Old Accessories

One of the most powerful La Missions ever produced, the 2010, a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc, achieved 15% natural alcohol (even higher than the 2009's 14.7%). Nevertheless, the pH is normal which gives the wine an extraordinary precision, freshness and vibrancy despite its massive size. A blue/purple color is followed by a classic nose of blueberry liqueur, creme de cassis, spring flowers and crushed rocks. This monumental, full-bodied, incredibly rich La Mission-Haut-Brion will need a decade of cellaring and should last for 40-50 years. It is slightly fatter and creamier than its sibling rival, the 2010 Chateau Haut-Brion. -WS 98-100

Following a harvest that finished on October 10, Haut-Brion produced a 2010 that should turn out to be one of its all-time greats ... an amazing feat given what they have accomplished over recent vintages. A blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc that came in at 14.6% alcohol, the 2010 boasts an opaque purple color as well as a gorgeous perfume of scorched earth/burning embers, blueberries, black currant liqueur and crushed rocks. Full and opulent with nobility, finesse, purity and elegance, this amazing effort possesses extraordinary levels of extract as well as formidable, but sweet, well-integrated tannins. It requires 8-10 years of cellaring and should drink well for 50+ years. -WS 98-100

Representing 55% of the production and cropped at 35 hectoliters per hectare, Cos d'Estournel's final blend in 2010 is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and the rest tiny portions of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Compared to the massive 2009 (14.6% natural alcohol), the 2010 achieved slightly less alcohol, but also a lower pH, which accounts for its more tannic, backward, huge style. An inky/purple color is accompanied by aromas of damp earth, black currants, blackberries, licorice and charcoal. Firm, thick and super-concentrated, it is another outrageously impressive wine that will require 6-10 years of cellaring. It should keep for 30+ years. It is somewhat 2005-ish in its structure and palate impression. -WS 95-97

Coming out of a relatively dormant state, this 2000 is a spectacular Cheval Blanc. Of recent vintages, I think only the 2009 can give it a run for its money. A blend of 53% Merlot and 47% Cabernet Franc, the wine has a sweet nose of menthol, melted licorice, boysenberry, blueberry, and cassis. A broad wine with compelling purity, a layered texture, and sweet tannin, with hints of coffee and earth in the background, this is by far the best Cheval Blanc since 1990 and before 2009. It is a legend in the making and can actually be drunk now, as the tannins have nearly melted away. This is a beauty with incredibly complex aromatics. Drink it over the next 25-30 years. 99WA

As always, the 2006 Cheval Blanc is made in a lighter, more elegant style based on finesse, purity, and beautiful nuances. A deep ruby/purple color is accompanied by scents of crushed rocks, menthol, raspberries, cherries, and assorted blue as well as black fruits. An impeccable integration of new oak, medium body, terrific palate penetration and purity, and light tannins suggest it will be drinkable in 2-3 years, but it should put on considerable weight because of its large Cabernet Franc component. - WA95

"A powerful, rich wine as good as many cru classes. Inky color and intense vanilla, violet and cassis aromas; full-bodied, with great balance, full but integrated tannins and a long finish." 94pts WS

Chambertin-Clos-de-Beze is a Grand Cru vineyard and corresponding appellation of the Cote de Nuits. It forms half of a vineyard that is regarded not only as the most prestigious in Gevrey-Chambertin, but arguably the whole of Burgundy. The soils of the Chambertin-Clos-de-Beze vineyard are well drained and stony, with a thin layer of pebble-strewn, chalky topsoil over a deep, rocky base. The percentage of clay in the soil reduces higher up the site, giving way to drier, looser limestone.

Alain was born in 1950 to Yvon Burguet, a tacheron for Domaine Tortochot who also worked his own vines in Gevrey. fter military service, Alain returned to Gevrey and decided to start his own domaine, working exclusively with rented vines until 1974 when the opportunity arose to buy his first 2.10 ha of vines in the village. He bottled his own production from the start, and began to earn a reputation for himself, which was boosted around 1982 when Becky picked up Alain?????s wines. She brought Jean Troigros to taste, who was utterly impressed with the Gevrey Vieilles Vignes and promptly added them to his restaurant?????s list. Alain continued to expand his domaine, acquiring 1er Cru Les Champeaux in 1985, inheriting some of his father?????s 3.5 hectares in 1991, while still working rented vineyards. Well before the more global movement toward sustainability and almost 20 years before Ecocert was created to certify organic agriculture, Alain insisted on organic methods.

"Saturated ruby. High-pitched aromas of redcurrant and cherry, with complicating notes of rose, spicecake and minerals. Taut and energetic, offering sweet red fruit flavors and a sexy floral quality. Fine-grained tannins add shape to a spicy, incisive finish. This could use some bottle age." 90+pts Vinous

"The seductive 1976 Vina Bosconia Gran Reserva is another ethereal beauty, revealing an expressive nose along with notes of earthiness, sweet perfumed fruit, cocoa, flowers and an occasional hint of white truffle that floats out of the glass. Fresher and more vibrant than the Tondonia Gran Reserva, it offers outstanding length and notable structure in an understated yet profound expression of Rioja. It is that rare wine that invites contemplation by engaging all of the taster?????s senses. A great effort. 95 Anticipated maturity: 2006-?" 95pts WA

"1978 was a very short vintage for Rioja with "only" 78 million liters of wine produced (compared with 135 million in 1981 or 128 million in 1973). That year Egypt and Israel signed the Camp David Accords, Vietnam invaded Cambodia and in Italy the terrorist group Red Brigades kidnapped and killed ex-Prime Minister Aldo Moro. The Vatican saw Pope John Paul I succeeding Pope Paul IV and Pope John Paul II succeeding Pope John Paul I shortly after. ?????Grease????? opened in cinemas and cult TV series ?????Mazinger Z????? aired in Spain, surely the first (and probably the last!) super robot manga series that I watched on TV. The vintage was officially declared "Muy Buena" (very good), while at CVNE they were a little more conservative about the quality of their wines and considered it simply "Buena." The 1978 Vi??a Real Gran Reserva was bottled unusually late, in February 1987. That might explain why I found the wine exceptionally dry, with smoky notes." WA

I think context is very important in wine, and when I drink old bottles I always think how the world was when they harvested the grapes: what happened that year, how people lived and how they made the wine. It's sometimes mind boggling to drink some very old wines, a real privilege which, I often say, is as close as you can get to time travel. So I've given some context to all these wines. I'm told nobody reads the tasting notes and people only look at the scores, let's see if we get some reaction on these. Even though the tasting was excellent, I expected even more; we had too many corked wines and some vintages had shown better on other occasions. But such is the case with old wines, there are no great vintages anymore, only great bottles. Highlights of the tasting were 1959, 1947 and 1938. On top of those, there was one outstanding and perfect wine that day, and, as I might not find better excuse to publish a note on it than now, I've included it here. It's an historical wine, a one-off, semi-sweet white produced at the end of the Spanish Civil War, a wine impossible to replicate, fruit of impossible circumstances, a wine I've had the luck to drink and share with many people on a number of occasions and which never fails to impress everyone.

"The flagship 2007 Contador receives the same elevage as the Cueva cuvee, the difference is based entirely on selection. Deep purple in color, it surrenders an already multifaceted perfume of sandalwood, truffle, Asian spices, incense, black cherry, and blackberry. On the palate it exhibits a satin texture, intense flavors, loads of spice, impeccable balance, and an elegant personality in combination with its power. It demands 6-8 years of cellaring at the minimum and its drinking window will extend from 2016 to 2042." 98pts WA

Organic

Review is on the 2016.
97 pts Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate bursts out of the glass with beautiful black cherry compote, warm cassis and freshly crushed blackberries scents plus touches of chargrill, violets, dark chocolate and pencil shavings and a waft of English lavender. Full-bodied, the palate features great intensity combined with fantastic freshness, textured by soft, finely grained tannins and lifted by the most gorgeous floral perfume, finishing long and layered. Beautiful wine.

95 pts Vinous
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is another wine in this range that shows the natural breadth and dimension of the year. Ample, powerful and broad, with real depth...New leather, spice, menthol and sweet dark cherry all build in a rich, textured Cabernet.

Winemaker Notes:
"Our 2009 estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon has a deep dark ruby color with gorgeous aromas of Bing Cherry. Aged for 24 months in 50% new and 50% once used French Oak Barrels, our Cabernet Sauvignon is bold, fruit forward and suitable for aging. Look for a hint of chocolate and a dash of spice on the palate. The well-structured yet smooth tannins are present throughout the lingering finish and you can count on enjoying this wine for many years to come."

Aging takes place in 50% new and 50% once used French Oak for 24 months

Winery Notes:
"Medium light amber colour with pronounced golden highlights. Clean nutty aromas, light complexity and very agreeable. Brilliant wine - a good quality young Madeira in evolution. Medium flavour, nutty and slighty complex, with a good clean finish."

94pts Wine Advocate:
The Lot 38 La Bota de Viejo Cream Bota No is the sequel to the sweet oloroso that was Lot 19. It originates from the blending of a Pedro Ximenez over a century ago when the Solera was started. It has a fairly light bouquet that opens with aeration: hazelnut, macadamias, subtle note of caramel and nougat. The palate is medium-bodied with a lovely viscous opening: a touch of spice, eau-de-vie, caramel and cafe latte underpinned by beautifully judged acidity and a sensual harmonious long finish. Superb.

900 bottles produced. La Bota de Viejo Cream 38 "Bota NO" is a new release of edition 19 in the series: a sweet oloroso that has aged as such in a 9-butt solera under the label "Viejo Cream", never before commercially available except for a few exceptional sacas for British customers. This solera has in turn a bota NO as well as a double NO- of notably higher age and character, and which is where this wine has been sourced, again in limited volumes. This sweet oloroso results from a blending process with top-quality pedro ximénez that was performed early on, when the solera was founded, likely over a century ago. Harmonious integration during these decades has made the wine finer and rounder, thanks to the patience of several generations of winemakers, reaching today a prodigious balance between the raciness of dry oloroso and the mellowness of sweet PX.

What originally started out as a private buying club for an outstanding Amontillado located in the cellar of Miguel Sánchez Ayala, has become one of the most sought after series of bottlings sourced from, and inspired by the wines of Jerez and Montilla-Moriles. Jesús Barquín, a professor of criminal law at the University of Granda and Eduardo Ojeda, the technical director of Grupo Estévez, guided by their vast knowledge of, and unparalleled access to, the best wines, cellars and soleras of the region, have since 2005 assembled one of the finest offerings of Sherries in the market. When word got out about their project, what was once a hobby became a full-fledged commercial enterprise. Supply remains limited and demand has only increased. Since that first cask of Amontillado, labeled simply Bota de Amontillado no.1 in honor of the short story by Edgar Allan Poe, each successive bottling as been numbered, bottled en rama, limited in release and quick to sell out. Not content with only exploring the possibilities of fortified wines, Equipo has also released brandies, unfortified Palomino Fino aged under flor, and a couple of PX wines, one dry and one made from raisined grapes. They have also partnered with Dirk Niepoort and Quim Vila to make a Vin Jaune styled Palomino Fino and Sergei Colet to produce a Cava utilizing flor in the secondary aging of the wine as well as Sherry and Montilla for the dosage.

Toasty, zingy, lemony flavors in this bright, up-front wine wrap the palate in snappy acidity. Try with raw oysters. - WS86

Soft and straightforward, with a pleasant touch of sweetness to flavors of quince, apple and fig. - WS83

Antonio Hidalgo, President, is the 6th generation of Sherry winemakers and still family owned and operated - Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana. The winery was founded in 1792 by Pantaleon Hidalgo in Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain. Surrounded all his life with the wonderful world of wines and wine makers has given him the opportunity to be front line with the changes and evolution of Spanish wines in the last two decades. Antonio envisioned from his native Spain to position wines from his country in the United States and that is how Hidalgo Imports was born in 2006. Over the years, wines from other countries where necessary to cover all of our clients demands and that is how we started to distribute wines from Argentina, Chile, Italy and France. A great amount of Hidalgo Imports wines have received the highest ratings from the most important magazines and specialized people in the industry, obtaining great recognition in the country, proving that his long career and experience play a very import role in the profile of the company.