky and dry. High, harsh tannins that hindered the enjoyment of the finish. Initial spice and red fruit flavors were smooth and well balanced, but the finish was not what I enjoyed.
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Drank alongside the 89. Much funkier than the 89 – lots of funky earth and black bramble on the nose along with similar notes of leather and white pepper. Still young, but starting to mature with lots of blackberry fruit on the palate. For an ‘off’ vintage, this drank quite nicely and will give pleasure for another 5-10 years.
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Dark violet color with some bricking. Restrained nose of cranberry and cedar. Tart red cherry, cranberry, raisin, tobacco, lots of tannins. Medium finish.
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Deep red with a bit of browning at the edge and a nose of dark red fruit. Black cherries, walnuts, cassis, leather and some barnyard in a nicely balanced, medium weight wine with a medium finish.
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Deep purple color, no bricking on this bottle - and on the initial pour, still very meaty on the nose. Later, cassis takes over the aroma, with just a touch of tobacco and something fresh and floral as well, perhaps cardamom. In the mouth, silky cherry-plum, but with a bit too much resolved oak tannin throwing mocha notes. The structure is present, but not taut enough for that added impression of sweetness, leaving the wine feeling a little fat-bottomed. The cedary finish serves well to bookend the tobacco from the nose, and it has a nice minerality to it, but unfortunately it stops a bit short.
Last of the three bottles I bought at Ralph's. This was by far the best one. Lovely, sweet fruit. Graphite and herbs. Loam and cocoa powder. Dry finish. Unlike the others which seemed just past best, this was probably at peak. Not flavorful enough to stand up to the rather rich and creamy mushroom sauce on the beef but still, an excellent drink.
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Brilliant color and good Bordeaux Cabernet nose. Palate was classic bordeaux with surprising black fruit for the vintage. Medium aftertaste. Keep or drink.
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I think this is an excellent glass of wine. I haven't had a super-second in a few months, and this bottle reminds me how wonderful the more celebrated Chateaux can be. A good, but not great, vintage; but an excellent drink. A bunch of terroir and typicity on the nose; and smooth and round on the palate. Sweet tannins, with most of the usual suspects in the flavor profile -- sweet tobacco, bright fruit, and earth. Acid may be high; it tasted a bit tart. The finish is also smooth, but of no remarkable length.
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In the zone. Decanted for about an hour and consumed over the next 90 minutes. This wine is firing on all cylinders. Well balanced with a superb nose, integrated tannins, and satisfying finish. It compared favorably to a '99 Justin Isosceles, which wasn't bad, but seemed rough around the edges in comparison.
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San Antonio Wine Geeks (The Home of Dave Lew): This was lovely and was very distinctive in a tasting of Cali cabs. Fantastic open nose of typical Pauillac: Pencil, flint, tobacco and some cassis in the background. Fine palate with chalky mostly resolved tannins with distinct cassis fruit character with tobacco leaf leading into a flint and cedar finish. Balanced, focused, and open for business. Faded after 2-3hrs in the decanter. Probably at or near peak, I don’t see this improving. Doesn’t have the concentration or complexity of the better bdx vintages(I have high hopes for my ’00, ’03, and ‘05’s), but I prefer this to drinking young/primary petit Chateaux.
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Initially healthy cedar-and-blackcurrant nose. Taste a massive disappointment: thin bitter and nasty, no better on 2nd day. Corked? Undrinkable - used for deglazing the pan.
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Nice Middle weight Pichon-baron big on the nose and front palate not as much mid palate depth but drinks very well. Tobacco, cigar box, currant, ageing well. This has a silky mouthfeel that improves with air.
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Consumed over 4 hours. Very satisfying. Classic aromas and flavors; but not expressive. Clean to a fault; pure and fresh. Finesse. Back-to-back - I preferred the '99 Poyferre. But this Baron is great. Not too much weight, so drink sooner than later. Has the balanced structure to cellar for a while, but don't wait too long. It's not going to get any better.
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Enjoyed a surprisingly mature bottle of this Pauillac at the Tulalip Casino in Arlington, WA. and I considered it a steal at $124. Note it is about $100 per bottle before shipping on the internet.
Classic Pauillac bouquet and fruitiness., smooth tanins, excellent finish. After suffering the wine prices of Vencouver, BC for a couple of days where this wine would have been $250 +, getting on the Indian reservation in a casino, great wines are a steal!
Can't say the ambience or the service at the seafood grill was very good, next time I the wife and I will eat and drink at the Tulalip Bay restaurant next door in the casino..
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Interesting rim in that it appears older than some recent 95 Bordeaux... red hinting at brick at the rim... moderate + depth of color and level of extraction at rim. On the nose a super opulent, sexy, lush presentation of what I would call classic Pauillac aromas of black currant and cigar box cedar with hints of tertiary aromas poking through... on the palate moderate + acidity, good Cabernet firmness on the moderate - breadth of midpalate... transitions quite smoothly into a moderate amount of very ripe tannin finish... moderate alcohol. Wine has balance between oak use and fruit ripeness and while aromatically the wine is very plush... texturally it has good balance between soft and hard elements. Average length, high intensity aroma more than flavor-wise, and average complexity. Certainly a wine with finesse on the palate, a very fine texture, and very clear sense of place. Don't think it has the depth of fruit (layers of flavors) to get crazy complex with time and fear it would lose it greatest quality today... that super opulent, sexy, lush aromatic profile.
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nose: pure pichon-baron and pauillac as it is a very muscular nose with all sorts of tones of tobacco leaf, pencil lead, leather, dark red cherries, earth, bits of coffee ground, and tones of sweet cassis and currants
taste: not as complex or deep as the nose, but well balanced and masculine tones of cedar box, tobacco leaf, pencil lead, dark cherries, and tones of currants. Medium/full bodied with good medium+ tannins that make their presance known in a subtle way.
overall: drinking perfectly and its doubtful that it will gain weight on the mid-palate, that would really drive the wine, with more aging.stero-typical paulliac and pichon-baron, this has a real good brutish quality to it that really satisfies
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Sweet, creammy berries and burnt matchstick on the nose. Medium body, with tobacco leaf, sweet red currants, good length and finish. An elegant wine that shares the same style as the 2000, just not nearly as exuberant or deep.
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UK Wine Pages Pichon Baron Offline (The Alba, London): Noticeably more developed on the nose, dark fruit, nots of coffee and earth, some red-toned fruit (strawberry) too. On the palate not particulalry intense, easy, red fruit, vanilla, integrated tannins, medium length finish with earthy notes. Drinking now and not for the long term, attractive enough but lacking something on the mid-palate. ***
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This wine was opened and decanted about 1.5 hours before serving. The color is good for the vintage, and the wine has been in storage at a friend's wine locker. The aromatics is amazing; with lots of tobacco, smoke and vanilla. The nose is a testament of what amazing things might come with patience on this wine. The palatte showed still a lot of tannin and leather, with lots of age still left in the aging process. The finish is somewhat held back and tight. One can easily sense that the wine will improve with more aging, and the finish will improve with age. I definitely think we drink this wine too young, but overall still a very enjoyable experience.
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Dark intense loamy earth, juniper, tobacco and white pepper on the nose. Beautiful ruby color, no signs of any age. Not a ton of fruit on the palate, persistent but not overwhelming dusty tannins, cedar, earth and leather. Minute plus finish. Just starting to come into its drinking window. Very nice elegantwine.
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This wine is just starting to strut its stuff. Excellent nose, with good fruit breaking through the tannins. Just as I was starting to write off bordeaux wines as overpriced and minimally interesting, this bottle reminds me why they are so special. There is a complexity from the synergy of fruit and soil that the new world wines can not grasp.
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AWFS Lo Hey Dinner with 99 Bord and More (My Humble Home): Stewed nose of meatiness, some green capsicum and lots of leather and hide. Beautiful, sexy and hedonistic. This has dense, plush, voluptuous dark fruits with toastiness and finishing with licourice and more leather. Oppulent, lovely and elegantly fat....oops, correction.. big -boned not fat. She is like the well-fed daughter of an aristocrat. Not exactly the most feminine of the lot but big to a certain extent can be beautiful.
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Lo Hei potluck with 1999 Bordeaux and other wines (Alex's place): Probably the best Bordeaux of the night. The 1999 D'Armailhac and Ducru Beaucaillou gave as much pleasure on the night (more for some people on the table), but this certainly came across as having just a bit more quality and longevity - to my mind, it was the one wine that would do well with a good long aging in bottle yet. Nose showed toasty vanilla with some tobacco, smoke and green peppers, with a layer of earth and lots of plump, plummy fruit underneath. A little bit of secondary leathery flavour was just starting to show. Really bright acid on the palate, some felt that it was a bit tart when the wine was drank by itself, but it brought a really nice sense of balance and lift when we had this with food. Lots of weight and a surprising amount of power on the palate, very Baron indeed, with cassis, berries and cherries undergirded by a brawniness with meat and chocolate tones and a sprinkle of pepper. This wine also had the lengthiest finish of the Bordeaux, with nice balance and structure, with a squeeze of grippy, slightly bittersweet tannins giving a sense that this will be a nicely long-lived wine. 91 points for now with lots of upside.
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This wine is drinking very well right now if you can invest 2 hours in decanting. The nose is beatiful and classic Bordeaux. I remember chocolate. Tannins have softened and flavours are well integrated on the palate. This bottle was drained very quickly at a dinner party with some very good wines to choose from.
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Fairly tight on opening. 30-60 minutes does this a lot of good. Nice aged nose with hints of sweet leather, olive, and some woodened spice. The palate is medium-bodied, without a tremendous amount of depth or complexity. The finish seems a bit short / astringent / green.
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Crystal French Wine Sale (Bordeaux) (Crystal Wines): I adore the nose. Burg smelly "ass" like a basket of blackberries and blackcherries sweltering in a car boot parked under the hot afternoon sun. To add complexity, there are some animal notes and a dash of raspberry sweetness. An enveloping body of dark red fruits, shavings of capsicum, some spice box, cigarette box. Despite the extraction in the fruits, this still has lovely elegance.
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Similar to note from 3 years ago except the palate is richer with less edgy tannins. Lovely Pauillac nose that has more justice done to it by the improved palate. Lacks the captivating complexity and layed palate of the 90, but this is really quite nice and not disappointing at all.
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Drinking very well, good typicity. Medium weight, very aromatic, decent length to the finish, just not a bruiser or super concentrated vintage. A bit of drying tannin remains on the finish. Hard to say if it will dry out further or soften further with time, I presume it will soften and improve with another year or three, but certainly drinking well now. Quite enjoyable and a quickly drained bottle which is the surest sign.
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With fillets of lamb. Excellent Bordeaux that is in the sweet spot of its drinking window. Very enjoyable; a good effort for 1999. This has all characteristical Bordeaux aroma's: cedar, cassis, graphite, leather and lots more.
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The color is dark but slightly plumb colored on the edges. Nose of cedar, cassis, barnyard and red cherries. The attack is a quick flash of sour cherries it transitions in to mid palate of leathery loose tobacco. The finish is is dried cherries and cedar followed by a cranberry/acidic aftertaste. Overall a wine that I feel is drinking close to its peak. It is very smooth in the first several hours but by day two the tannins made their appearance. I think this wine can stand a year more in the cellar but if you have several I would suggest trying one now. A very nice Pauillac and a beautiful wine.
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Classic Bordeaux in every regard and I appreciate that. Nose of graphite forest floor, oak, coffee toast, smoke and cherry. Lean feel in the mouth strong on the finish. Enjoyable drinking for sure
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Opened and decanted 2 hours prior to drinking. I have been opening a bottle in 2004, 2006 and now. It has been very good every time but now it seems to be close to the peak, fuller and more complex than last time. Delicious taste of dark chocolate. I will open my last bottle in 1-2 years.
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A nice wine that is ready to drink.Dark purple. Nice fruit on the nose,blueberry, cassis, with some lead pencil. Red currant, forrest floor, and lead pencil on the palate.Over time, an hour or two, became slightly rough on the finish. A very nice wine, but the floral ethereal nose on a 2000 Grand Puy LaCoste consumed side by side was far better. No tannin.
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Beautiful dark fruit, tobacco, earth and mineral flavors, fine tannins, excellent structure and finish. Very enjoyable bottle, and drinking very nicely right now.
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Just opaque, substantial age. Vegetal bouquet with a bit of baked fruit, interesting and complex. Luscious, well integrated, demanding food, spicy from the oak, great length.
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I have had this wine on numerous occasions and it has always delivered great drinking pleasure. it is not quite as good as the same chateaux's 1996 but it is a really good bordeaux. earthy, cedary - quite long finish (not overlong) - it is all you reasonably expect from a baron pichon in an OK but not great vintage.
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I found this wine very delightful and complex. Very aromatic nose with red fruits and earthy tones. Decanted 1 hour prior to drinking, but was already showing very well out of the bottle. Drank with braised beef ribs. I thought this wine tasted very good, but could tell it lacked that one thing to make it a great wine. Certainly worth the 91 points I gave it.
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Mature and in a good place, I wouldn't hold a lot longer. Cedar, earth, tobacco, soft red and black fruits. Not terribly complex or long but quite aromatic and pretty. Not a great Pichon Baron but still a very enjoyable bottle of wine. Perhaps a bit overpriced at $40 for what it is but I still enjoyed it and will enjoy another bottle.
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Blind tasted against '99 Lynch Bages and Leoville Barton. Finished 3rd of wines. Disappointing. Very herbal and light in body. Lacked the fruit of the other 2 wines.
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NY eve dinner with homegrown ham with 12 friends. Terrific combination. Decanted 1.5 hrs prior to dinner. Boucquet really came out - wonderful nose deep red fruit and different flavors, not very smokey. Smelled in between a young wine and an older one. Palate was great subtle medium body. finish a bit short but overall pretty good. although it has life left, not sure it will get better. may as well enjoy it.
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In all a promising nose but did not deliver through the midpalate and finish. Balanced but not expressive. This might drink on the earlier side than other vintages.
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The merlot really shows itself in this wine. Earth, chocolate and dark fruit. Not as well integrated flavors as I would have expected. Nose is distinctly earthy with a hint of cedar. I will wait another year before opening another bottle.
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Blackberry, violet, pencil lead, cherry and nicely integrated french oak. Well balanced. Nice, elegant finish with lots of power in reserve. 13% alcohol.
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Brownish color. First sip was a bit too tannic, so i decanted for 2 h. Afterwards all the good stuff began to show. On the nose : very classic Bdx, with tobacco and leather. The mouth was balanced and fruit was good. A bit short on the finish, but a nice bite was present and gave the elegancy a good punchline.
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Classic Pichon Baron. Low acidity and has that slightly off-putting herbal "greeness" which seemed typical of the the less ripe vintages. Needed a bit of time to open but probably could use a few more years to round out. More masculine than elegant right now. Overall not bad but not great.
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Really nice. better than the last bottle -- maybe it has a few years left, but this won't make old bones. Good stuff and undeniably Pichon Baron, which I like. Drink now or in a few weeks.
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Balanced, mature Bordeaux. Not terribly complex, and the fruit was extremely subtle. I don't think this wine will age terribly well, there's not a lot of structure here.
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While this bottle wasn't flawed, per se, I think it was stored poorly. Had it at a wine bar and it was served warm(and likely stored too warm). With that out of the way, the nose was fantastic. Tobacco, big time. The palate was lacking, I believe due to the aforementioned storage conditions. Finish was a bit odd as well. Makes me wonder what a bottle that's dead on would be like. Still a good experience for the nose.
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This one has gained further depth and complexity since I last tasted it. Lot's of lead pencil, graphite covered with cassis and elegant subtle tobacco and oak. The aromas jumped out from the decanter filling the room. Opulent, powerful but at the same time elegant and perfectly balanced. Lingering finish.
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Balanced, fully mature, classic claret. A wonderful wine to drink now, while waiting for other recent vintages to mature. I would drink this over the next five years.
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Nice but a little stiff on opening late last night. Recorked and refrigerated until this afternoon, and it was gorgeous, showing some age. Sweet tannins, cherry and plum fruit, and some smoke and tobacco.
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Solid flavor and authentic flavors, but the palate seems to be cracking up just a bit. Still pleasurable with decent ripeness, but this is ready to go.
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Having just had the 2002 Comtesse last week, I decided that it was time to open this one. Very enjoyable Baron, this one! Not your usual blockbuster Pauillac but a somewhat lighter and fruit driven wine with a nose of sweet cherries. After an hour in the decanter typical Cab notes of cedar and leather pop out. Sweet tobacco. Nice, harmonious medium-bodied claret that is ready for action now but will stay on top for the next couple of years.
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We put this 99 Baron side by side with the 99 Comtesse to see how they would fare against each other. While the Comtesse de Lalande showed a slight purple hue the Baron showed a more evolved brownish one. You could see they had different styles already by their color intensity but no advantage for any so far. The nose was the first victory for the Baron, more intense and open with lot's of cassis and secondary notes. The Comtesse was more shy and only showed some of her dark fruits, more like plums and blackberries. On the palate things got tighter, now it's more a matter of personal preferences. The Lalande much more soft, round, seductive, with much finess and elegance. The Baron with more power, opulence, a much firmer backbone and fresher acidity. I would still give an edge for the Baron though. The finish gives the Comtesse a nose ahead, more elegant, softer and rounder while the Baron left a more austere note. With the food (Filet de Manzo) the structure and acidity of the Baron fared much better than the softness of the Comtesse and overall we gave the Baron a declared victory on the 99 vintage.
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Rubi color with just a slight evolution on the rim. The nose is intense and upfront with saddle leather, cedar box and cassis. Good body, very balanced, expands on the palate and leaves a very pleasant lingering finish. It is definately drinking great right now, but does have potential to gain further.
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Vintage Pairs Offline (Caldesi, London): A heady nose - utterly pleasant. Powerful on the palate, but this definitely needs time to integrate the flavours: it all seems a bit separate at the moment. Very Good/Very Good Indeed.
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Smokey nose, cedar, tobacco-aromatic and pleasant. Dried/plump black raspberry fruit with solid foundation. Hearty weight and good tannin to suggest further agining potential. Smooth finish-beat expectations. 91
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A broad and generous nose of black fruits, anise and saddle leather. The palate features prickly, ripe tannins. A lush mouthfeel with rich fruit. More anise and black currants. Mocha. A long earth-driven, finish. The body loses some weight with time. But overall this is an elegant and balanced effort from one of my favorites in Bordeaux.
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I remember buying these on release for a song and Pichon Baron is one of my favorites. The 1999 is ready to go and just delicious right now. Evolved aromas of saddle leather and tobacco are framed by really rich dark fruit and cocoa. The palate is already generous and sweet. Fine tannins and a respectable lenght make this a real QPR hero. If you have some, pop one ASAP to see where your bottles are. I don't see much upside, but it should last for the very near term. No old bones tho...
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This had the sweetest fruit of the 3 vintages poured. An upfront style. Notes of cassis and black cherry. Some green pepper nuances on the finish. 89 points.
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Poured at a retailer tasting. Notes of smoky plum and earth. Well-integrated, nicely balanced. Plenty of fruit which continues through the finish. This was showing the best of the three PBs poured tonight (1994 and 2002). $35.99.
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Great nose...very fruity with earth and charcoal. Nice body, the tannins have softened, muscular fruit, earth and charcoal/lead pencil with a roasted coffee flavor. Drinking quite well now but I would expect it to last for several additional years.
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I found this to be delicious. On the nose I get red fruit, spice and leather. Initially, I taste red fruit, followed by tannins and oak, then finishes with an leathery/eathy taste. I will definitely buy more of this.
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Dick's Pre-purchase Bordeaux Sampler (Dick's house): A bit of funk initially on the nose, which blew off after some time. Lots of tobacco, woody spices, and cassis grace the rich, gentle nose. The palate, forward and elegant, is less expressive than the nose. The mid palate is rich and leads to a pleasant graphite finish.
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Again, that big, rich, roast coffee bean quality that marks this out as Pichon Baron - this was a touch broader, fruitier and fresher than the 1997 - though clearly the same source - a very lovely wine
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Popped and poured. Great nose, smokey, Lead pencil, graphite, and currant. Good mid, dark fruit with juicy, slightly short finish. The nose is what makes this wine very special to me.
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Bordeaux tasting at Binny's (Schaumburg Binny's): Dusty garnet color. Red fruit, currant, tobacco and earth notes; Amy mentioned a lead pencil note also. Very balanced, with lots of red fruit, cherries. Most complex to this point, but it finishes shorter than I thought it should.
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Very expressive nose with rich cassis, tobacco, pencil lead and leather (seemed to intensify during the evening). Palate of sweet fruit of medium intensity. Has a simple, noncomplex finish that ends in some edgy tannins that are in balance with the fruit. Approachable right now, but will be better when it softens.
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Bordeaux and Tokaji Wine Dinner - Spec's (Rouge Restaurant; Houston, Texas): This was still very primary and tasted almost exactly like the taste I had upon release a few years ago. There was not much aging in the interim. This had a very intense nose with tobacco and a bit of funk that blew off soon after the pour. There is clearly lots of Merlot in the blend due to the sweetness that showed up after a bit of air time. Quite good and might end up with an even higher score. I'm going to give this one another 4-5 years and maybe open them in 2009.
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Red Carpet: More opaque purple; very nice full CS nose, no real acid; dark berry, slightly sweet oak,berry tastes; full body; big fin., excellent Bordeaux
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Beautiful oak, juice and everything. This is too young now of course, but already so complex and so frienly. This will be a hell of a wine in 10 years.
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4/15/2024 - Honeyburst Likes this wine: 93 Points
I a very good place right now. On the plateau in my opinion. Pushes all the classic Bdx buttons and in a fairly balanced way. Some may find the initial barnyard notes too much, but don't worry - they wear off within 10-15 minutes.
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4/12/2024 - Geoff Likes this wine: 98 Points
Same as last tasting note, but more of everything. A great wine.
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3/20/2024 - BURGHen Boy Likes this wine: 93 Points
Light, bright acid, fruit intact, some tertiary development. An excellent wine, punches above expectation for the vintage.
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8/6/2023 - Tao wrote: 93 Points
Nose of orange-peel dark fruits, masculine, very Pauillac in style! A hint of bready notes, rather sweet and spicy! Medium body, spicy red fruits dominate the whole show, drinking incredibly nice now, but you can wait a bit longer! A triumphant performance from this vintage!
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7/4/2023 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
Consistent to my last tasting note, expressive and beautiful tertiary Medoc nose, lighter bodied, elegant palate, dissolved tannins.
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4/21/2023 - dox84 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bordeaux (Margaux, Pauillac, St. Julien) (Osteria Piazza Litta, Varese (Italy)): Vino con qualche anno sulle spalle che sembra aver superato il suo apice, ma comunque ancora in buona forma.
Naso elegante e complesso che trova corrispondenza in bocca dove è presente un buon equilibrio tra acidità e tannino.
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2/11/2023 - Nothung Likes this wine: 92 Points
The comments from Collector1855 are spot on.
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10/2/2022 - Geoff Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautiful, classy, civilized wine. Floral nose with red and dark fruits, forest floor, leather, oak, spicebox, secondary and tertiary notes. Medium to full bodied, sweet tannins mostly resolved, smooth mouthfeel and a long, lingering, haunting finish. A joy to drink.
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9/23/2022 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
A beautiful, mature Pauillac that is mid weight. Precise, with good length, good typicity (forest floor, tobacco, dark fruit). A bit lighter than usual due to the 1999 vintage but very drinkable and excellent with food.
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9/5/2022 - ONEFIVE Likes this wine:
Tobacco, woody notes, dried cherry and cranberry. A touch rustic but all in all quite nice. Texturally well balanced with medium body, light tannin and chalky tannin. Nice now and is many years left. My guess is it will hit a stride in the next 3-5.
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6/12/2022 - Sean Tay wrote: 93 Points
Pronounced nose intensity with black fruits, toast, cedar, spices and earth. Medium acidity and tannin.
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6/11/2022 - eb1202 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Medium body, great nose, red fruits, cedar wood. On the palate also red fruits, dark berries, black currants, spices, tobacco and cedar wood. A little too much acidity, only light tannins are silky, somewhat short finish,
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5/7/2022 - Sean Tay Likes this wine: 95 Points
Pronounced nose intensity with black fruits, toast, cedar, spices and earth, mushroom. Medium+ acidity and tannin. Aged beautifully, probably the best bottle out of the last 3 I drank.
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5/1/2022 - Sean Tay wrote: 93 Points
Similar with previous note and same scoring. Pronounced nose intensity with black fruits, toast, cedar, spices and earth. Medium acidity and tannin.
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4/17/2022 - Sean Tay wrote: 93 Points
Pronounced nose intensity with black fruits, toast, cedar, spices and earth. Medium acidity and tannin.
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3/27/2022 - gravelld wrote: 93 Points
Lovely brick brown colour. Nose of dark cherry, animally bacon notes, resolved cedarwood and violet. The palate is savoury, still well structured, attacks with fruit and bacon flavours. Medium/long.
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2/14/2022 - Duncan wrote: 93 Points
Cork impossible to extract: crumbling into tiny fragments when the screw touched it, but otherwise stuck fast. Luckily, decanting resulted in a clean, fresh and elegant claret. Pencil case aromas to the fore, cassis following on behind. A long, well-balanced finish. Significantly better than my last bottle despite the terrible cork.
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1/1/2022 - rmcnees Likes this wine: 90 Points
Tonight this showed a slight bricking on the edges indicating it is past its apex, but still drinking very nicely. Consistent with earlier tasting when I wrote, classic Bordeaux bouquet and flavors of dark berry fruits, graphite, violets and hints of smoky tar, tobacco and cassis. Dark ruby colored, medium bodied, polished and nicely balanced, soft and almost delicate for a Pauillac, the tongue coating fine tannins are silky smooth on the lingering finish. At 22, the cork was dry and came apart upon extraction using a traditional server's corkscrew.
Gave it 90 points, one less than before, taking into account the aging and slight diminution in color. Drank BYOB at Marco's Kitchen, LaGrange (IL)
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/12/marcos-kitchen-lagrange.html
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5/30/2021 - ONEFIVE Likes this wine:
Showing a light bricking at the edge and seemingly entering its prime.
Dark chocolate, espresso, dried cherries and tobacco.
Medium weight, moderate acid, and grippy tannin.
This wine is delicious and great right now. Probably not the longest living Pichon but it’s very well made and truly Pichon.
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1/2/2021 - Randman0 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Still drinking well but fading fast. Magenta color. No oxidation. Pipe tobacco and cola nose. Still full bodied and lovely. Tannins all but gone though. My significant other didn't like it so much though, thought it was funky. She does have a good palette. Each to his/her own!
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12/31/2020 - Collector1855 wrote: 93 Points
Dark garnet. Deep nose of forest floor, dark fruit. Very good mid mouth volume for the vintage. A success. 93+
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7/4/2020 - potates Likes this wine: 90 Points
After 45 minutes decanted, this deep garnet claret showed a typical Pauillac nose, medium intense cedar and leather overtones. The medium full body was again quite intense dark fruit and paired well with Filets. The finish was moderately long. This wine has plateaued nicely and will not benefit from further aging.
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4/7/2020 - jreis Likes this wine:
Splash decant. Very dark rich color, no signs of bricking. Smoke, tobacco, asphalt and black pepper on the nose. Green pepper, smoky black fruit and an acid filled spicy finish. Tannins almost completely resolved but still a little bit of fine tannins on the finish. Definitely not a ripe vintage so makes for a more classically styled claret. Early days, but not sure how this will develop over the long run.
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3/29/2020 - Randman0 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Purchased this bottle at the winery, probably in the early 2000's. I haven't read anything good about this wine or even this vintage from any of the big name reviewers. So our expectation was low, at 20+ years we knew we were risking an over the hill wine. SURPRISE! As soon as I uncorked it, I could smell a deep dark nose. The cork was soft but not damp. The wine had seeped maybe 1/3 of the way to the top.
There was no oxidation whatsoever. Color was a very dark brick. The nose was big, dark fruit, a little oak and smoke. The tannins were smooth, but still evident. Still plenty of acidity. We paired it with a rib-eye. Wonderful.
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1/3/2020 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 91 Points
Chateau Baron Vertical ‘89-‘14 (Abigail’s Highland Park, IL): Good color, good body in the glass, short finish
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12/23/2019 - Duncan wrote: 91 Points
A strong bottle-stink blew off after an hour or so in decanter, leaving a very mature but clean wine (no brett which I suspected at first.) Velvety smooth with etiolated fruit - cherry? - behind the texture. Bright acidity, and well-integrated tannins. Obviously a classy wine, but this bottle at least has little oomph, and makes no great emotional impact. 13%, cork.
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11/21/2019 - MRG73 wrote: 96 Points
After having read the reviews I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this auction purchase. Opened at a Pichon Baron lunch and enjoyed with 03, 07 and 16. This was the surprise favourite. Virtually no decant at all, just let it sit in the glass for 10 minutes and it opened up beautifully. Not a super concentrated wine like say 05, but still a serious wine with silky tannins and a lovely saline finish. I think now is the perfect time to drink this wine if you are lucky enough to have one in your cellar. In terms of 03 and 07 I would rate no higher than 90 but the 16 is amazing.
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11/4/2019 - KVM wrote:
Medium red with thin brick edge. Blackberry, cedar, mushroom nose, or it Brett? Medium to full bodied this has sweet blackberry and blackberry fruit. A licorice bitterness to the finish and very fine tannin. Delicious today
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10/27/2019 - S-C-S Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decant for 3 hours
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9/15/2019 - mnoljo wrote: 93 Points
Exceeded my expectations. forest floor and charcoal and hints blackberry well balanced seems much younger.
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9/5/2019 - Btvin Likes this wine: 92 Points
I honestly did not understand some of the low scores finding this wine dull. I think it is a great example of a mature top bordeaux that is showing great class at 20 years of age. It is very silky and smooth. Sad that i have only one left.
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7/22/2019 - LucasGn wrote: 93 Points
Very intense fragrance on the nose, round and mellow but still with enough acidity to give it structure. Very long finish
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5/29/2019 - vinhonotte wrote: 87 Points
Fine Wines SG - Bordeaux 90s Dinner - Left vs Right (Fine Wines SG): Mouthfeel was rather light, and it was mostly grassy and treebark, with only a bit of blackberry. Fair finish. Considering a Baron of such warm vintage, I found this bottle rather disappointing
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5/21/2019 - S-C-S Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decant for 3 hours
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12/9/2018 - DAW1961 Likes this wine:
Very smooth and well balanced. Great with a quality piece of beef.
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11/26/2018 - Jaber wrote: 93 Points
Fruits noirs, prunes et arômes de terre, feuilles mortes et longue finale. Bel équilibre. Excellente bouteille.
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11/18/2018 - S-C-S Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decant for 1 hour
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11/6/2018 - S-C-S Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decant for 1 hour ... love this wine
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10/29/2018 - S-C-S Likes this wine: 95 Points
Perfect drinking window ... decant for 30min
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6/23/2018 - ChopperWine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Seriously great drinking right now. Nice aromas of leather, moss, earth tobacco and licorice. Dark berries and mature stone fruit on the palate.
Well balanced with subtle tannins. A really great Bordeaux, though the only negative I could state is that there was a tad too much "sour" on the back after a lovely, lingering finish.
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5/22/2018 - Comte Flaneur wrote: 88 Points
Pleasant enough but prosaic; just about holds it together and our interest in a difficult left bank vintage, but not going anywhere. A mediocre decade for this estate before things took a dramatic turn for the better with the 2000 vintage.
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5/22/2018 - SimonG wrote: 90 Points
1999 Bordeaux @ Piccolino (Piccolino, Liverpool Street Stn, London): A touch of PB mocha. Lighter, red fruited. Also a touch shrill on the finish. Quite pretty if a little inconsequential. Just about pulls through to ***1/2
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5/11/2018 - Tao wrote: 93 Points
I can't argue the wine is at its peak or not, everyone view is different! Still dark ruby in colour looks very healthy and young! Exceptionally fragrant at this point, mainly supported by ripe red fruits with a hint of mint! Smooth on the palate, rich and velvety in texture! Driven by red fruits, can be kept for at least a decade in a damp cold cellar, certainly ready to go!
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5/5/2018 - Oenecnist wrote:
From magnum. Bought case of 6 mags from Sam's Marcey St. 10+ years ago, details not handy: probably 60/mag or less. Decanted with considerable sediment (magnum). This was delicious: rich and dark; persistent fragrance over a 2h dinner of veal chops; very good mouthfeel, semi-complex; good finish. Stored horizontally in a cool, dark basement since purchase. My evaluation: I've stopped giving scores on a "100-point scale" as I've become less convinced that they can be meaningful to others. I use a 4-category scale (perhaps with +/-)--not including flawed--which runs outstanding/notable/drinkable/poor. I consider this outstanding- when considering quality, age, and price.
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1/23/2018 - W!neNot? wrote: 95 Points
Smack bang in the middle of its drinking window. Beautiful evolved tertiary flavours of pencil and tobacco, with fruit in the background. Textbook Pauillac that defied the vintage's reputation. I think it will remain in this phase for a good 5 years, and might even do 10. Certainly not over the hill though!
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12/29/2017 - JChan wrote: 94 Points
Matured with ripe dark fruits, intermixed with cigar box and vanilla. Very round and smooth with silky tannin. WOTN. A very good wine.
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12/4/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
Medium bodied, but not exactly light, there is a leafy, herbal note on top of the bright red fruits, tobacco and cedar. The wine is fresh in nature, soft in texture and ready to drink, with its red fruit and tobacco leaning. This is not a wine for long term aging.
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12/2/2017 - John Nezlek wrote: 91 Points
Note: I use a rating scale on which 85 represents a very good wine.
As indicated by the score, an outstanding bottle. Excellent fruit, tannins integrated. This is why Bordeaux is the premier wine producing region in the world -- in my humble opinion.
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11/3/2017 - GA Old World Guy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wonderful nose and flavor upon opening. It did go backwards some during the decant and became a little astringent over the course of an hour. That began to fade away in the second hour. The wine is very plesant and has a great flavor, but it is a little thin and not very complex. It is showing some secondary aromas with some cedar and tobacco showing after the fruit. I did enjoy this wine and would buy more if the price was right and it was under $100.00.
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10/30/2017 - macmac007 wrote: 92 Points
My first encounter with the red Baron. I had a half bottle with some, erm, Trader Joe's chicken nuggets – your typical Dad alone night in. Gave it a good two hours to open up. Pleasantly smooth upfront with nice sous bois tones. Not massive amounts of sweet fruit or a huge finish; but perfectly civilized. Look forward to trying more from some of the blockbuster vintages.
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10/6/2017 - diggydan wrote: 94 Points
So good. Such a treat. Mature, delicious, strong and elegant - pencil lead, tobacco box, cassis enveloped in organza. 125 Euro at Locanda del Colonello in Modica.
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6/9/2017 - overhill wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux Second Growths Lunch (Capital Grille NY): Tasted blind, this was my #2 and universally noted as one of the most balanced and complete wines of the tasting. I was surprised to find that it wasn't well reviewed here on CT. This bottle had ample menthol, vanilla, and cassis. A bed of dusty tannins carried the rich fruit to a deep and mouth coating finish. Hadn't lost a beat hours after opened.
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4/30/2017 - MrBrege wrote: 89 Points
Last of the case, and a good thing at that... this bottle was going down the hill. Slight bricking tone, plum & raisin on nose, the tanins are all gone, but so is a lot of the fruit. The balance of what is left is still pretty classy, but it is now a pretty dull wine.
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4/23/2017 - sooper65 wrote: 86 Points
Tarry and tasting old
Pretty dull and boring- a reflection of the vintage I suspect
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2/18/2017 - stefad Likes this wine: 92 Points
Un bouquet sur notes de cèdre et de cuir, une bouche au jus soyeux avec une fraîcheur de fruit très agréable. Bue avec un plat de filets de palombes (saignants) et flageolets, un bel accord avec ce Pauillac de 18 ans. Vin à son apogée, je boirai ma dernière dans les 5 années à venir.
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11/27/2016 - sooper65 wrote: 92 Points
Oooh, this is delicious today - lovely Pauillac typicity, blackcurrant fruit, with pencil lead character, and ripe fruit.
V impressive from a tricky vintage.
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6/26/2016 - Space Nine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Plum and cassis fruit with balanced tannins and long, silky finish. Mature, but no fading of fruit or color. Superb classic Bordeaux.
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5/29/2016 - cos82 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted about an hour before drinking. Still slow to show itself. Some initial funk on the nose. By 2nd glass, funk gone and beautiful plum, cassis earth and tobacco nose appeared. Also on 2nd glass, smooth and balanced palate of cassis, blackberry, earth and mineral palate, but showing mostly delicious fruit. Not a drop of tannin. Dark purple in color. You would never guess the age of this bottle based on color. A very nice wine for the vintage.
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5/23/2016 - Whinojb wrote: 94 Points
from 1.5L. This was actually much better than expected. Not showing any age on the rim, nose full of stewed dark fruit, pencil shavings and earth - tons of earth. Pallet was smooth and viscous with an incredible finish of over 60 seconds. Based on other notes, I think I got a great bottle with great provenance, I've been holding it for years.
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3/28/2016 - sleepyhaus wrote:
Rather thin. Perhaps this needs more time. Having had the 2004 several times in the past few years, that wine is leaps and bounds above this. Still a nice, off year BDX, but I'd have not guessed PB.
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3/28/2016 - sooper65 wrote: 90 Points
CLASSICALLY PAUILLAC... NEEDS DRINKING UP
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3/21/2016 - SimonPh Likes this wine: 94 Points
Excellent Bordeaux, now in its best drinking window, in which it will stay for some time.
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1/23/2016 - JChan wrote: 92 Points
Matured bordeaux wine. Very good nose. Ripe red and dark fruits on the palate, medium to full bodied, silky tannin. A bit pity was that it did not match with Chinese food that night. Would be perfect to go with steak, lamb, etc.
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12/10/2015 - johan.s Likes this wine: 88 Points
Brick red, browning evident. Small amount sediment. Barn floor, mushrooms minimal fruit on nose. Palate mellow and mature, some mineral. Second in head-to-head blind tasting against 1998 Redmetal Bordeaux blend.
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11/23/2015 - sooper65 wrote: 87 Points
Markedly unimpressive, tho the bottle got drunk
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11/22/2015 - chablis28 wrote: 92 Points
Another lovely '99 tonight that was just a slight tick behind the best wines of the night but I'd be happy to drink this anytime. Richer and riper than the other wines tonight but terrific depth with a suave texture I loved. 92+ I'd buy this if I found a good btl.
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10/8/2015 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
During a tasting, served semi blind. Dark ruby. Nose of dark fruit, pine, forest floor, some spices. Again, as so many Pichon Barons I have tasted from lesser vintages the wine comes across as very complete and balanced with strong dark fruit core buffered by good structure and acidity. This is very convincing for the 1999 vintage indeed. Classic Pauillac!
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9/18/2015 - John Nezlek wrote: 91 Points
A classic left bank wine. Decanted (large bottomed decanter) for about 1 hour. Seemed to help, although it was tasty upon opening. Can't add much to what previous CTers have noted, although I am not certain if more time will improve this. There is no reason to panic -- I suspect this wine has plenty of time left -- but I am not certain it will get a lot better.
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9/10/2015 - RayOB wrote: 90 Points
Drank at Otto's
Alive and kicking but with some slight rough edges. The problem was we were drinking it with a '83 Cheval Blanc which is just not fair.
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8/22/2015 - englishman's claret wrote: 93 Points
Thanks Phil! Enjoyed this very much - less evolved than the last bottle. Baron and Latour fall into the same profile and this didn't disappoint. Walnut, blackcurrant, smoke. Firm, substantial. Mineral with time. Should offer all its charms in 5 years.
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8/21/2015 - RockinCabs wrote: 93 Points
Nose: Dark Blackberry, Anise, Currant and Walnut on the open. Toasted caraway seed was distinct. Earthy cigar, smoke and blackberry jam followed over an hour or so. Some bottle funk made this a bit cranky on the initial pop. Palate: Dense black fruit, walnut, graphite and some ash notes. Dense in the mouth with good complexity. Finish: Long with dark fruit and tobacco/charcuterie notes.
This was not quite as good as the bottle I had earlier this year in Bordeaux, but performed well. Some gain to be seen in 5+ years.
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7/6/2015 - StefanAkiko Likes this wine: 92 Points
At it's peak. Has the air of: "Great Pauillac terroir from a weaker vintage or a lesser terroir from a medium vintage."
Dbl decanted for ~4 hrs at home.
Browning tinge.
Plentiful and promising, mature Bdx bouquet with heady winds coming from the stables with loads of Bdx earth, barrels and darker berries. Beautiful Brett! Blinded, I'd be darned if I didn't say: "Pauillac"
On the palate, this is a superbly balanced, elegant and thoroughly captivating wine. Long, complex, mature and beautiful. Not quite filling up the costume suggested by the fabulous nose. Still an awesome wine.
(Great grilling pleasures with Kosugi and Nishikawa families)
Final btl (of 2).
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7/5/2015 - sooper65 wrote: 90 Points
Very honest Pauillac. Nice blackcurrant, very elegant, almost Burgundian.
Fine tannins, Miss D says yummy. She guessed the vintage correctly. She wants a medal.
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5/22/2015 - rmcnees Likes this wine: 91 Points
Even though we PNP - pop and poured this without decanting, it immediately resonated from the glass with classic Bordeaux bouquet and flavors of dark berry fruits, graphite, violets and hints of smoky tar, tobacco and cassis. Dark ruby colored, medium bodied, polished and nicely balanced, soft and almost delicate for a Pauillac, the tongue coating fine tannins are silky smooth on the lingering finish. At sixteen, this is likely at its prime drinking now.
http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/05/pichon-baron-and-viader-v-1999-flight.html
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4/17/2015 - no leashes wrote: 90 Points
Nicely aged mature bordeaux, with dark cherry, mineral and earth flavors. Medium bodied, smooth texture. Drinking nicely with a brief decant.
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3/21/2015 - sooper65 wrote: 91 Points
Ripe, and classically Pauillac.
Supple dark fruits - totally still in the game
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3/7/2015 - RockinCabs wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux & San Sebastian Trip; 3/6/2015-3/13/2015: Nose: classic pauillac comes rushing from the glass. Cassis, blackberry, tobacco and pencil notes. Palate: enters with massive blackberry and quickly shows floral notes. Graphite, cherry and sweet pipe tobacco / vanilla abound. Tannin is ripe but dense in the mid palate. Finish : loaded with Cassis and leather ... will live on. Company/location may have improved this but I loved it.
Grand Hotel de Bordeaux with dinner ... Fois Gras & Oysters were exceptional.
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1/25/2015 - sooper65 wrote: 82 Points
must be a root day - two bottles tasting flat and dusty - weedy fruit, and not that pleasurable; GRRRR
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1/22/2015 - Ungifted Likes this wine: 90 Points
I am a huge fan of this vineyard which is, in my opinion, easily the best value of Pauilliac second growths sold here in the UK. This is still a bit racy for the vineyard and vintage but my bottle drank really well after 3 hours decanted and was still enjoyable 22 hours later. Yes it is not typical, possibly a bit modern, but, considering it is a 1999 Medoc, I believe it is very drinkable, however, that might be the wine talking!
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1/22/2015 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 Points
A private tasting and dinner (Bilthoven): A wine of real beauty, forward, fragrant, charming and elegant, flowers and mulberries, warm and generous, tobacco, almost Margaux in style, warm gravel, at perfect peak, lovely length.
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11/13/2014 - sooper65 wrote: 92 Points
lovely Pauillac character - on the light side, VERY ready.
This was less than £25 en primeur.
JOYOUS
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11/1/2014 - sooper65 wrote: 92 Points
Quintessential Pauillac - on song. This is for drinking NOW.
Opulent.. perhaps a tad one dimensional, but almost better for it. Doesn't try too hard; simplicity; simply gorgeous!
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9/27/2014 - David.larkspur@gmail.com Likes this wine: 92 Points
Medium dark red. Balanced acidity and charm. Slight tannin with bold flavours. Distinct oak in the nose overriding the black currant. Definitely an old world nose.
I thought that this was a wine with great finesse and some complexity. 6/10.
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6/28/2014 - Mugwump Likes this wine: 91 Points
Currants and Raspberries balanced with leather and earth notes. Still seems to have plenty of ageing potential although the wine is well-balanced now with smooth tannins.
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5/22/2014 - LFCHALA Does not like this wine: 88 Points
Confraria - Maio - Bordeaux (Marcão House): This wine disappoint me. Ferrous aromas. In the mouth, a bit bland. Improved with aeration, achieving a slightly better balance. However, lower than expected
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4/20/2014 - Cheungtp wrote: 92 Points
Double decanted for about an hour and brought to dinner that lasted for three hours. Dark ruby in appearance and the bouquet is filled mainly with red fruits, smoke, lead pencil, forest floor and hint of menthol. Clean and balanced palate, the lack of complexity in the 1999 is more than made up by the enjoyable, smooth drinking experience. Tannins are still quite noticeable but very fine, leading to a medium finish with plum, tobacco and bit of tar. In a good drinking spot now, and will be enjoyable in the next 3-5 years.
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2/26/2014 - bboomer Likes this wine: 94 Points
Excellent. Even at 15 years old, could have used another 4-5 years to soften those tannins.
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2/23/2014 - Spencer wrote:
Fully mature, balanced, elegant. Not particularly deep or complex, but very enjoyable.
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12/31/2013 - Rupert wrote: 93 Points
Fantastic classic claret, cedary, ripe, mouthfilling.
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12/13/2013 - La Grappe Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fine, attractively mature claret, with blackcurrant fruit and a touch of the cigar box. Medium to full weight. This is drinking well now.
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10/24/2013 - GEDC Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened 1 hour prior to consumption. Side by side with Leoville Las Cases 1996 "LLC" was opened 5 hours before consumption. Started with the Baron and boom the nose was there lovely as ever ready to go welcoming to drink this splendid juice. This bottle at the very end had a bit of sour apple and felt a bit more evolved then the previous 2 bottles on 6/17/2012 & 5/20/2013. One thing that is important here is the price. The Baron is around $100 and the LLC $200+ The LLC nose was a bit muted, this wine has been in a shut down mode for at least 10 years I remember one of my friends complaining about when is it ever going to be ready to enjoy the long wait. What did not offer on the nose made it up on the pallet very concentrated, tannic cab with a strong presence of spices would of liked to see a bit more fruit could have had a better score in my humble opinion. Was the LLC better than the baron, yes, was it mind blowing better, in my opinion no, I give the LLC a 95/96. Is it worth shelling out twice as much for it? That is up to you fine wine brother's to decide, enjoy!!!
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9/28/2013 - MrBrege wrote: 92 Points
Tasted next to the 2004. This 1999 again surprised me in a good way. Terrific balance, fresh and quite intense, really quite rewarding. It could have had more complexity and the finish could have been a little longer, but this is at least a 92 for me if not a 93. The 2004 is similar in many ways but clearly younger with more acidity and more pronounced tannins, it is likely to mature into something very much like the 1999 I think.
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9/8/2013 - MichielV wrote: 91 Points
w veal chop. Tom visiting. Next to the Clerc millon 01. this was very different. very good nose. more barn yard smell but good fruit. color was wonderful and still very fresh. on palate a classic pauilliac a bit heavier than the Clerc. finish very good. yes this may not get better but it will live for quite a bit.
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8/11/2013 - MrBrege wrote: 93 Points
Slow-oxed over the day, the decanted 30min before tasting. Young-ish overall impression. Red rather than black currants on the nose, cherries and some faint pencil shavings. Red and black fruit on the attack, liquorice,acidity joining in on the mid-palate giving nice balance and surprising intensity which continues into quite a long finish dominated by the acidity. The tannins are fine and pretty much fully integrated, it will likely not improve from here. Humm, this really is pretty good. And they say that 99 was at best a mediocre vintage..... Perhaps that finish could show a better balance? It leaves a slight tartness behind, but you would not notice if you ate anything at all with this - which I am just about to do. Looking forward to the rest of this bottle!
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8/6/2013 - BillyT wrote:
Color rich and dark to the rim not showing age. Full bodied structured legs. Typical Paulliac Pichon LaLande nose and Palate. Palate of medium to full bodied weight, integrated tannins, dark chocolate, vanilla, good acidity on the finish. Excellent
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7/12/2013 - Ericsson Likes this wine: 92 Points
Au Restaurant Violier, 3 macarons largement mérités! Fantastique, bravo!
Très belle bouteille, bouchon en parfaite condition. Sur recommandation du chef sommelier, lui aussi parfait, nous avons renoncé au passage en carafe. Grenat brillant, avec un début de disque orangé. Au nez, notes rôties, humus, puis à l'aération, de roses fanées, tout en finesse. En bouche, beaucoup de finesse, de délicatesse, belles structure et longueur.
Se boit parfaitement bien, mais a encore quelques années devant lui.
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6/22/2013 - englishman's claret wrote: 92 Points
From 375. Mature disc. Classic Baron nose - deep, potent cassis with plenty of smoke and coal; some mocha. The oak is integrated. Tannins a bit prominent. A little beef blood on the palate. Good Pauillac. Mature from 375.
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5/20/2013 - GEDC Likes this wine: 95 Points
PNP this bottle took a bit more time than the last one I had in 6/17/2012 after 1 hour the wine was singing. What a lovely wine. Takes you to that place and put a smile on your face!!!
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4/19/2013 - Geoff Likes this wine: 94 Points
The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Fast. It smells like Toast, Black currant (cassis), and Blackberry, eucalyptus. It tastes like Mineral, and Forest floor. The body is Full. The wine has Leathery texture. The wine finishes Long.
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3/29/2013 - Bronc0-82 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Excellent nose but palate was average at first. Got better after 30 minutes.
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2/6/2013 - VinoServant wrote: 91 Points
Drank a bottle in February 2012 and I thought it was fading. Had another bottle last week and was blown away. It was fantastic. I saved a glass for the next day and it tasted great. Classic Pauillac. It had a solid core of fruit intermixed with graphite and charcoal. A real joy to drink.
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2/3/2013 - Julian Marshall Likes this wine:
Still clean and crisp, with good cassis and well defined notes of pencil shavings, but not quite as good as the bottle opened last year. The fruit has dropped in intensity and the lackings of the vintage are more apparent. Very good bottle but not an excellent one.
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12/23/2012 - ABM wrote: 91 Points
This was a real treat for an early Christmas roast beef dinner with all the trimmings. This Bordeaux stood out brilliantly as a beautiful example of how excellent wines from the Medoc should taste. Rich, complex, beautiful color and wonderful follow-through. Couldn't ask for more and worth the price.
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11/8/2012 - rho wrote: 91 Points
This one has been sitting in my cellar for over 10 years. Opened it at a restaurant without decant. A classic Pauillac with cherry, berry and fruits. A little bit short on the finish or it scores higher. Drink now.
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11/4/2012 - Ricardob wrote: 91 Points
- Brick color.
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9/24/2012 - Nutty08 wrote: 92 Points
Big expressive nose of black currants, cedar, and later a strong coffee note. Palate shows more currants, touch of bell pepper, moderate concentration. Tannins are there, turning a bit dry on the finish, but a minty note comes through that really ties this together. Nose and palate are great, only the weaker finish than expected shows the vintage character. 91-92. I actually had this a couple years ago, still holding on, though don't see much reason to hold onto it further. Drink up and enjoy now.
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9/21/2012 - macker100 wrote: 92 Points
Aromas of graphite, cedar, blackberries. Still very youthful with strong black fruits and cassis, herbs, leather. Nice classic finish. Impressive '99 and close to par with the underrated '04 vintage.
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7/20/2012 - skip2mylu wrote: 93 Points
This was the first wine I ever purchased for my cellar. I had been holding onto it for a special occasion. Well, that occasion was the finish line of my first marathon in October, 2011. I don't really remember the aroma or palate from that moment but what I can say is that I don't recommend drinking wine right after a marathon. I felt light-headed after just a few sips.
My family and friends and I drank this 1999 from plastic cups in the shadow of the Gateway arch in downtown St. Louis. The taste really didn't matter. It could have been totally flawed and I would still have been happy about the experience. The wine and the scene brought back memories of my late father. I thought of the happy times during his life and my first ever quality wine with him, a 1996 Cakebread Chard. That is what got me interested in wine!!!
Later that day I drank what was left of the bottle and from what I can remember it seemed like it still had a lot of life in it. The tannins were pronounced but lightened up a bit through the finish. I can't say that I remember the taste but I finished the last drop with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. I hope to try this one again under different circumstances.
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6/17/2012 - GEDC wrote: 95 Points
I disagree that this wine need extended aeration. I Pop & Pour the aeration in the glass is enough to enjoy this beauty. All the elements of a classic Paulliac. In my opinion well deserved 95 because It delivers a fantastic wine from the very first sip to the very last one!!!
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4/22/2012 - Julian Marshall wrote:
Classic Pichon, pencil shavings, cedar and cassis. This is a profound and impressive wine, big in the mouth but clean and well defined. Slight saltiness and a refreshing crisp finish. Great stuff. Plenty of life ahead. Ridiculous that this should be worth half the "great" vintages, further proof that vintage reputations are not always justified.
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4/4/2012 - isbjoern wrote: 89 Points
Classic Pauillac with graphite, cedar, tar and cassis fruit. Very firm tannins still, austere and closed. Quite a bit of brettanomyces in here too, which made me like the softer but cleaner 2002 slightly better. One for the cellar. - 89 points
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3/27/2012 - LelouchViBritannia wrote: 93 Points
Not quite ready. Need at least 1.5 hr of decant. Stronger and fuller body than 1995 Margaux. Moderately tannic with some graphite and toast, medium to long finish.
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3/24/2012 - Buick455 wrote: 92 Points
PnP. Should have been decanted for at least 2 hours. Still too young. Dark red color. Good, powerfull nose. Dark red fruit ón the palate.
Tanins and acid is present. Good finish.
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1/31/2012 - Javachip wrote: 92 Points
San Diego WineSpectator.com Offline, 1/31/2012 (La Bastide Bistro, Scripps Ranch, San Diego): Not decanted; allowed to breathe in glass for 60 minutes. Outstanding notes of black fruit, charcoal, vanilla, spicy oak. Some caramel and cedar appearing later. A strong showing from the under-rated 1999 vintage. Approachable now but will gain complexity in a few years. Needs a proper decant.
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12/24/2011 - Ilkkaw wrote: 91 Points
Opened on christmas eve. Really nice but probably not getting any better. Charming wine with lots of dark berrys. Not one of the better Pichon Barons, but
it allways is one of my favourite Pauillacs. (paid 42 eur. in 2002)
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12/19/2011 - Wil78 wrote: 92 Points
decant 2 hrs, ruby color. fantastic strong aroma of charcoal,smoke, cassis and toasty oak.smooth tannins with an elegant finish.
med to full bodied. mature wine. definitely a good time to open. slightly overpriced for sgd $150.
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11/17/2011 - StefanAkiko wrote: 93 Points
Thoroughly decanted for ~3 hrs at home. Browning tinge. Voluminous nose, just opening up with raw barrels, smoked barnyard, cedar and lovely sumi ink notes.
On the palate very, very elegant. Still a youthful character with playful acids and slightly sullen tannins. Layers on layers of red berries, sumi ink, tannin and all the wonderful things that go with the territory ...and a finish of 60+ seconds. (At Madam Toki) This is a favorite terroir for wife and I. Next bottle (=last) in ~5 years' time, expecting even more from that one.
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11/15/2011 - MichielV wrote: 90 Points
just lovely well integrated medium/soft bodied Bordeaux. Great color, nice fruit on the nose with the regular smokey wood smell. on palate very well integrated reddish fruit with a decent finish. had it with lamb from the grill at the Rudy's. Pretty good and Jenny really enjoyed the french touch to her birthday.
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7/29/2011 - Dbrane wrote: 88 Points
Classic Pauillac nose of cedar, graphite, pencil shavings and dark fruits. Palate was filled with juiciness, forest floor and soil. A little lean as expected from the vintage but I like this style. Drinking very well now. Delicious. A classic claret.
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7/29/2011 - Paul S wrote: 91 Points
B&L's Housewarming - Kabinetts and Bordeaux Blends (Brad's Place): This has come along very nicely from the first bottle I had some two-and-a-half years ago, following the solid trajectory that we thought it would take. In fact, I would say it is almost ready to go, even though there is more upside to be had over the next decade or so. On the night, it had a lovely Pauillac nose - cedar, graphite, dried earth, flecks of smoked meat, dark cassis scents, a whiff of cigar. Lovely suff. Really nice on the palate too, this was at a very nice place, with fine, almost velvety tannins framing pure cassis flavours accompanied by notes of spice and cigar on the midpalate, and then a nicely lingering finish where a whiff of smoke wreathed around a stream of stony, graphite mineral. Not the most powerful of Barons, nor the most complex, but really well balanced, very pure, classic stuff. A beautiful drink from a less than heralded vintage. No harm at all drinking this now if you have any, but it would be fun to watch it age over the next 8-10 years.
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7/29/2011 - no leashes wrote: 91 Points
Dark cherry, plum, damp earth, tobacco and mineral flavors. Lush texture, fine tannins, very well balanced. Delicious. Drinking beautifully.
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4/29/2011 - Grenik wrote: 86 Points
Martin Weiner's Magnificent Ch. Latours (1934-2002) Plus the Best of ths Grand Cru Neighbors (Martin Weiner): Burgundy core with noticable browning. Moderate rim of peach also with brown tones. Nose was disjointed with spice, loam, graphite, and leather. The taste was chalky and dry. High, harsh tannins that hindered the enjoyment of the finish. Initial spice and red fruit flavors were smooth and well balanced, but the finish was not what I enjoyed.
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4/16/2011 - jreis wrote:
Drank alongside the 89. Much funkier than the 89 – lots of funky earth and black bramble on the nose along with similar notes of leather and white pepper. Still young, but starting to mature with lots of blackberry fruit on the palate. For an ‘off’ vintage, this drank quite nicely and will give pleasure for another 5-10 years.
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3/27/2011 - vine20 wrote: 90 Points
Dark violet color with some bricking. Restrained nose of cranberry and cedar. Tart red cherry, cranberry, raisin, tobacco, lots of tannins. Medium finish.
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3/15/2011 - vine20 wrote: 91 Points
Deep red with a bit of browning at the edge and a nose of dark red fruit. Black cherries, walnuts, cassis, leather and some barnyard in a nicely balanced, medium weight wine with a medium finish.
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3/1/2011 - ianinvirginia wrote: 90 Points
Deep purple color, no bricking on this bottle - and on the initial pour, still very meaty on the nose. Later, cassis takes over the aroma, with just a touch of tobacco and something fresh and floral as well, perhaps cardamom. In the mouth, silky cherry-plum, but with a bit too much resolved oak tannin throwing mocha notes. The structure is present, but not taut enough for that added impression of sweetness, leaving the wine feeling a little fat-bottomed. The cedary finish serves well to bookend the tobacco from the nose, and it has a nice minerality to it, but unfortunately it stops a bit short.
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1/1/2011 - sonakul_t wrote: 89 Points
Classic, creamy on the nose with slight mint. Little fruit showing
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11/2/2010 - Rupert wrote: 92 Points
Pichon Baron vertical Part I 1945-2009 (Institute of Directors, London): Ripe, but fresh with mocha and smoke, quite exotic, rather lovely (apparently has a much higher merlot content than usual at 30%)
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9/25/2010 - paul canet wrote: 91 Points
Superbe nez, belle structure, les tannins sont bien intégrés
Tout se retrouve en bouche, le fruit est encore bien présent, de belle note de tabac, eucalyptus en plus du beau fruit que la bouteille dégageait.
La bouteille peut tenir la route encore longtemps mais je ne crois pas qu'elle va s'améliorer beaucoup plus
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9/23/2010 - Rupert wrote: 91 Points
Excellent showing - direct ripe nose, graphite, dried fruits, spice, full, discreet tannic grip - classic claret
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8/2/2010 - winesteward wrote: 90 Points
Last of the three bottles I bought at Ralph's. This was by far the best one. Lovely, sweet fruit. Graphite and herbs. Loam and cocoa powder. Dry finish. Unlike the others which seemed just past best, this was probably at peak. Not flavorful enough to stand up to the rather rich and creamy mushroom sauce on the beef but still, an excellent drink.
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8/1/2010 - nwinther wrote: 90 Points
Brilliant color and good Bordeaux Cabernet nose. Palate was classic bordeaux with surprising black fruit for the vintage. Medium aftertaste. Keep or drink.
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7/14/2010 - winesteward wrote: 88 Points
Earth, leather, mushroom, sweet fruit, tobacco. Spicy.Long, dry finish. Quite good but the consensus was that this was just past best drinking.
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7/3/2010 - THA wrote: 89 Points
I think this is an excellent glass of wine. I haven't had a super-second in a few months, and this bottle reminds me how wonderful the more celebrated Chateaux can be. A good, but not great, vintage; but an excellent drink. A bunch of terroir and typicity on the nose; and smooth and round on the palate. Sweet tannins, with most of the usual suspects in the flavor profile -- sweet tobacco, bright fruit, and earth. Acid may be high; it tasted a bit tart. The finish is also smooth, but of no remarkable length.
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6/2/2010 - Carlspackler Likes this wine: 87 Points
No specific notes. Drank at Amuse Bouche in Hong Kong
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5/9/2010 - no leashes wrote: 90 Points
Nice dark cherry, tobacco, earth and mineral flavors, medium bodied, drinking nicely.
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4/25/2010 - Cloverstudio wrote: 92 Points
In the zone. Decanted for about an hour and consumed over the next 90 minutes. This wine is firing on all cylinders. Well balanced with a superb nose, integrated tannins, and satisfying finish. It compared favorably to a '99 Justin Isosceles, which wasn't bad, but seemed rough around the edges in comparison.
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3/19/2010 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 92 Points
San Antonio Wine Geeks (The Home of Dave Lew): This was lovely and was very distinctive in a tasting of Cali cabs. Fantastic open nose of typical Pauillac: Pencil, flint, tobacco and some cassis in the background. Fine palate with chalky mostly resolved tannins with distinct cassis fruit character with tobacco leaf leading into a flint and cedar finish. Balanced, focused, and open for business. Faded after 2-3hrs in the decanter. Probably at or near peak, I don’t see this improving. Doesn’t have the concentration or complexity of the better bdx vintages(I have high hopes for my ’00, ’03, and ‘05’s), but I prefer this to drinking young/primary petit Chateaux.
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3/2/2010 - markjanes wrote: 89 Points
Consistent with previous note... the wine continues to drink extremely well.
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2/19/2010 - honest bob wrote: flawed
Initially healthy cedar-and-blackcurrant nose. Taste a massive disappointment: thin bitter and nasty, no better on 2nd day. Corked? Undrinkable - used for deglazing the pan.
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2/16/2010 - matherjo wrote: 90 Points
Nice Middle weight Pichon-baron big on the nose and front palate not as much mid palate depth but drinks very well. Tobacco, cigar box, currant, ageing well. This has a silky mouthfeel that improves with air.
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12/27/2009 - davergny wrote: 91 Points
Lovely, mid-weight Pauillac. Not much depth, but some nice red fruit and leather notes. Drinking very well.
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10/17/2009 - THA wrote: 90 Points
Consumed over 4 hours. Very satisfying. Classic aromas and flavors; but not expressive. Clean to a fault; pure and fresh. Finesse. Back-to-back - I preferred the '99 Poyferre. But this Baron is great. Not too much weight, so drink sooner than later. Has the balanced structure to cellar for a while, but don't wait too long. It's not going to get any better.
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8/15/2009 - bordeauxbob wrote: 91 Points
Enjoyed a surprisingly mature bottle of this Pauillac at the Tulalip Casino in Arlington, WA. and I considered it a steal at $124. Note it is about $100 per bottle before shipping on the internet.
Classic Pauillac bouquet and fruitiness., smooth tanins, excellent finish. After suffering the wine prices of Vencouver, BC for a couple of days where this wine would have been $250 +, getting on the Indian reservation in a casino, great wines are a steal!
Can't say the ambience or the service at the seafood grill was very good, next time I the wife and I will eat and drink at the Tulalip Bay restaurant next door in the casino..
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8/4/2009 - markjanes wrote: 89 Points
Interesting rim in that it appears older than some recent 95 Bordeaux... red hinting at brick at the rim... moderate + depth of color and level of extraction at rim. On the nose a super opulent, sexy, lush presentation of what I would call classic Pauillac aromas of black currant and cigar box cedar with hints of tertiary aromas poking through... on the palate moderate + acidity, good Cabernet firmness on the moderate - breadth of midpalate... transitions quite smoothly into a moderate amount of very ripe tannin finish... moderate alcohol. Wine has balance between oak use and fruit ripeness and while aromatically the wine is very plush... texturally it has good balance between soft and hard elements. Average length, high intensity aroma more than flavor-wise, and average complexity. Certainly a wine with finesse on the palate, a very fine texture, and very clear sense of place. Don't think it has the depth of fruit (layers of flavors) to get crazy complex with time and fear it would lose it greatest quality today... that super opulent, sexy, lush aromatic profile.
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7/4/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 90 Points
nose: pure pichon-baron and pauillac as it is a very muscular nose with all sorts of tones of tobacco leaf, pencil lead, leather, dark red cherries, earth, bits of coffee ground, and tones of sweet cassis and currants
taste: not as complex or deep as the nose, but well balanced and masculine tones of cedar box, tobacco leaf, pencil lead, dark cherries, and tones of currants. Medium/full bodied with good medium+ tannins that make their presance known in a subtle way.
overall: drinking perfectly and its doubtful that it will gain weight on the mid-palate, that would really drive the wine, with more aging.stero-typical paulliac and pichon-baron, this has a real good brutish quality to it that really satisfies
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5/22/2009 - davergny wrote: 91 Points
Sweet, creammy berries and burnt matchstick on the nose. Medium body, with tobacco leaf, sweet red currants, good length and finish. An elegant wine that shares the same style as the 2000, just not nearly as exuberant or deep.
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5/17/2009 - redsauced wrote: 92 Points
Gorgeous.
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5/15/2009 - Paul D wrote:
UK Wine Pages Pichon Baron Offline (The Alba, London): Noticeably more developed on the nose, dark fruit, nots of coffee and earth, some red-toned fruit (strawberry) too. On the palate not particulalry intense, easy, red fruit, vanilla, integrated tannins, medium length finish with earthy notes. Drinking now and not for the long term, attractive enough but lacking something on the mid-palate. ***
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5/15/2009 - Rupert wrote: 90 Points
UK Wine Pages Pichon Baron offline (Alba Restaurant, London): The funkiest and fleshiest so far, round, gamey, spicy, a rich comforting mouthful
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5/15/2009 - SimonG wrote:
Pichon Baron Offline (UK Wine Forum) (Alba restaurant, London): Nice nose. Balanced and harmonious. Fleshy in an understated way. Charming. Not dilute, possibly a little oaky but nothing obtrusive. A touch lactic ***
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3/2/2009 - edchi wrote: 90 Points
This wine was opened and decanted about 1.5 hours before serving. The color is good for the vintage, and the wine has been in storage at a friend's wine locker. The aromatics is amazing; with lots of tobacco, smoke and vanilla. The nose is a testament of what amazing things might come with patience on this wine. The palatte showed still a lot of tannin and leather, with lots of age still left in the aging process. The finish is somewhat held back and tight. One can easily sense that the wine will improve with more aging, and the finish will improve with age. I definitely think we drink this wine too young, but overall still a very enjoyable experience.
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2/27/2009 - jreis wrote:
Dark intense loamy earth, juniper, tobacco and white pepper on the nose. Beautiful ruby color, no signs of any age. Not a ton of fruit on the palate, persistent but not overwhelming dusty tannins, cedar, earth and leather. Minute plus finish. Just starting to come into its drinking window. Very nice elegantwine.
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2/14/2009 - Cloverstudio wrote: 91 Points
This wine is just starting to strut its stuff. Excellent nose, with good fruit breaking through the tannins. Just as I was starting to write off bordeaux wines as overpriced and minimally interesting, this bottle reminds me why they are so special. There is a complexity from the synergy of fruit and soil that the new world wines can not grasp.
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1/31/2009 - Alex H wrote: 88 Points
AWFS Lo Hey Dinner with 99 Bord and More (My Humble Home): Stewed nose of meatiness, some green capsicum and lots of leather and hide. Beautiful, sexy and hedonistic. This has dense, plush, voluptuous dark fruits with toastiness and finishing with licourice and more leather. Oppulent, lovely and elegantly fat....oops, correction.. big -boned not fat. She is like the well-fed daughter of an aristocrat. Not exactly the most feminine of the lot but big to a certain extent can be beautiful.
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1/31/2009 - Paul S wrote: 91 Points
Lo Hei potluck with 1999 Bordeaux and other wines (Alex's place): Probably the best Bordeaux of the night. The 1999 D'Armailhac and Ducru Beaucaillou gave as much pleasure on the night (more for some people on the table), but this certainly came across as having just a bit more quality and longevity - to my mind, it was the one wine that would do well with a good long aging in bottle yet. Nose showed toasty vanilla with some tobacco, smoke and green peppers, with a layer of earth and lots of plump, plummy fruit underneath. A little bit of secondary leathery flavour was just starting to show. Really bright acid on the palate, some felt that it was a bit tart when the wine was drank by itself, but it brought a really nice sense of balance and lift when we had this with food. Lots of weight and a surprising amount of power on the palate, very Baron indeed, with cassis, berries and cherries undergirded by a brawniness with meat and chocolate tones and a sprinkle of pepper. This wine also had the lengthiest finish of the Bordeaux, with nice balance and structure, with a squeeze of grippy, slightly bittersweet tannins giving a sense that this will be a nicely long-lived wine. 91 points for now with lots of upside.
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12/22/2008 - Winetex wrote: 88 Points
Definitely a lesser performance than the previous bottle in 4.08. It just doesn't seem to have much in the structure department.
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12/21/2008 - dave8989 wrote: 93 Points
This wine is drinking very well right now if you can invest 2 hours in decanting. The nose is beatiful and classic Bordeaux. I remember chocolate. Tannins have softened and flavours are well integrated on the palate. This bottle was drained very quickly at a dinner party with some very good wines to choose from.
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11/16/2008 - vanpe003 wrote: 87 Points
Fairly tight on opening. 30-60 minutes does this a lot of good. Nice aged nose with hints of sweet leather, olive, and some woodened spice. The palate is medium-bodied, without a tremendous amount of depth or complexity. The finish seems a bit short / astringent / green.
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11/2/2008 - Alex H wrote: 88 Points
Crystal French Wine Sale (Bordeaux) (Crystal Wines): I adore the nose. Burg smelly "ass" like a basket of blackberries and blackcherries sweltering in a car boot parked under the hot afternoon sun. To add complexity, there are some animal notes and a dash of raspberry sweetness. An enveloping body of dark red fruits, shavings of capsicum, some spice box, cigarette box. Despite the extraction in the fruits, this still has lovely elegance.
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10/30/2008 - thomaskeil wrote: 92 Points
Similar to note from 3 years ago except the palate is richer with less edgy tannins. Lovely Pauillac nose that has more justice done to it by the improved palate. Lacks the captivating complexity and layed palate of the 90, but this is really quite nice and not disappointing at all.
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9/14/2008 - Rupert wrote: 90 Points
Drunk with the 1996, this was a bit rounder, lusher and simpler, but still lovely
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9/12/2008 - pbjosh wrote: 91 Points
Drinking very well, good typicity. Medium weight, very aromatic, decent length to the finish, just not a bruiser or super concentrated vintage. A bit of drying tannin remains on the finish. Hard to say if it will dry out further or soften further with time, I presume it will soften and improve with another year or three, but certainly drinking well now. Quite enjoyable and a quickly drained bottle which is the surest sign.
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8/16/2008 - wap4u wrote: 92 Points
With fillets of lamb. Excellent Bordeaux that is in the sweet spot of its drinking window. Very enjoyable; a good effort for 1999. This has all characteristical Bordeaux aroma's: cedar, cassis, graphite, leather and lots more.
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6/18/2008 - ziavino wrote: 91 Points
Medium to full-bodied, with blackberry, cassis, smoke, leather and graphite all joining the party. Good mouthfeel.
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6/15/2008 - SoCal wrote: 92 Points
The color is dark but slightly plumb colored on the edges. Nose of cedar, cassis, barnyard and red cherries. The attack is a quick flash of sour cherries it transitions in to mid palate of leathery loose tobacco. The finish is is dried cherries and cedar followed by a cranberry/acidic aftertaste. Overall a wine that I feel is drinking close to its peak. It is very smooth in the first several hours but by day two the tannins made their appearance. I think this wine can stand a year more in the cellar but if you have several I would suggest trying one now. A very nice Pauillac and a beautiful wine.
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5/10/2008 - jordanj wrote: 91 Points
Classic Bordeaux in every regard and I appreciate that. Nose of graphite forest floor, oak, coffee toast, smoke and cherry. Lean feel in the mouth strong on the finish. Enjoyable drinking for sure
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5/9/2008 - hebe wrote: 92 Points
Opened and decanted 2 hours prior to drinking. I have been opening a bottle in 2004, 2006 and now. It has been very good every time but now it seems to be close to the peak, fuller and more complex than last time. Delicious taste of dark chocolate. I will open my last bottle in 1-2 years.
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3/29/2008 - cos82 wrote: 90 Points
A nice wine that is ready to drink.Dark purple. Nice fruit on the nose,blueberry, cassis, with some lead pencil. Red currant, forrest floor, and lead pencil on the palate.Over time, an hour or two, became slightly rough on the finish. A very nice wine, but the floral ethereal nose on a 2000 Grand Puy LaCoste consumed side by side was far better. No tannin.
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3/20/2008 - no leashes wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful dark fruit, tobacco, earth and mineral flavors, fine tannins, excellent structure and finish. Very enjoyable bottle, and drinking very nicely right now.
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3/7/2008 - LotionInTheBasket wrote: 90 Points
Great fruit; Earthy with notes of cedar, tobacco and cocoa; nice long smooth finish. Not as highly regarded as other vintages but it delivers.
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3/3/2008 - tendring wrote: 91 Points
Just opaque, substantial age.
Vegetal bouquet with a bit of baked fruit, interesting and complex.
Luscious, well integrated, demanding food, spicy from the oak, great length.
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2/29/2008 - G.O. wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 2 hours. Classic example of Bordeaux, very well drinkable now, probably, at its peak or near it.
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1/28/2008 - il_diavolo wrote: 91 Points
I have had this wine on numerous occasions and it has always delivered great drinking pleasure. it is not quite as good as the same chateaux's 1996 but it is a really good bordeaux. earthy, cedary - quite long finish (not overlong) - it is all you reasonably expect from a baron pichon in an OK but not great vintage.
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1/27/2008 - les_the_sailor wrote: 91 Points
I found this wine very delightful and complex. Very aromatic nose with red fruits and earthy tones. Decanted 1 hour prior to drinking, but was already showing very well out of the bottle. Drank with braised beef ribs. I thought this wine tasted very good, but could tell it lacked that one thing to make it a great wine. Certainly worth the 91 points I gave it.
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1/8/2008 - pbjosh wrote: 89 Points
Mature and in a good place, I wouldn't hold a lot longer. Cedar, earth, tobacco, soft red and black fruits. Not terribly complex or long but quite aromatic and pretty. Not a great Pichon Baron but still a very enjoyable bottle of wine. Perhaps a bit overpriced at $40 for what it is but I still enjoyed it and will enjoy another bottle.
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1/6/2008 - jainsworth wrote: 86 Points
Blind tasted against '99 Lynch Bages and Leoville Barton. Finished 3rd of wines. Disappointing. Very herbal and light in body. Lacked the fruit of the other 2 wines.
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12/31/2007 - MichielV wrote: 90 Points
NY eve dinner with homegrown ham with 12 friends. Terrific combination. Decanted 1.5 hrs prior to dinner. Boucquet really came out - wonderful nose deep red fruit and different flavors, not very smokey. Smelled in between a young wine and an older one. Palate was great subtle medium body. finish a bit short but overall pretty good. although it has life left, not sure it will get better. may as well enjoy it.
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11/5/2007 - Winetex wrote: 90 Points
In all a promising nose but did not deliver through the midpalate and finish. Balanced but not expressive. This might drink on the earlier side than other vintages.
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10/22/2007 - blazer wrote: 89 Points
The merlot really shows itself in this wine. Earth, chocolate and dark fruit. Not as well integrated flavors as I would have expected. Nose is distinctly earthy with a hint of cedar. I will wait another year before opening another bottle.
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9/19/2007 - kstoddard wrote: 93 Points
Blackberry, violet, pencil lead, cherry and nicely integrated french oak. Well balanced. Nice, elegant finish with lots of power in reserve. 13% alcohol.
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9/9/2007 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 71 Points
Shrill.
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7/27/2007 - Employee500 wrote:
Probably corked. I couldn't detect the TCA smell or taste specifically, but terribly muted and unexpressive. Not enjoyable.
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6/19/2007 - mortenef wrote: 91 Points
Brownish color. First sip was a bit too tannic, so i decanted for 2 h. Afterwards all the good stuff began to show. On the nose : very classic Bdx, with tobacco and leather. The mouth was balanced and fruit was good. A bit short on the finish, but a nice bite was present and gave the elegancy a good punchline.
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6/18/2007 - sumshark wrote: 90 Points
Drinking well now, tannins integrated, very round wine at this point. Opened for two hours, no decant.
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6/6/2007 - Spencer wrote: 90 Points
Another excellent bottle of this wine. Fully mature, and drinking beautifully now.
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5/22/2007 - redsauced wrote: 94 Points
I don't care what anyone says, this is a beauty!
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4/30/2007 - cortoncharlie wrote: 88 Points
Classic Pichon Baron. Low acidity and has that slightly off-putting herbal "greeness" which seemed typical of the the less ripe vintages. Needed a bit of time to open but probably could use a few more years to round out. More masculine than elegant right now. Overall not bad but not great.
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4/15/2007 - MGallagher wrote: 90 Points
Decanted and took 2+ hours to open up.
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4/4/2007 - cellarid wrote: 91 Points
Really nice. better than the last bottle -- maybe it has a few years left, but this won't make old bones. Good stuff and undeniably Pichon Baron, which I like. Drink now or in a few weeks.
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3/24/2007 - VinAmante wrote: 88 Points
Balanced, mature Bordeaux. Not terribly complex, and the fruit was extremely subtle. I don't think this wine will age terribly well, there's not a lot of structure here.
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3/17/2007 - Gulelin wrote: 88 Points
While this bottle wasn't flawed, per se, I think it was stored poorly. Had it at a wine bar and it was served warm(and likely stored too warm). With that out of the way, the nose was fantastic. Tobacco, big time. The palate was lacking, I believe due to the aforementioned storage conditions. Finish was a bit odd as well. Makes me wonder what a bottle that's dead on would be like. Still a good experience for the nose.
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3/10/2007 - cousteau wrote: 92 Points
This one has gained further depth and complexity since I last tasted it. Lot's of lead pencil, graphite covered with cassis and elegant subtle tobacco and oak. The aromas jumped out from the decanter filling the room. Opulent, powerful but at the same time elegant and perfectly balanced. Lingering finish.
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2/5/2007 - Spencer wrote: 90 Points
Balanced, fully mature, classic claret. A wonderful wine to drink now, while waiting for other recent vintages to mature. I would drink this over the next five years.
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1/14/2007 - Employee500 wrote: 91 Points
Nice but a little stiff on opening late last night. Recorked and refrigerated until this afternoon, and it was gorgeous, showing some age. Sweet tannins, cherry and plum fruit, and some smoke and tobacco.
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1/5/2007 - cellarid wrote: 88 Points
Solid flavor and authentic flavors, but the palate seems to be cracking up just a bit. Still pleasurable with decent ripeness, but this is ready to go.
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12/25/2006 - VinAmante wrote: 88 Points
Not a fair tasting note, because the wine was too cold.
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8/22/2006 - Brnshj22 wrote: 91 Points
Having just had the 2002 Comtesse last week, I decided that it was time to open this one. Very enjoyable Baron, this one! Not your usual blockbuster Pauillac but a somewhat lighter and fruit driven wine with a nose of sweet cherries. After an hour in the decanter typical Cab notes of cedar and leather pop out. Sweet tobacco. Nice, harmonious medium-bodied claret that is ready for action now but will stay on top for the next couple of years.
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7/23/2006 - cousteau wrote: 91 Points
We put this 99 Baron side by side with the 99 Comtesse to see how they would fare against each other. While the Comtesse de Lalande showed a slight purple hue the Baron showed a more evolved brownish one. You could see they had different styles already by their color intensity but no advantage for any so far. The nose was the first victory for the Baron, more intense and open with lot's of cassis and secondary notes. The Comtesse was more shy and only showed some of her dark fruits, more like plums and blackberries. On the palate things got tighter, now it's more a matter of personal preferences. The Lalande much more soft, round, seductive, with much finess and elegance. The Baron with more power, opulence, a much firmer backbone and fresher acidity. I would still give an edge for the Baron though. The finish gives the Comtesse a nose ahead, more elegant, softer and rounder while the Baron left a more austere note.
With the food (Filet de Manzo) the structure and acidity of the Baron fared much better than the softness of the Comtesse and overall we gave the Baron a declared victory on the 99 vintage.
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7/19/2006 - cousteau wrote: 91 Points
Rubi color with just a slight evolution on the rim. The nose is intense and upfront with saddle leather, cedar box and cassis. Good body, very balanced, expands on the palate and leaves a very pleasant lingering finish. It is definately drinking great right now, but does have potential to gain further.
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7/19/2006 - Rani wrote: 91 Points
Surprisingly approachable, nice balance and weight. Lots of dark fruit, leather, cedar and fat tannins. Vey nice.
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7/15/2006 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 88 Points
Vintage Pairs Offline (Caldesi, London): A heady nose - utterly pleasant. Powerful on the palate, but this definitely needs time to integrate the flavours: it all seems a bit separate at the moment. Very Good/Very Good Indeed.
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6/22/2006 - Arcturus wrote: 91 Points
Smokey nose, cedar, tobacco-aromatic and pleasant. Dried/plump black raspberry fruit with solid foundation. Hearty weight and good tannin to suggest further agining potential. Smooth finish-beat expectations. 91
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6/11/2006 - Nanda wrote: 91 Points
A broad and generous nose of black fruits, anise and saddle leather. The palate features prickly, ripe tannins. A lush mouthfeel with rich fruit. More anise and black currants. Mocha. A long earth-driven, finish. The body loses some weight with time. But overall this is an elegant and balanced effort from one of my favorites in Bordeaux.
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5/15/2006 - cellarid wrote: 90 Points
I remember buying these on release for a song and Pichon Baron is one of my favorites. The 1999 is ready to go and just delicious right now. Evolved aromas of saddle leather and tobacco are framed by really rich dark fruit and cocoa. The palate is already generous and sweet. Fine tannins and a respectable lenght make this a real QPR hero. If you have some, pop one ASAP to see where your bottles are. I don't see much upside, but it should last for the very near term. No old bones tho...
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4/28/2006 - Vino Me wrote: 89 Points
This had the sweetest fruit of the 3 vintages poured. An upfront style. Notes of cassis and black cherry. Some green pepper nuances on the finish. 89 points.
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4/26/2006 - rhino wrote: 89 Points
Two bottle of 1999 Pichon Baron Longueville tasted at Savoy. Excellent!
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4/21/2006 - AllRed wrote: 92 Points
Poured at a retailer tasting. Notes of smoky plum and earth. Well-integrated, nicely balanced. Plenty of fruit which continues through the finish. This was showing the best of the three PBs poured tonight (1994 and 2002). $35.99.
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4/16/2006 - MEW wrote: 89 Points
Great nose...very fruity with earth and charcoal. Nice body, the tannins have softened, muscular fruit, earth and charcoal/lead pencil with a roasted coffee flavor. Drinking quite well now but I would expect it to last for several additional years.
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4/2/2006 - jmcmchi wrote:
Classic Pauillac aromas, tannins not yet resolved, needs time to come into balance
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3/28/2006 - Cracker Barrel wrote: 89 Points
deep purple color, good fruit, perhaps slight biitterness, which might have disipated with decanting; smoth tanins; muted nose
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2/24/2006 - Cracker Barrel wrote: 91 Points
One of my favorite 99 Bordeaux, not terribly complex, but drinking very nicely, good fruit, some tannins, medium bodied, purple color
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2/6/2006 - MWes wrote: 90 Points
I found this to be delicious. On the nose I get red fruit, spice and leather. Initially, I taste red fruit, followed by tannins and oak, then finishes with an leathery/eathy taste. I will definitely buy more of this.
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1/18/2006 - jwwinec wrote: 89 Points
Dick's Pre-purchase Bordeaux Sampler (Dick's house): A bit of funk initially on the nose, which blew off after some time. Lots of tobacco, woody spices, and cassis grace the rich, gentle nose. The palate, forward and elegant, is less expressive than the nose. The mid palate is rich and leads to a pleasant graphite finish.
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12/2/2005 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points
Bistro K: Classic cassis-dark berry with coffee-cigar box notes; nice full mth, good t’s. Very good w/cote de boeuf.
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11/27/2005 - Rupert wrote: 89 Points
Again, that big, rich, roast coffee bean quality that marks this out as Pichon Baron - this was a touch broader, fruitier and fresher than the 1997 - though clearly the same source - a very lovely wine
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11/18/2005 - JSeaney wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Great nose, smokey, Lead pencil, graphite, and currant. Good mid, dark fruit with juicy, slightly short finish. The nose is what makes this wine very special to me.
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11/5/2005 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
'99 and '01 Bordeaux at Taverna: Inky, slightly tannic nose of smoke. Subdued fruit on the nose. The palate is a bit "sweeter" with hints of tannin.
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9/10/2005 - AllRed wrote: 92 Points
Bordeaux tasting at Binny's (Schaumburg Binny's): Dusty garnet color. Red fruit, currant, tobacco and earth notes; Amy mentioned a lead pencil note also. Very balanced, with lots of red fruit, cherries. Most complex to this point, but it finishes shorter than I thought it should.
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8/15/2005 - thomaskeil wrote: 90 Points
Very expressive nose with rich cassis, tobacco, pencil lead and leather (seemed to intensify during the evening). Palate of sweet fruit of medium intensity. Has a simple, noncomplex finish that ends in some edgy tannins that are in balance with the fruit. Approachable right now, but will be better when it softens.
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7/2/2005 - Rupert wrote: 90 Points
Rich and open, characteristic PB tobacco and coffee, sweet entry, the merest hint of sourness on the finish. Really ripe, appealing claret.
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5/5/2005 - Winetex wrote: 90 Points
Bordeaux and Tokaji Wine Dinner - Spec's (Rouge Restaurant; Houston, Texas): This was still very primary and tasted almost exactly like the taste I had upon release a few years ago. There was not much aging in the interim. This had a very intense nose with tobacco and a bit of funk that blew off soon after the pour. There is clearly lots of Merlot in the blend due to the sweetness that showed up after a bit of air time. Quite good and might end up with an even higher score. I'm going to give this one another 4-5 years and maybe open them in 2009.
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6/22/2004 - Jeff W wrote:
Spicy, with pencil lead and leather. Quite delicious. g
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1/4/2004 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
Blind 1999 Bordeauxs @ Amici's: Corked - Dead. Lots of sweetness and potential though.
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8/2/2002 - peternelson wrote: 95 Points
Red Carpet: More opaque purple; very nice full CS nose, no real acid; dark berry, slightly sweet oak,berry tastes; full body; big fin., excellent Bordeaux
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1/1/2002 - winefool wrote: 89 Points
Medium red with aroma of leather and red fruit. Firm body with good tannic sturcture. Red berry and undergrowth on the palete. Better in 3-5+. 1/02
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12/9/2001 - Zweder wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful oak, juice and everything. This is too young now of course, but already so complex and so frienly. This will be a hell of a wine in 10 years.
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