Ken Venezio

9.2

Wicked inky purple out of the bottle. Beautiful nose of violets. Loaded with blue and black fruits. I'm happy I found this at a tasting. — a month ago

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9.3

The bottle of 2014 Pontet-Canet showed better than the previous one at the 10-Year-On tasting in London. This offers much more restraint on the nose. It's quite precise, with greater mineralité seeping through the black cherry and cassis fruit. The palate has a sorbet-fresh entry, fine tannins and a silky sheen. The oak is fully subsumed after a decade, plus there is a little more depth on the finish compared to previous showings. This is a fine example of the vintage, and bottles should drink well over the next 12 to 15 years. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the Pontet-Canet dinner in Washington DC. (Neal Martin, Vinous, June 2024)
— 6 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

Deep, dark blackberry fruit with menthol, graphite, spice, cedar, mineral & tobacco notes. This seems to be fully mature that will hold for many years — 9 months ago

Matt Perlman

9.4

Finished our tondonia mini-vertical with this gorgeous fully mature ‘02 — 2 years ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.3

Totally underrated producer. Love old private reserve, still fresh and fully alive. — 3 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

8.9

1971 vintage. Top shoulder fill. Used a Durand but fully saturated cork still required some clean up on aisle 7. Decanted and tasted after 5 minutes. Threw much much less sediment than expected. Decent color with a little browning. Tertiary nose gave way to similar flavors with it being very slightly brickish. In a holding steady phase where there is no shining light to chase after-everything is consolidated and filed away so you're tasting the interpretations of history. Instructive. 6.13.24. — 5 months ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.4

Excellent 08. Chave and Allemand really nailed the difficult vintage in Northern Rhône, and 2008 Hermitage is showing beautifully tonight, fresh, elegant and detailed with aromas of juicy red berry fruit, bacon, roasted herbs and smoky minerals. While not an exceptionally deep and concentrated rendition in 2008, it’s really a considerable success, and it’s fully open, giving and ready to drink. — 7 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

1990 vintage. Neck base fill. Cork fairly saturated. Durand used. Appropriate sediment. Opened but not decanted. Tasted after one hour. Light-medium body. This was fully integrated and harmonious. Can’t imagine this vintage tasting better as this was a great specimen. Finish just glided along like a sail craft on a glassy day. Can hold at this level for another 5-6 years easy. One of the best Lafite efforts I’ve ever enjoyed. 8.16.24. — 3 months ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service; enjoyed over period that lasted a few hours. The 2018 pours a deep ruby color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. One the nose, the wine is youthful with notes of ripe, tart black and red fruits: blackberries, black currants, tobacco, some bell pepper, herbs and rich 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 rich but has some great zip thanks to the acid. Easily the most rounded of the three and, in true Rafanelli fashion, I don’t find the oak to be fully integrated at this point in its evolution. But it will. Better after 2028 through 2048+. — 7 months ago

LM Segal

9.5

Beautiful in all respects, gently wafting black tea, red flowers. Layers of light and fully resolved red fruit, lots of secondary aromatics. Perhaps a bit past it’s prime but even so, obvious royalty. — 2 years ago