4/16/2024 - HU Likes this wine:

Pnp. This is good. What a wonderful Brunello, just as you expect and want it. No detours, no odd surprises, just a good Brunello. You know: red cherry, medium bodied, earthy notes. The color of th wine is starting to recede from dark red to that aging amber. Good to drink now, but it will still have plenty of years ahead, if you care to wait. It will be hard, though.

3/10/2024 - Purple Tooth wrote:

I hate to be a jerk. But..I qualify. I have 3 cases of this in 3 formats. The first time I tried this I said, I dot get it. Its been a long night and I will reserve judgment. This time I popped a 1/2 to check in. Interesting? Yes, If you like reading between lines. Otherwise, a head scratcher. This tells me that I either dont know much about wine, or I am shamelessly calling out my own mistakes. Ok ok....Now you need to know about the wine, instead of reading my whine...

In a grapy stage, this is the hopeful voice and the positive part of this encounter. I hope that what I taste as oak creme, alcohol, and underdeveloped fruit turns into something sensational in 7+ years. Meanwhile, cellar carry for me, and an advenure for you. Please write back....HOLD___

11/19/2021 - Kim Gerner wrote:

25 Old Bordeaux grand cru classe - vertical (1920->) and horizontal semi blind wine tasting dinner (Copenhagen (Private)): A semi blind tasting of 25 right and left bank Grand cru Classé wines ranging from Mouton Rothschild to Chateau Cheval Blanc. 2/3 from 1920-1990 and the rest younger.

This wine: Medium tannin. This bottle did not live up to the general high ratings. A reason might be that it was bottle no 23 this evening. I did not identify specific faults. No further notes taken.

8/1/2023 - guydavidnewhouse Likes this wine:

It been nearly two years since the previous bottle, and I had to step back and give this some serious thought. James suckling has this as “pure and polished” @ 100 points; Wine Enthusiast said “Rich, hot, and heavy” @ 92 points. This bottle was definitely in the Suckling camp. To me, it was notable for what it wasn’t, instead of what it was. It was tannic for sure, but not overwhelming; it was not overly oaky or cedary; it was not over-ripe or raisiny; it was not green or herbal (as many Chilean bottles can be); it was not noticeably earthy or briary; it was not too sweet or too dry….nothing dominated, but everything I mentioned was in there, and more.Basically, it is a little bit of everything all in balance. In essence, this bottle of wine was flawless. I think maybe that was Sucklings whole point. This is IMO north of 95 points, wife loved it.

2/2/2024 - HU wrote:

We promised ourselves in February 2021 to drink the next one three years later: so we did. Boy, this wine really came out of its shell! Still young, still many years ahead, but it is in a good drinking window now. Dark, sumptuous, medium to full body. No taste stands out in particular: it just is simply a very good wine. Perhaps the best analogy is that the wine is like meeting of excellent education, manners and pedigree: high society at its finest ( and not of the trashy kind ). “Elegant”, “noble” or even “royal” describes it best. 96 points now, and it might deserve even more.

10/14/2023 - Juliansi Likes this wine:

I was invited for a "Cult Napa wines" dinner with some Napa-kings in the KL community, and I have to say I was ... stressed. I do not have any "big" Napas, so I brought my best along.. this 2016 Continuum Proprietary Red.

From Tim and Marcia Mondavi's Pritchard Hill winery estate, this is a unique blend of 46% Cab, a very high 31% Cab Franc, 18% PV and 5% Merlot. Deep garnet and nearly black in colour, I prepared this with a 3 hour bottle-breathe which did not do the wine justice. Give it a long full decant, or better yet, wait some years.

Initially closed, there were some aromatics of blueberries and blackberries towards the end of the dinner. What immediately hit me (and R too) was the ultra long finish, at over 1 minute. Spectacular!

This is full bodied, and still very tight, but the tannins are super fine and the wine demonstrates so much intensity and power. Some iron and minerality on the mid-palate and finish. Always with freshness, there is even nuances of graphite and more dark cjoclate too.

Plenty of rich black fruits, and there is clearly such potential in this wine which has yet to be revealed. It is way too early, and I would not open my remaining bottles until the end of this decade. Purchased at BKK Suvarnabhumi airport, for about USD 280, this is certainly going to be spectacular down the road.

Dinner with R, LMC, DQ, Mika, JY and Lydia
Stoked, Medan Damansara
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
14 Oct 0223

12/5/2023 - Ponuppy wrote:

Drinks like a $12 wine and is a $12 wine. Don't understand the hype. You can find much better for the price.

7/17/2023 - HU Likes this wine:

I really like this wine. Cool it and then drink sip by sip on a warm summer night. A beautiful Riesling with the classic German apricot notes, somewhat sweet but not overly so, elegant, no rough edges. Great to drink now, though it probably will last for many more years. We have one more: it may not last long.

5/18/2023 - HU Likes this wine:

Good wine! Dark, still tannic. Good to drink now or wait. 91+ or perhaps a 92.

5/1/2023 - FastTrack wrote:

very intense bouquet, almost "untamed" at first, but it calms down in the glass, revealing attractive scents of blackberry, raspberry, cedar and graphite. This is a Giscours determined to make a good impression...and it does. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, very pure, a bit spicy- i like it

1/30/2023 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine:

Opened last night, but has evolved only glacially in 20 hours. Looks the part of a great wine: Rich, concentrated, saturated dark red, with bold red legs. Purple, floral, fruity aromas lurk in the nose, but largely cloaked by something at the moment; seems ready to burst, almost. Similar impression in the mouth: loads of fruit currently masked by a high wall of tannin and oak, plus some acid. This needs about five years to really show how nice it can be. For now, better be having some smoked, roasted meat if you opt for drinking before then. 5-12-16-9: 92/100.

10/12/2022 - Motz wrote:

Another Coravin pour, from the bottle accessed in May.

Slightly different impression regarding oakiness this time around. When tasting in May, I had enjoyed a glass of Cru Beaujolais beforehand, which showed minimal oak influence. Overall, this remains an oaky wine, but marginally less obtrusive, when following other oaky wines.

As for the rest of the whole. This features an opulent bouquet and attack. As with many 2016 Left Bank offerings, this 2018 begins to thin out at the middle and back. Put differently, baritone and bass substance come up short, particularly in the context of the insane scores professional wine marketers have accorded it. Indeed, Parkerization has led many professional wine marketers to favor opulence over substance.

Understandably, opulence sells. Substance, as with the 2014 vintage, for example, requires a long wait in the cellar to evolve. And, substance does not show particularly appealing while it evolves.

Obviously young! And, technically excellent, firmly a 92-93 point wine. It might flesh out and score a point higher, but I would not count on it. The house appears to have shifted to the international style, which sells.

Nothing here suggests evolution beyond 2030, or a few years past. 92-93.

9/4/2022 - HU Likes this wine:

PnP. I had it with a wonderful steak dinner, and it was an excellent fit. Typical Bordoeaux taste. Dark red. Medium to full body. Still young, as one can tell from those sandy tannins, but enjoyable to drink now. Smooth, almost voluptuous. It may well get better with time. 91+

4/26/2020 - HU Likes this wine:

Way too tannic, straight out of the bottle. Poured through an aerator into a decanter, drank six hours later over the course of the evening. Tannins still predominant, but you could taste figs, honey, pepper, spicy, earthiness, the luciousness richness of a CdP. Enjoyable, yes, but I shall wait for a few years (three, say?), before opening the next bottle. It may warrant a 94 then or even higher, will see. 91+ for today. Didn’t enjoy it quite as much as my other 92-pointers, but perhaps that’s just because I drank it young.

6/5/2022 - acyso wrote:

Vinetasters: This and That (Chicago, IL): Served double blind. A significant step up from the Clos Apalta alongside. This is much more in balance, with some leathery notes and grainy tannins. Restrained, with lovely earthy tones and high-acid black fruits, this is obviously too young, but I expect for it to improve with time. I particularly like the balance of earthy notes with the high-altitude fruit notes.

7/15/2021 - HU wrote:

PnP. Earthy, licorice, peppery, dark fruits, minerality. Medium to full body. Still quite tannic, with that sandy, contracting mouth feel. Can drink now, but better to wait another two or three years to drink the next one. Probably, we should have decanted.

5/30/2022 - Motz wrote:

Coravin pour of about 4 oz. Let sit for a half hour and tasted over an hour or so, alongside the same vintage La Tour Carnet.

The first whiff told me this was overdone, extracted and over oaked. The bouquet features blueberry, boysenberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, sweet herbs and oak. Pessac-Léognan terroir struggles to emerge from the oak-cloak.

Saturated palate, a result of the heavy extraction. Historically, DdC defines the (wine) term: elegance. This iteration, and the '17, define: Napa-like. Light on acidity and tannin, particularly in comparison with the wine's density. The finish delivers an oak-imparted bite.

Not much better than the LTC, which is more Napa-like than this. Has the house made a deliberate shift to the New World style? This and the '17 would suggest so.

I plan on further tasting experiences over the next year or two. Technically excellent. Massively disappointing!

Based on this experience, I would not hold bottles beyond 2030 or so. Likely to nosedive thereafter, in the same way that many 2009 vintage offerings have.

Ispendtoomuchmoneyonwine, MicklethePickle, CondorKhan, HU, Everything Ahead, KAT9, Roughl, and Nutty08, among others, have called this for what it is.

2/7/2022 - mrgarreth Likes this wine:

Utterly superb. On the nose you get honeysuckle, lemon zest, grapefruit juice, green apple, unripe pear, tomato leaf, wet stones, white bread, pineapple, and kerosine. On the palate it is more youthful and austere, but with no shortage of complexity and concentration. This is just going to get better and better.

2/9/2022 - Mark1npt Likes this wine:

Such a baby.....but have been checking in on some BDX '16s recently so why not try another '15, too?

Pnp'd to zero barnyard and a beautiful sweet violet nose.....replaced over 1 hour by more savory notes of forest floor and bay leaf type herbs. Medium weight in the mouth, very dark garnet in the glass. Initially slightly tart fruit and fine grainy tannins, but over the 3 hours the grainy aspect of the tannins receded with some mild tongue drying astringency remaining. Red/black plum fruit with gentle spice emerges nearing 4 hours. It takes center stage. While this is quite good, there is still more integration to go and more points left on the table. Cork going back into the bottle and will re-visit tomorrow on Day 2 with an addendum to follow here.

As an aside.....the more I sample these BDX '15s and '16s, the more I feel a kinship to our own Napa '15s and '16s performance-wise. Both very good vintages, yet both so very different. Both the Napa and the BDX '15s seem a bit restrained and 'testy' to me, they need more coaxing while the '16s drink more luscious and fruity and are generally easier to enjoy. The '15s from both regions seem on the whole to need more time than the '16s do, to be at their best. At least at this stage. 5 hours in and this just starts to come together and the fruit intensifies further, gains a point to 93+/94.

Last sips at 6+ hours of air were the best. Fruit (dark red cherry) really opens with clean delineated notes and the wine overall is more in balance.
Let's see what tomorrow brings! Great minerality here. It's working its way toward a 95.

Addendum-2nd Day: Initially slow ox'd for 6 hours yesterday, cork back into the half bottle that was left and set on the kitchen counter at 70 deg for another 18 hours before removing the cork today, right at 24 hours since initially opening. Initial impressions? Deep, dark, grainy fruit profile. Much like a Las Piedras Vineyard cab. Heavier weight in the mouth now. Initial thoughts were.......this wine peaked at 6+ hours of air time last night....over the course of 4 more hours tonight, the wine calms down, opens up with more air and turns again to more dark red fruit. The first 2 hours it plays out like the 6th hour last night, just not quite as precise or cleanly focused....the 2nd 2 hours it turns a bit more astringent again. All told, I think I prefer the 5th-6th hours last night as far as clarity of fruit and most balanced put together wine. A solid 94+/95 at that point in time.

1/20/2022 - RyanMac1 Likes this wine:

The Schooner! An amazing wine smooth on the palette, jammy with lots of fruit. Notes of blackberry, cherry and even some strawberry jam. Even keeled and smooth highly recommend this wine all of the voyages!

1/26/2022 - CondorKhan wrote:

Cherry fruit, a bit of baking spices, dark chocolate and tobacco. Rather restrained and subtle. No rough edges at all. Tannins are strong but very finely grained and elegant. Had a delicious nose of berries and spice right after popping but that died down after an hour in the decanter.

Clearly very young, and with a great future. Certainly worth the price paid and then some, but this is not a 95+ point wine by any stretch.

1/9/2022 - HU Likes this wine:

I opened one out of curiosity. Took a sip the first day, left the bottle open. Drank half on day two. Recorked and drank the rest on the third day. Not sure what to think. Given the accolades and high scores, I thought that tasting this wine would be akin to seeing the sky part and hearing angels sing. But it was not anywhere close to that. Yes, there were sips where I thought, ah, greatness! But for most part, it was all a remarkably ordinary wine experience. It tasted best with some hearty food, rather neutral with cheese on day three and sour-bland with some sweet desert. Was it the bottle? Was it my treatment? Was it that my taste buds are not yet aligned with that required connoisseur perspective? I don’t know. I am dearly hoping this wine will be awesome in a decade or so, as everyone here seems to claim. So far, I am not impressed and a 91 rating at this point. I am looking forward to giving this a higher grade in the future.

1/2/2022 - andip01 Likes this wine:

Good!

12/8/2021 - HU Likes this wine:

It was ok. I am hoping it will develop, else, not sure, I should be drinking the rest.

11/22/2021 - HU Likes this wine:

Dark. Fresh ( i.e. on the acidic side ). Fruity, dark fruits, in particular black currant. Very Syrah. Very enjoyable. Perhaps a bit linear overall. Good to drink now, but will also be fine to keep for later. 91 or 92? I give it a 92. …. Bottle 4 on Jan 26 2024. Quite tannic, almost bitter, though the wine developed during the evening. Meaty, smokey, indeed. Licorice, dark flavors eventually. But perhaps wait for another three years to drink the remaining two.

9/21/2021 - WineGuyFL Likes this wine:

Just like a bottle consumed during the summer. This is one of the better Prisoner vintages I have owned. Drinking well despite still being young. I seem to be giving higher ratings to this one than is the case with other tasters. I confess to liking wines of this style......so maybe there is a subconscious bias.

9/12/2021 - mdennison wrote:

The 2019 vintage is particularly good.

7/30/2021 - winecoffee wrote:

Beautiful wine. Nose of blueberries and roasted meats. Palate is smooth and lightly tannic with roasted spices, bell pepper characteristic of a cabernet, lot of earth and mushroom with a kick of black peppers in the end. Ok I am sold. Didn’t even need to decant. Very well balanced wine. 95 points.

5/2/2021 - HU Likes this wine:

Excellent every-day NZL Sauv Blanc and very typical of that style. Refreshing and wonderful to drink on a hot spring or summer day. Great QPR, would buy again.

1/30/2020 - HU Likes this wine:

2019-05-11: 94 Points
What a beauty of a wine! Nuanced and rich flavors, dense but not overboarding. It was a surprise find during a wine tasting trip to Santa Barbara and surrounding vineyards, and I keep loving it every time I open a bottle. Was better with some decant.

2019-11-30: 90 Points
This time around, it did not feel particularly special. Good wine, yes, but didn‘t cause us to cheer like last time. I have no idea what explain the difference. Was it the bottle? The mood? The food?

2020-01-30: 94 points. Excellent again, this time.

Grand total: 93 points.

5/5/2021 - HU Likes this wine:

Full-bodied, dark, rich, ripe, dense, brooding, lucious. A beguiling mix of tastes such as dark honey, blackberries, licorice, dark chocolate and grapefruit. An amazing wine. Too bad it is out last one! It probably would have been even better in three years, but we just could not resist. Poured through an aerator and drink: tannins not dominant, though still quite prevalent. But boy, what an excellent wine!

5/1/2021 - HU Likes this wine:

PnP. Still very young, with the tannins giving that dry and sandy mouthfeel, but not overwhelmingly so: the wine can be drank now, even if it is better to wait for a few more years. A rich tapestry of nuanced flavors, dark, quite dense and full-bodied. It changes flavor a bit once paired with the desert rather than the BBQ main course, and in a pleasant and surprising way, offering red cherries with earth and pepper. Excellent wine!

1/30/2021 - HU wrote:

Excellent wine! Dark red, intense, full bodied. Italian acidity and still quite tannic. Graphite, blackberries, earthy, minerals, crushed nut shells, toasted oats. Not sure this makes much sense: I tried. We have two more: glad we do. Wait or drink? That will be a tough one.

12/26/2020 - HU Likes this wine:

Dec 26, 2020: Good wine for sure. Medium to full body, pepper and other notes in the aftertaste. Very enjoyable. Can’t see the 100 JS points or 99 RP points, but perhaps the wine will still get better with age. Grade: 93. Nov 26, 2021: with our turkey Thanksgiving dinner. I liked a bit more this time. A very clean „wine only“ taste, red cherries, smooth, no extras, very fruity. My son remarked on the long and pleasant aftertaste. I give it a somewhat generous 94 now, judging it against my 93‘s.

7/7/2020 - HU Likes this wine:

Such an amazing, beautiful, smooth wine. We had another 75$ Brunello from 2010 that same evening, and we typically are in love with that one ( and still are ), but this one here is in another class. Awesome.

7/30/2020 - HU Likes this wine:

Not entirely convinced. I mean, it is alright, dark, rich, still quite tannic: nothing wrong with it. A decent wine. But at a price tag of 37$ and the ratings, I would have expected to be a bit more special and it wasn’t. At 20$, I wouldn’t complain. And for a Malbec: I like Red Schooner a lot more, any time, for example.

9/21/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote:

The first thing you notice is the spice and floral components before moving on to the mocha, truffle and juicy plums. Full-bodied, with velvet textured tannins, everything feels great. The wine has layers of depth, waves of silky, pure, opulent fruits and a finish that stands out, due to all the decadent fruit. The wine is fresh, elegant, long and incredibly rich, as well as tannic. So give this 12 years or so in the cellar before popping a cork.

10/8/2019 - csimm wrote:

Much more linear and red-fruited at the moment when directly compared to the more unctuous and concentrated 2015 SHL, this 2016 displays red raspberry, red and black cherry, menthol, sage, and subtle tobacco notes on the front end. A quick shot delivery that fires fairly quickly across the palate, stopping just enough to offer up some rounder versions of fruit flavor on the mid-palate before racing off to the straight-lined finish. Never fully envelops the palate depth-wise, but offers purity and freshness that compels one back for another sip. A few hours of decanting helps a little, but the flavor expansion stays at more of a furrowed brow level.

For me, the 2015 is a rocket launcher when compared to the 2016’s slingshot of an attack. At present, the 2016 is a little geeky and straight-laced. Leave it alone for another 7-10 years minimum. 94++ points with upside after 2030.

If you get fired-up over taking calculus tests and think lab rats are your friends, drink the 2016 now. If you’re someone who actually had a girlfriend in college, stick with the 2015 SHL.

6/10/2019 - wineforth Likes this wine:

Manages to carry high tannins, alcohol (14.5%) and acidity in perfect balance. Lovely caramel nose and very long finish. A superb wine and yet I wonder if it will be to my taste. The 2012 is worth a look.

12/15/2019 - WineKnut Likes this wine:

I followed her for three days. A dark purple dress and an intoxicating perfume of blueberry, blackberry, lavender, smoke, black pepper and marjoram... Long slow tears tumbling down round cheeks. Ample and meaty. Dry, but complex of character. A conundrum of blueberry and plum against savory saline, olive oil and balsamic... In my my mind and on my tongue, she is endlessly lingering. Strong future ahead and she will become ever more balanced and beautiful...

9/10/2019 - bigbass250 Likes this wine:

read some bad reviews not sure why I think its fine