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Wine Type
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Vintage
Name
Variety
Locale
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Date
Posted
Score
Helpful
Comments
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White - Sparkling
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NV Savart Champagne Premier Cru l'Ouverture Extra Brut
Pinot Noir more
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Color: light rose gold
Nose: grapefruit, raspberry and lemon, yeast, bread crust and cheese rind just opened. Anise and clove come up with time
Palate: medium-full bodied, high acidity and powerful small bubbles that persist for hours. Confirms the nose with a prevalence of the yeasty aromas
Finish: long
A good champagne with a Pinot noir aromatic profile that is however very much played on the autolytic side. Perfect on its own, benefits from 2 hours of air and does not feel the air in terms of carbonation. I imagine this can shine with some more time in cellar
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White
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2021 Monteraponi Trebbiano Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT
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Color: hazy medium brass
Nose: evocative with apricot - ripe with even some cooked and jammy notes, wax, asphalt, yellow roses, honey. Intense
Palate: balanced medium-full body with a good medium-high acidity, and a complete sip with some tannins, felt on the back of the tongue. It confirms the nose
Finish: long
This ascends to the Olympus of orange wines for me, along with skerk's ograde. It has complexity, changes a ton on you, persists, it pairs with food (rich seafood) but can also be had on its own. If anything I think it's a little young, two years could improve it by adding even more body and tempering the acidity. Very nice discovery.
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Red
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2022 Lioco Pinot Noir Cole Ranch Vineyard
Sonoma Coast
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Color: beautiful medium ruby with blue and grey tones
Nose: small red berries, rose petals, there is a bit of stone fruit here too, peach and apricot, telling me this is quite young. There are hints of herbs and earth but I would expect those to come out with more time
Palate: medium acidity, medium to medium-high tannins that grip the gums in the back of the mouth. Structure here is not huge, it drinks well already, and the most prominent feature are tannins. Aromatically, exact same as the nose
Finish: medium
Pleasant, this here makes me wonder where peak is because it's showing some aromatic potential that is unexpressed yet, but its structure isn't giving me 100% certainty that this goes the distance. Now this is a Pinot noir but it has a pretty detectable tannins (this from a nebbiolo head) so maybe this is what gets it over the hump. Let's see if I can hold and try the other one in 2 or 3 years. This is a great drink right now, let's be clear
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Red
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2019 Aeris Wines Nerello Mascalese Centennial Mountain
Sonoma County
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Color: medium-light ruby
Nose: ripe red cherry, vanilla, leather and tobacco, dill, mushrooms
Palate: medium-high acidity, medium tannins from the barrel judging on the peesistence, this is medium bodied. The oak notes really jump out here
Finish: long
This is well made wine that isn't my cup of tea. I had this out the bottle and with hours of air and it still had a barrell presence that I found overpowering. I would say this needs years to settle
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White - Sparkling
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2020 Marie Courtin Champagne Resonance Extra Brut
Pinot Noir more
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Color: light straw
Nose: yeast, bread crust, lemon
Palate: high acidity, medium-full body, bitterness and alcohol throw it off balance. Confirms the nose in the sense that I get lemon and yeasty notes
Finish: long but not entirely pleasant
It had to happen at some point I guess, a champagne from a reputable producer I just don't like. I think there are a few things wrong with this, balance first, an odd and intrusive bitter note second - and I don't at all mind bitterness in wine. I do detect, on the nose, an anise and flower core that is hidden and may pop out with time. Today, this is not quite enjoyable to me.
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White - Sparkling
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2017 Christophe Mignon Pinot Meunier Champagne ADN de Foudre - Meunier Brut Nature
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Color: light gold
Nose: bruised apple, wet stones, bread crust, yeast, ripe pear, sea water
Palate: high acidity, medium bodied, this has a very nice perlage that persiste with a strong bitter note. Austere even, though there is that oxidization more adding to the body
Finish: long
Oddly lean but big. Acid to go with food of all kinds, I had it with oysters and absolutely loved it. I think this is a rela statement on what Pinot meunier can do - aromatics are nice but structure is really huge. I would imagine this could go for a few decades in cellar and only improve
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Red
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2018 Aeris Wines Etna Etna Rosso Centenari
Etna DOC
Nerello Mascalese more
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Color: medium ruby with violaceous reflexes
Nose: spirit-preserved amarena, cherob, blueberry, old paper, toffee and leather, black tea, violet and country dust. Quite intense
Palate: high acidity, medium tannins, medium-full bodied. Not quite balanced due to the alcohol being a little prominent at this stage. It has a kind of elegance however, and is strong throughout the sip
Finish: medium-long
This is obviously made from outstanding fruit, but I'm thinking it requires at least another year in bottle and possibly three to smooth out some edges. It's great with food now, and needs two hours of air minimum.
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Red
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2019 Pian dell'Orino Rosso di Montalcino
Sangiovese more
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Color: medium ruby
Nose: flowers more than fruit, with violet and roses. Plum and blueberry. Hints of rosemary and juniper; oxidized red apple
Palate: medium-high acidity, medium tannins that grip the tongue towards the end of the sip. Medium body. Confirms the dark flowers on the nose as well as the plum. Hint of alcohol tips the scale on balance here, but the overall feeling is one of elegance nevertheless
Finish: medium
Very nice, layered while being accessible. Love the flowers on the nose, and the remarkably food friendly palate. I had this with lasagne and it was perfect as a counterpoint to the rich fatty pasta bites. This is very nice from the get go but it gains steam with one hour of air; room temp works well; I would think this can go another few years in cellar with profit but no need to wait
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Red
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2012 G.D. Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole
Nebbiolo more
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Color: medium garnet
Nose: redolent of roses, violets, and amarena. There is a leather and tar presence, as well as a ton of mushroom and forest floor and olive wood
Palate: medium-full bodied with high acidity and biting high tannins felt on gums and tongue. Confirms the nose. While being too young to be balanced, this shows promise
Finish: long
Mighty, with an endearing nose, powerful aromas with impeccable tipicity. This is young though, it needs either a steak or short rib braise, or 5 (but really, 10) more years. Right now the tannins are rustic and huge. Even then, this is clearly a beautiful wine that one day will be stunning. 3 hours of air recommended, but really tou can open this a week before you drink it at this point
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Red
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2014 Chateau Musar
Bekaa Valley
Red Blend more
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From memory - this had 2 hours of air, and was then ready to go vs a little tight to start. Very nice, low-toned on the acetone quality that I love, but the powerful fruit and wild funk were there to complement a greek-styled lamb shank magnificently. Upon drinking I had the impression that this was in the youthful side of its window already.
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White
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2021 Kumeu River Chardonnay Hunting Hill
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Color: pale to medium gold
Nose: starts very reductive with a dominant struck match and popcorn note. When it opens, there is a lot of lemon trending towards lemon blossom, as well as some mandarin. Acacia, a hint of toffee but not in an obtrusive way. The struck match receeds but never disappears, serving as a foil to the abundant citrus garden fragrance
Palate: high acidity, medium-full body. A clear bitter note. It has a lush mouth feel, oily. Balanced or close to it, perhaps a little acidity overshot
Finish: medium-long
This opens like movie theater carpet but give it an hour in full air outside of the fridge and you get a remarkable citrus mix. Too young, this will be better in 3 years I estimate, with some of the acidity turned into a bit more chunk. It was very nice at room temp but again - needs air. Paired with a simple baked branzino, it sort of murdered it so I waited until after dinner to finish the glass: this is a big wine
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White
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2019 Aeris Wines Etna Bianco Superiore
Carricante more
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Color: medium gold
Nose: intense, yellow roses, hot plastic, anise pastille, oats, grapefruit, pollen
Palate: high acidity, medium-full bodied, balance a bit off at this stage imo due to the acidity that is really searing
Finish: long
This is young but it has a lot of potential in my opinion. The nose is very rich and layered, and at this stage I think it requires a lot of air - more than an hour - to really show what it has. But even right out of the bottle the complexity is impressive. Then the mouth is lean but intense, it doesn't show the same complexity but this is perhaps because this wine will shine in a few years - 3 or more I'd guess. Food wine today. Definitely it has the structure to go for a while though I'm not super experienced with aging carricante. For sure what I have gets better 2-3 years after release and this one is the one I've thought had the most to benefit from a little time, so I'll wait for the next ones.
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Red
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2021 Lioco Syrah Caleta
Santa Cruz Mountains
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Color: dark ruby with purple
Nose: violet petals, black peppercorn, warm tallow and grilled meat. Dark plum and black olives in the background. Intense
Palate: high acidity, medium tannins, body is medium-full. It is very savory, adding a green note to the nose and coming off as medium-full bodied. It has a hint of bitter
Finish: medium
Wild and savory, food friendly, very peculiar in how uncompromisingly sausage and cool climate this is. It does have a vanilla note to start which dissipates in about an hour, leaving room for all these forestry smells.
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White
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2010 Daniel-Etienne Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Les Lys
Chardonnay more
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Color: medium gold
Nose: lemon zest, peach and pear hints; acacia flowers, something nutty, seashells and ocean, canned pineapple
Palate: medium-high acidity, medium body, this wine is in impeccable balance. The aromas are confirmed with the ocean notes coming out fairly strongly. The wine feels salty and bring, with a pretty dense texture
Finish: medium
This is in my view smack in window, and will probably stay there a while more. I think this wine shows best with 2 hours or more of air in large decanter, notes keep surfacing even well after that. Refined and balanced, this would be fantastic with raw seafood, but it could work with something like chicken even. Honestly it's a great sipping piece too.
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Red
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2016 Anthill Farms Pinot Noir Comptche Ridge Vineyard
Mendocino County
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Color: medium ruby with blue and grey
Nose: ripe red ribes, a sharp and precise raspberry sauce, blackberry, leather and earth. There is red rose and an interesting lactic undertone. There also is a balsamic note here. The nose is intense and enveloping, with vague notes of wood rounding
Palate: medium-high acidity, somewhat perceptible tannins that are fairly round. It confirms the nose in its black and red fruit balance. Balance is very good and the body is medium-full
Finish: medium-long
This is surprisingly powerful for a Mendocino Pinot, while conserving the general character with an addition of subtle black fruit. It's elegant and mature, I don't think it is necessary to wait much longer. Bright but deep, it gives it's best with one hour of air at room temperature. I wish I had more to try in two years, this bottle didn't see the end of the evening.
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White - Sparkling
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2009 Cantina Tomaso Gianolio Alta Langa Metodo Classico Spumante Brut "80 Months"
Champagne Blend more
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Color: medium gold with copper streaks
Nose: tons of bruised apple, yeast, yellow rose, sourdough focaccia, yoghurt
Palate: medium-high acidity, medium-full body, balanced, adds a Maillard quality to the nose. Perlage is fine and lively, lasts long even with the bottle sitting out uncorked
Finish: medium-long
Super well made, this has had time on the lees and in bottle. It's a spumante that can go head to head with champagne. It has mighty autolytic qualities but still a good fruit presence, it's fresh but deep. At the price I paid this is just nonsensical. One in four bottles I drink is from Piemonte bit of the spumantes keep doing this well I may up the proportion
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Red
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2013 Cà Nova Ghemme Victor
Nebbiolo more
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Color: medium garment with brown reflexes
Nose: old nebbiolo from the north: poutpurry, with violet at the front; sour cherry, toasted almond, cured meat, mint
Palate: mesmerizingly balanced, with medium-high acidity and medium tannins; savory and medium-bodied. Confirms the nose.
Finish: medium
Very nice with signs of being at absolute peak: balance is perfect, tertiaries evident but not overwhelming. Fairly incredible on its own, it was also great with food with one hour of air at cool room temperature.
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White
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2018 Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur Meursault Les Corbins
Chardonnay more
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Color: medium gold with copper
Nose: citrusy with lemon zest, lime, a bit of pomelo. There is a little oxidized copper. A hint of cream and vanilla, very much on the background, and oxidized yellow apple. There are vague reverberations of things like seaweed, struck match, wet stone, cooked ricotta
Palate: medium-high acidity, medium body with a pretty lean mid palate. In balance and at the right spot to drink.
Finish: medium with a bit of bitterness
Good meursault villages in a good spot. It is lean and oxidative in a way I didn't expect, but worked fantastically with crab. Each half hour of air makes it better three hours out. Solid and definitely ready. Room temp recommended (in winter), loves air
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Red
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2022 Lioco Pinot Noir Sealift Vineyard
Sonoma Coast
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Color: medium ruby, with bluish-grey hints
Nose: fresh roses, raspberry, pomegranate, wet match. There is a bit of damp leaf too
Palate: medium-high acidity, slight and gentle tannins, medium body. Balanced, hint of salt. Pretty, fresh, confirms the nose with some violet notes too
Finish: grippy medium, suggesting this is perhaps a bit young
Great Pinot noir here, but a little young. Couple years in cellar cannot hurt. Great with miso glazed salmon, or on its own, after one hour open and at cool room temp
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Red
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2020 Anthill Farms Mixed Blacks Peugh Vineyard
Russian River Valley
Red Blend more
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Color: dark ruby, some purple
Nose: red fruited with cherry and strawberry freshly cut. It has a plethora of other notes that are all from the fruit and fermentation: oregano, diesel fuel, ripe blueberry and blackberry, wet stones, apricot jam, fresh yogurt
Palate: high acidity, reminiscent of barbera; tannins are tame. Body medium-full. Confirms the nose with very high intensity
Finish: medium
I always cherish this wine. In the annual release anthill farms does in which the release library wines, I buy a few bottles to enkouly California Pinot at peak - it really doesn't get more typically correct than this, and the production is small, so that's the kind of wine I'll never get if I move back to Europe. But I also always get a couple of these - and they slap. The fruit is so crunchy, there are white wine notes every time. Super cool wine. And the best label of any wine in my cellar
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Red
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2009 Braida (Giacomo Bologna) Barbera d'Asti Montebruna
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Color: medium ruby to the rim, bricking, a gray undertone
Nose: burnt pie crust, which fades away with some time. Beautiful spirit-preserved amarena note, some raspberry liqueur, mahogany, bit of porcini mushrooms and duck blood, a hint of caramel
Palate: acidity still high, tannins are smooth though somewhat perceptible. Medium body here, good balance. Confirms the nose
Finish: medium
Another instance in which Braida proves that making barbera can be a very serious endeavor. This one is probably a little past its apogee, but if you give it a couple hours of air this still has that acidity that barbera is sought after for, and it adds a smooth edge which I find very endearing. It has complexity as well. Great for sipping or food really.
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Red
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2003 Arnaldo-Caprai Montefalco Sagrantino 25 Anni
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Color: dark ruby to the brim
Nose: leather, dark roasted coffee, sour cherry on the ripe side, burnt pipe tobacco
Palate: medium-high acidity, high tannins not resolved. Big, chewy body, as full as it gets. Balanced however. The coffee grounds really jump at you
Finish: long
This wine is huge, and despite the 20+ years in bottlez it has a ton of youthful might. Three hours decanting brought it to a very nice place with tertiaries showing, fruit still stubbornly there, and tannins and acidity that still make it a great match for the cotechino and lentil meal that is obligatory on the first day of the year
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White - Sparkling
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2016 Pierre Paillard Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Les Mottelettes
Chardonnay more
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Color: medium canary yellow
Nose: baked apple and pear, wet stone, yeast, oxidized red apple
Palate: beautiful perlage, medium-high acidity, wonderfully balanced, quite unimpeachable. The palate has a fantastic toasted hazelnut note, and a light zabaglione note too
Finish: medium-long
Fantastic champagne. I think this is absolutely awesome now, but give it 5 years and weep at the quality. Fresh, interesting, deep in a way mostly having to do with the difference between nose and mouth. After a day it had that almond croissant nose that just tells you we are in exceptional wine territory. Beautiful
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Red
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2001 Antoniolo Gattinara Le Castelle
Nebbiolo more
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Color: medium garnet, brick hints, color to the rim
Nose: pure unadulterated cherry and strawberry, blood, iron, old playing cards, leather and dry roses
Palate: lively high acidity, tannins are still gripping for a medium body that is in balance. It has a dark ink note on the palate that makes this charming and beautiful
Finish: long
Very high quality wine, very good and good for food or on its owne really. Northern Piedmont requires time, but it rewards so handsomely - this is my second to last Wine of the year and one of the very best
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White
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2020 Fattoria Petrolo Boggina B
Val d'Arno di Sopra
Trebbiano more
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Color: medium canary, forbid
Nose: ready, with a clear honey note, and fermented lemon. Grilled sage, toasted nuts, yellow roses
Palate: high acidity, medium-full body. Strong aromas. Confirms the nose with a clear mead note, and a powerful wave of umsmmi
Finish: medium-long
This is perhaps the best match I can imagine for a preserved lemon chicken tagine. Beautiful, it's young and I think it will develop well. For now, fresh and very satisfying.
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