3/12/2019 - mdvillaverde Does not like this wine:

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot

10/20/2023 - Mr. Montrachet wrote:

How can anyone here say this is ready or in peak drinking window? This is clearly not ready. Killed it too early because some people here suggested it would be ready.
Be aware: do NOT drink now! Wait at lest +5 years!
CellarTracker was no good info here suggesting this would be ready. Please! do no drink now! Wait at least 5+ years!

4/12/2023 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

Something about this maker, as I seem to be settling on a 94 for almost every vintage that I try. Collector1855 did nothing but trash this wine, Spain and the Spaniards as a wine civilization, in no uncertain terms. What a crock.....right from the pnp the nose is floral cherry. The pour into the glass is of the clearest shimmering dark ruby I've ever poured.....just beautiful. Sampled for an hour before dinner, kept drinking thru dinner (of homemade tacos), and even though I had no plans of drinking this entire bottle tonight, that's exactly what happened later in the evening. 13% alc really allows the fruit and the winemaking to shine. Moderate tannins to start at the pnp but they softened and grew rounder thru the evening. Slight herbal component shows up more after 2-3 hours open but it's perfectly in balance and doesn't stand out at all. The red cherry fruit continues to grow and grow and the finish goes on and on! Make no mistake, this is not an Earth shattering wine that makes you want to quit your day job and move to Spain, but it's damn well made, clean, balanced and the qpr is off the charts for me. I hope the rest of my '10 stash is this good! Borders on a 95 for me, but not much left in the glass to get me through the rest of the night!

Addendum: slight amount left in the glass for an additional 3-4 hours so almost 8 in total open to air. The herbal component on the nose at hour 4 is completely gone. The fruit darkens slightly and the cherry has a little tartness on the very end. I am going to change my score on this one to a 95.

Additional addendum: I really don't care how many Commanderie de Bdx positions you hold, or how many First Growths you claim to have, or how many Chinese buyers you buy for......if you are such a snob as to think this wine is terrible and is beneath you, your opinions don't rate even a 1% consideration from me, personally. What a shallow way of living that must be......I just now looked up the WA score for this one and their 'expert' gave it a 96 for this vintage. All the more proof that some snobs on here know nothing about wine, no matter how long they've been drinking it, or how much their net worth.

11/11/2021 - capacious Likes this wine:

I had the good fortune to meet GD Vajra in 2002, when the weather in Piemonte was good for truffles ( cool, wet,wetter) but awful for grapes, some wineries like Vietti not producing that year because of hail if memory serves. Anyhow, 20 years ago we sat outside under a canopy, shared his wines, saw his love for his land and wine, felt his passion and that stayed with me, and I became a frequent buyer of and lover of his wines. This one supports that…it is fully drinkable now, prob has a decade or more to become more complex, express the secondaries. It is a beautiful Barolo.

10/7/2021 - capacious Likes this wine:

Drinking beautifully now, but I think it has years to go. This is a complex, lengthy, near flawless wine. Togni’s old world wine making is very much in evidence here. What he does with his acreage of remarkable grapes is unequaled in California, at least in my experience. At the age of 74, my wine buying habits have changed, if its a hard to come by allocation list I buy 2 or 3 or 6, not 12; except Togni. Given how well his wines age, my kids will surely inherit some, because this is one wine I will say yes to every year. I guess this is how I praise, because I am not capable even after all these years of deciphering what I am tasting as others are. So I talk about what the wine means to me, after nearly 30 years of drinking Togni’s wines.

11/28/2018 - Collector1855 wrote:

Chateau Latour - 30 year vertical (1983-2010) tasted blind (Switzerland): Nose of dark fruit, forest, pine, complex nose but a touch of greenness as well. Improves on the palate but there is an acidic and strict side to it as well which prevents a higher score. Good but not among the best tonight.

4/27/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote:

Violets, lilies and the wrapper of a fine, Cuban cigar appear without the asking and fuse expertly with black and blue fruit, smoke, incense and damp earth. On the palate, this wine is pure eroticism in texture, royal, arousing yet discreet and with an exotic, cherry liqueur, dark chocolate and licorice presence in the finish. There is length, intensity and a deep, decadent endnote that must last at least 60 seconds. Produced from 100% Merlot, the wine reached 14.6% with pH 3.7. The harvest started September 14, finishing September 29. What made this vintage extraordinary for Petrus was the extended hang time, which for most years is close to 45 days. But with the 2015 vintage, the hang time during the harvest took between 50 and 60 days. 99 - 100 Pts

1/16/2017 - mmcdds Likes this wine:

This has really blossomed in the last few years with lots of penetrating dark red fruit, plenty of earth and sous bois notes with a fairly firm sanguine undertone. The tannins on the midlength finish are still on the firmish side. Opened, not decanted, for several hours.

12/26/2015 - exphilip wrote:

disappointed. perhaps decanting and 1-2 hours air didnt open it sufficiently up. maybe served to cold at 18C

11/29/2016 - capacious Likes this wine:

Too early to drink. It's hard to have a never before tasted new wine sit for so long, so I decided to try. Decanted for several hours, but it took six before it began to open. Dark purple black, very extracted, gave my wife a migraine which only happens with US cabs. Definitely not meant to be approachable young. Bottom line- just too expensive. Napa has to stop. This isn't first growth. The Maiden is as good if not better. I may be burning bridges here, depending on who reads this, but $400 for a low to mid 90's Napa cab is way too much. Here is the best way to say it - if you have to question the price, it's not worth it. A bottle of 2000 Cheval is ridiculously expensive, but you don't think about that.

2/6/2016 - Chateaunole-du-Pape Likes this wine:

My last bottle, I am sorry to say. This was excellent, especially for the price. Beautiful nose, lots of cedar notes with dark fruit on the background. Surprisingly full on the palate with similar flavor profile. Medium to long finish. Probably the best QPR out of Bordeaux that I can remember. Would love to find more.

12/13/2014 - MarkMich wrote:

Drank with dinner at FT 33 in Dallas. My wife said its gooood. Flower peddles and cherry on the nose. Still young and tannic with sour cherry and some stone on the palate. Will improve time but very nice with a solid decant and grilled meat. I would buy more if I could find it.

9/5/2016 - capacious Likes this wine:

I have pulled a number of 2005 big boys recently- Shafer Hillside, Bryant, Bond, and this deserves that company with no doubt. The fruit here is compelling, pure, rich, and lengthy, and it has the structure to hang around and change for a long time. Fair or not, my rank order right now is Bryant, Bond, Araujo, and then SHH. That could all change in time, and I think next I'm pulling a Maiden and a Matriarch from 05.

2/4/2016 - capacious wrote:

Entering this in before bringing to a friend- so ignore this placeholder note Be back later

7/23/2016 - capacious Likes this wine:

PNP ( after a tug of war with the waiter at Autentico in Oyster bay, who kept insisting they had a Chianti we should try instead. Fortunately we prevailed, which given the poor food, saved the night. Anyhow, the Bond is very well built, still primary, deep purple, blue fruit, cassis, and I will wait a while for the next. My sense is this will mature with considerable interest and complexity.

12/30/2014 - PGB wrote:

Nowhere near ready. A massive parkerite worshipping bundle of dense extraction. Maybe it will be great one day but all this adulation I find puzzling. Bought direct from the winery and cellared perfectly. No harmony, no balance, with tannins very much evident. Should I have decanted it and left for 12 hours?

8/4/2012 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote:

Christine & John's wine. Popped and poured. Tried aerated and unaerated. Better un, but a disappointing Burgundy nevertheless. reticent bouquet and flavor.

3/15/2016 - Sotto325 wrote:

This wine deserves more accolades, given its impressive rise from the non- distinct collection of cru bourgeois wines to a definable quality Bordeaux. Second bottle in a year and in some ways even better. This is warm, soft, classic Bordeaux from a great vintage and this bottle expressed rich dark red fruit enmeshed with moist soil, a currant and ash nose, and some cherry and foresty scents toward the end of the palate. Complex? No. A first growth contender ? No. But very enjoyable at present with a meal. Will not develop more so enjoy now.

8/31/2011 - jeffm_fla wrote:

Disappointing. Flavors were muted, without the vibrant fruit I expect from an 07 Napa Cab

10/16/2015 - Drankard wrote:

On the palate the wine is pure, medium body and transparent, with a core of fruit that is soft and thin. Pass.

2/4/2015 - ProfByron Likes this wine:

At first this seems rather classic Pinot sort of Burgundy, medium weight, warm - not dark cherry or fruitcake. With a little breathing it opens up to be more than this. Interesting tea character. However, the oak is too dominant still, perhaps with another 3-6 years this will integrate.

I'll hazard a guess at saying drink before 2025, but perhaps it will last longer.

2/26/2016 - capacious Likes this wine:

Fully mature. Decanted for about 3 hours, then enjoyed with Nassau County's best Italian restaurant. It complimented the Vitelo tonnato particularly well. The Tuscan terroir is clear, and appreciated. It's not quite as compelling as it was in past, and I think one should not wait much longer. This is usually an amazing wine, and tonight it was very good, but not amazing. I have stored it well, and read some of the other notes here with some envy, because others were able to find what I had hoped to find in this arguably legendary wine.

1/6/2016 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine:

A totally sublime effort, the 2002 St. Eden reveals massive, powerful and at the same time super elegant and velvety fruit. After a few minutes in the glass, complexity increases with classy led pencil, rich cacao, saddle leather, black pepper, orange zest and a whiff of Christmas spice. The palate leaves nothing to wish for with a silky and perfect integration as well as balance. After 16 years, there is still a massive texture and structure, but kept in place behind a veil of elegance. Acidity, tannins and beautiful luxurious oak treatment all speak in one eloquent and harmonious voice. With a never ending length on the finish this wine leaves me with a marvellous impression. A total stunner.

I have written this many times before, but here we go again. When deciding on a score for a wine, I always counts backwards from 100. If there are any flaws or 'issues' the wine will not get a perfect score. Hence, if there is nothing making me want to reduce the score then the wine gets a perfect score.

The 2002 Bond St. Eden has no flaws that I can notice. Hence, it deserves a perfect score. 100 it is!

12/29/2015 - capacious Likes this wine:

What a magnificent wine! Drinking beautifully now, even on PNP, and yet prob has another 20 years . One of the better drinking 1996 we have had. Classic Leoville, tannins perfectly integrated, this is an outstanding wine now and for the ages.

11/29/2015 - capacious Does not like this wine:

disjointed, bitter at the end, overly oaked. Maybe just this bottle based on other notes? Hope so or the rest goes on the purge file. Seeing the notes here, gave it a second night, and my wife and I both liked it even less. Hard to figure- not usually so at odds with the rest of you but really did not enjoy this.

10/10/2015 - bacchus wrote:

shared with pat at selkirk manor to celebrate the eve of my birthday. i tempted to crack open a '97 insignia but modesty and frugality prevailed. besides, we have enjoyed wine from this producer for many years. we have enjoyed this vintage since 2012. the wine continues to hold up well. slightly brown color. typical abruzzo fruit as well as earthiness. slight hint of raisins adds another dimension to the flavor profile. this was our last bottle of this vintage. others would be advised not to wait more than six months to enjoy at its best.

4/6/2015 - AndrewR wrote:

Perfect mid weight Tuesday night sipper. Lacking complexity or personality, tastes like generic red wine. But supple round generic supple red wine. Might come around in 5-10 years? This is a $20 bottle at best.

10/31/2014 - Kris G Likes this wine:

this bottle performed much better : a lively acidity indicates that there is no hurry to drink this, reached its peak on the 3rd day

9/27/2013 - ChinonRouge Does not like this wine:

Peppery pencil lead with EtOH. Murky like Russian River Valley Pinot. Jammy like Yellowtail. Painfully lacking elegance. Not digging it, but I can see how some people like it. Not my style of wine.

3/29/2015 - 3daywinereview.com wrote:

Not a fan of the wine at this point. Taste more like an Australian Shiraz with blueberries, heavy floral notes, oak and ripe fruit. Not too balanced and I would advise to hold and hope this gets better.

7/10/2015 - Nerdy Earth Boy Likes this wine:

Beautifully aged blended Bordeaux like Sonoma CAB. Very nice.

7/14/2015 - capacious Likes this wine:

Drinking well now, mouth filling, nicely integrated, nothing wrong with it, just too much like the bulk of Napa. So that gripe aside, this is very good now, but I doubt it's got the structure to be there for us in the long term. That's ok, I need ten year old wines to drink at this point.

12/10/2014 - Sundbyberg wrote:

This bottle had been open for 24 hours, and according to the sommelier the quality had decreased.
Anyway, to me this wine did not stand out very much. A good bourgogne, but not much more.

7/3/2015 - capacious Likes this wine:

There is Pichon, and then there are other wines. Might be the wine of the vintage, albeit based on a narrow sampling. Loved it. everything that needed to happen has happened. Forget what I said a year ago.

6/25/2015 - capacious Likes this wine:

Remarkably little visible sign of age, subtle, complex, lengthy, very well constructed from front to back, has decades to evolve, just a spectacular wine. Why not an even higher score? Altho intellectually we were very pleased, there is some undefinable element that goes to a transcendent wine and the extent to which I feel that will drive me to a stratospheric score. I've said before I think some of our popular eaters have skewed the scoring and to me, a 90 or 92 is an outstanding wine. To get into the top top tier- we should reserve that or at least I reserve that for the conversation stoppers or changers

12/27/2011 - MQuentel@web.de wrote:

What a Beauty, so pure, multi-layered, very elegant, perfect structure, Sensual and intoxicating. Great Balance and an endless Finish

4/21/2013 - William Kelley Likes this wine:

Warmer and more easygoing than the 2010 Secret de Sabon, the voluptuous 2009 already gives up a heady bouquet of smoked meats, spices, mulberry and blackberry liqueur. With a great deal of inner sweetness and a sumptuous texture, but lacking some of the complexity and potential of the amazing 2010, this wine manages the vintage character very well. Didier Negron does not acidify his wines, so the freshness of this 2009 is even more impressive.

4/28/2014 - HowardNZ Likes this wine:

1978 Bordeaux, Rhone etc including Margaux, Palmer, Vieux Télégraphe and Cuvaison (Regional Wines, Wellington): Deep ruby colour. A lot of bouquet here. A rich, mature, lovely nose of autumn leaves, brushwood, musk, oat biscuits and old leather, nothing primary here. On palate, attractive autumnal and mellow flavours of dried plums and blackcurrants and other preserved red fruit. Quite detailed. Lovely silky texture. Fruit and structure still holding, but on the downward slide soon, I think. To me, this is what very good, fully mature Bordeaux is all about, but this house is a favourite of mine. Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 35%

8/27/2014 - capacious wrote:

We gave this two nights. First night figured it needed breathing as it was quite different from our last bottle. but that did not help, so now, looking at rest of a case, hoping this was the wrong end of the bottle variation spectrum. Wouldn't call it corked. Little good to say here and usually a good wine so will try another after a while. We like old world style, but this was outside the spectrum.

12/13/2013 - golfwine wrote:

This wine's friggin' insane! Dark purple to the core with characteristic HM aromatics that included smoked blackberries and licorice. The two similarly reflected in the flavor profile, with some subtle hints of clove or allspice. Impeccably balanced and complete, with a notable mid-palate acidity, which played perfectly off (and kept in check) the rich, chunky fruit. Also, adding to a seemingly forever-long and lush finish that was given a subtle punch by the round though structured tannins. Sean Capiaux continues to craft extraordinarily impressionable Cabernet.

11/12/2014 - vinus_operandi wrote:

I think anthony galloni rated this a 94 and called it an "insanely beautiful wine" well I am at a loss for words at my disappointment with this wine. He must have been throwing Vietti a bone because this wine lacks structure (very little tannins) and balance, and is just not very interesting. I seriously doubt that it will age well. After reading his review, I simply am at a loss for words. Let's just leave it at that and come back to this wine in 6 to 8 years...........................ARGHHHHH!!!!

5/11/2014 - flwinos wrote:

Just ok. Not very complex and not much fruit.

4/21/2014 - Dale M wrote:

Decanted 3 hrs. I liked this wine right from the get go, the nose had an alluring scents of plummy perfume, graphite, and a discreet touch of new wood. The dark color of the wine could perhaps suggest an either ripe or very tannic Pauillac, but a couple of sips quickly put that notion to rest. Classically proportioned, the palate delivers a most excellent balance of fruit, tannin, acid, and minerality. The word’ rich’ came to mind after swallowing, seeing all the pre-mentioned components synch together. But before that, the initial taste conveyed sleek, dry, elegant claret that slowly gained in momentum, but always seemed confident in its direction. Kept improving throughout the night, spent a good 3 hours on this one, concluding with Game of Thrones (seems a wine that Tywin Lannister would be enjoying while contemplating where the next great threat to the throne will come from). Lovely wine, if I knew today how good 2004 would turn out and the prices that Pontet Canet would command post 2006, I would have bought a case of this without reservation for $50 per.

9/26/2010 - Yagil Likes this wine:

Happy evening that was originally planned as Bordeaux evening (NG restaurant, Neveh-Tsedek, TLV): elegant soft aroma, rich and pleasant; smooth in taste, round, tannic, complex, structured - very enjoyable.