Products Greater Than $50

Expert Review - Vintage 2023

Decanter 91 Points | Peach and fresh strawberry on the nose with touches of blossom. Crisp and light on the palate, beautifully refreshing.

Expert Reviews 

Wine Spectator 93 Points | This is alluring, with whiffs of warm date, green tea and walnut backed by juicy fig bread and salted caramel flavors. The racy, focused finish lets a singed juniper note glide through. Drink now.

Wine Enthusiast 94 points | The wonderful old-gold color of this tawny leads into a generous, rich wine that has retained fruits while also showing a woody character that is typical of wines this old. With spice, dried raisins and intense acidity, it is a beautiful wine that deserves to be drunk just by itself.

Wine Advocate 94 Points | The NV RP 30 Year Old Tawny Port comes in with 119 grams per liter of residual sugar and was bottled in 2015. This is the new release. This mingles complexity of flavor with a fresh and surprisingly elegant feel (relative to the category, of course). The finish is very long, complex and persistent, adding new flavors as it lingers. Beautifully constructed and balanced, this is a 30 that starts with a bit of understatement and keeps getting more impressive. It's fun to just smell, but you expect that with long-aged Tawnies. The lift to the fruit and the sunny demeanor aren't always as guaranteed. It has a surprisingly supple and fresh style that I rather appreciated, delivering those old Tawny flavors while also seeming remarkably elegant. Then, it finishes with that big acidity. It was notably better a few days later, no longer seeming quite so understated, particularly in regards to its concentrated flavors and intense aromatics. Note that this comes with a bar top cork. If you're wondering, this is their oldest NV Tawny; Ramos Pinto does not make a 40.

The Ramos-Pinto 30-Year old Tawny is amber colored with orange and garnet tones. The delicate green highlights of the meniscus are characteristic of old cask-aged wines, and illustrate the quality and advanced age of this fine port.

This complex, perfectly balanced port shows rich aromas of dried fruit and vanilla. Agitate the glass and spice aromas of cinnamon and cocoa are liberated. In the mouth, the attack is fresh, fine and delicate. Ripe, dried fruit softly merges with almond and hazelnut, culminating in vanilla flavors which linger gracefully on the palate. Winemaker Description.

 

Winemaker Description

Champagne Palmer & Co concentrates its vineyard holdings in the Montagne de Reims: in the grand cru villages of Mailly and Verzenay and the premier cru villages of Trépail and Villers-Marmery. While they also have holdings in the Marne Valley, the Côte de Sézanne and the Côte des Bar, their prestige cuvée Grands Terroirs, channels those north- and north-east-facing slopes with power and precision.

The 2015 vintage is blended from 50% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay and 12% Pinot Meunier, sourced from Mailly and Verzenay as well as Trépail, Villers-Marmery, Ludes, Chigny-les-Roses and Rilly-la-Montagne. Palmer & Co refers to the vintage as “exceptional” because it combined high temperatures and little rainfall – spelling little disease pressure and even ripening. Sunny days and cool nights in August, they say, allowed for “perfect” ripening.

The nose, subtle and charming, opens with notes of orange blossom and acacia, mixed with notes of yellow fruits, then it evolves towards lovely and delicately spiced aromas of fried pineapple and tonka bean. The palate is characterized by freshness, with citrus fruits sublimating the notes of brioche and dried fruits. Its creamy texture stretches deliciously into a persistent finish. 

Expert Reviews

92 Points Wine & Spirits | Markedly youthful in its smoky reduction, this wine sees its sulfur blow off quickly, leaving a flinty scent and an impression of clarity. It’s bright with pretty scents of black tea and herbs, firmed up by strong acidity.

92 Points James Suckling | A chalky and mineral Champagne with aromas of blanched almonds, chalk, seashells, biscuits, lemon pith and dried apples. Creamy mousse. Dry and bright, with a rounded finish. Drink now or hold.

Expert Review

John Gilman 96 Points | This is my first taste of Domaine des Closiers top bottling, les Trezellières, which is made from a parcel of old vines and given fully two years aging in barrel, with somewhere between ten and twenty percent of the casks new. The 2019 les Trezellières is beautifully deep and refined aromatically, delivering scents of black cherries, cassis, Cuban cigar wrapper, a very complex base of soil, a touch of Cheval Blanc-like menthol, a gentle dollop of tree bark, cedar and a topnote of cigar smoke. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, elegant and rock solid at the core, with great focus and complex, superb soil undertow, fine-grained tannins and a very long, pure and classy finish.

The small percentage of new oak gives this wine more refinement than the les Coudraies bottling, but because it is no more than twenty percent new oak, the wood influence is far more subtle out of the blocks than in Clos Rougeard’s Le Bourg bottling, which is the closest comparison I can think of for this brilliant young Saumur Champigny. Give this beautiful wine plenty of time in the cellar to properly resolve its tannins and completely blossom! (2019). 

Producer Description 

Orchard fruit notes are common to both Calvados and Scotch malt whisky. Many Calvados producers double-distil in pot stills, just like their Scottish cousins. Maturation in French oak is another aspect of their shared DNA.

These two spirits share richness, sweetness and complexity; the Calvados lends an intensity and length to the finish which enhances the character of the Scotch whiskies.

Serve over ice, mix with amari and vermouth into a unique twist on a boulevardier, or pair with a deliciously sweet tarte tatin. 

We think you’ll agree that these two spirits really do have an affinity for one another. 

• Winemaker Description

  Mont des Oiseaux is a cuvée produced in small quantities from Clos de l'Arlot's youngest vines, an estate Monopoly. This wine reveals the elegance of a great terroir and emphasizes the delicacy of red fruit. Fresh and tangy, with good cellaring potential, this wine can also be enjoyed in the bloom of youth.

• The Terroir

  This Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru is located inside the Clos de l'Arlot. It comes from the upper part of the Clos with a white limestone soil, and from a plot of young vines located at the bottom of the Clos on marl soil.

• Discover more

  - Ageing in barrels, with 30% of new barrels. Bottling takes place after 15-18 months of ageing.

Winemaker Description

Typical blackcurrant and lavender aromas with traces of fennel, whose fragrance is often carried by the breeze in the vineyards at Vesúvio. On the palate the wine delivers mouth-filling ripe black fruit flavors; opulent and velvety, although with substantial volume and weighty structure. Very polished tannins provide a satisfyingly long, silky finish.

Expert Reviews

Wine Spectator 96 Points | This is really vivid, with a beautiful range of cassis, cherry purée, boysenberry coulis and plum reduction notes unfurling across the palate while succulent licorice, warm fruitcake and enticing red and black tea.

Wine Enthusiast 94 Points | One of the Douro's grandest quintas has produced a powerful, structured wine that shows concentration and density. The aromas and dark fruits speak to the Touriga Nacional in the blend, giving a Port that is destined for long-term aging. Drink from 2030. Cellar Selection.

Expert Review

The Wine Spectator 94 Points | A very inviting, open style, with butterscotch and caramel notes framing the core of glazed pear, caramelized peach, golden raisin and warm fig flavors. The lush finish lets crème brûlée and ginger cream details hang, showing a flash of honeysuckle for lift.

Winemaker Description 

If time is marked by special moments, Kopke’s history is written in exceptional years.
Years that are worth keeping, so they can be relived and celebrated any time. When we retrieve years from Kopke’s history, we are creating more history: the age on the label of this Kopke Port wine is the average age of all the wines in the blend.

The wine should be stored in a cool and dry place, sheltered from light and temperature uctuations, and the bottle should remain in an upright position. Over time, it is natural that sediment will form at the bottom of a bottle of Port wine.

• Hand-picked at the optimum time, the grapes are then destemmed, crushed and converted into wine through a process of careful maceration to extract their colour, tannins and aromas, enhanced by constant churning during fermentation. This takes place in vats (lagares) at a controlled temperature (between 28-30°C) until the right degree of sweetness (baumé) is achieved. At this point, grape brandy is added to create the final fortified wine. A wine of high quality, made by blending wines of different harvests to achieve the array of sensory qualities that are typical of these aged tawny Port wines. These wines have each matured in oak casks for varied periods of time, with the average age of all the wines in the blend defining the age on the label. The resulting blend expresses the characteristics given by the ageing in wood.

Expert Reviews

James Suckling 98 Points | Loads of wet earth and grape aromas with hints of stems. Old vine aromas of bark and moss. Full-bodied, sweet and structured with a big kick on the end. Very impressive. Exceptional layers of fruit and energy. A stronger and more muscular Warre.

Wine Spectator 97 Points | Lush and inviting in feel, with a beautifully creamy texture that lets plum sauce, blueberry reduction and raspberry pte de fruit flavors glide along effortlessly. Notes of violet, anise and black tea are beguiling in the background before melding seamlessly on the finish. This shimmers with fruit, balanced by depth and spine. Best from 2035 through 2055.

Wine Advocate 96 Points | Relatively accessible, this still shows some impressive firmness to go with its fine concentration. An elegant wine this may be, as Charles Symington called it, but it is still admirable for its structure, even if the whole package is a little understated. Its fruit and mid-palate are nicely supported by moderate tannins. It evolves well with air, easily showing vivid and fresh fruit. It is beautifully textured as well. This is a fine Warre's Port, holding its own next to Dow, better than the 2016 Warre and a force in its own right. It is one of the best in a while. It is relatively accessible but not ready.

Wine Enthusiast 90 Points | A ripe, floral wine that has many layers of black fruits with a fresh touch of acidity. The wine is dense while also elegant and poised with tannins and fruit already in balance. That suggests the Port will age relatively quickly. Drink from 2025.

Expert Ratings - Vintage 2018 

Wine Advocate 93 Points | Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Benchland Select gives up intense cassis, stewed plums and cedar chest notes with hints of licorice and wild sage. Medium to full-bodied in the mouth, the palate has a taut, grainy texture supporting the muscular black fruits, finishing long and mineral tinged.

James Suckling 92 Points | Ripe blueberries, blackcurrants, blackberries, spearmint, cocoa and walnut on the nose. Full-bodied with firm, fine tannins. Supple, flavorful finish. Drink or hold. 

Winemaker Description

Bruno Clair set up an eponymous estate in France established in 1979 with vineyard holdings spread all over the area.  Half of the vines are a century old. Bruno Clair, a true vigneron, has the expertise needed to reinvent this area better than anyone and his Marsannay wines are very elegant and long-lasting. His respect for the terroir and the stylistic precision of his wines makes him one of the best producers in Burgundy.

This textbook En la Rue de Vergy is one of the rare white wines of the Côte de Nuits. It is complex, perfectly balanced, and well-structured with very clean tannins and crisp acidity and a long finish. The intense, rich palette presents lemon, grapefruit, oak, vanilla, yellow apple, almonds, and white melon flavors with herbal, floral, and mineral nuances. It's a nice accompaniment to paella.

Producer Description 

Since the 1800s, the Camut family has grown 46.5 hectares of apple trees in the Pays d'Auge, the finest growing region for Calvados. In Normandy, 800 types of apples are grown; the Camut family grow about 25 of these, all of which are hand-harvested at optimum maturity between October and mid-December. While pears are allowed in Calvados (actually mandatory in the Domfrontais region with a minimum of 30%), only apples grown on the Camut property are used in Camut calvados.

Aromas of green apple and caramel. Impressive viscosity for a relatively young (hors d'age) spirit. Long finish reminiscent of initial aromas. 86 proof.

Critic Notes

Charles Curtis MW writes:  hint of exotic Asian spice. The palate has a deft balance between density, moderately firm tannins, and a lively freshness that leads to a pleasantly lingering finish—lovely wine. The grapes come from the domaine holding of just under a half-hectare located under Clos de la Roche; they are partially destemmed and carefully fermented before ageing in mainly used casks. Age five years before opening.  Drinking 2028 to 2055.  - Decanter 95

Neal Martin writes:  The 2022 Morey-Saint-Denis Les Millandes 1er Cru has one-third whole bunches. Brambly red fruit, sous-bois and light chalky scents on the nose that feels quite strict at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins. There’s mainly black fruit here, plus cedar and graphite, rather "serious" towards the finish. Fine, but it will require bottle age.  Drinking 2026 to 2042.  - Vinous 90-92

Allen Meadows writes:  A discreet application of wood sets off the softly spicy and earthy aromas of violet, lavender plum and red currant. The powerful and markedly more concentrated broad-shouldered flavors exude a subtle minerality on the succulent yet very firmly structured finale that exhibits excellent length. Patience will be necessary but it should be well-rewarded in time as this is packed with development potential.  Drink 2024+  - Burghound 93

Producer Description

Old Fitzgerald Bourbon has a long history of excellence, dating back to 1870. Today, this 7-Year-Old expression is made under the exacting standards of the Bottled-in-Bond Act, with a whisper of wheat. Rich and viscous, with notes of brown sugar, baking spices, and oak—this Bourbon is worth sharing. So, make it Your Key to Hospitality. Color: Bright copper.

• Aroma: Graham crackers and honey. Light citrus and summer fruit notes.
• Taste: Rich and viscous. Fresh bread, brown sugar, and baking spices.
• Finish: Long-lasting richness, Brown sugar sweetness with cinnamon fades to a hint of oak.

Proof: 100 Proof
Age: 7 Years Old

Expert Reviews

Wine Spectator 98 Points | Powerfully rich and refined, with plenty of grip behind the lip-smacking flavors of kirsch, dark plum, chocolate and boysenberry. Shows excellent balance as well, with a silky texture and a long, spicy finish that's accented with hints of licorice and cedar. Best from 2014 through 2034

Wine Enthusiast 93 Points | Rich wine, as befits a ripe year, full of damson jam and sweet tannins. Of course, it is still very young in a ripe fruity style. The structure is all there, ready for aging.

Vinous 94 Points | Deep ruby. Hypnotic perfume of black fruits, minerals, botanical herbs and earth. Suave, seamless and sharply focused, with concentrated dark fruit flavors complicated and lifted by subtle floral, incense, saline and mineral qualities. Not a powerhouse but wonderfully pliant and aromatic. Finishes with compelling sweetness, harmonious tannins and superb lingering perfume of black cherry and flowers.

Producer Description 

Tequila Premium that is rested for 36 months in American White Oak barrels. It is a limited production where each one of the bottles is decorated by hand. Beautiful amber color, with cooper shades and wooden flavor.

Memo Summary Notes

Arette Gran Clase Extra Añejo is a highly respected, "insider" tequila produced by the Orendain brothers at the historic El Llano distillery (NOM 1109) in the heart of Tequila, Jalisco.

 It is known as a "whiskey-drinker’s tequila" because of its extensive time in wood and its deep, savory complexity.

Producer Description 

Expert Review

Producer Description 

OESK represents as follows - a recipe that is spicy and has a full body. 116 Proof. 

PS stands for Private Selection. 

Only Four Roses combines two mash bills with five proprietary yeast strains to create ten distinct bourbon recipes. Each recipe brings something different to the batch – and carefully mingling them allows us to achieve an endless range of flavor profiles to please any bourbon lover.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2021 

89-92 points Jasper Morris |  Fresh pale lemon. The bouquet has a little more refinement than the St-Aubin, offering apple, fennel and citrus notes. Clean, lean and pure on the nose, extremely refreshing. While there is little reduction on the nose, the finish has a lively mineral limestone feeling. Drink from 2025-2028. 

88-90 points Burghound | Bright and fresh aromas of resin, petrol and lemon zest introduce slightly bigger and richer though less mineral-driven flavors that are at once generous but reasonably precise on the lingering and agreeably dry finale. This relatively forward effort could use better depth so I would suggest holding it for a few years first. 

88-90 points Wine Advocate | The 2021 Chassagne-Montrachet Cuvée Margot reveals aromas of peach, freshly baked bread, oatmeal and spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample palate with a fleshy core of fruit, lively acids and a slightly lactic finish. 

Producer Description 

Two producers, one state – this is the 4th edition of La Colección Mixteca from Cinco Sentidos. This yearly release is made up of tiny batches that highlight the unique, rustic production styles used throughout the mountainous Mixteca region of south-central Mexico.

Winemaker Description

This wine comes from plots of bush-trained vines on poor, sandytextured soils in the Rioja Alta area. The vines are an average of morethan 35 years old and smaller yields. They are harvested with great care and transported to the winery in small containers. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainlesssteel tanks at a controlled temperature of 28ºC, with prior bleeding-off and a long maceration of three weeks in contact with theskins. Ageing in French and American oak barrels (90%-10%) over 28 months, followed by subsequent bottle conditioning for at least 4 years until it is leaves the winery.

AWARDS
93 Silver Medal · International Wine Challenge (v. 2011).

90 Puntos · James Suckling (a. 2010).

90 puntos · Guía Repsol (a. 2010).

90 puntos · Wine Spectator (a. 2009).

91 puntos · Wine Enthusiast (a. 2009).

91 puntos · Wine Wine Advocate (a. 2008).

SENSORY EVALUATION

Look: Ruby red with a noticeable rim. Excellent brightness and clarity.

Aroma & palate: On its first contact with oxygen, it appears clean but reticent. Then, sweet notes of oak appear, cinnamon, clove and candied fruits. Infinite nuances that change with the passage of time.

On the palate, it is subtle and pleasant, with great finesse uponentry and through the mid-palate.

The tannins are extremely well polished and it has a serene acidity that maintains a long finish.

SERVING & FOOD PAIRING

White meat, oven-baked fish. Cured meat and dark chocolate desserts. 

93 Silver Medal · International Wine Challenge (v. 2011).

Winemaker Description 

The 2018 Grace Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon exudes gorgeous dark red fruit, black cherry, black currant, accented by notes of bittersweet cocoa, black licorice, cigar box, resin, pink peppercorn, rose, and a hint of mint which offers freshness and lift.

The palate is broad and plush with layers of vibrant dark red fruit and spice seamlessly underpinned by soft, fine tannins and an extremely long palate. Drinking beautifully now, this wine will age at a glacial pace for years to come.

Winemaker Description

Rioja is without question the most famous wine region in Spain, but the region is anything but homogeneous. The three sub-regions – Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Oriental and Rioja Alta – differ enormously. This wine comes from the small hamlet of Labastida in the northwest of Rioja Alavesa, the smallest and northernmost sub-region located in the Spanish Basque Country and characterized by calcareous clay and sandy soils. 

The mastermind behind the Dominio del Challao winery is Manu Michelini, whose family makes incredibly fine, terroir-driven wines under the name Michelini i Mufatto at both their winery in Bierzo, in northeastern Spain, and the Argentine winery in Mendoza. The Challao is the winery's top wine. Medium ruby ​​red with violet. There is significantly more intensity in the glass than with the Garnacha, but this wine still reminds me more of Burgundy than Bordeaux on the nose. The winery is clearly on the trail of elegance. Juicy, fresh wild berries, black cherries, rose petals and black Assam tea, that's delicately smoky. 

Then come violets and freshly fired clay. In the mouth, cassis, fresh blackberries and lots of black cherry again. The intense, chalky minerality is phenomenal, building up gradually on the tongue. Delicately bitter, fresh herbs and a touch of After Eight. The tannins are fine and chalky, and as soon as you feel the structure, the next wave of black cherry washes over your tongue. 

This is not at all what you imagine Rioja to be in the classic sense. But this wine is a lot of fun because of its freshness and mineral intensity without being boring. On the contrary, I am convinced that it will develop gracefully in the cellar for years because it is made for a long life. Super chic fabric and without question a Rioja in a class of its own!