Off Piste Wines

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1990

1990 vintage. Last tasted 12.11.22 (9.6) and 8.20.16 (9.2-slightly off bottle). Tasted side by side with the 1989 (9.4) version of this wine. Ridiculous 1-2 heavyweight punch. Opened but not decanted. Tasted at the conclusion of lunch after an hour open. Not much in the nose but bringing it in the flavors. Still heavy bits of ripe plum and cherry with a substantial mid-palate. Larger format of this wine likely clocks in as a 9.6/9.7 but this was a 750ml. In the 750ml format, not improving and it's drink now and until 2028. Still, most likely, the best wine this producer has ever made. The 1989 has a case as well. Like the Lebowski rug, this one just tied the late-80's/early-90's BDX room together. 10.10.25. — 4 days ago

Daniel, Jeroen and 22 others liked this
Paul T HB

Paul T HB

Our anniversary year. I need to get a bottle

Château Pichon-Longueville Baron

Baron de Pichon-Longueville Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2000

Pretty deep garnet ruby , garnet rim . This is pretty open and aromatic, with smoky creme de cassis , grafite , blackberry and cedar , light herbal touches , really quite classic and noble . On the palate this has good balance and density , good freshness also . Ripe , very fine but perceptible tannins . Dark fruits , grafite , tobacco , long and detailed slightly mineral notes on the good length finish . Really elegant , though quite serious and traditional, not easy to pull off. This is drinking perfectly now (Coravin might have helped here , I would certainly decant if I had a full bottle) , though still quite fruit driven with some tertiary complexity coming through . Really harmonious and complex . From now and over the next 15 years, maybe more . At Doppo Restaurant, Soho . — 3 months ago

Tom, Dave and 16 others liked this
David White

David White

Wow 🚀 that was an exciting line up of wines and it seems like the Pichon, Brunello and Lynch Bages were the cream of the crop
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

Had one of mine two years ago. Didn’t think it was ready like a lot 2000’s I’ve had so far. Think it is either a forever vintage or just not living up to the hype of 2000? Cheers! 🍷
Andrew Cullimore

Andrew Cullimore Premium Badge

I thought this was really quite excellent @Somm David T , it did seem quite open , though this might be to do with it being under Coravin.. I would certainly decant for a while if opening a bottle . Or alternatively leaving for another 5-10 years will do no harm at all . One of the better 2000s I have had , in some ways it is a bit of a hit or miss vintage .. but the peaks are very high . Hope you enjoy your other bottles !

Château d'Yquem

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2007

No formal notes . Pretty deep Amber , copper colour . Intense marmalade , saffron , creme caramel . Rich on the palate with rich marmalade , saffron notes . Good acidity , but rich. Good length . This is drinkable now and shows quite an advanced colour , though due to its richness will probably carry on delivering for another 20 years , perhaps longer .

This was a rather fascinating evening put together by our incredibly generous host. All 2007 reds were served blind in two flights: 1st Mouton, Haut Brion, Cheval Blanc , La Mission Haut Brion then Latour , Lafite , Petrus and Margaux . Overall the wines showed well , and were mostly enjoyable to drink now , though there is no rush . This somewhat maligned vintage can give a lot of enjoyment in the right environment, I certainly wouldn’t hold back from opening or purchasing any of these wines . They mostly show good density of fruit , personality and elegance , with good freshness. These are not powerful wines , and at times perhaps the fruit can be a little cooler or greener but I was pleasantly surprised by the way they performed , just goes to show you should never write off a vintage without trying the wines !
— 8 months ago

Anthony, Andrew and 13 others liked this
Audrey Nadeau

Audrey Nadeau

H a p p i n e s s!

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1994

Medium ruby garnet , quite thin garnet rim , quite youthful in appearance. Quite exuberant and open from the off blackcurrant , cedar , tobacco , touch of earthy sous bois and grafite, still really quite alive . On the palate this is quite fine boned and elegant , cassis , cedar , blackberry and grafite notes . Refreshing acidity and resolved tannin , with quite reasonable length and good saline balance . Really quite classic , and though not a big , or intense wine , it is well balanced and at peak . Now and over the next 5 - 10 years. Surprises positively for a 1994. — a month ago

Dave, Jan and 14 others liked this
Rob Brobst III

Rob Brobst III Influencer Badge

@Andrew Cullimore I am very surprised that you found this Wine so expressive yet it’s only a 9.1? Normally, a wine of that caliber has notes of red fruit or dark fruit or cassis and that’s it. Nevertheless, this is an excellent wine.
Andrew Cullimore

Andrew Cullimore Premium Badge

thanks for your comments @Rob Brobst III , I think overall it’s a commendable wine given the vintage , and is showing really quite well still , certainly at peak drinking . However within the context of other vintages of Mouton it certainly would suffer if there was a direct comparison, which we didn’t have yesterday. It is not long or intense on the palate , and probably is at its most interesting on the nose . I think the score reflects a solid, well made wine in a difficult vintage , I would certainly have no problems enjoying more bottles of it !

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC)

Richebourg Pinot Noir 2002

The 02 RB was off the charts with its deep, lovely red & black fruits, soaring spices, complex aromatics & violets. Full bodied that was my wotn. Unfortunately the 99 was corked!!!! — 8 months ago

Jan, Tom and 8 others liked this

Château Cos d'Estournel

Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2018

You have to let it breathe because it starts off too jammy. Give it some air for a more dynamic taste. Fruit forward, warm blanket. No outstanding flavor notes like pepper — 8 months ago

Sean Twitty
with Sean
Ted, Ericsson and 4 others liked this

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2001

Mid crimson with a tawny rim showing its age. Just as impressive as the 2000 vintage which tends to get the accolades. This blend is 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc. Aromatics of an old flower arrangement that had dried off with mature black fruits and cedar. My last bottle at 24 years of age but many say this could carry on until the mid 2030s. A classic Bordeaux living up to its “Super Second” standing. — 2 months ago

Doug, Tom and 32 others liked this
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

Ooooh. . . .
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

2001's were so overlooked given the 2000 hype.

Ridge Vineyards

Monte Bello Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2024

Clear, deep ruby in color; on the nose, it's clean with pronounced primary and secondary aromas of black currants, black plums, and cedar. On the palate, it's dry, medium acidity, high tannins, medium alcohol, medium body, and a pronounced intensity of primary and secondary flavors. It tastes like blackberries, eucalyptus, graphite, and black cherries with a long finish. This wine is a little off balanced (the eucalyptus flavor is a little too intense), complex, and intense. Overall, I would rate it as very good. Nellie liked it with steak. — 3 months ago

Nellie Bauman
with Nellie

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1983

Shay A
9.3

(Two previous 1983 vintage wine reviews never made it on here, so copying from CT).

My experiences with 1983s has been fairly positive, and this PL certainly is among the better I’ve had from the vintage. Holding color nicely with deep ruby and slight bricking around the rim. Started off a bit dense and muddled, but hit stride about 30mins later with a mix of red and black berry fruit, cassis, a streak of herbal green down the middle (something I always get with PL). Excellent example of the fruit showing lots of flavor without being overly ripe. Leather, sweet pipe tobacco, graphite, and still some vibrancy at the finish with tannin structure. Clean and elegant at this stage. Showed well over the course of two hours. Drink up and enjoy.
— 8 months ago

Scott@Mister, Jan and 34 others liked this

Dönnhoff

Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett Riesling 2015

17- off-dry, v good fruit, 9.5% — 9 months ago

"Odedi" liked this