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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. 

Expert Reviews- Vintage 2013 

Josh Raynolds of Vinous writes 96 Points |  (made with 50 percent whole clusters) Bright purple. A complex, intensely perfumed bouquet of fresh black and blue fruit, candied licorice and Asian spice scents develops a sexy floral note as the wine opens up. Vibrant and appealingly sweet on the palate, offering intense, smoke-tinged black currant, boysenberry, floral pastille and spicecake flavors energized by a refreshing snap of juicy acidity. Blends richness and vivacity with a deft hand and finishes extremely long and gently tannic, leaving a sappy blue fruit note behind. Drinking 2023 - 2032.

James Suckling writes 97 Points | The most brooding nose of the trio of La La's with dark coal smoky aromas and dark stones, graphite and cocoa powder. Fruits are in the very dark plum and blackberry spectrum but flavors are held in a more savory mode with assertive, powerful clean-cut tannins that hold endless length. Truly a masterpiece. Best from 2022 and for two decades or more.

Joe Czerwinski of The Wine Advocate writes 94 Points | The 2013 Cote Rotie La Mouline shows none of the vintage’s sometimes dry tannins. It offers crisp black fruit—plums and blackberries—underscored by hints of pencil shavings, espresso and grilled meat. Suave and long, it should drink well for a couple of decades. Drinking 2020 - 2035. 

James Molesworth of the Wine Spectator writes 96 Points | Very ripe, with layers of fig, boysenberry and plum compote forming the core, inlaid liberally with licorice snap, roasted apple wood and Turkish coffee notes. Shows lots of heft, but everything pulls together on the finish, exhibiting drive and definition. Best from 2020 through 2040. 65 cases imported.

Jeb Dunnuck writes 94+ Points | One of the more restrained and fresh vintages of this cuvée out there, the 2013 Côte Rôtie La Mouline still has a classic Mouline floral, gamey, and spicy bouquet to go with medium to full-bodied richness and depth on the palate. With good concentration, notable complexity, sweet tannin, and plenty of length, it needs 3-4 years of bottle age and will keep for 15+. Drinking 2022 - 2037.

Richard Hemming MW of Jancis Robinson writes 18/20 Points | Hickory smoke, violets, tobacco, black-cherry fruit, pepper and a touch of stemmy herbal character. Super-fine tannins, and quite light body with a finish that isn't as expansive as the palate. Still young, so the length may well develop. Drinking 2019 - 2033 

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.

 

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2014

Stephan Reinhardt of the Wine Advocate writes 94+ Points | The 2014 Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile is highly complex on the clear, intense and smoky, lemony nose. Clear, fresh, straight and very mineral on the nose, this is a pure but complex, intense, stony Riesling that is pretty austere at the moment. Provided with racy acidity, but concentrated and mineral on the palate, this is exceptional dry Riesling with great tension. To be served in 10, 20 and even in 30 years.  Drinking 2025 to 2040. 

Ian D’Agata of Vinous writes 94+ Points | Vivid straw-green. Delicate nuances of jasmine and lemon verbena complicate aromas of green apple, lime and minerals. Pure and penetrating on the palate, boasting superb definition to the flavors of gin, mint, minerals, violet and lemon zest. The finish is remarkably crystalline and long. This Frédéric Emile is currently dominated by its Osterberg component (the cuvée is a blend of Osterberg and Geisberg grand cru grapes), which brings chiseled acidity, as opposed to the Geisberg’s ripe fruit personality and licorice quality. Despite the difficult year, this is likely to become a memorable Frédéric Emile. So much so, in fact, that it’s currently impossible to choose between it and the more famous Clos Sainte Hune.  Drinking 2022 to 2045.

James Suckling writes 96 Points | So much mineral and sliced apple character with hints of orange and apple peel. Turns to steely character. Full-bodied, racy and bright. So lively. Great finish. Drink or hold on release. 

Jeb Dunnuck writes 92+ Points | Coming close to a decade after the vintage, the 2014 Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile is still vivid and racy, with a taut, focused, almost austere style in its ripe citrus, crushed stone, hazelnut, and smoky mineral-driven aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied and nicely concentrated, with high yet integrated acidity, this needs another 4-5 years of bottle age, as it's currently austere, firm, and inward. It will be an incredibly long-lived Riesling, but how much pleasure it will ultimately deliver might be questionable.  Drinking after 2027. 

Alison Napjus of the Wine Spectator writes 95 Points | A bone-dry, racy white, with a lovely entry point of slate, petrol and brine aromas on the nose, plus a minerally profile that underscores notes of crunchy nectarine, kiwifruit, cherry blossoms, pink grapefruit pith and fresh thyme. Firm and linear, this graceful version exhibits seamless knit and definition. Drink now through 2039.  - Wine Spectator 95

Jancis Robinson writes 17.5+ Points | To be released around 2022 or 2023. Razor-sharp nose and very tight. Lots to chew on. They could release this and no one would object but I can see why they want it to unfurl a bit.  Drinking 2022 to 2035.  - Jancis Robinson 17.5+

Winemaker Description 

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2020 

Wine Spectator | Harmonious and buttery this white features creamy lemon peach baking spice and sweet butter flavors. Well-balanced and integrated this is very approachable now yet with vibrant acidity underneath and a lingering tangy mineral-laced finish. Best from 2025 through 2038.

B.S.Burghound 91 Points |There are vague Chablis-like hints of iodine and seashore to the ultra-fresh aromas of green apple white flower and citrus peel. There is both good volume and richness to the focused and moderately powerful flavors that deliver fine length on the mineral-driven appealingly dry and youthfully austere finale. At present the mid-palate isn't especially dense though I suspect that with age it will flesh out significantly. (Drink starting 2030).

Winemaker Description 

Magnificently concentrated, a very fine nose with aromas of acacias, honeysuckle blossoms and nuts. Very pure and powerful with superb depth that will age up to 10 years.
Serve with shellfish, lobster, foie gras and poultry dishes in creamy sauces.

Domaine Antonin Guyon is one of the most prestigious estates in the Côte d’Or, as well as one of the largest family-owned wineries in the region. It was started in the 1960s by Antonin Guyon with parcels of land in Gevrey and Meursault. Today, the massive 47 hectare property is controlled and operated today by Antonin’s sons, Dominique and Michel and produces wines of impeccable quality from 15 different appellations, which includes many renowned villages from the region. An exceptional range of Premier and Grands Crus.

WINEMAKING & VINTAGE NOTES

The Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru vineyards straddle the communes of Pernard Vergellesses and Aloxe-Corton and enjoy a south westerly exposure. The soil here is white marl, and almost pure limestone. Grapes are hand-harvested and then carried to the winery in small boxes, where they are sorted. Fermentation is carried out at 64-68°F in oak casks. Lees are stirred in the casks twice a week. Wines are aged in 50% new French oak. Winemaker Description. 

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). 

Winemaker Description 

The Cortado La Barajuela 2017 comes as the Palma Cortada y la Raya, from Viña el Corregidor, from the Sub-pago de Carrascal Alto, in the Pago de Carrascal. The harvest was carried out in the middle of September in the later passes, selecting the fully ripe bunches.

Winemaker Description

The weather in 1953 was very favourable to vine growth and the crop was both plentiful and of excellent quality.

The growing season began with a warm, wet April, followed by a very warm, but dry month of May.  June and July were cool and rainy, whereas August and September were dry and slightly warmer than average.

Flowering went very well in May because it did not rain very much. Even though June and July were cool, which slowed down the growth cycle somewhat, the harvest was able to begin on the 21st of September. The grapes were excellent because August and September we very dry and hot.  Yields were high, but 1953 Cheval Blanc shows that quantity and quality are not incompatible.
Degree of alcohol: 12°.

This is a great vintage for Cheval Blanc. The wine is very well-balanced and still elicits enormous praise.

Winemaker Description 

Silky smooth and smartly chic in a chic frosted glass bottle, Kinushiro is a Junmai grade nigori sake with a clean and refreshing aftertaste and a full but elegant character. 

Before bottling, this sake is stored in casks made from high-quality Japanese cedar. The result is a sake with a crisp, dry flavor and the pleasant hint of Japanese cedar.

Winemaker Description 

Rich, creamy flavors of pear and butterscotch with a delicate touch of oak.

Enjoy with jumbo prawns or roasted chicken. Serve chilled. 

Winemaker Description

Blend: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petite Verdot, 3% Merlot
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is absolutely impeccable. Best of all, it won't require years in the cellar to be enjoyable. In fact, it is quite expressive today. Juicy dark cherry, plum, mocha, spice, leather and cinnamon are some of the many notes that flesh out in the glass. 

Expert Review 

Vinous 96+ Points | The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is silky and elegant, with lovely aromatic presence and impeccable balance. Sweet tobacco, cedar, dried flowers and mint all give this mid-weight Cabernet lovely complexity and nuance. The 2018 has shut down since I tasted it last year, but that is not surprising given the style here. Today, bright acids give the 2018 energy, tension and a good deal of precision. Those qualities should help the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon age well over the coming decades.  Drinking 2028 - 2058.

Winemaker Description

Light and easy drinking sake named after Japan’s colorful koi fish that represent good fortune and luck. This sake represents the combination of vibrant colors, patterns, and shimmering scales that have earned Japanese koi fish the moniker “living jewels."

Our Professional Review

67Wine.com Rand Sieger | Light, soft sake with notes of banana, citrus and Asian pear.

Winemaker Description

Valduero Dos Cotas Reserva is a barrel-aged, single-variety Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) red wine made by Bodegas Valduero in the D.O. Ribera de Duero.

Set up in the small Burgos town of Gumiel del Mercado by Gregorio García álvarez in 1984, the Valduero family winery was one of the first to be founded in Ribera de Duero. Currently, alongside their two daughters Yolanda and Carolina, they cultivate 200 hectares of Tempranillo variety vineyards to make Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva wines in their winery, built at the foot of a mountain. An authentic cave over 30 metres deep that houses more than 4,000 oak barrels and a million bottles ready to send out all over the world.

Valduero Dos Cotas Reserva comes from old strains over 50 years old planted at an altitude of 830 metres in clay-calcareous soils. They use traditional agriculture and a bush training system to naturally limit production to an average of 3,500 kg / ha. When the grapes reach optimum ripeness, they are manually harvested into 14 kg boxes.

In the winery, Valduero Dos Cotas Reserva ferments for 8 days in stainless steel tanks between 23ºC and 28ºC with pump-overs and 10 days of maceration. It then ages for 30 months in oak barrels of 3 different origins and finally stabilises in the bottle for 18 months before going to market.

Valduero Dos Cotas Reserva is a fine and elegant barrel-aged red wine that is a classic Ribera de Duero with well-balanced fruit and wood.

Winemaker Description 

This premium French wine from Chateau Greysac originates from the Medoc region of Bordeaux. It has a characteristic deep purple coloring and medium legs. The aroma is complex and a mix of blueberries, plum, and raspberries blend with a fresh earthiness that dances in the nose.

The wine has a medium body and slightly acidic in structure with strong tannins, with notes of blackberries and licorice. The finish is clean and slightly tannic, with an aftertaste of black fruits and a more earthy flavors that linger on the tongue. The wine is exceptionally well made and well balanced and the ideal of what a good Medoc should be.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2019 

Joe Czerwinski writes:  Whitehall Lane's 2019 Merlot Napa Valley actually contains 87% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. Slightly candied cherry notes mark the nose, framed by vanilla and touches of dried tobacco, while the medium to full-bodied palate is succulent and juicy, textured without being overly rich or tannic.  Drinking 2022 to 2030.  - Robert Parker Wine Advocate 90

James Suckling writes:  Vibrant, fruity nose of ripe plums, raspberries, mulberries, licorice and nutmeg. Some chocolate orange, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with creamy tannins. Plush, round and succulent. Drink or hold.  - Wine Spectator 91

Tim Fish writes:  Refined and structured, with expressive red currant, toasty mocha and tomato leaf tones that gather tension and polish toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2029.  - Wine Spectator 91

Winemaker Description 

This Merlot offers notes of raspberry croissant, red currants, cocoa powder, and layers of graphite. The palate showcases fine, firm tannins alongside chocolate cherry lollipop, red plums, dried goji berries, and toasted brioche. It is supple in texture and shows attractive depth on the finish. Winemaker Description. 

Our Professional Review 

Rand of 67Wine.com writes | A dry-styled Riesling that is at once rustic and approachable. Rockstar wine maker Christopher Loewen raises this wine in large fuder casks, using spontaneous fermentation.  This gives the wine a beautiful complexity and mouth filling texture.  A mix of yellow stone fruit, pear, and spiced citrus is underscored by a pleasingly savory salinity.

95 Points James Suckling | Lots of sliced lemon, apple, ginger and honey blossom. Meyer lemon, too. Medium to full body, creamy texture. Wild and vivid flavors with so much going on here. Tangy and vivid. Terrific quality for the vintage. Excellent acid. 100% barrel fermented, 60% stainless and 40% oak.

94 Points Wine Enthusiast | A flinty, herbaceous aroma leads to nicely layered flavors of citrus, ginger and limestone in this complex, subtle and fascinating wine. Nervy acidity braces the ample herb and fruit flavors for an especially energized mouthfeel.

93 Points Decanter | The iconic Napa producer fermented this Sauvignon Blanc in French oak, small stainless steel barrels, clay amphora, and ceramic and concrete cuves. Intense sweet peach aromas leap forth, followed by tarragon, sea foam and lemon zest notes. The palate is fresh with pronounced citrus flavors, followed by ripe apricot and briny minerality.

93 Points Jeb Dunnuck | Bright and racy, with lots of citrus, subtle grapefruit, and some chalky minerality, the 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is medium-bodied, has a balanced lively mouthfeel, and a clean finish.

Pretty and pure with aromas of citrus, white peach, and juicy pear, this beautiful Sauvignon Blanc is layered and complex. Apple clafoutis and floral aromatics invite you in. Rich and textural, this wine perfectly balances viscosity and acidity. Sea spray and salted lemon with some grapefruit pith carries through its long finish. Delicious and refreshing! Winemaker Description. 

Winemaker Description 

Producer Description 

Medium deep amber colour. Rather fruity nose of prune, fig with earl grey tea and candied orange. Rather sweet palate with a creamy texture, some nutty complexity, and rather long finish. 

Winemaker Description 

Tio Pepe Fino Sherry is a star bright, pale golden color. It is elegant and distinctive, with fresh bread and almond aromas. The palate is full bodied, crisp and very dry, with a complex, long finish.

Perfect with canapes and tapas, Asian food, seafood and all fish based dishes. Try it with caviar, oysters, anchovies or tuna carpaccio. Winemaker Description. 

Expert Review 

James Suckling 90 Points | This is the prototypical fino sherry with all the salty and yeasty character you expect. Also dried-apple, pear and lemon-zest character. Generous, but very dry and salty on the palate with a refreshing touch of austerity. Where are the olives? Drink now, if possible from a freshly opened bottle. 

Winemaker Description 

Arneis produces a lightly styled white wine with beautiful straw yellow colour. Citrus edged orchard fruits, pear and apricot are attractive on the palate with slightly bitter floral note that can resemble almonds. L'azienda Brovia is a traditional Piemontese family wine growing estate in Castiglione Falletto, in the heart of Barolo country. The wine is appreciated for its refined elegance.

The sole white wine of the estate is produced in the Roero district from an 0.80 hectare plot in Vezza d’Alba. The soil is essentially sandy in composition and sits at 340 meters altitude on south-facing slopes. The vineyard was planted in 1980. Harvest (manual) normally occurs in mid-September.

The grapes are briefly macerated and the fermentation occurs at controlled temperatures (around 15 degrees Celsius) for two to three weeks. The wine rests in stainless steel until the early spring months of the following year and is usually released to the market, after several months of bottle aging, in late summer/early fall.

Approximately 4500 bottles are produced annually, 3,000 of which are shipped to the USA. 

Memo Pairing Notes

This Arneis is incredibly versatile. Its freshness and body make it a perfect match for:

• Raw and Cooked Seafood: Oysters, raw tuna, grilled octopus, and white fish.

• Vegetable Dishes: Vegetable-based pasta, light risottos, or asparagus.

• Cured Meats & Cheese: Light ham or salami, and fresh, milky cheeses like Burrata or soft goat cheese.

Expert Review - Vintage 2020 

Wine Spectator 90 Points | This has nice, subtle energy, with rippling rooibos tea, blood orange and red currant notes that meld steadily through a savory finish. 

Bart Hopkins | The beautiful Anderson Valley of Mendocino County is home to some of California’s best Pinot Noir. I look at it as a stylistic bridge between Russian River-Sonoma Coast and the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The fruit leans more to the darker spectrum with earthy complexity and a spicy character. The 2020 Husch Estate Pinot Noir is an exceptional example of what makes Anderson Valley special. Aromas of cherry and strawberry mingle with shades of violet, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Well balanced and harmonious with smooth tannins and lifted acidity that brings focus to the fruit on the long flavorful finish.
Winemaker Description

Winemaker's Description

Lush and powerful, the 2020 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir showcases this valley’s great fruit. The wine presents vivid aromas of amarena cherry, marionberry, lilac, and baking spices. Subtle notes of rhubarb, currant, rosemary, and earth add depth and complexity. Lively and youthful, the wine delivers excellent balance, purity of fruit, and sustained richness with a velvety texture, and it is sure to develop beautifully in the cellar.

This dinner table classic pairs exceptionally with coq au vin, mushroom ravioli, roasted pecans and walnuts, grilled vegetables, or creamy cheeses.