This village wine from Robert Arnoux is starting to show some of the lovely secondary characteristics that reveal themselves in mature Burgundy: soft mouthfeel, red rose petals, a slight nutty flavor on the finish with ashy-fine tannins. The wine is drinking well now, but the acids are [...]
None of us had ever seen this bottling from Canard-Duchene before Norm Page brought it to our France v USA tasting at Mangia Tutti in [...]
David also contributed this bottle to our big tasting -- La Grande Dame is one of the better known (and widely distributed) fine French champagnes for sale in America and it's easy to [...]
Chip Russo was a model guest at our tasting -- he brought a serious bottle of champagne! Jacques Selosse's champagnes are gaining a lot of popularity in the U.S. and for good cause... This 'Initial' bottling is restrained bordering on austere -- showing excellent balance [...]
Evan Morganstein brought this ultra-rare bottling to our Champagne tasting -- 100% old-vine chardonnay is used by Claude Carre to produce this light-colored, lively, floral champagne. Very subtle and austere, with mineral hints on the palate and finish -- this wine is a special treat [...]
Craig Sandler was very kind to bring this nicely-aged bottle of Charles Heidsieck to John's France v USA champagne tasting. If you're a fan of heavy-yeast in champagne; this is the bottle for you. It's so pronounced it tastes like liquid bread (!) -- thick [...]
Sean Fields brought us this Krug Grande Cuvee to try against several of the better champagnes made in France and the USA. Classic Krug, the champagne is fresh, with crisp acidity, very dry, and a great contrast with J and other more fruit-forward bottlings. Pricey though: $125; 91 [...]
Tim Getz opened this Gary Farrell bottle for us at one of his barbeques. Far more extraction in it than in the Dehlinger Goldridge VIneyard from 2006 that we tasted next to it. A lot of producers are guilty of overoaking their [...]
This bottling from Emilio Moro is one of the best high-end Spanish wines with large distribution in the United States. It shows dark chocolate, earth, leather, supporting mature black fruit and hints of red fruit on the palate with a nice long finish. $45; 89 points
The collectors always rave about the single vineyard bottlings from Williams Selyem, but their baseline blends are consistently outstanding (due largely to the quality of vineyards they purchase fruit from). $48; 90 points
[...]We brought this bottle with us to Jardinaire, one of San Francisco's best French restaurants, for dinner with the Eatons. La Lagune is literally on the edge of Graves, and it is one of the best claret values in Bordeaux. The 1985 vintage [...]
This Five Sisters bottling from Lynmar is a blend made from the year's best barrels and is drinking at full maturity now. Dried cherries on the nose, and showing black cherry & plum fruit that is bursting with ripeness. The spicy oak is a bit much, but is counterbalances the ripe fruit nicely; this is [...]
I tasted this baseline bottling from Chateau St. Jean at Simona's birthday party in Glen Park. The wine is fruit forward, showing ripe red plum, red cassis, and low oak influence. There aren't many layers of fruit, and the tannic structure doesn't lead [...]
We enjoyed this Nebbiolo from Anna Maria Abbona in the garden at Della Santina's in downtown Sonoma. $30 (retail); 89 points.
[...]This Louis Bouillot cremant from Boisset Family Estates is one of the most reliable, and enjoyable, sub-$20 bottles of sparkling wine sold on the planet earth. $14; 89 points
[...]This was my first taste of Pedras' Ristow Estate bottling. The vineyard is now 20 years old (most vineyards live for around 40 years) and its rocky terrain lends a minerality to the wine that is largely missing from Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley. [...]
Turnbull's prices have been creeping up over the last few years, but the quality is all there. A few years ago, this sturdy Napa Cab sold in the high-$20s, now they're in the mid-$30s (but which labels aren't getting more expensive)... $35; 89 points
Scott and Madeleine Cohen had this bottle shipped back from one of their trips to Italy; Poggio Antico's Brunello di Montalcino isn't seen much in California! When Sangiovese is grown well and handled well, it's a truly noble grape -- the problem is that there's so much [...]
I bought this bottle at a Butterfield's auction in 2001 and it made a great gift for Dave Jeske's wedding (since 1974 is his birth year).
[...]This was the second bottle of Chardonnay we brought to Alex and Meg's Oyster Roast at Stinson Beach, and it showed wonderfully. Williams Selyem is one of only a few top wineries with access to the famous Allen Vineyard fruit. This wine is a bit overripe but [...]
We brought this bottle of DuMol's Chardonnay to Alex and Meg's Oyster Roast at Stinson Beach. This wine is made in the style which has sustained Chardonnay's popularity in America -- overripe fruit, high alcohol (and the accompanying sweetness, and plenty of rich oak. The fruit is full and tropical, [...]
Patz & Hall has built a reputation for producing top-notch pinot noir from premium fruit sourced largely in Sonoma County. This Hyde Vineyard bottling from the generally ripe 2004 vintage in Carneros is an excellent example of the Burgundian depth that this region is able [...]
This single vineyard bottling from Papapietro Perry is consistent with their mellow style. Side-by-side with this bottling I tried their Dijon clone 777 bottling (a clone I've used in past Comfort Pinot Noir blends); multi-clone blends almost always win these comparisons -- typically the more diverse the [...]
I love the dialed-back style that Papapietro Perry bring to their wonderful Pinot Noir and Zinfandel bottlings. This 2007 RRV shows supple forward red fruit, with a feminine body and light spice on the finish. This is one of the few 2007s that's showing really [...]
I don't write about too many wines in the under-$5 category, but this La Finca is worth the time & effort. Mendoza is one of the most prolific growing regions on the planet for Malbec, and the highland vineyards bordering Chile are ideal. The weather is reliable, and these [...]
Lovers of Bordeaux the world over now have a great revamped website full of information and special features for registered users. My favorite feature is their "Le Wine Buff" section, which allows live chat with a Bordeaux expert during evening hours (Eastern time in the U.S.) [...]
Besides Ryan Zepaltas' W.E. Bottoms bottling, I've had Justin Lattanzia's from the same vineyard -- and the finished wines are also similar: Forward red fruit, high acids dominate the palate and the mouthfeel and finish are on the austere side. With more minerality, this [...]
