Willem Booij

9.0

Sometimes is good to go back to basic, we used to love a Cru Bourgeois in the 80’s and 90’s.

But like the most of us we climb the ladder and spent our money in the higher ranges. Nothing wrong with that but there are nice wines in this categorie. — 16 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1990 vintage. Excellent fill and halfway saturated cork. Used a Durand but surmise a regular waiter's friend, wielded carefully, could have done the trick with the cork. Decanted and tasted after 30 mins, one hour and two hours. Some obvious sed but not troublesome or overtly noticeable. Original owner-château direct on original release. Super cold cellar because this was lagging noticeably behind other '90's and LB's. Bigger tannic structure (for a generally feminine-styled house) than anything save a Latour, Mouton, Ducru Left Bank property. Even more guts than Lynch-Bages or Pichon-Baron '90's currently stored above 55 or so degrees. Surprising but made sense. Light-medium body. Appropriate color. 3-4 years left in this stage unless larger format in play. Slight, fleeting burst of richness in the frontal palate and a tad brickish and then it just flowed on, without speed bumps. A little cocoa powder and cedar/tobacco. Suspect 750ml specimens not stored as cold/religiously will be showing more in the 9.0-9.1 range and farther down the backside of the bell curve. 10.26.24. — 4 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1986 vintage. Tasted through 5 bottles at a 1986 BDX dinner at Mister A's-San Diego. Double decanted and tasted over 5 hours. Tremendous bottle variation in the nose. That expected, light Beychevelle body (similar to L'Evangile in Pomerol) aping Burgundy. Bouquet was all over the place but the five bottles consistently sung. Yes, there was brett here and there. Did it DQ any particular bottle(s)? Not from my perch. Better than anticipated. Can see this going steady in this phase for another 4-5 years before dropping down a notch. 3.14.24. — a year ago

Scott Kahn

9.2

A beautifully aged ducru that had no cork issues and that was punching above its wait class! Typical tertiary flavors of forest floor, leather and cigar box - with livery dark fruit in the glass. This was the first 70’s Bordeaux that brought a smile! — a month ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.5

One of the more accessible and expressive 05’s I’ve had in a while, Cathiard’s Vosne-esque Aux Murgers is open and giving wafting perfumed and spice laced dark berry fruit with violets, black tea and damp earth. The palate is pure silk, elegant and seductive, perhaps even belying the burly vintage typicity, with terrific persistence, balanced acids and soft tannins. An 05 that is finally ready to go! Beautiful wine. — 8 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1986 vintage. 5 bottles tasted for a 1986 vintage BDX dinner @ Mister A's-San Diego. This was up against other 1986's Pichon-Lalande, Beychevelle, Gruaud-Larose, Montrose and Cos. Double decanted and tasted over 5 hours. Respectable sed. Effin pop and pour now. Right right now. The clear winner. So good with balance and enough fruit without having to reach or rationalize. If you're not able to access for 7-10 years, you should be okay. Delicious. 3.14.24. — a year ago

Paul T HB

9.4

Just needs some air👍🏼
Parker dropped his score from a 95 to a 93 back in 2010..
Not as enjoyable as the late 90’s Napa cabs I had earlier in the week, those had more complexity — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

A Merlot dominant (90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc) right bank special from an exceptional vintage. One of the 1001 wines. More tertiary aromas at 20 years of tobacco and spice. On the medium plus bodied palate the wine shows great richness, savouriness and elegance. The following night aromas of pipe tobacco as I often get with right bank Merlot. So much inner strength with this wine which will carry it through to the early 2030’s. An interesting back story with Chateau Gazin :- A neighbour of Chateau Petrus. Gazin does not have the same power and weight as Petrus. The owners of Gazin also own Chateau La Dominique in St. Emilion, but to keep hold of Gazin they were forced to sell almost 12 acres of Gazin’s own vineyards. The purchaser was none other than Petrus and this sale robbed Gazin of some of its best parcels. — 8 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1998 vintage. Cork a little dry near the bottom so called out the Durand for a rescue. Less meniscus than expected. Dusty, earthy nose. Medium body. Heaps of allspice/sandalwood, prunes and baking chocolate hovering about in the medicinal/oily nose and (mostly) in the flavor profile. Ridiculously reminiscent of an aged (‘80’s-‘90’s) Branaire-Ducru St. Julien BDX. So much so that, if blind tasting, that is the guess. This is gliding along. No highs or lows to navigate currently. Not a showstopper by any means but one helluva ringer in a blind tasting. Some bretty influences here and there but nothing warranting a red card/dq. Picked up slightly more body and a noticeable cinnamon/clove note on the finish after being open for an hour. Also...some muddiness along with a sudden frontal-palate richness (at the 1.5 hours open mark) reminiscent of Petit Verdot involvement/influence. WTF?!?! Bring it! 4.21.24. — a year ago

Ray Vanderhoff

8.9

Blend of Merlot (80%) and Cabernet Franc (20%). Deep ruby color. Bold aromas and flavors of red and black cherry, blackberry, orange zest, menthol and violets. Long and linear finish that offers a touch of slate/graphite and a large oak presence. Medium-plus body and chewy tannins. Might need a bit more bottle age. Thanks for sharing, Keith S! — 2 years ago