| Wine Type | Vintage Name Variety Locale | Date Posted Score Helpful Comments More... |
|---|---|---|
| Red |
2007 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea VineyardYamhill-Carlton more |
5/25/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRI must say, this 07 Shea smells terrific from the get-go, beautiful florals and earthy aromas mingled with leather and dried cherries. A pretty, delicate, pinotesque bouquet to be sure, semi-reminiscent of burgundy. The palate is light yet bright and enveloping, full of red zinger and black tea flavors, fully resolved but holding with elegance and intensity. A hint of bitterness on the finish is only the real telltale of its age, but these are certainly very much ready to drink. 93 pt bouquet, 89 pt palate. |
| Red |
1985 Château La LaguneHaut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend more |
5/22/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRZesty, juicy, bright and red fruited to begin, but after 45 mins of air, gorgeous smoky scents and a marvelous sweet-cedary-minty melange join in, taking this to another, spine-tingling level. Long, bright and layered on the palate with some lovely sweet top notes. Assuming good provenance, give this some air and then sit back and enjoy. Simply wonderful. 93-94 pts. |
| White - Off-dry |
2001 Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Auslese #20Nahe more |
5/21/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRThis is fantastic. Needed a little air to pull together and freshen up, and now it’s strutting it’s stuff. The bouquet is effusive with honey, lime zest, ginger and smoky notes. Layered and rich with an almost oily palate and terrific length and intensity. Like many 01s, this has thrilling levels of acidity, giving it foremost a real zip and freshness despite oodles of sweetness. Fully integrated and mature at this point, simply irresistible. 94 pts. |
| Red |
2017 Château Thivin Côte de BrouillyGamay more |
5/20/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRNeeds a few minutes to blow off some spritz and this stuff is on! Scents of ripe black cherries, zesty saison, wet gravel, and sweet fresh-crushed slightly savory herbs. Bright and light and snappy on the attack, |
| Red |
1986 Château Pape ClémentPessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend more |
5/20/2024 - blanquito wrote: 92 pointsSensational bouquet, quite cedary with black truffles and sweeter notes like cherry reduction and flowers. The color is still remarkably dark, it looks almost black in dimmer lighting. Unfortunately, the palate can't keep pace with the terrific aromatics, as this seem coarse and even blocky, with harder tannins still giving it an almost gritty mouthfeel. There's good flesh and body, so could this just need more time? I don't think so, in fact these were indubitably better ~10 years ago, so drink soon and hope you get a good bottle. Nevertheless, this was overall much more than just serviceable and it gets points for flair and authenticity. |
| Red |
1975 Château FigeacSt. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend more |
5/20/2024 - blanquito wrote: 95 pointsThis was a great wine in a throw-back, rustic, brawler style. Complex, muscular, earthy with an amazingly dark hue. True to the vintage stylings, this is still tannic but there is amply body and fruit and acid to meet it half way, and the combination gives this real vigor. There are also more exotic baking spices to go with the tar and creosote. My kinda wine, thrilling stuff. |
| Red |
1979 Domaine Château De La Tour Clos VougeotClos Vougeot Grand Cru Pinot Noir more |
5/20/2024 - blanquito wrote: 95 pointsThis was sensational. Olfactory heaven for anyone who likes a complex, highly aromatic bouquet of wood smoke, forest floor, minerals and ineffable old wine scents. Smooth and utterly integrated on the palate, but vigorous still with plenty of body and dried fruit flavors. Terrific equilibrium with good brightness and even some tea-like tannins left. |
| White - Sparkling |
2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs BrutChardonnay more |
5/19/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRThis was ‘on’ from the first pour. Still young, but wide open with great zip and a real steely freshness and intensity. Quite bright but somehow isn’t shrill or austere at all. Drink now or for another 20 years. As always, so good and so wheelhouse. 94+ pts. |
| White - Sparkling |
2000 Lanson Champagne Noble Cuvée de Lanson Blanc de Blancs BrutChardonnay more |
5/19/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRServed blind along side a non-blind 06 Taittinger Comtes…this was clearly older than the Comtes, with low effervescence and a rounded charming quality and a touch of caramel on the fruit (but a good, light color still). Wonderfully unforced, nuanced and full of charm, mature but with enough freshness. I’d drink these sooner than later while the vigor is still good. 92-93 pts. |
| Red |
1995 Château Sociando-MalletHaut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend more |
5/15/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRHad another bottle of this the other night and it basically ran circles around some leftovers of the 05 Duhart and the 05 Brane Cantenac. So expressive on the bouquet, zesty-smoky-piney, filled with capsicum, fresh herbs and braised greens. Really the only quibble was a touch of dilution on the midpalate but otherwise it was en fuego and probably at its putative peak. 93-94 pts |
| Red |
2011 Château MagdelaineSt. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend more |
5/5/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRFirst bottle, first impressions: surprisingly friendly even without a decant, glorious nose of dark soil, basalt, fresh thyme and mint, and some sweet notes of cherry reduction. Cool climate profile with something leafy like chard, yet not austere with plenty of body and good fruit, maybe since the tannins are friendlier than the other vin garde vintages of Magdelaine I know best. Its dark, almost smoky profile is a surprise in a "light" vintage. The balance is exceptional. Tightens up a bit after some air time, so I expect this will improve for another decade or more, but delicious already. Completely true to the house style, a quintessential Magdelaine. |
| White - Off-dry |
2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling SpätleseMosel Saar Ruwer more |
4/15/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRExcitement grows as an 01 Prum is pulled from the cellar and placed in the fridge to chill. It does not disappoint, so full of energy and joy as it is, it’s like a honey drizzled bowl of limes with ginger zest and petrol highlights. Still shows youthful, stacked with body and brightness to balance the fruit and sweetness. Only its seamlessness reveals its 20+ years of maturation. Hard to find any fault here, true to the vintage but truer to the house style. Terrific. |
| Red |
1998 Château Grand MayneSt. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend more |
4/13/2024 - blanquito wrote: 92 pointsIt’s been a while since my last bottle and this has matured and mellowed a lot in the ensuing years. Quite mature with a beautifully resolved and silky palate, medium bodied but integrated and long. It probably qualifies a mid-modern stylistically, as it has some notes of dark chocolate that declare this a merlot, but these more exotic notes are balanced by a real freshness and structure. Hard to resist. Ready to drink, but no hurry, it will probably hold like this for a decade or more. |
| White |
2011 Gérard Boulay Sancerre Monts DamnésSauvignon Blanc more |
4/9/2024 - blanquito wrote: 94 pointsStunning Sancerre here, at its zenith, fill with all the intensities and brightness one could want from this domaine, but with a sousant of richness (despite the vintage) that really took this to another level. Gooseberries, lime, wet stones, very long. Everyone loved it. |
| Red |
2000 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La CrauRed Rhone Blend more |
4/9/2024 - blanquito wrote: 93 pointsEnjoyed double blind... This was evident to the table as a great grenache-dominated wine with some darker tones and with plenty of maturity (FWIW, I initially guessed the 2001 Pegau, but this wasn't funky enough to try check that box). Beautifully textured and layered, a CdP in a style I (still) love. Certainly at its apogee, but showing now signs of fading. |
| Red |
1995 Château FigeacSt. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend more |
3/28/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRTakes some time in the decanter to get going, but once it does it thoroughly beguiles with a fresh, minty, herbal intensity. Crisp, sappy, classy, lifted and intense on the palate with hints of lavender and eucalyptus. Lithe in structure but filled with an herbal-infused savoriness that gives it a real presence. Very long. This fills up the sense while sustaining an admirable weightlessness. 93-94 pts. |
| Red |
1970 Château La LaguneHaut-Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend more |
3/21/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRFrom a good looking bottle, with a base neck fill. This was good and highly drinkable, but it lacked complexity and an extra gear. There is some nice fruit still and some silkiness from all the years. Simple, pleasant, ready. 89-90 pts. |
| White |
2014 Gérard Boulay Sancerre Clos de BeaujeuSauvignon Blanc more |
3/17/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRNice, but quiet, steely nose with lemon, some raw ginger, and wet rocks. Great palate impact, uber dry but layered and dense with mineral and lemon intensities, and if anything, the bright intensity goes higher on the finish. Austere and lacking much nuance, but thrilling for all its rocky, dry, citric energy. Holding well, but ready. |
| White |
2014 Enfield Wine Co. Chardonnay Heron Lake VineyardWild Horse Valley more |
3/15/2024 - blanquito wrote: 90 pointsPure, crystalline, simple, racy. Smells like a fresh bowl of ripe yellow grapes. Terrific with food. |
| Rosé - Sparkling |
NV Gosset Champagne Grand Rosé BrutChampagne Blend more |
3/15/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRThis is terrific. Light copper color which highlights of pink salmon. Fresh, airy nose. The action is in the palate, which is on the bright, citric end of things, all blood orange and pink grapefruit, but plenty of body and richness to avoid being tart or shrill. Ginger and lemon zest on the finish, with an ever so slight hint of sourness. I’m a big fan. |
| White |
2010 Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay Reserve Santa Cruz Mountainsmore |
3/9/2024 - blanquito wrote: NREnjoying a terrific bottle of the 2010 Mount Eden Estate Chardonnay tonight. For my money, this is a great chard and right up there at the very top of the New World white pantheon. It may have shed some richness over the years, but this is still fresh as a daisy and filled with lemony energy. A touch of pear on the nose is the only overt ripeness here but this still has a layered depth of lemon oil and body that gives it heft. Terrific and probably at point. |
| Red |
2001 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva Il PoggioChianti Classico DOCG Sangiovese Blend, Sangiovese more |
3/7/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRGood showing, quite spicy and even a bit brawny next to some older IGT Tuscans. This really needed some air to come out to play, it reminded me of the flashy, rustic style that Vino Nobile di Montepulciano often has, sacrificing some elegance for pizzaz. Based on this showing, no hurry at all to drink these and maybe they even gain a little svelteness with more time in the cellar. Very good. 90-91 pts. |
| Red |
1988 San Giusto a Rentennano Percarlo Toscana IGTSangiovese more |
3/7/2024 - blanquito wrote: 91 pointsLovely, complex, highly mature bouquet, showing its earthy side. The palate is fine, but a touch hard and dry to really elevate. Still, very tasty and we happily finished the bottle. Really only disappointing in comparison to how sensational Percarlo can be, especially the 85 and 89. |
| Red |
1989 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valleymore |
3/7/2024 - blanquito wrote: 91 pointsVery good, a classic from the old school Cali cab playbook. Shows overly dry on the midpalate at first before food, but smells terrific and could fool you into thinking it is a Bordeaux bouquet. The palate is linear and very minty with cassis and plum, its tannins are in a good place. It has some of that overt roundness that old New World cabs can get which leaves them a little limp, but the Dunn acids and structure are sufficient here to eschew the worst of those sins. Very good, does yeoman work with a ribeye. |
| Red |
1985 Château BeychevelleSt. Julien Red Bordeaux Blend more |
3/7/2024 - blanquito wrote: NRA longtime favorite, a wine for cab franc lovers, redolent with the best kinds of pyrazines… smoked poblano, green peppercorns, even some braised collard greens overlaid over soil and old wood notes on the nose. The effusive, rustic bouquet belies the charms awaiting you on the palate, where it is pure silk with candied red and black cherries and a weightlessness they don’t do anymore. Perfectly mature and utterly resolved, it now charms with its nuance and gentle seductiveness. So good. |
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- Tasting notes: 1,573 notes on 1,156 wines
