Enjoyed at an Antinori portfolio tasting and it showed wonderfully. Prominent, well-defined oak integration and aroma on the nose melding with distinct florals. Sour reds, and impeccable structure make this a quintessential Brunello that would be an absolute gift of a wine in a blind tasting format. Wonderful balance. 94+.

Finding a Slovenian wine is hard enough, but when you have a friend bring you a top-tier Slovenian refosco wine, you’ve hit the scarcity jackpot. Before even jumping into specifics, I was rather floored at the density, concentration, and potence of this high-end offering; it’s like some kind of mixture of Brunello, Barbera, and Monastrell…in all the good ways. The nose sears with a balsamic tree sap core rounded out with spiced dates, pine.. Read More

I had the pleasure of meeting with Mike and Lori DeLoach of Hook & Ladder Winery recently for a portfolio tasting. Really enjoyed the profiles across the board (the Station Ten red blend and the Gewurztraminer being two of my favorites) although, after chatting a bit, learned that their personal favorite drinker wasn’t currently in the lineup we’d had. So an incredibly nice gift arrived for me yesterday: the Third Alarm Reserve 2012.. Read More

Had fondly remembered the Schild 2010 Shiraz bottling and swung through to give this Australian Rhone-styled blend a go. Tasted both on day 1 and 2, and initially it offered a decent whiff of funk. this ended up blowing off mostly by the second day, allowing the fruit to shine better, though. The nose, at that point, finally popped with baked boysenberries, and blueberries and sour red cherries spiced up with black peppercorns and tarragon.The.. Read More

I feel a bit ashamed that it took me this long to get to such a classic producer from such a classic region. My first whiff of this massive offering was an uppercut of stout new oak. I had a lovely conversation with a few fellow Muga fans over Twitter tonight and Paco de Lucia came up as a musical parallel of melodic potence to what I was getting from this wine and, after.. Read More

A cross between a roaring logfire and an unbridled young stallion. Plumes of smoke (swinging from exotic to rustic) rose from the glass the longer it stayed opening up. The smoke element mixed with dill early on, alongside cured boar meat, peppered black cherry, balsamic-soaked red plums, blackberries, and moist red soil. Incredibly ripe and powerful crash on the palate; stemmed clusters of rich, charred black cherry and black raspberry intermingle with burnt.. Read More

Decided to honor the late Serge Hochar (proprietor of Chateau Musar) by opening a bottle of the 2011 Musar Jeune during a dinner party last night, and it didn’t disappoint. There’s both a seriousness to the wine and a decadent verve that could make it appealing across many palates. Rich red plum and sweet (almost curried) spices on the nose with a very nice wave of graphite. The palate is a bit linear, but offers.. Read More

This was an fantastic surprise when I’d just planned on finding a simple yet solid 375ml Burgundy. Beautiful aromatic burst of a spring flower bouquet hits first (red, white, and dark flowers all popping), followed by fresh strawberry, ripe pomegranate, and just a hint of stalk. The 100% new oak here actually balances very well, adding a pixieish perfume of delicately dusted cinnamon and maple. A soft wisp of soft mossy earth finishes.. Read More

Classic notes and easily approachable. Lively notes of lychee and starfruit are stirred amidst pebbly, sea-shelly minerality with a soft touch of gently dusted light spices. Lovely fuller texture on the palate seeing the starfruit get a light glaze of honey while being mixed with ripe green apples and pears. Hints of apple cobbler poke through as a light graham cracker crust element swings through the mid palate before the wine end with.. Read More