Quite young but totally ready to drink. Beautiful aromas of wild berries, violets and wet potting soil. The palate is full of red berry fruit with notes of mushroom, Earl Grey tea, fresh basil, mint and sweet spices. A note of “steaminess” (whole cluster?) and a beautiful touch of mineral on the finish. Lovely balance and perfect acidity. Light bodied, silky tannins and so fresh tasting. Great effort! — 10 months ago
The 2021 Barbera d'Alba is an explosion of blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice and mocha. A healthy dollop of whole clusters (30%) adds an element of savoriness that takes a little getting used to, as it is not often seen in Barbera. Vinification and aging in cement yields a juicy Barbera in which the fruit is front and center. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, December 2022)
— 2 years ago
A brilliant effort, the 2016 Château Faugeres shines all the way through. Deep ruby colored, the nose reveals whafts of tobacco, violets, red and black plum, blackcurrant, mint, leather and forrest floor. Full bodied with boatloads of ripe and polished tannins, the wine closes with a long, intense finish. This is a fantastic wine from Château Faugeres. Drink now until 2041. — 2 years ago
Get some of this direct from the winery. For the loot, one of the very best Cali SB’s out there…
Bivio, Montclair, NJ. — 3 months ago
Night one at Bern’s, from deep in their cellar. Decanted and poured. Deep ruby center, mostly translucent. Killer nose. Notes of currant, sweet plums, spice and earth. Rich and silky in the mouth. Its “youth” shows when compared to the glasses of 1929 and 1933 next to it. Maybe the best of the 3 tonight? Hard to say, but it’s nice to find old off vintages that show like this. — 2 years ago
Darkly floral, the 2022 Rosso di Montalcino opens with a blend of grilled herbs, exotic spices and steeped plums. It's a racy and fruit-forward effort with masses of ripe red and blue fruits swirling across a lively acidity stream. This tapers off with medium length and gently tannic, leaving a lovely resonance of inner rose. (Eric Guido, Vinous, September 2024)
— 3 months ago
1990 vintage. Finally...tasted a bottle that confirmed both the excellence of this particular vintage and this particular producer. Was 0 for 10 prior to this with a few 9.0's, 9.1's and a 9.2 being the highest score. Still much more sleek than the '86, '88 or '89 vintages and currently pretty close stylistically to the linear '96 vintage. Soft yet intriguing nose. Light-medium body. Better than good concentration mid-palate and through a 30-second finish. Some of that beguiling cocoa powder and blueberry feminity confirming a beautiful effort. 4.22.23 — 2 years ago
2020 vintage. Another great effort from this Château. Already easy drinking. A lot of sweet fruit, smooth with a nice ripe tannic bite, freshness and good length. Merlot 70%, Cabernet Franc 16%, Cabernet Sauvignon 9%, Carmenère 2% and Noir de Pressac (aka Malbec) 2%. Abv. 14,5%. Hubert de Boüard consults.Don't know if it will make old bones ( a 2008 recently tasted was totally over the hill). — 2 years ago
Stefan Dolhain
2022 vintage. A blend of 53% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Petit Verdot. As Siran is consistently of Cru Classé quality, I've put the bar high, tasting it next to the 2022 La Lagune. While it doesn't have the depth and quality of tannins of the latter, Siran 2022 is an impressive effort, a classic Margaux in the same league as the magnificent 2019 Siran. — 2 months ago