Weingut Drautz Able

Vieux Château Certan

Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 1982

1982 vintage. Mid-shoulder fill, fully saturated cork. Not decanted. Tasted after 3 hours open. Light body. Earthy nose. Smooth, lean, integrated flavors gliding along to that 35 second finish. Should be able to hold court in this status for another 5-6 years. 7.6.24. — 4 months ago

Jan, Andrew and 13 others liked this

E. Guigal

La Mouline Côte-Rôtie Syrah 1990

1990 vintage. Decanted and tasted after one hour. Medium body. A shade darker than the 1990 La Turque tasted alongside. Deeper smoky, gamey nose. Meaty, gamey, smoky and beef broth/sous bois in the flavors. Super savory. This was phenomenal. Should be able to sustain this performance for the better part of a decade before noticeable drop off. Wowzers. Last tasted 3.24.23 with the same score. 3.15.24. — 8 months ago

Shay, Jan and 19 others liked this
Shay A

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😍

Château Mouton Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2005

Served blind alongside what was eventually revealed to be the 1971 Mouton Rothschild. This almost had me leaning Napa by a classic producer due to the gorgeous fruit and generous, scratch that, lavish use of new French oak. After careful deliberation with those at the table with more experience drinking Mouton both young and old, I was able to come alongside the others that this was indeed young Pauillac. All the cassis, cigar box, tobacco and baking spices ones heart could desire with some of the loveliest acid. Speaking of, the structure still has quite a grasp of this one but with all the lovely fruit, everything is in brilliant balance, even at 18 years young. Given that, I expect this wine to drink well for decades to come, particularly since secondary characteristics have hardly entered the chat. Definitely a wine I hope to enjoy many more times over the years but so grateful I got to try now. — a year ago

Bob, Ira and 25 others liked this

A. Rafanelli

Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1988

Poured into a decanter about an hour prior to service; enjoyed over period that lasted a few hours. After removing the capsule, cork was revealed to be completely saturated and moldy at the top. It was positively nasty. After wiping it down, I was able to extract the cork intact, with the use of a Durand. The 1988 pours a deep garnet with near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some sediment even after decanting. On the nose, the wine is a vinous mix of ripe and desiccated black and red fruits: brambles and currants, with tobacco, bell pepper, leather, organic earth and gentle warm 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 so delicious. Brilliant. The ’88 is ready to drink now with a short decant but has plenty of stuffing to drink well for at least another 10+ years and well-stored examples will be alive for much longer. — 6 months ago

Ira, Paul and 7 others liked this

Henriot

Millésime Brut Champagne Blend 2003

2003 vintage. Just enuff acidity to lord over the proceedings. Initially, “cheesy.” That dissipates somewhat and gets very harmonious very quickly. Cleans up a bit on the finish. Should be able to glide hither and yon for another 5-7 years at this level. 1.10.24. — 10 months ago

Austin, Shay and 8 others liked this

Dom Pérignon

Brut Champagne Blend 2008

This Vintage is pure perfection !!!! Thank you @David L for giving me the heads up. I was able to stock up. — 4 years ago

Shay, Stanley and 18 others liked this
David L

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So happy you did just that. Cheers & happy holidays!
Ira Schwartz

Ira Schwartz Influencer Badge Premium Badge

@Anna Sangiacomo @David L A very large part of the wine budget this year went to ‘08 Champagne. I urged younger folks to skip buying some everyday drinkers and buy some ‘08 champagne and sock them away. I told them they will toast (or curse) me when I am “gone”🍾

Château de la Font du Loup

Le Puy Rolland Vieilles Vignes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 2020

There’s something here, but I’m not able to pinpoint it. — 6 months ago

Tom and Lyle liked this

Paolo Bea

Pagliaro Secco Montefalco Sagrantino 2006

Gotta wait for it, but Sagrantino from Paolo Bea can be great. Best sagrantino I’ve had. Magnum. So happy to be able to share it with appreciators. — 7 months ago

Vicki SliwaTim BouchardEli Barton
with Vicki, Tim and 2 others
Tom, Doug and 9 others liked this
Pinotman /// Andreas

Pinotman /// Andreas

Bea always fun.

Château Léoville-Las Cases

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 1995

1995 vintage. Great aging cork in good shape. Decanted and tasted immediately, after 30 mins and after 2 hours. Decent amount of sed. Slight brickish color. Initially and generally throughout, reticent nose and flavors. Very tightly wound overall. Eventually able to coax a small amount of black olive out of the nose along with minerals for days. Some dark cherry and plum allied with baking chocolate in the transition from mid-palate to finish. It was tough sledding in the frontal palate. Super dry with summer earth/dirt at the start. Obvious class but never really flashed more than a few cards to play. Perhaps a different bottle shows a little more love? Producer is always on the leaner side so unbridled optimism on that front is likely wasted energy. 10.25.23. — a year ago

Ted, Andrew and 9 others liked this

Dom Pérignon

Brut Champagne Blend Rosé 2002

Our host served two bottles of this blind. Of course we all guessed them as being two different bottles as there was definitely bottle variation. Got the vintage wrong (I guessed 1995 on the first bottle) but was able to figure out this was Dom Rose. Light salmon color, great nose, sweet. Notes of kiwi, strawberry and powdered stone. Nice power and structure. Improved with air. Good acidity. Nice start to the evening. — 4 years ago

Alex, Jan and 19 others liked this