Marshal White

9.3

Massive wine. Lots of everything. Absurdly exotic nose. Not the most harmonious; maybe still too young. — 2 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.4

2022 vintage. Wowzers...massive impressions of both fruit and tannins. Best Ontogeny I've sampled. 25+ year wine to age if you've got that kinda time. Delicious and with decent acidity so it doesn't opt into the overly ripe sweepstakes thank goodness. 10.09.24. — 7 months ago

James Everhart

9.3

Massive intensity yet balanced. $22 — 2 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2019 vintage. Soft nose currently but explosive front-end palate of bleached white paper, massive plum, balsamic and bacon fat. Hevvy bod. Some welcome acidity/tannins on the back end clean(s) things up nicely. Waay too young but not shy about trying out for the varsity squad. Makes you wonder where we would be if Napa/Sonoma had put as much time, effort and acreage into Syrah as they have Cabernet Sauvignon over the last six decades... — 3 years 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. — 3 months ago

Nicolas Greinacher

9.8

Tasted blind. This bottle was purchased directly from the winery on allocation and stored in a cold cellar since release. The ruby color is frightfully deep, almost black. Intense aromas with a laser-like precision of blackcurrant, crushed rocks, orange rind, chocolate, black cherry, mint, cloves and a dash of bourbon vanilla introduce the 2007 Screaming Eagle. The palate is a complete knockout: Full-bodied, extremely concentrated with pixelated, polished tannins, built like a skyscraper with an almost never ending finish. This is a massive Napa Cab, but despite all its power, it still retains freshness and elegance. The top of the cork reads "fly high and proud". Drink now until 2040. — 2 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.6

Massive wine, deep & structured classic old school style Pomerol that is still youthful showing dark berry, plum fruits, inky with notes of cedar, earth, spice box, core of mineral & mocha. Beautifully balanced with good length. — 3 years ago

Bruce Dunbar

9.4

There’s a song that includes the line ‘Forget about experience, I’d rather have potential.’ The 2017 Hayne PS brings both — old vine depth with lots of room for aging. Coming out of the bottle an almost milky purple color and with a nose that full of dark fruits and a bit musty, the 2017 is taught, full of massive tannins, and has streaks of vanilla, dark berries and maybe even a bit of lemon. Enjoy it and tuck a few away for 5-30 years to get the full potential. — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Opened earlier in the day and double-decanted several hours prior to service; enjoyed over the course of three hours. The 1982 pours a deep garnet with a near opaque core. On the nose, the wine is developing (still!) and slightly green compared to the ’82 Mouton that was poured alongside. Cassis, purple Chewy SweeTarts, green bell pepper, old wood, some earth and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry and has massive structure still. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and slightly bitter. Drink now with a long decant but there are decades of life left. — 4 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

1990 vintage. Wow. Whattanose. Best BDX nose I've ever had the pleasure to dip into. Trace amounts of barnyard brett overwhelmed by the Ron Burgundy traditional leather-bound books and mahogany. All that + spices galore. In its' infancy, this wine rocked a medium-heavy bod with generous baby fat and overt blue fruit. That be gone with the bod now a light-medium impression. Elegant, yet, concerted finish. Hadn't tasted this vintage in fifteen years but not removing my disclaimer of this as the best Lynch-Bages vintage ever. This is singing and swinging. More Jeff Buckley/Sam Cooke vs Ozzy/James Brown. No rush to crush as it's at the top of the bell curve and smells/tastes like it'll be there for the majority of the next decade. Drinking as desired and expected. Decanted and open for approx 4 hours. Respectable but underwhelming/less than expected amount of sed. A massive "Thank you” to Sir Bill Bender, Esq. @Bill Bender for his heavy lifting here. — 2 years ago

with Bill