Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2001 vintage. Nice fill and great cork. Opened and decanted. Expected sed but fairly minimal compared to a Cabernet-based wine. Beguiling nose. Light-medium body that had dropped any extra fat long ago. Spiced plum definitely afoot. Tasted after 15 mins open, 1 hour open, 1.5 hrs open and 8 hrs open. Remarkably consistent. Likely another half-decade at this plateau before dropping down. 10.16.24. — a month ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

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

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2018 vintage. Needs a 7-10 split of years to lose the baby fat and precocious ways. Undeniably delicious now and don’t see this shutting down in a noticeable way over that decade. 4.8.23. — 2 years ago

Rob Wilson

9.3

Incredible now but could age for decades. Perfect choice to have before we hunker down for Hurricane Milton — a month ago

with Rio

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

2020 vintage. Light-medium body. Obviously too youthful but dry and dusty today with the promise of better balance and focus down the road. 7.17.24. — 4 months ago

Conrad Green

9.3

Classic lunch bags. Inky sour cherry and stony grippy fruit. Really straight down the line bordeaux. Classic. — 9 months ago

with Paul

Pooneet K

9.4

Happy Valentine’s Day! Continuing our tradition of pulling one of these each year - 11 down, only 1 more to go after this! Reminder that we need to choose a new case of something soon.

This is excellent as always but I’m not sure hits quite the same high note as last year’s bottle. Fine mousse, nose a bit more restrained. Palate is explosive and so deep with wonderful candied caramelized lemon peel. Wonderful pairing with carbonara! — 9 months ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Opened several hours prior and decanted off sediment and a portion of the cork that had broke and crumbled before returning to the bottle. The 2007 “Howell Mountain” pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core and very slight rim variation. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of dark fruit: black currants, blackberries, tobacco, leather, earth and gentle spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and savory. This is firing on all cylinders right now and the structure suggests the power of the 2007 vintage is not slowing down anytime soon. Drink now with a decant and through 2037 with ease. — 2 months ago

Anthony Cammarata Jr.

9.2

This magnum has been laying down for 30 years and is fully mature, medium bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with blackberry, tobacco, earth, coffee and black cherry on the nose. Soft textured, with no tannin remaining, the wine ends with a cherry. An Easter treat. — 8 months ago

with Adriano, Daniel and 1 other

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

1995 vintage. Great fill, foil and label. Perfect cork. From a top-notch cellar. Decanted and tasted over the course of two hours. Volcanic ash-styled sed vs chunky-style. Big funk on the nose that resolved after 7-8 minutes. Wine was showing decently (in the 69-72 degree range) but lacking any tannic structure. Placed the decanter atop an ice bucket bath to drop the temp down to 60 degrees or so. Took about 20 minutes but the tannins kicked in the door to say hello. Fruit components stayed constant. Pauillac tendencies were all there. As is the case often with older BDX, the decaying matter/leaves at the onset transitioned to graphite/lead pencil and espresso flavors. This was a superior bottle in great shape. Top of this wine’s specific bell curve. Comparable bottles would look to be drinking this well for the next 5-7 years without dropoff. Out of larger format…could possibly push this into 9.4 status. 2.5.24. — 9 months ago