Marc Ouellette

9.1

Lots of terroir - less vibrant in color, more minerals and earthy! Nice!! — 25 days ago

Neil Valenzuela

9.1

Medium gold color. Aromas of orange blossoms, honeysuckle, apple and wet stone. Great citrus flavors, stone fruit and great minerality.
43% Tocáis Friulano, 34% Ribolla Gialla and 23% Chardonnay. — a year ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.4

Medium Ruby color, purple hues, with aromas of ripe fruits, floral, herb and complex spice, aged 16 months in 43% new French oak. On the palate flavors of black cherry, plum and strawberry with pepper, tea, herbs, licorice and oak, soft tannins on well balanced structure. Full body, long finish, ending with spice, fruit, tobacco and floral tones. Very Nice! — 2 years ago

Loren Gesinsky

9.2

To be sure, tertiary characteristics were all that were left in the well-stored 43-year-old bottle we opened with the cork in great shape. But those tertiary characteristics, including leather, tar, and bramble, were still sting and delightful. — 3 years ago

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9.1

Limpid orange-pink. Lively, mineral-tinged red berry and orange zest scents, along with a building floral quality and a touch of succulent herbs. Dry, tight and lively in style, tangy redcurrant and tangerine flavors deepen slowly through the back half. Finishes on a repeating mineral note, with sharp definition and strong persistence. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, July 2022)
— 4 years ago

Matt Sterr

9.2

Soft with nice earth notes and mild peat. Dry with a long finish. Little spice. — 5 years ago

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9.7

Bright, deep ruby. Ineffable scents of dark berries, graphite, minerals, licorice, violet, dark chocolate and sage. Wonderfully suave, fine-grained and plush but light on its feet, and every bit as complex in the mouth as on the nose. Really impeccably balanced, classy wine with uncanny precision and inner-mouth aromatic lift and a resounding, endlessly building aftertaste that leaves the taste buds quivering. A wine of great finesse and energy, not to mention noble palate-saturating, fully ripe tannins. This is more about subtlety than weight, but is still hard to scrape off your palate. This already coats every square millimeter of the palate but may yet expand further. All of this fruit was harvested in October. (Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, May 2020)
— 6 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

A blend of about 57% Chardonnay, 43% Pinot Noir, pale lemon color with aromas of stone and citrus fruits with spice notes, tiny bubbles on soft mousse. On the palate flavors of apple, apricot and lemon citrus texture with notes of honey and sweet spice. Youthful, lively acidity, long finish ending with vanilla, yeasty spice and mineral notes. — 8 months ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Opened 24 hours prior and decanted for sediment before returning to the bottle; enjoyed over the course of two days. The 1981 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of tart brambles and plums, green bell pepper, tobacco, leather, all of the decomposing earth and soft baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium, mostly integrated tannins with medium+ acid, borderline high. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium. Overall, a wine that is a reflection upon the vintage and at 43 years of age, that’s a big compliment. The 1981 is very much alive and will likely live for a very long time. However, it is backward, rustic, and somewhat tough to love unless you’re an old-school masochist. But I’m guilty and this wine is charming despite all of its green character. Drink now and over the next 30 years probably. — 2 years ago

Kyle Katterjohn

8.9

Great dinner Elaine’s 2/13/33 — 4 years ago

Paul K

9.1

This is the vintage 47 — 4 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.4

Referred to as the “Baby Grange,” blend of 57/43 Cab Sauv & Shiraz, aged for 12 months in American oak, partly in previous-vintage Grange casks. Dark Ruby with aromas of ripe black fruits, sweet and complex spice. On the palate juicy black cherry and blackberry flavors with notes of cacao and toasty spices. Well balanced with acidity, full ripe tannins, long ending with smoky spice, fruit well integrated with oak, drink over next 10 years+, will only get better. Tasted twice! Nice! — 5 years ago

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9.2

Inky, bright-rimmed ruby. Mineral-accented cherry, cassis and peony qualities on the highly perfumed nose, along with a building mineral nuance. Appealingly sweet and focused on the palate, offering juicy dark berry, floral pastille and spicecake flavors that slowly deepen through the midpalate. Shows real energy and spicy lift on the persistent finish, which is given shape by smooth, even tannins. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, April 2020)
— 6 years ago

Jerry Raphael

9.5

I purchased this wine for $60 as a Bordeaux future offering from MacArthur’s in DC, with the hope of opening it when my younger son—born in 1982—was old enough to share it. We finally did just that this Thanksgiving, celebrating both him and the bottle.
The fill was mid-shoulder, but the family was together and it felt like the right moment. I gave it about an hour in the decanter before dinner. Early on it showed blackberries, a touch of veg, lead pencil, cedar notes and a smooth elegant finish. As the evening went on it opened a bit more, gaining some depth.
A few hours later I revisited the small amount I’d saved and found it had dried out some—but that was expected for a 43-year-old First Growth. Ultimately, it was a wonderful experience and a memorable way to share both the wine and the moment with family.
— 9 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

8.9

Quite garnet colour , terracotta rim, slightly younger looking than the Lovara, very fine sediment . Slight touch of leather , then spiced cassis , sous bois , coffee, grafite . On the palate quite good sweet dark fruits , with touch of soy sauce , leather , sous bois , dry spices . Good balanced, quite fresh acidity , soft tannins . Medium length and still showing really quite well . At the end of its drinking window so drink now and over the next couple of years — 2 years ago

Akash

9.6

Very very good, also sweet — 3 years ago

Deidre Nestor

9.6

Possibly a new favorite, very smooth, tasted equally good across several types of food. 2019 vintage. — 4 years ago

Daniel P. Drake

9.5

Over the weekend I opened the 2018 Château Pgélan Ségur Saint-Estèphe Left Bank Bordeaux. A blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Merlot.

On the nose was very expressive and floral, black cherry, blackberry, fig, black currant, licorice, creamy chocolate, iron, violets and earth.

On the palate was black cherry, blackberry, black plum, black currant, licorice, spice, minerality, light oak, herbal and dark rich earth.

This is a full bodied wine wiyg smooth fresh mouthfeel mouthwatering medium + acidity and medium + grainy tannins that leaves you with a long black fruit earthy graphite finish. This is a beautiful wine and worth the price. You can drink now or cellar for a later date. Have a wonderful week ahead and please stay safe and healthy. Nostrovia! 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 — 4 years ago

RJ Stefanski

9.2

Schramsberg is consistently excellent. Vivid and complex with flavors of baked raspberry tart, oyster shells, and spice. Broad and creamy on the mid-palate with feisty bubbles and a clean, bright finish. $43 — 5 years ago

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9.5

Dark, youthful purple. Powerful, smoke- and mineral-accented aromas of ripe dark berries, licorice, olive and a hint of incense on the deeply perfumed nose. Juicy and sharply delineated in the mouth, offering concentrated, spice-laced blackberry, bitter cherry and fruitcake flavors that take on a smoky aspect as the wine opens up. In an ample but lively style, finishing juicy and extremely long, with building tannins adding framework and youthful grip. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, April 2020)
— 6 years ago