10 Span Vineyards

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Tasted blind . Slightly more mature colour than 1 . Ruby with some garnet and a more garnet tinged rim . Cooler more mineral on the nose , touches of grafite and wet rocks , sea spray , with some dark spicy cassis . On the palate this is more dark cassis , spicy grafite , cedar , touch of iron filings . Good roundness on the palate , with dusty tannins and balanced acidity, intense and saline . Long cedar tinged grafite length . Quite intense and stlight sterner overall , a little more aloof , more Cabernet , darker in style. Better in 5-10 years and will last well a further 10-20. Had this as Margaux . My 5th placed wine . — 9 days ago

Tom, Somm and 8 others liked this

Château Lafite Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Slight younger looking , a little more ruby both in the core but still mostly garnet rim.
This is high toned slightly redder fruit , less dense than the preceding 3 . Cherry , red plum , cedar, seaspray . On the palate this is again quite elegant and refined , cherry , red plum some cassis , red plum , cigar box . Not overly weighty with perhaps a little less noticeable tannin than some of the others . Long vibrant , spicy grafite tinged finish . Very elegant , reserved and I suppose very Lafite , this grows during the experience but was actually voted in last place by the group , that somehow doesn’t surprise me, at the end of the day one wine did have to come last, and this was relatively discreet only showing its real breeding and class with time in the glass. Needs time , but is very promising , probably another 5-10 years (as with almost all the others ) , will last well a further 20 if not more . The elegance and style of this wine is fantastic , this really grows in the glass . Had to be Lafite for me . Bronze medal here .
— 10 days ago

Jan, "Odedi" and 4 others liked this

Château La Mission Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2013

This was a very fun experiment. I bought this for 149€ due to the 2013 vintage being terrible. Would this be a waste of money or a bargin? It was a bargin. Classic high end Bordeaux nose with complexity and flavour. Lots of mint. Tailed off quite quickly but still so much to enjoy. The art of wine making should shine through on "off" years as all of the producers make excellent wines in a 09 or 10 vintage. Will definately buy more!
Paired with cod, beans and chorizo
— 3 months ago

Pooneet, Dick and 26 others liked this
Jay Kline

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Great producers make great wines and often the most challenging vintages pull out their best

Château Margaux

Premier Grand Cru Classé Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Tasted blind . Médium deep ruby with medium wide ruby rim , slightly younger looking than the rest. Quite spicy dark fruits , touch of pain grillé , mineral , grafite , cedar . On the palate this has a lot of grip and density , but also great balance . Spicy dark fruits , touch of grafite and earthy cedar . Quite rounded mouthfeel. Balanced acidity and grippy ripe tannins . Long balanced finish . Overall this showed well , with a roundness and balance , lovely fruit still , really quite open and fresh . With more time this show a floral character with lovely precision . Of all the wines this though very young is probably showing the most today . Even better in 5-10 years and will last well a further 10-20. Had this down as Haut Brion . This took the silver medal . 96
— 9 days ago

Tom, Somm and 2 others liked this
Somm David T

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Nice notes on what must have been a splendid night of 05 1st Growths.

4 Monos Viticultores

GR 10 Garnacha Blend 2022

Funky mixed berry. Brambly, some hints of green pepper, black pepper, black tea, and good structure. Off the beaten path. Fun find. — 2 months ago

Serge liked this

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2012

These used to be cheap - not any more 40$ for the new vintage this was 26$. Classic and super elegant. A ton of tannins left: 14%. Fermented dark olives. Dark cherries. Way better than the 2013 chianti reserva I popped for our italian dinner club. These are the wines kids should try - but hey our brillant marketing 🤡 priced them out of trying quality nebbiolo so they switch to cocktails and beer! Well done. Will go for 5-10 more years with ease. — a month ago

Daniel, John and 9 others liked this
John Howard

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@Pinotman /// Andreas always so good. The single vineyard ones used to be the best high end values in the world imho. Not anymore. Still great though.

Louis Roederer

Cristal Brut Champagne 2004

Medium lemon straw , some fine lightly persistent perlage . Quite steely and minerally on the nose , some lemon pith , orange rind , white flowers , buttered brioche . Quite classic and lean in style. This has drive and persistence on the palate , electric acidity , with intense mineral , lemon rind , chalky depth . Still pretty young , taught , with good freshness and long length . With time drinking well but will improve over at least the next 5 years and last well a further 5 - 10 — 16 days ago

"Odedi", Jeroen and 9 others liked this

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2022

Inky in color with a reddish rim.

Fruity nose of black currants, plums, licorice, light cedar, earth, cola, herbs, spices, tobacco leaf, dark coffee, black tea and light garigge notes.

Full-bodied with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with black plums, currants, oak, light licorice, spices, dark chocolates, earth, tobacco leaf, cola, herbs, peppercorn and light vegetables.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This young Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley is already drinking beautifully. Rich and fruit forward. Nicely balanced with a smooth mouthfeel. Elegant and complex, spicy and tangy.

Delicious now, and will continue to age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years.

The alcohol is nicely integrated already, although not as high as typically from this region.

Robert Parker 95 points. Wine Spectator 92 points.

I've had a few vintages of this wine and this is not my favorite, by far.

A great sipping wine that will also pair nicely with a big piece of steak.

A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot and 1% Malbec.

14% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$450.
— 7 days ago

Jay, Stephen and 9 others liked this
Jay Kline

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These wines, to my palate, are not particularly interesting this young. After 15+ years from vintage? Way more interesting.
"Odedi"

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@Jay Kline not a great vintage too
Jay Kline

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Personally, I think many have overreacted regarding 2022. Yes, Mother Nature threw some challenges late in the harvest but some made outstanding wines and when you consider the fruit source for Opus One, I’m sure they were on the winning side.

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Somm David T
9.4

I remember when the 2005 Pichon Lalande was reviewed by RP, 89. I saw that & said, you would have to get in the way of the 2005 Bordeaux vintage to be that sad. I still bought 6 at a bargain basement price. A very good idea post 20 yrs+. Both Pichon’s don’t have a modern day history of getting in the way of a good vintage.

I also bought this one. 18 yrs in bottle and still acending. This will hold 5 more yrs and will last another 10 yrs properly stored.

I have visited Bordeaux 11 times. This chateau visually is still my favorite. It was showing a picture of this chateau to Sofia that launched our first visit. Sofia loved it and we have stared at it multiple times on every visit.

It was in our visit in 2007, I stood in the estate vineyard, looked & tasted their soils. After doing so, I said, “I get it.” I understood everything about what I was tasting in Left Bank Bordeaux’s early in my wine journey.

Sofia and I had dinner w/ Christian Moueix not long after the 2005 vintage was hyped/released. She asked him, when did you know you had something special?” He said, “as soon as I tasted the fruit at harvest.”

Tonight, it shows that it is a close relative, a sibling to Pichon Longueville. Cork, perfect.

The nose shows; classic left bank traits. Ripe, dark, brooding fruits, bright, mid berries, red cola, leather, tobacco, sandalwood, leather, led pencil, dark rich earth, limestone, dry river stone, hint of mushrooms, dark, red, fresh & withering florals.

The fruits on the palate show everything outstanding from the 2005 growing season. Ripe, juicy, brilliant; dark currants, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum skin, black cherries, baked/poached strawberries & some hovering raspberries. Dark chocolate bar to pudding, red cola, anise, dark spices w/ palate heat, dark, rich earth w/ dry leaves, pronounced graphite, dry tobacco, leather, limestone, dry twig, dry river stone, moist clays, moist herbs, cedar to sandalwood, withering & dry, dark flowers, red roses, some lavender & violets, beautiful rainfall acidity, excellent; balance, tension, structure, length w/ an elegant finish that lasts minutes and lands on spice & earth.

13.4 ABV. Nice.

#TheTwoHourRibcap

This held up vacuumed sealed the same night, refrigerated & enjoyed exactly a week later.
— 3 months ago

Peter, Scott@Mister and 16 others liked this
Bob McDonald

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@Somm David T A wonderful story David and I can see how you could fall in love with that photo of the Chateau.
Somm David T

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@Bob McDonald Thank you. Cheers! 🍷