David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Bruce Phillips and his wife were pouring their 2021. Talked w/ him at length. Very nice couple.

The 2021 showed well young with room for improving with 10-25 years in bottle and beyond. It showed some evolution, wasn’t all primary. Elegant, very well balanced with excellent structure and finish. Drink 2033-45 properly stored.

The general Napa consensus on 2022 vintage will be a story of did you pick before or after the 6 days of extreme heat during the harvest window. One producer told me his would add 5% of 2023 to some of his 2022’s, which is allowed. He mentioned that he was going to add 15%. But, I think he just misspoke? Get ready for an amazing 2023 vintage from Napa. It was a cooler, not hot-hot, which was a near perfect growing season for long slow even ripening. Some say a vintage of a lifetime and others would only say exceptional.

The Saturday-Sunday Pavilion tasting at Pebble Beach Food & Wine is an excellent four hours to taste a lot wine, taste curated dishes from chefs from all over the country and meet the people behind the bottle. These short ribs were one of the top two or three things I tasted at the Pavilion Saturday. — 21 days ago

Pooneet K

9.0

I know that 2012 wasn’t a perfect year but this still underperformed. Have a lot of nostalgia for D’Issan after Emmanuel Cruse (the proprietor) oversaw the Bordeaux tasting competition where my wife and I met. Very little fruit on the mid palate. Bit thin on the finish. Definitely left bank - the nose is very nice. Good pairing with beef tenderloin slow roasted but still a smidge below what I hoped. — 4 months ago

Pooneet K

9.2

Krug is always most welcome, and Valentine’s Day is no exception. This is edition 169. A bit more yeasty and slightly less acidic than previous versions, to my taste. But if you like the Krug style - which we do very much - it hits the spot per usual.

My wife used to work with Fritz Hatton, proprietor of Arietta wines and auctioneer for Zachys. Fritz always says to have a half bottle of champagne waiting in the fridge in case you need a “midnight snack”, and I have to agree with him! — 3 years ago

Norman Gennaro

9.6

Over the top. Love — 3 months ago

Rob N

9.8

Dark fruit, smooth rich complex tannins. Always a pleasure. $250. — 4 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Perrier-Jouët, founded in 1811 in Epernay by Pierre-Nicolas-Marie Perrier and his wife, Adele Jouët. The firm began shipping wine to Great Britain in 1813 and to the United States by 1837. Pale lemon color with fine mousse and tiny bubbles, aromas of stone fruit and citrus. On the palate flavors of complex fresh fruit, vivid acidity, perfect balance on long finish ending with a yeasty mineral touch. Great value! A fav! Very nice! — 8 months ago

Paul J. Sorbo

9.0

Fruit forward, lush — 4 years ago

with Thomas and Jack

Ron R

9.4

Exceptional for a third bottling. A roaring beauty. Length and depth with a regal, grainy texture on the mid-palate. Blueberries and scorched earth present with fruitcake notes. Tannins and acid suggest a hold for many years. I’m impressed. Will only further improve. — 3 months ago

Will Stanley

9.4

The 2015 Viña Ardanza is only the third vintage of this wine that I’ve tasted, yet it has quickly become perhaps my favourite Rioja - for quality, value, style, and sheer pleasure. This is a match for the brilliant 2010, with an outrageously pure and beautiful nose of balsamic paste, bitter orange, black cherry, fig and vanilla. The palate is supple but firm, quite dark in character, with a gorgeous medley of black and red fruits, perhaps slightly fuller bodied than the 2010, and carrying through to a long, bitter orange, tar and tobacco-laced finish.

This is just such superb stuff, and to say it sells for around £20-30 a bottle, it’s a cellar must. — 4 months ago

Welker Vinicius

9.4

Ótimo vinho. Harmonizado com costelinha suína ao molho de mostarda e mel. Taninos bem macios com final sedoso. No aroma tive a sensação de presente de uma fruta, me lembrou amora bem madura e no final senti um aroma de chocolate — 9 months ago