Reviews

Champagne Bollinger

PN VZ15

Champagne, France

PN, made entirely from Pinot Noir to underscore the very essence and DNA of the House style, is the first new cuvée added to Bollinger’s permanent range since rosé in 2008. Each release of PN, developed as a series to bring Bollinger’s unique vision of Pinot Noir to light, will showcase a different cru from the base year that highlights its distinctive terroir and taste. The first edition of the series, PN VZ15, explores the interpretation of Pinot Noir from Verzenay 2015 and features reserve wines dating back to 2009.

Marietta Cellars

Gibson Block Syrah 2017

McDowell Valley, California

Made from the oldest Syrah vines in California, in the heart of the McDowell Valley AVA, this wine reflects the hidden property where it is grown - quiet, obscure and profound. This ancient, dry farmed, mixed block next to the original Gibson Homestead has been producing grapes for over a hundred years. Limited in production due to the unique grape source, this wine is built to enjoy with food. The estate series from Marietta is made with terroir in mind above all else. For many years these sites were included in blends, though they routinely stood out as extraordinary. These wines are true expressions of unique sites, crafted with freshness, tension and longevity in mind.

Marietta Cellars

Game Trail Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Yorkville Highlands, California

The Yorkville Highlands are the mountain pass between the north end of Alexander Valley and the west end of Anderson Valley. From a high elevation site with coastal influence and large diurnal shifts, the Game Trail Cabernet offers an intense, fragrant, savory, and fresh style of Cabernet that speaks of site and demands to be paired with food. This area, with trails worn by mushroom hunters and wild game that travel through the woods, was a refuge for Chris Bilbro, who hunted here and searched for Chanterelles. The mushroom on the label is a tribute to this unique place and its significance. The estate series from Marietta is made with terroir in mind above all else. For many years these sites were included in blends, though they routinely stood out as extraordinary. These wines are true expressions of unique sites, crafted with freshness, tension and longevity in mind.

Marietta Cellars

Angeli Zinfandel 2017

Alexander Valley, California

Once a component of the Angeli Cuvée, this Zinfandel long stood out for its brilliance, clarity, and leanness. Now, showcased on its own, it speaks volumes about this unique little canyon off Alexander Valley known as Angeli Ranch. The halo-like image on the label pays homage to Viola Angeli, who sold the Angeli Ranch to Chris Bilbro in an angelic act that mirrors her name. The estate series from Marietta is made with terroir in mind above all else. For many years these sites were included in blends, though they routinely stood out as extraordinary. These wines are true expressions of unique sites, crafted with freshness, tension and longevity in mind.

Marietta Cellars

Christo Red Blend 2017

North Coast, California

Named and styled after Chris Bilbro, affectionately called ""Christo"" by his great-aunt Marietta, this Rhone varietal blend is gentle but powerful, pleasurable but deep, and refined while raw. An ode to Scot's father and founder of Marietta Cellars, this blend is largely Syrah from the McDowell estate, blended with Petite Sirah from the Angeli Estate and Grenache from the Yorkville Highlands Estate. The pig snout on the label is a reminder of how Chris Bilbro made wild boar sausage and carted his creations around the country to share with chefs and wine lovers alike as he sold Marietta wines. Marietta's family series is an ode to the elements that have unified the family's winemakers over time: family, hard work, passion, and a love for the creative process that is winemaking.

Marietta Cellars

Armé Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

North Coast, California

"Named after Armé, the husband of Marietta and great-great uncle of Owner/Winemaker Scot Bilbro, this Cabernet Sauvignon conveys a taut freshness and aromatic purity. Stylistically balanced between modern California and Old World, this wine is dense with fresh, dark fruit and tempered with a savory, earthy character. The dry fly on the label is a reference to Chris Bilbro's long family history of fishing with his great uncle Armé along the waterways that now adjoin the three estate vineyards. Marietta's family series is an ode to the elements that have unified the family's winemakers over time: family, hard work, passion, and a love for the creative process that is winemaking."

Marietta Cellars

Román Zinfandel 2018

North Coast, California

Named after cellarmaster Román Cisneros who has worked at Marietta for over 32 years, this Estate Zinfandel is from the Angeli estate vineyard in Alexander Valley and the McDowell Valley estate vineyard. One of the grape varieteies that Marietta is famous for, this wine captures the bright, juicy character of Zinfandel, and hearkens to an era before dark, thick and oaky styles of Zinfandel took hold. The Virgin of Guadalupe on the label is a nod to Roman's dedication, selflessness, and sacrifice, both for the Bilbro family and his own. It is also a nod to the Mexican-American heritage of Roman and many of Marietta's crew members. Marietta's family series is an ode to the elements that have unified the family's winemakers over time: family, hard work, passion, and a love for the creative process that is winemaking.

Marietta Cellars

Old Vine Rosé 2019

California, United States

Marietta's Old Vine Rosé is a perfect extension of the Old Vine series. Made in a Provençale, direct-press style from some of the oldest Syrah and Grenache vines in California, it is fresh, nuanced, and perfectly balanced to enjoy with food or on its own. As always with the "OVR" wines, it delivers a lot more substance and pleasure than you could expect.

Ornellaia

Le Volte dell’Ornellaia 2018

Toscana IGT

Le Volte dell’Ornellaia combines a Mediterranean expression of generosity with structure and complexity, reflecting the philosophy of Ornellaia. It represents the first step into the Ornellaia family, and is an ideal wine for everyday enjoyment.

Champagne Ayala

No° 7 2007

Champagne, France

Champagne Ayala’s No.7 is the second opus from the “The Ayala Collection”, a series of unique cuvée created to express the specificity of a vintage and a selection of exceptional crus through the lens of this boutique Maison.  Produced in limited quantities and released only upon indication that the elements in this wine are integrated and evolved to a point of perfect harmony.

Château Recougne - Boutisse - Tour Bayard

Château Recougne 2018

Bordeaux Superieur

Chateau Recougne has produced wine for more than 400 years,and has been recognized for nearly as long for producing outstanding wine - its name is said to have come from King Henri IV in the early 17th century, in “recognition” of the quality of its wine. This wine offers pure Bordeaux unadulterated and pure.

Sandrone

Barbera d’Alba 2018

Barbera d'Alba

Sandrone

Valmaggiore 2018

Nebbiolo d'Alba

Sandrone

Barolo Le Vigne 2016

Barolo

Le Vigne is a wine created from four different Nebbiolo vineyards, each of which brings its own contribution. This union generates an exceptionally complex wine that is round and harmonious on the palate, with fruity and spicy notes, and this approach of blending together plots is in fact the traditional one in Barolo.

Quinta do Noval

Late Bottled Vintage Single Vineyard Port 2014

Douro Valley, Portugal

This wine is a remarkable example of the Noval style. Treated exactly like a Vintage Port with only noble grape varieties that sourced exclusively from estate vineyards, trodden by foot and unfiltered. This expression differs in its extended aging, seeing five years in casks instead of the typical two years for Vintage Ports. Definitely an LBV with a difference, this wine has fine structured tannins, great freshness and purity of fruit. It is delicious to drink today, but will age beautifully in its bottle.

Quinta do Noval

Vintage Port 2018

Douro Valley, Portugal

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port is characterized by its purity of fruit and a fine and delicate quality that is typical of the wines of the property in general but which finds its most remarkable and enduring expression in the Vintage Ports. Equilibrium, harmony, finesse and elegance characterize our great Vintage Ports, which are declared only in great years and only when the wines come up to Noval’s exacting standards. Even then, the wines selected for the Quinta do Noval Vintage Port blend represent only a small proportion of our total production.

Tenuta Luce

Luce 2017

Toscana IGT

Luce is a singular and irresistible expression of Montalcino, a Super Tuscan with an exotic side, and above all full of pleasure. The spectacular estate's diversity of soils, expositions and biodiversity of olive groves and forests come together in a wine as vibrant and exciting as the landscape. 

Masciarelli

Villa Gemma Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo 2019

Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo DOC

Perhaps the finest rosé production area in Italy, and one of the few appellations dedicated only to rosé, Cerasuolo has a long history of producing serious rosé, and showcasing how well the Montepulciano grape is adapted to rosé. Masciarelli first produced this wine in 1986, only 5 years after the winery was founded. With deep fruit and structure but no shortage of pleasure, it is a rosé you can take to the dinner table.

Quinta do Noval

Tawny 40 Year Old Port

Douro Valley, Portugal

Noval was the first port house to introduce blended tawnies with an indication of average age. Their eldest offering, the Noval Tawny 40 Year Old Port, is a remarkable representation of the quintessence of the Noval Tawny style: a profoundly concentrated and complex old wine, the memory of the house.

Quinta do Noval

Cedro do Noval VR Duriense 2016

Vinho Regional Duriense

Charm and accessibility in an authentically Douro style. Named after the emblematic cedar tree that dominates the terrace of Quinta do Noval, Cedro do Noval is an authentic expression of the Douro. Principally made up of classic Portuguese varieties, it also contains a proportion of Syrah, which rounds out the fruit and gives the wine enormous charm and accessibility.