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100 pts James Suckling
This is really muscular and really powerful. It is amazing. Full-bodied, yet tight and super structured with incredible power and super toned tannins. It goes on for minutes. The greatest Barbaresco ever from here? I love the strength with fruit finesse. I don?????t remember tasting a young Asili like this. Give this a lot of time to come together. One for the cellar. Try after 2026.

97+ points Wine Advocate
Packaged in its distinctive red label, the 2016 Barbaresco Riserva Asili is a rich and profound wine with incredible depth and dimension. Bruna Giacosa skipped over the 2015 vintage because she felt that the fruit was not poised for long aging. From the 2014 vintage, we jump to this 2016 expression, a wine that Bruna says reminds her of the epic 2001 and 2004 vintages. She also loves the 2017 vintage, which I look forward to tasting next year. This wine is incredibly precise and sharp; however, the volume and generous fruit weight promises a long aging future. The aromas veer toward red berry, cherry and cassis, and the darker black fruit tones that you might expect are less prominent in the Asili. The wine majestically captures the elegance and the power of this iconic vintage.

99 points Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Opus One is another riveting wine from this estate. Pure cassis, graphite, chocolate, and nicely integrated oak, as well as an undeniable sense of minerality, all emerge from the glass, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, building tannins, wonderful purity and precision, and a great finish. This is a classic Napa Valley Cabernet in the making, and it's going to evolve for 20-25 years if well stored.

"A nicely honeyed malty foundation is balanced by fruit on the front of the palate, with a pleasingly dry, spicy finish. It would benefit by being bottled at 43%, like the older two expressions. It is simple, straight-forward, and unpretentious, as one would expect in a 10 year old whisky." Whisky Advocate, 40% abv - Malt and Honey -

96-98 points Jeb Dunnuck
Much more expressive and complex compared to the backward, masculine Backus Vineyard (which is common when comparing these two cuv??es), the 2019 Insignia offers a gorgeous perfume of cr??me de cassis, chocolate, lavender, dried flowers, tobacco, and leafy herbs. Possessing full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless texture, gorgeous tannins, and just a classy, balanced character, this beauty is going to shine with just 3-4 years of bottle age yet still cruise in cold cellars for 30 years. It actually reminds me slightly of the 1997.

96-98 points Wine Advocate
The 2019 Insignia is composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. The vineyard sources this year include: 32% Yountville (Oak Knoll District), 23% Banca Dorada (Rutherford), 14% Suscol (South Napa Valley), 14% Home Ranch (St. Helena), 12% Las Rocas (Stags Leap District), 3% Barboza (Stags Leap District) and 2% El Venadito (Oak Knoll District). The wine is aging for 24 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a little swirling to unlock a gorgeous perfume of black cherry compote, stewed plums and blackcurrant pastilles with hints of bay leaves, red roses, underbrush and pencil lead plus a hint of menthol. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers impactful black fruit preserves layers with finely grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and layered. (Tasted as a barrel sample.)

98+ points Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate needs a lot of swirling and coaxing to unlock notions of blackcurrant pastilles, warm black plums and mulberries, plus hints of black olives, tilled soil, mossy tree bark and violets with emerging baker's chocolate and star anise hints. Full-bodied, rich, concentrated and with impeccable poise, it has beautifully ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing epically long and earthy.

97 points Vinous
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is dazzling. What a wine! Ample and creamy, the 2019 possesses striking resonance to match its elegant, refined personality. A healthy dollop of Franc adds freshness to a core of dark red cherry, red plum, mocha, spice and new leather flavors. There is a level purity here that is just remarkable. This is the first vintage that includes a small portion of wine aged in amphora. I especially admire the aromatic presence and vibrancy in the 2019.

96 pts Wine Advocate
The 2012 Único is released 10 years after the harvest. They produced it with the grapes from 40 of the 210 hectares of vineyards they have, with a total of 55 separate plots and 19 different soils. It's mostly 95% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that are cooled down for 24 hours and then fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts. Malolactic fermentation was in stainless steel and the aging in 225-liter oak barrels and 20,000-liter oak vats for a long time as this was bottled in June 2018. 2012 is a concentrated year, warm and dry with some rain at the end of September that helped the end of the ripening process of healthy grapes with lots of color and ripe tannins. The wine has a ripe nose, with intoxicating notes of black fruit, fresh meat and blood, a spicy touch from the American oak and an earthy twist. It's a voluptuous and decadent vintage for Vega Sicilia, for those that favor years like 2006, a bit atypical, or 1999.

97 points James Suckling
Berry, smoke, violet and sandalwood aromas follow through to a full, layered palate that shows super polished tannins that are caressing and long. It’s tight and very long. Give it two or three years to soften. Drink after 2023.

99 points Wine Advocate
The 2019 Dominus is blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc, aged in 40% new French oak. Impressively dark-hued in the glass, it yields scents of cherries and cassis on the nose—or is it black cherries and redcurrants? Subtle notes of mocha, pencil shavings and almost Graves-like earthiness wind through the concentrated, medium to full-bodied palate, giving it a sense of savory gravitas, while the finish is silky and long, leaving a lingering residue of soft tannins and mouthwatering freshness.

98 points James Suckling
Lots of crushed stone, lead pencil and licorice aromas that are extremely aromatic and bright. Black cherries, cloves and purple fruit, too. Full body and a round and ripe center-palate with a juicy interior. It opens at the end with a savory and juicy finish. Layered and beautiful.

"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.

Winemaker Notes:
The 2014 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has an opaque crimson color with a purplish hue. The alluring nose draws you in with notes of cassis, black cherry, pipe tobacco, salted caramel, cocoa beans, and fresh strawberry. This full-bodied wine enters with a depth of flavor and offers mouth-coating, velvety tannins, and flavors of cream soda and red fruit. Black currant and vanilla notes crescendo through the palate to the lengthy finish. This wine is drinkable upon release, but given proper cellaring conditions can be enjoyed through 2040.

Blend: 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11.6% Merlot, 6.7% Cabernet Franc, 2.1% Petit Verdot, 1.6% Malbec

97 points Wine Advocate
I had already tasted the 2013 ??nico from magnum in a vertical tasting of all the magnums ever produced and was quite impressed by it (and the still unreleased 2014 that should be available in 2024). 2013 saw a rainy harvest, and the wine is subtle, elegant and fresh, complex, silky and with precision. The wine matured in 225-liter barrels in an initial phase and then in 22,000-liter oak vats until it was bottled in June 2019. This year, the final blend was 97% Tinto Fino and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon with a little less alcohol, 14%, and a pH of 3.78 and 5.2 grams of acidity, fresh and balanced, more elegant and subtler. ??nico often transcends the character of the vintage and doesn't follow the norm in the region, and the 2013 is a good example of that. It was a very rainy and complicated vintage; they harvested quite quickly to avoid botrytis, and while other people waited for concentration, they did not, and their approach clearly paid back. It's aromatic and floral, less dense than the 2012, subtler, more expressive and more elegant. It's clean and fresh, tasty, with very fine tannins. It's a big surprise for the vintage and one of the finest ??nicos in the last few years. 76,476 bottles, 3,658 magnums and some larger formats produced, the shortest crop since 2009.

A classic style single malt, with a hint of peat and a nice balance of maltiness. 43%abv
Due to limited supply, limit one bottle per customer. Available in-store only.

NO EXCEPTIONS. PLEASE DO NOT CALL. WE DON'T SELL TO RETAILERS.

97 points Vinous
The 2006 Krug Vintage is fabulous. Here the richness, breadth and texture of Pinot come through loud and clear in a Champagne that is classic Krug. Red plum, coffee, spice, baked apple tart and lemon confit all flesh out effortlessly in the glass. The ripeness of the year is evident, and yet the vibrancy of the Chardonnay lends so much energy. The 2006 can be enjoyed today, but also has the balance and stuffing to develop well for many years to come. This is a superb showing from the 2006.

"Smoky and focused, with an intensity to the racy acidity and tightly knit flavors of white peach, chamomile, crystallized honey, pickled ginger and pink peppercorn. Exhibits lovely texture and offers a long, mineral-tinged finish." 92pts WS

"The wine shows a superb, golden yellow color with a beautiful luminosity and a fine and persistent mousse. The nose is clean and intense with warm, rich notes of brioche, French toast and roasted almonds. On the palate the wine is very supple and harmonious, with notes of honey and minerals on the long, sustained finish. Ruinart Blanc de Blancs is produced from a blend of 100% premiers crus Chardonnay grapes from the best of recent vintages. Grapes from the estate vineyards in Sillery and Brimont (ancestral home of the Ruinart family) are joined by carefully selected grapes from other premiers crus vineyards in the C??te de Blancs and the Montagne de Reims." Winemaker notes

Organic / Biodynamic

99 points Jeb Dunnuck
#26 in Top 100, 2022. Pure class, the 2019 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse De Lalande is another brilliant wine from director Nicolas Glumineau that checks in at the top of the vintage. A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc that was harvested from mid-September through October 8th. Brought up in roughly 60% new French oak, it hit 14.1% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.7. More elegant and poised from bottle than barrel, it offers a brilliant perfume of creme de cassis, lead pencil shavings, tobacco leaf, damp earth, and graphite. Deep, full-bodied, and pure perfection on the palate, it has this incredible marriage of Latour-like stature and regalness buffered by wonderful, sexy, seamless fruit, which no doubt comes from the higher Merlot content and makes Comtesse de Lalande so singular and unique. It builds slowly with time in the glass and has remarkable purity of fruit, ultra-fine tannins, perfect balance, and a finish that just begs you to pour another glass. It has a seductive, seamless profile that offers pleasure even today (although it needs lots of air to show at its best) yet needs 7-8 years of bottle age to hit the early stages of its prime drink window and will evolve for another 40-50 years if stored properly.

98 points Wine Advocate
One of the wines of the vintage, the 2019 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande soars from the glass with complex aromas of wild berries, tobacco leaf, loamy soil, burning embers and hints of violets and rose petals. Full-bodied, deep and complete, it?????s velvety and seamless, with a broad attack and a multidimensional core of lively, succulent fruit. Concluding with a long, expansive finish, it?????s a remarkable young Pauillac that will offer many years of thrilling drinking. Congratulations to Nicolas Glumineau and his team, who are ushering in a new golden age at an address where standards were always very high.

98 points Vinous
One of the most elegant Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande I can remember tasting. The 2019 Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is very clearly one of the wines of the year. Statuesque in its bearing, the 2019 possesses tremendous depth and intensity right out of the gate. Dark fruit, gravel, smoke, licorice and incense draw the taster in. The 2019 is like a great book. You don't want to put it down. Each taste reveals a new layer, a new shade of nuance. The 2019 is quite simply one of the most elegant renditions I have tasted recently. That said, it is also incredibly austere and in need of cellaring. Don't miss it. Tasted three times.

98 points Wine Advocate
The 2014 ??nico was produced with grapes from 40 hectares of vines selected from the 210 hectares the winery has. The grapes were picked between September 20th and October 3rd, and the blend was 94% Tinto Fino and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. It fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts, with malolactic in stainless steel. The first part of the aging was in 225-liter barrels and the second one in 20,000-liter oak vats, and the ??levage lasts 10 years between oak and bottle. It's a year that combines power and elegance; it's concentrated but has subtleness. I had a unique opportunity to taste it from magnum one year ago and was truly impressed. This tasting was consistent with those sensations. 2014 was a good vintage in the zone, a year with good rain and a big crop, not as powerful as 2012 or 2015 but a year with finesse. The wine feels very balanced, lower in alcohol and with integrated oak, crunchy, fresh and still young. It feels quite classical; it's fine-boned, elegant but also powerful, more like the ??nicos from yesteryear. It has to be one of the finest vintages of recent times. It has 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.85 and five grams of acidity measured in tartaric acid per liter of wine. One of the largest vintages of ??nico, 104,606 bottles, 3,612 magnums, 356 double magnums, 50 imperials and five Salmanazars were produced. It was bottled in June 2020. It seems like years ending in four?????94, 2004, 2014 (but not 84, that was not produced)?????are very good here. We'll have to wait and see about the 2024...

The 2009 is one of the greatest Leoville Las Cases I have ever tasted, which is saying something given the many compelling wines that have been made at this estate. A final blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 9% Cabernet Franc has resulted in a wine that appears to be a hypothetical blend of the 1982, 1986, and 1996. Its 13.8% alcohol is perhaps the only thing that sets it apart from those vintages, which had nearly a full percentage point less. The high alcohol is barely noticeable in this 2009, which boasts an inky/purple color, monumental concentration, and great clarity and purity of creme de cassis, black cherry, spice box, graphite, and wet rock characteristics. Extremely full-bodied with a boatload of sweet tannin nearly concealed by the wine-s power, glycerin, and awesome fruit concentration, this intense effort never tastes heavy or tiring. This remarkable St.-Julien should be accessible in 3-4 years, and will evolve for 40-50. (Tasted once.) - WA96-100

There are 10,500 cases of the 2009 Haut-Brion, from a blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Cabernet Franc. For technicians, the highest ever natural alcohol, 14.3%, was achieved, with a pH of 3.9, which is about the same as the 1989 and 1990, as well as 1959. This is the kind of wine to send chills even up my spine, and I have been tasting here for nearly 30 years. An extraordinary nose of plum, blueberry, raspberry, crushed rock, and that intriguing floral as well as unsmoked cigar tobacco note (a classic sign of this terroir) is followed by a wine of creamy unctuosity reminiscent of 1989, but there is a freshness, vibrancy and precision that is historic and possibly unprecedented. Some graphite emerges as the wine sits in the glass, but the wine is very thick while at the same time precise and elegant. This is the quintessential expression of one of the greatest wine terroirs of the world. To reiterate, the good news is that there are going to be 10,500 cases of Haut-Brion in 2009, which is about 1,500 more cases than the 9,000 produced in 2005. This wine will probably need 7-8 years of cellaring when released and evolve as well as the 1959 has (which is still a perfect wine today), so we?????re realistically talking 50-75 years when stored in a cool cellar. (Tasted once.) - WA98-100

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.

94 points Wine Advocate
The 1995 Vina Bosconia Gran Reserva has an alluring leather, dried orange peel and strawberry leaf scented bouquet that blossoms beautifully in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine, elegant tannins. It is both precise and exquisitely defined with hints of cured meat and leather towards the graceful finish.

"A fine and lacy mousse is draped over a firm frame of well-integrated acidity, belying the complexity of this elegant Champagne. A delicately woven tapestry of black currant, piecrust, chalk, spring blossom and lemon zest flavors ends with a lasting note of smoke-tinged minerality. Drink now through 2029." 94pts WS

96 pts Wine Advocate
The Unico released in 2021, 10 years after the harvest, is the 2011 Unico, selected from 40 of their 210 hectares of vineyards. 2011 is a concentrated and ripe vintage, and they selected 95% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that were cooled in a cold room for 24 hours before being sorted; the bunches and grapes macerated at 9 to 10 degrees Celsius for three to four days, and then it was inoculated with a pied de cuve to ferment with pumping overs. Malolactic was in stainless steel, and the wine was put through a long aging, 10 years between oak and bottle, using new and used French and American oak barrels and 20,000-liter oak vats. For Vega Sicilia, 2011 was a fresher year than 2010, not the common idea about those vintages in Ribera del Duero. The wine has a developed nose with some notes of ripe black fruit, meat and underbrush, somewhat herbal and perfumed. There is something about the nose of the Unicos that I cannot quite describe but is quite distinct, and it's in this vintage and also in the Reserva Especial.

96 points Wine Advocate
The 1994 Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva has an elegant bouquet with light red cherries, orange blossom, mahogany bureau and burnt buttered toast. The palate has a meaty, savory entry with crisp tannins and racy acidity. It displays superb structure towards the finish where one finds notes of bitter lemon, orange peel and sage. Delicious!

96+ Points Wine Advocate
The NV Ros?? 27??me Edition, much like the Grande Cuv??e 171??me Edition, was created based on the 2015 vintage and is complemented with 38 reserve wines sourced from nine different years (which makes up 55% of the blend). The youngest reserve wine dates back to 2015, while the oldest goes all the way back to 2005. Additionally, the blend includes 10% Pinot Noir, sourced from A?? and Mareuil-sur-A??. This delightful ros?? boasts a stunning, fresh bouquet of peony, blueberry, grapefruit, blood orange, warm biscuits and spring flowers. It has a medium to full-bodied texture and is both tense and crystalline, with a delicate yet concentrated structure and a salty, lingering and mouthwatering finish. I find the mid-palate particularly fascinating, as it is both fleshy and delicate. This lively and pure Champagne ros?? from Krug is made up of 57% Pinot Noir, 23% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Meunier.

99 points Jeb Dunnuck
Another utterly brilliant wine from this team, the 2020 Ch??teau La Conseillante is based on 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc that saw 70% new French oak. Unquestionably in the same league as the 2019, this beauty offers an incredible bouquet of pure blue fruits, cassis, violets, spring flowers, and truffle. This carries to a full-bodied, seamless, incredibly elegant, layered Pomerol offering perfect tannins, the vibrant, focused, structured style of the vintage, impeccable balance, and a gorgeous finish. As always, this wine is more about purity, finesse, and elegance than power. It offers pleasure even today yet should be given a decade in the cellar, and it will be a 40- to 50-year wine. (3/2023)

100 points Wine Advocate
One of the wines of the vintage is the 2020 La Conseillante, a blend of 86% Merlot and 24% Cabernet Franc that wafts from the glass with inviting aromas of raspberries, red cherries and mulberries mingled with exotic spices, violets and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and vibrant, it's a beautifully elegant, sensual wine with a deep core of fruit framed by powdery tannins, concluding with a long, extravagantly floral finish. This is a Pomerol of striking purity and sophistication. Congratulations to Marielle Cazaux and her team for surpassing even what they achieved in 2016 and 2019 with this brilliant 2020! (4/2023)

100 points James Suckling
This is the second 100-point Vigna Le Rocche, following the 2015. What the former had in intensity of fruit and transparency, this has in structure and power. The purity of fruit is sensational in this young Barolo, offering blackberries, black truffle and iron. Rust too. This is so tannic and powerful with incredible structure. This may be the most structured Barolo from Bruno Giacosa I have ever tasted as a young wine. Speechless. Full-bodied and so intense, yet it remains fresh and agile. Traditional in every sense of the word, but this is clear and clean. A classic in the making. It will be in the market January 2022. Leave this for at least six to eight years. Try in 2027.

98 points Wine Advocate
The Bruno Giacosa 2016 Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche sees its fruit sourced from the oldest vines in the Falletto cru. This wine boasts all the signature touches of Serralunga d'Alba with the massive structure, density and the long aging potential that comes with Nebbiolo grown in this village. The wine spreads evenly over the palate, imparting its considerable fruit weight and generally leaving a big impact. This Barolo is really quite lovely and beautiful. The bouquet is fluid and ever-shifting, showing new sides with firm fruit, blackberry, smoke, rusty nail and mineral with every swirl of the glass. I visited this vineyard site shortly before tasting this wine and marveled at the beautiful peacocks that roam free between the rows of vines.

98 points Wine Spectator
This red bursts with juicy cherry, blackberry, floral and mineral aromas and flavors fused to a firm structure, with dense tannins gaining the upper hand on the finish for now. Nevertheless, there is a beam of pure cherry throughout and this finishes long, with fruit and wild herbs gracing the aftertaste. Best from 2026.