Marta Jackowska

9.6

Dry(ish) January now over, time to get back to business!
Leathery, earthy, yet smooth and well balanced black fruit concentration. Not a bad start to 2026…. — 4 days ago

with Neville

Rick Phillips

9.5

Great way to end 5 days at the Cayman Cookout 2026 at The Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman. Wonderful Food experience with some awesome Chefs and some spectacular Wines! — 18 days ago

with Sherre and Letha

Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Château Léoville Barton 2023 – Saint-Julien, Grand Cru Classé en 1855, BDX France 🇫🇷

Overview
A classic Saint-Julien expression showing clarity, harmony, and structural polish, driven by a 77% Cabernet Sauvignon–led blend with 20% Merlot Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc as a support. The wine balances ripe fruit concentration with restraint, delivering precision, finesse, and a seamless flow from attack through finish.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, ripe blackberry, red plum, cassis, graphite, cedar, subtle baking spice, crushed stone, light tobacco and gentle floral lift.

Mouthfeel
Medium-plus body with finely woven tannins, excellent balance, fresh integrated acidity, supple texture, and a long, graceful finish that feels effortless rather than forceful.

Food Pairings
Herb-crusted lamb, roasted duck breast, grilled filet mignon, mushroom risotto, aged Comté or Gruyère.

Verdict
An elegant, dependable Saint-Julien that delivers purity, structure, and drinking pleasure without excess. Refined, polished, and quietly authoritative, a wine that rewards both immediate enjoyment and patient cellaring.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is the kind of wine that wins through composure and precision rather than horsepower. Easy to enjoy today, yet layered enough to keep you leaning back into the glass. Subtle sophistication done right. — 13 days ago

Ericsson

9.4

I love R Lopez de Heredia wines. Still made the way they were made hundred years ago. Wines for old souls who really appreciate timeless art and low intervention. — 19 days ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

I remember when the 2005 Pichon Lalande was reviewed by RP, 89. I saw that & said, you would have to get in the way of the 2005 Bordeaux vintage to be that sad. I still bought 6 at a bargain basement price. A very good idea post 20 yrs+. Both Pichon’s don’t have a modern day history of getting in the way of a good vintage.

I also bought this one. 18 yrs in bottle and still acending. This will hold 5 more yrs and will last another 10 yrs properly stored.

I have visited Bordeaux 11 times. This chateau visually is still my favorite. It was showing a picture of this chateau to Sofia that launched our first visit. Sofia loved it and we have stared at it multiple times on every visit.

It was in our visit in 2007, I stood in the estate vineyard, looked & tasted their soils. After doing so, I said, “I get it.” I understood everything about what I was tasting in Left Bank Bordeaux’s early in my wine journey.

Sofia and I had dinner w/ Christian Moueix not long after the 2005 vintage was hyped/released. She asked him, when did you know you had something special?” He said, “as soon as I tasted the fruit at harvest.”

Tonight, it shows that it is a close relative, a sibling to Pichon Longueville. Cork, perfect.

The nose shows; classic left bank traits. Ripe, dark, brooding fruits, bright, mid berries, red cola, leather, tobacco, sandalwood, leather, led pencil, dark rich earth, limestone, dry river stone, hint of mushrooms, dark, red, fresh & withering florals.

The fruits on the palate show everything outstanding from the 2005 growing season. Ripe, juicy, brilliant; dark currants, blackberries, black raspberries, black plum skin, black cherries, baked/poached strawberries & some hovering raspberries. Dark chocolate bar to pudding, red cola, anise, dark spices w/ palate heat, dark, rich earth w/ dry leaves, pronounced graphite, dry tobacco, leather, limestone, dry twig, dry river stone, moist clays, moist herbs, cedar to sandalwood, withering & dry, dark flowers, red roses, some lavender & violets, beautiful rainfall acidity, excellent; balance, tension, structure, length w/ an elegant finish that lasts minutes and lands on spice & earth.

13.4 ABV. Nice.

#TheTwoHourRibcap — 5 days ago

Roberto Carli

9.5

Salmon color with copper reflexes. Nose of grapefruit, and Mandarin peel, lemon juice, pink flowers, and petrichor. Faint Aperol on the back. Palate is explosive but not effusive. More grapefruit oil, lemon pith, garrigue, waves of saline minerality and a bright acidity that makes it go on and on. Pretty serious argument on why it deserves its reputation is the best rosé in the world  — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

It’s been a couple of years since I last encountered the 2001 vintage of Chave’s Hermitage. That bottle was a library release from the domaine and so is this example. Splash decanted directly before service. The 2001 pours a garnet color with a translucent core; medium viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous and a total umami bomb: Koji beef broth, dried and baked brambles, dried purple flowers, black pepper, Kalamata olive, organic and inorganic earth along with fine warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Looking back on my notes from 2024, there’s a common theme: the 2001 is all about dat bass. Drink now with some patience and through 2041. — 3 days ago

John Willison

9.0

Grape juice. In a good way. — 25 days ago

Frank Soldano

9.8

Wow, very nice wine!! Crisp and flavorful. Light rose petal flavors and herbaceous. A light citrus on the back end. Well balanced with a great finish! — a month 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.
— 2 months ago