romo

9.4

Still super tight yet magnificent in its posture and non-negotiable place in time. Enjoy a bottle now but save the rest for your grandchildren. - at Paradisea — a month ago

Brian S

9.6

Showing amazingly, in a perfect place. Open one tonight if you have it! — 9 months ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.5

2005 vintage. 375 ml bottle. In a good place now. — a year ago

Richard Adams

9.7

25 yrs in NYC. This ‘98 in a good place, plenty of acidity. — 3 years ago

with Ksenia

Brandon T

9.4

Bolder style pinot that’s right up my alley. Cherries in spades. — 5 years ago

Mark Howard

9.4

From beginning to end, this case of wine has been a fabulous. The last bottle is even better than the first. Bright dark berry fruits, leather, eucalyptus, showing place in spades. This is Napa front to back. Soft tannins and an elegant finish of 1.5 minutes. Yum is an understatement. Shoutout to Heidi, what a spectacular wine! — 6 years ago

with Blake, Elizabeth and 1 other

Mike Saviage

9.5

Tasted blind. Reddish tawny, almost opaque. Big shoulders in the nose. Complex. Notes of briary brush, raspberry, hickory, pepper and tobacco leaf. Mellow in the mouth, especially when compared to the big nose. Sweeter fruit finish. Took some deductive time with my guess... 82 Margaux which freaked out my friend who brought the bottle. This is in a good place, not sure if it will improve with more age. But it’s in no danger of declining anytime soon. — 6 years ago

Brandon Boesch

9.4

Love this. Great Bordeaux flavors. Plums, cassis, cedar, earth, blackberry, pepper, so good. Great with food. In such a great place. — 2 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.6

Slight younger looking , a little more ruby both in the core but still mostly garnet rim.
This is high toned slightly redder fruit , less dense than the preceding 3 . Cherry , red plum , cedar, seaspray . On the palate this is again quite elegant and refined , cherry , red plum some cassis , red plum , cigar box . Not overly weighty with perhaps a little less noticeable tannin than some of the others . Long vibrant , spicy grafite tinged finish . Very elegant , reserved and I suppose very Lafite , this grows during the experience but was actually voted in last place by the group , that somehow doesn’t surprise me, at the end of the day one wine did have to come last, and this was relatively discreet only showing its real breeding and class with time in the glass. Needs time , but is very promising , probably another 5-10 years (as with almost all the others ) , will last well a further 20 if not more . The elegance and style of this wine is fantastic , this really grows in the glass . Had to be Lafite for me . Bronze medal here . — 7 months ago

Eric Vishria

9.0

05 tannins are still tough and inaccessible. In some ways reflective of the vintage but I worry the 05 won’t get there or there isn’t enough fruit. Did this side by side with the 09 which was a wow wine in an amazing place. — 2 years ago

Conrad Green

9.6

A gorgeous nose. Yellow flowers, corn, a super light toast. On the palate seamless and delicious and polished. A hint of oyster shells and limestone. This is in a superb place right now — 3 years ago

with David

Tom Kobylarz

9.3

At first this was thin and lacking some depth, but over a few hours it arrived in a very nice place putting on weight, depth and deepening nuances of dried red fruits, spice and pyrazine notes. Length is a little short but overall in a good spot and likely having peaked so drink up. — 5 years ago

LM Segal

9.5

Nose of an old Pauillac, cigar box and dried mushrooms. Rich and completely resolved blackberry fruit. In a perfect place. — 6 years ago

heidi schlegel

9.5

Day 10 of shelter in place. Delightful, rich and smooth. — 7 years ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.8

Tasted blind. Medium deep garnet ruby and medium garnet ruby rim . Quite cool and restrained , again lots of grafite and mineral , dark fruits . This is quite deep and dark spicy cassis , blackberry and sea spray , saline . Quite dense and robust on the palate again , lots of fine but ripe tannins. Very long , dense , cassis , cedar grafite saline finish . This is a complete and great example of 2005 , great balance and enormous length , the longest of all on show here. Drinkable now , but surely it’s best days are in the future , wait another 5 -10 years , will last well a further 20 - 25 if not more . The apex of 2005 ? For me this had to be the Latour , and an archetypal example of Latour no less . 1st place and the gold medal . — 7 months ago

Vanessa

9.4

There’s a quiet intensity to Valdicava that makes its way into each & every sip.

🪽 On the label is the depiction of an archangel with sword raised, and wings open, standing as a symbol of Brunello—a wine shaped by patience, precision & deep respect for place—both protective & powerful, grounded in tradition yet shaped with its own energy.

⛰️ 🌊 Valdicava is located on the slopes of Montosoli (a prized ‘cru’), in one of the coolest sectors of the Brunello appellation, enjoying both cooling & warming factors from the radiant sun, to the forests of Monte Amiata, to the breezes off the Tyrrhenian Sea…

🌱 The growing environment is characterized by tension, which is reflected in this wine holding equal parts strength & finesse.

👁️ It is medium garnet in color with pronounced, layered notes of black cherry, black raspberry, baked plum, boysenberry, cedar, cardamom, nutmeg, cigar box, clove, sweet tobacco, black licorice, fennel, olive tapenade, balsamic, dried oregano, wet earth, leather & peat moss.

👄 The palate is dry, with velvety tannins, a vibrant acidity, and warming, though not intrusive, alcohol at 13.5% ABV & a lingering finish.

👌 It has a bold profile softened with age; it is supple & polished, held together with a firm acidity, giving lift to the kaleidoscope of dynamic aromas & flavors.

🥂Cheers to wines offering a sensory window to a particular place & time.   — 10 months ago

with Deked1

Conrad Green

9.5

Beautifully balanced. Lime, stone, oyster shells. Salinity. On the palate cool green apple, hints of melon, limestone. A beautiful tart sour notes on the finish. A lovely haunting finish. In a very good place right now — 4 years ago

with Bex

Paul J

9.0

45+ decant but needed closer to 2 hours. Dark purple in color. Nose was all over the place - US, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy. Wine had minimal fruit, plenty of wood, and lots of Portuguese elements. Would have guessed California or Portugal if having blind. Depth was medium as well as the finish. Ample tannins. Expected more from the label and vintage. — 6 years ago

with Brooke

Scorewine

Wine writer http://www.israelwines.co.il

9.2

Chateau D’Ampuis is a delight across vintages.
The 2006 vintage is really superb! The wine is smooth and elegant, and seems to be all about balance and complexity.
At 14 the wine is rich and vivid and all the pieces just fall in place.
The nose is enchanting with notes of black fruit, earthiness, barnyard, chocolate, a touch of violets and a hint of floral notes.
Full round body, remarkably elegant with lovely acidity and a long delicious finish.
My score 92, drink to 2026 — 6 years ago

Ryan Vento

9.4

In a good place right now. Lovely texture with notes of warm, yeasty bread knots sandwiched between citrus and chalk, all laced in a smooth minerality. — 7 years ago

with Krystal