3/6/2024 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

The nose is exactly what I expected from JEC's Yates. On the pop 'n pour, this reminds me of the 2015, being a little more pungent and acidic than the 2014. Don't get me wrong - it's not bad at all! The tannins are not as strong as any of the previous vintages, so this is much more approachable at this stage of it's youth. The usual tasty dark fruit is there, with a little brambly note. The wine seems to have a lighter, but still lengthy, finish than previous vintages also. As always, I'll monitor this over a few days to see how it develops. If the past track record holds true, this will improve with some air.

7/1/2023 - Wine Canuck wrote:

An Epic Summer Wine Weekend - Year 2; 6/30/2023-7/2/2023 (Muskoka, Ontario, Canada): This really shows why it’s up there as one of the best of all time. Crazy intense on the nose from the first pop, blasting apricot, marmalade, light VA, a touch of pool toy, honey drizzled peaches, high quality vanilla bean, a touch of fresh white mushroom, and river rocks. The palate is immaculately balanced, entering on honey, apricot and peach, turning to lovely bitter marmalade as the lemony acid cuts a precise swath across the palate. The finish closes harmoniously on the array of lovely orchard fruit accented by vanilla bean. Just glorious Sauternes that's aging at a snails pace.

7/26/2022 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

It's been quite a while since my last note on this wine, and it has developed better than I could possibly imagine. The nose is still wonderful, but the palate is 3 times more expressive. The peach & butterscotch notes have diminished. Primary tastes of apricot, tangerine, honey, and pineapple are bolstered by secondary flavors of vanilla, crème brûlée / flan, cashew and almond. The botrytis gives a ginger-ish spice, which seems to have a hint of brown sugar in the background. The texture is slightly unctuous, and it's all pulled together with enough acidity to avoid being cloying and stay fresh. What a great wine!

EDIT: Day 3, and this is flat out PHENOMENAL! It's a symphony of flavors. How can it possibly get any better than this? Amended the score up a point to reflect the near perfection on display.

2/16/2020 - LWI wrote:

Just a hint of volatile acid/nail polish; wonderful balance, acid to lift it, gorgeous complexity, finish goes on and on.

10/26/2019 - Jabo-PEJ Likes this wine:

Very good

8/29/2018 - Boutip Likes this wine:

Deep red color port with some residual sugar notes, hints of fruity notes with some light oak. Very enjoyable nonetheless.

8/22/2019 - fcxj wrote:

Decent underlying material but mild cork taint.

5/28/2017 - Andrew Layman wrote:

n/a

9/5/2018 - SARED Does not like this wine:

Pretty bad to me. A brief initial note of dark, stewed fruit with similar strong aroma... the aroma suggested something nice was about to happen. And then when you put in mouth... sour cherries or if you will, sour figs. A nice length.. but the angularity, sourness and aggressiveness of wine made me sad. Disappointed by how much the sour cherry dominates The wine given the strong vintage. These are weak grapes. Or lack production investment to soften the grapes. I hope it softens with time, but there are better 2016s to chase. I struggle to see why others called this "refreshing"... I viewed this as a disappointment.

10/19/2018 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

Keeping my streak of posting the first tasting note on this wine alive since it's initial release! (Yeah, yeah, yeah..... so what if this is only the second vintage? Tradition has to start somewhere.)

This is a not an entirely different animal than the 2014, but more like a different subspecies of the same genus. The same dark red & purple fruit show, with a little black fruit added. The most noticeable change is greater structure - more acid and tannins stand out on opening than the '14 had. The nose was nearly identical to what I remember. It practically bubbles out of the bottle. There's a slight herbaceous element added, making for a more elaborate palate. Instead of the vanilla that was present last year, there's a hint of dark cocoa powder. Unlike the 2014, this might take a while on the rack to really shine. It's a great drink now for the crowd that likes Cabs young with surprising complexity at such an early stage. I suspect it will improve with only a little age, and could be an excellent buy for those who enjoy a little hint of Old World flavor in their domestic Cab and can cellar it for just a few years.

Keep in mind that I don't rate on potential - I score according to how the wine drinks the day I drink it. I'll follow it over a few days to see how it evolves, and amend the score as necessary. Stay tuned for updates!

Day 2 - as with the 2014, the nose has faded a bit and the fruit seems darker. I left half a glass on the counter, and topped it off with some from the bottle stored in the fridge overnight. The tannins have noticeably mellowed, making this much more pleasant to drink. Amending the score up a point in light of the positive development.

8/11/2018 - rashcar Likes this wine:

My friend Johnny decanted for one hour. Great nose of lead pencil and earth to later become perfume. Great structure and well balanced. In drinking window right now.

9/2/2018 - JimTaft Likes this wine:

Delicious, ready to drink. Well balanced and delightful. Haave one left, hopefully I'll do better in capturing the event.

5/23/2017 - CranBurgundy wrote:

Bottled in 2016. No sediment present after an overnight decant. Deep caramel color.... as in previous notes, mahogany is about right. If you could roast butterscotch, this would be what it would look like.

Initial nose of fig, molasses, caramel, nuts, and warm butterscotch - which would be fantastic if the alcohol wasn't front & center. The palate is very much the same as the nose with the addition of a hint of dark roast coffee. The alcohol burn starts on entry and stays prominent through the finish, distracting from the otherwise lovely flavors. It's almost as if this needs to be diluted. Seeing as it's only been in the bottle a year (or less), maybe it just needs more time on the rack. The '66, which I loved last year, was in cask for 40 years like this. However, unlike this the '66 slumbered for a decade (bottled in 2006) before opening. The lack of sediment from this '76 concerned me, and the palate confirmed my fear that this recently bottled lot requires MUCH more time laying down.

Still, there's no denying the potential for excellence is there - but today it's merely very good. If this ends up anywhere near the '66, this will be something special in 10 years. Bury whatever you have if bottled in 2016.

8/19/2016 - Vinum Deorum Does not like this wine:

Very disapointing. One could hardly notice the pinot noir typicity behind the oak make-up and the ridiculous style of this wine which was over-extracted, oaky and unbalanced (rough tanins, a strong alcohol sensation, jammy style). I thought it was a bad caricature of what a pinot noir from a great terroir should be in a top vintage. One of the worst burg I have ever drunk.

9/19/2017 - CranBurgundy Likes this wine:

This bottle had a little more reticent nose than the last. The palate was much more alive though, with fresher dark plum & blackberry, plus a little more white peppery spice. The leather and tobacco notes were still there, just pushed further to the background by the superb fruit and spice. There was about the same sediment as my last bottle, and barely noticeable tannin left on the finish only detectable as slight astringency. Given all this, I'm upping the score by a point over my last note. There are 2 more bottles of this, and 1 from 1993 - and I have no desire to share this with anyone! (I could be persuaded by the promise of an equally excellent bottle in return by any dining companions though.) I don't think perfection is ever possible in anything made by humans so I doubt you'll ever see a 100 score from me.... however, perfection is boring - it's the small imperfections that make things interesting.

I believe it's time to drink up any 1995 Domestic Cabs you have. I simply can't see how it gets better than right now although I've said that before and been wrong.

4/16/2017 - Night Train Likes this wine:

Although my score is the same as I gave it last year, this one was decidedly different. Same nose - raspberries and a little bramble. Black raspberries on the palate, but they morphed into black cherries on the finish. Medium body at best, but the black cherries hung around long enough to deliver a very good finish. However, after it had been opened 2+ hours, the tannins and any semblance of a backbone had disappeared. What remained was, to use a technical term, yummy, but it was more suitable to pour over ice cream than to consume as a table wine. Because of that, I docked it a point or two, and I suspect that it's time to drink up.

7/1/2016 - Eric Guido Likes this wine:

The nose was earthy with dusty soil, leather, dried flowers and sweet herbs. On the palate, I found angular textures with gripping tannin, giving way to tart cherry and brisk acidity. Tannin coated the palate throughout the finish, drying the senses and the wine’s otherwise beautiful fruit. I hope to be wrong one day about the 2004, as on this night it seemed as if the wood tannin may outlive the fruit. At the moment, it’s a hard wine to like.

7/31/2016 - Collector1855 wrote:

Cos d'Estournel vertical - Check in on some recent vintages; 8/1/2016-9/3/2016: Dark purple. Nose of dark fruit with noticeable toasty/coffee note so typical for the 2003. Full bodied with lots of volume, a bit of heat, good structure. Aromatically a bit weak, not much terroir, also a typical trait of 2003. in one word, a good but not a great Cos. For that look for the sublime 2010.