Beringer's 1999 Private Reserve reveals a dense purple color along with a flinty, herbal, austere personality that comes across like a young Medoc. Still vigorous, primary and unformed at age 13, it does not reveal the volume... Read More
One of the great efforts of recent years, and not surprisingly so, is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve, a blend of 81% from Howell Mountain, 11% from St. Helena and the rest Calistoga and Mount Veeder. It is a blend... Read More
One of the best bottles from Beychevelle in a long time. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and aromas of raspberry and mint with a hint of violet. Lead pencil and fruit appear on the long aftertaste.--1988 Bordeaux horizontal. Best... Read More
Deep ruby/purple in color, with a sweet nose of black currants, earth, licorice, and mineral, the 2000 is relatively powerful and dense for the normally restrained and elegant Beychevelle. Medium to full-bodied, dense, and chewy,... Read More
The finest Beychevelle since the 2003 and probably since the 1982, Beychevelle's 2009 is opaque purple in color, with a beautiful, floral nose intermixed with black currant fruit, licorice, cedar wood and Christmas fruitcake.... Read More
The grand vin, the 2012 Beychevelle, is one of the stars of St.-Julien. Opaque purple, with beautiful crème de cassis notes, the wine has floral underpinnings, sweet tannin and a nice layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel. This... Read More
Billecart-Salmon is one of my favorite Champagne houses, and their non-vintage Rose (Lot #L85547401905M) is a consistent winner. A delicate pink color is accompanied by gorgeous sweet cherry, strawberry, and mineral-like scents,... Read More
The dark plum/purple-colored 2001 Merlot Paradise Hills Vineyard exhibits sweet aromas of cherry liqueur interwoven with mocha fudge. Firm, hard tannin in the finish closes the wine down on the palate. This is a structured, seriously-endowed... Read More
The 2008 Melbury flows across the palate with layers of dark sensual fruit, spices, licorice, leather and tobacco. Clean veins of minerality frame the fruit beautifully through to the finish. Floral notes add an element of brightness... Read More
The 2008 Pluribus is a gorgeous wine laced with black fruit, menthol, minerals, spices and licorice. It shows fabulous density and richness through to the finish. This is a very typical Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Anticipated... Read More
The 2008 Quella is a dark, brooding wine loaded with super-ripe dark black fruit, smoke, tar and licorice. It is a seriously intense wine that will require bottle age. This is an especially authoritative wine from Bond. Anticipated... Read More
This is extremely primary and the extremely late malo shows here as the nose is almost raw with earthy, intense, backward, indeed even awkward and rough flavors today that display a touch of vegetal quality and plenty of firm... Read More
This is extremely primary and the extremely late malo shows here as the nose is almost raw with earthy, intense, backward, indeed even awkward and rough flavors today that display a touch of vegetal quality and plenty of firm... Read More
As de la Morinière suggests, this is a good deal more powerful than the 2000 version but it is not quite as bright or quite as focused. That said, this is a very impressive effort with big, almost massive aromas of earth, ripe... Read More
Exploding with pure, clean and vibrant fruit intensity, this full-bodied wine coils around the palate, tightening its grip. Beautiful expression of Chardonnay, unhindered by too much oak, with lime, pear, honey, and a spicy touch... Read More
Branaire-Ducru has consistently been one of the finest 1975s. I have come to the conclusion that it will never resolve all of the tannin, but the wine has such a large-scaled, muscular, rich, concentrated personality that the... Read More
Branaire-Ducru has consistently been one of the finest 1975s. I have come to the conclusion that it will never resolve all of the tannin, but the wine has such a large-scaled, muscular, rich, concentrated personality that the... Read More
The 1989 was exhibiting far more power and intensity than I expected. It has always been an impressively crafted, elegant, seamless wine with cassis fruit nicely dosed by high quality oak. The wine is currently revealing more... Read More
With a gorgeously evolved, extremely complex bouquet of forest floor, spring flowers, lead pencil shavings and red and black currants, this full-bodied, dense, ruby/plum/purple-colored wine hits the palate with an opulent, fleshy,... Read More
The Château Brane-Cantenac 2014 is a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, representing 38% of the total crop. It was picked between 22 September commencing with the Merlot up until 9 October finishing... Read More
The 2015 Brane-Cantenac is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Carmenère that was picked from 17 September until 7 October (that Carmenère was actually picked on 19 October). It was cropped... Read More
The 2015 Brane-Cantenac is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Carmenère that was picked from 17 September until 7 October (that Carmenère was actually picked on 19 October). It was cropped... Read More
The 2015 Brane-Cantenac is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Carmenère that was picked from 17 September until 7 October (that Carmenère was actually picked on 19 October). It was cropped... Read More
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Brane-Cantenac starts off a tad restrained and reluctant to show, opening out to notes of baked blackberries, plum preserves and crème de cassis with hints of cigar box and tar. Medium... Read More
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Brane-Cantenac starts off a tad restrained and reluctant to show, opening out to notes of baked blackberries, plum preserves and crème de cassis with hints of cigar box and tar. Medium... Read More