Reviews

Huré Frères Chardonnay Champagne 4 éléments

A bit broader and less revved up than the spunkier 2015 4 Elements Chardonnay, this 2018 version carries a full but delineated profile with ripe lemon, yuzu, and clementine flavors beautifully…

Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge

Past its prime, but with enough cherry and cedar flavors to provide interest. The slightest bit of freshness compels a second sip. A wine for yesterday.

Caves Dom Teodosio Garrafeira Particular

Muddled strawberry, leather, sherry, and maple (not sweet) flavors. A fun curio given its age. Would pair nicely with a fat cigar or coffee cake.

Trimbach Riesling Alsace Grand Cru Geisberg

Pears and petrol. What more could you ask for?! Lime and lemon pith, yellow and green apple skin, and travertine add interest. A little angular on the finish, but otherwise a fun sipper.

Château d'Yquem

Paired great with some hifalutin French pastries, this vintage of Yquem shows some of the exuberance of the warmer year. Apricot, honey, peach, and just enough herbal pep to keep it properly in…

001 Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon Ecotone Vineyard

This was a tannic tantrum of a bottle. Different than the more approachable bottle I had a few months back, this monkey was tight and strict. Finishes crunchy, with black mineral elements dominating.…

Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon True Vineyard

A one-note dollop of red/black fruit, with a static delivery that moves across the palate with predictable flavor expansion. Lacks personality and a distinct focus. Finishes flaccid and without…

Realm Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

Big and ripe black fruit and dark soil elements dominate. A rich Napa Oakville bomb that carries enough mineral lift to keep it all in focus. Seems to be getting heavier with time. Drink now.

Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

This was the ripest and most fruit-bomby of all the wines in the blind, with a rounded core that was covered in extracted baskets of gushing fruit. It's a cocktail style that is all bachelorette…

Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The O.G. Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

This came off extremely oaky and almost chocolate milkshake marshmallowy compared to the other competitors in the Napa blind tasting. Gobs of fruit here.

Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

This still needs time. It was middle of the pack in a blind amongst some compelling Futos and Macdonald. Much more delineated than the Schrader, Realm, Carter, Outpost crew served next to it, the…

MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon

In a blind of Napa big boys, this thing jumped ahead of the pack with what I consider to be one of the most perfect profiles for my palate. There is that signature olive and saline overlay that…

Futo 5500

More graphite and mineral elements here than the 2021 Futo Oakville served next to it (blind), the 5500 carries similar class but with some red fruit notes that make for a higher register delivery…

Futo Oakville

I have to admit to continually being fond of Futo, especially the Oakville offering. Despite the elevated pricing, the wine itself is consistently compelling with its combination of dark fruit and…

Château Lafleur

A decent amount of fruit is still alive and kicking here, with signature cherry and plum notes intermingling with some soil and leather flavors. Dried roses and river rock flavors make an appearance…

Château Lafite Rothschild

Leather, sherry, soil dusted plum, and caramel. This bottle was an interesting curio, but seemingly either past its prime or had some storage issues perhaps. or a combination of both. Fun to try but…

Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot

Drinks almost like an aged white Hermitage. Interesting dark yellow and orangey flavors, but overall a bit brassy and lacking freshness. I could drink this without complaint with a fistful of foie…

Henri Boillot Meursault 1er Cru Gouttes d'Or

This was a favorite, with a tension-filled delivery that is laced with flinty reduction and yellow/orange core fruit. This was competing neck and neck with the 2022 Boillot Corton Charlie. The CC had…

Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne

Yellow citrus, lemon curd, and yellow pear dominate here, with a hit of reduction that finishes with a combination of flint/smoke/matchstick and a kiss of tropical yellow stone fruit. The strong…

Coche-Dury Meursault

Pear, lemon, unripe peach, crème fraiche, lime pith, and hints of vanilla make for a youthful and somewhat unresolved showing, but marked by a purity of fruit that is undeniably top tier, especially…

Kinsman Eades Cabernet Sauvignon Anjea Sleeping Lady Vineyard

Big and unctuous, but with a silky finesse that made a 2018 Arkenstone Heimark served beside it look like a blackberry whiskey sour. the Anjea has that Nigel smooth edges thing going on that always…

Arkenstone Cabernet Sauvignon Heimark Vineyard

This bottle was a hot, massive, thick monster. Sticky and syrupy, with the high alcohol brambly blackberry cocktail delivery showing a full frontal exhibition of overt heat and power. Finishes like a…

Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Grand Cru Vieille Vigne du Levant Extra Brut

This bottle was a later disgorgement than the previous 2013 Levant I had last year (September versus May, 2022), and consequently the best showing of this vintage so far. An extra layer of depth and…

Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge

A lot of powdered sugar and heavy confectionery elements jumping out at first pass here, with succulent lemon curd and marshmallow saturating the palate. The chewy yellow citrus flavors are a bit…

Joseph Phelps Insignia

A fair amount of funk on the nose gives way to a mild-mannered and sound delivery of cedar, tobacco, macerated cherry and plum, soil, sherry, and caramel notes. Slightly grainy on the finish, but…