Recent Wine Tasting Notes

A lot of green going on here on the nose and palate. The perfume, with its array of tobaccos, leaves, herbs and earth is the best part of the wine, which is a bit stern and drying out in the finish. If you have this in your cellar, it is time to drink up. 89 Points

Fully developed, the wine is quite mineral-driven on the nose and palate, where you find strong oceanic, salty notes that combine with the concentrated, layers of sweet, ripe, black and red fruits, licorice, smoke and dried flower nuances. Decanted about 30 minutes prior to sering seemed to do the trick. 94 Points

Close to fully developed, the medium-bodied wine is more interesting aromatically, due to its dried flower, smoke and yellow fruit accents than on its soft, open, fresh, smoky, red-fruited palate. There is no need to defer your gratification on this wine. It is better to drink now than to hold for further development. 93 Points

Fresh, vibrant, and floral, the honey-coated apricots, roasted pineapple, candied orange rind, lemon curd, caramel, and vanilla nuances already shine through in the nose and on the rich, lusciously, sweet, vivacious, racy palate. With another decade of age, this should really begin to shine. 94 Points

The wine has not developed as well as I had hoped. Full-bodied, powerful, almost dense with some overripe notes of fig and raisin that takes a bit from the otherwise sweet, fat plums, cherry, chocolate, smoke and licorice. Here you have power over grace, with some oak notes still remaining. Do not get me wrong, I liked the wine, but i was hoping to love it. 93 Points

Just like us, every bottle ages just a little bit differently. Here, this bottle was pure elegance and refinement, silky, sexy and fresh. Quite floral on the nose with a wealth of perfectly ripe, plums, cherries and truffle on the palate and in the finish. No decanting is needed, just pop, pour and enjoy. 97 Points

A thrilling wine that is happily catching up to the 90 in quality, and sadly, catching up in price as well. Full-bodied, deep, concentrated, long, intense, complex and powerful, the wine opens with an incredible nose of tobacco leaf, cedar, cigar box, ash, spice and currants. There is fabulous volume, weight and density on the palate and in the long, cigar, and red berry-packed finish. An hour of air would really add a lot to the wine. In a few more years, I'd bet and give odds this scores even higher! 98 Points

I am fortunate to taste this gem at least once a year, and it consistently delivers an incredible Pauillac experience. Loaded with cedar, lit cigar, tobacco leaf, peppery spice, herbs, currants and blackberry, this wine remains perfectly perched on the precipice of balance and power. Everything about this is just great! 97 Points

Elegant, refined, smoky, tobacco and campfire ember packed medium-bodied wine which provides the perfect backdrop for all the sweet, fresh, spicy red berries, tobacco leaf, and cigar wrapper. Soft, silky, and ready to go, this does not require much if any air. 96 Points

Medium/full-bodied, the wine is expressive aromatically with its blend of dried flowers, red currants, and tobacco. There is some rusticity in the tannins which adds to the classically made style produced here. This is drinking well today, and it has a long future to look forward to, with at least another 15-20 more years of drinkability. 92 Points

Full-bodied, rich, opulent, elegant, vibrant and concentrated, the wine kicks off with violets, tobacco leaf, wet earth, currants, blackberries, forest leaf and a touch of spice. If that wasn't enough to seal the deal, the velvet-textured, multiple layers of silky-textured fruits that stick with you will own your palate. This is one of those stunning wines that sticks with you long after the night is over. 99 Points

Firm, fiercely tannic, strict, and young, this bottle remains stubbornly adolescent. Incredibly concentrated, powerful, long and intense, this is a modern-day version of the 1928, which took 50-60 years to come around. Younger consumers with patience should take a good look at this. Provided that youth and patience can get along. 97 Points

Holy Moly! What a wine!!! La Landonne takes the longest to come around of the three La La wines, but it is worth the wait. Loaded with iron, earth, smoke, crushed stone, pepper, dark cherry, blackberry and red plum liqueur, this is one of those compelling wines. Full-bodied and intense, the wine coats your palate with waves of smoky fruit, freshness and power. The seamless finish hangs with you for well over 60 seconds. Not all of the pricey wines are worth the price of the ticket. This one is! 100 Points

1985 La La's are getting harder to find, and taste. All I can say is, what a wine! Here you enjoy a full-bodied, rich, opulent, exotically textured, silky fresh wine with notes of smoke, thyme, garden herbs, brown sugar, dried flowers, violets, and sweet, red pit fruits and berries. The sensuous finish is bright, silky, vibrant, long, and frankly, seamless. 100 Points

Just a tad behind the other La La's from 1985, the wine is still tremendous. Floral, with touches of smoke, tobacco leaf, oceanic influences and pepper, red fruits, the wine remains concentrated, intense, rich, long and deep. The vibrant finish is packed with spicy, slightly smoky red fruits that linger. 98 Points

Not a bottle I am likely to see often, the wine popped with honeysuckle, crisp lemon, waxy honey, flowers, thyme, white peach, orange and yellow citrus peel on the nose. Lush, opulent, and fresh, which is a difficult balance to achieve, the mouthcoating finish, with all its sweet, slightly honeyed, yellow and orange citrus, crushed stone, and vanilla hung on your palate for long after the wine left the glass. 99 Points

It took some coaxing to bring out the reticent notes of citrus, lemon, lime, orange, white peach, flowers and honeysuckle. Rich, intense and full on the palate. The wine offers a blast of minerality and fresh, crisp, yellow citrus with a dab of honey on the palate and in the finish. If you are lucky enough to have a bottle or two in your cellar, wait a decade or so before popping a cork. 97 Points

One of the better wines from 1986, the wine opens with cigar box, tobacco leaf, smoke, green forest leaf, and peppery, red currants. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, tannic, robust, generous, and spicy, with an herb and tobacco, centric palate, finishing with crisp, sweet, red fruits. Give it 1-2 hours in the decanter and it will be ready to go. 95 Points

Elegant, medium-bodied, refined, soft and silky, the wine lives in the intersection between secondary notes of tobacco, cedar chest, peppery herbs, cigar box and red currants. Popped and poured, this is slightly past its peak, so if you are sitting on any bottles, it is time to drink up. 93 Points

Firm, strict and tannic, the wine is full-bodied, powerful, concentrated and intense, but there is an austerity here. Aromatically the wine is complex and intriguing but on the palate, the wine is very stubbornly tannic. At 26 years of age I am not thinking much is going to change here. 93 Points

It is hard to find a better Chateauneuf from this legendary vintage, and that is saying a lot. This is mind-blowing in every sense of the word. Powerful, intense, long, seamless and complex, the wine coats your palate with countless layers of perfectly ripe, opulent, spicy, rich, luscious fruits. The finish crosses the 60-second mark without skipping a beat. This is still quite primal. But even at this youthful stage, it is impossible not to be mesmerized by what's in your glass. If I had to guess, it might take another 20-25 years of age before it's fully mature and it could provide incredible pleasure for another 2 decades after that. This is greatness in wine. 100 Points

Ripe, OK very ripe, but it is not over the top, or too much. Opulent, velvet-textured, dark plums, black cherries, hints of fig, smoke, licorice, wet earth and cocoa are all over the place. No decanting is needed. Just pop, pour and enjoy the texturally, hedonistic ride. 95 Points

At 20 this is the right time to be drinking this gem. Fresh, spicy, floral, long, and intense, the wine is showy, without being over the top. The smoky, spicy, red fruits, crushed rock, herbs, pepper, and flowery nuances with a background note of white peach hit the spot. This is really drinking well today. 96 Points

It is hard to say which I found more compelling, the haunting dried flower, spice box, pepper, and kirsch aromatics, the stunning purity of the fruit, or the elegant, seamless, kirsch, cherry, and peppery strawberry notes in the long, drawn-out, elegant, refined, silky finish. At the end of the day, it does not matter. This is what great wine is all about. This is one of those close to impossible wines to find, that is worth the effort to seek out. 99 Points

Already offering everything a great Pomerol needs, it took 60 minutes of air to bring out all the truffles, dark chocolate, cherries and plums we could handle. But here, it’s all that density and concentration with its opulent, velvety textures on the palate with its non-stop layers of decadent fruits in the finish that steals the show. Oh yes, this is Pomerol decadence at its best. 99 Points