Endless Wine
Weingut Keller
Abts E de Riesling 2017
Château Haut-Brion
Pessac-Léognan Red Bordeaux Blend 1989
Vintage 1989 | 3/4 transparant, Italian rooftiles brown rim. A very intense bouquet: cedar, forrest wood, laurel, flint, cherries, só multi layered you tend to smell endless. Powerful taste, prominent bitters, still too young imo, the taste comes together with the entrecôte, awesome harmony. A benchmark for wine lovers. Fine that HB delivers to mark a special moment! I bought this when my daughter was born | at restaurant Pollevie — 3 years ago
A. Rafanelli
Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Simply stunning! Especially, for a Sonoma, not a Napa Cabernet. 😳
Follow up AB Cowgirl wine after the Saxum. If ever you thought a Sonoma Cabernet could not stand tall with a great Napa Cabernet, have a well aged good vintage of A. Raf..
4 hour decant.
Still medium plus, round, velvety tannins. Lush, rich, ruby; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, ripe strawberries, hints of heavenly raspberries, plum, dark, rich forest floor w/ dry leaves, steeped fruit tea, mid/dark berry cola, dark, dry Indian/Asian spices, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon to stick, caramel notes, malt balls, dark chocolate baking bar, black licorice to anise, dry, crushed limestone powder, soft, fresh tobacco, dry, used leather, softened tarry notes, some dry herbs-bay leaf sprinkled with sage, dry crushed rocks/river stone, dry top soil, candied & withering, dark, red, blue flowers framed in violets & lavender, crazy, round, excellent acidity, well structured & balanced for days, elegant, polished and an endless finish. Harmony on the palate.
Find an 07, you’ll thank me later. My highest recommendation for Napa/Sonoma Cabernets.
10-15 years of good drinking left in this 07. — 6 months ago
Domaine des Roches Neuves (Thierry Germain)
Clos Romans Saumur Chenin Blanc 2015
Mind-boggling confectionary aromas; part cotton candy, part spiced treat in a Moroccan bazaar. Then citrus, quince and vanilla cream. Palate is pure energy. Ripping acid, endless concentration. The vinous equivalent of seeing god?
Need to check in… 15 years? — 3 years ago
Avignonesi
Vin Santo Vino Da Tavola 1991
From 0,375l.
So unique, so rare. Equally thick, concentrated and complex.
What a privilege to savour this elixir.
Dark nuances of dried fruit (dates, raisins), mocha, spicebox, orange marmelade, earlgrey tea and honeysuckle.
Endless finish....
Heartwarming and humbling...
A wine for contemplation. — 5 years ago
Philip Togni Vineyard
Tanbark Hill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Nice evolution and well integrated. 92 that pushes 93.
The other wine from the great Napa producer, Philip Togni.
The mouthfeel is supple, round, soft, yet meaty and tarry tannins. Ripe, juicy, rich; blackberries, baked plum for days, dark cherries, black raspberries, hues of raspberries & boysenberries. Black licorice, berry cola, muddy, volcanic clay, herbaceous notes, soft baking spices, slightly, melted chocolate, dark spice with a touch of heat, coffee, dry crushed, rocks, dry stem, dry tobacco, new leather, oak to cedar shavings, volcanic ash, dark, slightly withering, red, blue flowers framed in a field of endless violets, rainfall acidity, great balance, nice tension/structure and a smartly polished finish that last a full minute.
If you own, I would drink over the next 3-4 years before it starts to slide.
Photos of; Philip Togni vineyard, barrel room, vineyard soil & Philip Togni and his daughter Lisa. — 10 months ago
Jones Family Vineyard
The Sisters Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
This small Calistoga producer falls largely under the radar. I am thankful. The 12 vintage brings such fruit. However, this 12 Sisters rides the fence of 12 & 13. Shows dark currents, concreted mouthfeel in addition to its ripe, rich opulence.
The nose ascends with rich dark, purple, blue fruits, dark spice, violets framed in lavender for days.
The palate is ripe, ruby, lush, concentrated fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum, boysenberries, very dark cherries, creamy raspberries, in & out strawberries & blueberries. Big, heated, dark spice-box, round, meaty, sweet tannins cigar ash, led pencil, tarriness, anise, moist, fresh tobacco, black licorice & cola, dark, nutmeg, cinnamon stick, vanilla, rich soil w/ dry leaves, dry, crush rocks/limestone, dry herbs-bay leaves, sage, parsley, notes of eucalyptus bark shavings, tree bark w/ hints of sap, touch of black sandalwood to barrel shavings, pepper, moist, volcanic clay, fresh & withering; dark, purple, red, blue floral bouquet framed in violets & lavender, excellent acidity with a lush, rich, big, round & meaty structure, still shows great tension, well balanced with endless polish & finish. 10 years of life ahead…properly stored. Wine post 4,600.
Such a deal at the Benchmark Bin Sale. @Paul T- Huntington Beach if you find any of this, just tell me about em, don’t buy em. 😂🤥 — a year ago
Château Latour
Premier Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 1979
This was a great surprise at first tight and closed in but with an hour of air opened into classic Pauilliac beauty. Cigar box nose deep juicy currant flavors and endless finish. Fourty years old and an average vintage - WOW — 4 years ago
Aaron Tan
One of the best evenings of wine I’ve had this year, and it was just focused on this duo. Opened as inspiration for this year’s red pick at Miao Lu (a name to remember for those reading. I’ll say it here first - some of the best Pinot’s and Chard’s in the world will be coming out of this project high up in Yunnan!), and they both gave great context to the task.
When I harvested with Klaus-Peter in 2017, the vineyards bore the scars of hail, every last one of them. The damage was manifest in what we came to call "hail berries" (misshapen berries). To my untrained palate, they tasted perfectly fine. Naturally, I asked KP why we were discarding them, and his response, while not entirely unexpected, was still astonishing (paraphrasing of course): "I don't need to know precisely what they do," he said, "but if there's even a chance they might diminish the wine by 1%, they're gone. And these? They look capable of much worse."
That unyielding spirit of his was, I must admit, my torment at Abtserde, the vineyard hit hardest by the hail. We spent an entire day sorting and picking a single row - granted, the rows were long, but the pace was glacial. The true enemy, though, wasn’t the relentless sorting, but the wasps. Those little demons made an already grueling task even more daunting, dodging their stings as we plucked berries one by one, like selecting pearls from a troubled sea. What we ended up with were, quite literally, tiny gems - "caviar" berries of purity. By day’s end, the sight was something to behold. Despite the torment, the hard work was unquestionably worth it. The 17’ Abtserde is my wine of the vintage.
I’ve had the 17’ Abtserde on numerous occasions but this takes the cake as the best (note to self: best to decant a young Abtserde hard). It is a marvel of purity and depth, with its nose evoking Meyer lemon, iodine, chalk, and flint. These aromas reappear on the palate with a nearly overwhelming intensity, blending piquant brightness and mineral-rich concentration. With more air, a floral, bittersweet herbal note very typical of the vineyard appears (smells like the place even). As the evening unfolded, the wine seemed to grow younger, each glass more lively than the last. The final sip was almost painfully austere, like drinking pure limestone, its explosive palate held together by sharp acidity and a palpable, phenolic grip. The finish seemed endless. One of my best Keller experiences this year. — 2 months ago