Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Happy New Year! 🎉🎈🎆🎊 🧨

From Mag. 96 an excellent vintage. Magnum is the preferred storage for Champagne.

You can sense the age from the very first sip.

Nose has a little bruised apple & pear, apple cider, dry apricots, malt, notes of caramel, sugar in the raw, cream, sea spray/fossils, understated lemon/lime pulp, slightly fermented pineapple, white spice, baguette crust, graham crackers, withering yellow flowers, lilies.

The palate is bruised apple & pear, apple cider, dry apricots, malt, notes of caramel, sugar in the raw, cream, sea spray/fossils, understated lemon/lime pulp, slightly fermented pineapple, yellow melons, white spice, baguette crust, graham crackers, hints of understated maple soda , limestone marl, crumbly, moist, white chalk, withering yellow flowers, lilies, perfect, racy acidity, excellent; balance, tension, structure and a smartly polished finish that last minutes and falls in white spice and minerals. — 2 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.4

Color of tea. Nose of smoke, peat, sweet dates, spicy and strong alcohol, and more coal like peat. The nose is powerful. Taste is another hit of smoky peat. First sip is dry, however the sweetness surfaces later. Hidden note of marginal sweet apple. Aftertaste shows some baked apple and more smoky peat note. Clean, powerful, straightforward, and tasty. — 4 years ago

Brandon Boesch

9.9

With age gets more cherry syrup on the nose, some oak, a bit of citrus, and baking spice. Palate is insanity. Sweet cherries, tart green apple, some sweet malt, vanilla, baking spice, I think apple butter as well. Underlying all of this is a funky, acidic citrus/forest component. The taste lingers for minutes and evolves. One of the best sours I’ve ever had. — 6 years ago

Oliver Pomerantz

9.5

Special and delicious. Green apple and butterscotch — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.1

After 12 hours of the operating room, my daughter got Mickey D's (apple slices....gotta keep it healthy) and I thoroughly enjoyed a cheeseburger with this Midas Touch Ancient Ale! Great roasted toffee malt, a touch sweet, very complex beer that went well with "beef." — 8 years ago

Evan Bloom

9.2

Nose: apple, hint of rose with ceder, caramel & vanilla

Palate: red apple, spice, cigar. Long finish with medium mouthfeel. Lovely. — 8 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.4

Color of apple juice. Nose is nice and humble, with sweet apple, fermented grains, spices, and a touch of nice woody character. Taste of syrupy like caramel, has net and flowering note, smooth yet warm, spices, zesty aftertaste, and very friendly to drink. She is mellow, sweet, peach like fruits, concentrated with good strength. A go to bottle for better mood. — 9 years ago

Norman

9.2

People are harsh on the ratings here. This is a light whiskey with an apple finish. It’s exactly what you would expect from a Japanese whiskey. Not heavy power. Light. Easy to drink. The apple finish is absolutely there and is delightful. This is any drink for those who want something that doesn’t knock you over and has a fruity taste. I’m a fan with the right context. — 2 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

This 2000 spent an incredible 15 years on lees. Bottled in 2017. This cuvée is roughly 2/3 Pinot Noir and 1/3 Chardonnay. Pinot Noir is from the Montagne de Reims - Mailly, Cumières and Vertus. 35% Chardonnay in from the Côte des Blancs (the best region for Chardonnay)- Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Avize, Vertus. 10% oak.

The body is thick, heavy and creamy with that much time on lees. The fruit has settled and the complexity has arrived. Bruised apple & pear, a touch of apple cider, pineapple if it were an oil, an array of soft citrus- lemon, lime, orange peel, tangerine, ripe, juicy, yellow peach, some blackberries, marmalade, meringue, cream, malt, some caramel notes, brioche, baguette crust, sea fossils & spray, limestone marl, fine powdery chalkiness w/ speckles of grain, white spice-ginger, withering yellow flowers, excellent acidity, well knitted, perfect tension, balance and a long finish that lasts minutes. — 3 years ago

Jeff Orlowski

9.1

Vanilla and malt on nose. Full body, hint of acid, mildly dry. Lemon, apple, pears, and honey. — 6 years ago

with Michael and Joe

David Kline

9.3

Atop heady iodine, wet mossy and pine bio, green apple sliced thin, melon, lemon and lime peel, smoky glazed ham with pineapple, igneous grind, dried sunflower blossom, jasmine, fall maple leaves, roasted corn with sweet chillies, cinnamon, and the faintest matchstick sail memory scents. Instantly warm and welcoming ginger candy, caramel, leather, graphite, cinnamon oil, hazelnut, pine sap, mint, calvados, cherry stem, eucalyptus, tangerine oil, lime, and jalapeño. Intense and lingering, filling the mouth beyond its capacity to taste. Really lovely Talisker manifestation conjuring metal and stone textures like some dark tale of briny ghosts! #Talisker #scotch #scotchwhisky #scotchwhiskey #whiskey #whisky #TaliskerStorm #singlemalt #Isleofskye #Scotland #madebythesea #classicmaltsselection #Islay — 7 years ago

with Courtney

Frank Kuo

9.4

Color of black tea. Nose is peaty, fermented grains, spices, and some ripe fruit note. Taste follows similar notes with addition of sweet caramel. Aftertaste is some more salty mineral and baked apple. Flavors are right to the point with decent concentration. — 8 years ago

Shengli Hu

9.0

Apple, pear, apricot, orange and yellow flowers, Meyer lemon, clove, nutmeg, banana, bright yellow in sight. Medium minus bitterness. — 8 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

Small grower production…only 900 bottles. All fermented in neutral oak. You sense that as soon as you smell it and definitely on the palate. Slightly bruised pear and apple, apple cider, ginger ale, malt, older mixed citrus-grapefruit dominate, bread dough, yeastiness, crumbled chalk & limestone, sea fossils, saline, mixed withering lilies, round acidity, excellent structure, balance, tension, length and nicely not over polished finish that last minutes and lands on beautiful minerality. As good as it is today, room for improvement going forward. Hold at least three years. @ K&L Champagne tasting. — 3 years ago

Seth Masterson

9.5

BFM = Brasserie Franches Montagne. This is the Flanders Red Ale. A sour ale.

Possibly the best beer I have ever had?
The nose is dried red apple + dried guava +
Tart fruit on the tongue with a finish of sweet malt and tart cherry juice.
A wonderful acid finish that to me is reminiscent of what you might find in a — 3 years ago

Norman

8.9

Catch up tasting. Clearly Apple wood on the nose and strong on the flavor profile. It’s sweet and if you told me there was apple juice in it, I’d believe it. — 5 years ago

Paul T, Missing My Beautiful Wife 24/7

9.8

2019 edition, Campbeltown used whisky drawn from both Port casks and rum casks - 45% came from Port casks while the remaining 55% was drawn from rum casks. Distillery's note: "Nose: A delightful fruitiness bursts through; watermelon, strawberry laces, brambles and blueberries followed by crushed vanilla pods and glazed cherries. Taste: Chocolate covered oranges and Caramel shortcake! Deliciously full bodied, with tropical fruit squash, gingerbread and dried mango. Finish: A captivating Campbeltown Malt; sea salt, oily and fruity. Lemon sherbet, whipped cream, apple peel and salted pretzels complete this beautiful dram!" — 7 years ago

David Shaw

9.2

I drink so much local cider in the Pacific Northwest, but it’s good to benchmark occasionally versus the Old World standards. More head on the initial pour than cider in the glass; the head looks more like a malt syrup ale than a clean cider. After dampening down, the cider shows moderate carbonation with steady flow of pinpoint bubbles through ultra clear golden brown. Funk and maybe butter, but a dense apple profile on the nose. Frothy but lightly flavored in the mouth, rich, tending semi dry with a frothy finish. Buttery, malic and slightly perfumed aftertaste. Mild pulp astringency and flavor emerges with repeated tasting. Product is 5.5% alc/vol, unfiltered, unpasteurized. Subtly textured mouthfeel overall and lightly flavored, nuanced and totally delightful, unexpected excellence as it tastes so good in characteristics I did not anticipate it would display. It’s just not crafted as most New World ciders are, in all the best ways. Calling it rustic misses most of the positives, at least of this vintage; there’s much more complexity going on here. Great value and a delightful companion on a chilly early fall evening. — 7 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.4

Color of leather got caramel or black tea. Nose of pure flagrant fermented grains, aldehyde, crayon, a bit apple, a bit oak, and a bit alcohol burn. The nose is very pure. Taste is smooth, silky, with more fruit note like baked apple, nice toffees, a bit peaty also. Aftertaste of zest and spice, with some more sweet note and flowering note. Very enjoyable. — 8 years ago

Frank Kuo

9.4

Beautiful color of deep red tea. Nose of some tea, sweet and spicy caramel, intense stingy fermented grains, and nice oak. Taste is quite smooth with some tea flavors again, also some citrus peel, sweet apple, while fermented grains flavor comes next. Aftertaste is medium long with nice zesty balance and flowering note. Quite a nice bottle. — 9 years ago