Nikolai Jelev

9.7

Well, very very raising the mood. Good wine. — 7 days ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Enjoyed alongside some other Napa legends from the 80’s and 90’s. The 1985 is lovely and came more than willing, with a mix of tart, ripe and desiccated red fruits, Montmorency cherries, red currants, graphite, toasted coconut, leather and nuts. There was a slightly sherried character early on the nose but the structure seemed to defy age. No need to cellar further as this is delicious now and well stored examples should continue to be through 2030+. — 13 days ago

Alexander Bastian Nielsen

9.3

A well balanced wine offering ripe apples, pear juice, yellow cherries, lemon peel, roasted and grinded hazelnuts, sourdough, cream, butter, white roses, white tea with jasmine and a complex mix of mushroom, earth and stemmed ginger. Super delicious — a month ago

Ivor

9.1

Well developed and plateauing now. Lacks fruit density to carry tertiary development. Great match with veal cheeks, wild mushrooms and risotto. — a month ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.4

Medium ruby , hint of garnet , slight narrower rim , more garnet hue . Quite mineral , herbal tinged blackcurrant, seaside scents . Slightly aloof and austere, though this improves with time in the decanter . However on the palate this opens up with classic cedar tinged dark fruits , blackcurrant, grafite , sea shell and saline tinged. Complex , complete , classic , grafite and mineral tinged with pretty long length finish . Still slightly grippy tannins but these are well integrated and quite polished , fresh balanced acidity. This shows very well and is just coming into its prime drinking window, this also held up very well in decanter for the 4 hours we had it open , always retaining great freshness and verve. From now and over the next 10 to 15 years perhaps . — 17 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Brief , informal notes . Medium garnet , garnet terracotta rim . Quite mature and tertiary with coffee , cacau , dark cassis and smoky notes . On the palate there are some sweet ripe dark fruits, meaty notes and a tobacco , soy tinged finish . Quite rounded sweet tannins and balanced acidity . Medium length finish , though just a little one dimensional , this shows pretty well overall . Drink now and over the next 5 years . — 15 days ago

Will Stanley

9.4

A gift from my old man for my thirtieth birthday this year. My last experience with this wine was the 2001, enjoyed around ten years ago. I described then how the wine lived up to its popular reputation. Happy to reaffirm that feeling with this 1994, that is an absolutely gorgeous, captivating wine that ticks every box one may have for older Rioja. It marries sweet with sour in that way that the best wines from this region do, a medley of ripe blueberries with sour cherry; bitter orange, coconut, balsamic, tobacco and cranberry. The finish is long, with flecks of sweetness that beg you for another sip. I would imagine that Faustino produce in excess of a million bottles of this stuff, given the size of their holdings, which only impresses me even more that it turns out so well. — 20 days ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Part of a Chateau Mouton Rothschild vertical from 1988-1990. Early on, this was a probably my favorite of the three Moutons and showed well throughout the course of the evening. Expressive red and dark forest fruits with tobacco, leather, earth and baking spices. The structure was still showing its tensile strength. This has a long life ahead. Drink now through 2040. — 13 days ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Served alongside beef short rib, xo sauce, pickled mustard seed, cumin stir-fried asparagus. Yes, the 2003 Dominus is big. However, it is also balanced and showing classic Napa typicity with beautifully ripe and some slightly wizened black and red fruit, tobacco, cocoa, some purple flowers and baking spices. I found this to be quite balanced after all the air it saw. Wonderful structure for continued aging as well. Drink now through 2043. — 13 days ago

Daniel veit

9.1

Ex-Chateau bottle showed really well. — 3 months ago