7/4/2017 - matro wrote:

Beautiful wine. Seemed to be at its peak, wonderful nose of black fruits intermixed with secondary aromas - leather, tobacco. Wonderful mouthfeel, good acidity. Took about 30 minutes to open up. Alas, that was my only bottle.

12/31/2016 - matro wrote:

Delicious young cab. Opened up nicely with 1 hr decant. Very elegant, not "Napa" heavy.

5/22/2016 - matro wrote:

Medium body, old school (13.5% alcohol), nice finish. Atypical by today's California Cab standards. I don't think this will age but it is delicious right now. Let it breathe for an hour or so.

1/2/2016 - matro wrote:

Pop and pour, still very enjoyable, but not getting any better. Drink up if you have it!

6/22/2015 - matro wrote:

Did not take formal notes, just enjoyed the wine. Stored in my cellar since release. Wonderful 20-year-old cab, good acidity and finish, time to drink up.

4/13/2015 - matro wrote:

Did not take detailed notes. Very enjoyable, not getting any better. Needed about 45 minutes of air time.

2/28/2015 - matro wrote:

Unfortunately this one was DOA. Stored in my cellar since release. The other one I had about 7-8 years ago was fantastic.

1/1/2015 - matro wrote:

Old and tired. Cork was soaked all the way through. It was definitely off.

12/30/2014 - matro wrote:

Much better than 2012! Nice acidity, good fruit, great everyday bottle.

10/11/2014 - matro wrote:

Oak, raisin, forrest floor on the nose. Wonderful texture, tannins resolved. Very dignified, no youthful exuberance remaining. At the same stage of evolution as a 94 Montelena I drank earlier this year. The fruit is muted on the palate. I drank my other bottle about 5 years ago and the evolution is significant. I believe this one is at its peak right now. Cork was in great shape, soaked about 1/2 inch. Drink up if you have any left.

8/18/2014 - matro wrote:

Very young, more restrained than a California syrah, lots of blueberry, will only get better.

7/28/2014 - matro wrote:

No detailed notes. Still delicious but probably slightly past its peak.

7/27/2014 - matro wrote:

Opened 2 hrs prior to drinking. No detailed notes but consistent with other sociando mallet from other vintages. Entering drinking window.

7/7/2014 - matro wrote:

No detailed notes. Delicious right now.

4/28/2014 - matro wrote:

Either a bad bottle, a bad day or not enough air. While not technically flawed, there was nothing interesting about this wine. Did not improve over 2+ hours. No score given.

3/17/2014 - matro wrote:

Drank over 2 days. Day 1: light, leathery, vegetal, not much fruit. Day 2: much better, dark fruit balanced out the Bordeaux funk, much more balanced and showing some mid-term aging potential.

4/26/2013 - matro wrote:

This was a wonderful bottle to finish off the evening. I was initially worried about the soaked-through cork, but the wine was not affected. The color was medium to light ruby, the nose was a combination of primary fruit and some raisins and figs, the finish long and warm. I believe this one is ready for drinking now.

4/27/2013 - matro wrote:

We gave this one about 30 minutes to open up and then followed it over the next several hours. This one was unfortunately over the hill. The cork was soaked just about all the way up. The wine wasn't defective, just an average old wine without any interesting characteristics. It smelled of leather, moss, not much fruit, the palate was a little bitter, and the finish was short. I blame the cork. I acquired the bottle in the mid 90s and stored it at 58F since then.

4/27/2013 - matro wrote:

Opened and decanted 2 hrs before drinking. Very dark color, the aroma jumps from the glass. This one is definitely in the funky category. It was a polarizing wine for the group - half loved it and half hated it (I was in the first half). One thing that stood out for me was how precise the wine was on the palate. The acidity was perfect for the abundance of extraction and the alcohol level. Hard to guess how it will age, but it is absolutely delicious now.

4/27/2013 - matro wrote:

Open about 2 hrs before drinking. Classic Paulliac with currants and pencil lead. Wonderful acidity and mouthfeel, long finish. Color still youthfull but starting to lighten up a little bit. This one has a long life ahead of it.

3/13/2013 - matro wrote:

Consumed over the course of 2 hours. The cork was about 50% soaked, and the wine seemed to be slightly over the hill. On the palate the tannins were gone and the acidity was overtaking the fruit. There was a fair amount of sediment. The finish was short and tart. While interesting to drink on the intellectual level this wine was not very enjoyable.

3/4/2013 - matro Likes this wine:

No detailed notes. More evolved than a bottle 2 years ago. Good acidity and balance. Typical leather and spices on the nose, medium weight on the palate, somewhat shorter finish than I remember from previous bottles. Tannins completely resolved, drink up.

2/14/2013 - matro wrote:

Delicious. Splash-decanted 30 min before. Did not get the chocolate typical of branaire. A lot of secondary aromas coming through. Long and silky finish. In my cellar since release.

1/1/2013 - matro wrote:

Decanted 4 hours and that was apparently not enough. The wine was tight but promising. I'm still on the fence whether to lay down a few bottles.

1/1/2013 - matro wrote:

Day 1: Cork soaked all the way through. Lacked finesse, nose dominated by smell of brandy initially, then raisins. Medium finish.
Day 2: Did not get any better. Must be an off bottle, perhaps the cork did not hold up well.

12/3/2012 - matro wrote:

Fabulous nose, good palate, probably as good as it's going to get. Did not really develop over 2 hrs, if anything, declined slightly.

9/10/2012 - matro wrote:

Delicious young syrah. Pop and pour, but this syrah was open for business from the start. Paired with grilled ribeye, sautéed spinach and baked potato. I cannot see this getting any better, I believe this one is built to be drunk young.

8/27/2012 - matro wrote:

Not as good as I had hoped. It was a pop and pour, consumed over 2 hrs. Started out very restrained, opened up a little over a course of 2 hours but I feel it was lacking some concentration. Very drinkable and food friendly but lacked that extra "conversation stopper" dimension. Perhaps a longer decant would have helped.

8/22/2012 - matro wrote:

Bottle 3 of the case. Decanted 2 hrs prior to drinking. Definitely more open for business than a bottle almost exactly a year ago. Typical St. Julien spicy character on the nose and palate. Medium finish with a healthy dose of tannins. A lot of fruit with a tinge of un-ripeness. Maybe this is characteristic of the 02 vintage. All in all a very good example of an "off vintage" offering from a good producer.

7/28/2012 - matro wrote:

No detailed notes but but not memorable. Opened for 3 hours and decanted before serving. Slightly flabby on the palate, good fruit, but nothing special.

7/14/2012 - matro wrote:

Decanted for 2 hours. Delicious, lots of fruit but also a lot of Paulliac "funk", moss, forest floor. The decant was definitely needed. Drank alongside a 96 Spottswoode. Will try the next one in 3 years or so.

7/14/2012 - matro wrote:

Very fruit forward, complex, at a really good place right now. We drank it alongside a 96 Pichon Baron which was decanted for 2 hours. Good acidity and a long lingering finish.

7/12/2012 - matro wrote:

Nice wine, food friendly. Good acidity. It is refreshing to taste a wine with "only" 13.5% alcohol.

6/30/2012 - matro wrote:

Decanted for 90 minutes. It was reminiscent of other 99 bordeaux I've had, fruity, on the lighter side, very elegant. The finish was fairly lengthy. I don't think this one is going to evolve any further (other than decline).

6/4/2012 - matro wrote:

This one was open for business and very fragrant right from the outset. It had a lot of bordeaux-like complexity, forest floor intermixed with black fruit, with the tannins completely resolved. If I had any complaints, the finish was a little shorter than I would like. It was drinking beautifully, perhaps ever so slightly past its peak. This bottle had been in my cellar since release, stored at 55F. It was certainly more evolved than the 95 QC I drank a few years ago. It was a fabulous wine that in my opinion does not need any more time in the bottle.

5/14/2012 - matro wrote:

Good mature CDP but unremarkable. Drank it with the 99, which was fresher and more pleasurable. Not nearly as good as the 98 Pegau I had last year. The cork was in perfect shape and the bottle was stored in my cellar at 58 F since release.

5/2/2012 - matro wrote:

A lot more open than the last one I drank about 1.5 years ago. Lots of fruit upfront, tannins are noticeable but balance with the fruit. This was a pop and pour and the wine was open for business from the outset. Did not take detailed notes, but recollect a nice lengthy finish.

4/28/2012 - matro wrote:

Delicious mature CDP. Decanting for 30 min definitely helped to open it up. Tannins are fully resolved. Drink up.

4/15/2012 - matro wrote:

Nice easy drinking Pinot. Surprisingly good considering the cost. Good ripeness and acidity.

4/4/2012 - matro wrote:

Popped and poured. Strong initial whiff of currants. Medium body, good acidity, needs time. Cantemerle has remained reasonably affordable while other bordeaux have gone through the roof. Screaming bargain at $20 from the BPWine soiled label sale.

3/31/2012 - matro wrote:

nice but unspectacular. It was a fairly generic tasting bordeaux, without any real Pessac character. I'll wait a few years to open the next one in hopes of something better...

3/5/2012 - matro wrote:

Amazingly enough this was so much better than the 96 maya I drank a couple of weeks ago. This wine was fresh and vibrant, unlike the maya. I wish I had more...

2/19/2012 - matro wrote:

In line with a couple of recent reviews, this one was a major disappointment. Not much fruit left and the palate and finish were pretty hollow.

1/1/2012 - matro wrote:

Nicely aged cab. Probably not getting any better. Drink up.

12/27/2011 - matro wrote:

Cork was wet and oozy. The wine was pretty much dead.

10/1/2011 - matro wrote:

Bottle 6 out of the case purchased on release . This just keeps getting better and better. It took it about 1 hour to open up and start singing. I don't know how much better this will get. Classic Pauillac cedar and lead pencil notes. Drink now and enjoy.

8/13/2011 - matro wrote:

Nice but not exciting. Lots of secondary aromas but the fruit is mostly gone.

7/11/2011 - matro wrote:

After 1 hour it opened up into a fabulous paulliac gushing with fruit, forest floor and cedar. I do not think this one is getting any better but please give it some breathing room.

4/18/2011 - matro wrote:

Drinkable, not really complex, fruity, good acidity, went well with brisket.

4/9/2011 - matro wrote:

A nice CDP drinking well right now. Went really nicely with mixed grill at a country French BYOB. I have been disappointed with the regular bottling of Autard, but the Cote Ronde was excellent. I would say drink up in the next year or so.