Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Vieux Château Palon – 2021
Montagne-Saint-Émilion AOC – Right Bank, Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷

Overview
A distinctive Right Bank Bordeaux, this cuvée flips the classic Merlot-dominant Saint-Émilion script. Instead, it is crafted from 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Cabernet Franc, making it unusually bold, structured, and aromatically lifted for the appellation.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, blackberry, and cassis dominate, with graphite, cedar, and tobacco leaf from the Cabernets. Subtle violet and peppery notes emerge from the Franc.

Mouthfeel
Firm tannins, medium-plus body, and a long, savory finish. More muscular and linear than many Montagne-Saint-Émilions, leaning toward Left Bank style but with Right Bank elegance.

Food Pairings
Grilled ribeye, lamb chops with rosemary, cassoulet, duck confit, aged Comté or Tomme de Savoie cheeses.

Verdict
An atypical but fascinating Montagne-Saint-Émilion that highlights Cabernet structure over Merlot plushness. For those who love Pauillac or Saint-Julien, this bottle is a bridge into the Right Bank world. Cheers!

Did You Know?
Montagne-Saint-Émilion is one of the four “satellite” appellations of Saint-Émilion, known for offering excellent value Bordeaux reds. Few estates here lean so heavily on Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes Palon stand out stylistically. — 11 days ago

David Kline

9.3

Rim to rim color density. Red and black cherries poke through cedar and sweet tobacco on the nose with dark chocolate chunks, plum, prune and date, toasted sesame, cinnamon, rose petal, and cardamom. Chewy tannins that roll satin-smooth initially, then cassis, black currant and licorice flip the script. Graphite and blackberry frame dark chocolate and mocha-tobacco, oak and black bread.


#dunn #dunnvineyards #howellmountain #howell #napa #angwin #cabernet #cabernetsauvignon #cab #cabsauv #2014 #2014napa — 2 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

9.0

Plenty of fancy cursive script here on the label. Great dark inviting color. Smells a bit like rocks by the riverside. Fruit is pretty buried. Not the biggest nose here. Flavors of fresh cut wood, cherry-berry juice, and some spice. Savory pork bar-b-Q too. Fresh, bright and likable Temp. This is a nice bottle for a nice price. Could drink it anytime. — 4 years ago

Ron from VA

9.0

Quite an ironic release. Michael has among the best and most iconic Viognier in the state for over a decade… 2022 was a fantastic vintage and I suspect he used this vintage to go off script. But instead of rich luxurious extraction, this is particularly lean and mineral driven. Filled with an uncharacteristic amount of lemon oil, and absent is the abundance of apricot & oak. Perhaps a decent food, pairing wine, but lacking in mid Atlantic Viognier qualities. — 5 months ago

Delectable Wine

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9.2

The 1999 Latour has a dark garnet color with little aging on the rim. The nose is closed initially and demands coaxing, eventually revealing blackberry, cedar and light pencil-shaving aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with soft tannins, displaying some secondary notes of clove, white pepper and a distinct earthiness that comes through on the finish. [Post-script: this is one of the few vintages I identified correctly!] Tasted blind from double magnum at a 20-year retrospective at the château. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2024)
— 2 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

See previous note from March 2022. Very dark Ruby in colour- impenetrable. Blackberry, smoky notes. A rich full bodied dense palate with a tarry note. Dusty. Granular persistent tannins. Again, Thomas Matthew’s drinking window is way too early (to 2025). This wine will cruise to 2030 with ease. When you taste this wine you have a new appreciation of the allure of Tempranillo, in this case old vine Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero. Post Script: The next day - aniseed and a crushed ant note. — 2 years ago

Kamall

9.2

I guess Delectable can’t read script! Cuvée Chloe from Ceritas. — 5 months ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.0

A compelling, historical and sophisticated Chianti Classico Riserva dedicated to the Mazzei’s notable ancestor, Ser Lapo, known as the “father” of the Chianti wine appellation in Tuscany. The V.2016 also had a composition blend of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Merlot. This wine as a “Riserva” under the Chianti Classic Classification system has to be aged a min of 24 months in barrels including 3 months in the bottle prior release.

Decanted for 35 Mins served as an opener of an Italian-inspired dishes, made it a perfect amplifier to appreciate the balance of freshness, richness and complexity. The acidity remains at the perfect point and the red cherries and fig notes are quite palpable from the very beginning, the wine dances in your palate, it jumps on flavor of cherry, tobacco leaf, toasted spices and fresh herbs notes come out alive from the glass, as an overall this wine dances in your mouth with great harmony of the juiciness and integrated medium plus tannins.

The label is another great release from Mazzei family, which is one of Tuscany’s oldest wine dynasties (25 winemaking generations for 600+ years. The script at the top of this wine label is a reproduction of a historic correspondence of a document dated December 16, 1398 that addresses this “father” of Chianti.

Simply lovely, cheers! — 6 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; no formal notes. This vineyard was planted in 1886. Bright cherry and bruised strawberry fruits with some orange curaçao, espresso a light kiss of spices. Overall, there’s an impression of freshness that’s super attractive. Forget what you think you know about Lodi; wines like this flip the script. A lovely accompaniment with burgers on a summer night. Only 5 barrels produced. — 3 years ago

Neil Blaze

9.1

A fine saperavi. Aromas and flavors of dark fruit, spice, a bit of cocoa powder, and a hint of tobacco leaf. I've noted a bit of Georgian script on the label of this bottle, otherwise it's all in French! 100% Saperavi. 7/29/22. — 4 years ago