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Wine Notes
154 full articles, rewriting my log from the oldest bottle forward.
Domaine Leroy Bourgogne Aligoté 2014
An Aligoté from the biodynamic domaine founded in 1988 by Lalou Bize-Leroy, once co-director of Romanée-Conti. One of the most expensive whites made from a common grape. A bottle that didn't fade after hours. 4 stars.
Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc 2018
The white of a house that began as a Lazarist mission's vineyard, competed for years with Haut-Brion across the road, and came under the same owner in 1983. It took back its name from 'Laville' in 2009. A bottle that widened again a view narrowed by Burgundy. 4 stars.
Jacques Selosse Lieux-dits Le Bout du Clos Ambonnay Grand Cru Extra Brut
Anselme Selosse brought Burgundy-style barrel fermentation to Champagne. From his 'Lieux-dits' — six plots in six villages, each bottled on its own — the Pinot Noir village of Ambonnay. A bottle whose acidity rose from chest to throat. 5 stars.
Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé Vinothèque 2008
The rosé of Cristal — the clear bottle made in 1876 for a Russian tsar. A bottle about which someone who disliked rosé wrote, 'simply perfect'. 5 stars.
Domaine de la Pinte Trousseau Arbois 2018
Arbois in the Jura, first in line on France's first list of AOCs in 1936. A Trousseau from an organic and biodynamic domaine founded in 1953. On its own merely fairly good — then a grain dish turned it into a great wine. 4.5 stars.
Far Niente Chardonnay 2019
A Napa stone winery founded in 1885 and abandoned for sixty years under Prohibition. When it came back to life in 1979, its first wine was a Chardonnay. Drunk many times, but best on this day. 4 stars.
Lucien Le Moine Meursault-Charmes Premier Cru 2018
Les Charmes, the largest premier cru in Meursault. The 2018, raised by Lucien Le Moine, a Beaune négociant that picks finished wine barrel by barrel. Delicious from any vineyard — yet the vineyard's face stays. 4 stars.
Maison Leroy Saint-Aubin Premier Cru Le Charmois Blanc 2002
Leroy began in 1868 as a négociant in Auxey-Duresses. A premier cru white from Saint-Aubin, the valley behind Montrachet, rested for more than twenty years. The level had dropped and I was worried, but everyone marvelled. 5 stars.
Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 (Napa Valley)
A backyard in Atlanta, an American-beef barbecue, moonlight. Five stars for a bottle that isn't in my Vivino list — only 20 of the 410 people who rated this vintage gave it a 5.
Château La Nerthe Cuvée des Cadettes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1996
An old Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate with records dating to 1560. The 1996 of Cuvée des Cadettes, made since the late nineteenth century. Twenty-six years on, a bottle completed in the direction of herbs and forest. 5 stars.
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne NV
A Champagne house born of an 1818 marriage between two families. The pale rosé it created in the 1970s became its signature. Opened with Chinese food, it began like a white Champagne and ended in strawberry. 4.5 stars.
Château La Lagune Haut-Médoc 1970
A Haut-Médoc château ranked third growth in 1855. An estate with only five hectares still planted, replanted from 1958. A bottle opened after fifty-two years and pleasantly alive. 5 stars.
Benoît Ente Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Clos de la Truffière 2018
A small Puligny domaine that began when a young man and his aunt took back his grandparents' vines. One walled hectare of premier cru. Between a sweetness out in front and a slick finish. 3.5 stars.
Arnaud Ente Bourgogne Chardonnay 2015
A small domaine founded in Meursault in 1992 by a young man who had been working at Coche-Dury. Puligny and Meursault inside Burgundy's most basic label. A white that gathers to a point, then settles. 4.5 stars.
Domaines Ott Château Romassan Rosé Coeur de Grain 2018
A house of rosé founded in Provence by an agricultural engineer from Alsace. A bottle drawn in 1932 to look like a cypress tree. Grapefruit that rises the colder it gets. 4 stars.
Dugat-Py Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 2005
Gevrey-Chambertin aged in an eleventh-century abbey cellar. A family that sold its wine to Leroy until it began bottling under its own name in the 1970s. A 2005 that opened before my expectations did. 4 stars.
Egly-Ouriet Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru 'Les Crayères' Ambonnay
A chalk vineyard in Ambonnay where Pinot Noir planted the year after the war still bears fruit. Golden Champagne from black grapes. Red berries inside the smell of bread. 5 stars.
Michel Noëllat Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Les Suchots 2014
The Noëllat family, six generations growing grapes in Vosne-Romanée. Les Suchots in two plots totalling 1.5 hectares. Clove gathered into a single point. 4 stars.
Lucien Le Moine Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Hauts Doix 2016
A tiny 1.7-hectare premier cru between Les Amoureuses and Les Charmes; its name is said to come from an old word for 'springs'. Coolness coming like waves after the clove. 5 stars.
Domaine Coche-Dury Meursault 2013
A family that once sold its grapes began putting its name on bottles and became the benchmark for white Burgundy. Why a village Meursault sells at grand cru prices. Stone behind the toasted sesame. 5 stars.
Château Coutet, Barsac Premier Grand Cru Classé 2015
The largest vineyard in Barsac, with a 13th-century tower still standing. Said to have been praised by Jefferson; once in the same hands as Yquem. Honey and apricot, and ginger arriving late. 5 stars.
Lucien Le Moine Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Les Suchots 2015
A small négociant in Beaune founded by a man who learned wine in a monastery. It buys no grapes — it chooses finished wines by the barrel and raises them long. Clove left in the empty glass. 4.5 stars.
Starmont Carneros Pinot Noir 2014
Pinot Noir from the Merryvale family's Starmont, rooted in Carneros's Stanly Ranch, first planted in 1872. A night tasted side by side with Burgundy, and a colour already turning brown despite its youth. Three stars.
Château Dassault Saint-Émilion Grand Cru (Grand Cru Classé) 1995
A Saint-Émilion château bought in 1955 by the aircraft builder Marcel Dassault. Nearly thirty years on: bright acidity, brick-red colour, and a thick layer of sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Four stars.
Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017
A Pinot Noir named after the grandmother who co-founded Caymus. An old vineyard by the crossroads of two roads, a neck sunk in red wax. California Pinot and Burgundy Pinot walk different roads. 3.5 stars.
Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz 2018
An Australian winery founded by a left-handed couple, and a Shiraz named after their son. A wine you shake before you pour. The smell of a childhood sweet. Dad's five stars.
Vega Sicilia Unico 2008
A Spanish legend that began in 1864 with vines planted on the Duero by a man trained in Bordeaux. An Unico that stays closed in the first glass and opens into every kind of berry from the second. Dad's five stars.
Domaine des Bernardins Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2018
A vin doux naturel from the southern Rhône, on land once owned by Bernardine monks. It begins like Moscato and turns bold with minerality and a long finish — a sweet Muscat at 15%. 4.
Gimonnet Gonet Millésime Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut 2011
A grower Champagne from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, founded in 1986 by the younger children of two Champagne families. Toast while the bubbles are fierce; after they fade, a long nutty finish. 4.
The Standish Shiraz 2017
A single-vineyard Shiraz from Dan Standish, sixth generation of a Barossa grape-growing family. The first taste on the tongue is Campbell grape; then blackberry, chocolate, pepper and a long finish. 4.
Riverby Estate Noble Riesling 2014
A sweet Riesling made from botrytised grapes on a Marlborough family farm more than a century old. Behind honey, peach and orange rises Riesling's signature petrol, and the acidity bounces like the leaping fish on the label. 3.5.
Unico Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva 2013
A Sangiovese from Romagna, not Tuscany. A Riserva where oak and vanilla arrive first and cherry and plum follow in a straight line — it left me one line about 'Sangiovese's honest taste' and three stars.
Jacques Selosse Initial Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru (Avize)
The entry cuvée of Anselme Selosse, the grower who brought white Burgundy's methods to Champagne. Lively bubbles over honey, brioche and almond, with an overwhelming aged, yeasty note. A balance that makes you ask, 'can it really be this firm?' 4.5.
Marques de Casa Concha Carmenère 2018
Carmenère: a grape called Merlot for over a century that only got its own name back in 1994. This bottle from Peumo, Chile, gives plenty of fruit right after opening and tastes better than expected, but don't ask it for depth and length. 3.5.
Nuala Sauvignon Blanc 2019
A Sauvignon Blanc from a small brand French founders set up in Marlborough, New Zealand. Grapefruit and lime with passion fruit — and kiwi and cut grass too. Green, fresh, and at its best in summer. 4.
Pascal Doquet Cœur de Terroir Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru 2006
An organic grower champagne from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Minerality stands straight above toast, brioche and butter, and the nutty maturity of the 2006 vintage shows well. A gentle price for a grand cru. 4.5.
Le Grand Châtelain Grenache Cinsault Rosé
A 2016 Grenache–Cinsault rosé from Pays d'Oc whose producer can't be confirmed. A jewel-pale colour, peach nectar wrapping the tongue mid-palate as the acidity jumps, and a finish with a hint of botrytised wine. A bottle to handle at around 10 degrees. 3.5.
Varvaglione Papale Linea Oro Primitivo di Manduria 2016
A Primitivo di Manduria named in honour of the only pope Puglia ever produced. The tannins don't intrude and it's soft; like Zinfandel, chocolate and a tobacco-like finish blend well. Not much fruit on the nose and not complex, but a bottle for when you want softness in the mouth. 4.
Robert Groffier Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2014
Bonnes-Mares from the Morey-Saint-Denis house known as the largest owner of Les Amoureuses. Opened with high hopes after some good whites. The aroma and first fruit were good, but the shaded forest I'd hoped for appeared for a moment, then vanished. 3.5.
Taylor's Vintage Port 2017
The 2017 Vintage Port from a house founded in 1692. The fruit goes without saying; it was the creamy feel and caramel-like texture that I loved. Not moving, maybe, but when you want something bold, nothing beats port. On the neck, a story about Elizabeth II. 4.
Tussock Jumper Pinot Grigio
An Italian Pinot Grigio from a brand that dresses each country's animal in a red jumper on the label — for Italy, a wolf. Like a Sauvignon Blanc but less refreshing, with an acidity and chamomile on the finish that were dry and lovely. 3.5.
Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 2017
The Chardonnay from the house that won the white category at the Judgment of Paris. Even with the prejudice of comparing it to Burgundy, it held its own, and in the morning-picnic sunshine its buttery cheese notes kept rising. Would I have picked it blind? 4.
Etienne Sauzet, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2012
The community says 4.8; I said 4.5 — the day after giving the Montrachet at the same table 5 stars. The slope above Montrachet with a legend of a 'knight' in its name, and Sauzet's 2012 Chevalier-Montrachet made from purchased grapes.
Braida Bricco dell'Uccellone Barbera d'Asti 2016
My first Barbera. First impression: 'oh'. Such a savoury wine, with mint gently pulling the finish tight. There's a reason it's rated so highly, I wrote. 4.
Manfredi Moscato d'Asti 2017
The Moscato d'Asti opened for dessert after barbecue and big wines, once we'd changed seats. Hold a sip and honey passes, then high-acid fruit, then a floral finish. Beautiful under falling cherry blossoms and the setting sun. 4.
Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Prestige des Hautes Garrigues 2012
The Gigondas I opened first on the evening after the Beaucastel. Modest and southern Rhône-like at first, then a rose aroma came in late, like a flower opening. The mouth-watering acidity at the end was gentler than the Beaucastel's. 4.
Domaine Singla El Molí 2016
The second bottle opened on the evening after the Beaucastel. I wrote 'another Rhône', but this is Syrah and Grenache from Roussillon, just above the Spanish border. A flower-bed nose, a mouth-watering finish, party-friendly value. 4.
Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016
The bottle where I first truly felt the charm of Rhône wine. The 2016 from a house that uses all thirteen varieties — on the finish my mouth watered as if holding lemon. 4.5.
Descendientes de J. Palacios Pétalos 2017
My second meeting with this Bierzo Mencía. At first I couldn't see it justifying the price, but after long breathing, licorice and leather came up. I still wrote that the price is higher than the quality. 3.
Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
At a chilly evening barbecue, where the delicate wines didn't stand a chance, the powerful Napa Cab got everyone's thumbs up. A 2016 from a winery built on an old riding centre. 4.
Pol Roger Rosé Vintage 2009
A 2009 rosé from Churchill's Champagne house. I liked the crisp bubbles but wrote that I still couldn't see the point of blending in red. On Vivino it's logged as the same year's Brut Vintage. 3.
Oremus Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2000
A Tokaji twenty years on. The bitterness bothered me at first, but the depth of the last glass made me wonder if the earlier Tokajis had been too light. Of three bottles, I picked the one with the middle colour. 4.
Zelkova Icewine 2016
An icewine from Zelkova Winery in Sangju, Korea. The berry-jam first nose got two 'oh's out of me, but it fell apart a little as time went on. 3.
Etienne Sauzet, Montrachet Grand Cru 2012
21 of 22 Vivino raters gave it 4 or more; I gave it 5. A Puligny house that split its land in the 1991 inheritance and began buying grapes, making Montrachet from someone else's vines — the day my note said it painted "a Santorini landscape."
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (Napa Valley)
The 2008 vintage from S.L.V. — the very vineyard that beat Bordeaux at the 1976 Judgment of Paris. I drank it at the same table as a Mouton Rothschild, the château it pushed into second place fifty years ago, and logged 4.5 stars without writing a single word.
Sybille Kuntz, Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2014
A dry (trocken) Riesling from Sybille Kuntz in the Mosel village of Lieser. The estate's origin story: in 1981, running a wine shop, she decided she could make better Riesling herself than what she was buying to sell. Vivino: 64 ratings averaging 4.1. My score was 4.0.
Zelkova, Premium 2013
A red made from sanmaru — a wild Korean grape — at a small winery in Sangju, Gyeongbuk. It's the first Korean wine featured in this magazine. Winemaker Kang Chang-seok originally planted Chardonnay there, lost the vines to winter frost damage in 2009, and turned to the native wild grape instead. Vivino: 26 ratings averaging 3.7. My score was 4.0.
Orin Swift, Mercury Head Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Orin Swift's flagship Napa Cabernet. The label carries an actual "Mercury dime" (the 1916-1945 Winged Liberty dime) — Dave Phinney's own most prized coin from his childhood collection, as the winery tells it. Vivino: 1,465 ratings averaging 4.6. My score was 4.5, tasted the day after the same house's Palermo (14 March 2020, 4.0).
Russian Jack, Sauvignon Blanc 2019
A Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough's Martinborough Vineyard, released under a second label named after Russian Jack — the real-life swagman Barrett Crumen, who was shipwrecked into New Zealand in 1912 and spent 53 years walking the roads and clearing land for the vineyards that followed. Vivino: 2,498 ratings averaging 4.1. My score was 4.0 — my first taste of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc after years of drinking only the Bordeaux style.
Elvio Cogno, Barolo Cascina Nuova 2013
Elvio Cogno, who spent years at the respected La Morra house of Marcarini, founded his own estate on the Ravera hill in Novello in 1990; today his son-in-law Valter Fissore carries it forward. Cascina Nuova gathers younger vines than the Ravera cru — a kind of "entry-level" Barolo. Vivino: 747 ratings averaging 4.1. I filled the room with berry aroma the moment I opened it and called it "a Barolo that's genuinely easy to drink" — 4.0.
Marqués de Riscal, Reserva 2014
Founded in 1858, Marqués de Riscal is one of Rioja's oldest bodegas, known for the Bordeaux techniques it imported early on and the gold wire mesh it wrapped around bottles to stop counterfeiters. Vivino: 26,462 ratings averaging 4.1. My own score was 2.0 — one of the lowest on this site, though my own note blames the evening, not the wine.
Orin Swift, Palermo Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Dave Phinney, once a political science student, hit it big with The Prisoner in 2000, sold the brand in 2010 for around $40 million, then started over under "Orin Swift" — named for his parents — with this Napa Cabernet. Vivino: 10,141 ratings averaging 4.3. I admitted the label scared me a little, but the wine turned out easier than expected — 4.0.
Domaine du Clos des Fées, Le Clos des Fées 2008 (Hervé Bizeul)
Hervé Bizeul, a Paris sommelier and wine journalist, settled in Vingrau in the Roussillon in 1998 and named his estate "the fairies' vineyard." Vivino: 225 ratings averaging 4.3. I gave it 4.0 in March 2020, saying its old-vine earthiness felt like a whiff of home.
Braida, Vigna Senza Nome Moscato d'Asti 2018
Braida, founded in 1961 by Giacomo Bologna — the same house that broke Barbera's reputation as a "cheap wine" by aging it in new French oak in 1982 — also put a Latin motto on the label of a Moscato vineyard it simply called "the nameless vineyard." Vivino: 390 ratings averaging 4.0. I closed out the night my wife and I opened it, the day after our Seña.
Seña 2012
Chile's first "icon wine," a 1995 joint venture between Eduardo Chadwick and Robert Mondavi. In 2004, Chadwick's own wines beat France's first growths at the Berlin Tasting and stunned the wine world. Vivino: 1,412 ratings averaging 4.5. I gave it 4.5 while sharing it with my wife — "the finish is still with me."
Rivers-Marie, Summa Vineyard Old Vines Pinot Noir 2009
A mailing-list wine from Thomas Rivers Brown — the hand behind a run of Napa's cult Cabernets — and his wife Genevieve Marie Welsh, made from Summa Vineyard's old vines, planted in 1979 by Steve Young. Vivino's 8 ratings fall below its reporting threshold; my own score is 3.5 — this was a rematch against a '03 Gevrey-Chambertin.
Domaine Laroche, Chablis Saint Martin 2018
This wine ages in a cellar where, according to legend, Saint Martin's relics were hidden from Norman invaders in the 9th century. Kimmeridgian limestone soil, once an ancient seabed 150 million years ago, gives it its minerality. Vivino: 2,625 ratings averaging 3.8. My first-ever Chablis, and my first pairing with king crab — I scored it 3.5.
Charles Clément, Brut Rosé (NV)
A cooperative house founded in 1956 by 22 growers in the Côte des Bar, Aube — the same "forgotten" southern edge of Champagne whose exclusion helped trigger the 1911 riots. Vivino: 276 ratings averaging 3.9. My own score is 4.0.
Gravner, Rujno 2006
Josko Gravner introduced the world to "orange wine" through Georgian qvevri amphora winemaking, but Rujno itself is not an orange wine — it's a Merlot-led red. Vivino: 27 ratings averaging 4.4. My own score is 3.0 — the table's conversation that night was about orange wine, but this wasn't one.
Domaine Denis Bachelet, Gevrey-Chambertin 2003
Denis Bachelet took over the family domaine at sixteen in 1983, growing it from 1.8 to 4.3 hectares. This 2003 is the vintage of Burgundy's unprecedented heatwave, the canicule. Vivino's 9 ratings fall below its reporting threshold; my own score is 4.0.
Antinori, Castello della Sala 'Cervaro della Sala' 2016
Antinori bought a 14th-century castle that once belonged to the Monaldeschi della Cervara family and made it the home of this Umbrian white. In 1985, 25-year-old Renzo Cotarella finished what's said to be one of Italy's earliest white wines fermented and aged in barrique with malolactic fermentation. Vivino: 3,780 ratings averaging 4.4. My own score was 4.5.
Caymus Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
Founded in Napa Valley in 1972 by Charlie Wagner and carried on by son Chuck Wagner. Its flagship Special Selection is the only wine to win Wine Spectator's "Wine of the Year" twice (the 1984 and 1990 vintages). Vivino: 13,787 ratings averaging 4.6. My own score was 4.0.
Masi, Costasera Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2013
A Valpolicella house that traces back to 1772, when the Boscaini and Bonaldi families joined forces. "Costasera" means the west-facing slope that catches the sunset over Lake Garda. Vivino: 9,751 ratings averaging 4.4. My own score was 4.5 — "a heavily made-up, fully ripened woman."
Patricius, Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2016
Louis XIV is said to have called Tokaji "the wine of kings, the king of wines." The region had the world's first vineyard classification in 1720 and a royal charter fixing its borders in 1737. Vivino: 294 ratings averaging 4.5. My own score was 4.0 — "great match with tiramisu."
Deutz, Brut Classic (NV)
A house founded in 1838 in Aÿ by two German immigrants, William Deutz and Pierre-Hubert Geldermann. The 1911 Champagne riots destroyed its headquarters and stock, a loss the house reportedly felt for the next 50 years. Vivino: 36,044 ratings averaging 4.1. My own score was 3.0 — I noted the bubbles felt strangely flat.
Domaine Charvin, Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2015
The name means 'the pope's new castle,' dating to 1309 when the papacy moved to Avignon; by 1936, the vineyards below that castle became one of France's first AOCs. The Charvin family had grown grapes here for six generations since 1851 before Laurent Charvin began estate-bottling in 1990 — no new oak, Grenache-led. Vivino: 529 ratings averaging 4.2. My score: 3.5.
Taittinger, Brut Réserve (NV)
The house traces back to Forest-Fourneaux, founded by Jacques Fourneaux in 1734; WWI officer Pierre Taittinger bought it in 1932 and gave it his name. This is the non-vintage Brut from the same house James Bond finally settles on in Ian Fleming's 1953 novel Casino Royale. Vivino: 57,690 ratings averaging 4.2. My score: 4.
Ramos-Paul, Tinto 2006
Wine had been all but forgotten in Ronda and the Sierras de Málaga for nearly a century after phylloxera, until Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe and Frederic Schatz revived it in the 1980s and '90s. This 2006 Tinto from the small family bodega Ramos-Paul sits within that revival. Daniel's note says '15 years of ageing,' though it was really 14. Vivino: 900 ratings averaging 4.4 — he gave it a 4.
Château Olivier, Pessac-Léognan Blanc 2016 (Grand Cru Classé de Graves)
A moated château said to have served as a hunting ground for the 'Black Prince' Edward during the Hundred Years' War. It's one of the few Graves estates classified as Grand Cru Classé for both red and white in 1953/1959. This is also the bottle through which Daniel first learned that Cabernet Sauvignon is a natural cross of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. Vivino: 189 ratings averaging 3.8. My score: 3.5.
Bodega Uxmal, Alto Malbec 2017
In 1853, French agronomist Michel Pouget brought Malbec cuttings to Mendoza — right as phylloxera was wiping the grape out in its home region of Cahors. This bottle, from the small Mendoza house Bodega Uxmal, smelled like Cabernet Sauvignon to me until it hit my mouth and turned out to be Malbec. Vivino: 786 ratings averaging 3.7. My score: 3.5.
Tenimenti Ca' Bianca, Moscato d'Asti 2018
Ca' Bianca opened in 1952 in Alice Bel Colle, in Piemonte's Alessandria area, and is now part of Italy's largest wine group, Gruppo Italiano Vini. Daniel's note: bought casually, on a whim, and turned out to be a real pleasure. Vivino: 524 ratings averaging 3.9. My score: 4.0.
San Marzano, Talò Primitivo di Manduria 2017
Cantine San Marzano started in 1962 when 19 Puglian growers pooled their vineyards; today the cooperative has over 1,200 members. Primitivo is the grape that DNA testing at UC Davis proved, in 2001, to be genetically identical to American Zinfandel. Vivino: 5,142 ratings averaging 4.1. My score: 4.0.
Antinori, Tenuta Tignanello 'Solaia' 2012
A Super Tuscan named for the "sunniest" plot of the Tignanello hillside. This is the same wine whose 1997 vintage was named Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year in 2000. Vivino: 2,125 ratings averaging 4.6. My score was 5.0 — the fifth wine on this site to earn a perfect score.
Domaine Saint-Damien, Gigondas Vieilles Vignes 'La Louisiane' 2014
The Saurel family has farmed this land since 1821 and formally founded the domaine in 1979. Among several Gigondas plots planted with old-vine Grenache from the 1940s, La Louisiane gets its own separate bottling. Vivino: 143 ratings averaging 4.1. My score was 3.5 — the middle of five bottles I drank that day.
Vieux Château Gaubert, Graves Rouge 1999
A small Graves château that Dominique Haverlan bought as a ruin in 1988 and rebuilt from the ground up. I opened a 21-year-old bottle from Bordeaux's oldest wine region and my note read "oak, wood, cedar, cigar" — and my score, 2.5, was the lowest of five bottles I drank that night.
Arnaud Mortet, Gevrey-Chambertin 2017
Arnaud Mortet inherited the family domaine at 24 after his father Denis Mortet's sudden death in 2006, then in 2016 started a separate négociant label with his sister Clémence. This is that label's village-level cuvée. Vivino: 229 ratings averaging 4.3. I drank it from a double magnum and scored it 4.
Louis Roederer, Brut Premier (NV)
The everyday non-vintage cuvée from the house that made a clear glass "Cristal" bottle for Tsar Alexander II in 1876. Discontinued in 2021 and replaced by Collection 242. Vivino: 56,223 ratings averaging 4.2. I drank it as a welcome drink at a party and gave it 4.
Martelet de Cherisey, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru 'Hameau de Blagny' 2016
Laurent and Hélène Martelet inherited a ruined 1811 estate in 1998 and rebuilt it from nothing; they're now the sixth generation farming the hamlet of Blagny. This 2016 vintage came from a frost year that gutted yields across Burgundy. Vivino: 150 ratings averaging 4.4. I drank it from a double magnum and scored it 4.5.
Kracher, Noble Reserve Trockenbeerenauslese (NV)
An entry-level cuvée from the house that made Alois Kracher's name internationally, built on the noble rot (botrytis) that forms in the fog off Lake Neusiedl in Austria's Burgenland. Vivino: 1,339 ratings averaging 4.2. I scored it 4 — my first Trocken after drinking only Beerenauslese before, and it felt closer to ice wine than I expected.
Torre Raone, San Zopito Terre dei Vestini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2012
An organic estate in Loreto Aprutino, Abruzzo names this cuvée after the village's patron saint, San Zopito. Vivino: 117 ratings averaging 4.3. I scored it 4 — I worried a 12-year-old Montepulciano, usually a young-drinking grape, might be past its prime, but it turned out light-medium bodied and full of aroma.
Château Cheval Blanc, Le Petit Cheval 2004
On the estate Jean-Jacques Ducasse bought in 1832, his son-in-law Jean Laussac-Fourcaud settled on an unconventional half-Merlot, half-Cabernet Franc blend, and since 1988 that same house has made this second wine, Le Petit Cheval. Vivino: 188 ratings averaging 4.2. I gave it a perfect 5.0 — "this is exactly why you drink old vintages."
Delamotte, Brut Champagne Grand Cru 'Le Mesnil-sur-Oger' (NV)
Founded in Reims in 1760, the sixth-oldest house in Champagne. Since 1988 it has shared a roof with Salon as the "younger sibling" house — grapes Salon declares not vintage-worthy flow into Delamotte instead. Vivino: 14,308 ratings averaging 3.9. I gave it 4.5 — "the crisp, crackling toast feel in the mouth makes for a really pleasant Champagne."
Tasca d'Almerita, Tenuta Regaleali Bianco 2016
An eighth-generation family wine from the 1,200-hectare estate the Mastrogiovanni Tasca brothers bought deep in inland Sicily in 1830. Vivino: 1,471 ratings averaging 3.7. I gave it 3.0 — and called it a "Chardonnay" in my note, when in fact Catarratto, Inzolia and Grecanico lead the blend, with Chardonnay at just 6%.
Tommasi, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2015
A family winery that Giacomo Tommasi started on the hills of Valpolicella in 1902 bottled its first Amarone in 1959, opening export routes to 85-plus countries. Vivino: 19,112 ratings averaging 4.3. This was my first Amarone ever, and I gave it 4.5 — "like eating thick berry jam."
Château Mont-Pérat, Bordeaux Rouge 2016
An obscure plot in Capian bought by the Despagne family in 1998, whose 2001 vintage was compared to a Queen concert in volume 1 of the manga Drops of God. Vivino: 3,109 ratings averaging 3.6. My own score is 3.0 — my note called it "playful and funky," a different mood from the manga's comparison.
Montes, Alpha M 2015
Montes' icon-tier Bordeaux blend, from the house Aurelio Montes and partners founded in 1988; Alpha M launched in 1996 as Chile's first "icon wine." Vivino: 1,251 ratings averaging 4.3. I gave it 3.5, noting it felt "exactly premium-line, not more." I opened a Château Mont-Pérat 2016 (3 stars) the same night.
Ridge Vineyards, Lytton Springs 2016
An old-vine field-blend vineyard discovered in 1972 and fully acquired in 1991 by Paul Draper — the same winemaker whose Monte Bello beat top Bordeaux at the 1976 Judgment of Paris. Vivino: 2,388 ratings averaging 4.2. I closed out the year with it on 31 December, giving it 4.5 stars — "tastes like someone I love."
Natale Verga, Moscato d'Asti (NV)
A non-vintage Moscato d'Asti built on more than 2,000 years of Piedmont Muscat viticulture and the low-temperature tank method Federico Martinotti developed in 1898. Bottled from Asti-grown grapes by Lombardy-based Casa Vinicola Natale Verga. Vivino: 643 ratings averaging 4.0. I drank it twice, giving it 4.5 stars both times.
Casillero del Diablo, Devil's Collection Red (Reserva) 2017
A Concha y Toro mass-market label named after the legend of Don Melchor Concha y Toro, who — around 1883 — spread a rumor that the devil lived in his cellar to keep thieves out. Vivino: 13,780 ratings averaging 3.9. I gave it 4 stars the same night as a Prunotto Barolo — "like walking through a pool of thick chocolate."
Prunotto, Barolo Bussia 2014
A Barolo house that changed hands three times — a Serralunga co-op in 1904, Alfredo Prunotto in 1922, technician Beppe Colla in 1956, and the Antinori family from 1994. Vivino: 556 ratings averaging 4.2. I opened it the same night as a Casillero del Diablo and gave it 4 stars, noting it reminded me of Burgundy Pinot Noir.
Château La Pierrière, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux 2016
A vineyard handed over as a dowry in 1607, a château built from limestone the family quarried themselves. I scored it 3.0 — but the note is the interesting part: this is the one where I cut the tannin with ice wine.
Krug, Grande Cuvée (NV)
A house founded in 1843 in Reims by a butcher's son from Mainz, Germany. Every year it reblends ten-odd vintages and 120-odd individual wines to make not "the taste of that year" but "the taste of Krug." Vivino: 39,670 ratings averaging 4.6. My own score is 5.0 — I've drunk it six times, and never below 4.5.
Moillard, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 1997
The Corton hill got the name "Charlemagne" from a legend: the emperor's wife hated red wine staining his white beard. This 22-year-old white Burgundy greeted me with a half-stained cork and a texture like butter and mayonnaise. 4.5 stars.
Tenuta Luce, Luce 2012 (Toscana)
A Sangiovese-Merlot blend from Montalcino, first made in 1995 by the 700-year-old Florentine house Frescobaldi and Robert Mondavi together. The sun motif on the label comes from a 15th-century Florentine altarpiece. I re-read my own 2019 note — "Merlot tannins keep annoying me" — through the lens of the blend itself. 3.5 stars.
E. Guigal, Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc 2016
The Guigal family started in 1946 in Ampuis and now owns 21 perfect Parker scores across their "La La La" trio. This bottle is their entry-level white, and I gave it 4.0 — half a point higher than the Condrieu I'd drunk two weeks earlier.
Château Rieussec, Sauternes 2010
A 1855 first growth separated from Château d'Yquem by a single wall to the west. It began in 1790 as a monk's land sold at auction, and Lafite Rothschild bought it in 1984. I gave it 4.5 — and wrote in my note that I liked it better than d'Yquem.
Antinori (Tenuta Montenisa), 'Marchese Antinori' Cuvée Royale Franciacorta NV
A vineyard with records going back to 1158, acquired by the Antinori family in 1999. The community gave it an average of 3.9 from 9,967 ratings — I gave it 1.5, the second-lowest score on this site.
Kendall-Jackson, Vintner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
My note called the balance "Napa Valley-like" — but the label reads Sonoma County. I gave this red 4.0, a full point above the 3.0 I gave its sibling label, the Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay 2014.
Leonard Kreusch, Beerenauslese 2014
I drank this label twice, two different vintages, and gave both 4.5 stars. "Gasoline" showed up both times — except the grape isn't Riesling, it's Huxelrebe, and one other reviewer made exactly the same mistake.
Beringer, Chardonnay (California, NV)
Beringer, founded 1876 and Napa Valley's oldest continuously operating winery, makes this entry-level California Chardonnay. "Pretty good with California pizza, crisp chardonnay" — a short note.
Clos du Val, Pinot Noir 2016 (Los Carneros)
The most systematic note from this stretch of my log — color, then nose, then palate, then finish. Checked line by line against the Vivino community's keywords, it matches almost point for point. 4.0 stars.
André Perret, Condrieu 2014
My note says "Viognier should be drunk within 2 to 3 years" — then gives a 5-to-6-year-old bottle 3.5 stars. I put that claim next to André Perret, one of Condrieu's leading producers, and the Vivino record.
Vivid, Mosto (NV)
"It's not riesling's kungfu girl, but it's not bad for this moscato." A short, honest entry on a cheap Italian moscato-style wine.
Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
The flagship grape of Korea's best-selling wine brand. Vivino 3.9, I gave it the exact same 3.5 as the Limited Selection I drank the same day, and wrote 'Good balanced, vanilla.' Half a point above what I gave the Montes Alpha Merlot 2015.
Montes Limited Selection Cabernet Sauvignon–Carmenère 2017
A Chilean Carmenère blend from Montes's value tier below Alpha. Vivino 3.8, critic score 87 (Natalie MacLean), I gave it 3.5 and wrote 'Good balanced.' Part of a day that also included Montes Alpha Merlot and Alpha Cabernet.
Napa by N.A.P.A., Michael's Red 2015
Named for the youngest of the fifth-generation Scotto siblings, in a brand initialed after the older four. Vivino 4.0, I gave it 4 and wrote 'Real Cherry'. The same day I logged Artemis at 4.5 and two Montes bottles at 3.5.
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars ARTEMIS Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
The entry label from the winery that beat Bordeaux at the 1976 Judgment of Paris. Vivino 4.4, I gave it 4.5 and wrote 'Vanilla good.' — the top score of the four bottles I logged that day.
Château d'Yquem 2008
The pinnacle of Sauternes — Parker 96, Vivino 4.7. I gave the 2008 a 4, and a year later gave the 1988 vintage a 5. Same château, two vintages, two scores.
Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau 2019
The king of Nouveau, opened ten days after release. Vivino 3.5, I gave it 3 and wrote 'Strawberry ~'. The same day I gave 4 to a Canadian ice wine and Château d'Yquem 2008.
Magnotta Limited Edition Cabernet Franc Icewine 2016
A red icewine from Niagara, Canada. The same night I gave Château d'Yquem 2008 the identical score of 4 — icewine and Sauternes, side by side.
Château Beneyt Bordeaux Blanc 2017
The first 2-star wine in this magazine. Vivino averages 3.2 on this budget white Bordeaux — I wrote "Normal."
Moët & Chandon, Impérial Rosé Brut NV
The standard rosé from the world's largest Champagne house. Decanter 90, Vivino 4.1 (32,773 ratings) — I gave it 3.5. Against Veuve Clicquot (4.5), Dom Pérignon (5.0) and Charles Dauteuil (4.5) from the same month, this is the lowest-scored Champagne in this magazine.
Louis Jadot (Domaine Gagey), Bouzeron 2017
Bouzeron is the only village in Burgundy with an AOC dedicated solely to the Aligoté grape. My note called it 'Chardonnay without features' — it was Aligoté. Vivino 4.0 (524 ratings); I gave it 1.0, the second 1-star in this magazine.
Tenuta San Leonardo, Terre di San Leonardo 2014
The second wine of the Guerrieri Gonzaga family in Trentino. Wine Spectator 91, Vivino 3.6 for this vintage — I gave it 3.0. The same evening's Avignonesi 50&50 got nearly identical tasting notes but a full point more.
Château Mouton Rothschild 2005
In 2005 Mouton kept only 64% of its crop and raised it for 20 months in new oak. Parker 97, Wine Spectator 98, Decanter 99, Jeb Dunnuck 100, Vivino 4.7 from 3,272 ratings. The label is by Giuseppe Penone of Arte Povera. I have not opened this bottle — so I write it with the scores I have given Mouton's other vintages instead.
Pascal Cotat Sancerre 'Les Monts Damnés' 2022
The vineyard they call the damned hills — Sancerre's unofficial grand cru. A 45-degree slope, Kimmeridgian marl, and a cult grower with 2.3 to 2.5 hectares to his name. Wild yeast, old wood, no filtration. Vivino 4.3 from 138 ratings; no critic score I could verify. I have not opened this bottle, so I write it with the only two Sancerres in my 733 ratings.
![[yellow tail] Shiraz (far left) with Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 bottles — Wikimedia Commons](/img/yellow-tail-shiraz.jpg)
[yellow tail] Shiraz 2023
The kangaroo label that has sold 10 million bottles in Korea. A name on every supermarket and convenience-store shelf, Vivino 3.7 (2023) and 3.5 across all vintages. Why a wine I have not yet tasted is in this magazine, and what a first-time buyer should expect.
Weingut Ziereisen 'Rhini' 2019
100% Spätburgunder from Markgräflerland, Germany's southernmost corner. Hanspeter Ziereisen ignores both the Prädikat ladder and the VDP, and bottles almost everything as Landwein — the lowest tier German law offers. Falstaff 94 (Ulrich Sautter, 2022); Vivino 4.0 from 68 ratings. And every one of the 18 German wines in my 733 ratings is white — this bottle, when I open it, will be my first German red.
Avignonesi & Capannelle '50 & 50' Toscana IGT 2011
Merlot from Montepulciano and Sangiovese from Gaiole in Chianti, blended half and half — one of Italian wine's earliest joint ventures. The Vivino community gives it 4.4 from 797 ratings; I gave it 4.0 and ended my note with "The last taste was vanilla."
d'Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz 2016
James Suckling 92, Vivino community 3.6. I gave it 4 — and ended my note with "I did aeration with a machine and the acidity was better than I thought." I went and checked what that line actually changes.
Ruhlmann Cuvée Jean-Charles Riesling, Alsace 2018
The entry-level Riesling from Ruhlmann-Schutz in Alsace. No critic score, Vivino 3.5 from 532 people — and I gave it 4. Three days earlier the same family's crémant got a 3 from me. Two bottles from one house, and the gap between them.
Argiano Rosso di Montalcino 2017
Cherry, strawberry, plum — and good acidity. The single line I wrote on November 15, 2019 turns out to match, almost word for word, the terms 353 Vivino members most often use for this wine. The story of my first real Sangiovese note.
1865 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley 2015
The white from Korea's '18 holes in 65 strokes' golf wine. Wine Enthusiast 91 and Editors' Choice, Vivino 3.7 — I gave it 4. The least-known bottle from the Chilean brand Korea drinks more of than anyone else on earth.
Alta Vista Single Vineyard Serenade Malbec 2015
Argentina's first single-vineyard Malbec, made by the French count's family that sold Piper-Heidsieck and moved to Mendoza. The note is one word, "Good." — my 4.5 against the community's 4.2, the log and the data side by side.
Charles Dauteuil Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru NV
400 Vivino ratings, no critic scores, no producer website — and I gave it the same 4.5 as Veuve Clicquot. 'Pear honey great.' I went looking for who is actually behind this label.
W. & J. Graham's 'Six Grapes' Reserve Port NV
Vivino 3.9 (13,524 ratings), 20% alcohol, US$21–24 at overseas retail. Graham's flagship ruby reserve from one of Port's great houses — and I gave it 1 star, 'Sweet.' My 1 against the community's 3.9: a 2.9-point gap, the widest in my 733 ratings.
Montes Alpha Merlot Colchagua Valley 2015
The Merlot from the best-selling wine brand in Korea. Vivino 3.8; I gave it 3 and wrote 'Typical merlot'. I have logged Montes five more times since, and the scores have gone from 3 to 4.
Mrva & Stanko Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 (Slovakia)
A Cabernet Sauvignon from Mrva & Stanko in Trnava, Slovakia. Vivino 3.8 (84 ratings), no critic scores, essentially no distribution abroad. The only Slovak wine among my 759 entries: 3.5 stars, 'Good.'
Two Hands 'Samantha's Garden' Shiraz Clare Valley 2014
Wine Advocate 93, Wine Spectator 93, Vivino 4.2. The coolest-climate bottle of Two Hands' six-region Garden Series, and I gave it 4.5 stars with two words: 'Chocolate plum.' The first Australian Shiraz I ever logged, three weeks into keeping records.
Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label (Carte Jaune) NV
150,000 Vivino ratings, average 4.3. I gave one of the world's best-selling Champagnes 4.5 — six days after giving Dom Pérignon 2008 a 5.
Santero Pinot-Chardonnay Spumante Brut NV
On the very day I gave Dom Pérignon 2008 my first 5 stars, I opened a cheap Italian spumante and wrote 'Low grade Dom Pérignon.' 3.5 stars against a community 3.4. A second look at Korea's supermarket sparkling of the people.
Casa Rojo 'MMM Macho Man Monastrell' Jumilla 2017
October 25, 2019: the very first wine I ever logged on Vivino. My entire note was one word — 'Dark'. My 3 stars against the community's 4.0 for a 14.5% Jumilla Monastrell.
Canti Prosecco Millesimato 2018
The old reliable of the E-Mart sparkling aisle. I gave one of the cheapest Proseccos on the shelf 4 stars, with a one-line note: 'lightly enjoyed spumante.' My 4 against the community's 3.7.
Juan Gil Blue Label '18 Meses' Jumilla 2017
Wine Spectator 94, Vivino 4.2, 15.5% alcohol. A Spanish monster the community adores — and I gave it 3 stars and wrote 'Not bad.' My 3 against the community's 4.2, the log and the data side by side.
Ruhlmann Crémant d'Alsace Rosé Brut 'Harmonie de Rosé'
A 100% Pinot Noir crémant rosé from an Alsace family domaine that has grown vines since 1688. My 3 against the community's 3.9 — and three days later I gave the same domaine's Riesling a 4.
Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay 2014
America's best-selling Chardonnay for more than 30 years. I logged the same label twice, four years apart: 3 stars for the 2014, 4 for the 2021. My 3 against the community's 3.8.
Mouton Cadet Rouge Bordeaux 2016
The best-selling Bordeaux in the world. The community gives it 3.6; I gave it 3 and wrote "Ordinary Bordeaux." My 3 against the community's 3.6, at US$10–14 retail.
Viña Tarapacá Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
An old Maipo name, in business since 1874. James Suckling 93, Vivino 3.9, and US$15–18 at overseas retail. My note was one word — 'Good.' — and I gave it 3.5.
Almaviva 2016
Chile's own 'first growth', made jointly by Rothschild and Concha y Toro. James Suckling 97, Wine Spectator 95. I've drunk it three times in six years, and my first note was exactly two words: 'Strong pepper.'
Charles Smith Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2017
I found 'gasoline' in a cheap Riesling from Costco. Evergreen Vineyard in Washington State, 12% alcohol, and a wine built from the ground up for spicy food.
Villa Antinori Rosso Toscana IGT 2016
The Antinori family's 'face' wine, made since 1928. The community gives it 3.8; I gave it 4.5, for one reason — with fried chicken, its aromatics and balance were as perfect as a Burgundy Pinot.
Dom Pérignon Vintage 2008
The vintage Richard Geoffroy called a 'miracle year' — the first 50:50 Chardonnay–Pinot Noir blend since 1990. My first five-star Champagne. Twenty-two critics average 96 points; the world average price is about ₩720,000.
William Hill Central Coast Chardonnay 2015
The community gives it 3.6; I gave it 5. A US$13 California Chardonnay where pear, apple, peach, banana and honey all burst at once.
Domaine Antonin Guyon Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2013
Grand cru Pinot Noir from the mid-slope of the Corton hill. Critics give it 91, Vivino 4.1, but I gave it 3 stars. A wine you shortchange by serving too cold, and one that gets better the next day.