Happy New Year!🎈🎆🎊
From mag. Who said the2007 vintage was bad? They didn’t taste it 16 years from inception or 14 years in bottle. Excellent as our first prime rib wine.
2nd night tasting with leftovers. One glass left. It’s dark inky, round, mushy velvety tannins, dark currants, blackberries, blackberries, black plum, dark cherries, plum pudding, strawberry highlighter, dry stones, limestone powder, dark turned earth, soft, fresh & dry tobacco notes, soft lead pencil shavings, wet volcanic ash, moist clay, charcoal, sandalwood, understated dark spice, dark chocolate, just a touch of baking spices, dark & red withering flowers, violets, excellent round acidity and a well knitted structure, balanced fruit & earth, good tension with a long elegant finish that falls on a dry mineral finish lasting 90 seconds.
I always leave an inch to inch and half in the bottle to pour a bit to all at the end. I believe the expression for that is, “The Truth! From the expression, the truth is inside. It doesn’t lie and makes for more extremely concentrated sip(s). You might say it is a lot like monosodium glutamate…everything you tasted in the wine previously, taste more. — 3 years ago
Casually poured double-blind from a brown bag at the very end of the night while our heads were still spinning from the incredible quality on display. The senses were overloaded. It was blood lust. And then…I smelled my glass. An overwhelming feeling of serenity washed over me. It’s was almost as if a pair of noise-cancelling headphones were placed in my ears. This was different. It commanded attention. This wasn’t a wine from the Rhône. It smelled like Burgundy…and it was special. There was brilliant structure accompanying the most sublime fruits and exotic spices. I looked up at my buddy Matt who was also nosing his glass and our eyes met. He was also spellbound. He then quietly declared to me, “this is DRC”. I thought to myself, surely no. This late? After everything we just had?? Until now, I had never tried DRC so I had no frame of reference but Matt seemed pretty confident. Then some of the others started to fall into the trance. Everyone was falling over themselves. The bottle was pulled from the bag by our host. And there it was. A 2011 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Échézeaux. It was just beautiful. I was different now…almost like losing my virginity. What a sensational nightcap. — 4 years ago
Rich velvety mouth feel, with a wonderful lingering finish of blackberry — 5 years ago
Birth year wine. Still quite drinkable, but the age is showing. The cork broke when opening, so I was expecting the worst. But, lots of good barnyard funk on the nose, very earthy on the palate, and a little acidity at the end. Tates great with some Halloween candy I stole from my niece. — 6 years ago
Pretty much at a perfect point; intensely fragrant of honeysuckle and lime blossom, elegant, supple and satiny, flinty tart apple fruit with exotic Thai lime and kumquat notes, super long shimmery finish. One of those bottles you wish had no end. — 7 years ago
2014. Enjoyed a small splash at the end of a great birthday meal at The Oven!
Such pure stone fruit and honeyed aromas and flavors with balanced sweetness and acidity. — 4 months ago
Located in the western end of Dopp Road where the Chehalem Mountains converge with Ribbon Ridge, medium Ruby with aromas of red fruits and enticing spice. On the palate flavors of raspberry and wild cherry with pepper, toasty spice and earthy notes. Young with fine integrated tannins, well defined, elegant with underlying richness, long finish ending with oaky notes. Nice value, will age well! — 6 months ago
Impressionist notes from memory from last night. From a 375. Decanted one hour. Nose had graphite, dark cassis, cedar, intense gravelly notes. Tannic and obviously way too young, the palate was rich without heaviness, and at the tail end of the long finish there was note of the purest cassis that lingered. Come back in 10. — 5 years ago
Happy Easter!!
2+ hour decant and could use more as it started to get very close to first growth quality towards the end. Not quite the 100pts. Wine Advocate gave it, but pretty darn close! Not sure it needs more of a description after that! Glad I have one more bottle to go. This is what wine should taste like!
— 6 years ago
extraordinary bottle!
the wine is still in deep ruby color, very slight orange rim.
ample notes of red tree fruit, earthy mushroom and forest floor, smoky with leather and pepper notes on the palate. towards the end it is more minerality driven.
special note, the bottle requires quite some air to open up. it was very reserved at first. needs a good 2-3 hours of patience.
This is a wine that shows no sign of aging. It will last effortlessly for another decade or more. — 8 years ago
Slight younger looking , a little more ruby both in the core but still mostly garnet rim.
This is high toned slightly redder fruit , less dense than the preceding 3 . Cherry , red plum , cedar, seaspray . On the palate this is again quite elegant and refined , cherry , red plum some cassis , red plum , cigar box . Not overly weighty with perhaps a little less noticeable tannin than some of the others . Long vibrant , spicy grafite tinged finish . Very elegant , reserved and I suppose very Lafite , this grows during the experience but was actually voted in last place by the group , that somehow doesn’t surprise me, at the end of the day one wine did have to come last, and this was relatively discreet only showing its real breeding and class with time in the glass. Needs time , but is very promising , probably another 5-10 years (as with almost all the others ) , will last well a further 20 if not more . The elegance and style of this wine is fantastic , this really grows in the glass . Had to be Lafite for me . Bronze medal here . — 5 months ago
Happy New Year! Had to go out with a fun year end wine.
Decant and pour(decent chunky/fine sediment). A majestic dark garnet with bricking. On the nose: Eucalyptus, perfumed red fruit, floral, soil, herbaceous. Taste: silky, creamy, fresh wine with some still there red cherry, tobacco, earthy, shaved graphite, and a peppery cedar long finish. YUM! What a treat to drink as a our final wine this last night of the year.
Cheers!
ELLA Restaurant, New Year's Eve:
Cavier Beignet
Dungeness crab bisque
Roasted Liberty duck breast
72 hour braised short ribs
Chocolate midnight cake — 3 years ago

All the classic graphite, iodine, cassis and green pepper (perhaps a little overwhelmingly so) on the nose. Palate of INTENSE pepper (dare I say Serrano)…but overall light and enjoyable. Lacking some bottom end that may evolve in time? Still feels VERY young. A great 7th anniversary wine. Truth be told, slightly disappointing, though only had a one hour decant… — 5 years ago
For steak dessert, 2007 Caymus Classic. Chuck, why oh why, did you change the original styling of this wine? 🤦♂️
I ran out of my cellared Caymus Classic. Classic is pre 2012 vintage. In 2012, it was changed to a highly marketable consumer friendly wine syrup that drinks well early for some. I can’t palate it.
I recently went to the secondary market and found some beautifully stored 2007. Missed it.
The nose reveals, stewed & candied; blackberries, black raspberries, both plums, black cherries, poached strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries, full scorched earth, grey clay, potpourri, dark under stated ambers, dark, moist forrest floor, dry sage, notes of Worcestershire sauce, eucalyptus with withering; dark, red, purple flowers.
The mouthfeel is glorious with balance & length. Ripe fruits of; stewed & candied; blackberries, black raspberries, both plums, black cherries, poached strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries, blueberries hovering over all the rest, scorched earth, dark spice with subtle yet punctuating heat, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon & vanillin, dry crushed, limestone rocks, grey, mud clay, potpourri, dark under stated ambers, dark, moist forrest floor, oak char, expresso, black licorice, dry sage, notes of Worcestershire sauce hues, eucalyptus/mint with withering; dark, red, purple flowers. The acidity is a rushing, spring mountain river. The length, balance fruit & earth, elegance, polish would captivate most any discerning palate.
Chuck, I think you should make both Caymus Syrup & Caymus Classic again.
She is at the tail end of her precipice. — 5 years ago
Wonderful perfume on the nose, great cherry notes on the front and mid palate, a touch of spice near the end. Smooth, resolved and elegant. — 6 years ago
Oscar night.......time to break out a 2nd growth, non great vintage(2007). Dacanted 1 hour(min sediments). Medium red with a hue of brown. On the nose: Barnyard funk (which I luv and blows off after an hour)....green vegies, red fruit, leather, mint. Taste: blueberry, plum, smoke, pencil lead...tannins semi sweet with slight bite at the end. — 8 years ago

Doug Powers
Like the last bottle, this shows some VA (though nowhere as bad as the bottle from 3-4 months ago), redfruits, some earthy aromas as well, good depth and balance on the palate, lingering finish, overall a very good bottle of aged Clos des Papes CdP. — 15 days ago