Roberto Carli

9.6

First thought is that I lack the vocabulary for this one, as alas, don’t get to try these legends too often. Nose leads with pure smoked meat, cherry-licorice liqueur (without the alcohol whiff) and something I can only call “magical spice concoction” Palate hits first the side with acid freshness (hello! Where did you come from?) then unwinds the long and complex licorice and boysenberry melange that is already approachable with with enough sandiness in the tannins to show higher promise in the future. Texture hits with smoky bacon fat and carried everything for 30 seconds plus — a day ago

Shay A

9.2

Annual birthday WWC hosting. As normal, 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert, all presented blind.

A treat to try this next to the ‘88, and also against a mini-flight of Leoville Barton. This ‘14 was shockingly odd…unbelievably high toned, sharp, and bing cherry driven aromatically. It actually has this weird cherry reduction profile but also a malic/butter note that needs time to blow off. Crème de cassis and red licorice on the palate with a small amount of graphite. A lot of Calistoga cabs for me show the warmth of the region and this evidently is in that vein, but it’s very Montelena-esque at the end of the day. I’d hold another 5-7yrs. — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Oh…how I adore Elisabetta’s wines and getting to drink Granato with some age is a huge treat! Popped and poured; enjoyed over a two hour time period and it evolved very nicely in that time. The 2010 Granato pours a deep ruby with near opaque core. Medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of cassis, fresh sage, mild funk, granite rock and a soft expression of warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with good structure still. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and there is a drying sensation of almost licking a rock. As mentioned earlier, this opened up beautifully after about 30min and continued to shine. Admittedly, I don’t have a lot of data points on decade+ Teroldego so it’s hard to say for sure how long this could last however, when I consider that this is still developing and doesn’t show much in terms of secondary characteristics, I would say this still has a long life ahead. Drink now with a short decant or through 2030; possibly longer. — 6 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Popped and poured; enjoyed over three days and showed very well throughout. The 2012 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core and some browning towards the rim; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with secondary characteristics just starting to show themselves. Also, the solar nature of 2012 is showing through with loads of truffles and overripe and desiccated red and black fruits: tartufo bianco d’Alba, dried cherry, bruised raspberries, red roses, leather, Fig Newtons, dried herbs, and some dusty and gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long, drying and savory. I’ve been a vocal fan of the 2012 vintage of Produttori since release and this might be the best showing yet. This is my last 750mL. My remaining bottles are magnums and I’ll look forward to enjoying those over the next 10-15 years. No rush, but this is a fun time to drink these as the truffle character is starting to peak through. — a month ago

WC Fields

9.1

Why does @Delectable show this as a white blend…regardless it fooled me for the better. — 3 months ago

Adam Gäfvert

9.2

The 2005 Pichon Baron show a fair amount of tertiary characteristics. It is dense and inky. Medium to full bodied. Currants, bayleaf, mushroom, forrest floor, truffle and tons of pencil shavings. — 6 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

I’ve often struggled to appreciate Beaucastel, particularly when young. However, the more often I drink older Beaucastel, I find myself slowly starting to understand why these wines are so important.

Opened about two hours prior. The 2001 Beaucastel pours a pale, slightly hazy garnet with a watery rim. Medium+ viscosity with signs of fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous. Strawberry preserves, leather, bacon fat, and some chicory. On the palate, medium tannin, medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Is this the most powerful expression of Chateauneuf du Pape? No. But it’s balanced, complex and it makes me think and I like that.

As a sort of epilogue, I was able to enjoy this bottle with someone who drinks old Beaucastel more regularly than I do. He described this bottle as being one that is in-between plentitudes; which makes sense as some of the tertiary characteristics are beginning to show themselves. Subsequently, you can drink now but this will likely enter a new dimension in the next few years. — 6 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Medium lemon yellow , persistent fine perlage . At first quite shy , needs a bit of time to get going . Then buttered pastry , confit lemon and roast nuts , quite bold and rich , just a hint of chalky minerality . On the palate the richer , deeper theme continues , those pastry and buttery notes , confit lemon and a creamy mouthfeel . Long balanced finish , the chalky acidity really helping to cut through richer , mouth filling profile . Coming back to this at the end of the meal , having sat 6 hours in the glass , this still shows remarkable freshness and life. This seems young to me still , certainly has everything for a long life ahead , better in 5 years perhaps and will show well a further 10-15 perhaps . — 2 months ago

Doug Powers

9.1

Lovely mature CdP, redfruits, nice balance, medium-long finish, starting to show just a little oxidation. — 2 months ago

with Jim

Andrew Cullimore

9.4

Bit deeper garnet ruby . Quite dense and ripe fruited with good density on the palate , lovely roundness with mix of dark and red fruits , quite juicy with more noticeable tannin than the Echezeaux. Good balancing acidity really fills out well on the palate with good length . This is nice now but will continue to show well over the next 10-15 years . — 5 months ago