Wine Varietals

(Château Calon-Ségur) After having been snake-bitten with bad luck on a couple of occasions (cooked examples) with the 1961 Calon-Ségur, I was delighted to be served a bottle in..." Learn More

The nose is closed at first and needed some coaxing from the glass. When it did appear, it had more depth and complexity than Calon-Segur with earthy notes mixed with a faint notes..." Learn More

(Quinta do Noval Nacional) I had never tasted the legendary 1963 Nacional previously, and this stunningly pure and still almost youthful wine was every bit as profound as its reput..." Learn More

First, a magnum of 1964 Hermitage La Chapelle from Paul Jaboulet Aîné. Lucid in hue, it sports modest bricking on the rim. Its initial tightness on the nose soon disappears to re..." Learn More

From one of the 20th century’s celebrated vintages for Yquem, this bottle stands up to all the hype--unforgettable for its purity, elegance, harmony, its ’total’ ..." Learn More

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Some people may enjoy this wine’s rather fat, rich and powerful fruit now, but I still find it too young for drinking. Deeply colored, with smoky mint, tar and fruit aromas, ..." Learn More

One of the top two or three wines of the vintage (Petrus and Trotanoy are noteworthy rivals), this young, magnificent Latour is still 5-10 years away from full maturity. The opaque..." Learn More

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This bottle of 1971 Petrus is perhaps the best that I have encountered, completely overawing the 1970 served alongside. It boasts a gorgeous bouquet with delineated red berry fruit..." Learn More

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The wines at Latour were being made by Jean-Paul Gardère and Henri Martin in 1975. This is hugely impressive for a second wine (the label made its first appearance in the 1960s bu..." Learn More

I absolutely love the nose of licorice, minerals, black currants, and berries. Full and slightly hard and acidic, but I could smell it all night. It softens and turns velvety and d..." Learn More

The 1976 Yquem continues to go from strength to strength. Who can ignore the awesome bouquet of spices, honeyed fruit, pineapples, bananas, coconuts, and overripe melons? This full..." Learn More

This is the wine of the vintage. I love the rosewater, currants and citrus character to this now. It’s still full body yet so ethereal. It goes on and on in the finish turni..." Learn More

(Château Latour) This is from that era when Latour made good wines in virtually every vintage and the 1976 is an eminently satisfying and complete wine. There is not quite the cus..." Learn More

Vintage Port doesn’t seem like the right wine in the middle of the summer but I had an Amarone producer for dinner the other night in Tuscany and he had never drunk a wine fr..." Learn More

Fruity, deep and firm, filled with plum and cherry, backed by youthful, stiff tannins. Needs time for complexity to develop. Try in 1995.--Lafite Rothschild vertical.Wine Spectator..." Learn More

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A rather hard wine, with a firm backbone of silky tannins and sweet black olive, vanilla and berry aromas and flavors.--Pétrus vertical. Best from 1992 through 1995. Wine Spectato..." Learn More

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Often the measure of a great terroir and producer are the so-called off vintages, which frequently surprise and delight to punch far above their weight. The 81 Latour is a classic ..." Learn More

Wonderfully rich and still holding back. Beautiful plum, toasted oak, berry and tobacco character. Firm with a full body. Drinkable now; better with time.--The Bordeaux 50.Wine Spe..." Learn More

(Château Palmer) The 1981 vintage at Château Palmer is really lovely middleweight and a wine that offers up lovely sappiness at the core to go along with very refined aromatic co..." Learn More

The 1981 stood out as slightly superior. Winemaker John Duval always felt this was a tannic style of Grange, but the wine has shed its tannins, and this is one of the few vintages ..." Learn More