5/27/2023 - racerchris Likes this wine:

I keep coming back to this wine, because each bottle has been such a pleasure to drink. Already ten down, with many more to go.

2/11/2024 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:

For $16.99 I had to try one. Now I need to go back to Costco and grab a dozen more. Unsurprisingly, it's not quite there for my palate in this moment, but it's not far away, either. A great cellar defender that I'll drink from 2025-2035 with pleasure. Easily recommended+

1/26/2024 - racerchris Likes this wine:

Double decanted, but minimal sediment noted.
Was open for business right away. Deep red color and full bodied, showing rich dark fruit, some earth and baking spices, with a medium long finish. Very nice, and a much better showing than my previous bottle in 2021.

1/2/2024 - racerchris wrote:

Popped and Poured, drank over two evenings.
Rather hard edged and a bit hot at first.
By the second day it had smoothed out and was quite enjoyable, with less heat detected.

12/30/2023 - racerchris Likes this wine:

Double decanted and drank over two evenings.
A real pleasure.

12/4/2023 - Lucky Luc Likes this wine:

First bottle of French wine in over a year while living in Napoli. My god. The wine is youthful, and perhaps the only assuagement of guilt for the infanticide is the fact that every smell, taste, moment with this wine was a slice of heaven. Thank you Lalande-Borie. Merci Bordeaux.

11/12/2023 - racerchris Likes this wine:

More approachable than my first bottle in 2018, but fits the same profile. An elegant and excellent wine that will continue to improve.

10/20/2023 - Johan - Antwerpen Does not like this wine:

At this moment and after decanting still wood glue. Horror. Same for all bottles tastes so far except for one. Three flawed out of Six…

7/20/2023 - mercurius wrote:

I opened a .375 and dumped most of it down the sink. Thin, shrill, long aftertaste of chemicals and green tobacco. Like drinking a cheap menthol cigarette.

7/15/2023 - racerchris Likes this wine:

This week I bought that bottle in Manchester TW that I’ve been eying for a while, and I opened it last night. 2 1/2 hours later I drained the last sip from my glass after my last bite of the rare filet of rib I made for the occasion. That was a perfect pairing for the young Margaux.
I poured my first glass before starting dinner prep. The crushed berry aroma was so appealing right away but didn’t follow thru on the palate at first. Before long, and with the addition of cooking aromas pervading the kitchen, the palate came alive, showing complex fruit, balanced acidity, drying tannin, an elegant mouthfeel and long finish.
Each glass was better than the previous one. There were hints of further complexity. The faint green streak was well integrated and not bitter. No overt wood tones apart from an occasional sense of pencil sharpenings.
I finished both the boeuf and the Bordeaux, more than my intentions at the start. However, the wine elevated the meal, and I was powerless to stop until there was no more.

7/4/2023 - randyjc wrote:

One year since my last time with this wine. It is maturing but in a way that is taking it a step backwards. Not as vivid and compelling as it was one and three and five years ago. Good depth, but acidity and tannin that seems to shut it down a bit. Not sure what to make of it but it does not make me think less of the wine - just will continue to follow it and see where the journey takes me. DAY TWO: Well, isn’t this interesting. The aromatics are incredible at 16 hours open - can smell it from several steps away. Very bright and spicy, with the pie cherry sharpness that was not there yesterday. Mouth feel just as smooth, much more flavor in the mouth of Asian spices and tart cherry with an undertone of used oak barrels. Long finish. Very nice. Merits a higher score but I won’t change it as I wanted to capture the wine on opening.

5/21/2023 - wineforth Likes this wine:

1st bottle from a half case bought en primeur. Complex nose of blackcurrant, sea breeze/ oyster shell, cedar and pencil shavings. Medium bodied. Needs food or a few more years for some of the tannins to fall out. Long finish. Very enjoyable.

5/8/2023 - Everything Ahead wrote:

While this was the "star" of a recent tasting, in my opinion, it still failed to impress. Surprisingly lean and elegant for the vintage, it did at least show clear, candied fruits of the reddish end of the spectrum. The oak was rather balanced at least. This could be a Chinon or (oaked) Southern Rhone. Very surprised by the high scores on this one. Y'all should recalibrate your palates with some better Bordeaux :) Try '19 D'Issan or Dauzac for a better Margaux in this vintage at a lower price. You can thank me in advance ...

5/1/2023 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine:

Catching up on my notes and writing from memory but…
I had this at the chateau last year and couldn’t believe how well it was drinking. The fruit was so ripe and vibrant, blind I might have thought a Napa cab like b cellars which is just crazy for a young Bordeaux.
So I convinced Mark to buy some of these for us to split and then didn’t try again until last week. What a disappointment!!! I suspect I missed the baby fat window and it had already ventured into way too young to drink Bordeaux.
The fruit is still there and great quality and delicious. It is balanced with slightly grippy and tight tannins. But there is a bitterness to the finish that seemed to get worse with air. Day 2 even more disjointed.
I should know better by now. Next bottles in 15 yrs!

3/20/2023 - epiphany Likes this wine:

Fully mature and a treat to drink.

2/17/2023 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine:

Popped and poured. Still continues to show brilliantly; no doubt the reason why the price has increased by 50%. Very dark purple-ruby, just a tad short of opaque, but with nice red legs. Nose on this is very special and complex, with blue fruit and purple flowers (are they lilacs, violets, or something else; not sure, but who cares, they're glorious). A lot of that complexity follows through to the mouth. This is drinking well even at 7 yrs., still hasn't shut down like the '14 did long ago (indeed, shortly after release) Amazing how enjoyable this already is, especially on pnp. I ordered more as soon as I smelled and tasted this tonight. Yowza! 5-14-17-9: 95/100.

2/5/2023 - richshoes Likes this wine:

can't get enough of this wine--might be my perfect wine...at least on a daily basis...dark tart cherry, black fruit, cassis, pencil and graphite...multi-layered, soft, mellow, nice length easy to drink

2/6/2023 - Everything Ahead wrote:

Double-decanted then followed over 2 nights.
A big strapping dark young Bordeaux that is very primary at the moment, but with lots of potential. Dark fruits (plum, blackberry), molasses, and a fair amount of oak notes that soften as the wine breathes. Kind of reminds me of the '19 Smith Haut Laffite, but with less latent complexity. Not an old school Bordeaux by any means but if you like the modern style, this is very good value wine that drinks like a wine twice its price. Should age well.

1/12/2023 - racerchris wrote:

corked

1/2/2023 - Ianjaig Likes this wine:

Beautiful again and best on day 2 (again). 92 due to its QPR.

12/29/2022 - macaujames Likes this wine:

A traditional gutsy earthy iron infused forest fruits Cantemerle with lovely nicely oaked freshly fruited and excellent length. 13%. Lay down 10-20 years. Needs 6-7 hrs aeration.

12/22/2022 - racerchris Likes this wine:

Decanted. Still rather tight. Showed different aspects over a couple hours, never quite put it all together. Seemed less ready than a 2015 Ch. Cantemerle opened the previous evening.

12/16/2022 - JimHow Likes this wine:

Omg... 2014 Leoville Barton... With the possible exception of the 2002, the greatest Leoville Barton ever? This wine is stunning. Immaculate. So pure. 13.5% but it might as well be one of those 11.5%-ers we see occasionally from an era gone by, like from some vintage from the 1950s. I've had many a Barton. It has for decades ranked among my top 3-4 favorite estates since the earliest days of my passion for Bordeaux, which is now in its fourth decade. (The Langoa Barton has provided great joy over the years as well.) We have seen many changes in Bordeaux over the years, but Leoville Barton is "constant as the Northern Star, of whose true fixed and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament." I gave the 2014 Calon Segur 100 points because it "blew me away." I score this 2014 Leoville Barton 98+ points, because I celebrate its understatedness.... It does NOT blow me away.... But I mean that as the ultimate compliment. I say to you that in some ways a lower score can be a higher achievement.... 2014 Leoville Barton is "better" because it is NOT a 100 point wine. It is NOT a Robert Parker wine. The universe is complicated. 100 is not always better than 98+. The smoothness of the tannins, the structure combined with elegance. The lingering finish. Light on its feet, drinking well now and for at least another thirty years, the whole nine yards. The 2014 vintage is a throwback to the golden era of Bordeaux, the decade of the 1980s. 2014 is 1988-like, one of my favorite Bordeaux vintages ever. Great bouquet, pure rich St. Julien purple color. I have always said that the greatest pinpoint in our solar system for the production of wine grapes is at that bend in the road on Route D2, at the stone wall where Pauillac meets St. Julien, where Latour and Léoville Las Cases meet, the neighborhood of Pichon Baron, Pichon Lalande, and the neighbors to the south, including that constant northern star, the soul of Bordeaux, Chateau Leoville Barton. To me this is EVERYTHING I look for in Bordeaux. The ultimate St. Julien. Breathtaking in its understatedness, the 2014 Chateau Leoville Barton.
Rating: 98+ points.

www.bordeauxwineenthusiasts.com

8/21/2022 - schultzi22 wrote:

A bit underwhelming. Minimal fruit but also no tertiary characteristics. Maybe a bad bottle or bad palate, but I had much higher hopes for this.

1/5/1992 - MicklethePickle Does not like this wine:

With David Leeming at home trying to get my computer printer to work. Relatively developed ruby color. Has some glycerine. Has some of that round, plump fruit I like in Bordeaux, but also a tad musty and woody. Is it corked? On the palate it tastes" off." Musty and tannic; black walnut. 4-8-5-2: 69/100.

7/31/2022 - Everything Ahead wrote:

This was drinking very well out of the gate, very smoothly balanced, nice old fruit to it, honey, and some definite spice notes (saffron?). The sweetness has integrated just about fully into the rest of the wine, leaving more an impression of full-bodied roundness than sweetness at this point. Like the '01 Erd Trepp Spatlase by this producer opened recently, though, this was a little low on the acid and mineral end in my opinion. Very drinkable, yet missing a little "freshness." Still, a very enjoyable wine and a notch better than '01 E-T in my opinion. Rating: 93+

6/10/2022 - Purple Tooth wrote:

This is all Bordeaux already. Back in 2016, this is exactly what I was hoping for with the 2014 offerings, and If I would have known that I would be this close to target, I would have bought 4 cases of this at the rediculous release prices. Never the less, grabbed 8 bottles and now its 7.

This is medium bodied and its all about tobacco and smoke, with the perfect amount of fruit to make it a wine. The balance here is excellent and the lightness of the wine brings that cleansing sensation that makes Bordeaux so classy in stage one of maturity. Very ready to drink, but will get into the funk and chocolate with time. Drink or Hold

5/12/2022 - Everything Ahead wrote:

I was very pleasantly surprised by this wine. Good concentration and tannins, an interesting nose of charcoal smoke, dark cherries, plums and some earth. The nose reminded me a bit of the 2016 Grand puy-Lacoste. Where it falls a bit short is on the palate. Medium-bodied, good acidity, but falls off quickly and could use more midpalate "oomph" to get into the "90s" score-wise. But with some more age, this could edge up into that range. Excellent QPR. Rating: 89+

3/24/2022 - tward Does not like this wine:

Usually a solid producer across the line this was not only boring, but flat, really unexpressive, muted. There's some fruit but not much and a slight medicinal off taste and something about it making me feel the winemaker was trying to correct something. Entirely drinkable, but after a half glass I pulled the trigger and dumped it, thinking the lack of fruit didn't make it a good cooking wine either.

13.5% abv

Obviously poor QPR

1/9/2022 - sfbikeguy Does not like this wine:

Disappointing. It took the expected 2 hours to open up on Day 1. There is just not a lot going on here. On Day 2, it was almost flat. Focusing, I can get the profile of the wine, but this wine is just not worth the $60 I paid in June of 2016 and held in storage until today. If you balk at that statement, the same $60 invested in TSLA is worth $1,026 today (22x).

It's experiences like these that cause me to question the buying and holding of moderately priced wines. It's a tough game and it does not help when my local wine shop is ringing the bell on the wine and today offers it for $90. Sometimes is all Marketing.

I do have one bottle left. I've set a note to 'wait' a few more years to see if my comments are off.

12/18/2021 - Motz wrote:

Tasted over three days. My third experience with this wine; the last was three years ago.

A classy Pauillac! Spectacularly balanced on the first day, true to place, strikingly fresh, expansive and long.

The wine 'brought it' on the second day! Waves of balanced fruit, root vegetables, pepper garden, worn leather, tobacco (in all forms), gravel, cacao, espresso beans, mint, black earth, and more. The inflection-changing range and depth rivet the senses! Seamless, 13.5 abv enhances the experience.

Better integrated oak than expected. Indeed, it plays well with the worn leather and tobacco elements. It also aligns with the wine's impressive, terroir-driven substance.

It seems appropriate to comment on this understated vintage as well. Just as I did not understand the praise for 2009 and 2016, I did not understand the general disinterest in this more traditional, gripping, and brawny vintage. It is, make no mistake, far better than the vapid 2016 vintage, and so far, at least, a cut above the 2018 vintage. I was delighted for the pricing and am elated to have a good many bottles of various wines, which should age quite nicely through 2035, or so. Drink by 2038-2040.

I plan to hold my last bottle for a long while, and look for more bottles. Even at current pricing, this wine represents exceptional QPR. If the winemaker had applied slightly less oak treatment, even by 5 percent, this would be even better. Improvement seems likely. 94-95.

P.S. My 12,000th tasting note. What a wine journey!

9/27/2021 - csimm wrote:

Here's a piece of advice... Drink this wine by itself with a nice plate of food in the privacy of your own home while listening to yer boy Yanni. Don't take it to a tasting of great wines surrounding it as a fun little "comparison" wine to play around with in front of others. It'll just get obliterated. I know our morbid curiosities get the best of us sometime and we can't help but ogle at the fatal 10 car pile-up on the interstate, but this was just a straight massacre.

My previous notes are quite complimentary on this wine. Go with those. This is just a helpful tip from your 'ol pal csimm! Now go in peace my brothers and sisters...

9/3/2021 - racerchris Likes this wine:

This is drinking well now, even starting to show some secondary development. Wish I had bought a few more of these, at $24.

8/9/2021 - racerchris wrote:

A lot of love for this on the wine forums.
Clearly it's well made,
But I have to admit, I'm still not a fan of Gamay/Bojo.

7/22/2021 - racerchris Likes this wine:

Juicy fruit, mildly tart. Smooth tannins, a hint of bitterness, and no obvious oak influence. 13%abv. This is drinking well now. I would happily drink these while the '15s, '16s and '18s mature.

7/18/2021 - racerchris Likes this wine:

I double decanted this on Friday evening and drank it alongside a grilled porkchop with grilled veggies and roasted potatoes. My impression was that the oak was stronger than the fruit. Pleasant enough but not as good as previous bottles, and perhaps somewhat past its peak.
That opinion changed when I drank the last two glasses on Sunday evening after leaving the stoppered bottle in my wine fridge for two days. Drank alongside sausage stuffed crimini mushrooms this was full of life, showing full round tannins, beaucoup red and black fruit with the oak influence totally in balance. A lip-smacking finish put a smile on my face. It was an excellent accompaniment to the food and reminded me that patience is a key ingredient of great Bordeaux.

7/17/2021 - JimHow wrote:

Deliciously boring. Wonderfully austere. Classic claret.
Like Jacques's 2011 Domaine de Chevalier, I was immediately struck by the inky black color of the Calon Segur.
Like Johnny Depp, I could drink this every day of the week. Perhaps surpassing Lynch Bages as my favorite estate.
Had this with Nic, Danny and their better halves in Quebec a few years ago, and then with Patrick on a later date.
I'm glad I still have five more bottles, I'll drink them over the course of the next decade.
Rating: 91 points.

7/17/2021 - JimHow wrote:

2012 Rauzan Segla
I've had a couple 2012s recently from the right bank and have found them compelling.
This wine from Margaux was very tannic and grudging at the outset.
My immediate concern, of course: Uncorked too prematurely, too young.
Certainly everything on the nose, the color, spoke of a youthful effort.
If you just looked at this wine visually, you would not be able to tell whether it was out of the barrel or a decade old.
But... ah, like a true Bordeaux, this heretofore tannic specimen evolved into a floral, complex, beautiful Margaux.
Still very youthful.
Rating 94 points.

7/17/2021 - JimHow wrote:

2016 Siran
Wow! This wine has mellowed since I had it last year.
Are you factoring in price? Because if you are, this is a substantial QPR.
When I drank this wine last year I was a little concerned that I had misread its early promise.
It was awkward, gawky, adolescent.
But, of course, that should in no way be surprising.
This wine is a very, very beautiful Margaux food wine, big, tannic, fruity, bold, but has definitely "settled down."
Wow, I loved this wine, it may even be better than the '15.
This wine will survive many blanquitoes. Love it.
Rating: 93 points.

5/27/2021 - racerchris Likes this wine:

Red blue and black fruits. Well integrated oak. Lightly spiced finish. Superb balance. Excellent bottle.
This just keeps getting better and better.

5/6/2021 - racerchris wrote:

Hard on opening. It took a while to soften on the second night.
Never much fruit. I imagine this will be better in 4-5 years.

3/25/2021 - Jd6725 Likes this wine:

Definitely did not do this wine justice by opening it up, PNP at a picnic overlooking the golden gate bridge. With cheap glasses and amazing sandwiches. So much structure and tannins. This is a wine that deserves a long slow ox or maybe a decant. The quality and complexity were evident and I hope to do it right with the next bottle that I have. 95+ potential, 93 was just my experience.

4/19/2021 - Motz wrote:

Tasted over two days, alongside the 2015 Giscours.

No two ways about it: traditional, balanced, and satisfying.

Harmonious assemblage, with rustic Cabernet Sauvignon leading, accentuated powerfully by supple Merlot. Purple and red fruits, pepper garden, worn leather, cut tobacco, and layered mineral depth. Gripping Cabernet Sauvignon, with sumptuous textures enhanced by plush Merlot tannins. Balanced alcohol, and while the oak treatment could have been lighter, given this suave vintage, by overall standards, still judicious.

So, Margaux. The queen, right? Alongside the Giscours, which showed better overall, this delivered at least as much satisfaction, on account of its terroir-driven style. In these ways, this wine put my mind to an accomplished lover, who has innumerable charms to call upon. Pretty, though far from gorgeous, comfortable in her own skin, without the need to doll up, wholesomely seductive, and just a little slutty (when sluttiness will level up the experience), she knows exactly what to do to provide riveting pleasure...and exactly how to go about it.

That's my story...and I am stickin' to it!

12/19/2020 - DrBad wrote:

Decanted for an hour before dinner of Beef Wellington and Ratatouilles this was a bit of a disappointment, never really opening up over another 2-3 hours, maybe needs 3+ hour decant? Initial kindergarten paste aromas on the nose which turned into a cellar mustiness that never completely went away. Graphite and subdued red fruits. Outperformed in the dinner by a '13 Spring Valley Cab Franc. Possibly corked.

5/30/2020 - Motz wrote:

Tasted alongside a 2014 d'Armailhac.

This wine is all about blackberry cream...a whole lot of it. Sure, other elements, such as blackberry fruit (not blackcurrant), light pepper garden, light roast coffee beans, and wafting hints of coal and graphite, support the blackberry cream...but in the end, the blackberry cream element dominates.

Other than blackberry cream, and the aforementioned elements (all overshadowed by the blackberry cream), the wine is more noteworthy for what it lacks...sense of place, middle substance, and bass substance. The acid might be a notch higher than medium, just maybe, and the non-descript tannin profile puts the mind to the volcanic rock portion of Napa Valley. In sum, the wine drinks like a well-made Napa Bordeaux tribute, mainly on account of this black volcanic rock element.

While the blackberry cream beguiles...it does not make this a great wine. On the contrary, what it lacks makes it a placeless crowd pleaser that will likely hold through 2030 or so.

Next to the d'Armailhac, Bordeaux substance and terroir was negligible.

P.S. Yes...I used the descriptor 'blackberry cream' in this note as many times as I could. :-)

5/17/2020 - racerchris Likes this wine:

Talbot always displays an understated elegance.
This bottle was very tight on opening, but gradually opened up, and by the second glass was showing well.
Subtle oak influence, modest tannins, reserved dark fruit profile, good acidity, and a pleasing medium length finish.
I enjoyed this with grilled tuna and roasted vegetables over two evenings.

3/15/2020 - racerchris Likes this wine:

Decanted and half saved overnight in a 375. Similar to the last bottle in character but more expressive, especially at the start of the second half of the bottle. Seems like this would have gone better with grilled salmon than the beef & bean stew I made, which was excellent but too hearty for this wine.

5/13/2020 - Motz wrote:

The same bottle Coravined in January, tasted over two days, alongside the same vintage Branaire-Ducru.

This needs air, a whole lot of it! Indeed, tasting without letting it breathe for several (5+ hours) is a waste. Such is the quality of this splendid offering, which over the years has taken to task several Classed Growths of the same vintage.

This features all that is pure and sacred about Saint-Estèphe terroir. Where Pauillac delivers bracing wines of striking rusticity and depth, with Saint-Julien offering a similar, though more suave profile, and Margaux presenting exquisite perfume, poise, and class, Saint-Estèphe is the outlier. Its terroir typically feautres bright fruit, high-tension (acid), and powdered steel-like tannins. This second wine conveys all these elements in abundance.

Cabernet Sauvignon, with its blackcurrant, pepper garden, and graphite hallmarks plays beautifully with the velvety Merlot. Riveting juiciness, perfect oak treatment, and extraordinary balance. The wine will likely outlast many Classed Growths from this superior vintage. It outpaced the Branaire-Ducru by a noteworthy margin. The finest Bordeaux QPR that I have encountered.

5/11/2020 - ChristopherB wrote:

Nice dark still somewhat purplish-blueberry juice red colour - quite dark and opaque. On the nose, aromas of blue/black fruit jam upon pulling the cork. Very faint cork - seems to have blown off after 5 minutes or so, but keeping an eye (nose) on it. On the nose after a few minutes, clear blueberry and blackberry character with some coffee. Slight touch greeness not noticed in previous tastings. Slight cork persists, so probably linked to herbal green type aroma. Too bad... Not bad on the palate, but can't infer definitive results as corked.

3/24/2020 - physicsfan3.14@gmail.com Likes this wine:

Sour cherries, raspberries, tea leaves on the nose. Medium tannins, slightly tart, but well balanced. Beautiful wine.