Pow Wow
Château Léoville-Las Cases
Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de las Cases Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2000
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! — 5 months ago
Jacques Selosse
Initial Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Champagne Chardonnay 2017
Sidenote: if you are ever in Paris then the restaurant was great. Offered the wine for below market price as well🥳
Château de Beaucastel
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend 2006
2 hour decant. Shredded cork. Filtered the wine.
Wow. This was just gorgeous and smooth. Tannins very well integrated and the fruit was excellent.
One of my favorite vintages with some age — 9 months ago
Far Niente Winery
Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Wow! Almost perfect. Maybe should have waited another year, but oh so good. Rich, complex, smooth. — 3 years ago
Château Montrose
Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1967
1967. barely any browsing on edges. had to be impeccably stored. complex. cooked, dried red fruits, old dried leather, musky. still grippy - acid medium. wow. what a treat. — 3 years ago
Beringer Vineyards
Private Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
1.5 hour decant(little sediment). A splendid dark purplish magenta color. On the nose: Intoxicating notes of sweet dark fruit, currants, herbaceous, cloves, floral, pencil shavings. Taste: Wow! rich, pure, elegant mouthcoating wine with blackberry/dark cherry, oak, graphite, loamy soil, and a baking spice-savory herb-dark plum medium plus finish. YUM!! Lots of potential and glad to have a few more bottles...give it a few more years. — 3 months ago
Tenuta San Guido
Bolgheri Sassicaia Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2021
Got this bottle on my last Virgin Voyage and I had extra $ on my bar tab - a fantastic opportunity to purchase a couple exclusive (expensive) bottles like this. Sassicaia is a known leader in Super Tuscans. My first time trying Sassicaia… opened the bottle only for a couple of hours but a big beautiful bouquet of big jammy goodness that definitely isn’t shy. Wow 🤩 a delicious wine that doesn’t disappoint! — 6 months ago
Krug
Brut Champagne Blend 1996
Presented double-blind. The wine appears straw in color with medium viscosity and, apparently, there lots of tiny bubbles so there are signs of gas, LOL. On the nose, the wine is developing with heady notes of ripe orchard fruit, red forest berries, marzipan, lemon curd, fresh brioche. On the palate, the wine is dry with high acidity. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish lasts for an eternity. The texture is ever so creamy. Wow…well, I was drinking something special. Had to be Champagne. Maybe vintage? Maybe a tête de cuvée? The style was similar to Krug. Called Champagne from a producer like Krug. OMG…the 1996 Vintage Brut?! Sheesh…someone was feeling generous! Admitted, I don’t often get to drink vintage Krug (for many hundreds of reasons!) so my experience is obviously limited. However, there’s clearly no question in this being true to house style and, now that I know the vintage, this is showing why 1996 is so special. As others have noted, this is fresher than the 1995 I had some months ago (though, that was very special too) and had greater acid. I would like to think this provides a crystal ball for the 2008 vintage that is sure to follow a similar trajectory. Drinking very fine indeed, right now and should continue to do so through 2046…depending on how you like to drink your Champagne. — a year ago
Domaine Jamet
Côte-Rôtie Syrah 2010
Anti-roast, all tart cherry and white pepper, gentle tannin, faint horse hair. Wow. — 2 months ago
Tenuta dell'Ornellaia
Bolgheri Red Bordeaux Blend
Wow! Bad vintage, great wine. Pop and pour. — 4 months ago
Château Latour
Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1981
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. — 5 months ago
Dunn Vineyards
Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1987
From a really fine, structured Napa vintage, this shows dark fruits and mineral notes aromatically, still has loads of Dunn Howell Mountain structure and tannin, long, lingering finish, but the finish suggests that it needs 10-20 more years of aging, simply an incredible, old school (13% ABV) Napa mountain Cabernet with amazing length and freshness, a true WOW wine (if you’re moderately unoffended by the enormous structure still remaining)!!! — a year ago
Quintessa
Rutherford Red Blend
Had to try one of these. Obviously young and will need another 5-10 years to hit its stride. But drinking very enjoyably now. Perfectly ripe red fruit with hints of blue and black. Tannins and acidity still strong. Best to aerate for a couple hours. But wow what a long finish. — 5 years ago
Tom Garland
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. — 2 months ago