2/23/2024 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Better this time out, this bottle was pretty open an hour after the cork was popped. Strawberry fields, sous bois, nice balance. Last bottle in a few more years should be fun, will be interesting to see if there is any further evolution.

1/29/2024 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

En Magnum, this wine did not disappoint, as I always love Janasse and its style. This was still drinking young at first but opened up wonderfully after an hour or so, revealing a wall of blackberries, garrigue, faint oak, nutmeg, burned tobacco. Great wine to have at a party as it is assertive enough that it won't get lost in the crowd without being overoaked or cloying.

11/18/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

This was absolutely lovely in the purist sense of Pinot, with a field of strawberries on the nose and palate immediately out of the bottle. This was decanted for a couple of hours, which helped it to bring out some lovely herbal notes, but overall this was ready to go. Did well with the crowd but definitely overshadowed by the 2006 Sloan and 1986 Montrose.

11/18/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

This was a crowd pleaser at the wine tasting; didn't quite live up to the 86 Montrose tasted right before it but was not too far behind and definitely worth a look for fans of big steak wines. This paired perfectly with the picanha that I smoked that night.

12/31/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Young and still waiting on some of the lovely mousse and sherried notes that I'm sure this will develop over the next couple decades, this is still a stellar wine right now and trading at very fair prices. At first whiff you can tell you're in for a different kind of experience than your typical Champagne. The citrus and lavender is what first catches you, such a lovely freshness evocative of eating a perfect piece of in-season fruit or oyster. The palate held bright acidity but neither that or the effervescence overwhelmed the lanolin and brioche that arrived on the palate. Delicate, refined, and a real gem the is good now but almost assuredly will improve.

12/31/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Fully mature at this point but still life ahead of it, this has to be one of the better premier aged Bordeauxs on the market right now, as you can still find this in the $300/bottle range from time to time if you're patient (and lucky). Classic Pauillac in every sense, with cedar, lead pencil, sous bois, gravel and stewed dark fruit. The palate was a bit shy for the first 3 hours in the decanter, waiting until later in the night to shine through with lovely balance of currants, red and dark berries, dark chocolate and some faint licorice notes. This is a delight today and will be a delight in 2030. Great wine to buy now to get a good feel for what the best of Bordeaux can offer for close to half the price of an Angelus or Montrose of the same vintage.

12/7/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

This bottle was a bit shy for the first 3 hours it was open, but the last glass of the night (a total of 9 hours after the bottle was first opened) was hitting on all cylinders, lovely tertiary notes and classic LB. This wine is not at the end of its drinking window; rather, it has hit full maturity and should bring great pleasure for the next 5-10 years if stored properly.

12/7/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

This is fully mature and a lovely sipper for those who love classic Bordeaux. A touch austere compared to better Montrose vintages, this was nonetheless enjoyable with a picanha.

11/11/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

One of the more mature bottles of wine I have had recently, the capsule and cork of this bottle were a moldy mess. The Durand got the cork out intact, but it was fully saturated through, barely held together and surely would've had significant seepage if kept for much longer. Thankfully, there was no sign of cork taint and this wine had a lovely bouquet of cedar, leather, sous bois, and blackberry liqueur. The palate was similarly primary and secondary with the fruit, while present, taking a back seat to the soy, dark chocolate, and green herbs. While I enjoyed this wine, I'm not sure I'd be a buyer at the current price point.

10/28/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

A couple years later, this has mellowed out a bit, and left open overnight it improves even more. That said, this wine was still overrated by the reviewers out of the gates and while I think it will still improve in the bottle, it's just never going to be a wine of too much interest.

10/14/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

This is an overrated wine IMO, very one dimensional and has a finish that tends towards more alcoholic than I prefer.

10/7/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Hitting that lovely 10 year old Brunello spot right now, this is mature but still with years of life left in it. Cherry liqueur, blackberry compote, a bit of muddiness that keeps this from getting to where 2015 is but this is still a good wine that remains at a reasonable price point.

9/25/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Solid wine at an excellent price point, would buy again.

9/15/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Lovely now and I expect it will only get better over the next 5+ years. Classic Pegau, lovely aromas.

8/30/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Talk about a wine being in its sweet spot, this was singing after 20 minutes in the decanter with a beguiling aroma of garrigue, leather, pepper, and cut wood. All dark berries and a bit savory on the palate, with some bitter chocolate and meaty flavors. It was great to get this for <$100 some years back, but it's still a good value at $150-175 IMO

8/26/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

This definitely improved a bit over the last few years, picking up some more depth in the way of savory flavors. Very nice for a second tier wine.

4/29/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Lovely place right now, in the first couple years of its drinking window with at least 10-15 left with heavy primary fruit. Spottswoode never disappoints and might be the best value of the higher end cult Napa Cabs right now, as you can find this pretty readily at under $300.

8/29/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Another lovely, rich, expressive black pepper and smoked meat laden Syrah from SQN, Dark Blossom is not as showing or concentrated as some of the other offerings over the years, but that takes nothing away from this outstanding wine that is in a perfectiy mature spot right now and is a good deal if you can find it for <$300 in this inflated market.

8/28/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Earthy, brioche, lemon meringue. Solid and squarely in the drinking window.

8/17/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Another great performance from SQN. Pure Syrah reminiscent of ASITD, although maybe not delivering at that level, but still extraordinary. Black pepper, smoky meat, bramble, an abundance of dark fruit and great concentration. Will definitely seek out more bottles.

8/5/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Fantastic juice, better than the 2006 we had a few weeks back. Massive cab but not cloying or overextracted. Plums, blackberries, leather, cinnamon, surprisingly not hot despite the high alcohol. Would buy again at the right price.

8/10/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

What a lovely experience with this completely mature wine, which was showy and giving off secondary and tertiary flavor components while retaining its rich, concentrated bouquet of red and dark fruits. The secondary elements included notes of cedar, barnyard, gravel, and leather and was an absolute joy to taste over the course of 4 hours. Great wine for lovers of the LB.

7/30/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Still playing at a high level, this is full bodied, balanced, and very well structured with tons of dark fruit, warm spices, leather, brandy soaked cherries. Fully mature now but still years of great drinking ahead.

7/25/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

This is really lovely stuff now and will only get better over the next 10-15 years. If you have a case, pop open a bottle out of curiosity, but if not wait on it for now and enjoy in 2030. Great buy right now at $100.

7/18/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Disappointing, hot and all fruit. Will keep my other 2 bottles for a couple years to see if it mellows out.

7/17/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Last bottle of this and it has definitely improved over the last couple of years, but for the life of me I don't get what Suckling was thinking rating this 100 points. I think that has potentially colored my thoughts on this as I've had it, but ultimately this is a fun Brunello that will never hit the heights of the best that I have had.

7/16/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Lovely little white with a great funky nose. Good purity of fruit, this stood up to numerous apps that we had and some aggressively spiced chicken. Happy I had this in my cellar but not paying the prices I'm seeing for this these days. Citrus, lanolin, some funky earth notes.

7/16/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Steak wine through and through, had this with skirt steak topped with chimichurri and there was more than enough verve to stand up to the garlic and herbaceousness. This had some Left Bank characteristics to it and was not showing a ton of age at all, I think this make it to 2030 easy without fruit degradation. Would definitely buy again at sub $200.

7/5/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

A real treat; cork was in bad shape with mold and some seepage but the wine was in great shape, dare I say drinking at least 40 years younger than its 71 year age. Lovely Mouton that I preferred to the 1970 we had some months back, the concentration is lovely with only mild bricking at the very edge and a deep fruit core. Incredible to get to try wines this old that still have a lot of energy

6/27/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Early drinking window but this is already showing it's stuff; red and black fruit, cinnamon, red earth, dark chocolate. This is good now, will be better over the next decade.

6/17/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Solid, will get better with some more years, the Gualto Res never disappoints

6/19/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Lived up to the hype, this is a top tier CdP with years more of life but definitely mature enough to drink. Decanted for 2 hours, amazing purity of fruit, garrigue, minerality and no heat at all, which is not always the case during the troubling years of high alcohol wines from 2007-15. This is worth the investment, particularly if you are able to find it for under $200 out in the wild.

6/16/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

A truly lovely wine in a great place right now, I see the price has gone up significantly from where I bought it, which is unfortunate but if you can get this for $130 or less it's a good buy. Nice stuff from San Filippo

6/2/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Got this on the cheap at a bin sale of late and have to say, I was not super impressed given the hype and price tag. Big, fleshy New Worlder with very round corners and a lot of heat on the finish. I couldn't detect any significant secondary characteristics other than a hint spice, just lots of oak and tannin. To each their own, this is definitely not my style.

4/11/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Fun, new world bottle with plenty of life and perhaps a touch too much alcohol, but for fans of this style this is ready to go and will give pleasure for the next 5-7 years or so.

5/20/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

A very different experience this round to last one, although I will say that I ultimately drew the same conclusion; a well stored bottle of this wine is far from over the hill. The last bottle took a little time to open up and strut its full stuff, probably 2 hours or so, but this bottle took significantly longer. The nose was lovely from the jump, but a splash decant revealed a very tannic heavy wine to start that was clearly not ready to go. Without a deep quaff one might have thought that this bottle was off, but the nose was just so lovely in a classic Northern Rhone style. A couple of glasses prior to going out on day 1 were probably 93-94 points, definitely a step above a regular good glass of wine but not at the level of our last bottle. The next morning, however, the wine had really come around, softening at the edges and showing a bold, beautiful Rhone with tremendous concentration and length. It moved to 96 points and really resolved well in the end.

5/2/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Lovely stuff, wish I had bought more. Beautiful purity of fruit, light on its feet, this is lovely with food or just to sip on the patio on a nice day.

5/1/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

At the beginning of its drinking window, this is classic Brunello in all the best ways. If opening now decant for a couple hours; this should be fully ready to go in around 4-5 years and be a great value for folks who bought it on release. Great stuff with more upside.

4/5/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Lovely, crisp, at the beginning of what should be a long drinking window, this was full of bright citrus, brioche, and some cream but not so much as to make this feel heavy. Delicious stuff

3/25/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

A treat to be able to have this beside it's year older sibling, this was wonderful and would have truly shined had it been drunk on its own, but was a bit overshadowed by the 89. Nevertheless, this was fully mature, a bit more masculine than the 89, and took a couple hours longer to really start strutting its stuff. However, by hour 4 this was open and ready to go, with a little more muted nose but still lovely scents of leather, fresh cut wood, and ripe fruit. Would absolutely get this again at the right price in the future to see if it hits the heights of the 89.

3/25/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Sublime, I'll remember this as a prime example of a superior wine at its apogee. This was the best Pomerol I have ever had and a top 5 Bdx overall, this was a tiny bit shy after popping the cork but had a heavenly nose of old leather, stewed fruit, tobacco and some salty tapenade. We were lucky enough to have this right next to the 90, which was also a formidable wine but never quite hit the heights that this one did over the 7 hours that we drank them both. By the last glass this was a concentrated yet well balanced beauty, with loads of ripe fruit left but secondary and tertiary flavors shining through, with dark chocolate, truffle, and licorice. This isn't as cheap as it once was but if you love Right Bank Bordeaux this is a wine to try at least once in your life.

3/12/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

This is a wonderful mature New World wine, full of black and red berries, nutmeg, oak, dark chocolate and licorice. I could drink this all day and would score it a point or two hire if not for the slight lingering heat on the palate. At 13.5% ABV this wine would've been electric.

3/4/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Lovely, mature beauty in its prime drinking window. My bottle was in perfect shape and expressive after 3 hours in the decanter, excellent concentration and balance of minerality and sweet spice coupled with red and black fruit. Would definitely get again at the right price point.

2/27/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Really enjoyed this lovely beauty last night. It was fully resolved and a mature Brunello that is definitely in the early part of its drinking window, as it opened beautifully after 2 hours in the decanter. Dark berries, dark chocolate, a touch of toast, nutmeg. Lovely wine that is made to have with food.

2/8/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Getting better with age, this is still a good buy at <$100. Lovely Pauillac character and balance, all the right stuffing to continue to improve.

2/5/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Unfortunately my last bottle of this beauty, which I have enjoyed 6 times over the last 5 years. Quintessential CdP, full of garrigue, black fruits, kirsch, rich mineral aromas and a concentration that is so impressive. This is at its apogee but wasn't showing any signs of decline, it's just too bad that it has increased so much in price the last few years.

12/31/2022 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

This bottle was not nearly as good as the last, missing some of the lovely mousse and starting to take on more Granny Smith qualities and losing some effervescence. Maybe just an off night.

1/3/2023 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Had 4 bottles of this over the course of 2.5 years and all of them were disappointing. A really unfortunate metallic aftertaste seems to permeate the wine and it's hard to overlook. Frustrating given the vintage and the quality of the Riserva from other good years.

12/28/2022 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Fun experience, although the wine is definitely on the back side of the hill. Almost all of the primary was gone and had given way to the secondary and tertiary savory notes. Lovely nose if you enjoy classic Bordeaux, plenty of barnyard, cedar, leather, cigar wrapper. If you have any left it's time to drink up!

12/31/2022 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote:

Lovely experience with this on NYE. PnP, this was ready to go right away but not tired at all, with primary fruit left driving the mid-palate and soy, leather, cedar, legumes, and stewed fruits making up the lovely nose. A great example of a perfectly mature wine that was not showing any signs of demise.