Andrew Cullimore

9.2

Medium ruby , quite wide garnet rim, clear and bright . Cassis , blackberry , sous bois , mint , cedar , grafite , good clarity and surprisingly fruit driven still . Good volume on the palate , dark fruits , mint , good acidity and still quite gritty tannins. Saline and grafite tinged finish . Good length . Drinking very well now and over the next 5 years . For 2002 this is showing very well, classic and surprisingly elegant, a really nice surprise! — 4 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.1

Medium deep ruby with ruby pink rim. Spicy cassis , dark blackberry , violets , red pepper. A touch herbaceous with tobacco and graphite. On the pallet, nice volume, ripe blackberry , dark cherry, cassis, with that herbal touch from the nose. Quite firm sweet tannin and balanced acidity . Medium length graphite and cassis tinged finish. This is still quite young but approachable, will last well over the coming 10 years or so. — 4 days ago

Conrad Green

9.6

Lovely gnarly stuff. Deep savory fruit. Still clear and intense. Some floral notes at the end with a succulent saline quality. Just spectacular. — 19 days ago

with BOT, Jean-Francois and 2 others

Mark S.

9.0

Still with Violet. But ok to drink. Of course still solid. But not so tannic and acidic. Black currant, oak, leather. Good balanced. 20 @, Vin, 240928 — 2 days ago

Conrad Green

9.3

Plush and rounded. Sweet fruit. Lush and long. Very good shape. Still vibrant — 19 days ago

with BOT, Jean-Francois and 2 others

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.3

Totally underrated producer. Love old private reserve, still fresh and fully alive. — 22 days ago

Jay Kline

9.3

I never would have anticipated drinking my birth year of Cheval Blanc out of a Solo cup yet, here we are. The ‘81 is ruddy still; deep garnet color with some browning towards the rim and loads of sediment. The nose shows some of the telltale green-ness of vintage but everything has found harmony: the fruit has blossomed and structure has integrated. Dark fruited with tobacco, dried purple flowers, mushrooms, herbs and soft eastern spices. Charming! No particular rush to drink these but lovely now. — 2 days ago

Doug Powers

9.3

Great color, still very youthful at age 25, this paired perfectly with some farm-raised elk loins we purchased in Reno 3 months ago that I grilled on the Weber, complex, long finish, really quite fine!! — a day ago

with Jim

Jay Kline

9.5

Girl. Sup? Shoot. This was utterly brilliant tonight. Classic Bordeaux yet, even at 26 years young, somewhat precocious still. A beautiful mix of deep, dark and red fruit with currants, blackberries and cherries with chocolate, purple flowers, green pepper, tobacco, earth, leather and awesomeness. Plenty of structure to keep this strutting for years to come. Fabulous balance and complexity. Drink now through 2047+. — 12 days ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

Dark, inky & still youthful showing mostly black fruit, graphite, cedar & tobacco — 23 days ago