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
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
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)
— 2 months ago
This has been my WOTN in blind tastings before and yet again Ausone came out on top for me. What a wine! Dark cherries, cassis, licorice, lavender, fine wood. It has everything. Tension, texture and a weightless silky sensation that is so irresistible. You can tell a lot of effort has been put it to making this wine. Very luxurious. The vineyards are planted with a a crazy high vine density of 12 600 vines per hectare. The quality of the fruit is through the roof. — 8 months ago
Dark tawny center with amber color and clear rims. Barely translucent. Massive nose of tobacco and Cuban cigar with notes of sweet black fruit, moist dark soil, unsweetened chocolate, pencil lead, old cedar desk wood and a little barnyard. Great mouth feel and texture. Very much alive. Opened and slow-ox’d for a few hours, then put in a decanter an hour before. This powered up all night. Last sip was the best. I’ve probably had more LB than any other Bordeaux (young and old, mostly old), and this was head and shoulders better than any previous bottle. Great juice! — 2 years ago
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! — 8 months ago
The 2022 Barbera d'Alba is a fabulous wine that marries Barbera fruit richness with a Nebbiolo-like sense of structure. Aging is done entirely in cement. Ripe cherry, plum, lavender, rose petal and blood orange are front and center in this juicy, inviting Barbera. $23.00 (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, January 2024) — 9 months 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
Ron R
Get some of this direct from the winery. For the loot, one of the very best Cali SB’s out there…
Bivio, Montclair, NJ. — 2 months ago