4/5/2024 - Nanda wrote:

Reduced upon opening, so put this into the decanter, and then enjoyed over several hours. Took an hour for the reduction to clear up, and then the cherry fruit, florals and spice started to come out. Still a bit reserved, which is unusual for 2010s, but a promising future ahead with upside from here.

3/16/2024 - Gdubya Likes this wine:

Dark fruit, good acidity, felt fresh with good form and nice structure. About 93/95 for me. Will likely improve, but felt somewhat open for business with appropriate air time

2/25/2024 - SlapTheBag wrote:

This wine really came alive when paired with food. Nose had iodine, black currant and maybe a little black pepper. Palate had a little tar and funk to it, and the tannins are still strong giving it a very long finish.

1/5/2024 - jviz wrote:

This was opened at the Goldener Hirsch restaurant in Deer Valley. It was notable for notes of light petrol, lemon oil and pungent minerals followed by bright, incisive acidity with loads of concentration. 90% of the way to a Keller GG was my comment. This was detailed and truly excellent

12/31/2023 - Cailles wrote:

No notes taken. While this has a lot of substance, lots of well defined fruit at the core, a nice layer of minerality, a good structure with ripe, fine tannins, sufficient acidity to keep it fresh, is a bit too bold and on the nose for me. It‘s not overextracted like many wines a decade ago, so my guess is that this could develop into something beautiful, more balanced, complex in 20-30 years. Today it‘s a 91/92pts experience.

Decanting: Open and ready from the go, no extensive decanting needed.

11/1/2022 - Irish_Wine wrote:

Medium ruby.

Pronounced on the nose with lovely raspberry, blackberry, black plum, black currant, cedar, mint.

Long finish. Ripe tannins.

*** Tasted as part of a walkaround Bordeaux tasting. Not full notes ***

11/4/2023 - Lipsman wrote:

Well made, all elements in balance with ripe tannins giving it body. Dark fruits, cedar, and tannins are prominent today. Tastes like a classic California Cabernet from the 80s which I find exceptionally promising. The wine was very young and not as lush as last tasted in 2020… until magic happened after three hours in the decanter. This wine is fantastic! Terrific potential. It lives up to the initial reviews. Try again in 2031, but if you have a few bottles why not throw a steak on the grill and pull a cork?

7/31/2023 - Goodwine4ever wrote:

Que c'est bon !
Un jus pure, plein de fruits rouges éclatants avec une belle structure en arrière plan. Il ne s'agit pas d'un vin bien complexe mais c'est tellement délicieux et délicat. Absolument dans ma palette ! j'adore

7/24/2023 - Kiralux Likes this wine:

Still too young. Decanting over 2 hours was quite effective though. Raspberry and blackberry. Tannins are still too strong and need to settle. Too early for greater complexity. Will wait a couple of years.

7/15/2023 - MariusA Likes this wine:

This was just a delightful wine which we enjoyed with "steak frites" at a brasserie in Chagny, Bourgogne. Deep red color with abundance of black fruit. Surprisingly rich and smooth, with nice level of acidity. Nothing out of place - hard not to like.

7/13/2023 - Chris@77 Likes this wine:

Offering this note for only those drinking now. This is the 2d bottle tried. Medium ruby, body, very well balanced. 1st bottle less friendly for 1st half and 2d, with 2d somewhat unpleasant. 1st half interesting but lacking in definitive flavor elements, vinous (not differentiated) flavors. Unlike 1st bottle that went to frig with Ar, added Ar and left the bottle out at our warm house temp. Today, the 2d half was very nice, open, fragrant nose, good finish. What I learned for this wine: 1) decant (1st bottle 90 min) or let the wine 'sit' in the glass before drinking, 2) don't refrig after a half (I am the sole drinker). For cellar-ers, this wine needs +2 years however, can be enjoyable now if decanted and patient. This is my last note on it. Other wines and age aren't helpful.

6/28/2023 - ledocq Likes this wine:

Damn! Riesling idiot here, the last guy you want reviewing such a great wine, but this clearly special stuff. A bold tropical top note, but then it fades into grapefruit, and YET also chiseled. Chiseled tropical grapefruit. Very happy to have this with the astonishing pairing of taco salad.

6/16/2023 - galewskj wrote:

Open that bottle - Jason chooses 2012 Chateau La Violette: Really good and getting better. Consistent with previous notes, this is a blockbuster Rieussec. The 3 of us drank about 3/4ths of a 750ml!

6/7/2023 - brigcampbell wrote:

Attack is yellow pear and "Riesling". Is that a flavor? Medium acidity and leans towards yellow apple to finish.

54% Riesling, 20% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Blanc, 6% Gewurztraminer

5/28/2023 - John McCabe wrote:

I got a six pack of these and decided I'd try one. This is another one of the more closed-down wines from the '19 vintage. I should have known better as even the '15 remains quite austere. Perhaps will show better on the 2nd night.
So much better on the 2nd day; more weighty and resolved, more blue fruit, oyster shell; much more expressive. I wouldn't try again for a few years, but the potential is quite apparent. 94+pts.

5/9/2023 - Hugo Hilde Likes this wine:

This needs a lot of air, this particular bottle showed best after 7-8 hours..

The nose was initially driven by strawberry, later wild raspberries, vanilla, yellow flowers and rose stem emerged.

At first, quite boring palate, then it became almost too sweet with a long candied strawberry finish. However, at the end of the evening, everything came together, much more elegant mouthfeel, crisp freshness and balanced red berries.

92/93

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 ...

4/30/2023 - hajoha wrote:

Lorenzon Mercury Clos des Champs Martin "Carline" 2020.
Denne definitivt mer lukket en de andre på duft.
Mer tilgjengelig på smak.
Herlig dyp frukt med karakter, men det hele er noe pakket inn.
Høy konsentrasjon.
Må lagres.
Svært lang finish med et skikkelig tanninbitt. 92p

4/22/2023 - trifreddy Likes this wine:

Bu avec Pascal et LM a la Girolle (Quebec)

4/5/2023 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

Corked as all get out and apple too.

3/25/2023 - Papies wrote:

Good wine very happy and in that place that is in between the fresh Sauternes feel ( we love) and the starting to age. Maybe the wrong time to open this as now it would be better to wait and let it mature for more. Bright , well round, expressive and very solid. 92 for now but will improve for sure with time.

3/4/2023 - drwine2001 wrote:

Méo-Camuzet Masterclass (Pier 60, New York): Light ruby. Somewhat aggressive fennel and smoky black fruit at first, but this calms and the aromas show more rich fruit later. Medium weight with some sap and oak present. Candied cherry balanced by excellent citric acidity that provides lift, salinity, soil, and ripe tannins. Really very good, and it’s interesting how the soil is different from the French wines in some hard to describe way.

5/11/2022 - rikipedia Likes this wine:

70 CS; 15 CF; 15 Merlot: Deep purple-ruby in colour, the bouquet displays cedar, cola tonic, church pews, spice, ripe black (and some red) fruits, pencil shavings and wood smoke. As it opens, a touch of cigar box and bay leaf.
Youthful on entry and feels brooding, there is plenty of cassis, cola, smoke, and dried black olive alongside some red fruits of redcurrant and raspberry. Rich with fine but firmly delineated tannins with surprisingly vibrant acidity. Begins quite linear yet has some merlot flesh to add balance. An excellent wine that works with the warmer vintage showing a sweetness in its core, a smoky accent and some mint-infused milk chocolate on the long finish.

2/24/2023 - John McCabe wrote:

Similar to previous notes, though I think this really needs more time to unfurl. I recall it showing better on the 2nd day before, but this time I finished it in one evening. I love the black and blue fruit, elegance and hedonism in one, beautiful delineation. Classy stuff. I bought a half case of the '20 too as this is one of my favorite producers at its pricepoint - probably the most expensive Bordeaux I buy typically. 96++pts.

2/11/2023 - liber Likes this wine:

Chez W, pnp, perfect cork and level, unchanged from first half in Feb 19, special, almost perfect balance for such a big wine, ridiculously long, persistent, concentrated and complex, and its best days are ahead with more to come, 50 years. VF (18.5)........upgrade expected, a Barsac with the extra weight of Sauternes!

2/8/2023 - Zweder wrote:

Monthly Tasting Group HWS; Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape (By VD and @ VD): In the bouquet ripe red berries and cherries as well as fresh garrigue. On the palate red and dark berries, some laurel, a bit pleasantly rustic, leather, chocolate, elegant acidity and round tannin with a pleasant bite. With a little more air time this was the most beautiful wine of the flight. 94++

2/5/2023 - LT98 Likes this wine:

Opened way too young, but by accident. I meant to grab the Le Petit Haut Lafitte 2016 but grabbed the "main wine" instead! It was pretty obvious after tasting. Still rough and not yet integrated. My score reflects how it tasted over the last three days, not what it will become, which I suspect is closed to 96 points. Purple with dark fruits, moderate tannins. Bright acidity. Oak not fully integrated. This will be amazing in 10 years.

1/21/2023 - Motz wrote:

Tasted over three days...which entailed much discipline, as the wine showed brilliantly, compelling my full respect, thereby requiring a three-day evaluation.

The sophisticated, poised, and overtly sexy bouquet commanded attention from the outset. Spring and summer flowers, bush-ripened red sweet and tart berries, purple berries, knee-weakening berry liqueurs, summer potpourri, herbal teas, mint, wintergreen, and 'sweet' pipe tobacco, expressed Margaux terroir resplendently. Mostly integrated, complementary oak, and imperceptible alcohol, allowed the wine's unmistakable sense of place to dazzle.

Intense, velour-like juiciness on the attack. The powerful middle, graced every part of the palate, conveyed through loess-textured tannins. The back featured the highly agreeable rusticity and grip of exceptional quality Margaux fruit. The finish had no understanding of quit, as it changed inflection, many times over.

Riveting tension and range held form across all three days. The interplay of medium plus to high acid and powdery medium to medium plus tannins rivets my senses as I type this now. Among the purest Margaux offerings I have experienced.

I rarely recommend holding quality Left Bank Bordeaux for seven to ten years, particularly after seven to ten years in bottle. I do with this though, and not because it is unapproachable, whatever that means. Instead, all indications point to considerable improvement, which makes drinking this over the next five years something of a waste. This noted, with a four to eight hour decant, why not gain a benchmark now. Likely to hold form beyond 2045.

This might outlive the same vintage Domaine de Chevalier and Pontet-Canet, both of which, along with this, feature strikingly greater real substance than the same vintage Lafite. 96-97...98?

1/18/2023 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine:

Opened last night. Strong dark yet translucent ruby. Black cherry evident in the nose. Smoke and spice, too., along with forest floor. Ripe but not sweet fruit in the mouth, to go with earthy flavors. Seems a tad green. Strong backbone. Steer clear of this for awhile, it still needs a lot of time. Least impressive of my bottles so far. 5-12-15-8: 90/100.

1/11/2023 - Zweder wrote:

Monthly Tasting Group HWS: Clos des Papes (By AH): Beautiful bouquet with red berries, blackberries and cherries and beautiful garrigue. On the palate beautiful fruits, juicy acidity and tannin with a beautiful bite, good bitterness, some pepper. This is a truly very great wine, well balanced, complex, focused and powerful. I would not be surprised when this scores the perfect 100 around 2030. I have a few :). For now 97+

12/25/2022 - DCHawkeye Likes this wine:

Popped'n poured with Xmas dinner. Drinking beautifully, but maybe the first time of having the '09 and '10 together where the '10 was clearly ascendant.

12/25/2022 - jvphoto Likes this wine:

Great Burgundy & great value

12/14/2022 - Chris@77 wrote:

Very young, not nearly as far along as d'Issan which is less mature than Malescot. Therefore, I can't score it, would have been able to do so years ago when I bought it. Will sip over hours, 2d half tomorrow. Wrote this to dissuade owners 'wasting' a bottle. Too soon.

11/11/2022 - Jessie and Max Likes this wine:

This was our favorite of the several Oregon Pinot Noirs we tasted on our trip to Portland, and we bought a bottle at the vineyard tasting, where it stood out among three Pinots as the one that suited our taste the most. It had no Pinot funk, but rather, had outstanding fruit: ripe red cherry with hints of caramel (the quintessential Oregon "cherry cola" combo), with retronasal earthiness. Length and balance were great, too.

11/3/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote:

Stunning in every sense of the word. From start to finish, this is a complete tasting experience. The wine opens with a complex array of scents, tobacco leaf, cherries, currants, cigar box, smoke, cedar, plums, and forest floor. Full-bodied, concentrated, and still holding on to its fresh-faced youth, there is a beautiful sense of purity and symmetry on the palate that carries all the way through to the finish. Drink from 2025-2055.

10/22/2022 - sfwinelover1 Likes this wine:

One off ($150) from Costco about a year ago, brought to Edwin’s palace on Lake Travis and served with a rib lamb chop dinner, preceded by a lobster and porcini consommé. On the nose and palate, potent notes of blackberries, cassis, black currants, wet earth, violets, anise with a powerful graphite finish. Impenetrably purple black, full bodied, thick legs. Medium++ tannins, medium+ acidity, no heat. VG+ complexity and intensity, extraordinary persistence. Well, here was my conundrum: a super generous host, good friend and client, who likes wine, BDX in particular, more than he appreciates the intricacies of really good wine (although he sure enjoyed the taste of the ‘00 Latour in BDX) and a BDX collection which was almost all too young to crack, particularly at the high end, IMO; reluctantly, I decided to burn this bottle, with the thought it might not be that appreciated and could even be infanticide. Well, on the former front, it was helped by the pleasant but totally unremarkable ‘18 Chatelet, next to which the Pontet was a supernova. This came out of the bottle a bit closed, although not unusually so for a BDX, but after 90 minutes-2 hours, was like a Roman Candle, absolutely incandescent and brilliantly concentrated and focused, which would have led me to guess this as something made by a producer on my side of the Pond. Almost sweet, by the BDX standards I’m used to, this was nonetheless exquisitely balanced with wonderful savoriness and great structure, already balanced and largely integrated with the couple of hours of air. While I’ve not had this bottling previously, I’ve no doubt that this will add complexity over time, but it’s so stunningly delicious and voluptuous now I can’t but recommend anyone pop it, especially if you have more bottles in reserve (which I sadly don’t, but will look for more in the same general price range). Over the additional hour and half or so it was open, I can’t say I noticed a big further change, but I can say that, unlike many BDX, this shone equally on its own and with our sumptuous dinner. BDX more often than not seems to break my heart, but this was stone cold stunning, more than holding its own against the local fare at this price point, and even outshining slightly dearer BDX I’ve had in the past 6 months or so like the ‘10 Poyfrere and the ‘09 SHL. And while one robin doth not a spring make and I’m not willing to call it a game changer, it will make me a bit less nervous about popping high quality, young BDX, which is good since I have events in the next few weeks at which I plan on pulling corks from a ‘18 Montrose and a ‘16 Fig. An easy 97-98++ with possible runway to the upside.

10/11/2022 - Andybe wrote:

Introvert and shy. Quality is clearly there. Medium body and no overdone oak and tannins. C’mon grow up !

10/9/2022 - Ravi Deshpande Likes this wine:

Certainly young but oh so delicious with dark fruits including cherry and great, rounded structure, very fruit driven now, but many glories await this beauty.

10/7/2022 - BallyJames Likes this wine:

Very young still with direct fruit. A lot of dark berries as blackberries, overripe raspberries and plums. Well integrated alcohol, several layers of fruit and long finish gives a tell about a probable long life and great future ahead of this one.

9/22/2022 - englishman's claret wrote:

This has started to emerge from the dormant phase in which I found it 4 years ago. Not ready yet - still deep, dark, and brooding with black > red cherry, but showing impressive depth and drive. Drinking from ~2028-

9/19/2022 - jnewman77 Likes this wine:

First sample of this and it is lovely; showing the warmth of the 18 vintage this is probably the biggest version of sisters I have tasted, but it is still balanced very nicely; good stuff and excellent value.

8/19/2022 - camroc830 Likes this wine:

This wine was a gift. We opened the bottle and let it sit for an hour without decanting. That was a mistake. First pour was very rough, so we aerated it. Then it was better. And kept getting better and better. Nicely layered with lots of nuanced herbs, spices, minerals, and earth, with just enough fruit to balance it all. Long finish. We didn't bother aerating the last third of the bottle, because it was already delightful. This is the first time I ever had a bottle of wine go from $20 to $200 in the glass. Did I say it was delightful? Well, you might want to hold it a year or so longer, but it certainly was.

7/8/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote:

Continuing to develop in all the right ways, the wine is a refined, elegant example of Saint Julien with its layers of soft, silky red fruits, mocha, wet earth, spice, and cigar box. Medium/full-bodied, energetic and fresh, this is already drinking just great. Drink from 2023-2050.

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.

7/8/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote:

With a tannic, racy edge to all the fresh, ripe, sweet, fleshy, currants on the palate, the wine kicks off with espresso, tobacco leaf, currants, black cherries, cigar box, underbrush, red fruits, and chalk. Simply put, this is fabulous! The tannins are perfectly ripe giving you the structure to show off all the layers of supple, textured, fresh, pure, racy fruits. The seamless finish grabs your palate and keeps it. This is in contention as the finest vintage of Pichon Baron produced by Jean Rene Matignon. Drink from 2022-2060.

5/14/2022 - sirpat00 wrote:

Brief notes only. Saffron, forest honey, chamomile tea and a nice array of fresh and candid fruit. All nice, but the palate a the real show-stopper. Creamy yet with fresh invigorating acidity, broad aromatics.

5/16/2022 - TXRDW wrote:

No rating this time as the wine seems to have shut down quite a bit. I tried my first glass after a 45 minute decant and it had not yet opened up. I then consumed this bottle over the next 3 hours and the wine did get better, but nowhere near the previous bottle I tried 5 months ago. The wine still had all of the earmarks of a great wine, it just didn’t stand out as much. Luckily I bought several bottles, but in my opinion now is the time to lay down this wine for several years.

2/9/2022 - Zweder wrote:

Monthly Tasting Group HWS; Perrin Family (By JdB): Deep bouquet with cherries, raspberries and dark berries. On the palate a sweet start with cherries and ripe berries, garrigue, laurel, licorice, good acidity and sticky tannin. Full bodied and complex with a good length. Early maturity and already delicious. Will offer lovely drinking for at least another decade. 93+

1/30/2022 - Vladutz Likes this wine:

A clairement besoin de temps, je l'ai trouvé difficilement accessible. Mais le potentiel est là, super fruit, beaucoup de fraîcheur, on sent bcp le mourvèdre à ce stade. Tannins magnifiquement soyeux et longueur impressionnante.

11/18/2021 - Marcosuru wrote:

What a wine!