Recent Tasting Notes

  •  Recent Tasting Notes

  1. 2005 Château Monbousquet ( France, Bordeaux, St. Émilion Grand Cru ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 92 points - Tasted

      60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon produced a wine showing licorice, black cherry preserves, vanilla, coffee, plum and earth. Supple in texture, with layers of ripe, sweet fruits, coffee and licorice. If the oak tones down a bit, this will be even better.

  2. 2006 Château Le Bon Pasteur ( France, Bordeaux, Pomerol ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 90 points - Tasted

      Sweet, ripe and soft, but lacking the complexity of the best vintages of Bon Pasteur, this black cherry, cocoa, licorice and coffee dominated wine is an early drinker.

  3. 2007 Betz Family Clos de Betz ( USA, Washington ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 92 points - Tasted

      Inky in color and packed with ripe, jammy, black fruit, licorice, vanilla, coffee and earthy scents. From a Right Bank Bordeaux blend of 62% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Powerful, concentrated and rich in texture, this should improve with a few more years of bottle age.

  4. 2008 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts ( France, Burgundy, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 89 points - Tasted

      Grapefruit, guava, vanilla, green apple, white peach and citrus scents open to a medium bodied, oily textured wine with a sweet, lemon zest finish. Better on the nose than the palate.

  5. 2009 Rubicon Estate / Niebaum-Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon ( USA, California, Rutherford ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 91 points - Tasted

      From one of the highest concentrations of Cabernet Sauvignon ever used in the blend at 98%, with the remainder coming from Caberent Franc, the wine opens with blackberry jam, earth, coffee, black cherry, fresh herbs and cassis in the nose. There is ample freshness, tannin, fruit and structure to age well.

  6. 2010 Rubicon Estate / Niebaum-Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon ( USA, California, Rutherford ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 92 points - Tasted

      92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Merlot created a smoke, coffee, oak, licorice and jammy blackberry filled wine with good concentration of flavor, rich textures and a supple finish, ending with sweet, ripe, black cherries.

  7. 2011 Rubicon Estate / Niebaum-Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon ( USA, California, Rutherford ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 91 points - Tasted

      95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot create a wine filled with smoke oak, blackberry, coffee, fennel and black cherry. With soft tannins and plush textures, the wine ends with a vanilla tinged, blackberry finish. The wine will be aged in 80% new oak.

  8. 2005 Château Haut-Marbuzet ( France, Bordeaux, St. Estèphe ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 90 points - Tasted

      Medium/full bodied withsoft, round textures and a perfume filled with coffee bean, black raspberry, wild strawberry, plum and spice, the wine is already drinking well. This will probably be at its best over the next decade as it does not seem to have the stuffing to make it to old age.

  9. 1991 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon ( USA, California, Spring Mountain District ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 94 points - Tasted

      Tobacco, cedar wood, herbs, olive, blackberry and wet forest aromas kick off the wine. Full bodied, concentrated and packed with ripe, juicy cassis, this is one of the best examples of age worthy California Cabernet Sauvignon.

  10. 2009 Torii Mor Pinot Noir Reserve Deux Verres ( USA, Oregon ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 87 points - Tasted

      Spicy kirsch, fresh strawberry and cherry flavors, medium body, light, elegant personality with a fresh, raspberry finish.

  11. 2009 Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay ( USA, California, Edna Valley ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 90 points - Tasted

      Citrus, grapefruit, mineral, vanilla and floral scents open to a medium bodied, clean, pure, lemon, apple and fresh citrus oil filled finish. Mount Eden continues its run of high quality paired with fair prices for California Chardonnay.

  12. 2008 Mount Eden Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Bottled ( USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 87 points - Tasted

      Tobacco, earth, blackberry and black raspberry scents, medium body and a chalky, tannic, dry, dark cherry finish.

  13. 2006 Renard Syrah Kick Ranch ( USA, California ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 88 points - Tasted

      Pepper, jammy blackberry and vanilla scents open to a medium/full bodied Syrah with a sweet, fresh, long, spicy, red berry finish.

  14. 2008 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill ( USA, California, Diamond Mountain ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 92 points - Tasted

      Crème de cassis, licorice, smoke, cedar, earth and lead pencil aromas create the Bordeaux styled perfume. Powerful, concentrated, bright and fresh, this structured wine has mouth searing tannins. This could take 20 years to come around. But as the 1978 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill is still going strong at close to 35 years of age, if you’re really young and very patient, it might be worth the long wait.

  15. 2008 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rock Terrace ( USA, California, Diamond Mountain ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 90 points - Tasted

      Tobacco leaf, truffle and cassis scents are easy to find in this full bodied, traditionally styled, bright, California Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine ends with crunchy, cassis and blackberry with a hint of green in the tannic finish. This is not a fun wine to drink young.

  16. 2008 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow ( USA, California, Diamond Mountain ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 91 points - Tasted

      With forest floor, tobacco, cedar, cassis and blackberry aromas, this tannic, structured, old school California wine will need a lot of time to soften. The wine is austere and masculine in style, with cassis and cranberry in the tannic finish. Fans of Cabernet Sauvignon from the 70’s will feel right at home with this wine.

  17. 2007 Renard Syrah Truchard ( USA, California ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 89 points - Tasted

      Jammy blackberry, pepper, black and blue fruit with a sweet, sensation of ripe cherries. Fully mature, this medium bodied Syrah is fun to drink now and over the next few years.

  18. 2009 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate Bottled ( USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 89 points - Tasted

      Strawberry, cherry and earthy scents, medium body and a spicy, light, fresh, red berry finish are found in this forward styled, California Pinot Noir.

  19. 2008 Rubicon Estate / Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon ( USA, California, Rutherford ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 90 points - Tasted

      87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 3% Merlot open to a light ruby colored, medium bodied wine with a bright, cassis, coffee bean and plum finish.

  20. 1998 Château L'Evangile ( France, Bordeaux, Pomerol ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 94 points - Tasted

      Truffle, earth, black cherry, smoke, spice, floral and forest floor scents grab your focus. Just starting to open, this concentrated, rich, supple textured, powerful L’Evangile seems to show better every time I taste it. I expect it to continue improving over the next several years.

  21. 2003 Château Fleur Cardinale ( France, Bordeaux, St. Émilion Grand Cru ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 91 points - Tasted

      Licorice, blackberry jam, smoke, chocolate and earthy scents offer their charm with little effort. Lush textures, medium body and a ripe, mocha, cherry tinged sensation are found in the finish. There is no reason to hold this wine any longer. It’s close or at full maturity.

  22. 2005 Château La Croix de Gay ( France, Bordeaux, Pomerol ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 89 points - Tasted

      The addition of 5% Cabernet Franc to the Merlot dominated wine created a soft textured, refined, medium bodied Pomerol, with fennel, plum, black cherry and cocoa. This is already accessible and fun to drink.

  23. 2000 Clos du Jaugueyron Margaux ( France, Bordeaux, Margaux ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 90 points - Tasted

      Coffee, boysenberry, licorice and truffle scents, masculine, tannic, full bodied, with a touch of olive in the crème de cassis finish. This is not quite as much fun to drink as previous bottles. It's a little bit more stern and tannic. I’m going to drink my few remaining bottles over the next few years.

  24. 2006 Château Joanin Bécot ( France, Bordeaux, Côtes de Castillon ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 90 points - Tasted

      Coffee, black cherry, truffle and smoke in the nose. On the palate, the wine offers ripe and over ripe plums, cocoa and black cherry with lush textures. This is drinking perfectly today.

  25. 2009 Château Louis ( France, Bordeaux, St. Émilion ) Find this wine to buy

    1. 90 points - Tasted

      Blending Merlot with 20% Cabernet Franc, produced from low yields close to 13 hectoliters per hectare produced a ripe, rich, juicy St. Emilion packed with licorice, vanilla, black cherry and spicy plums. Give this a few more years before popping a bottle.

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