Left Hand Brewing Company

Château Léoville Barton

Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1990

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. — 25 days ago

Ira, Jan and 17 others liked this
Ron R

Ron R Influencer Badge Premium Badge

Good notes, mate.
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

@Ron R Hey there! It's been a spell.

Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 1995

Opened around 8pm the evening prior, double decanted and left in room temperature until service on Friday evening. In total, this was opened 24hours before service. The 1995 pours a beautiful garnet with transparent core; medium viscosity with moderate stating of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with surprisingly boozy dark fruit. Brambles, cassis, bell pepper, licorice, spearmint and 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 with great acidity. Overall, remarkably youthful. While it’s certainly ready to go, it will likely continue some positive evolution over the next couple of decades. Drink now with a long decant through 2045. — 5 months ago

Jan, Douglas and 15 others liked this

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2001

I had this a week ago but didn’t take any notes at all at a friends tasting last Sunday afternoon. Have always been a huge fan of Dominus and this was from an exceptional vintage. I recall an excellent left bank Cabernet dominant style but presented as a Napa style - rich and plush but not overly so. Thoroughly enjoyable. — a month ago

Jan, Tom and 27 others liked this

Penfolds

Bin 389 South Australia Cabernet Shiraz 2008

Cassis and oak - the latter quite noticeable. From a ripe year where the fruit should be apparent but at the moment the oak dominates - mocha notes, but then again still has a huge future. Amazing what a solid core of self contained full body this has for 16 years of age, but still of profound intensity - dark chocolate and black currant. Will go on for literally decades - only have 2 left. Penfolds “Rewards of Patience “ say through to 2050! That is not as crazy as it sounds. This wine is close to immortal Next one in 10 years. — 4 months ago

Scott@Mister, Anthony and 25 others liked this

Neyers

Left Bank Red Napa Valley Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

First impression of lush dark fruit that transitions to strong, earthy gravel with a dry and spicy finish. Really impressive. — 6 months ago

Erica and Laura liked this

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

Very classic BDX style. The Owner and the winemaker of La Conseillante were convinced drinking Bordeaux left bank — 7 months ago

Roman, Dick and 9 others liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2016

Okay. Again the same dilemma. If a wine does not meet expectation is it basically bad (for me)? 🤔 because in life everything is relative, right? Any thoughts on puzzling matter??The wine was well balanced, dark red fruit flavors, polished, smooth tannins, good intensity and concentration, but limited length and lacking any meaningful complexity… Eight year old left bank Bordeaux. A fourth or fifth growth winery, maybe not, can’t remember for sure. Do remember what I paid though, $120. Definitely too much for what we experienced this evening…. as to our expectations. — 2 months ago

Tammy de Weerd
with Tammy
Jan, Andrew and 13 others liked this
Dawn E.

Dawn E.

@Jan de Weerd from reviews not personal experience. Most let this wine age twenty plus years?

Château de Beaucastel

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend

2007: Wow. Phenomenal Chateauneuf with tons of character. Viscous, very rich, nicely concentrated with plenty of minerals and funk to balance the still-persistent purple fruit. Can’t imagine this getting any better with more age but plenty left. — 5 months ago

Joseph Phelps Vineyards

Insignia Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2012

Delectable Wine
9.6

The 2012 Insignia is in great shape today. Bright acids lend tremendous energy to a mid-weight Insignia that is more about finesse rather than power. Sweet red-fleshed fruit, cedar, tobacco, mint and rose petal are all beautifully delineated. There's not much left to say. The 2012 offers tons of pure pleasure. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, May 2024)
— 6 months ago

Thomas and Ken liked this