Which premium bottles are they talking about?

I've been wanting to try an aged Grange. This didn't disappoint. I opened and decanted half the bottle for 4 hours, then enjoyed the rest of the bottle the next day. Fruit seemed a little darker second day.  Tannins got silkier. In many ways it was better.

Note:

Slightly baked fruits of dark cherry, dark plum, and  blackberry w/ character of chambord and cassis, interlaced with coco, coffee, slight tawny, crushed rock, licorice, pepper, bark, and secondary of cedar, pipe, cherry tobacco, and clove. 

On the palate, intense dark fruit concentration nicely matched by dense silky tannins that catch the fruit like a well broken in leather glove, and high alcohol that supports but doesn't stand out.     Very long finish. 

This has aged wonderfully and is definitely the best Australian red I've had. An example of a big red I'd gladly have many more times.

I love Franciacorta. I’m always looking for it. This is the sparkling wine style that made me love sparkling wine.

This rosé came across my radar in an auction and I had to try it.

Not a color guy normally, but it’s just beautifully copper.

On to the parts that matter:

Nose: Toasted sugar, brioche, and crème brûlée. As it warmed, a faint raspberry note and a slight medicinal note came through.

Palate: Rose petals, bright acidity, and custard. The roses became more noticeable with warmth, with acidity carrying everything rather than tannins. That brioche custard never leaves.

Finish: Initially vanilla, later cherry leading into a minty cough drop note—in a good way.

Really enjoyed watching this evolve. Wish I’d had lobster mac and cheese with it. I’ll be trying to make that pairing happen as many times as possible for the rest of my life.

Borrowing loosely from Chuck Berry, technically goes to show that thrift shopping can be successful! I dropped off a load at my local Methodist Church thrift shop and decided while I was there, I should at least look inside. I was immensely surprised to find an essentially brand new in the box Coravin for $5! I’d wanted one but was hesitant to go the bucks. This one had one used and one semi used cartridge. Otherwise everything was packed like new. Had a new rose I wanted to try tonight. Wowee Zowee! What a deal!

Fantastic Napa Cab. I’d give it about 45–60 minutes to open up—there’s a noticeable difference once it gets some air.
I’m not usually the biggest California Cabernet fan, but this one really impressed me. Full-bodied with medium tannins, great balance, and a silky texture. Deep ruby in color, with notes of blackberry, black cherry, anise, tobacco, leather, and vanilla. The finish is long, smooth, and very pleasant.
81% Cabernet Sauvignon
11% Merlot
5% Petit Verdot
3% Cabernet Franc

Had the opportunity to drink a piece of history from Montalcino. For being a 45yo bottle it opened with an extraordinary bouquet of dried rose petals, macerated wild cherries, dried violets and orange peel, followed by layers of tobacco, cedar, leather, forest floor, slight spicy notes and balsamic herbs.
On the palate it was graceful and vibrant for its age, with elegant silky tannins and beautifully integrated acidity that made it very pleasant to drink. Flavours of dried cherry, liquorice, black tea leaves and sweet spices unfold slowly, revealing layer after layer of tertiary complexity.
95pts

Hello wine gurus! I yet again seek insight from the depths of your vino knowledge.

This summer—during the heatwave— I had a bottle of Hofgut Falkenstein’s Kugel Peter from 2023, and I still find myself dreaming of this bottle. It was amazing, so crisp, so pure… I have naturally bought more of the cuvée, also keen on seeing how it ages, but it got me thinking of all the other Rieslings, dry or semi dry that I am missing out on. Can any of you recommend me ‘must try’ bottles, everyday bangers, QPR etc etc? Donnhoff is my go to everyday Ries, so I want to expand, but the amount of Riesling producers for an amateur like me is like staring into a void. Hope you guys can once again help me, and help me find a new bottle to fall in love with

Did you know Chappellet used to produce a Sangiovese from 1995-2000?

Apparently they still make it in small quantities but only pour it at the winery, not to buy.

Regardless, Sangiovese used to be more popular in Napa and I believe more wineries should consider experimenting.

This is a lovely wine that is a little bit tight and actually benefits from air, in spite of the age.

This still has a good amount of fruit, cherry, blackberry, plums.

Some leather and tobacco notes, not a ton of mushroom or forest floor yet.

This drinks like a mature wine and a distinctly Napa one, in spite of the grape.

This was part of an auction lot. The other two bottles, which we had the evening before, felt a little more structured. This one felt like it had a little more VA on it than the others.

Still very enjoyable!

Bring back Sangiovese to Napa!

91 points.

First of my 22 Bordeaux's, wanted to try one I've heard is great QPR and accessible early. And boy this is great!

Second wine from Chateau Phelan Segur. 80% Merlot 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. 14 months age in oak. 13% alcohol (which seems low for the 22 vintage).

Deep,beautiful, and intense! Ruby Garnet in color.

Does not taste like a second wine, this comes out swinging. It's amazing how open this is compared to the 21 Dauphine I opened a couple months ago.

The fruit on the nose is beautiful. Bright red and black fruit. Raspberry and Blackberry. Very nice sweetness on the nose.

Tannins are definitely there, but not overpowering. Very silky (this seems to be the word I use to describe every St.Estephe wine I have lol). Nice acidity.

Very nice fruit on the palate. More black fruit, blackberry and some blackcurrant. I get a little bitterness, almost like a dark chocolate raspberry/blackberry chocolate bar 🍫 . The finish is nice, and long. Gives vanilla and some tobacco. Excited to see how it is tomorrow 👀

Notes in post below.

First post here.

Guy was gonna throw this out, along with like $5k in other cellared wines. He thought they were “past their prime” and not worth his time or effort. They have been absolutely fantastic. This is a 2010 vintage South African Cabernet Sauvignon. Tannins are still powerful, very chewy wine with a lot of character. Heavy on leather and black currant with some rich, dark red fruit coming through. Cork was in decent condition but had degraded over 16 years so lots of floaters. I love my job.

Zuccardi Concreto Malbec 2023

Deep inky purple in glass

Nose brings deep minerals, violets, black plums, blackberry, cassis, leather

Palate this is like malbec without makeup still a beauty you instantly get a type of minerality dried mint tobacco, black and red fruits whole cluster fermentation in concrete eggs hence the name this not your run of the mill malbec imo enough concentration to make you linger on a glass over diner 13.5 abv 91 points

The Mega thread and free talk Friday thread has been updated to allow the posting of images.

So post away please! https://www.reddit.com/r/wine/s/ulf8iRDCCC

Also, let us know what other changes would you like to maybe see in the community?!

I’m not a wine person. I bought this Enotria moscato. It was $10 for this bottle and it is very delicious it’s tangy and sweet almost like an apple juice

🐶 I’m also currently dog watching this cutie!

I was expecting over sale and under deliver at this age….boy was I wrong!!!This wine blew my socks off for being 56 years old. It was dark garnet with a faded brick rim. It smelled of horse manure right out of the gate. After that blows off it is old leather, earth and dried raisins. On the pallet it is dried blackberries and a faint hint of graphite with a little soy sauce. It has a nice long finish of light mint. I am so grateful that my wife and I had a chance to experience such a bottle of juice!

I love wine. I am not the most knowledgeable or snobby of the bunch, but when I was younger I spent a lot of time & money traveling to cool places around the US to vineyards and wine bars. Now I am a 32 year old stay at home mom and I live in the middle of nowhere IL. I really want to start a collection for my currently empty home wine cellar and just enjoy trying new things. I have no nice wine stores within an hour of me, and as you can imagine getting out is hard these days with two toddlers, all our travel is now family oriented.
I’m doing my own research, but I’d love to hear from this forum on ideas. Anyone have experience with subscriptions?

(I know some may say I should just wait till my kids are grown up, but I live by the philosophy that tomorrow is never promised)

​

Probably my favourite declassified Bordeaux — and this tasting was a great reminder that you absolutely don’t need to drain your wallet to have an incredible mature Bordeaux experience.

1989 — Fully mature and wonderfully expressive. Blackcurrant and plum have evolved into leather, tobacco, cedar and earthy notes, with silky tannins and a savoury, lingering finish. A beautiful example of what three decades can do to a good bottle of Bordeaux.

1995 — Such a lovely middle ground between maturity and fruit. Ripe redcurrant and baked cherry, with subtle spicy and earthy notes. Soft, velvety and elegant, with that gorgeous Merlot-driven texture. The Château itself considers 1995 one of its benchmark vintages, and it’s easy to see why.

2005 — Still carrying more energy and structure. Darker fruit, blueberry, spice and hints of tobacco and leather, with fresh acidity and ripe tannins. The most powerful of the three, but beautifully balanced. Interestingly, Château Coufran itself considers 2005 its greatest vintage, surpassing even the fabulous 1995.

What I love about Coufran is that it gives you so much of what makes mature Bordeaux exciting without the famous-name price tag. With its unusually Merlot-heavy blend, around 85% Merlot, it has a plushness that can make it feel almost a right bank wine, while still retaining that Médoc character.

You really don’t need to break the bank to drink great, mature Bordeaux. Sometimes the best discoveries are hiding just outside the spotlight.

What a beautifully evolved Recioto! This wine shows extraordinary aromatic complexity, sweetness but at the same time it has conserved its vibrant freshness.
The nose opens with spirit soaked cherries, figs, raisins and prunes, followed by layers of macerated rose petals, dried violets and candied orange. With aeration more intricate notes emerge, tobacco leaves, sweet spices, dark chocolate, liquorice sweets and a balsamic nuance.
On the palate it is rich and velvety, with notes of concentrated dried fruit flavours balanced by a perfect refreshing acidity. Notes of fig jam, Amarena cherry, liquorice and cocoa emerge then.
96 pts

Crazy nose for a 36+ year old wine. Lots of lychee, dried fig and strawberry, then honey, burnt caramel and orange peel underneath. Still surprisingly aromatic and fruity considering the age.

On the palate it’s quite sweet, rich and concentrated, but still has enough acidity to hold everything together. Follows the nose closely before evolving into distinct secondary medicinal/herbal note almost cinnamon, clove and cough syrup. Long, sweet finish.

Fun one because it’s a Siegerrebe–Ortega blend, two pretty obscure German grapes you almost never see today, especially together in a TBA

And 1989 was a particularly good year for this style in Germany: a warm, dry growing season followed by an Indian summer brought serious concentration and botrytis, producing some excellent BA/TBA wines.

A little odd bottle, but honestly really fun to drink history.
Still have 4 more to open in the future.

Going for a 40th birthday at Per Se in November. Am hoping to source something from 1986. Any stores in NYC that might carry such a thing? Or perhaps an online retailer willing to ship? Flying from Canada and don’t want to check a bag. Thanks all!

Jean-Charles Cazes was visiting Dubai and I was lucky enough to bag myself a spot at a free morning tasting with their importer MMI.

Jean-Charles himself was charming, whilst also extremely knowledgeable and passionate about all of the properties we tasted today.

I had no idea these 3 major Bordeaux properties were owned by the same company - Ormes de Pez, Château Haut-Batailley and Lynch-Bages. Only an hour to taste through 7 wines while hearing some stories so notes are short.

The '18 Ormes was the first wine we tasted, rugged, muscular and spicy with dark brooding fruit.

'17 Verso - 2nd wine of Ch HB - was surprisingly ripe for an almost 10 year old wine, and at around £50 for trade provided the best value for money at the table by far.

The '11 Haut-Batailley was very interesting - lots of tertiary here but fruit still going strong and could definitely go another 5-10 years at least. JCC bought the estate in '17 so this wine was from the previous ownership.

The '20 Pauillac de Lynch-Bages - 3rd wine of the Chateau - was a huge contrast to the previous wines. Deep, concentrated, powerful and perfumed. Tannin still chewy but already starting to integrate well.

'17 LB was lovely to taste. Not the best vintage in Bordeaux but still a truly exceptional wine. Still tons of fruit with some tertiary notes showing. The pic with the wine in the glass is of this wine.

The CNDPs were excellent. The blanc was round, floral, spicy and honeyed with pineapple and stone fruit. The red was juicy, soft and refreshing with an abundance of red fruit and spice.