The Last Shepherd

Dominus Estate

Dominus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2001

I had this a week ago but didn’t take any notes at all at a friends tasting last Sunday afternoon. Have always been a huge fan of Dominus and this was from an exceptional vintage. I recall an excellent left bank Cabernet dominant style but presented as a Napa style - rich and plush but not overly so. Thoroughly enjoyable. — 24 days ago

Jan, Tom and 27 others liked this

Silver Oak

Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Like a lot of the older SO this Alexander Valley didn’t last long. Opened to lots of bright fruits but died quickly. — 2 months ago

Letha Phillips
with Letha
Rick, Shay and 4 others liked this

Château Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Medium deep ruby , garnet rim . Quite closed at first , touch of spice , wood smoke , grafite , coffee, cocoa . Touches of blackberry , cassis , violet . On the palate quite rich and young still , lots of tannin , balanced alcohol and fresh acidity . Cassis , tobacco , blackberry . Mineral , tobacco tinged finish of excellent length . Still young needs more time , better in 5 or 10 years and will last well a further 20. Great potential ! — 3 months ago

David, Ron and 15 others liked this
Bob McDonald

Bob McDonald Influencer Badge

@Andrew Cullimore All the stellar left bank vintages Andrew!
Andrew Cullimore

Andrew Cullimore Premium Badge

Yes @Bob McDonald ! It was quite difficult to choose a favourite. The potential and power of the 2005 , the showy , explosive nature of the 2000 or the elegant and classic 1998… Such quality across the board

Château Léoville Poyferré

Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1996

Drinking well with its dried red fruit, berry, cassis , cedar, leather, earth, graphite & tobacco notes. Sadly my last btl out of 2 owc’s purchased on release — a month ago

Shay, Aaron and 10 others liked this

Penfolds

Grange Hermitage Bin 95 Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Deep purple , thin ruby pink rim . Spicy cassis , touch of coconut , violets , blackberry liqueur and meaty, orange rind , slightly medicinal , iodine character . On the palate lovely density , blackcurrant , blackberry , saline and mineral reflexes . Lots of fine , polished quite dry tannins and surprising freshness . Long mineral stained finish , vanilla and cassis stained finish . After a while in the glass this really starts to show its mineral , crushed rock and iodine character. Intense and hugely powerful but also incredibly well balanced , with no warmth from the 14,5% alcohol, finishes dry and savoury , a real feat of engineering! Needs another 10-15 years and will last well a further 15-20 — 2 months ago

Anthony, "Odedi" and 8 others liked this
Bob McDonald

Bob McDonald Influencer Badge

@Andrew Cullimore A great tasting Andrew. Tasting all the Penfolds icons. 👌👌🍷🍷
Andrew Cullimore

Andrew Cullimore Premium Badge

yes @Bob McDonald , all showed well and our group were very impressed overall … especially by the Yattarna and Bin 169 ….. not to mention the Grange of course !

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1989

1989 vintage. Last tasted 3.28.24, 5.5.23, 4.4.23 and 12.9.22. Solid fill and cork. Recommended decanting but was denied. Mmkay. Eventually got clearance to decant after the bottle had been open for 1.25 hrs. Tasted after being open 5 mins, 45 mins and 2 hrs. Light-medium body throughout. Wine was funky and super tight initially. Had to talk a few of the “participants” down from their “this wine ain’t nothing” perch by telling them it needed at least an hour in the glass (since it hadn’t been decanted at that point). Wine threw expected sed on the decant. Started to loosen up at the 45 mins open stage and fairly exploded at the 2 hrs open (45 mins decanted) point. Dude that didn’t want to decant it gave me a wistful, regretful look at that point (since it blew the other 4 reds at the table away and was getting better) and it took waay too much willpower on my end not to say “Congrats on minimizing a fantastic wine experience, bro.” It wasn’t the best 1989 P-L specimen tasted semi-recently but feel this coulda delved into the 9.4 range without the unnecessary power trip from someone that didn’t even bring this wine to the shindig. Hopefully, this individual learned their lesson. 7.6.24. — 4 months ago

Shay, Ted and 9 others liked this
Norman Gennaro

Norman Gennaro Premium Badge

Can’t imagine declining a decant. Been too lazy to decant and generally regretted.

Château Margaux

Premier Grand Cru Classé Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 2012

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. — a month ago

Tom, Shay and 10 others liked this

Château Musar

Bekaa Valley Red Blend 2001

Beautiful wine. Slightly prefer the 1999, which I had last night. The ‘99 was musty and tasted lots of mushrooms. The ‘01 is still earthy, but fruitier. Dark fruits, with a bit of tobacco and cedar. — 3 months ago

Produttori del Barbaresco

Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2018

It has been a little over a year since my last note on the 2018 vintage. Popped and poured, enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2018 pours a pale garnet with transparent core; medium+ viscosity and no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with delicate notes of funky cherry, rose water, tar and dry earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. A touch thinner than some of the “bigger” vintages but no less charming. I’m sort of a sucker for the 2018 vintage in how enjoyable these are to drink in their youth. Drink now through 2038 — 4 months ago

Douglas, Juan and 14 others liked this
David T

David T Influencer Badge

Solid stuff in pretty much any vintage. Just ordered a six pack of 2019 on pre-arrival. Salute! 🍷

Château Prieuré-Lichine

Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1982

The last bottle at Mick’s Cellar tasting last Saturday and what a finale it was. Amazingly rich and full bodied for a 42 year old wine from the fabulous 1982 vintage in Bordeaux. One of the best wines (probably top 3) I’ve ever had was the 1982 Chateau Margaux and this nearby neighbour just reinforces that tasting some years ago. Plenty of red and black berry. Full bodied and delicious, still with a future. Supple fluid tannins with a loong finish. A treat to taste this. Thanks Mick. — 4 months ago

Tom, Jose and 23 others liked this
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Wowzers. A fave value Margaux year in, year out.