Wine Spectator Score: 98

Region: Champagne

Type: Sparkling Wine

Color: White

Varietal: Champagne

Vintage: 1998

WineSpectator Review:
An exercise in finesse, with beautiful harmony to the depth of flavor, rich texture and well-honed acidity. Offers lots of minerality, with subtle savory notes of fleur de sel and oyster shell accenting fresh quince, dried apricot, honey, candied ginger and cumin flavors. Lovely. Drink now through 2025.

Wine Spectator Score: 92

Robert Parker Score: 90

Tanzer Score: 92

Other Scores: 93

Region: Champagne

Type: Sparkling Wine

Color: White

Varietal: Champagne

Vintage: 1998

WineSpectator Review:
There's plenty of finesse in this sleek Champagne, along with an airy texture and loads of grip. Graphite, lemon, toast and mineral aromas and flavors prevail, and this takes on a chalky edge on the lingering aftertaste. Best from 2010 through 2028.

Parker Review:
The houses 1998 La Grande Dame reveals notable clarity and precision. This focused, poised wine emerges from the glass with well-articulated flowers, pears, smoke, crisp apples and minerals in a medium-bodied style. The wine appears to have enough freshness and sheer depth to support another decade or so of aging. La Grand Dame represents a significant step up from the estates other wines.

Tanzer Review:
Pale yellow with a steady bead. Orange, lemon, apple, smoky minerals and yeast on the nose. Fleshy orchard fruit flavors coat the palate and are energized by dusty minerals and a fresh jasmine quality. An energetic version of this bottling, with good finishing grip and lingering floral qualities. This gained weight with air I'd hold off on popping the cork for at least another three years.

Other Reviews:
Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wines 64% Pinot Noir 36% Chardonnay. Seemingly a bit livelier than the typical Grande Dame, but still a rich wine based on its Pinot Noir heritage, it combines an admirably strong mousse with plenty of acidity and a dried toffee, nutty overlay of burgeoning complexity. Lovely.

Wine Spectator Score: 96

Robert Parker Score: 93

Region: Tuscany

District: Brunello Di Montalcino

Type: Still Wine

Color: Red

Varietal: Sangiovese

Vintage: 2004

WineSpectator Review:
Offers crushed berries, with flowers and sandalwood. The nose is reserved, but interesting. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, long finish. Very tight and stylish. Racy and powerful. Needs time. Best after 2011. 6,750 cases made. JS

Parker Review:
The 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova reveals layers of dark perfumed fruit intermingled with French oak, spices, minerals, violets and licorice. The Tenuta Nuova is impressive mostly for its textural richness and sheer depth, both qualities it has in spades. The finish is long, sweet and pure. Here, too, the wine will need at least a few years in bottle before its full range of aromas and flavors emerges. Neri gave the Tenuta Nuova 30 months in medium-sized French oak tonneaux. Anticipated maturity 2010-2024. Giacomo Neri is one of Montalcinos more gregarious producers. His passion clearly comes through in these wines, which are characterized by an emphasis on fruit and opulence. Neris Brunellos also make a great case study in the different microclimates of Montalcino. His straight Brunello di Montalcino is made from vineyards ranging from 350-480 meters in altitude located in the northeastern quadrant of the region. The Tenuta Nuova is made from a densely-planted vineyard located roughly in between SantAngelo in Colle and Castelnuovo dellAbate, in the southern part of the zone. The vines in the north typically flower three weeks later than those in the south, and naturally ripen later as well, which serves to highlight some of the differences between Montalcinos various microclimates. Neris 2004 Brunellos are immensely successful. I look forward with great anticipation to the 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto, which should be released some time next year.

Wine Spectator Score: 95

Robert Parker Score: 91

Other Scores: 97

Region: Tuscany

Type: Still Wine

Color: Red

Varietal: Sangiovese

Vintage: 2006

WineSpectator Review:
This is racy and refined red shows intense aromas of blackberry, currant and dried flowers that follow through to a full body, with sleek, minerally undertones and superpolished tannins. Made for aging. A more refined, new style of Guado. Best after 2012.

Parker Review:
Antinoris 2006 Guado al Tasso is a dark, sensual beauty imbued with the essence of black pepper, earthiness and dark fruit. Today the wine remains quite fresh and in need of further bottle age.

Other Reviews:
"Guado al Tasso is finally back... the 2006 expression is a study in purity, focus and excellence. This wine is impressive on all levels in terms of intensity, personality and persistency. It's rich and luscious with smooth tannins and lasting flavors of blackberry and spice. Drink after 2015." 97 Points, Wine Enthusiast

Robert Parker Score: 95

Region: Bordeaux

District: Saint Emilion

Type: Still Wine

Color: Red

Varietal: Blends & Meritage

Vintage: 2006

WineSpectator Review:
A clean wine, with lovely berry and mineral character. Full-bodied, with fine tannins and a long, caressing finish. This is extremely well made. James Suckling, Wine Spectator

Parker Review:
A spectacular effort (whats new?), this brilliant offering from proprietor Hubert de Bouard is another classic. A blend of 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc, it boasts an inky/purple color as well as a sumptuous bouquet of creosote, blueberry pie, espresso roast, blackberries, and graphite. Extremely full-bodied and stunningly rich with a multi-layered texture, sweet tannin, and a 45-second finish, this exceptional 2006 is one of the great wines of St.-Emilion. Anticipated maturity 2012-2028.

Wine Spectator Score: 95

Robert Parker Score: 94

Region: Bordeaux

District: Saint Julien

Type: Still Wine

Color: Red

Varietal: Blends & Meritage

Vintage: 2006

WineSpectator Review:
Very perfumed and beautiful, showing blackberry and raspberry aromas, with hints of vanilla. Deep and complex. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a long, powerful finish. Excellent for the vintage.

Parker Review:
This classic, backward, tannic St.-Julien is made in the style of the 1996 and 1986. The 2006 Ducru Beaucaillou possesses a dense purple color along with a sweet perfume of graphite, black raspberries, cassis, licorice, and subtle toasty oak. Despite their prominent place in the wines structure, the sweetness of the tannins and the full-bodied, muscular style suggest exceptional patience will be required. This is a big, substantial, meaty, masculine wine built for considerable longevity. Anticipated maturity 2016-2035.

Wine Spectator Score: 94

Robert Parker Score: 96

Region: Bordeaux

Type: Still Wine

Color: Red

Varietal: Blends & Meritage

Vintage: 2006

WineSpectator Review:
Offers subtle and complex aromas, with violet, cedar and blackberry. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and a very long finish. Tight and curled up in a ball. Best after 2015.

Parker Review:
The 2006 Haut-Brion performed even better from bottle than it did from barrel. Sixty-four percent of the production went into this wine, and while it displays the vintages powerful tannins and structure, it possesses superb concentration, and the minerality/scorched earth notes of a great Haut-Brion. Medium to full-bodied, with perhaps not quite the fleshiness of the 2005 or 2000, it is built more along the lines of the 1998 and 1996. It is a brilliant effort displaying sensational purity, texture, and length that should be exceptionally long-lived. Anticipated maturity 2017-2035 .

Wine Spectator Score: 95

Robert Parker Score: 95

Region: Bordeaux

Type: Still Wine

Color: Red

Varietal: Red Bordeaux

Vintage: 2006

WineSpectator Review:
Offers a pure nose of currant and blackberry, with crushed fruit. Full-bodied, with a solid core of fruit and very polished, refined tannins. Long and classy. Best after 2016.

Parker Review:
The 2006 Latour performed even better from bottle than from barrel. Only 38% of the production (10,000 cases) made it into the grand vin, a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Merlot and a small amount of Cabernet Franc. From barrel, I thought it was a modern day version of the 1996 or 1986, and certainly the 1996 comparison still holds. I thought it was somewhat austere from barrel, but that is no longer an issue. This is a beautifully rich Chateau Latour boasting a dense ruby/purple color, a sweet, smoky, charcoal, cassis, graphite, and forest floor-scented nose, full body, an attractive freshness, and sweet, noble tannins. This layered Latour is one of the vintage-s top dozen or so wines. Anticipated maturity 2013-2030. Latour-s brilliant manager, Frederic Engerer, has purchased 15 hectares of old vine Grenache and Syrah in the Cotes du Rhone region, the Drome, at a cool-climate elevation. I can-t wait to see the first vintage from this Cotes du Rhone project.

Wine Spectator Score: 95

Robert Parker Score: 93

Region: Bordeaux

Type: Still Wine

Color: Red

Varietal: Blends & Meritage

Vintage: 2006

WineSpectator Review:
This has a wonderful nose of perfume, sandalwood, ripe plum and berries. Full-bodied, with seamless tannins and a long finish. Gorgeous. Best after 2015.

Parker Review:
I was hoping the 2006 Chateau Margaux would turn out along the lines of the 1996, but that is not the case. It appears to be the least of the first-growth Medocs in 2006. The color is a medium dark ruby that lightens at the rim, and the bouquet offers classic, but evolved Margaux aromas of sweet currants, licorice, forest floor, and earth. Medium-bodied with dry tannin in the finish, it does not possess the profound concentration found in the truly sublime vintages of Chateau Margaux (i.e., 2005, 2000, 1996, 1990, 1983, and 1982). This mid-weight effort requires 5-7 years of cellaring, and should age for 20-25 years.

Wine Spectator Score: 95

State: California

Region: Sonoma

District: Sonoma County

Type: Still Wine

Color: Red

Varietal: Syrah

Vintage: 2006

WineSpectator Review:
Intense and vibrant, with rich, full-bodied blackberry, wild berry and blueberry fruit that's deep and concentrated, focused and pure, ending with a long, persistent finish that gushes with fruit and is supported by ripe tannins. Drink now through 2015.

Wine Spectator Score: 95

Robert Parker Score: 96

Tanzer Score: 94

Other Scores: 93

Region: Toro

Type: Still Wine

Color: Red

Varietal: Tempranillo

Vintage: 2006

WineSpectator Review:
This red is so thick and rich it's almost oily in texture, with exotic flavors of black fruit, game, dried herb and hoisin. Muscular tannins keep this structured, but give way to floral and graphite notes on the finish. A powerful wine with modern structure and distinctive character. Best from 2011 through 2020. From Spain. (Thomas Matthews for the Wine Spectator Insider 4/2009)

Parker Review:
The 2006 Termanthia is a glass-staining opaque purple color. The aromatics are a bit taciturn at the moment but with coaxing, brooding black fruits, wood smoke, pencil lead, tar, espresso, and blackberry aromas emerge. On the palate, the wine is large-scaled, dense, and nearly impenetrable. The fruit is there it is just densely packed and tightly wound. Give it a decade in the cellar and start drinking it from 2020 through 2046.

Tanzer Review:
Glass-staining ruby. Seductive, strongly perfumed aromas of black raspberry, boysenberry, sandalwood, potpourri and cocoa powder. Surprisingly lithe and energetic on the palate, offering sweet red berry and spice flavors, a velvety texture and slow-mounting minerality. Turns more floral on the finish, which is tangy, fresh and extremely long. More graceful than the 2005 but without that superb wine's power think of Margaux vs. the 2005's Latour.

Robert Parker Score: 90

Tanzer Score: 90

Other Scores: 89

State: California

Region: Central Coast

District: Paso Robles

Type: Still Wine

Color: White

Varietal: Rhone White

Vintage: 2007

WineSpectator Review:
A blowsy style, with ripe peach, apple, pear and spice notes that are full and heavy bodied. Juicy side to the ripeness and intensity, and a finish that goes on and on. Drink now. 100 cases made.

Parker Review:
The 2007 Essence de Rousanne is a beautiful expression of Roussanne, with notes of lemon blossom, a hint of nectarine and marmalade along with crushed rock and white flowers, the wine strikes a compelling aromatic profile followed by a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel with terrific acidity and distinctive minerality. This wine should drink nicely for 4-5 years if not longer. (Drink 2008-2013)

Tanzer Review:
Light, bright gold. Strikingly complex nose offers a bouquet of dried citrus and pit fruits, botanical herbs and licorice root. Firm, mineral-driven lemon-lime and white peach flavors stain the palate, with a note of floral honey providing a bass note. Leaves a strong echo of smoky minerals behind on the long, clinging finish. This wine, made by Guillaume Fabre, who works with Stephan Asseo at L'Aventure, is produced from fruit grown in Eric Jensen's renowned Booker Vineyard.

Other Reviews:
The price is not a typo. The wine is from a French couple and this is their first release. Production was very low, only 100 cases. Its an interesting wine that advances the case for Roussanne in California. It shows a crisp dryness, with buttery, oaky influences that frame citrus fruit, ripe peach and honeysuckle flower flavors.

Other Scores: 92

State: California

Region: Sonoma

Type: Still Wine

Color: White

Varietal: Chardonnay

Vintage: 2007

Other Reviews:
Heres a crisp Chardonnay that gets those tastebuds whistling with tartness. Yet its balanced out by extremely rich fruit and oak. Pineapple crhme br{lie, white peach, green apple butter, vanilla and toasty sandalwood are the flavors of this delicious, complex Chardonnay. Drink now. Wine Enthusiast

Tanzer Score: 92

Score: 90-92 BH

Region: Burgundy

District: Puligny Montrachet

Type: Still Wine

Color: White

Varietal: Chardonnay

Vintage: 2007

Tanzer Review:
Complex, leesy aromas of stone fruits, flowers, smoke and nutty oak. Dense, suave and ripe, with nuanced, lightly sulfidey flavors of white fruits, flowers and nuts. Layered and quite long. This, too, has turned out very well.

Other Reviews:
Here there is a bit more wood toast but it stops well short of being intrusive with otherwise elegant and relatively airy white flower and pear aromas that continue onto the rich, full, intense and detailed flavors built on a base of fine minerality, all wrapped in a racy and refined finish that packs real punch and length. Lovely. 9092 BH

State: California

Region: Sonoma

District: Sonoma Mountain

Type: Still Wine

Color: White

Varietal: Chardonnay

Vintage: 2007

WineSpectator Review:
Intense and full-bodied, yet mixed, with crisp acidity and ripe, buttery-butterscotch flavors that end up simple and slightly hollow. Drink now. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 150 cases made.

Score: 97-100 WS

Region: Porto

Type: Port

Color: Red

Varietal: Blends & Meritage

Vintage: 2007

WineSpectator Review:
This is the Port of the vintage. Blackberry and cassis on the nose. Very perfumed and fruity. Some mineral and wet earth underneath. Full-bodied, medium sweet and very chewy, with fabulous tannins and a big mouthfeel. Racy and powerful.

Varietal: Tequila

Vintage: 2008

Producer's notes: An estate-grown, 100% Blue Agave Tequila range, OCHO is produced as a collaboration between Tomas Estes (the man credited with bringing the ?rst bottle of Tequila to Europe) and renowned distillers, the Camarena family. What's really unique about OCHO is that it bears the ?rst ever 'Tequila vintage'. This 'Vintage' signi?es the exact year or harvest and location of the Agave plants that the spirit was derived from, under-lining the ?nely balanced relationship between the terroir and quality of raw materials. For OCHO Blanco, the Agaves have been harvested in Rancho La Rivera close to the Lerma river, which empties into Lake Chapala. This land has an altitude of 1,600 meters and soil similar to that of the Tequila Valley giving a forward, earthy character – a real Tequila lover's Tequila. Most Tequilas are distilled for consistency, OCHO Single Estate Vintages will showcase complex nuances in nose and flavor year to year for each of their Tequilas. 'Single Estate' means all of the Agave are harvested from a single field, which bear the personality of the soil and climate. Each vintage will produce a limited number of bottles from a separate estate.

State: California

Varietal: Gin

Vintage: NA

Tasting Notes - The high 98.6 proof doesn’t mask the sharp rapier thrust of coriander and almonds, with a hint of citrus in the end. This is a handmade, pot-still labor of love by Fritz Maytag of the Anchor Distilling Company. Robb Report

Other Reviews:
Light, crisp and clean, combining a deep and mysterious spiciness with subtle delicacy.

Varietal: Gin

Vintage: NV

Producer's notes: Genever is a delicious distilled spirit from Holland, based on maltwine and a secret of botanicals. Maltwine is the rich complex blend of distilled grains. It's the heart of a true genever giving it its unique depth of flavor and rounded maltiness. This blend is brought to 42% alcohol, a percentage carefully chosen by our master distiller and the perfect ingredient in a cocktail. Genever is a product category on its own, a Dutch spirit protected since 2008. Made only in Holland from high-quality ingredients. This protection is recognition of the quality of genever, putting it on a par with champagne,cognac and Scottish single-malt whisky.

Varietal: Tequila

Vintage: NA

Producer's notes: Casa Noble Single Barrel Extra Añejo Tequilas are individual works of unparalleled quality. We at Casa Noble are proud to bring a limited number of single barrel edition tequilas to aficionados who truly appreciate the mastery of the finest aged spirits in the world. The aging process begins by using only the finest, hand-selected French white oak barrels that are lightly charred for the optimal aging of our tequila. Casa Noble Single Barrel Extra Añejo is aged for an unprecedented five years. This lengthy process is carefully monitored by our Maestro Tequilero for flavor evolution and evaporation which is known as the "angel's share." The hand-made black porcelain bottles in our single barrel program are hand-painted with Platinum, then individually numbered, labeled and signed by the Makers. Casa Noble Tequila debuted the exclusive Single Barrel Line to the public on September 1st, 2009. Each barrel has its own unique flavor footprint that makes every bottle a true masterpiece, one that is both precious and unique.