Top Robert Parker - iDealwine

Barossa Valley Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

The two Roennfeldt Road cuvees, from one of Barossa's most esteemed addresses, appear to be the finest since the legendary 1998s. The purple-colored 2002 Roennfeldt Road Cabernet Sauvignon offers up a soaring, already complex perfume of wood smoke, spice box, scorched earth, licorice, blackberry, and black currant. This is followed by a full-bodied, opulent, seamless Cabernet with gobs of spicy black fruits, an extra dimension that only old vines can provide, and a nearly endless finish. It would be fascinating to place it in a blind tasting with the 2002 vintages of Harlan, Colgin, Bryant, and Screaming Eagle.

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Barossa Valley Greenock Creek Roennfeldt Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) 2010

The 2010 is a more structured, masculine and steely version of the utterly compelling 2009. Tasting like black raspberry confiture with subtle notes of graphite and crushed chalk along with enormous floral notes, the wine displays a slightly smoky character but a voluptuous attack, mid-palate and finish. Its is full-bodied and massively endowed, with every component perfectly etched in this extraordinary wine, which should be drinkable after 7-8 years of bottle age and last for a half-century or more. This is brilliant stuff. [...] the alcohol is the highest ever registered at Beausejour-Duffau, coming in at 15%, but remarkably, the pH is modest and the acids relatively elevated, giving the wine an astonishing freshness and precision that is hard to believe in view of its power, density and length. Anticipated maturity: 2025-2055+.

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Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse) 2010

Château Cheval Blanc 1947

What can I say about this mammoth wine that is more like port than dry red table wine? The 1947 Cheval Blanc exhibits such a thick texture it could double as motor oil. The huge nose of fruitcake, chocolate, leather, coffee, and Asian spices is mind-boggling. The unctuous texture and richness of sweet fruit are amazing. Consider the fact that this wine is, technically, appallingly deficient in acidity and excessively high in alcohol. Moreover, its volatile acidity levels would be considered intolerable by modern day oenologists. Yet how can they explain that after 47 years the wine is still remarkably fresh, phenomenally concentrated, and profoundly complex? It has to make you wonder about the direction of modern day winemaking. [...]. The only recent Bordeaux vintages that come even remotely close to the richness, texture, and viscosity of so many of these right bank 1947s are 1982 and 1990.

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Château Cheval Blanc 1947

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Secret des Sabon Domaine Roger Sabon 1998

A rock-star 1999 that's drinking at point (like most wines in the vintage today), it should continue to evolve nicely going forward. Shockingly good, the 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape le Secret du Sabon tastes like a hypothetical blend of the 2007 and the 2001. Powerful, massive, concentrated and beautifully ripe, it offers notions of kirsch, currants, peppered meats, Asian spice and licorice in its seamless, yet voluptuous and hedonistic personality. It's a crazy good bottle of wine that could be considered over-the-top by some, but who cares when it's this good? If I had bottles, I'd line them up for drinking as you don't want to miss this beauty while it's drinking at point.

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Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Secret des Sabon Domaine Roger Sabon 1998

Château Climens 1929

The Chateau Climens 1929 must stand as one of the greatest Sauternes (or Barsac) wines of the century. Mature in color, with burnished core and amber rim, the bouquet leaps out of the glass with scintillating delineation, bestowing intoxicating scents of mandarin, Japanese yuzu, dandelion, barley sugar, marmalade and rosewater (a trait displayed by the Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1929 just a few weeks previously.) The palate is underpinned by perfect acidity and a bewildering sense of intensity allied with finesse and mineralite. Traces of apricot, peach and honeycomb emerge, later joined by subtle secondary notes of candied orange peel and mandarin. “Can Sauternes be better than this?” I scribbled at the conclusion of my tasting note. The answer is “No.” Tasted August 2013.

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Château Climens 1929

Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru Claude Dugat 1993

Dugat's Griotte-Chambertin is a religious experience, and not because it was made in a historic abbey/wine cellar. The color is an intense, saturated ruby/purple. The nose is classic, offering a penetrating fragrance combining profound quantities of red and black fruits, with toast, earth, and spice. Medium to full-bodied, with the essence of Pinot Noir distilled to its naked purity, this phenomenally intense, velvety-textured wine possesses exceptional fruit extraction that has been buttressed by sweet, ripe tannin. It is absurdly rich and seductive, yet also powerful and structured - a tour de force in wine-making! The 1993 is an even greater wine than Dugat's 1990. It should be cellared for a few years, but anyone lucky enough to latch onto a few bottles from the 100+ cases made may not be able to wait; it should last for 10-20 years.

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Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru Claude Dugat 1993

Hermitage Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin Jean-Louis Chave 2009

Last year I gave the 2009 Hermitage Cuvee Cathelin a three-digit rating, but it was nice to be able to re-taste it since it is largely impossible to find in the marketplace. Essentially 100% fruit from Les Bessards, this cuvee is only made in vintages where it will not compromise the integrity and quality of their standard Hermitage (although there is nothing standard about it). The Cuvee Cathelin sees more oak than its sibling, enjoys 50-75 years of aging potential, and boasts over-the-top blackberry and cassis fruit notes intertwined with pen ink, spring flower, graphite and subtle vanillin characteristics. It is a brilliant wine that almost defies description given its ethereal complexity allied to massive weight, power and richness. Yet, it never comes across as heavy or overly-extracted. Forget this for another decade and you and your progeny can enjoy it over the following 50-75 years.

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Hermitage Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin Jean-Louis Chave 2009

Château Lafleur 1947

This is an extraordinarily profound wine that surpasses Petrus and Cheval Blanc in this vintage, even though they can all be perfect wines. The 1947 Lafleur is more developed and forward than the 1949 and 1945. It reveals a thick, port-like color with slight amber at the edge. The nose offers a smorgasbord of aromas, ranging from caramel, to jammy black-raspberries and cherries, honeyed nuts, chocolate, and truffles. The wine's unctuosity and viscosity are unequaled in any other dry wine I have tasted. There is neither volatile acidity nor residual sugar present, something that many of the greatest 1947s possess. This wine's richness and freshness are unbelievable. The finish, which lasts more than a minute, coats the mouth with layers of concentrated fruit. There have been many great Lafleurs, but the 1947 is the quintessential expression of this tiny yet marvelous vineyard that was ignored by wine critics for most of this century.

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Château Lafleur 1947

Château Latour à Pomerol 1947

I would argue that the most exciting wines of the twentieth century are the 1947 Pomerols. Although the 1947s from Petrus and Lafleur (both perfect wines) were not included in the Rodenstock tasting, the wines tasted exemplify the number of exhilarating, decadent, and sumptuous wines produced by this tiny appellation. I have been blessed to have tasted the 1947 Latour a Pomerol several times. Several times I have rated it a perfect 100. It is a slightly older clone of the candidate for the wine of the century - the 1961 Latour a Pomerol. The 1947 exhibited an extraordinary opaque purple color with only some lightening at the edge. This exotic, mammoth, seductive, awesomely concentrated wine goes on and on in the mouth. It is reminiscent of a cross between the 1947 Cheval Blanc and the 1947 Petrus. Sweet, dense, and mind-boggling, what else can be said about something so perfect and thrilling. Akin to eating candy, it should drink well for another 20 years.

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Château Latour à Pomerol 1947

Monbazillac Tirecul La Gravière Cuvée Madame Bruno et Claudie Bilancini 1995

there is no doubt in my mind that the 1995 Cuvee Madame is as profound a sweet wine as I have ever tasted. Made from 80-year old vines, harvested grape by grape, and with yields of 12 hectoliters per hectare (under one ton of fruit per acre), this wine boasts a glorious nose of apricot jam, tangerine essence, and subtle spicy oak. With its profound richness, blazingly vivid definition, huge body, viscous thickness (with no heaviness), and finish that lasts for nearly a minute, this nectar constitutes one of the most extraordinary sweet wines I have ever tasted. As is the case with so many of the world's greatest wines, the production is insignificant. Only 50 six-bottle cases are being imported to the United States.

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Monbazillac Tirecul La Gravière Cuvée Madame Bruno et Claudie Bilancini 1995

Napa Valley Harlan Estate 1994

What can I say about the 1994? I have tasted the wine for three consecutive years, and each time it satisfied all of my requirements for perfection. The opaque purple color is followed by spectacular aromatics that soar from the glass, offering up celestial levels of black currants, minerals, smoked herbs, cedar wood, coffee, and pain grille. In the mouth, this seamless legend reveals full body, and exquisite layers of phenomenally pure and rich fruit, followed by a 40+ second finish. While accessible, the 1994 begs for another 5-7 years of cellaring. It should easily last for 30+ years. Every possible jagged edge - acidity, alcohol, tannin, and wood - is brilliantly intertwined in what seems like a diaphanous format. What is so extraordinary about this large-scaled wine, with its dazzling display of aromatics and prodigious flavors and depth, is that it offers no hint of heaviness or coarseness. Harlan's 1994 comes close to immortality in the glass.

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Napa Valley Harlan Estate 1994

Napa Valley Harlan Estate 2001

This wine, which first debuted in 1990, has probably garnered more perfect scores than any other Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2001 is just entering a young adolescent stage of development, exhibiting extraordinary nuances such as sweet, loamy soil and earthy minerality intermixed with some background smoke, black currant liqueur, plum, Asian spice and new saddle leather. Full-bodied, it possesses great intensity, with stunning flavors that are viscous enough to coat the mouth, but never become heavy or overbearing. The wine has a remarkable purity, concentration and intensity that should carry it for another 30+ years. This is already very promising, and for those who own it, I would suggest a good two to three hours of decanting prior to service.

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Napa Valley Harlan Estate 2001

Napa Valley Harlan Estate 2002

The extraordinary Harlan Estate, which I awarded 100 points seven years ago, offers no justifiable reason to doubt its perfect score. It is still a baby, with an inky purple color and notes of smoky camphor intermixed with creme de cassis, Asian soy and a hint of cedar beginning to emerge as well as some espresso and subtle damp forest floor notes. The wine has awesome intensity, a full-bodied mouthfeel, a skyscraper-like texture, and a finish that goes on for close to a minute. This is a perfect wine, still youthful and young, and not even in full adolescence as of 2012. It has 40 or more years ahead of it, but should hit its plateau of full maturity in another 5-10 years. It is certainly one of the most showy , flamboyant and remarkable Harlan Estates made to date. (More recently, the 2007 tends to resemble this wine more than any other vintage I can think of.) Kudos to Bill Harlan!

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Napa Valley Harlan Estate 2002

Napa Valley Harlan Estate 2007

The prodigious 2007 Harlan Estate reminds me of a hypothetical blend of the 2002 with a touch of the controversial 1997. Dense plum/purple-colored with sweet aromas of barbecue smoke, blueberries, blackberries, cassis, licorice, hot rocks and subtle oak, it is a splendidly opulent, pure wine with a skyscraper-like texture as well as stunningly deep fruit that expands gracefully across the palate. The finish lasts nearly a full minute. Because of its overwhelming richness and sweet tannins, this brilliant wine seems to be approachable now, but I suspect further nuances and complexity will emerge after 4-5 years in the bottle. This wine will still be going strong at age 25-30. Like the offerings from its sister estate, Bond, these Harlan Estate offerings are uncompromisingly brilliant examples of Napa viticulture and winemaking at its finest. Kudos to proprietor Bill Harlan.

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Napa Valley Harlan Estate 2007

Oakville Napa Valley Screaming Eagle Stanley Kroenke 2007

As impossible as it might seem, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon takes things to another level. An exquisite, celestial bouquet melds into endless layers of fruit as this rich, voluptuous wine blossoms on the palate. Full-bodied and seductive, the 2007 conquers all of the senses with its head spinning, beautiful personality. As always, Screaming Eagle is a bit more restrained next to Napa Valley's other heavy hitters, yet the pedigree of this opulent vintage comes through in spades. A kaleidoscope of aromas and flavors flows through to the creamy, textured finish. I have tasted the 2007 several times recently. It was always beenY.perfect. My only issue with the 2007 is that it appears to be shutting down just a touch. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2027.

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Oakville Napa Valley Screaming Eagle Stanley Kroenke 2007

Oakville Napa Valley Screaming Eagle Stanley Kroenke 2012

The perfect 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Screaming Eagle is composed of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Made in the classic, iconic Screaming Eagle style that the original proprietress, Jean Philipps, first showcased in the early 1990s, before the winery was sold to Stan Kroenke, the inky/purple-colored, seamless 2012 possesses an extraordinary set of aromatics consisting of pure blackcurrant liqueur, licorice, acacia flowers, graphite and a subtle hint of new oak. Full-bodied, opulent and voluptuous, this profound wine is as prodigious as I thought it would be last year when tasted from barrel. It should age effortlessly for 20 or more years.

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Oakville Napa Valley Screaming Eagle Stanley Kroenke 2012

Pinot Gris (anciennement Tokay) Vendanges Tardives Clos Windsbuhl Zind-Humbrecht (Domaine) 1989

Tasting this monumental Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl Vendange Tardives is a mind-boggling experience. It is stunning in its completeness. It has exemplary breadth, texture, refinement, balance, and length. While it is forward and at first appears to be giving all its got, with time it becomes evident that it has even more underlying power and concentration that will be displayed in time, with cellaring.The 1989 is sweet (85 grams of residual sugar per liter versus 60). It has a golden color and bursts forth from the glass with aromas reminiscent of Peking duck skin soaked in plum sauce. This awesomely complex, medium-to-full-bodied wine is crammed with sweet spices, minerals, tropical fruits, and stones. Extraordinarily, the density of fruit and balanced structure of this jewel completely covers the sugar. It is liquid heaven. Drink it between 2004 and 2020.

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Pinot Gris (anciennement Tokay) Vendanges Tardives Clos Windsbuhl Zind-Humbrecht (Domaine) 1989

Priorat Clos Erasmus Daphne Glorian 2005

The 2005 Clos Erasmus is produced from three vineyard sites originally terraced by the Greeks. The current blend is 85% Garnacha and 15% Syrah with a long-term goal of making a 100% Garnacha wine. The wine was aged for 18 months in new French oak. It is super-fragrant with aromas of crushed stone, slate, cinnamon, baking spices, cassis, kirsch, blueberry, and wild black cherry. Perhaps a bit tighter than the 2004, on the palate there is a liquid minerality that must be tasted to be believed. Opulent, harmonious, and awesome are words which really cannot do justice to this extraordinary vinous achievement. In a perfect world, purchasers would have the patience to cellar it for 10-15 years but this will be a severe test of one's ability to delay gratification.

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Priorat Clos Erasmus Daphne Glorian 2005

Priorat DOCa Alvaro Palacios L'Ermita 2013

The nose shows extremely elegant and balanced with citric freshness, blood orange and grapefruit peel, violets and lilies, earth and Mediterranean herbs. The bottle I tasted should have been in bottle shock, as it was bottled on 12/02/2015, exactly one week before I wrote this note. The wine explodes in your mouth, filling it with enormous brutal volume and finely threaded, sharp acidity. This is probably the best L'Ermita to date and is a legendary wine. I just couldn't get myself to spit this wine, which went down like velvet on my throat. Velvet? No, satin! Unfortunately 2013 was the latest harvest ever, the north-facing amphitheater of L'Ermita was harvested on November 5. In this nearly catastrophic vintage (yield-wise...), no more than 640 bottles were filled. Unobtainable and truly world class.

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Priorat DOCa Alvaro Palacios L'Ermita 2013

Richebourg Grand Cru Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 1929

Long-time readers know that I am often much more critical of older wines than many other writers. To merit high ratings, an older wine must still be fully alive with its personality intact. With that in mind, I have to say that the 1929 DRC Richebourg is one of the most extraordinary wines I have ever tasted. A medium garnet color reveals orange and rust at the edge. The wine remains intact, with a compelling fragrance. A huge nose of smoked duck, herbs, sweet fruits, licorice, and truffles soars from the glass. This wine, which has refused to let go of any of its sweet jammy fruit, reveals an unctuous, opulent texture, and a chewy, alcoholic, fleshy finish. The word from Burgundy's old timers was that the 1929s were gorgeous young, but would not keep. At age sixty-three, this is as riveting a red wine as I have ever drunk. I should mention that this bottle had been re-corked several years ago at the domaine.

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Richebourg Grand Cru Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 1929

Château l'Église Clinet 1947

I would argue that the most exciting wines of the twentieth century are the 1947 Pomerols. Although the 1947s from Petrus and Lafleur (both perfect wines) were not included in the Rodenstock tasting, the wines tasted exemplify the number of exhilarating, decadent, and sumptuous wines produced by this tiny appellation. The 1947 L'Eglise-Clinet is a tour de force in wine-making. It is one of the greatest wines I have ever tasted. If only more than 100 points could be bestowed! Opaque purple-colored, with a huge, knock-out nose of black-cherries, cassis, mocha, coffee, tobacco, and Asian spices, it is extremely full-bodied, with layers of glycerin, extract, ripe fruit, and seriously high alcohol. This huge, massive wine is exceptionally well-balanced. L'Eglise-Clinet must be the sleeper chateau of the century! Unfortunately, the small production has ensured that few people have ever tasted this wine.

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Château l'Église Clinet 1947

82 vini premiati con 100/100 da Robert Parker (The Wine Advocate)