10/28/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Finally a good bottles. I have had several disappointing bottles in the last few years. This one was correct. Great dark color. Exploding nose. Well integrated palate and long finish. However, I think this wine is on its decline and given the current price and bottle variation, I don’t think I will buy any more.

10/12/2021 - jordanj Does not like this wine:

past it’s prime

9/20/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Pnp was meh, with a little air it grew in complexity; mesquite smoke, moss, potpourri with dark cherries, raspberry and earth. Palate is a bit too sweet and a tad drying. Decent QPR

9/16/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Started out very sappy dried red fruits. After a while opened and expanded to nice dried but livelier red fruits with nice spice. Decent nose, much acidity, short bitter finish. Given the vintage/wine - not a bad showing.

6/27/2021 - jordanj wrote:

Good. Dark Malbec fruit,

4/25/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Much better and much more fresh than last bottle

4/25/2021 - jordanj wrote:

From magnum. Amazing

4/18/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Excellent, just lacked a little detail and body from previous bottles.

4/18/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Great classic Napa cab

4/15/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Still needs an hour to fully open. Taking on some earthy components. Enjoyable

4/2/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Huge lastbottle win. This is going to be exceptional in about 10 years but still very accessible today. Well made. Purple! Young! Still a vibrant huge nose of fruit, herbs, earth. Class wrestling with youth. Well made! Enjoyable today but will only mellow and open up!

3/24/2021 - jordanj Does not like this wine:

Bottle had excellent provenance. Past it’s prime. No fruit, just muddled expression of old classic claret notes of earth and leather with bruised apple. - little to no enjoyment.

3/20/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Very nice. Opens with dark fruits, pepper and leather. With air complexity picks up and shows more earthy, chocolate and green vegetation (fern) medium plus tannins and medium acidity. Very enjoyable but I need to lay my hands off for 5 more years.

3/13/2021 - jordanj wrote:

Much better than the last bottle. Still very ripe, very full body and American oak. Yet, nice secondary profile and it is beginning to fall into place. Could go another 10 years.

3/13/2021 - jordanj wrote:

Ex-domaine recent release. Still alive. Nose of berries and dirt. Same on the palate. Tannins resolved but still has some nice acidity. Nothing exciting but an easy drinker.

3/11/2021 - jordanj wrote:

Dark opaque with purple hues. Fruity, ripe, bold with some nice spice. Some heat and and a little flabby. Decent wine for non-wine geeks.

3/10/2021 - jordanj wrote:

Bottle was fine but on its decline.

3/6/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): Wow. What can I say. I don’t see how a reisling could show any better on any level. Dark gold in color with a hint of amber at the edge. Nose of classic aged auslese but with feshness for days. This is wine worth contemplating for days. There is high levels of complexity and detail. The palate is fresh, balanced silk. I really don’t know how to describe the palate. It has weight to it but it is still seamless and light on its feet. Sweetness to be sure but not too much. The finish is ever bit as complex as the nose and goes on and on.

3/6/2021 - jordanj wrote:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): Good but paled to the prum.

3/6/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): A very feminine Côte rotie. Nose of bramble, cherries both dark and red, strawberry, fresh dirt. Plenty of sweetness on the nose and a slight bend towards candied. The palate however , is rich, layered with even more complexity than the nose. Best palate of the flight but the overall appeal of the 95 chave bested this in totality.

3/6/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): Much younger and youthful than the 95. not the best 98. Rhubarb pie, olives and dried meat. This was a stripped down version of the 95. Perhaps a little more weight on the palate with less acidity and certainly more fruit but it lacked the intensity and complexity.

3/6/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): astronomical nose of pepper, pipe tobacco, cigar box, a hint of funk, hint of baking spices a-la Christmas spices with Smokey red fruits. Palate confirms every aspect of the nose. This was the WOTN for a few. Benchmark type showing for a Chave.

3/6/2021 - jordanj wrote:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): Very good. A different league than the volcanic - perfumed red fruits - I would have not guessed 98. Very dark mountain fruit, perfumed fruit. Incredibly long finish. This showed very well. Those who dismissed the 98s should be vanished to an island where all they drink are 97s.

3/6/2021 - jordanj wrote:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): A little heat-Very California in the face of the rest of the line up. A little tight on the nose. Palate is very well rounded except the alcohol.

3/6/2021 - jordanj wrote:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): Off Bottle. Lacked all the terroir the 96 showed .muted and dos not show first growth quality by any means. I am calling it flawed.

3/6/2021 - jordanj wrote:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): Shows a Classic Haut Brion profile. Others likes this more than I . Smokey gravel, currant, dark cherries ,tobacco and after a while a little reductive. The palate is pretty fleshy for. 96. More weight than I suspected. Everyone was more enamored with this than I was. Oddly, it showed better than the 98 HB, but IMO was nonwhere near the 96 Margaux.

3/6/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): I would say this was the most youthful of the night with the most upside. Very dark and opaque. I have seen 2005s that look younger. Classic Margaux nose but trading some of that floral feminine quality for a bit of rustic earth. A little bit funk appeared after several hours. Fruit is brooding; plum, currant, dates, black cherries dirt, tree bark a little green pepper. The palate is incredible. Still showing tannins that need to resolve. Plenty of acidity, more than any other in the flight but delicious and long. 96 points

3/6/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): Gorgeous perfume. I don’t know what it is with me and this wine. I cannot recall a more complex wine than this. Others described the Mouton as detailed but I thought this had it in spades. To me this is the perfect Bordeaux. A cornucopia of spices, red and dark fruits, leather, chocolate covered blueberries. The palate is just as complex as the nose and tasty. There is more of an acidic bite than the mouton but the finish is well over a minute. 97+

3/6/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): Wow! What a showing. This was your typical classic Bordeaux but in legandary fashion. Wood- cedar, tobacco and cherries, Some sweet cherry at the end and maybe a hint of spring damp forest but again just in such a classy way with great lift. The palate was layered. More plush and youthful than the lalande. Great showing and the apex of 82 Bordeaux.

3/6/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): Dark. Very dark - looks like something form the 80s. Very funky nose of sweat socks , vegetal notes, figs, brown sugar, Dark berries, leather and a hint of funk. Very old world. The palate was a bit thin and the finish was short. I can see the appeal but In tonights line-up it was more of a novelty

3/6/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): Served blind. What is this? I have never heard of this nor tasted anything like a warm climate Semillon with such acidity. Guesses where nowhere near this. Very drinkable aged white.

3/6/2021 - jordanj wrote:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): Clearly low acidity. Nose is complex. Much better than the Chapoutier. This has many years ahead of it for growth but just not my cup of tea.

3/6/2021 - jordanj wrote:

45th Bday 1934-1999. When Diamond Creek is weakest of the night (Zoom): Just okay. No formal notes

3/4/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Found this in cellar and did not know where it came from. Wish I knew. Great nose of hickory smoked bacon, spring flowers, olives and red fruits. Palate is silky and after a week post coravined well balanced with little heat. Damm

3/2/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Excellent showing.

3/2/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Performed above pay grade.

3/1/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Really nice all around

2/25/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Initially the nose was very powerful and showy; leather, shoe polish, tobacco, pepper, absent fruit. The palate was very dry and thin. Short. I had a hunch and sure enough After several hours of air (3) the wine out on a little weight, the fruit fleshed out a bit and it became less of an old wine bully and more feminine and elegant. Nose showed subtle roses and baking spices. Finish was now long and spicy.

2/21/2021 - jordanj wrote:

Not to the level of last bottle. It wasn’t a bad bottle. I drank it. Just lacked a noticeable bit of everything from other bottles. One off bottle from auction.

2/21/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Not as fresh as last bottle. Less complexity. More acidic. Still a very nice expression of aged new world Cabernet. 1st bottle of recent purchase.

2/18/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Fully mature but not past its prime. Surprisingly still showing nice red fruit, leather, and well integrated green bell pepper and tobacco. Palate still has a dollop of freshness.

2/16/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Drank way above its pay grade. Nice fruit, spice and earth deliver a complex nose. Palate is well rounded.

2/9/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Much better than last bottle. Recent SommSelect purchase. I assume this is a recent ex-chateaux release. Everything looked brand new. Nice nose of cassis, Carmel, tobacco, cherry, with subtle hints of mushrooms, green pepper, perfume, Carmel and greenery, making this intriguing and complex. Palate shows gripping tannins and a streak of acidity. Palate confirms the nose and has a long tasty more mossy herbal finish. Wish I bought more. I may or may not have 1 left. Oy! 91+

2/5/2021 - jordanj wrote:

Maybe an awkward moment in time to open this but I was a little disappointed. Initially started out fresh and lively with an elegant nose of leather, tar, minerals and red fruit. It came across as high pedigree and I thought it was still a bit restrained and would open up more with air. Nope. After four hours it is showing more austere. Nose is dominated by oak, cranberry and a hint of cherry. I think I will wait a decade before opening the remaining bottle.

2/5/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Enjoyable. Full mature and nicely resolved. Tertiary nose. Indescribable, which I like, but also speaks to lack of detail. It was a mess of aged aromas blending together - a little pepper, soil, forest, shrooms, leather, soy and dried tobacco. There is a hint of ripeness a-la 1997 but lacking detailed fruit aromas. No heat. Palate is pretty smooth and resolved. Drink up though, like yesterday. Those less fanatic about older wines might not enjoy as much. For my tastes - 92 points.

2/3/2021 - jordanj wrote:

I cannot recall what prompted me to buy these. Must have been hyperbole from an email offer. TBS, I can see why others would view this as a nice QPR. Fragrant nose. Fairly balanced palate and long tasty finish. I guess this is not so bad. Not as big as I would suspect a OZ Shiraz to be and I think that is why it’s nice. Does have a sweet candied kick to it.

2/3/2021 - jordanj wrote:

Not great. Barely even good. Expected, color, bricking and slight cloudiness. Muted nose of smoke, wood, meat and wet stones with very little fruit. For the first hour there were hints of ripe blueberries and tart cherries. That fruit faded. The pallet was light and tart and a little chalky.

2/3/2021 - jordanj Does not like this wine:

Barley drinkable. Nose is nice. When is an aged Riesling nose not? But palate has been come flat. Past it’s prime.

1/30/2021 - jordanj Likes this wine:

Very dark opaque ruby core. Lighting at maybe a 1/4 inch out from edge. Initially silent. An hour later, just beginning to show a perfumed dark fruit with cherry nose. More time is needed. After four plus hours it’s beginning to shine. Nothing shocking here. A beautiful Pauillac, but this example, not unlike my last bottle, is still showing quite young- missing any hint of tertiary notes. Dark fruits with black cherry (a la cherry chocolate truffles covered in cocoa dust) tobacco and graphite. Palate is layered, plush and still tannic. This bottle needs another decade (at least). 94-95.

1/30/2021 - jordanj wrote:

Initial sniff - bruised red apple and not much else. Initial taste. Surprising. Fresh, smooth, Smokey with polished tannins and a clean streak of acidity. Palate gives me hope this will open up nicely.

As the wine benefited from a decant and air the roles reversed. Odd. The nose developed a beautiful complex detailed bouquet of dried cigar tobacco, smoke, loads of herbs both fresh and dried, antique dresser drawer, a pot roast (think dried beef with a slight vegetal character), soy and old leather baseball glove. Intense and containing plenty of that hmm what is that? However, the palate became thinner, had some strange aged cheese taste. Still led to a long spicy finish. Keep in mind, there is little to no fruit to grab hold of. Past it’s prime but still a delight to drink, perhaps more so sniff anyway. A very easy cerebral 92-93 points.