
Fragrant and structured. Densely colored with no bricking. Lovely nose shows rich cassis fruit, a bit of scorched earth, a little clovey oak (not too much), ashy cigars, and a note that reminds me of collard greens simmering with a smoked ham hock. Very youthful in the mouth, with vigorous tannin giving lots of structure. Clingy but somewhat austere in the mouth. This plainly needs more time than I thought it would. It’s still nice on its own before dinner, but should be better with rich food.
UPDATE: Now, after two hours open, this has become soft and friendlier than it was. Still nicely structured, but the fruit is more welcoming. — 6 days ago
Clear, deep ruby in color; on the nose, it's clean with pronounced primary and secondary aromas of blackberries, cassis, and graphite; on the palate; it's dry with high acidity, high tannins, high alcohol, full body, and pronounced primary and secondary flavors of black plum, black cherries, and black cardamom with a long finish. This wine is intense and balanced. Overall, I rate this wine as very good. — 10 days ago
#AgedWineTuesday
Celebrating 25,000 followers on Vivino, with this fabulous sweet wine from Bordeaux.
Dark gold in color.
Full bodied and smooth with high acidity.
Sweet on the palate with great complexity and mouthfeel.
Showing lemons, red and yellow apples, tropical fruits, spices, caramel, honey, peaches, lemons, citrus, turmeric and honeysuckle.
Long engaging finish.
This 17 year old Sauternes is drinking exceptionally now, although it will continue to age nicely in the next 30 to 50 years. A delicious dessert wine from a great vintage.
Rich and fruit forward. Beautifully balanced with enough acidity to balance the high sugars. Showing a wonderful nose that I kept smelling on for a long time.
Already showing great complexity, sweet and expressive. Opulent with great elegance.
Wine Spectator 98 points. Wine Advocate 100 points.
I've had many different vintages of this wine, and it is always very impressive.
Good by itself as a dessert wine, or with food. I paired it with blue cheese.
A blend of 80% Sémillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. Aged in all new French oak barrels for 30 months.
14% alcohol by volume.
97 points.
$700. — 15 days ago



Hillside Select is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged 32 months in 100% new 60-gallon French oak barrels. Deep Ruby with pronounced aromas of red/black fruits, with hints of cedar, floral, oak, herbs & spice. On the palate flavors of concentrated ripe blackberry, cherry and raspberry preserves, pepper spice, leather and earthy cacao. Fine soft savory tannins, well balanced, long finish, great structure ending with fruit, spice, oak and earthy mineral character. Outstanding! — 10 days ago
This wine smells like it's late to the party, but it tastes like it's 1999. Pucker up! Bright, tart cherries. Blackberries and mint. Cedar and tea leaves. Tannins are mellow and this wine has a smooth lengthy finish. A great value Napa!
Listening to Rod Stewart. — 5 days ago

Jay Kline

Splash decanted prior to service and presented to me double-blind. The wine pours a deep garnet color with an opaque core, moving towards a light orange garnet rim; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and some signs of sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous, with notes of ripe and slightly dried red and black fruits: plum, blackberry, raspberry, dried flowers, leather, cocoa, earth and some 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.
Initial conclusions: this could be a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend or a Merlot-based blend from the United States or France. Due to the appearance and secondary characteristics, I think this has 15+ years of age. And, because this was leaning heavily towards its fruit, rather than its structure, I’m calling this being from the United States. Final conclusion, this is a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend from Napa, valley floor, from a warm vintage like 2009. Dammit, I should have clued into the softer tannins from Alexander Valley. Scoring significant points though. Drink now through 2029. — 3 days ago