Béarn, Southwest France

Château Lynch-Bages

Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1988

1988 vintage. Feminine-styled. Ran into some resistance back in the day with the (re-) emergence of this Château and the massive 85/86 and 89/90 efforts. Eff all that. The 1989 AND 1990 vintages probs the best this Château has ever realized. The 1988 slid in then and performed delicate magick. That cocoa powder and blueberry combo still coming forth with undeniable impressions. Whereas those four “bigger” vintages rocked harder, all four have had more noticeable drop off. This 1988 just doing its best La Mission Haut-Brion/Haut-Brion impression and pulling it off. No rush to crush. 5.13.26. — 2 days ago

Bob, Sagee and 17 others liked this
Doug Powers

Doug Powers

Sounds awesome!!

Jacques Selosse

Initial Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Champagne Chardonnay

Well, here we are. Selosse Initial. What is there really to say? Is it good? Is it great? Is it delicious? Does it live up to the hype? Did it change my life?

Yes.

A beautiful golden hue in the glass with profuse perlage. There’s no need for traditional notes here, we already know. Wonderfully electric, saline, and textured. Depth, personality, and romance.

Nothing I say here matters. Go get as many Selosse champagnes as you can. Then get a few more. And enjoy life.
— 21 days ago

Kevin, Tom and 1 other liked this

Taittinger

Comtes de Champagne Grand Crus Brut Blanc de Blancs 2006

Medium lemon yellow fine , persistent perlage . Quite rich and ripe on the nose with some roasted nuts , lemon peel , some camomile , still quite restrained and a little closed. On the palate again quite full and rich , ripe lemon fruit , orange rind , roasted nuts and a creamy mouthfeel , certainly enough acidity to balance but on the richer side . Good length and lightly toasty finish . This is good now but will probably improve over the next few years and last well a further 5-10 . — 8 days ago

Scott@Mister, Jeroen and 4 others liked this

Château Montrose

Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1990

One of the great vintages of Montrose showing mostly black fruits with sweet savory spices, tobacco notes. This was rich, full bodied that kept developing in the glass — 2 days ago

Juan, Jeroen and 5 others liked this

Domaine Tempier

Bandol Rosé Blend 2022

Ming L
9.1

Aromas of strawberry, pomelo, watermelon, rose petal, sea breeze, and hint of thyme. The palate adds additional red berries, citrus, and faint earthy notes. Medium body that is nicely textured. Fresh yet round acidity. There is off-dry sensation on the otherwise slightly savory medium finish.

Lovely but pricy rose.
— 4 days ago

Jamie, Tom and 6 others liked this
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

I would say in many cases, the gold standard for Provence rosés. A property my wife & I visited in 2015.
Ming L

Ming L

That must be a great visit @Somm David T ! What do you think of Domaine Ott?
Somm David T

Somm David T Influencer Badge

Solid producer.

Louis Roederer

Cristal Brut Champagne 2012

Lemon yellow. Fine bubbles. Elegant aroma with something in the deep area. Creamy. Aged flavor. Changed a lot. Dried brioche came out later and quite impressive. Louis Roederer Cristal 12 @9750, wine plus - vic, 260510 — 5 days ago

Château Margaux

Premier Grand Cru Classé Margaux Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

Double decant and pour(lots of fine sediment). A striking still dark purplish garnet color with bricking. On the nose: Alluring perfumed notes of red/blue fruit, smoked meat, tobacco, vanilla, eucalyptus, wet forest floor, cloves. Taste: silky, old school restraint, elegant wine with some red fruit, leather, earth, dried herbs, tobacco, and a medium spiced smokey wood finish. Did not wow, but still a pleasure to drink at 38 years. — 16 days ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland
with Brenda
Tom, Brenda and 12 others liked this
Dave

Dave

Heavens to Betsy!

Domaine Auguste Clape

Cornas Syrah 1997

First pour of this and I was like, “uh-oh”. It was clearly full of flaws (Brettanomyces, VA and maaaaybe some slight TCA) but would they be too much to appreciate the wine? Only time would tell so into the decanter it went. After a lot of air, it became clear this was Brett and VA. The wine pours a deep ruby/purple with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing (still) with notes of blackberries, umeboshi, animale, purple flowers, black pepper, red Flintstone vitamin, horse blanket, wood varnish, and sous bois. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. An elegant, complicated bottle. This is my second time with the 1997 vintage and due to the flaws, a different adventure than previous. That being said, this decidedly grumpy, Burgundian expression of Clape’s Cornas paired really well with the dry-aged steaks. Drink now, with a lot of patience, through 2037? — 7 days ago

Paul, Andrew and 7 others liked this

Château Haut-Brion

Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

Double decant and pour(some fine sediment). A splendid still dark magenta color with bricking. On the nose: Beautiful areomatics of blackberry, cigar box, worn leather, green vegi, bandaid(brett). Taste: savory, elegant, structured wine with some sour cherry, currants, tobacco leaf, charred earth, and a crushef rock-coffee medium finish. Sure, on the downside, but still drinks savory good tonight. — 2 days ago

Brenda Terzich-Garland
with Brenda
Tom, Bob and 7 others liked this

Château Lafite Rothschild

Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1988

In perfect condition and drinking much more youthful than nearly 40 years!! Paired with grilled chicken thighs which went very well given the tannin structure has mostly receded. Acid still very much keeping things together and in check. Nice balance - still some good fruit, great earth, long finish. Hard to argue! — 16 days ago

Tom, Joel and 10 others liked this