Old World Players

Opus One

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2012

+1 hour decant(decent chunky/fine sediment). A splendid dark ruby red color. On the nose: Intoxicating/intense nose of black fruit, dark currants, worn leather, forest floor, coffee grounds, minty dark chocolate. Taste: smooth, satiny, structured, balanced wine with chocolate covered brambly blackberry, tobacco, earth, cedar, black pepper, and a herbal licorice long finish. A medium body old world style wine that shows well right now and should continue to provide more years of enjoyable sipping. — 5 months ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland
with Brenda
Brenda, Tom and 19 others liked this

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1985

Bright scarlet color, mostly translucent. Red fruit, gravel stone, spice, dark earth, some tobacco and some leather. Fruit is somewhat faded but still present. I think the 85 LB is moving towards being past peak, but still delivers a nice old world experience. — 3 years ago

Andrew, Eric and 20 others liked this

Bodegas Volver

Tarima Hill Old Vines Alicante Monastrell

True old vine depth in both texture and flavour. A nice departure from Tempranillo or garnacha while retaining all the bold characteristics of Spanish old world reds. — 3 years ago

Bodegas Riojanas

Monte Real Gran Reserva Rioja Tempranillo 1998

what an outstanding experience and without question one of the best wines of the year for me. This is a world class business card of what American oak can do at its best. It starts with a powerful yet elegant knows of dusty cherry, old licorice but mostly gives way to inebriating feeling of grandma‘s old spice cabinet. Something in the nose already tells you that fine fine tans are waiting for you, but the palate is overwhelmingly silky smoothness, possibly the highest combination of intense-yet-silky tannins you can find anywhere, with bright acidity and medium to light body that makes the whole thing dance. I decided to check the producer website and they recommend pairing it with cod with sauce. Luck would have it that I randomly was eating pasta filled with salt cod and tomato sauce. The pairing works well as it further rejuvenates the wine, but I would say it shines at its brightest just by itself, letting those tannins tell the story without any need to curb them down. I’m drinking from Coravin meaning I cannot decant the wine, but even the sediment tastes good. Just like those people who brag about buying burgundy in the 70s, I feel like once the ebbs and flows of trends will shift I will be bragging about buying a 26-year-old monte real gran reserva, kept 24 years at the winery, for 60 bucks, which in San Francisco wouldn’t even pay for the cost of storage  — 8 months ago

Andrew, Douglas and 6 others liked this

EnRoute Winery

Les Pommiers Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2019

Paul J
9.3

PnP’d. Lovely Pinot for someone who isn’t a huge Pinot fan. Earthy with varied fruit and lots of complexity. Medium plus depth. Old World style. Good cigar wine. — 3 years ago

Milissa, Steven and 10 others liked this

Matthiasson

Linda Vista Vineyard Chardonnay 2014

Nice to pull some relatively older Mathiasson wines from storage to check in. This is in a wonderful place. Great intensity and body and richness, with good riper white fruit and some nice flint on the finish. Quite old-world in style. Ready to go now if you’ve been saving any. — 4 years ago

Severn, ESF and 4 others liked this
Severn Goodwin

Severn Goodwin Influencer Badge Premium Badge

Cool, not had any with this much age. 👍
Michael Greene

Michael Greene

I’ve never had the patience to hold these…just too tasty young. Good to know they hold up.

Château Malescot St. Exupéry

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2006

We had the 2006 Vintage on 7/27-28/24. A nice Old World, medium to full bodied wine with a long finish. Scents and a palate of blackberry, black cherry, plum, graphite and camphor. The tannins were fine and smoothed out with aeration. A very good wine. — 8 months ago

Hamilton Russell Vineyards

Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Chardonnay 2020

A lovely melding of Old World finesse and New World exuberance. Green apple, pear, white peach, ripe lemon oil, flint, acacia, and the barest hint of toasted brioche. Mouth watering acidity but not at the expense of texture. Long, beautifully ripe finish. Stunning. — 2 years ago

Ira, Tom and 4 others liked this

Chateau Montelena

The Montelena Estate Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Brilliant!
Napa fruit nose with old world style:)
Many years of life left,
Drinking beautifully now.
— 4 years ago

Tom liked this

Tenuta San Guido

Bolgheri Sassicaia Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2008

Always strong! Old world nose, robust fruit and balanced acid. — 4 years ago

Shay, Deborah and 3 others liked this