Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Blend 95% Cabernet Sauv, 2% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, splash of Malbec, more cab heavy than prior vintages, deep Ruby, aromas of ripe black and red fruits with floral and earthy notes. On the palate flavors of cherry, blackberry, currants and licorice with vanilla, cacao, cedar and savory herbs. Long finish, well balanced, full tight rich tannins ending with fruit, cedar and earthy character. Nice! — 3 days ago

Ellen Clifford

9.2

I blinded some of my fellow WSET Diplomates on this and one astutely observed “it tastes like Opus One” whilst others thought it was too Old World in style to be such a thing. In short, we all liked it better than we have Opus One, if you can believe it. Believe it. — 6 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

1998 vintage. Been waiting to taste this one again for over two decades. 1998 wasn't the best Napa Cab vintage. The best 98's were generally mountain fruit-like the Dunn Howell Mountain. When this was released back in the day, it was brawny, taut and tannic but still maintained balance. This Montelena 1998 Estate Cab was better than nearly everyone's 1997 (an acclaimed/excellent across the board) Napa cabs back then. FF 23 years later...surprise! Some things haven't changed. Decanted and tasted after 10 mins, 30 mins and 2 hrs. Excellent fill and cork. Throwing respectable sed. Massive color. Great aged, leathery nose. Still medium heavy bod. Baking chocolate, ripe plum and grilled beef in the flavor profile. Consistent performer through the entry, mid and back palate hoops without drop-off during the ceremony. Tannins still evident but well-integrated with the abundance of fruit. Not improving but this is rock steady and in a very sweet spot/top of the bell curve for at least another decade. It was worth the wait. 6.29.24. — 7 months ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.7

After a warm 2020 this 2021 is more backwards and classic and reminds me of the 2016‘s. The first bottle had a touch VA which blew off. Second one has no VA. Violets and a hint of roses. Robust beautiful cherry 🍒. Touch bark. This is a top vintage for them. Awesomeness in a bottle for a ridiculous low price for this quality. It’s hard to put the glass down - it is that good. So in this instance I do rate this higher than Lyle F. 3 days later on the Argon line - this is still exceptional elegant and unique. Gained weight and at the same time super elegant. What a wine. — 9 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

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. — 8 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1995 vintage. High fill and great cork. Used a Durand. Opened but not decanted. Throwing slightly less sediment than expected. Tasted one hour after opening. Medium body. Cassis, graphite, dark plum and spring mud in the nose. All this plus an appearance of cedar and relatively fresh tobacco notes in the tasting profile. Tapered and muscular with zero fat. No flighty components evident so nothing to wax/wane over the next decade. Fairly unified now and for the foreseeable future. 8.16.24. — 6 months 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)
— 8 months 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. — 3 months ago

Vino Joe

9.2

Pleasant at first pour but underpowered. Needed 45 minutes and decant to start. Improved over time. Darker red than I was expecting. Young wine and quite smooth. Some racy notes at the perimeter but more of an easy drinking succulent Nebbiolo than a brooding one. — 6 months ago

Mark S.

9.2

Garnet transparent. Oak. Cherry, raisin, leather, spices, licorice. Tannic, acidic at initial. One hour, getting smoother. But lots of tannin. 2nd day, much better!! 3rd day, tannin is better than before. 4th day, still good. Quite robust and powerful. It should be good 10 years later to wait for tannins’ melt. Isole e Olena,Cepparello Toscana IGT 15 @2950, wine plus - Ambassador, 240604 — 8 months ago