April 21, 2024 - Classic Graves; leather, Cigar box , dark cherries and tobacco. Impressive and mind blowing as the previous bottles. It was elegant and almost sweet on the palate, tannins have fallen off quite a bit. Great Wine!!!!
March 22, 2024 - 1988 Bordeaux Horizontal (Hawksmoor NYC): The first bottle of our 1988 Bordeaux horizontal and this was perhaps the bottle I was most excited about on the night. After letting this slow oxidise for an hour or so, I could tell that this wine was in pristine condition upon seeing its medium ruby colour when being poured. The nose was captivating, boasting a lot of the traits I love and associate with Pessac-Léognan: smoke, cedar wood, tobacco, vanilla and a hint of blackberries. The palate was beginning to enter its tertiary phase, but was still packed with youth as leather and blackcurrant medlied in the upfront prior to red cherries, some meatiness and vanilla dominating the mid-palate. Licorice arose as a prominent note across a long, powerful finish. As a whole, this wine is just entering the prime of its life and can age for much longer. No rush.
March 8, 2024 - A one well matured slightly restrained Mission where tertiaries are taking over its fruitiness and freshness. Made from a blend of 48% CS, 45% Merlot, 7% CF. Deep garnet, ruby hue. Medium+ intensity aroma filled with tertiaries, such as earth, camphor, iodine, tar, smoke, mushrooms, smoky cassis, prunes. Medium+ body, palate feels restrained but complex, still showing some cassis and dried plum fruitiness with camphor, earth, mushroomy notes taking over. Great lengthy with medium+ extra fine melting tannins.
December 28, 2023 - Pretty restrained but floral nose. Touch of green, pencil shaving, dark cherries and tobacco. The palate has a good dose of ash and smoke which is reflective of the maker. This is not an intense expression, thought it was elegant and didn’t have massive stuffing on the palate, tannins have fallen off quite abit.
December 26, 2023 - Boxing day at Caroline's: More rugged and less elegant than the stunning bottle at the start of the year. Some greenness that emerged with air. Impressive but not as mindblowing as the previous bottle.
November 4, 2023 - Classic Graves; leather, cigar box, “bricky” like that old guy Penning-Rowsell used to say: color wise and smell of warm bricks too. Textbook LMHB
October 21, 2023 - blind
Nice aged left bank, I think it won't get better. Nice to drink but missing finesse and concentration. Still good acidity structure. 92-93
October 20, 2023 - Decanted gently and consumed right away
Not much sediment and color is still fresh without much bricking
nose is pretty classic Pessac with smokey earthy tones and sort of a refreshing inviting palate. Hard to find a flaw in this one but I feel the finish may be a bit to short to get a more exalted score but that is really nitpicking.
June 30, 2023 - Fully tertiary nose showing mushrooms, undergrowth and decaying red fruit. Silky and with umami on the mid-palate and an after taste of blue cheese. Something not quite right for me and perhaps there are better bottles out there. Still, a huge treat to try.
June 1, 2023 - I generally love this vintage of La Miss that has just recently opened up from it's shell. excellent grip and intensity here with a bit leaner profile but there are lovely notes of black fruits and sweet tobacco making this a joy to drink. However, in the same flight with the '66 and '78, it fell a touch short but perhaps with time it will get there.