Magic Hour

Witching Hour

California Red Blend

Has some nice fruity notes. — a month ago

R. López de Heredia

Viña Tondonia Reserva Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2001

Always reliable. Clearly in its final hour but still soooo enjoyable — 2 months ago

Tom, Shay and 14 others liked this

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Elegant and refined with dark berries and chocolate present in the best way. A beautifully structured wine that benefits from 2 hour decant. Enjoy. — 2 months ago

Vino, Jan and 3 others liked this

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

1989 vintage. Last tasted 3.28.24, 5.5.23, 4.4.23 and 12.9.22. Solid fill and cork. Recommended decanting but was denied. Mmkay. Eventually got clearance to decant after the bottle had been open for 1.25 hrs. Tasted after being open 5 mins, 45 mins and 2 hrs. Light-medium body throughout. Wine was funky and super tight initially. Had to talk a few of the “participants” down from their “this wine ain’t nothing” perch by telling them it needed at least an hour in the glass (since it hadn’t been decanted at that point). Wine threw expected sed on the decant. Started to loosen up at the 45 mins open stage and fairly exploded at the 2 hrs open (45 mins decanted) point. Dude that didn’t want to decant it gave me a wistful, regretful look at that point (since it blew the other 4 reds at the table away and was getting better) and it took waay too much willpower on my end not to say “Congrats on minimizing a fantastic wine experience, bro.” It wasn’t the best 1989 P-L specimen tasted semi-recently but feel this coulda delved into the 9.4 range without the unnecessary power trip from someone that didn’t even bring this wine to the shindig. Hopefully, this individual learned their lesson. 7.6.24. — 3 months ago

Shay, Ted and 9 others liked this
Norman Gennaro

Norman Gennaro Premium Badge

Can’t imagine declining a decant. Been too lazy to decant and generally regretted.

Château Lafite Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2004

+1 hour decant(some fine/chunky sediment). A splendid crimson red color. On the nose: wonderful bouquet with plum, stewed meat, cassis, sweet tobacco, funky earth, leather. Taste: silky, finessed, balanced wine with red berries/plum, coffee grounds, cedar, tobacco, and a nice peppery pencil lead long finish. YUM! Pure class in a glass. — a month ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland
with Brenda
Brenda, Vino and 22 others liked this

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2011

2011 vintage. Decanted with some sed and tasted after 1 hour. Bigg structure with plenty of tobacco, underbrush and dark fruit. A complex kid. Lots of moving parts but really unified currently and moving towards a common goal. Total BDX ringer in a pricey blind. This has miles to go. 8.2.24. — 2 months ago

Jan, jesus and 19 others liked this

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2018

It has been a little over a year since my last note on the 2018 vintage. Popped and poured, enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2018 pours a pale garnet with transparent core; medium+ viscosity and no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with delicate notes of funky cherry, rose water, tar and dry earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. A touch thinner than some of the “bigger” vintages but no less charming. I’m sort of a sucker for the 2018 vintage in how enjoyable these are to drink in their youth. Drink now through 2038 — 3 months ago

Douglas, Juan and 14 others liked this
David T

David T Influencer Badge

Solid stuff in pretty much any vintage. Just ordered a six pack of 2019 on pre-arrival. Salute! 🍷

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1985

No problems noted despite the age. Very good, but not outstanding. The nose was great at about 30 minutes-1 hour in the glass. The nose seemed to fade over the evening, but still very nice. Acidity is notable. Earthy flavors, tobacco, dried fruit. Great experience trying a 41 year old vintage! — 22 days ago

Château Latour

Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1995

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. — a month ago

Jan, Ira and 16 others liked this

Dunn Vineyards

Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

From magnum. Cork and wax were a mess. Totally disintegrated and required the coffee filter and everything just to pour and decant the wine

3 hour decant before dinner. Paired with wagyu ribeye steaks. Amazing. This wine was just balanced and smooth. Just delicious.
— 2 months ago

Tom, Ethan and 6 others liked this