From one of the most iconic wineries in Italy, this wine transcends the lowly status of Montepulciano d'Aruzzo.  This is still young but with a decant of about 45 minutes it opened nicely.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  What a nose!  Cherries, black cherries, anise, Indian spices and slight black pepper.  Full bodied with a lush texture.  Perfect balance.  On the palate, this is tight but unwinds in the glass as each sip reveals something else.  Black cherries, cumin, cherries, slight floral notes over a clean earthiness.  Long finish.  Delicious.  We left a glass for our w

This is the base Chardonnay from Rivers-Marie but it is not too far off from the single vineyard wines.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is very nice with lemons, slight grapefruits, a touch of toast with some butter and a hint of vanilla.  Medium bodied.  Lots of energy and vibrancy.  On the palate, this is crisp with nice lemons and some vanilla with underlying char.  Nice finish.  Drinking well but should easily go another seven to ten years.  This went very well with assorted vegetarian dishes including roasted asparagus and eggplant.  

Grahams is one of the top producers of Port.  It tends to be a bit more on the sweeter side than the other top houses.  At age 41, this may have lost a tad of that sweetness but is drinking quite well.  Decanted for sediment and allowed to breathe for about 40 minutes.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, chocolate, slight figs and a hint of walnut.

Opened and decanted for about an hour or two, this is still showing "modern" and young.  That said, once we started drinking it, it evolved beautifully over the next hour.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cherries, licorice, slight menthol and slight dried roses.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, lots of fresh cherry fruit with slight underlying tar and dried floral notes.  Great acidity.  Nice finish.  This is delicious.  Based on this bottle, another seven to ten years until peak.  This may end up easily doing fifty years.  Back

Quite the treat!  Served to me by friends!  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose takes some time to open, and then orange/tangerine, peach, slight almond flour and a bit of a floral note.  Medium bodied with a slightly oily (in a good way) texture.  On the palate, this takes some time to open and then shows peach, tangerine, and stony minerality.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This is young and will undoubtedly improve over the next seven to ten years.  It should drink well for another ten to twelve after that.  That said, it offers up so much energy and intensity now, it would be

White Rhone wines are certainly unique and this one, at age 30, is no exception.  I quite enjoyed it for what it offered.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is interesting with pears, Crème Brûlée, honey countered by a bit of oxidation and minerality.  Full bodied and quite rich.  On the palate, it has a deep complexity.  Some fruit; baked pears with layers of minerals and some oxidized apples (not in a bad way).  Long finish.  This was served with a Gazpacho and it worked well enough for a difficult pairing.  It seems like it will be at this level for a while longer, but it shou

Not much more to say about one of the greatest wines on the planet from a great vintage.  This bottle was bought on release and cellared well.  Light golden in color with a lot of small bubbles.  The nose is concentrated with baked apples, some spice, slight lemon and a brioche/oxidized note that is classic Krug.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this is still youthful.  Great acidity.  A bit of baked apple, spice and slight cider note.  Long finish.  This is still youthful and should easily go another ten to fifteen years at this level if well stored.  It will pair with virtually any

This had been opened for a few day but it is basically a single vintage tawny port, so it drank fine.  This was a new winery for me.  Deep iced tea color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nutty with a slight fig but also a quince/orange citrus.  Good acidity.  On the palate, nutty, quince, slight coffee.  Blind, I might have guessed Madeira.  Drinks well if not a lot of complexity.  This was good on its own but would work well with dried fruits or nuts.  

Pop and pour. This is a blend of 91% Syrah, 6% Mourvèdre and 3% Viognier.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is intense with with black raspberries, black olives, roasted herbs, dark chocolate and char.  Full bodied.  Great lush texture.  Lots of black raspberry fruit with underlying charred earth. Some chocolate on the finish.  Delicious.  This is still young and will improve over the next five to seven years.  It should drink well for ten to twelve after that.  It drinks great on its own, with time this will work just as well with food.  It worked well with Indian food.  

This is their top of the line wine.  It is a blend of 60% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache, 10% Counoise, and 10% Syrah.