Decanted
Château Léoville Poyferré
Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1996
Opened and double decanted several hours prior to service; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1996 pours a deep ruby color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with a lovely combination of ripe and desiccated fruit: cassis, brambles, horse blanket, cigar box, old leather, earth and spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Another lovely and immensely charming Poyferré. Drink now with a decant and through 2046. — a month ago
Château Léoville-Las Cases
Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1982
Opened earlier in the day and double-decanted several hours prior to service; enjoyed over the course of three hours. The 1982 pours a deep garnet with a near opaque core. On the nose, the wine is developing (still!) and slightly green compared to the ’82 Mouton that was poured alongside. Cassis, purple Chewy SweeTarts, green bell pepper, old wood, some earth and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry and has massive structure still. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and slightly bitter. Drink now with a long decant but there are decades of life left. — 2 months ago
Spottswoode
Family Estate Grown St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
2018 vintage. Decanted and tasted after 15 mins and one hour. Beautifully feminine and expressive nose leapt out of the decanter. Medium body. Nice balance of dark fruits and tannins but slightly disjointed. A bigg Napa vintage so either another decade or a three hour tour...er...decant would seem to be the ticket here. 01.31.25. — 16 days ago
Château Léoville Barton
Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1996
Opened and double-decanted several hours prior to service; enjoyed over the course of three hours. The 1996 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core. On the nose, the wine is developing and loaded with currants, pencil lead, earth and soft baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and super grippy; slightly bitter and earthy. A lovely, classic expression of Bordeaux and drinking well in its prime. Drink now through 2046. — 2 months ago
Château Margaux
Premier Grand Cru Classé Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2000
A physically pristine example from a well established cellar, the cork pulled clean and without so much as a hint of compromise. It was subsequently double decanted several hours in advance. The 2000 Margaux pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. The nose: developing and simply stunning. A cornucopia of cassis, black bramble fruit, purple flowers, tobacco, new leather, cocoa, fine woody notes, dry gravelly earth and gorgeous baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid; the structure acting like the flying buttresses of Notre Dame. Confirming the notes from the nose, the finish is forever long and impossibly silky. Sensationally balanced.
To my palate, this falls into the very small category of wines that require no additional inquest. It is utterly complete. And, when I consider the company and circumstances, perfect. Drink now with a healthy decant and through 2100. — 3 months ago
Château Montrose
Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1989
1989 vintage. Opened but not decanted. Just got a (generous) side sample of this as I was entrenched with the weekly wine rep tastings. Tasted after 30 mins and one hour after opening. Definitely bretty (as expected) for the first tastes but that mostly dissipated by the end of the glass. Light-medium body with mostly bowed tannins initially. Longer it remained in the glass, the more the tannins came out to frolic. Still plenty of structure, fruit and front-palate intrigue (usually hidden/buried by tannins). Not improving at this point but-depending on storage and/or bottle size-still more than viable and deserving of massive respect. 01.29.25. — 18 days ago
Château Mouton Rothschild
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1982
Forty-plus years on, people still talk about the greatness of the 1982 vintage in Bordeaux. There are multiple factors that contribute to this and it’s fair to say that Robert Parker’s reaction played a major role in the early popularity; certainly in the States. While some may say that 1982 was merely a “good” vintage by today’s standards, I think history has proven it to be empirically special; there was just so much quality from top to bottom. And yet, even with the high praise of the vintage, the tone shifts to hushed whispers when the 1982 Mouton gets mentioned. Up until that point, the Chateau had sort of underachieved after receiving its unprecedented promotion in 1973. But in 1982, a year full of great wine, they created a legend and firmly cemented their First Growth status. Today, I’m pleased to report the plaudits for the ’82 are all warranted.
Opened and double-decanted earlier in the day. The ’82 Mouton pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core with some sediment; almost youthful when compared to many of the other older wines poured on the night. On the nose, the wine is developing still; loaded with cassis, black berries, leaf tobacco, leather, and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with fabulous structure. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and full of power. A stunning wine and well in its prime…a window I expect will remain open for a longtime to come. Drink now with bacchanalian abandon and through 2082. — 2 months ago
David D
Legit delicious and one of the best I’ve had in a while. Mellow and lush, great rounded acids and softened tannins. Good tar, cocoa powder, prunes, stewed mushroom, soil, dried roses and violets, touch of vanilla. Decanted 4 hours before opening. Probably from Flatiron Wines? Happy Valentine’s Day. 02/14/2025 — 2 days ago