Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I haven’t had a Bordeaux in a while. Especially, with a Ribcap. So, why not an 82? The vintage Robert Parker made his career as the only critic who called it correctly.

Very good 80’s Bordeaux were my first true wine love. Their style & 12-13% ABV will always be my cherished infatuation. Wished it had never changed.

Bought this Calon Segur on the secondary market several yrs ago. Tricky cork. Used my Durand. All good. Fill line perfect, no bottle neck tannin burn but plenty of velvety sediment.

If any of you ever wondered why there is a heart on the label. Here is the interesting reason…

It symbolizes the estate's deep-rooted history and the affection of its former owner, the Marquis de Ségur. Despite owning prestigious estates like Château Lafite and Château Latour, he famously declared, "I make wine at Lafite and Latour, but my heart is at Calon." His sentiment is immortalized by the heart emblem on the label.

Opened it and let it breathe from the bottle for 45 minutes. Tasted it and decanting it in stages. Then, stopped 1/2 way through and poured the bottom half of the bottle from the bottle.

82 is such a grand, classic vintage. For the most part, I drink Calon Segur’s too early, even at 20 yrs of age. I don’t want to say it is a long in tooth as its neighbor, Montrose, but it is close. This 82 is drinking perfectly w/ 41 yrs in bottle and will hold another 5 yrs. Such soft, perfectly darkish spices with elegantly ripe fruits.

This 82 glides over the palate. There is only beautiful elegance, nothing bites back. The fruits are older (not old or past their prime), ripe fruits of; blackberries, dark cherries, both plums but lean plum vs black, dark cherries, crazy, outstanding, hoovering raspberries with notes of blueberries & shades of freshly picked rhubarb. Some black cherry cola, anise to understated black licorice, dark chocolate pudding, caramel, layered, gentle baking spices-nutmeg, clove, cinnamon & vanillin, touch of sun tea, old leather, dryish to fresh tobacco w/ash, charcoal, elegant graphite, dry limestone powder, dry river pebbles, black, rich earth w/ dry leaves, magical, dark spices, grey volcanics, dry stems, just a hint of dry herbs, dry top soil, fresh & withering dark, red flowers, red roses, grand acidity with perfect; balance, tension, structure and a grand, gentle finish that goes on & on and eventually lands on an amazing soft buffet of earthiness.

This is a wine that is technically a 94, but w/ evolution & style a 97. Amazing bottle that you don’t want to end.

$500 a bottle today through the app. Somewhere around $10 upon release. — 6 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

8.9

Pale lemon color with stone and tropical fruit aromas with spice and floral notes. On the palate flavors of apple, peach and lemon citrus with floral spices. Lively acidity, medium finish ending with fruit and spice. — 4 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

8.9

Fall is here and it’s the season I love to drink port. Dow, producing Ports for over 2 centuries. One of the first to establish its own vineyards, acquiring Senhora da Ribeira, in the remote Upper Douro, in 1890 & Bomfim, in the heart of Alto Douro, in 1896. Aromas of ripe fruits, fragrant spices and sweet notes. On the palate flavors of candied apple and jammy blackberries with cacao and honey. Firm dusty tannins, good balance, long finish. Perfect now. — 5 years ago

Amit Kumar

9.5

like a neighbor with a seductive surprise...
like strawberry on a summer evening...
its like wow, where did you come from...
is that juniper is smell...oh who cares?
great wine... — 6 years ago

Wulf Losee

9.4

2015 opened 2020. This is a wine with a soft beginning, but it explodes at the end. Black tea and tobacco on the nose. Ripe fruit on the front (cassis and blueberries), and, although the fruit is sweet, it’s very restrained. The tannins are also restrained, but at the same time they’re solid and smooth with a gentle mouth feel on the mid palate. And like the guiding hand of an old friend, with a gentle insistence they lead you into a room where there’s a surprise party waiting for you. And the band starts playing as you enter the room. It’s an unexpected finale which is pretty spectacular, with all sorts of high notes overlaid on deeper earth tones. Then the earth notes fade, leaving the high notes vibrating into a long finish. This wine can only get better, but it’s fantastic right now. NOTE: after an hour in the decanter this wine completely opens a up and begins to fade. Frankly, I find it more interesting right out of the bottle then from an hour in the decanter. — 6 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.1

Established in 1987, DD Oregon is owned by famed Burgundy producer, Maison Joseph Drouhin. Hand-crafted by fourth generation winemaker, Veronique Drouhin-Boss. Ruby with fruit and sweet floral scents, very French in style. On the palate cherry and blueberry with pepper and earthy notes. Young but integrated tannins, well defined, elegant with underlying richness, long finish.
— 7 years ago

Pooneet K

9.3

It’s always easy to be biased for a wine you had some small part in contributing to (I worked at the vineyard right before this harvest) but this is authentically excellent. Has aged extremely well. With a 1.5 hour decant and a slight chill, the classic dusty Rutherford fruit with very nice acid on the finish comes through in spades. Very long finish and quite in balance. Perfect pairing with some beautiful dry aged strip steaks to round out Thanksgiving weekend. — 7 months ago

"Odedi"

9.1

Ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Nose of red and black fruits with light wood, tobacco and chocolate notes.

Dry on the palate with sweet raspberries, cherries, light oak, licorice, chocolates, spices and earth.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This young Grenache blend is starting to drink very nicely now, with nice complexity and a soft mouthfeel.

Will continue to age nicely in the next 15 years.

Elegant and rich. Interesting and engaging. A very traditional Châteauneuf-du-Pape in style.

Well balanced and good by itself as a sipping wine. Will also pair nicely with food.

A blend of all 13 allowed grapes in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but mostly Grenache. Hand picked and whole cluster. Aged for 2 years in large French oak barrels.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$110. — a year ago

Dave Mayers

9.0

A bit disjointed. Heaps of oak then a bunch of acid on the finish. Missing the heart and soul of the wine. Had the ‘13 criot barard montrachet and I would rate that in the top 5 wines of my life. Maybe it needs more time? Madi LOVED it for the record. With schnitzel and gravy. — 3 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Château dates back to 1560, records suggest it might go back to the 12th century making it one of oldest estates in the heart of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC region near Avignon. Ruby with aromas of red fruit. A blend of 37% Grenache, 29% Syrah, 27% Mouvèdre & 7% Cinsault. Aromas of berry fruits, oak and sweet spice. On the palate flavors of raspberry, cherry and blackberry with hints of oak, leather, vanilla spice and black pepper. Aged in oak (20% new) the wine was complex and elegant with smooth tannins, long finish. Nice! — 4 years ago

Jim McCusker

9.7

Okay, some explanation is in order. First of all, the wine is off-scale awesome. Absolutely beautiful fruit on the nose, balance throughout a lingering, elegant finish. Fantastic. The cork, on the other hand, was a disaster. This wine was stored on its side at 55 F upon receipt from the winery. I am absolutely certain that Justin does his due diligence in selecting corks, but something clearly was amiss with at least this cork from the 2007 Heartstone. This is just a word of caution: if you have this in your cellar, the wine is awesome. Just be careful with the cork! — 6 years ago

with Vanessa

Phillip

8.9

Med/Full body, smooth dark fruits, slight pepper on finish. Good value. — 7 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

I like it so much I had to try another bottle. Located in the heart of Sonoma, WALT sourcing Pinot Noir fruit from premiere appellations, this one from Shea Vineyard in Willamette Valley, Oregon. Deep Ruby, luscious bouquet of berry fruit with floral notes. On the palate fresh strawberry and cherry flavors with sweet spice & earthy black tea tones. Fine rich soft tannins, lingering finish bring forward fruit and mineral tones. A Wow wine! — 7 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

In 1877, Illario and Leopoldo Ruffino laid the foundations of their dream to make Italian wines from the heart of Tuscany. Medium Ruby red color with aromas of dark berry fruit and earthy spice, blend of 80% Sangiovese with rest Merlot and Cab Sauv. On the palate flavors of black cherry and plum with tobacco, pepper and earthy cedar notes. Full-bodied, well balanced soft drying tannins on a smooth medium+ finish. Grab some Italian food and enjoy the great value wine. Consistent quality, a Fav!! — 7 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Produced from the "mosto flor" ("free-run juice") of sustainably grown and hand-harvested grapes. Ya means "yes!" in Spain. Straw yellow with good flow of tiny bubbles and light mousse. Stone fruit aromas with a vanilla nut fragrance. On the palate peach and citrus flavors, good balance, plenty of acidity and lingers nicely. — 10 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

This is the standard Côte Rôtie from Agnes Levet that’s a blend of different parcels. However, the philosophy and approach remain the same as “La Chavaroche” and “Les Journaries”. In the past, this bottling was known as “Améthyste” and only recently became more widely available in the US. “Widely” is a relative word, lol.

Opened about an hour prior to service. The 2021 pours a deep garnet/purple with a transparent core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with a gorgeous bouquet all of the different varieties and colors of brambles your heart could possibly desire along with all of the seeds and stems, freshly cracked black pepper, dried herbs, some of the animale, purple flowers some hints of old wood and yes, perhaps a kiss of brettanomyces. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is forever long, drying and loaded with even more black pepper. This is giving me total 2014 vibes and if you liked that vintage in the Northern Rhône (as I did), you’re gonna absolutely love this. Drink now through 2036. — 2 years ago

Lindar Liebe

9.1

Very tasty and fun, tastes very green, crisp, dry but not bone dry. Astringent maybe? I love it I think this could both goes well with food and is tasty on its own — 6 years ago

Stewart Ben

9.1

Wow. What a great Pinot,,,cherries, leather and tobacco, very earthy with some light oak. Has a long lingering tannic finish that keeps you remembering just how focused this winery is on Pinot and it’s quality. First time with a glass cork which makes for a solid reseal. — 6 years ago

Jan de Weerd

9.8

Were were you all this time? I have been looking for you for years. Finally a 9.8 score wine. Deep dark fruit extract drenched in graphite. It had Pauillac stamped all over. Complex from beginning to end. It was like exploring an old dark alley in the heart of Paris. Very intense upfront, backed off on the mid palet and a true explosion at the end that slowly evaporated in an endless finish. A true concert! — 7 years ago

with Tammy

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.5

One of the great White Pinot Noirs made in the world, I have been fascinated by this wine since it was first made more than a decade ago. The 2017 ‘Coeur Blanc’ opens with an enticing bouquet of cantaloupe, marzipan, white rose and shades of Pazzaz apple that all meld together nicely in the glass. The palate reveals a refined, silky texture and entices. Generous on the mouth, this white Pinot Noir unveils seriously good range from melon tones to green apple and shades of wild mushroom and wet stone. The bright sense of minerality and the generous texture really sing here. While outstanding now, this true heavyhitter of a wine will only become more silky and complex as it ages. Drink 2019-2033- 95 — 7 years ago