1/1/2024 - ricardito Likes this wine:

A rainy Oregon harvest in 2007 and yet this red blessedly stellar. Medium red with crushed dried cranberry nose. Powerful full bodied sweet primary strawberry/cherry palate, expanding impressively on the back end, with enough acidity and minerality to carry it another 20 years. Served blind and all 6 tasters loved it and thought ripe vintage burgundy with 5/6 guessing 2003. If you like big-boy primary Pinot fruit at 17 years with stunning length-look no further than the stables of John Thomas. (Great now but for explosive secondary features drink 2027-2037)

12/1/2023 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Purchased at Bergstrom on release and cellared at 8 C in cold Whistler cellar. After reading some of these dubious tasting notes felt I had to jump into the fray. Light yellow with crushed peach pit and whiff of granite and lilies on the nose. Viscous young stone fruit on palate with impressive grip and a long finish. This could easily slay 80% of white burgundies in a blind tasting with enormous palatal grip and an expansion on the back end that reminds me of a PYCM Chassagne 1er cru about 15 years out. This is fabulous and glad to have another case to slide into white burg blind tastings. Josh changed styles after visiting burgundy about 10 years ago, and this bottle clearly indicates that Bergstrom is ready to take on the world chardonnays and slap a lot of them down with this phenomenal bottle- wow! Best now to 2031.

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): Light red with minimal bricking noted. Chelan cherry with a whiff of Passier saddle leather on the nose. Balanced palate of red fruits with subtle secondary forest overtones, singing long into an expansive Rada barn board finish. At 27 years old, very Chambolle, epic-and worth the wait. (now-2032)

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): Light red with ethereal nose of frangipani and roses showering the olfaction. Fading structure giving way to secondary balanced, sweet red current compote, expanding exponentially like a never-ending rainbow of sun-dried rose hips. In a word-terrific and clearly worth the price of admission! (now-2034)

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): A less than stellar year in Oregon, paradoxically this wine knocking it out of the park! Medium red with dried strawberries and rose petal palate, expanding like the oft talked about Peacock tail on the back end, delivering a smattering of Pecan wood shavings up the nose. A wow wine in Spades!! (now-2037)

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): Medium red with pulverized Stella cherries and dried cranberries on the nose. Ripe figs and Sunburst cherries lingering long on the palate with a ripe finish of subtle Labrador Tea (now-2034)

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): Medium red with aromas of brambly red fruit on the nose. Big boy palate of red dragon fruit whacked with Cherry Hibiscus tea, sweeping into a subtle finish of truffe noir……… that lingers for minutes. (now-2036)

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): Strong Oregon red vintage giving a light red colored Pinot. Dried pomegranates on the nose with Sakura tea and raspberries on palate, morphing into a hint of dried morels and plums on a still slightly tight impressive finish (now-2035)

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): Bright red Magnum with metallic strawberry nose and palate of’ just made’ cranberry jelly. A transformative long finish of Prickly Pear and lingering notes of Twining’s Four Red Fruits tea! (Magnum 2024-2045)

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): Ruby with Kirschwasser and orange peel nose. Palate with impressive grip and mild secondary development of sun-dried cranberries and rose hip tea. A magnificent Bing cherry finish that blows out the olfaction for minutes and makes this vintage one of my favs for Mr. right now. Hallelujah, what killer palatal presence! I want a barrel of this wine. (now-2039)

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): Strong Oregon vintage for Pinot and this medium red blockbuster of Damson plum blasted with cherry petals on the palate, just entering its window of peak drinkability. Expansive suave back end with a whiff of Hermes saddle leather splashed with sweet lingonberries. Bold big boy pants vintage for the long haul. (now-2041)

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): Ruby with Hagfors barn board and sundried Strawberry nose. Secondary flavours of macerated raspberries slapped with chanterelles and a spectacularly long finish that Pinot dreams are made of. Dead ringer for a great aged Chambolle and just on the cusp of exhalted secondary flavours. (now-2038)

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): Light red with primary nose of a melange of red berries. Palate boysenberry with moderate acidity, excellent grip and a long sweet red licorice finish, that is almost starting to creep into the window of brilliant drinkability. (2023-2039)

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): Medium red Magnum that is still primary with a bright strawberry nose touched by a 5-spice overtone. Palate monolithic black cherry at this point displaying outstanding depth and grip to spare. A long, sweet finish of dried cranberry sauce inflected with ripe sweet pixie plums-delicious but needs time. (Magnum 2034-2054)

4/21/2018 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Legends of the Spring 2018 (Portland, Oregon house of TW and AW): A stellar year for Pinot in Dundee Hills and this medium ruby wine with a satin violet nose of bright cranberries lives up to and beyond the vintage character. The sweet, structured quartz boysenberry palate morphs seamlessly into what great young Pinot Noir dreams are made of. Still very primary with a stupidly long finish, that befits easily- the most potential for any red wine from the 2015 vintage in Oregon that this taster has broached. - Wishing there were five cases of this future legend having a prolonged snooze in my cellar ! (2032-2052)

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical as a finishing wine. Very light tawny colour with rim light green. Explosive aromatics of dried fruit, anise and oiled mahogany with raisin cakes and toffee blasting through the riveting acidity. Otherworldly length that lingered on the palate beyond our 25 minute walk home.....

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Light ruby with explosive 5 spice and Kordia cherry nose. Gamey, saddle leather, sun dried strawberries on the palate with leather, lavender and Astorp barn boards on the very ethereal finish. Henri Jayer was a living legend in his own life, extolling the purity of fruit, and sometimes throwing a tad too much oak into some of his bottles....this bottle fantastic and easily silences any Jayer critics! Best now-2035.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Dark ruby with rim bricking and ripe Morello cherry Madeira nose. Palate with earthy saddle leather inflicted dried red fruits and a sous bois painted with barn boards finish. Much older than any of the DRC counterparts in this tasting and should be enjoyed in the near term. Best now-2030.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Light ruby with mild rim bricking. Floral sous bois and Rada barn board nose.
Ripe dried cranberry palate that exploded on the backend with hoisin spices, Russian Caravan tea and plough horse leathers. This is a holy grail wine, that burg boys and girls dream about-this bottle better than last bottle 5 years ago. Best now-2035.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Light ruby with crushed black currant nose. Gamey palate of robust mineral inflected Meteor cherries that expands into a subtle smoked clove finish, dusted with Rougui tea. A big wine for 2001 and one of the favorite 2001's for Burghound...one to buy! Best 2026-2051.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Medium ruby with expansive flower garden nose whipped with essence of Bing cherries, sliding into a savoury palate of Tayberries. Long somewhat savage palate with plum smoked wild boar notes and long to go. A great bottle but clearly smacked out of the park by the 02 LT in this flight. Best 2028-2052.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. This was listed as a 2002 DRC Echezeaux, but oh no! A corked Ech was replaced with a 2002 La Tache. Say what? No complaints from the gallery! Thanks to AC and JC ! Dark ruby with crushed Blackberries and cherry smoke on the palate, morphing into a huge savoury vine ripened raspberry and mineral shake-finishing with a peacock tail of cinnamon, cloves and Da Hong Pao tea. Classic LT that defines red burgundy at its finest! Alot of gas left in this tank! Best 2032-2072.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. This was meant to be a 2003 Echezeaux, but it was corked, so our stupendous hosts wandered down to the cellar and brought this up as a replacement. Crazy move, but no complaints from the participants....we love our hosts-AC and JC! Dark ruby with ripe black currants on the nose. Massive sweet blueberries and strawberries on the complex smoke slapped palate. Atypical California grip but expands on the backend, with some savoury elements and Asian spices just like a great Vosne slayer of just about any wine on the planet ! Not really a classic La Tache, but so huge I imagine this wine will be at peak for my 16 year old on his 50th birthday. Best now to 2065.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Dark ruby with nose of ripe Saskatoon berries. Big boy sweet palate of ripe blueberries, powerful and intense, making one wonder if we are crossing into California. Long smoke-dried cranberry finish. Caution:this is not an elegant wine-get over it! Tasters may argue about this wine, wondering if it is true to DRC expectations? I doubt if anyone on the planet would pick this as a 19 year old DRC wine, but France has considerable vintage variations that most embrace. I loved it and although a total monolithic outlier that probably will not make old bones and turn into a classic DRC rose petal/cherry glass of magnificence, easily wow on the YUM factor now, if you like this style. Best now-2035.

10/14/2022 - ricardito wrote:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Medium ruby with subtle herb cherries on nose. Savoury Chelan cherries on medium palate, much denser than the Echezeaux, with a slightly bitter, smoky finish. Would probably drink this sooner than later due to the vintage. Best 2026-2036.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Does not like this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Light ruby with subtle herbal green nose, suggestive of "green meanies", but no where near the affectations seen in the 2004 Vogue wines. Palate medium body Pilgrim cranberries with a medium finish. After opening, 2 hours later, the green "taint" lessened and makes me wonder what this may mature into? Best 2025-2035.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Dark ruby with smoked Morello cherry nose. Massive rich huckleberry palate with impressive grip and a very long finish. This speaks to the vintage and smart money went deep on these big boy 2005's of earthly delight. So balanced can be broached now but best 2032-2062.

10/14/2022 - ricardito wrote:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Medium ruby with black currant and subtle wet cardboard on nose. Dense tart alpine strawberry palate, with power - towering over the 2006 and 2007 vintages. Bigger palatal presence with subtle smoke on finish. Best 2025-2040.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Medium ruby with herbal soy on the nose. Robust wolfberry palate extending into an expansive long Genmaicha finish. Best 2030-2050.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Medium ruby with reticent Richmond cherry and black currant nose. Herbal bearberries in a medium dense palate, finishing with a slap of Black Kangra tea. Best 2027-2047.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Medium ruby colour with herbal Montmorency cherry nose. Fuller bodied and denser than the Echezeaux with cranberry palate expanding long, with whiffs of gamey Lapsang tea on the finish. Best 2029-2049.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Component of DRC Echezeaux and Grands Echezeaux vertical. Medium ruby with herbal, sour cherry nose. Intense cranberry on palate with whiffs of Keemun tea on a moderate finish. Best 2028-2048.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Light yellow with tight bubbles and nose of nectarine stones and baking ciabatta buns. Sweeter than the 2005 VVF with tight white grapefruit and almonds on the deepening palate, finishing with a whiff of quince and Madagascar vanilla. Seeded pinot vines provide a unique flavour profile, quite unlike any other bubble in the glass, and easy to see how this can be readily be picked out in a blind tasting.

10/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Wines of the Gods (House of AC and JC): Light yellow with smoky brioche nose. Intense peach stones with bright rose grapefruit on the deep palate, which effervesces into a complex triad of vanilla, hazelnut and bergamot on the long finish. A very dry champagne , masterly crafted from those unusual seeded pinot vines, that are rare indeed and come with a justifiably steep price that slays almost all competitors in the bubbly pantheon.

2/19/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Medium ruby with a dynamic nose of dried cranberries and rose petals. Expansive palate of thick Chelan cherries with a grippy mineral undercurrent, expanding into subtle white cedar notes on a robust smoke inflicted finish. Sensational with 14 hour Hickory home smoked Boston Butt for pulled pork sandwiches. Just starting to open up and a smart buy for the future. Best 2025-2048.

2/1/2021 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Part of the triad (93,95 and 96) of 90's red burgs that have taken their sweet time to open up and melt the grippy, mineral tannic backbone of these soon to be spectacular chambertins. Rousseau is without a doubt the head of the class of this property in the 90's, and of the triad of tight big boys, it seems that the 95 will take a little longer than the other two to bedazzle with the muscular magic. This bottle purchased on release and served just after a 96 Rousseau Chambertin during a birthday dinner. Medium red with under ripe cranberry nose, sliding into a firm tart morello cherry palate, with grip on tap and a finish that explodes with whiffs of guanaja cocoa on the gamey finish. The 96 more open currently but this bottle probably the long distance winner. Best 2032-2057.

2/1/2021 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Purchased on release for 110 CDN and have followed this for 24 years. Part of the triad of 93,95and 96 that have taken their sweet time to open up. Another birthday wine served with smoked hickory rack of lamb. Medium ruby with explosive arctic tundra flowers and cranberries on the nose. Still tart Montmorency cherry palate, almost on the verge of opening, with big boy grip in spades and a strong finish of smoked cocoa. Best 2030-2055.

2/1/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Purchased on release for under 100 CDN. Started with 9 in the cellar, opened 4 of my own bottles, tasted this wine 13 times..... and have followed this for 27 years. The 1993 started to open
somewhat, depending on your storage temperature, around about 2017. This a birthday wine with Canada Prime Strip steaks and Superbe Bernaise faite Maison. Currently very dark ruby with minimal bricking and a wild intensity of alpine berries with a swish of sois bois on the nose. Spicy raspberries with sensational grip on the palate - finishes long , taut and savage. Still a young beast and very 1993. Best 2028-2050.

12/31/2021 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Medium ruby with a massive essence of cranberry and tayberry nose. Take a brambleberry pie and slam it into a Spiegelau burg glass, whip it up- and you start to understand how intense these 93's from Lalou are-enveloping the palate for at least 10 minutes in essence of red Burgundy! When we barrel tasted these in the mid 90's, they were so big, I wondered if someone had slipped some Cornas into the glass, but alas it was sacred pinot from the revered court of Richebourg ! Finish of smoky Vosne spices, exploding out the backend, and the olfactory persistence that dreams are made of. Best Burgundy ever-opened at peak, more concentrated and ethereal than any other pinot produced on the planet......maybe! Best now-2055. Very glad to have more!

7/18/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Medium yellow colour with etheral nose of ripe nectarines with madagascar vanilla. Viscous palate of massively extracted stone fruit and lanolin, easily overwhelming most white planetary wines. I have had this 4 times in the past 20 years, and this bottle was probably the best ever, so good in fact-we opened a 2nd bottle during our ( Alaskan King Crab) crab cake appetizer. Both bottles had finishes of smoky caramel that went for minutes. Top drawer Meursault that easily transcends the appellation. Bloody fine mate! and best now-2030.

8/13/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Purchased three six packs at the Domaine in the mid-90's while barrel tasting the huge 93's. Followed these since then, and as with other 88's-were tough to go ga-ga over for about 20 years, and Lalou's favorite 1er cru in her vast stable! Thankfully open for business now as light ruby colour with minimal peripheral bricking and ripe Chelan cherry nose. Explosive sundried cranberry palate with classic Vosne spices on a long leathery finish. Wow! Best now - 2035

8/13/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Purchased at Domaine in the mid-90's after a spectacular barrel tasting of the 1993 vintage at the Domaine. 8 bottles remain from the original 6 packs and only now is the magic starting to unfold. 88's could be tough love from the get go, as most were totally shut down through the 90's and only started opening after 15-20 years. Currently bright medium ruby with nose of cranberry slapped with subtle sous bois. Palate impressively complex with ripe bing cherries foiled by balancing acidity and finishing long with Asian spices and feathered saddle leather. Worth the wait and easily one of the top Clos Vougeots, neck to neck with the ancient Engel stable. Enjoyed same night as an 88 Leroy VR Beaumonts-this Vougeot greater intensity of flavours. Best now-2040.

8/3/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Purchased on release and stored in cold cellar. Medium ruby colour with no bricking and bright Tayberry bathed in barnboards on the nose. Palate still tight with a viscous blending of brambleberry's and Tulare tangy cherries, expanding on the back end with a silky, gamey white pepper finish. Very 1996 and a great CSJ still needing time. Rousseau CSJ perennially develops into one of the top ten 1er crus in Burgundy. Best 2026-2050.

8/21/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

The vineyard surrounding the Lafon house and purchased on release! Light yellow colour with stone fruit nose and outrageous mid palate
complexity that easily makes this the best so-called Deuxiemes cru Meursault, if not the best village white burg on the planet. Lanolin nectarine pits on a long palate with subtle caramel notes on the finish, with a zip of acidity that makes this a white wonder that should be a case buy every year. Best now to 2032.

4/2/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Light yellow with penetrating crushed granite nose. Still very
tight with intense lemon peach pit palate slapped with a whiff of vanilla following a long limestone grippy finish. These Lafon Perrières are very close to the class of your better Chevalier Montrachets in most years-How do you spell Bargain! Best now 2036

8/13/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Two bottles of these stony, purchased on release, great whites opened same evening. Light yellow with brushed cold granite tabletop nose, consistent and expected as a Perrières when compared to other Meursaults the same evening (Genevrieres).Intense stone fruits on the powerful well balanced palate and finishing with a tap of smoke and citrus. A top drawer white burg that will go the distance. Wow! Best now to 2034

7/16/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Purchased on release and consistent with a third bottle of this 2 weeks earlier. Crushed mineral and stone fruit nose that walked a tightrope between a thick,lanolin inflected intense very Grand Cru weight burg and an ethereal, balanced and very long and smoky dream maker of a Meursault. Yummilicious in spades, and much in reserve. Best now to 2036.

9/15/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Purchased on release and light amber yellow with lemon hazelnut nose. Powerful mature thick palate of almond coated stones trailing into a whiff of butterscotch-delicious with crab cake appetizer. Best now to 2028.

3/26/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Medium yellow with nutty vanilla nose. Initial powerhouse lemon mineral whack that after 2 hours morphed into a creamy stone fruit mid palate with a long subtle hazelnut finish. Paired fantastically with a Halibut Hollandaise emulsion prepared for a family birthday dinner. A bon marriage of Halibut and a killer Meursault, currently at the top of its game. Best now to 2030.

5/14/2022 - ricardito Likes this wine:

Part of a Horizontal tasting of 1990 Red Hermitage wines. All six of these bottles were stored in the same, cold 45 degrees F cellar, since release. The Chapoutier Monier de la Sizeranne Hermitage wine hails from les Bessards, Greffieux and Méal vineyards on the Hermitage Hill. They make a whopping 30000 bottles a year, so it is readily available throughout the planet. This bottle was decanted 30 minutes after opening and poured into Spiegelau burg glasses. Medium dark ruby with browning rim. Morels and and Earl Grey tea on the nose expanding into secondary barnboard, leather and sun dried cherries on the palate. Long finish of Provencal herbs and cocoa. Best now-2030.