2/7/2024 - doctornoah Likes this wine:

Very consistent with last note. A great success for 1998 Napa. Tasted blind with a few friends. One picked younger Napa, the other old world Cab Franc.

8/3/2019 - Rieslingfan wrote:

Last night was the best bottle of this wine I have ever tasted, and I have has a lot of this wine and this vintage. It was captivating. Still possessing lots of youthful fruit, it also had a subtle creamy edge. What really set it apart, and put it right up as one of the greatest Rieslings in my recent memory, was the endless depth of flavor. There was no way to touch the bottom. I kept tasting, and there was always more flavor, more aroma, more substance that remained. I felt as though I wasn’t ready for this wine. It was beyond comprehension. The 105 (at the time) year old, ungrafted vines knew too much. They had seen too much, and learned too much to transmit through one bottle of wine.

Bottles of course vary, but this one indicated that this vintage could be immortal.

Just stunning.

3/9/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote:

La Paulée de New York Gala Dinner (Pier Sixty - New York NY): Small glass, brief note. A wine that way exceeded any expectations, but I imagine the 5L format probably helped. Dried rose petals, mature red cherry, lots of slowly reduced mushrooms. Good weight, better length, great balance. So elegant and old school.

4/1/2022 - NYC_Maenad Does not like this wine:

I expected to hate this wine. I was right - I did hate it, but for different reasons than expected. It was not oaky or overly extracted or what I'd normally call spoofed. It smelled exactly like hot vintage grenache, though, with an emphasis on prunes and roasted, bruised ones at that, and raisins. To us, it also lacked tension and the structure was diminishing. Lots of bricking around the edges. I could see how people who enjoy this profile would like it a lot, and might see it as correct, but neither Jonathan nor I could stand it, and decided to abandon after a few sips for our back up. I've owned this wine since 2006, and the source was impeccable. I don't think it was heat damaged during its time in the bottle, but I'm pretty sure it was heat damaged while the grapes were on the vine. Glad it was my only one, and happy it's no longer taking up space in the racks.

8/13/2017 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:

Significantly more complex than the 2015 San Luigi tasted just prior, the nose is bright, with good energy, and complex aromas of cacao, almond, herb, soil, and black cherry. An elegant entry, with good sophistication married to the right amount of power, and structure. Very enjoyable. Drink 2018-2027. recommended+

https://www.ItalianWine.blog

6/12/2021 - Russell Faulkner wrote:

Has closed a little since my last bottle. Classy beyond the price tag still, a little strict today, packed with extract. Wild flowers, banana skin texture, great but let them rest now.

6/14/2020 - NYC_Maenad Likes this wine:

I forgot we had a case of these (well, a case minus 1) and was a little unsure of how they might have developed. I needn't have worried in the least. Opened about 20 minutes before serving in Riedel vinum Bordeaux stems, as we've had some with a little VA in the past and I find burg stems can exacerbate that. The nose was a little shy at first, but got going quickly with only 10 - 15 minutes. Both nose and palate showed extremely bright red cherry fruit, a little herbaceous and some gingerbread that I quite liked. The medium body belies a solid mouthfeel. Acid was perfect for me, and a good foil for the rich fatty capon. The herbaceousness brought out the tarragon used in the sauce for the bird in a great way. An easy drinker, need terribly deep, yes, but not a simple wine. There's great value here.

6/6/2020 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:

A three act play.

In the first act, there's a wine that's just been uncorked, and is quite obviously reduced beyond any reasonable factor of enjoyment. Nonetheless, I consume half of the bottle as I've not time/motivation to fetch another from the cellar. I swirl, and swirl, and swirl. A mere, swift and fleeting suggestion of red fruit appears. Once. During 30 minutes.

The second act, which happens to fall the second day after it's been opened, is a completely undrinkable wine - acids are literally screeching to the point of drowning out any utterance of fruit. I gave up, and left the final two ounces of the bottle in my glass on the counter (i.e. ambient temp/open). I fully expected to find a fully oxidized mess the next morning.

Act 3 opens with me coming downstairs the next morning, to make coffee. I spot the remains of this troublesome and wholly disappointing bottle, and take a sniff. What's there is a completely harmonic, rather lovely, and in no way oxidized after just a gentle swirl of the glass. smh.

Something of a wild ride, as many great wines are, and rather like a good book: unexpected twists, and turns, and a happy, meaningful message. Based upon the final meeting, this is recommended+

https://www.ItalianWine.blog

3/29/2020 - Charlie Carnes Likes this wine:

This seems to be my Covid retreat medicine. Nothing to add, they are consistently delicious!!!

1/21/2020 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:

#3 of 4, and this just continues to deliver a really lovely experience. To my palate, it's perfectly mature. I'll drink my final bottle within 2 yrs, but that's me; it should be ok for a few years beyond that, too. Medium bodied, plenty of fresh acidity, with perfectly integrated, very fine tannins. I love the marriage of place, and grape here...add to that the way the structure frames it all, and you've got a special (read: elegant) bottle of wine on your hands. Better with 60-90 minutes of air; 14,0% abv., cork, color and fill all in great shape. highly recommended

https://www.italianwine.blog

12/24/2018 - Pknut wrote:

Cherry palate and with air, some strawberry notes, hints of balsamic, open and approachable, but some jagged tannin that has to smooth out. This is very enjoyable and should be quite good in five to seven years. First bottle from a case, brought to Boca and opened Xmas eve with H, a porterhouse steak and grilled vegetables.

5/31/2017 - NYC_Maenad Likes this wine:

My palate has moved away from CdP over the years and I rarely reach for one these days. It was cold and rainy and something warm and red appealed to me, though, so I grabbed one of these to see how it was showing. Ended up being pleasantly surprised. This was earthy with ripe but not overripe red currants and raspberries, and a small dose of sweaty horse and saddle leather. It had a nice chewiness in mouth with some tannic grip and acid backbone. There was a little cough drop element, which isn't my favorite, but it didn't bother me too much. All in all a nice wine, and one I was happy to drink.