Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Château Ormes de Pez 2023 – Saint-Estèphe. BDX, France 🇫🇷

Overview
An approachable and easy-drinking Bordeaux red from the Cazes family (Lynch-Bages lineage), offering a friendly, polished expression designed for immediate pleasure rather than intensity. The 47% Cabernet-driven blended with 39% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot delivers clean fruit, gentle structure, and balanced freshness, making it an ideal casual and versatile claret.

Aromas & Flavors
Red cherry, blackcurrant, plum skin, light cedar, subtle graphite, dried herbs, soft cocoa and gentle spice.

Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied with smooth entry, soft tannins, moderate acidity, easy mid-palate flow, and a clean, uncomplicated finish that stays friendly and accessible.

Food Pairings
Burgers, roast chicken, grilled sausages, pizza, casual bistro fare, semi-soft cheeses, weeknight comfort foods.

Verdict
A reliable, crowd-pleasing Saint-Estèphe that emphasizes drinkability and balance over depth and complexity. A well-made, approachable red for casual enjoyment and broad appeal.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is a cruising wine, safe lines, smooth handling, and zero surprises. Perfect when you want something dependable, easygoing, and friendly on the palate without needing full focus or contemplation. — 5 months ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Piña Cellars Chardonnay 2019
Oak Knoll District, Napa Valley, USA 🇺🇸

Overview
A very small-production Chardonnay sourced from the Low Vineyard in the Oak Knoll District, located next to the historic Muir-Hanna Vineyards (once linked to the famed 1976 Paris Tasting winner). Only a few hundred cases are made each year, making it one of Piña’s rarest bottlings.

Aromas & Flavors
Rich and concentrated, showing layers of orchard fruits (white peach, pear, apricot) with accents of honeysuckle, hazelnut, and brioche. Subtle baking spice and mineral notes weave in, reflecting both terroir and oak aging.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied with a creamy, satiny texture, balanced by refreshing acidity that keeps the palate lively. The finish is long and elegant, carrying flavors of stone fruit, nuts, and citrus zest.

Winemaking Notes
Crafted in a Burgundian-inspired style with extended élevage in French oak barrels (including new oak). The result is a Chardonnay that balances opulence with restraint, with the capacity to age several more years.

Food Pairing
Pairs beautifully with buttery lobster, roast chicken, creamy risottos, or brie and hazelnut cheese plates. Its freshness also makes it a great companion to lighter dishes like seared scallops or grilled peaches.

Verdict
An exceptional Napa Chardonnay with historic vineyard lineage and precision winemaking. Rich, complex, and cellar-worthy, yet ready to impress right now. A showstopper in Piña’s small but mighty portfolio. — a year ago

Bill Mowry

9.4

Medium bodied Bordeaux varietal blend with subtle cherry and red fruit. Smooth and well balanced. My favorite wine from Livermore. — 4 years ago

with Paul, Olivia and 2 others

Bill Caperton

9.0

loved it. Dark stewy fruits on the nose leading to uplift of strawberry and sunlight, with light tobacco chewy late notes. Tastes very much of its place; sunny and easy. Not overly serious, but winks with knowledge of its lineage...the one that escaped the chateau for western vistas and early morning fog pre-surf.  — 6 years ago

dmoore61

9.5

This is a great wine! Notice the DE Rothschild. lineage. This is a GREAT wine. Love it!. — 7 years ago

with E and Greg

Sipping Fine Wine

9.0

Ramírez de la Piscina traces its lineage back to the Navarra Kings who fought in the 1st Crusade during the 11th century. Aged for 24 months in Am & French oak, cellared for 36 months before release, grapes from its vineyards in Abalos. Rich bright red, ripe berry fruit aromas and smoky spices. On the palate fresh ripe cherry and blackberry flavors with fine silky tannins, leather, well balanced acidity. Lingering finish ending with some oak, earthy and mineral tones. Drinks well, great value for a Gran Reserva. — 8 years ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.8

Armand de Brignac “Gold” Brut – NV
Champagne, France 🇫🇷

Overview
A prestige multi-vintage Champagne, composed of three distinct vintages sourced exclusively from estate-owned Grand Cru and Premier Cru parcels in Rilly-la-Montagne, Chigny-les-Roses, and Ludes. Blend composition; 40% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier.

Handcrafted in small batches, this cuvée exemplifies depth, polish, and harmony, a benchmark luxury Champagne that delivers substance beyond the spectacle. Dosage is kept discreet, allowing purity, texture, and natural vinosity to shine.

Aromas & Flavors
Golden apple, ripe pear, and baked quince lead the nose, followed by brioche, toasted hazelnut, almond cream, and hints of citrus oil. Subtle honeyed notes and chalky minerality add impressive aromatic layering.

Mouthfeel
Silky yet energetic. The mousse is fine and persistent, framing a palate that is both rich and precise. Chardonnay provides lift and elegance, Pinot Noir adds structure and depth, while Pinot Meunier rounds the mid-palate. Long, polished finish, lingering but never heavy or fatiguing.

Food Pairings
Caviar, lobster with beurre blanc, sashimi, truffled poultry, aged Comté, or simply on its own as a statement aperitif.

Verdict
A spectacular Champagne that justifies its prestige. Complex, impeccably balanced, and deeply satisfying, the Gold Brut delivers true luxury through craftsmanship and terroir, not excess.

Did You Know?
Armand de Brignac is produced by the Cattier family, whose Champagne lineage dates back to 1763. Unlike many prestige cuvées, the Gold Brut is crafted from 100% estate fruit, with each bottle riddled, disgorged, and finished by hand , a rarity at this scale.

🍷 Personal Pick Highlight
One of the most delicious Champagnes tasted recently, memorable and worth the investment. — 6 months ago

Randy Fuller

9.2

This wine has a brick red color to it, medium tint. The nose shows nice notes of coffee and black tea, anise, a bit of tar, and a hint of chocolate. The palate is loaded with earthy dark fruit and savory tea. The mouthfeel is medium weight and has a decent set of tannins, along with some refreshing acidity. Despite the tannins, it’s a fairly smooth sip. You can pair this with lean beef, lamb, pork, or chicken dishes. — a year ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.1

2018 vintage. Supposedly from the team that brings you Château Gruaud-Larose from St. Julien. Correspondingly lean with light-medium body. Not flashy in any aspect (which validates the G-L lineage) but exceedingly well made for the resto price of $18. Nice effort. 7.17.24. — 2 years ago

George Chen

9.4

70’s not far behind 71...not as focused but lineage is there. — 5 years ago

Kirk F

9.4

From a tour the girls took last February in Tuscany. This wine totally blew me away. If tasted blind I may not have guessed it Italian but as it opened up beautifully the lineage shone through. Plush. Sangiovese at its finest! Wish they brought back more than one bottle 🤷‍♂️ — 6 years ago

Ian Staub

9.1

The concentration and intensity on this 16-year-old bottle is mind blowing. At the core, pure ripe red and black cherry and berry fruit, moving towards the stewed end of the spectrum, with savory herbs, cedar, and earth radiating out brilliantly. Medium-full bodied, with high acid and high tannins, structure (with the complementing fruit holding strong) to last another decade or more. Though I know he was gone by this vintage, it’s hard not to see Gideon’s lineage in this bottle - Sierra wines that have something to say, with wild intensity and purity of fruit. Great food wine, enjoyed with steak frites at home. Decant for a couple hours to throw some sediment and let things mellow just a touch. 🌄 — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

Fruit profile is somewhere between 12 & 13 with a lean towards 12. Drink amazingly easy for a 14. Medium body & the structure is leaner. The florals are incredible in the 14. Everything is so soft, ripe and rich. Drink now and cellar 10 years. — 8 years ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Chappellet – Cabernet Franc – 2022
Napa Valley AVA · Pritchard Hill · California, USA 🇺🇸

Overview
A refined Bordeaux-inspired blend anchored by 76% Cabernet Franc, supported by 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot. The vines, planted in 1989, thrive in the volcanic soils of Pritchard Hill, yielding concentrated fruit with remarkable aromatic lift. Aged 22 months in French oak (60% new), this wine shows both the elegance and mountain intensity that define Chappellet’s signature reds.

Aromas & Flavors
Beautifully expressive with cedar, graphite, sage, red currant, rose petal and a hint of sandalwood. As it opens, deeper tones of black cherry, anise, white pepper and subtle earthiness reveal themselves with grace.

Mouthfeel
Velvety and layered, with seamless tannins and a poised structure. The palate shows depth without heaviness, leading to a long, complex finish that carries dark fruit, spice and a gentle mineral echo.

Food Pairings
Perfect with herb-roasted poultry, pork tenderloin, mushroom dishes, grilled vegetables or aged semi-firm cheeses. Anything savory or herb-accented will meet this wine beautifully.

Verdict
Elegant, balanced and quietly powerful. This Cabernet Franc stands as one of Napa’s finest expressions of the grape, capturing both sophistication and mountain character.

Did You Know?
Cabernet Franc is one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon (crossed with Sauvignon Blanc), giving this wine a noble lineage and distinct personality on Pritchard Hill.

🍷 Personal Pick Highlight
A wine I reach for when I want tradition, depth and grace in one glass. This is the “big papa” of Cabernets, and sometimes the best pairing truly is myself. — 7 months ago

Ericsson

9.6

If you know, you know.

Just eying the bottle evokes a sense of mysticism—these are increasingly rare sightings, relics of a winemaking philosophy nearly lost to time. Opening it after a recent visit to the winery feels familiar, almost fated.

The color holds strong despite its 20+ years, with a core of garnet that defies its age. On the nose, memory takes over: the scent of the underground cellar, the mold-covered walls, the rustic perfume of wood and brick. Then come the classics notes—dried rose petals, red berries, and a whisper of spice.

The palate surprises with more volume than the bottle’s vintage muster’s. Lively red fruit mingles with savory earth and warm spice, carried by silken tannins. The finish lingers with a trace of wet oak, grounding the experience in place and time.

This is a wine of lineage, character, and quiet perseverance—a style too uncommon today. Most importantly, it was opened, shared, and deeply enjoyed. — a year ago

romo

9.0

A reasonable bianco of indeterminate lineage. — 3 years ago

Thomas Royko

9.0

Classic flavours that clearly express lineage of carménère, peppers and plums with round tannins. — 5 years ago

Vijay Parikh

9.5

Wine decanted for 90 minutes could easily use another 45 to 99 minutes in the decanter. It has a long runway ahead of it but with appropriate decanting can be enjoyed today. Beautifully balanced, cassis, olives, blackberry, blueberry, cedar, and a reasonable finish tells of its aristocratic lineage. Went well with the lamb we had for dinner — 6 years ago

Matt

9.0

Interesting nose one this. Savory/earth combine with melon, melon skin, golden orchard fruit, salt, subtle brown spice. Almost an underlying underbrush note. I really liked this because of its story, vineyard, lineage but did find the bottle in a but of a funky spot. Curious to try this vintage again. Structurally the wine is very balanced, def oak, a wine of place. — 8 years ago

Daniel M

9.1

Blood orange,liquorice , strawberry, violet (?), grilled meat(?!) on the nose. I could spend the evening with my nose upon this glass! What a nose ! Blood orange again on the palate which tends to have this bitter feeling all along the acid backbone. Red fruits around there too. Not as Burgundian and ethereal and precise as the chateau (cdr) in the same vintage but I can feel the lineage here. The finish is long with a bitter salty touch. Wow again. For a 13€ price-tag I could have this any given day. Perhaps one of the best value ever encountered. I can’t wait to open the big big brother fonsalette — 8 years ago