Balance Of Power

Château Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 1997

Girl. Sup? Shoot. This was utterly brilliant tonight. Classic Bordeaux yet, even at 26 years young, somewhat precocious still. A beautiful mix of deep, dark and red fruit with currants, blackberries and cherries with chocolate, purple flowers, green pepper, tobacco, earth, leather and awesomeness. Plenty of structure to keep this strutting for years to come. Fabulous balance and complexity. Drink now through 2047+. — 11 days ago

Bob, Ceccherini and 14 others liked this

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2000

Power, cassis, fresh rose and rosemary potpourri. Still so youthful and fresh. Power, beautifully held. Beautiful balance, texture and mouthfeel. A beautiful wine! — 3 months ago

Severn, Andrew and 10 others liked this

Château d'Yquem

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 1999

Yellow gold with copper hue, quite thin pale rim . Caramelised pineapple, saffron , vanilla , creme brûlée , quite rich and decadent. On the palate again quite rich , barley sugar , creme brûlée and saffron, just enough acidity to balance and a little alcoholic warmth . On the medium length finish , lemon rind and a touch of caramel . This is probably at peak now , just misses a little vibrancy , freshness, however successful for the vintage . Drink now and over the next 10- 15 years — 3 months ago

Ira, Jeroen and 11 others liked this

Château Montrose

Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2000

David T
9.4

Just entering its drinking window. It has 40 years ahead of it. Excellent with Ribcap from Costco.

Interesting that there are some vegetable notes on the nose.

Very good evolution. Medium plus tannins. Juicy, ripe blackberries, black raspberries, darkest cherries, black plum/ with skin, ripe strawberries, some blue fruit hues, cedar, black licorice/cola, dark rich earth w/ leaves, sandstone, steeped sun tea, light limestone powder, ripe, light, dark spice, clove, light cinnamon, hints of nutmeg, vanillin, moist volcanic clay, fresh red, dark flowers, framed in violets, round acidity with polish/balance, softly tensioned, elegant that falls on mineral & clay that lasts two-minutes.
— 4 months ago

Thijs, Andrew and 19 others liked this

Bodegas y Viñedos Vega Sicilia

Alion Ribera del Duero Tinto Fino 2019

100% Tempranillo, about 12 mos in mostly new French oak. Deep Ruby, aromas of dark fruits, spice, floral and earthy oak. On the palate flavors of fresh blackberry & currants with tobacco, licorice and gentle bits of cedar. Tannins, are tight supporting the backbone of the wine, needs more bottle age, resist opening now. Well balance with acidity, full body, long finish ends with some fruit, spice, and earthy character. Nice! — a month ago

Tom, Andrew and 8 others liked this

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend

2007: Wow. Phenomenal Chateauneuf with tons of character. Viscous, very rich, nicely concentrated with plenty of minerals and funk to balance the still-persistent purple fruit. Can’t imagine this getting any better with more age but plenty left. — 3 months ago

Ridge Vineyards

Monte Bello Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2000

Opened the evening prior at 7pm and double-decanted; the bottle was left at room temp with the cork pressed lightly back into the neck until service. The 2000 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core and a slightly water rim; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous and showing some real power with a compelling combination of ripe and desiccated fruit: dark brambles, cassis, leather, dill, olives, spiced meat, tobacco and soft baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and whoa is it ever delicious. This has to be one of the wines of the vintage. Drink now through 2040. — 3 months ago

Hermes, Ira and 14 others liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

1989 vintage. Last tasted 3.28.24, 5.5.23, 4.4.23 and 12.9.22. Solid fill and cork. Recommended decanting but was denied. Mmkay. Eventually got clearance to decant after the bottle had been open for 1.25 hrs. Tasted after being open 5 mins, 45 mins and 2 hrs. Light-medium body throughout. Wine was funky and super tight initially. Had to talk a few of the “participants” down from their “this wine ain’t nothing” perch by telling them it needed at least an hour in the glass (since it hadn’t been decanted at that point). Wine threw expected sed on the decant. Started to loosen up at the 45 mins open stage and fairly exploded at the 2 hrs open (45 mins decanted) point. Dude that didn’t want to decant it gave me a wistful, regretful look at that point (since it blew the other 4 reds at the table away and was getting better) and it took waay too much willpower on my end not to say “Congrats on minimizing a fantastic wine experience, bro.” It wasn’t the best 1989 P-L specimen tasted semi-recently but feel this coulda delved into the 9.4 range without the unnecessary power trip from someone that didn’t even bring this wine to the shindig. Hopefully, this individual learned their lesson. 7.6.24. — 3 months ago

Shay, Ted and 9 others liked this
Norman Gennaro

Norman Gennaro Premium Badge

Can’t imagine declining a decant. Been too lazy to decant and generally regretted.

Bodegas y Viñedos Vega Sicilia

Unico Ribera del Duero Tempranillo Blend 2004

A favorite from Spain, the Ribera del Duero is a wonderful blend that gets the green light for approachability and high score for its depth and silkiness . Wow. Great balance and wonderful with a taste that touches the buds on the back of my tongue. — 3 months ago

Vino liked this

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1982

1982 vintage. Above average fill. Cork 98% saturated. Decanted and throwing a mix of chunky and sandy sed. Tasted after 15 minutes. Dark-fruited nose. Still medium body. Any overt fruit is gonzo and this specimen ended up as more muscular than remembered with notable balance. Tannic skeleton definitely in place. Least favorite 1st growth overall but this was a great showing. In a sweet spot currently and likely to hold here without drop off for another 4-5 years. 6.1.24. — 4 months ago

Ted, "Odedi" and 23 others liked this
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