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Bordeaux |
3 |
97 (WA) |
$4,625.00 |
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Wine Advocate (97)It is hard to call Petrus a “sleeper of the vintage,” but the 2008 will merit more attention than most consumers would think. Low yields of 30 hectoliters per hectare resulted in only 25,000 bottles of this beauty. A wine of great intensity (possibly the most concentrated wine of the vintage), this 100% Merlot boasts a dark purple color as well as a sweet perfume of mocha, caramel, black cherries, black currants, earth and forest floor. Deep, unctuously textured, full-bodied and pure, it will benefit from 4-5 years of cellaring and should drink well for 25-30+ years.
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Bordeaux |
1 |
98 (JS) |
$3,755.00 |
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James Suckling (98)A wine evincing true enlightenment. It’s floral on the nose and also shows blackberries, stones, minerals and cedar. Full-bodied, yet its so fine-grained and tight. So, so long. It builds like a waterfall on the finish. The tannins are powerful yet superbly integrated and harmonious. Needs four to five years in bottle. Drink in 2023.
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Bordeaux |
1 |
100 (WI) |
$11,725.00 |
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The Wine Independent (100)Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 Petrus unfurls very slowly to offer glimpses at licorice, fragrant earth, crushed rocks, and cinnamon toast hints over a core of juicy blackberries, black raspberries, and crushed violets with a subtle waft of dusty earth. Full-bodied, rich, decant and unashamedly flamboyant, the palate has super firm, super velvety tannins and amazing tension, delivering slow releasing exotic spice and black fruit layers, finishing very long, opulent and incredibly impactful. Tuck it away for another 6-8 years, at least, and then count on it transforming magnificently over the following 50-years+.
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South Australia |
3 |
96 (JS) |
$134.00 |
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James Suckling (96)A very fresh, piercing nose of sliced lemon with plenty of sweet perfume, too. The palate is similarly intense and vibrant with white stone-fruit and lemon flavors, delivered in an impressively intense and balanced mode. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
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California |
1 |
97 (JD) |
$875.00 |
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Jeb Dunnuck (97)Taking lots of air to show at its best, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a brilliant, classic, age-worthy wine from this great estate. It certainly shows the more structured, vibrant style of the 2018 vintage with lively acids, yet it has utterly classic Cabernet crème de cassis and almost blue fruits as well as Bordeaux-like notes of lead pencil, cedarwood, tobacco, and assorted floral nuances. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it brings rock-solid intensity, perfectly ripe yet building, firm tannins, and again, the vintage's freshness, purity, and elegance. It reminds me of a top Saint-Julien and is a classic, old school, structured Cabernet that will reward bottle age. It needs 7-8 years to hit maturity (it's approachable today with a healthy decant), and I have no doubt this will be a 30- to 40-year wine.
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Champagne |
1 |
93 (WA) |
$573.00 |
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Wine Advocate (93)Disgorged in September 2018 with 4.5 grams per liter dosage, the 2008 Extra Brut Grand Blanc is composed of vins clairs matured in barrel with blocked malolactic and vins clairs matured in tank that were allowed to complete malolactic. Exhibiting aromas of lemon oil, warm bread, hazelnut cream, wet stones and smoke, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and nicely concentrated, with a racy spine of acidity, a fine mousse and delicately chalky structure, concluding with a long and pure finish.
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Champagne |
1 |
96 (WE) |
$527.00 |
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Wine Enthusiast (96)This grand cru wine is named in celebration of the date of the Philipponnat family's arrival in the village of Aÿ. It is a mature blend of 70% Pinot Noir with Chardonnay, proportions that are typical of this producer on the Montagne de Reims. Rich, lightly toasty with green-apple and pear flavors, the wine is ready to drink.
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Tuscany |
1 |
97 (VN) |
$767.00 |
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Vinous (97)Luminous deep red. Aromas of herbs (thyme, rosemary, bay leaf), sweet spices (cinnamon, nutmeg) and ripe red cherry. Very saline, juicy acidity lifts and extends the blue and red berry flavors on the long delicately herbal and spicy finish. Very ready to drink, but will age well. This will go on sale at the end of this year.
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Tuscany |
1 |
98 (VN) |
$867.00 |
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Vinous (98)Crushed stone, wild herbs and tart black cherries lift up from the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Vigneti del Versante, but that’s only the beginning. With time, this blossoms further, gaining a sweeter fruit profile and autumnal spices with hints of shaved cedar. Its textures are remarkably refined and silky in feel, with an intense concentration of tart red fruits, yet energy is maintained through brilliant acidity, as grippy tannins build steadily toward the close. The Vigneti del Versante tapers off with amazing length, youthful poise and a balanced structure, promising many, many years of positive evolution. This is really something to behold. I tasted the 2016 from a freshly opened bottle and from one that had been opened for two days prior that showed no signs of decline; in fact, it blossomed further. Simply stunning.
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Castilla y Leon |
1 |
94+ (WA) |
$304.00 |
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Wine Advocate (94+)The youngest of the reds I tasted, the 2019 Pícaro del Águila Tinto is their most approachable red and is still serious, vibrant and aromatic with great length and still has good aging potential. They use the grapes from the warmest vineyards they have in the village of La Aguilera, form the northern part closer to La Horra, mostly Tempranillo but with some 5% of other varieties (red and white) interplanted in the old vineyards, fermented together with full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in French oak barrels for 15 months. Like the 2019 Clarete, this is young and tender and has more tension than I expected for a warmer year. It has less oak than previous years (only 10% or 15% new barrels), and the wine feels better balanced and is floral and aromatic. It's medium-bodied with a very fine texture, a pretty wine that drinks very well and doesn't reflect a warm year at all, as it has incredible freshness. A great Pícaro. They produced 69,852 bottles and 850 magnums, a notable increase in volume... while they increase the quality! It was bottled in February 2021.
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Castilla y Leon |
1 |
95 (WA) |
$323.00 |
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Wine Advocate (95)The juicy, velvety and aromatic red 2020 Pícaro del Águila Tinto is fine-boned and quite faithfully represents what they want to express with this cuvée; it's very tasty and has some chalkiness (perhaps through less ripeness than in years like 2018) with 14% alcohol and mellow acidity. The nose reveals some Côte-Rôtie-like notes of smoked meat and violets. 2020 delivered a good crop of healthy grapes that produced the finest wine to date for this bottling. This is superb, elegant and powerful, with everything in place (seems to be the signature of 2020) and perfectly integrated oak. 71,382 bottles and 1,979 magnums produced. It was bottled in September 2021.
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Bordeaux |
1 |
99 (VN (NM)) |
$886.00 |
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Vinous - Neal Martin (99)The 2020 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande has one of the more opulent aromatic profiles amongst the flight of Pauillac wines, displaying black cherries, cassis, graphite and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins and a silver bead of acidity. Silky smooth in texture, this retains impressive composure toward the finish, handling the weight of fruit with class. It improves with each swirl, though the bottle I tasted just after bottling had a touch more precision. Nevertheless, this a fabulous Pauillac that flirts with perfection. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
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Veneto |
1 |
94 (WA) |
$173.00 |
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Wine Advocate (94)Celebrating its 50th anniversary (1971-2021), the organic Pieropan 2021 Soave Classico Calvarino has a soft and richly textured side that is contrasted against the bright citrusy and mineral flavors that the Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave grapes are known for. This blend sees 70% of the first grape and 30% of the second, and the wine is aged in cement for up to 15 months. That's the special quality offered by Calvarino, a wine that is modern yet also rooted in local tradition. You get a lot of food-pairing potential out of this bottle, whether it be sushi or roasted chicken. Production is 70,000 bottles.
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Veneto |
1 |
94 (JS) |
$224.00 |
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James Suckling (94)Very ripe Soave here with aromas of dried pineapple, honeycomb, pecan pie, light toffee and a wealth of fresh and dried flowers flitting around the edges. Medium-to full-bodied with a lovely, long palate of fruit syrup and caramel. Seamless, tasty and long. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Rhone |
1 |
18+ (JR) |
$625.00 |
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Jancis Robinson (18+)100% Syrah, 100% destemmed. Aged for 18 months in barrel (100% new oak). Barrel sample.
Tasted blind. Lots of smokiness here, firm and showing some graphite flinty notes on the nose. A firm and tightly coiled palate with excellent freshness and florality – lots going on and a wine that has so much to offer over the coming years.
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Rhone |
1 |
98 (JS) |
$943.00 |
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James Suckling (98)St. Joseph is often declared to be a second tier appellation in the Northern Rhone, but here’s proof that it can play in the first league of the region. This has an incredibly deep nose of ripe blackberries, other forest berries and smoke. On the barely full-bodied palate it is simultaneously rich, focused and extremely complex with very graceful fine tannins and stacks of stony minerality at the breathtakingly fresh finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Champagne |
1 |
96 (WA) |
$2,475.00 |
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Wine Advocate (96)"Why has the non-vintage concept largely been reserved to entry-level wines?" pondered Péters, and he decided to produce a new cuvée to change that. Based on the 2012 Les Chétillons and supplemented by wine from the family's long-established perpetual reserve, the NV L’Étonnant Monsieur Victor Edition MK 12 is the latest rendition, and it's showing very well, opening in the glass with aromas of lemon oil, warm bread, white flowers, crushed chalk, oyster shells and wheat toast. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, with superb concentration, racy acids and a precise, intensely saline finish.
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Rhone |
4 |
94 (JD) |
$234.00 |
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Jeb Dunnuck (94)Mostly Grenache yet with 15% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre, with 10% Cinsault, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape boasts a vivid purple hue as well as a complex bouquet of red, blue, and black fruits as well as notes of flowers, spice, and peppery garrigue. It actually reminds me of the Cuvée Mon Aïeul with its ripe yet elegant profile. Full-bodied, balanced, and lengthy, it’s going to offer loads of pleasure over the coming 10-15 years.
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Rhone |
1 |
98+ (JD) |
$369.00 |
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Jeb Dunnuck (98+)One of the top handful of wines in the vintage, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée De Mon Aïeul is all Grenache, from the different terroirs (one sand, one clay, and one limestone) that was 50% destemmed and aged all in older demi-muids. Reminding me of the 2007 with its incredible perfume of ripe black raspberries, strawberries, flowery incense, peppery and Provençal garrigue, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a round, expansive texture, gorgeous tannins, and a blockbuster of a finish. A wine of incredibly purity, precision, and elegance, yet also with power and opulence, this sensational effort is in need of 3-4 years of bottle age and will keep for two decades.
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Piedmont |
5 |
98 (JS) |
$641.00 |
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James Suckling (98)Extremely perfumed with dark berries, cherries, strawberries and crushed stones. Full-bodied with chewy, polished tannins that are muscular. Fantastic structure to this young Barolo, as well as great length. It grows on the palate with ease. Truly impressive. Incredible. Try after 2025.
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Champagne |
1 |
98 (WS) |
$767.00 |
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Wine Spectator (98)A beautifully bright and expressive Champagne, with precision and vivid acidity throughout; roasted coffee bean and graphite notes lead to a rich palate of toasted brioche, crystallized honey, bergamot and crème de cassis. Exotic ground spice details of cardamom, ginger and anise show on the finish. Tasted from magnum. Drink now through 2030.
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Champagne |
18 |
98 (WS) |
$868.00 |
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Wine Spectator (98)A beautifully bright and expressive Champagne, with precision and vivid acidity throughout; roasted coffee bean and graphite notes lead to a rich palate of toasted brioche, crystallized honey, bergamot and crème de cassis. Exotic ground spice details of cardamom, ginger and anise show on the finish. Tasted from magnum. Drink now through 2030.
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Champagne |
1 |
98 (DC) |
$724.00 |
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Decanter (98)Best in Show Award
Pale gold in colour; very fine mousse. Fresh, pure and invigorating aromas in which green apple and citrus slowly give way to subtle, soft brioche, ivy leaf and plant sap; just a brush stroke of cream behind. This is a lean, pure Champagne of perfectly poised ripeness and restraint, very long in flavour, with the creamy richness of autolysis perfectly judged -- supportive but in no way obtrusive. The minority Chardonnay still takes a leading role at this stage; the majority Pinot Noir provides a pure frame and canvas. Exciting now, but don't hurry to drink, even though it already has a decade and a half behind it: there are further rewards ahead.
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Champagne |
1 |
98 (DC) |
$401.00 |
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Decanter (98)Best in Show
70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir
With fourteen years' ageing under its belt, this Champagne has had time to gather and marshal all its resources - which it does with great style and assurance. It's a pale, glowing lemon yellow, with a fine mousse and ample wealth of billowing vanilla, cream and plump hazels. The palate has dramatic intensity and drive, delivering a wealth of chalky lemon; its athleticism and vigour almost come as a surprise after that floating veil of seductive scent. A fresh, mouth-cleansing finish completes the appeal of this skilful, sagely judged blend from a hugely likeable vintage.
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Tuscany |
21 |
96 (VN) |
$619.00 |
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Vinous (96)An enticing mix of exotic spice, crushed violets, medicinal black cherries and sweet mint wafts up from the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Lupi e Sirene. Its textures are silky and rich, nicely matched by depths of ripe red and blue berries, plus an enriching hint of almond paste. This stops just short of decadence, as salty minerals and bright acidity add a more savory twang, and fine-grained tannins slowly take hold. While structured, the long, dramatic finale is packed full of dark primary fruits, savory herbs and hints of mocha. I expect the 2016 Riserva Lupi e Sirene to be firing on all cylinders after only a short stay in the cellar. There will be no 2017 due to the drastic loss of fruit in that extremely dry and warm vintage.
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Tuscany |
1 |
95+ (WA) |
$281.00 |
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Wine Advocate (95+)The 2016 Brunello di Montalcino offers a pure and classic expression of the vintage with bright fruit tones, wild cherry, toasted nut, blue flower and forest floor. Whereas the other wines in the Poggio Antico portfolio undergo aging in smaller tonneaux, this wine is aged in large Slavonian casks instead. You taste the lift and brightness of the fruit, and it's all quite lovely. Grapes are sourced across a 13-hectare site at a very high 500 meters in elevation. The name of this area is I Poggi, and the soils here are a bit lighter and rockier with both schistous galestro and limestone alberese. I love the delicate approach here, the intensity of those floral aromas, and the silky nature of the mouthfeel. Some 34,000 bottles will be released in January 2021. This classic Brunello really stands out.
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