Jake Hajer

9.1

Medium bodied. Toasty and bruised tropical fruits. Mango caramel. Guava. Meant for food. — a month ago

Tom Garland

9.3

Decant for sediment (lots of chunky/fine sediment) and pour. A stunning medium ruby red color with little signs of aging. On the nose: big inviting notes of dark fruit/currants, worn leather, herbaceous, smoked meat, funky earth, menthol. Taste: silky, evolved, expressive structure with brambly plum, currants, old leather, dark chocolate, graphite, and a black raspberry-iron-dried herb long finish. YUM! It's what's you want in an aged Napa cab, and glad to have just acquired 3 more bottles. — 12 days ago

with Brenda

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

It is really no surprise that this 05 is incredible and yet still extremely youthful. This 05 will out live almost anyone 50 years old. It is good for another 45 years.

I had their 16 La Dame last weekend & commented it should not be opened for another 10 years.

The core on the nose is dark velvet black currants. There’s a bit of melted dark chocolate-mousse. Ripe but subtle blackberries, black raspberries, black plum-plum pudding, very dark cherries, some mulberries, mocha powder, dark, rich earth, dry river stone, limestone, anise, mix of dry/fresh herbs, fine, undertone of baking spices, moist grey clay, slightly dry tobacco, sandalwood, mild, elegant spice, just the slightest hint of mint, very, slightly candied, dark, withering flowers & red roses.

The palate is rich, round with velvety M+ tannins. The core is dark fruits blended in melted dark-mocha chocolate. Blackberries, black raspberries, both plums w/ heavy skin, dark cherries, poached to slightly baked strawberries & raspberries over the top. Dry bay leaf-sage, moist clay, rich, dark, turned earth, dry river stone, limestone powder, stem inclusion, red licorice/cola, anise to black licorice candy, sandalwood to soft cedar, slightly moist tobacco, used leather, mild, dark spice, a touch & just a touch of tomato leaf, hints of cardamom, dark/red withering flowers with just a touch of violets, perfect acidity and a very well knitted, tensioned, balanced, structured, elegantly polished finish that last two-minutes and lands on nice earthiness & softly muddled spice.

Paired w/ their bone-in Ribeye. Best steakhouse steak that I’ve had out and not made by friends and or myself. Rich fat, tender and nice flavor. Lacks a bit of char and Napa Valley Rub from wholespice.com.

Open in another 15-20 years.

A real shot at a 💯 in another 15-20+.

@Delmonico Steakhouse Las Vegas — a month ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Beautiful layered red & black fruit that is rich, structured with notes of spice, earth, mineral & violets — 4 days ago

"Odedi"

9.2

Getting ready to leave France, so let's go out with a bang! It is time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday.

Dark ruby in color with a reddish rim.

Fruity nose of black currants, black plums, black cherries, tobacco, cedar, light vegetables, licorice, chocolates, coffee and light peppercorn.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with black currants, cherries, plums, light oak, spices, chocolates, licorice, light vegetables, black pepper, tobacco leaf, earth and black tea.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This 8 year old Merlot based blend is still very young. In most vintages, it is a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend, but in the 2017 vintage it was a little different.

Spicy and entertaining. Well balanced and complex, but a little tight and restraint right now. Much earthier than I expected it to be.

Needs 5 years in the bottle to mature properly, and will continue to age nicely in the next 20 years.

A good food wine right now, that will pair nicely with a big piece of steak.

A blend of 56% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc. Aged in (70% New) French oak barrels for 18 months.

14% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$450. — 8 hours ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a couple of hours. The 2014 Classico pours a slightly hazy garnet with a translucent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing. Initially showing notes of stewed red fruits, however with about 30 minutes of air, the fruits freshened up. Morello Cherry, macerated strawberry, dried roses, tar, leather, gravelly earth, and a pleasant mix of cool spices. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium plus; grippy and savory. An often maligned vintage in Piemonte, particularly in Barolo (though some outstanding examples exist). However, in Barbaresco, there was more success and this is an example. Drink now through 2034. — 20 days ago

Arturo Rodriguez

9.0

Excellent quality to price ratio!! — a month ago

Douglas Braun

9.0

2019-Vintage a slight tawny edge , dried strawberry fruit roll up, earth, acetate, floral , very soft, my guess is that this won’t be getting better, but for the time being very complexing — 13 days ago

"Odedi"

9.2

It is time for my #FridayCabernetfix.

Deep inky in color with a short purple rim.

Beautiful nose of blueberries, black currants, cooked cherries, light oak, vegetables, licorice, earth, chocolates, Indian spices and peppercorn.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity.

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

Long finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux. Showing a nice mouthfeel. Fresh, complex and rich.

This second growth wine is still young, but already enjoyable, even by itself.

Drinking beautifully now, and will continue to age nicely in the next 15 to 20 years. Would be nice to revisit it in 7 years. Has good potential to become a 94+ point wine.

Well balanced, and good by itself as a sipping wine. A good food wine too.

A blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot. Aged in French oak barrels for 18 months.

12.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$215. — 20 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

8.9

1989 vintage. From magnum. Nice fill and cork better than expected. Not decanted and first tasted after 7 (seven!!) hours after opening. Talk about task saturation...Light body with some brickish notes but back end concentration along with dark cherry and plum notes fronting earth + tobacco histories. Good length of finish. Drink whatever format ya got cuz it's definitely time unless you like playing wine pathologist and reconstituting tissue/flavors to flesh out what once was and rebuilding around the existing skeleton. Eminently doable as long as you're intimately familiar with the producer/wine, have previously tasted the wine and have really good notes/memory. 05.11.25. — 25 days ago