Jay Kline

9.2

Presented to me double-blind. The wine pours a dull purple/garnet color with a translucent core and significant rim variation, moving towards a rust color. The wine has medium viscosity with light staining of the tears and signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of cassis, dried blackberries, dried red and purple flowers, old leather bound books, tobacco, a touch of menthol, some earth, old wood and a sprinkle of warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. Super high quality but a touch thin.

Initial conclusions: Due to the observable characteristics of color, rim variation, sediment, smell and flavor, I think this wine has significant age; 30+ years. However, this is still very alive and showing more than enough markers to give an indication of place. Subsequently, this could be a Cabernet-based blend or a Tempranillo-based blend from the United States, France, or Spain. For me, I’m getting new French oak vibes instead of American so I’m eliminating Spain. I also think this leans more towards its fruit than its structure and since this comes across a little on the thin side, I’m going to say this comes from a tougher vintage. My final conclusion is this is a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend from the USA, Napa, 1981. Wow! This showed really well.

It never ceases to amaze me how analogous the 1981 vintage was in both Napa and Bordeaux. I find it equally amazing how well that vintage has held up; particularly when considering its poor reputation, mostly based on the prevailing thought at the time. From my perspective, well stored examples are not going to fall off of a cliff but I would drink now through 2031. — 10 days ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.2

Château Branaire-Ducru 2023 – Saint-Julien, Grand Cru Classé en 1855, BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A structured and expressive Saint-Julien showing youthful intensity and precision, driven by 65% Cabernet Sauvignon–led blend with 28% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc as a support. The wine delivers power, polish, and depth, yet remains clearly in its developmental phase, signaling strong aging potential.

Aromas & Flavors
Black cherry, cassis, dark plum, graphite, cedarwood, crushed stone, subtle cocoa, fresh tobacco leaf, light violet lift.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus to full-bodied with firm, polished tannins, vibrant acidity, tightly wound core, excellent structural grip, and a long, focused finish that hints at future complexity.

Food Pairings
Chargrilled ribeye, lamb chops with rosemary, venison, mushroom ragù, aged Manchego or Comté.

Verdict
A serious, high-potential Saint-Julien that stands confidently in the mid-pack today while clearly projecting upward trajectory. Best enjoyed after a few years of cellaring to allow texture and aromatics to fully integrate.

🍷 Personal Pick
You can feel the horsepower under the hood, this just needs track time. Not quite ready for full send yet, but absolutely worth waiting for. Future star energy all over this bottle. — 15 days ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.5

Château Suduiraut, 2023, Sauternes BDX, France 🇫🇷

Overview
Premier Cru Classé Sauternes delivering pure botrytis luxury blend of 80% Semillon, 15% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Sauvignon Gris with remarkable tension and precision. Lush honeyed richness balanced by vibrant acidity and a beautifully layered texture that feels both decadent and weightless. Sensual, polished, and deeply expressive, this is a dessert wine that seduces rather than overwhelms.

Aromas & Flavors
Orange blossom, acacia honey, apricot confit, ripe peach, saffron, candied citrus peel, subtle vanilla bean, almond paste, and a whisper of ginger spice. Floral lift intertwines with botrytis-driven sweetness and fresh citrus brightness.

Mouthfeel
Silky, viscous, and coating without heaviness. Glycerol richness glides across the palate while acidity keeps the wine lifted, focused, and endlessly drinkable. Long, luxurious, and caressing finish.

Food Pairings
Foie gras torchon, blue cheese (Roquefort or Stilton), apricot tart, almond pastries, honey-drizzled chèvre, citrus-based desserts, or simply enjoyed solo as a contemplative finale.

Verdict
Sublime, sexy, and impeccably balanced. A masterclass in tension between sweetness and freshness, delivering pleasure, elegance, and emotional impact in equal measure. A benchmark nightcap wine.

Did You Know?
Château Suduiraut sits adjacent to Château d’Yquem and shares similar gravelly terroir and noble rot influence, often delivering First Growth-level finesse at a more approachable price point.

🍯 Personal Pick
This wine feels like a French kiss, seductive tension, velvet weight, and honeyed decadence wrapped in electric freshness. The viscosity caresses the palate while the acidity keeps everything irresistibly alive. — 15 days ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I’ve had a number of PC 96’s over time, none quite this good. The fill line & cork perfect. Very little sediment. Some bottle neck tannin burn. For me, Pontet Canet didn’t really hit its consistent, quality stride until 2005. Doesn’t mean they didn’t make a few beauties before then. Pontet Canet is proof that the 1855 Bordeaux Classification needs to be redone. Unlikely it will in my lifetime.

This 96 maybe just short of its precipice. Stylistically a little better than 94.

The nose reminds me of everything I love about older Bordeaux. Dark core of currants/cassis. Ripe, floral; blackberries, dark, baked cherries, sweet, black plum, poached/strawberries, raspberries, hints of baked rhubarb & blueberries, mixed berry cola. Sweet forest floor w/ leaves, sweet mushrooms, sweet led pencil shavings, steeped tea w/ hints of fruit, charcoal, dry tobacco/leather, some dry herbs, withering dark, red flowers, red roses with violets.

The palate is also everything I love about older Bordeaux. Dark core of currants/cassis. Ripe, floral; blackberries, dark, baked cherries, sweet, black plum, poached/strawberries, raspberries, hints of baked rhubarb & blueberries, mixed berry cola/red vines. Everything I understood the first time standing in the estate vineyard of Pichon Baron. Tasting limestone, dry river stone, dark, rich soils with dry leaves, dry stems. In fact, I’ve tasted vineyards soils everywhere I have been in every world wine region. Basically, everywhere in the wine world that has reliance. Many multiple times. Sweet graphite, steeped tea w/ hints of dark fruit, understated, layered baking spices-clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanillin, dark cocoa, dark exotic spices, some anise to black licorice, charcoal, dry tobacco with ash/leather, some dry herbs-safe/bay leaf, limestone, dry river stone, dry crushed rocks, dark, rich, earth with dry leaves, dry topsoils, dry stems, withering/dry dark, red flowers, red roses with violets, excellent, rainfall acidity with an extremely well balanced/structured/tensioned, great length and an elegant finish that lasts minutes and falls nicely on dry earth and dark spices.

A very, very slow roll with my Ribcap. Definitely better with the steak than on its own.

This bottle tells me this 96 has plenty of good drinking ahead, another 8-10 yrs+.

ABV is 13%. Disappointing it ever changed. — 20 days ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.2

Château Talbot 2023 – Saint-Julien, Grand Cru Classé en 1855, BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A youthful yet promising Saint-Julien showing early elegance, fine balance, and clear upward trajectory. The blend delivers freshness, precision, and layered fruit while still carrying a few youthful edges that signal excellent aging potential.

Aromas & Flavors
Red currant, black cherry, raspberry compote, graphite, cedar shavings, crushed herbs, light cocoa dust, subtle floral lift.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus body with fine-grained tannins, lively acidity, polished mid-palate, slightly angular finish that tightens at the end, a clear marker of youth and future integration potential.

Food Pairings
Herb-roasted chicken, duck breast, pork tenderloin, grilled mushrooms, mild aged cheeses (Tomme, young Comté).

Verdict
A high-quality, early-showing Saint-Julien that already flashes elegance and balance, but will benefit significantly from a few years of cellaring to soften edges and broaden complexity.

🍷 Personal Pick
The talent is obvious, can be enjoyed now. I’d happily cellar this and come back when smooths out a bit more and when aromatics stretch their legs. — 15 days ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I remember when the 2005 Pichon Lalande was reviewed by RP, 89. I saw that & said, you would have to get in the way of the 2005 Bordeaux vintage to be that sad. I still bought 6 at a bargain basement price. A very good idea post 20 yrs+. Both Pichon’s don’t have a modern day history of getting in the way of a good vintage.

I also bought this one. 18 yrs in bottle and still acending. This will hold 5 more yrs and will last another 10 yrs properly stored.

I have visited Bordeaux 11 times. This chateau visually is still my favorite. It was showing a picture of this chateau to Sofia that launched our first visit. Sofia loved it and we have stared at it multiple times on every visit.

It was in our visit in 2007, I stood in the estate vineyard, looked & tasted their soils. After doing so, I said, “I get it.” I understood everything about what I was tasting in Left Bank Bordeaux’s early in my wine journey.

Sofia and I had dinner w/ Christian Moueix not long after the 2005 vintage was hyped/released. She asked him, when did you know you had something special?” He said, “as soon as I tasted the fruit at harvest.”

Tonight, it shows that it is a close relative, a sibling to Pichon Longueville. Cork, perfect.

The nose shows; classic left bank traits. Ripe, dark, brooding fruits, bright, mid berries, red cola, leather, tobacco, sandalwood, leather, led pencil, dark rich earth, limestone, dry river stone, hint of mushrooms, dark, red, fresh & withering florals.

The fruits on the palate show everything outstanding from the 2005 growing season. Ripe, juicy, brilliant; dark currants, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum skin, black cherries, baked/poached strawberries & some hovering raspberries. Dark chocolate bar to pudding, red cola, anise, dark spices w/ palate heat, dark, rich earth w/ dry leaves, pronounced graphite, dry tobacco, leather, limestone, dry twig, dry river stone, moist clays, moist herbs, cedar to sandalwood, withering & dry, dark flowers, red roses, some lavender & violets, beautiful rainfall acidity, excellent; balance, tension, structure, length w/ an elegant finish that lasts minutes and lands on spice & earth.

13.4 ABV. Nice.

#TheTwoHourRibcap — 6 days ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

1961 vintage. Ahoy there! Lower neck fill. Durand employed. Opened (not decanted) with plenty of cork splintering/crumbles despite the Durand and meticulous/slow movements. Cork stayed intact but just barely and about 80% saturated. Extensive (3-4 minutes) cleaning of the bottle lip and inch-deep, upper neck to remove fused cork residue. Tasted 45 mins, 2 hours, 4 hours and 6 hours after opening. Heavier body than expected given the producer. A bit of a slap in the face as it rolled in as medium/medium-heavy body which is hilarious. Nose initially a mysterious, century+ sitting room with plenty of decay, dust and past. Things shifted to soy/teriyaki sauce fairly shortly after with a little 5-10 minute fried chicken nose that vanished. Various (dark/semi-sweet) chocolates and cherry reduction sauce eventually emerged. A paced, harmonious narrative stayed constant throughout. Gorgeous experience. Didn't exactly diminish my impressions of H-B being the best first growth in BDX. It's generally the lightest and least-flashy. 1.23.26. — 14 days ago

Vino Joe

9.8

Wow. Wow and wow. This was amazing! It’s definitely still early on. I let this decant for 2.5 hours before the first sip. It was revved and ready by then and was stellar by hour 4+. Rich and deep but silky smooth. Currants and an earthy/smokey quality. Loved this! — 6 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

8.9

Medium deep ruby garnet with wide garnet rim . Open and classic on the nose with tobacco , grafite , herbal , mint , seaweed and some mixed summer fruits . On the palate this is quite fresh and slightly lean in style , quite rustic , bitty tannins and a herbal touch. Mixed summer fruits on the mid palate and a reasonable earthy tobacco tinged finish . Best drunk now and over the next few years on the basis of this bottle . — 13 days ago

Jay Kline

9.5

Presented to me double-blind. The wine pours a deep garnet with an opaque core and some rim variation; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and signs of sediment. On the nose the wine is vinous with notes of cassis, blackberry, black plum, tobacco, menthol, leather, and mix of cool and warm spices. On the palate the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is really delicious.

Initial conclusions: this could be a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend or other Bordeaux-styled blend or a Tempranillo based blend from the United States, France or Spain. This saw French oak so I eliminated Spain. I thought the fruit was outshining the structure…so I liked the USA over France. And, based off the appearance, I thought this probably had 30+ years of age. Final conclusion: this is a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend from the United States, from California, Napa, Rutherford; 1994. Ugh…the 1990 vintage in Bordeaux has bit me twice now recently. Really awesome stuff! Drink now through 2040+. — 5 days ago