Wine: Chateau Haut-Breton “Larigaudiere” 2014 Region: Margaux Score: 90 pts Best Enjoyed: Now – 2024 Fresh and lively on the nose, with spiced red currants and cinnamon stick as well as a bit of other oak spices. The Margaux elegance comes through, framing notes of red currants, fraises de bois, a touch of …
Wine: Chateau Laribotte Sauternes 2011 Variety: 90% Semillon / 8% Sauvignon / 2% Muscadelle ABV: 13% alc. Score: 93 pts Best Enjoyed: Now – 2030 Melted white licorice anchors mushroom notes that are joined by grilled white peach enrobed in honey. The palate shows concentrated flavors of peach skin, nectarine, apricot preserves, and …
Wine: Chateau Brillette 2014 Region: Moulis en Medoc Score: 91 pts Best Enjoyed: Now – 2025 Lovely nose, with leather and tobacco anchoring cherry fruit and sweet spice. On the palate, this is lively and bright, with hints of sage complicating the mixed currants and cherries. It all finishes on a gentle note, …
Wine: Chateau Puygeraud 2010 Region: Francs – Cotes de Bordeaux Score: 91 pts Best Enjoyed: Now – 2018 Mature nose, gently perfumed with tapenade, warm led pencil, and humidor. The palate shows sweetly mature fruit framed by dusty and grippy tannins that are starting to dry out and need food to soften up. …
Wine: Chateau du Courneau Margaux 2013 ABV: 12.5% alc. Score: 91 pts Impoted By: Victor Wines Best Enjoyed: 2018 – 2027+ Other: Kosher for Pesach There is a fresh and open-knit character to the nose here, a currant and spiced cherry note that turns to a palate quite savory, with oolong tea, mineral, a hint …
Growing up, I was never really a rum guy. Sure, I went through a piña colada phase, and the first time I saw Tom Cruise slinging his masterfully saccharine mixological mayhem (and charm! never-ever forget the charm of the pre-Scientology Mr. Cruise!) in Cocktail, I convinced my 11-year-old self that …
Great tequila—the good stuff, the honest stuff—is among the most expressive spirits on the planet, tied to its place of origin in ways that even the best vodka, for example, would have a hard time claiming. It takes years, for example, for the agave (and only the best ones, in …
Great tequila—the good stuff, the honest stuff—is among the most expressive spirits on the planet, tied to its place of origin in ways that even the best vodka, for example, would have a hard time claiming. It takes years, for example, for the agave (and only the best ones, in …
The use of oak in wine is just about as misunderstood as the movies of Stanley Kubrick. Which is to say that most everyone has an opinion—and a strong one at that!—but precious few people actually know what they’re talking about. Over the years, I’ve heard oak lauded for its …
Every day, I thought to myself, should start exactly like this: It was a Wednesday morning in early July, and I was looking out over the vineyards in Stellenbosch from the tasting room of the magnificent Delaire Graff Estate, about to taste my first wine of the day – the …
There is no shortage of great gins on the market today, so it’s difficult for any one particular expression to really stand out. Which, of course, is exactly what the Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin does. With 47 botanicals—many of them sourced from the legendary Black Forest of Germany—and a …
For years now, Rajat Parr has been among the most highly regarded and well-known wine professionals in America. From his work with Michael Mina and his own restaurants to, now, finding acclaim as a winemaker himself, his many talents have served him, and the wine-loving public, well over the years. …