Siro Pacenti
Vecchie Vigne Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese 2016
2016 vintage. Decanted with zero sed. Tasted after 20 minutes. In a great place (as are a majority of the 2016 Brunellos). Synthesis of tannins, fruit, verve and love. Dropped some of the overt body and starting to get chiseled. Watch out for those abs. 08.03.25. — 9 days ago
Château Angélus
St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend 2000
2000 vintage. Mid-shoulder fill with top-notch cork. Decanted and tasted after 3 hours. Medium/medium-heavy body. Jello chocolate pudding nose. Chunky mix of dark and milk chocolate flavors in the frontal palate that picked up a hitchhiking, dark plum passenger in the mid-palate and cruised to the finish without any speed bumps. Tannins almost completely integrated. Smooth, rich, weighty, crowd-pleasing finish. Wanted a small, dirty dissenting opinion to further confirm the current harmony/vibe but none was forthcoming. So much life ahead. Zero rush to crush. 08.01.25. — 11 days ago
Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier
Musigny Grand Cru Pinot Noir 2016
2016 vintage. Excellent fill and cork. Decanted with zero sed. Light/light-medium body. Tasted 45 minutes and 1.5 hours post-decant. All about the back-end white pepper/white sage/subtle clove spice rack finish. Excellent, lingering finish tickling different parts of the palate. More of a delicate Musigny. 08.01.25. — 11 days ago
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
Heart of Fay Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
2020 vintage. Decanted and tasted after 30 minutes and two hours. Medium body. Fay Vineyard long a favorite of mine but this was simple and underwhelming. Haven’t a clue with what they were trying to do with this but never would have pegged it as being from Fay. Haven’t tasted through much of the winery’s newer catalog (made since 2019) but what I have tasted through isn’t up to previous efforts going back to the 70’s. Pity. 08.02.25. — 10 days ago
Joseph Drouhin
Meursault Chardonnay 2022
2022 vintage. Sampled from a 375ml bottle. Drinking as well as could be expected from a half bottle for village Meursault. Forward. Fruity. Decent + balance of fruit and oak. Good pricing and may pick up two cases of 375’s depending on how quickly the other two Meursault 375ml offerings go. They’ve been moving. 08.07.25. — 5 days ago
Chateau Trolong Mondot
St. Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 1990
1990 vintage. Excellent mid-neck fill. Picture perfect cork with minimal saturation. Decanted and tasted after 10 minutes and 2.5 hours. Throwing respectable, powdery sed but not too much. The funk blew off all too quickly and treated to a fairly unified effort. Light-medium/medium body. Front and mid-palates were doing all the heavy lifting early with not much on the back end initially but things evened out over time. Impeccable specimen so hesitant to base drinkability on this specific offering. This one drinking at this range for another near-decade/decade. Other examples would likely slot in as showing best for another half-decade. 08.02.25. — 10 days ago
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC)
La Tâche Pinot Noir 2012
2012 vintage. Nearly perfect fill and cork. Decanted with infinitesimal sed. Aggro rhubarb and cranberry nose. Tasted 30 mins, 1 hour and 3 hours post-decant. Medium body. Excellent focus/concentration. The rhubarb and cranberry still chilling along with a modicum of lemongrass (?!?!) and dark cherry. Lengthy finish redolent of artificial strawberry/strawberry Jolly Rancher candy. Bit of a bucking bronco versus finesse and souplesse. 08.01.25. — 11 days ago
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego
2015 vintage. Decanted and tasted after 2 hours at approx 62 degrees. Honeyed. Golden. Harmonious. Enough back end structure to roll this stroll for another 3-4 years. Mineral sprinklings along the way. 08.08.25. — 4 days ago