Half Bottles

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2010 

The Wine Advocate 98 Points | Pale to medium lemon-gold color, the 2010 d'Yquem has retreated into its shell at this youthful stage, offering spritely suggestions of lemon curd, lime cordial and green mango with wafts of honeysuckle, spice cake, sea spray and beeswax plus a hint of gingerbread. The palate really comes through with super intense, tightly wound citrus, savory and mineral layers carried by a laser-precise backbone of freshness, finishing with crazy persistence that lingers a full three minutes and then some. This is going to be a very exotic, opulent Yquem!

Wine Enthusiast 98 Points | Barrel Sample. Stunningly rich in character, a wine with great power to go with its acidity and sweetness. It is dense, powerful and concentrated powered by honey and by spice from the wood. The finish has dried apricots, very aromatic.

James Suckling 97 Points | The purity of Botrytis in this wine is so impressive with dried fruits such as apple and mango. And then spicy character. Full body and very sweet but it is incredibly fresh and lively. Such class and elegance. Perfectly manicured wine. Everything in the right place. This shows a delicacy and intensity that are spellbinding. Drink in 2018.

Wine Spectator 97 Points | A pure, racy, floral style, with bright white peach, heather and honeysuckle notes driving along. The core of fresh orchard fruit is unctuous, the finish long and lacy, with marvelous cut and finesse. This shows the balance and elegance of a cooler year with a longer harvest period.—Non-blind Yquem vertical (July 2014). Best from 2015 through 2045. 8,334 cases made. (C

Vinous 94 Points | The 2010 Yquem has an attractive bouquet with marmalade, caramelized pear, orange pith and light puff pastry notes. It just needs a little more delineation. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, lightly spiced and impressive focus. Like the aromatics, I would have just liked a little more precision on the finish. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.

Expert Review - Vintage 2022 

Tasting Panel 91 Points | Blended with Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Petite Sirah, this French oak- aged red produces bold notes of tobacco, blackberry, and sandalwood. Savory notes are amplified by graphite for a fine textural experience.

Winemaker Description 

Inviting warm aromas featuring notes of violets, pomegranate, herbes de Provence, cedar, and baker’s chocolate. A soft mouthfeel with supple and concentrated flavors of plum, cherry cola and blackberry pie filling, all supported by melting, dusty tannins.

Pair with baked feta and plum tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and served over pasta.

Producer Description 

Casamigos Tequila is a small batch, ultra-premium tequila made from the finest, hand-selected, 100% Blue Weber agaves, which are grown in the rich, red clay soil and cool climate of the Jalisco Highlands of Mexico.

The agaves are harvested after maturing for a minimum of seven years and are hand-chosen for size and quality.

A slow fermentation process results in a deep, rich flavor, and a tequila that's as smooth as it gets.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2021

The Wine Advocate 91 Points The juicy and young 2021 Catena Malbec has a nice combination of spice, berry and herbs to make it balanced, expressive and attractive. It's round, velvety and nicely crafted in an easy to understand and highly drinkable style and a commercial profile. A champion in drinkability.

James Suckling 91 Points | Aromas of plums, dark cherries, blueberries, tar and crushed stones. It’s medium-bodied with round, velvety tannins. Dark-fruited and smooth. 

Much lighter than most other red vermouths, Bordiga Rosso works beautifully as a sipper or when you don't want to overpower a lighter spirit in a cocktail.

Aromatized with botanicals from the Occitan Alps near the winery, there are lovely soft notes of cinnamon, baking spices, and cola sweetness. Producer Description. 

Winemaker Description

A deep ruby color, with a garnet rim. A classic bouquet, on which the liveliness of young fruit produces a delicate balance. Firm and powerful in the mouth, it shows flavors of fresh fruit and delivers a long and harmonious finish. 

Founded by a German family of the same name in 1638, Kopke is likely the oldest Port house in existence today. Aged in oak casks before bottling, this is a young, fruity port with a vibrant, sweet feel. This crowd-pleaser features plum and bright cherry flavors.

Joaquín Hidalgo of Vinous writes 95 Points | The NV Solera 1927 is a sun-dried Pedro Ximénez wine sourced from Sierra de Montilla. Aged for 20 years in a very old solera, this mahogany-colored wine offers aromas of caramel, saffron and tar, along with licorice and herbal notes. Very sweet and concentrated, the palate reveals a wild herb core with a balanced and potent mouthfeel. Despite its sweetness, it maintains balance with a warm, rich heart—a unique sip from Montilla.

Natalie Maclean write 92 Points | This lovely sweet-style Pedro Ximenez Solera 1927 Sherry is not vintage dated but does have some wine from the 1927 vintages blended in. Dark-hued, rich and complex with aromas of fig jam, molasses and espresso. Great dessert wine. 

Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Chardonnay is crafted in a fresh, soft style with juicy citrus and apple fruit character with subtle spice and oak nuances. We blend Chardonnay grapes from vineyards throughout Washington’s Columbia Valley to create this complex yet approachable, food-friendly style. Winemaker Description. 

Expert Review - Vintage 2014

Wine Advocate 98 Points | The Château Yquem 2014 was picked over 9 weeks this year, with one-quarter of the grapes picked prior to 15 September. It delivers 134 grams per liter residual sugar and 7.3 grams per liter tartaric acid, with a pH 3.60. It has a captivating bouquet (I know...I know...what else were you expecting) But it entrances with its pure, wild honey notes mixed with almond and white chocolate scents, bestowed with beguiling delineation and focus. The palate is very poised with the acidity nigh on perfect. Occasionally an Yquem only reveals its components parts at this early juncture, necessitates conjecture. However the 2014 has a sense of harmony and completeness already, as if the élevage is merely there to usher it on to its finished state. There is undeniably great depth here, perhaps less conspicuous than other vintages because of that silver thread of acidity: notes of lemon sherbet, orange zest, shaved ginger and again, a few "flakes' of white chocolate. It is extremely long with tenderness rather than power on the finish. It's not quite up there in the rarefied heights of say, the 2001 or 2009, but it is what we call in the trade, "the business." 

Expert Reviews

Wine Spectator 98 Points | Superb, but I have had an even better bottle of this wine; usually it's worth two points more. Equal in quality to the perfect 1961. Thick and rich, with berry, cherry and tobacco character, it shows layers of ripe fruit and velvety tannins that go on and on at the finish. Exciting wine. --Latour vertical. Drink now.  (8/2000).

Wine Advocate 96 Points Dark garnet with an amber edge, the 1959 Latour reveals a touch of volatile acidity in the nose, along with aromas of melted caramel, tobacco, and jammy red and black fruits. As the wine sat in the glass, notes of minerals, coffee, spice, and underbrush emerged. There is still copious tannin in the finish (I am not sure it will ever be fully resolved), but this sumptuous, complex, fragrant, super-rich Latour cuts a broad swath across the palate. Fully mature, it is best consumed over the next decade.  6/2000) 

Winemaker Description 

40% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon and 20% Muscadelle.  The wine is aged on the lees for about 3 weeks, which accounts for its round, smooth, and remarkably fruity flavor. The wine is gold with green highlights. Floral aromas and fruity aromas (hawthorn, grape fruit). Round and fresh, slightly pearly wine. A crisp and long finish. This wine is aged on the lees for about 3 weeks, which accounts for its round, smooth, and remarkably fruity flavor.

Food Pairing: It is ideal as an aperitif, or with fish, seafood (a must with oysters), and cheese.

Located southwest of Bordeaux in the commune of Haux, Château Lamothe has crafted estate-bottled wine since the 16th century. For four generations succession was passed down on the mother’s side and since 1956 the estate has been run by the Néel-Chombart family. Over the past 60 years the family has amassed prime vineyard land which now spans 80 hectares of clay and limestone slopes on the Right Bank. Additionally, they restored the distinctive façade of the historic chateau (now pictured on all Lamothe labels) and renovated the 17th century limestone quarries into underground cellars ideal for aging. 

Vigneron Damien Chombart believes that sustainable farming is not only stewardship of the land, but also as a way to enhance the life of farmers, communities and society. It is a holistic challenge the connects economic success in agriculture with environmental and social responsibilities for all involved. 

Expert Reviews 

95 Points Wine & Spirits | Inocente is Valdespino’s flagship, a wine from the Macharnudo Alto vineyard, where the soil is pure white albariza. It ferments in 600-liter wooden casks without added yeasts, a practice that has become increasingly rare in Jerez. The intensity of the wine’s salinity is remarkable—iodine and salt—coming together with ripe white fruit, scents of nuts and exotic spices. The structure is dry and austere, like drinking the juice of stones. This will last for a decade in the cellar, but it’s impossible to hold onto a bottle if there’s raw seafood nearby.

94+ Points Robert Parker | As with many other wines from the José Estévez group, there is a special bottling of Valdespino's flagship NV Fino Inocente in magnum, but in this case they have kept the bottles for six months as the wine is from the saca otoño 2016, the autumn bottling from 2016. So the wine is offered with some extra bottle age. It has all that you expect from Inocente, a long aging wine fermented in bota from grapes grown exclusively in the Macharnudo Alto vineyard and bottled with an average age of ten years. All the textbook aromas and flavors are there, coupled with the elegance and mineral intensity the Macharnudo white chalky soils provide. Customers who purchase one of this scarce magnums probably know Inocente already. This will have a longer development in bottle.