I did it again, too much time has passed from my previous post on M&M imports, and this follow-up post is some 9 months apart! This post is meant to not only catch up with the wines that I missed in my last post but also to show ALL the current wines available from M & M Importers.

It is always a pleasure to taste the wines from Ralph Madeb, president and CEO of M&M Importers. The BIG news is that now some of his wines are available on kosherwine.com! I really hope this helps to spread the good word about the work that Ralph and his team do! More info on M & M Importers can be found here.

Where can you find the wines?

Let us get the obvious out of the way first, it is very hard to track what M&M imports and where they are for sale. As stated above kosherwine.com is selling some of them and IDrinkKosher.com also sells them. Neither is the best option because KW has a limited number of the total portfolio, more of that in a moment and IDK is solid, both in pricing and in what they buy. However, knowing what is ACTUALLY available is almost impossible unless you show up at the store. I have been at the store a few times and they have great prices and good storage – again the issue lies in knowing what is actually for sale, as the website is never updated. Calling in does not help much either, but this post is here to shed more light on the matter. I know Ralph is working very hard on this matter and I hope we get more news on this soon.

UPDATE: You can now buy many of the SKUs from elkwine.com! Elchonon Hellinger is a dear friend and as always, I make NOTHING from your purchases, but if you live or are visiting the Miami area, please look him up! If you do not find what you need on the site, text him on Whatsapp: 17867501019, he is adding more SKUs as fast as he can!

Portfolio

If anyone wants to get a bird’s eye view of Ralph Madeb they should listen to the great podcast series from Simon Jacobs – The Kosher Terroir. The episode that focuses on Dr. Ralph Madeb and M&M Importers is this one.

From a Fifty Thousand Mile view, Ralph started his adventure as a mixture of importing IDS wines while also creating his own. Even when he was bringing in some IDS wines, it was not all of them, and access to them was almost impossible.

Since then, things have grown, by leaps and bounds and now they produce or import more than 70 wines.

Again, aside from the accessibility to/of these wines, for the average guy, not living in/near/around NYC, let us talk about what they are and where they come from.

Les Vins IDS

IDS makes wines from all around France and you can find all my wine notes from November 2023, here. Between, Pinot Noirs from Burgundy, famous estates from Bordeaux, and now famous estates from Alsace, Provence, and Sancerre, IDS has expanded its portfolio over these past 10 years.

Names like Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, Domaine de Chevalier, Chateau Lafon-Rochet, Chateau Marquis d’Alesme Becker, Virginie de Valandraud. Chateau Labegorce, Chateau la Tour de By, Chateau de Valois, Chateau Leydet-Valentin, Chateau Trianon, Chateau Sainte Marguerite, Domaine Aegerter Gevrey-Chambertin, Domaine Aegerter Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru, Domaine Aegerter Nuits-Saint-Georges, Domaine Aegerter Beaune Premier Cru, Gustave Lorentz, Tokaj-Hetszolo, Domaine Vacheron Sancerre, Jean Luc et Paul Aegerter Pouilly Fuisse, Jean Luc et Paul Aegerter Meursault, Clos des Lunes Lune D’Argent.

These are wines made by and for IDS and M&M imports them and sells them locally here in the USA.

Mercier Wines

When you see names Chateau Cantenac Brown, Château Saint Martin Rouge and Rose, Domaine Lebrun Pouilly Fumé, Château Rayne Vigneau, Chateau Fayat, Chateau Olivier Red and White, Chateau Clement Pichon, Alphonse Mellot Sancerre, La Moussiere, Chateau Haut-Marbuzet, and Carillon d’Angelus, these are all made under the auspices of Maison Mercier.

Some of these wines are imported and sold by Royal Wines and some are imported and sold by M&M Imports.

They make many other wines and they import a large portfolio of Israeli wines into France as well. Most of the French wines are made under the watchful eye of Pierre Miodonick, whom I have written up on a few times.

These are really big names for Kosher, much like Royal makes with Pontet Canet, and IDS makes with Smith Haut Lafitte. Any time we can get kosher wines from Angelus and Pichon things are moving in the correct direction. Still, the prices are sky-high because of the added partners in the process.

Honest Grapes

Tom Harrow and Nathan Hill (a man I met for a few hours recently, more on that in a few posts) built an impressive wine club system. They are happy to sell you wine here and there, but their business is built on wine clubs and events. They have been in business since 2014 and they started a kosher line in 2017. Like much of their business and clubs, they run using a mix of crowd-sourcing and partnerships.

The 2017 and 2018 vintages were all sold out long ago as they were both crowd-sourced and sold to those who signed in to the En Primeur. The 2019 vintage was a change, they expanded and with that expansion came a bit more space for non-club access. They expanded a bit because of demand and also because of the appearance of M&M. That was a bit ahead of schedule, and there was no real extra access, at that time, mostly leaving the wines to be sold En Primeur.

The 2020 vintage was when the partnership helped Honest Grapes to expand and make more of the small winery plots kosher. Remember, it is not like they can go from 1000 bottles to 1100 or 1200 bottles. Everything is still barrel based. Either the barrel (25 cases of 12 bottles) is kosher or it is not! These plots are so small, for the most part, that it was not long before the plots were vinified 100% kosher.

The impressive wines in this portfolio are a mix of Bordeaux and Burgundy:

• Chateau Teyssier (QPR Homerun)
• Vieux Château Mazerat
• Le Dôme Kosher
• Pontet Labrie
• Domaine de Montille Pommard Premier Cru ‘Les Grands Epenots’
• Domaine de Montille Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru, Les Chalumeaux
• Domaine de Montille Volnay Premier Cru ‘Les Brouillards’
• Domaine de Montille Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru ‘Aux Thorey’
• Domaine de Montille Beaune Premier Cru ‘Les Perrières’
• Domaine de Montille Monthelie Premier Cru ‘Les Duresses’
• Domaine de Montille Bourgogne Blanc
• Domaine de Montille Bourgogne Rouge

Right now, M&M only has two wines for sale from Honest Grapes, the 2019 Chateau Teyssier (QPR Homerun), and the 2020 Domaine de Montille Volnay Premier Cru ‘Les Brouillards’.

The rest of the 2020 Bordeaux and the 2021 Burgundies are still in route and will be here soon enough.

Gefen Hashalom

I have posted often about Gefen Hashalom wines from Germany. This kosher wine operation was made with love and desire to see Kosher wine come out of Germany once again. The first inklings of such wine happened at the end of 2016 when I first posted about the 2014 Nik Weis Selection Gefen Hashalom, a lovely wine still today.

That was followed by the incredible wines from Von Hovel and my post about going to the winery and buying as much of it as I could take! Later Nathan from Yavine worked it out and he started selling the Von Hovel wines. My post about the mad dash to Weingut Von Hovel, with Nathan Grandjean from Yavine Wines can be found here. The post about the mad dash clearly delineates all the complexities of German Rieslings. Not only their growing seasons but also the way they define and brand their wines after they are vinified.

In the end, Von Hovel would make three kosher wines the incredible 2015 Von Hovel Saar Riesling Kabinett. Next were the two Auction wines – the 2014 Von Hovel Riesling, Hutte Oberemmel, Kabinett, and the 2014 Von Hovel Riesling, Scharzhofberg, Kabinett.

From the start, Ralph was bringing them in and selling them in and around the NJ/NY area as was the non-kosher importer.

What happened after all of this is still a mystery. I tend not to listen to gossip or attempt to nail down the scoop. The point of my blog is to write, mostly for myself, what I like and dislike in wine, period. The untold story of what happened to Gefen Hashalom and why it stopped producing wines shall stay that way until I hear a very clear and open explanation that all agree to. In the end, the sad truth is that we all lost out on more great wines. Thankfully, there is still the 2015 Von Hovel Saar Riesling Kabinett, and for the price it is sold in most NYC shops, it should be on your table every day of the week!

Ralph made a run of kosher Silvaner and that one is listed below.

M&M Importers Produced Wines

Once we get past the imports it is time to focus on the ever-growing list of wines that Ralph and team make in Italy and France.

It all started with an expansion of some of the Falesco wines, which were easy pickings as they were lying dormant and always well respected.

Next, came the Castellare di Castellina, Chianti Classico, a lovely wine that is slowly taking over my imagination of what Chianti Classico can be. I have loved TDS (Terra di Seta for so long), but slowly Castellare is taking over my imagination of what Chianti Classico is all about.

Then came Tassi Franci Brunello Di Montalcino, obviously this was started earlier by a different group but they took it over and expanded the wines and the reach.

Then came some lovely Sicilian wines, some Mevushal wines, the Pescaja wines, and so much more. The number of wines is stunning, and at times looks uncontrolled from afar. The real issue is the public has a hard time finding or keeping track of what new wines are available. It is for this reason I thought I would put this out and try to help folks understand what is and what is not available.

Ralph worked hard with the folks from Geshem Shalom to get all the wonderful German wines that existed and then he made a new vintage of the famous Hans Wirsching Silvaner.

The latest big name is Chateau Valandraud, this has started with the 2020 vintage and it is a stunning wine. Not quite as lovely as the Smith-Haut Lafitte, from 2019, but still a stunning wine. Add to that another Bordeaux, value wine, called Chateau Lilian Ladouys, and the lineup keeps growing.

Massive Success

If you look through the wines M&M has produced, all 40 of them, again, do not include roses or whites that have moved on, you will find 35 out of the 40 wines scored a 90 or higher – far higher!

That run is incredible! Again, these do not include the awesome wines from IDS or Honest Grapes. They are mostly from Italy, but they also include two Bordeaux and one German Silvaner. In the end, that is a hit rate that very few can say they achieved in the kosher market. Throw in the fact that the vast majority of those wines are NOT Valandraud-priced wines. They are in the 25 to 50 dollar range. The only real response to these facts is WOW! I really hope that the team keeps doing their incredible work and continues to produce world-class wines, at reasonable prices, that happen to be kosher! Bravo!

Mevushal

A rather quick note here on M&M’s direction. The first of the Mevushal mainstream wines that M&M produces in Italy was the 2021 Pescaja Solei’ Arneis. Things got rolling after that with Roses, entire lines of lower-end wines, such as the 2020 Illuminare Dry Moscato, and others. Then The Nebiollo got in the game along with other new wines like the Klaris.

Overall, the effort has netted good wine, the only real chance we get to do side-by-side comparisons is with the Pescaja Solei’ Arneis, and so far the Mevushal version is less lively, showing less verve and acidity.

Closing notes

This post is not a single new wine or the latest wine I tasted. This post is a complete list of wines available here in the USA that M&M made or imported.

<Editor’s Note> I did not put any roses or white wines whose drinking windows exceeded the current time. I did not do a massive taste of these wines for this post. I am putting the notes I had posted here for each of the wines available, with tasting dates on most of them. </Editor’s Note>

One of the main reasons for this post is to stop the conversations I hear that start like, did u taste M&M’s (or Ralph’s) new white wine? I go which wine? They go the white Burgundy. I go which White Burgundy, they say the one he made. The issue here is he did not make any of them (all four that he has or will have to sell), even though he sells them well and they are very good.
This is the problem, the branding behind M&M, at this time, feels more like Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. It holds many different stocks but is branded at Berkshire. People talk about Geico, but it is wholly owned by Berkshire, the same as Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation. They invest in many smaller companies and larger ones like Apple and Coca-Cola. My point is it feels more like a holding company that both resells and makes wines, and the branding should take a cue from Berkshire, and other holding companies, in how to market the package and the wines to the kosher wine-buying public.

My sincerest thanks to Ralph and his partner at M&M Importers for sharing their wonderful wines with us all! The wine notes follow below, listed in the order of the producer and then the scores – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:

IDS Wines

2019 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, Pessac-Leognan, Grand Cru Classe – Score: 96+ (QPR: GREAT)
This wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot.
The nose of this wine is incredible, dense, expressive, and elegant, with blue, black, and red fruit, really impressive.
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is full-stop, wow! The mouth of this wine is incredible, dense, elegant, rich, layered, smoky, extracted, and so present, with a rich structure of mineral, graphite, backed by incredible acidity, good oak, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, dense structure, sensual, yet powerful, with a plush yet extracted mouthfeel, truly a unique experience.
The finish is long, green, expressive, rich, layered, and impressive, with tobacco, smoke, earth, scraping minerality, graphite, and rock, wow! Drink from 2030 until 2038. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 15%)

2020 Domaine de Chevalier, Pessac-Leognan – Score: 95 (QPR: GREAT)
RESCORED. This wine is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, & 5% Petit Verdot.
What a wine, still, like all 2020 scary approachable, tasting side-by-side with so many great wines, this wine is really impressive, with black and red fruit, graphite, dirt, herbal notes, plum, and dense smoke. Bravo!
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is perfectly balanced, with crazy acidity, mouth-draping tannin, so plush, so elegant, showing rich blackberry, plum, cassis, and sweet jammy raspberry, intense and layered and concentrated, with intense graphite and smoke. Bravo!!!
The finish is long, scarping, and dirty, with lovely precision, fruit focus, iron shavings, graphite, pencil shavings, intense acidity, and dense fruit, wow!!! Drink from 2025 until 2035. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2020 Domaine de Chevalier, Blanc, Pessac-Leognan – Score: 94+ (QPR: GREAT)
RESCORED. This wine is a blend of 75% Sauvignon Blanc & 25% Semillon. The nose of this wine is unique, ripe, smoky, earthy, dirty, and mineral-driven, with lovely and deep funk, smoke, toast, and rich apple, yellow plum, and peach. What a lovely nose! Bravo! The mouth of this full-bodied white wine is lovely with intense acidity, perfectly balanced, some will taste this and ask for more acidity, but they are wrong, this wine is perfectly balanced, with white peach, acidity, long ribbons of graphite and flint, intense spice, nutmeg, cloves, and lovely grapefruit/lime, with intense butterscotch, and minerality. The finish is long, dense, ripe, balanced, and extracted with a minerality that hurts to taste, acidity, peach, apple, sweet oak, butterscotch, and floral notes that linger long, forever, wow!! Drink until 2033. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre, Grand Champs, Sancerre – Score: 93+ (QPR: WINNER)
RESCORED. The nose of this wine is ripe while also showing green and mineral notes, white pepper, orange, orange blossom, gooseberry, white flower, jasmine, and white oolong tea, a truly unique nose. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is uniquely layered, and ripe, with sweet and ripe gooseberry, orange, nectarines, intense minerality, dense slate, and flint, intense acidity, expressive but the acidity takes front stage, incredible honeysuckle, honeydew, the minerality, and floral notes take over with crazy mineral and acid, what a lovely mouthfeel and fruit focus, wow! The finish is long, tart, ripe, layered, and expressive, with intense minerality, slate, and flint that goes on forever, a Sancerre like this is really unique, wow! Drink by 2030. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Gustave Lorentz Riesling, Alcase Grand Cru, Alsace – Score: 93+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is a baby, the petrol will come, for now, honeysuckle, honeydew, the intense minerality of flint and rock, peach, yellow plum, gooseberry, and smoke.
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is layered, focused, and expressive, with intense minerality, gooseberry, rock, smoke, grapefruit, lemon/lime, graphite, and sweet herbs.
The finish is long, tart, herbal, and mineral-driven, honeysuckle, and honeydew, with slate, fruit, and rock. Drink by 2030. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2020 Chateau Lafon-Rochet, Saint-Estephe – Score: 93+ (QPR: WINNER (FRANCE), GREAT (USA))
This wine is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon & 45% Merlot.
The nose of this wine is a less ripe wine, with savory notes, lovely green and red fruit, elegant redolence, minerality, lovely iron shavings graphite, beautiful pencil shavings, with incredible raspberry, cherry, and rich smoke. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is lovely, elegant, extracted, rich, and beautiful with ripe and juicy cherry, elegant tart/juicy raspberry, beautiful smoke, intense and elegant charcoal/graphite, just lovely, with red fruit, loam, and mouth-scraping tannin. The finish is long, red, ripe, and smoky, with great tobacco, rosemary, savory notes, dark chocolate, loam, leather, and lovely smoke. Drink from 2023 until 2033. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2019 Chateau Marquis d’Alesme Becker, Margaux – Score: 93+ (QPR: WINNER (France), GREAT (USA))
This wine is a blend of 44% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 13% Cabernet Franc.
The nose of this wine is dense, rich, expressive, fruity, and redolent, with black, blue, and red fruit, with graphite, mineral, rich spice, earth, and dense smoke, impressive! The mouth of this full-bodied wine is dense, layered, rich, extracted, and expressive, while also elegant, smoky, and draped in a rich tannin coat, quite an experience, with saline, blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, iron shavings, graphite, a bit of pith, and intense smoke, really impressive. The finish is long, with black, dense, and green notes, with sweet tobacco, green notes, and milk chocolate, really impressive! BRAVO! Drink from 2026 until 2035. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14%)

2021 Jean Luc et Paul Aegerter Pouilly Fuisse, Premier Cru, Vers Cras, Pouilly Fuisse – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is crazy, intense, bright, redolent, expressive, elegant, and incredible, with dense fruit, ripe apple, pear, peach, quince, sweet flint, matchstick, graphite, and sweet spices. Some may be bothered by the clear lack of filtering but I could care less.
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is incredible, layered, elegant, and precise, with intense apple, peach, pear, mineral, flint, and lovely expression, with a minerality that is deep and grabs your attention, an intense attack of acidity, ripe fruit, all wrapped in minerality and smoke. WOW!!
The finish is long, expressive, focused, and intense, with deep ribbons of flint, slate, matchstick, and ripe fruit, all perfectly balanced! Drink until 2030. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2020 Chateau Labegorce, Margaux – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER (FRANCE))
This wine is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot.
The nose of this wine is epic, dense, ripe, rich, buttery, and creamy, with toasted cedar, lovely, great bright, and ripe fruit, rich minerality, sweet loam, roasted animal, iron, and rich licorice. The mouth of this full-bodied wine starts a bit closed but with time the wine opens with lovely dense fruit, rich salinity, dense minerality, plush, layered, concentrated, and ripe fruit of blackberry, plum, earthy, and smoky, with dark raspberry, dense and mouth draping elegant tannin, so lovely, with rich loam and lovely smoke. The finish is lovely, ripe, dense, and rich, with elegant extraction, the most elegant extraction we have seen so far from the 2020 vintage, with scraping graphite, gravel, rock, iron, and floral notes of violet, with ripe red fruit, tannin, black pepper, leather, and smoke lingering very long, forever. BRAVO! Drink until 2033. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14%)

2020 Chateau La Tour de By, Medoc – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is ripe, balanced, smoky, earthy, and dirty, with sweet oak, chocolate, garrigue, and black pepper, nice! The mouth of this full-bodied wine is bright, dark, brooding, and balanced, with blackberry, cassis, plum, smoke, herbs, and raspberry, all coming together nicely, with mouth-draping tannin, smoke, and green notes, all balanced with a plush mouthfeel and roasted herbs. The finish is long, dirty, smoky, and earthy, with black and red fruit, great acidity, and a nice mushroom. Nice! Drink by 2030. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14%)

2018 Clos des Lunes Lune D’Argent, Bordeaux – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
RESCORED. This wine is a blend of 70% Semillon and 30% Sauvignon Blanc. The nose of this wine is now lovely, and richly funky, with flint, rock, tart gooseberry, citrus, and green notes, with orange blossom, yellow fruit, and earth.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine comes at you in layers of fruit, with a nice integrated acid, showing green notes, tart with asparagus, yellow plum, dry straw, with mineral, lovely smoke, tart fruit, rock, and grapefruit and lemon/lime.
The finish is long, and green, with orange notes, and minerality that lingers long forever. Bravo! Drink until 2025. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2020 Chateau de Valois, Pomerol – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is lovely, and more balanced than in 2011, with lovely black and blue fruit, dirt, anise, and lovely loam. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, less so than in 2011, with anise, earth, smoke, plum, blackberry, blueberry, smoke, earth, and rich mouth-coating tannin, lovely! The finish is long, dense, green, and herbal, with lovely tannin, smoke, dark chocolate, and mushroom. Nice! Drink from 2024 until 2030. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14%)

2020 Domaine Aegerter Volnay, Volnay – Score: 92 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is tart, cranberry, raspberry, dark cherry, rich rose petals, lovely iron, metal, loam, and roasted animal. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is ripe, tart, very much in line with the weight of Volnay, less lithe than the Bourgogne, but well-balanced, with rich saline, dark cherry, plum, dark raspberry, ripe red berry, tart cranberry, hints of tart pomegranate, lovely mouth-drying tannin, awesome fruit structure, and acidic to its core. The finish is long, with menthol, green tobacco, sweet cedar, nice tannin, lovely espresso, and nice dirt, foliage, and well-balanced. Nice!!! Drink by 2032. (tasted November 2021) (ABV = 13.5%)

2019 L’Esprit de Chevalier, Pessac-Legonan – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER (France) GREAT (USA))
This wine is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot.
The nose of this wine is lovely, dark, dense, and rich, but a bit stunted, but so elegant, with green notes, red fruit, earth, smoke, almost no oak, lovely violet notes, fruity, and dirty.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is ripe, elegant, and smoky, with nice tannin, sweet blackberry, raspberry, roasted herb, menthol, graphite, scraping mineral, mushroom, and lovely loam.
The finish is long, and green, with more raspberry, black fruit, scraping mineral, loam, chocolate, roasted herb, sweet tobacco, graphite, and smoke. Drink from 2024 until 2031. (tasted May 2022) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Chateau Sainte Marguerite Cuvee Symphonie Blanc, Cru Classe, Cotes de Provence – Score: 91 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is pure heaven, funk, orange blossom, citrus blossom, white flowers, tea, green apple, quince, dry marmalade, intense flint, sweet oak, mineral, and lovely! The mouth of this wine is balanced but shows the oak more now than before, with intense acidity, with quince, tart lemon, orange, flint, white flowers, peach, apricot, and never-ending acidity. The finish is long, tart, green, lemongrass, smoke, more sweet oak, flint, and intense acidity, LOVELY! Drink now! (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Tokaj-Hetszolo Sarga Muskotaly, Tokaji – Score: 91 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is ripe, and tropical, with ripe mango, lychee, guava, tart pineapple, orange blossom, gooseberry, and passion fruit, very unique. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice with nice sweet and ripe fruit, more controlled and drier than in the nose, with intense acidity, dry mango, very floral with orange blossom, violet, elderberry, nice honeyed orange, and green notes. The finish is long, green, tart, and fruity, with great acidity, mango, pineapple, and waxy notes.
To be clear this is not a dry wine but it is also not a dessert wine, it fits in between, and it is off-dry. It would accompany dishes in the main meal as well if they are spicy or they are rich like cream sauces. Drink by 2024. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)

2018 Virginie de Valandraud, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru – Score: 90 (QPR: POOR)
This is the 5th time I have had this wine and I tasted it blind the 2nd time and liked it even less than the previous time. The nose on this wine makes me think that Bordeaux moved to Israel for a year. One can say it has no “flaw” but to me, it is too ripe and it has too much oak at this time, maybe it will blow off, who knows!
The nose of this wine is rich, ripe, dark fruit, dense floral notes, with milk chocolate, mineral galore, mushroom, and green notes. The nose throws me as the wine is so ripe yet also so green and it feels unbalanced. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is rich, dense, layered, and incredible but too ripe, with mineral, dense blackberry, boysenberry, rich acidity, dense fruit, with great balance, intense, still ripe, with mouth-drying and draping tannin, with green foliage, asparagus, a bit too much green as well, roasted herbs, and foliage.
Again, here, the mouth starts with green notes from the oak, and the oak notes also cause me to think the wine is unbalanced. With time, that shows more as pure oak and ripe fruit, two “qualities” I do not love. The finish is long, ripe, green, and smoky, with ripe fruit, anise, leather milk chocolate, smoking tobacco, and green notes. Time will tell, for now scary, but it may come around. Drink from 2027 until 2033. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 15%)

2020 Domaine Aegerter Aloxe-Corton Premier Cru – Les Petites Lolieres, Aloxe-Corton Premier Cru – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is nice, with dark cherry, rose petals, dark and brooding fruit, rich smoke, dark plum, dark cherry, cranberry, and rich loam. The mouth of this full-bodied wine again has some VA, with ripe fruit, dark plum, dense cranberry, pomegranate, brooding fruit, dense, concentrated, with extraction, saline, mineral, slate, and nice green notes in the background. The finish is long, dense, and ripe, with more balance than some of the others, with milk chocolate, sweet cedar, tart fruit, and lingering pencil filings. Nice! Drink until 2034. (tasted November 2021) (ABV = 13.5%)

2020 Domaine Aegerter Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru, Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is ripe, and slightly more balanced, with intense floral notes, rosehip, white flowers, ripe fruit, dark cherry, ripe plum, thyme, mint, licorice, and lovely smoke. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, dense, layered, extracted, and rich, with dark and brooding fruit, lovely balancing acidity, bramble, dark plum, dark pomegranate, tart cranberry, dense and mouth-coating tannin, with dark fruit, and rich salinity. The finish is long, dense, ripe, and layered, with chocolate-covered espresso, tobacco, and more smoke. Drink from 2026 until 2035. (tasted November 2021) (ABV = 13.5%)

2020 Chateau Larrivaux, Haut-Medoc – Score: 90 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is nice enough, a bit green, herbal, smoky, with red fruit, and green herbs. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice, with great acidity, but the green notes throw me with green asparagus, nice mouth-draping tannin, earth, smoke, raspberry, cranberry, plum, and blackberry. The finish is long, green, herbal, and smoky. Drink by 2025. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2020 Chateau Leydet-Valentin, Saint-Emilion, Grand Cru – Score: 90 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is ripe, and candied, with jammy fruit, blackberry, cassis, herb, and nice smoke. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, candied, jammy, and smoky, with nice acidity, and minerality, that helps to calm the fruit, with earth, smoke, and some nice sweet herbs. The finish is long, herbal, smoky, dirty, and ripe, too ripe for me. Drink by 2030. (tasted May & November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14%)

2021 Gustave Lorentz Gewurztraminer, Alsace Grand Cru, Alsace Grand Cru – Score: 90 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is classic, pineapple, dry wax, white peach, apricot, orange blossom, orange, nectarines, and smoke.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is off-dry, with nice minerality, intense graphite, nice enough acidity, yellow apple, mango, lychee, and good earth, slate, and rich smoke.
The finish is long, sweet, mineral-driven, graphite, and sweet fruit. Drink by 2028. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2020 Domaine Aegerter Pommard, Pommard – Score: 89 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine smells like what we want, with notes of petals, white flowers, rose, tart fruit, tart cherry, raspberry, plum, and loam, with earth, and lovely minerality. The mouth on this medium-plus bodied wine throws me again with a bit of VA, showing strawberry, raspberry, and dark cherry, throwing me, but it also shows a sweeter side of balsamic vinegar, with lovely mouth-draping tannin, all on point, with rich saline, smoke, roasted animal, and lovely floral notes. The finish is long, with more VA, intense acidity, and coffee beans. Drink until 2032. (tasted November 2021) (ABV = 13.5%)

Mercier Wines

2020 Château Angelus Carillon de l’Angélus, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru – Score: 94 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is super closed for a day, literally, after a day the nose opens to rich, brooding, deep, and unctuous ripe notes of black and red fruit, controlled and redolent, with mineral, smoke, dirt, iron, loam, mushroom, and sweet spices. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is rich, layered, and controlled, with lovely blackberry, ripe raspberry, plum, dense and draping mouthfeel, lovely and elegant extraction, rich mushroom, and loam, wrapped in a dense mouth draping tannin, complex and elegant, with black and white pepper, sweet baking spices, garrigue, and sweet dill, lovely! This wine is still closed, I am doing my best here to get the notes. The finish is long, ripe, controlled, and mineral-driven, with intense graphite, pencil shavings, gravel, rock, tar, sweet tobacco, leather, and sweet spices. Drink from 2030 until 2040. (tasted November 2022) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14.5%)

2020 Château Olivier Grand Cru Classe, Pessac-Léognan – Score: 94 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is quite nice, a wine I would drink, with a bit of soy sauce, rich salinity, mushroom, earthy, and dirty, like a rich and redolent mud pen, with a bit of heat, and lovely smoke. With time, the heat drops off, ripe, muddy, mushroom haven, lovely! The mouth of the full-bodied wine is dense, layered, rich, and concentrated, with rich extraction, dark and brooding, with juicy blackberry, ripe strawberry, mushroom, forest floor, wet leaves, rich salinity, soy sauce, umami, just a fun, ripe, savory, and dirty wine. The finish is long, dark, and brooding, but well controlled, one of those rare ripe/dirty/earthy controlled monsters, with dense minerality, scraping graphite, ripe fruit, and leather, Bravo! Drink until 2035. (tasted November 2022) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14.5%)

2020 Chateau Olivier Blanc, Grand Cru Classe, Pessac-Leognan – Score: 91 (QPR: POOR)
At the opening, tasted blind, this wine was flat with cooked peaches and had zero acidity. With time the nose comes around and now smells like balanced white peach, with some minerality, and nothing much else. After yet another day, day #3, now this wine tastes as it should, showing notes of rich funk, apricot, peach, green apple, rich straw and hay, and lovely minerality.
The mouth of this wine is bright, with more peach, apple, and some slate, and no complexity, with just enough fruit. After some time, the mouth becomes plusher, almost oily, with lovely funk, great acidity, lovely balance, great slate, rock, peach, apricot, and yellow plum.
The finish is short and leaves much to be desired. After three days the finish comes around and shows ripe fruit, rich salinity, dense minerality, and nice slate notes. Drink from 2024 until 2029. (tasted November 2022) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Olivier Blanc, Grand Cru Classe, Pessac-Leognan – Score: 94 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is stunning, captivating, redolent, and elegant, with rich fruit, grapefruit, minerality, saline, dry grass, gooseberry, and passion fruit, a beautiful wine that hits the mark! BRAVO! The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is stunning, layered, complex, plush, and concentrated with rich acidity, minerality, slate, flint, and saline wrapping the gooseberry, grapefruit, peach, orange peel, and passion fruit, showing an impressive complexity. The finish is long, mineral-driven, dense, weighty, and plush, with rich salinity, flint, wet rock, and slate, and extremely refreshing and mouthwatering. BRAVO!!! Drink by 2027. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2020 Chateau Clement-Pichon, Haut-Medoc – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is 100% pure joy, soy sauce, umami, and black pepper, with blue and black fruit, roasted animal, tar, and nice savory notes, lovely! The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, riper than the nose would make me think, with dark black and purple fruit, ripe boysenberry, blackberry, with dense mouth-draping and drying tannin, nice acidity, richly extracted, concentrated, and comes at you in layers of fruit and smoke, nice. The finish of this rich wine is plush, mineral-driven, scraping graphite, earth, and lovely smoke! Bravo!! Drink from 2025 until 2032. (tasted November 2022) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14.5%)

2021 Domaine Lebrun Pouilly-Fume, Pouilly-Fume – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER (France), GREAT (USA))
This wine is stunning, concentrated, focused, mineral-laden, and so tart/juicy, that my palate was salivating long after I spit the wine out. Nice!!
The nose of this wine is lovely, showing notes of sweet fruit, lovely orange blossom, intense minerality, honeysuckle, honeyed peach, honeydew, and intense smoke/flint.
The mouth on this lovely medium-plus-bodied is truly fresh, ripe, and well-balanced with screaming acid, smoke, flint, gooseberry, cat pee, grapefruit, orange, lovely screaming acid, and layers upon layers of flint/slate! Showing a lovely weight and mouthfeel.
The finish is long, green, ripe, and well balanced, with crazy mineral, screaming acid, and lovely rock, flint, and mineral. WOW!! Drink until 2024. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Saint-Martin Rouge, Cotes de Provence – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER (France), GREAT (USA))
This wine is a blend of 25% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, & 25% Mourvedre.
The nose of this wine is ripe and juicy with floral notes, violet, blue, and red fruit, smoke, graphite, and roasted meat. With time, the more savory, earthy, dirty notes come out as well and add complexity and depth to the wine.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is fun, floral, juicy, and tart, with boysenberry, plum, dark cherry, herbs, graphite, searing acidity, nice mouthfeel, and a good fruity, balanced expression. The savory notes come out after a few hours and add complexity, Bravo!
The finish is long, tart, and juicy, with nice acidity, graphite, roasted herbs, and red/blue fruit. Drink by 2025. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Château Olivier Grand Cru Classe, Pessac-Léognan – Score: 90 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine follows up on last year’s first kosher vintage with green notes, bell pepper, smoked meat, roasted herbs, chocolate, and garrigue. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice, with good acidity, roasted herbs, garrigue, cherry, raspberry, nice graphite, and loam. The finish is short, with nice herbs, lovely minerals, graphite, wet earth, and loam. Nice! Drink from 2024 until 2029. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Chateau Clement-Pichon, Haut-Medoc – Score: 88 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is all that is wrong with 2021, chocolate-covered Jalapeno, with candied green fruit, milk chocolate, and rich smoke. With time, aka a day, the nose vastly improves to show notes of bell pepper (no Jalapeno), controlled ripeness, lovely dirt, and loam, smoke, tar, coffee, and black tea. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is a strange blend of green fruit, rich tannin, plush mouthfeel, wrapping jalapeno, plum, and loam. With time, the mouth improves to show rich salinity, lovely mouth-coating tannin, great acidity, intense oak, and milk chocolate. The finish is long, and herbal, with milk chocolate, tobacco, and smoke. Drink until 2028. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)

Honest Grapes

2020 Domaine de Montille Volnay, 1er Cru Les Brouillards, Volnay 1er Cru – Score: 93+ (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is a fruit beast, rich, ripe, aggressive, but incredibly controlled, with big ripe, and bright boysenberry, blackberry, smoke, heritage rose petals, earth, loam, smoked meat, and incredible minerality. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, with lovely acidity, lanolin, and mouth-draping tannin, with blackcurrant, blackberry, juicy raspberry, and boysenberry, ripe, precise, and truly focused, with intense minerality, sweet oak, iron shavings, rose notes, coffee, and rich smoke. The finish is long, ripe, dense, and beautiful, with more boysenberry, minerality that jumps out at you, graphite, iron rock, iron shavings, rock, smoke, and lovely milk-covered coffee beans. Just a lovely expression of Volnay! Drink from 2027 until 2035. (tasted January 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2019 Chateau Teyssier, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is lovely, crisp, earthy, dirty, and smoky, with ripe fruit, showing red, blue, and hints of black fruit, all wrapped in black tea, anise, rich menthol, lovely minerality, coffee grinds, and loam, nice! The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, balanced, and tense, with lovely blackberry, raspberry, ripe blueberry, loam, roasted herbs, mouth-draping and elegant tannin, with sweet oak, lovely tension, scraping minerality, loam, and more smoke. The finish is long, ripe, and balanced, with more tannin, ripe blueberry, plum, leather, dark chocolate, menthol, rich graphite, and minerality, and loam lingering long. Bravo! Drink from 2025 until 2033. (tasted December 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Le Nardian, Bordeaux – Score: 93 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is lovely, feels more Burgundian to me than Bordeaux, maybe it is the unique wood notes, and oak, that bring me back to Burgundy, still, the nose is stunning, honeysuckle, orange rind, peach, apricot, green apple, and rich smoke. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is crisp, and balanced, with intense oak-driven notes, this is not an oak monster, the oak lifts the sweet peach, apricot, and apple, and adds a bit of sweetness, edge, and verve, with smoke, minerality, and green notes, lovely! Not quite plush or oily but very close to both and rich with good minerality and fruit focus, really nice! The finish is long, green, smoky, and fruity, with more oak, sweet tannin, anise, white pepper, and white flowers lingering long. Lovely! Drink until 2028. I am sure this can go longer but I have never had this wine before and I am honestly gunshy from previous kosher white wine failures. (tasted December 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12.5%)

Gefen Hashalom

2015 Von Hovel Saar Riesling Kabinett – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
Interestingly, the label reads Mosel, but it is really the Saar subregion of Mosel. Kabinett originally meant reserve wine, now it means light, fruity, that by law (if you use the word Kabinett) does not have chaptalization. The wine must also have a must density of between 67 to 82 degrees Oechsle, (148–188 g/L sugar). Kabinett wines range in style from dry to off-dry.
This wine shows a crazy nose of honeysuckle, rich yellow plum, intense petrol, intense grapefruit with kiwi and mineral, and lovely honeyed notes.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is richly acidic, not dense, but also not ethereal, with intense minerality, incredible tension, and precision, petrol, guava with layers of green apple and a rich expression and nice rich fruit, that is backed by incredible acid.
The finish shows a bit of fruit pith, with spice, backed by a rich mouthfeel, lovely tropical notes, and nice mushroom and cinnamon peppery spices. Drink until 2032. (tasted December 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 11%)

M&M Importers Produced Wines

2020 Chateau Valandraud, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru – Score: 95 (QPR: EVEN)
The return of Chateau Valandraud is 15 years in the making! The previous 2005 vintage scored one of my highest scores of all time, an A, in those days. The nose of this wine is too ripe for me, much like most of the 2020 vintage, still, very professional, with notes of burnt sage, herbal notes of mint, iron shavings, menthol, tar, loam, earth, black and red fruit, and loads of smoke. The mouth of this full-bodied wine shows nice acidity but is also beautifully balanced with ripe blackberry, dark plum, cassis, rich salinity, sweet oak, sweet dill, and nice garrigue, all wrapped in mouth-draping tannin. The finish is long, ripe, deeply concentrated, not overly extracted, a bit too much for elegance, but dark, controlled brooding, intense minerality, impressive tension, drying mouthing-draping tannin, green sweet tobacco, great saline, rich focused pencil shavings, scraping graphite, and smoke. Bravo! This wine, like much of 2020 from Bordeaux, is too “accessible”, but that is a massive mistake. This is a big boy wine, a wine that will appeal to all, it is big and bold for those who crave it while also being balanced. What I dream of is richness with more control, still, it is lovely, dense, and fruit-focused with classic terroir. Bravo! Drink from 2025 until 2040. (tasted January 2024) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 15%)

2019 Castellare di Castellina I Sodi di S. Niccolo, Toscana – Score: 95 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose is lovely with ripe blackberry, raspberry, dark cherry, soy sauce, earth, smoke, mushroom, ripe currant, menthol, and mint. The nose is intoxicating, rich, and redolent.
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, rich, layered, earthy, extracted, dense, and elegant, with rich mushroom, soy sauce, lovely blackberry, raspberry, dark cherry, smoke, and lovely smoking tobacco, with a mouth-draping curtain of elegant tannin.
The finish is long, earthy, and dirty, showing dried tobacco, soy sauce, and sweet vanilla, just lovely. Incredible! Drink from 2025 until 2033. (tasted July 2023) (in New York, New York) (ABV = 14%)

2016 Tassi Brunello di Montalcino, Bettina Cuvee, Franci Riserva, Brunello di Montalcino – Score: 94 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is incredible, ripe, balanced, and mineral-driven, but equally floral, with dense underbrush, mushroom, violet, blue flowers, stone, and rock, all wrapped in red and black fruit, intoxicating and refreshing.
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is shockingly accessible at this point, which is different from the Tassi 2016, with grippy yet mouth-draping tannin, showing a ripeness I was not expecting, with sour cherry, raspberry, black plum, citrus, intense acidity, and elegance that belies its youth but also tells a story of its future. What a lovely wine, plush, dense, elegant, smoky, and concentrated without being an overbearing beast. Really impressive!
The finish is long, tart, screaming with minerality, scraping graphite, earth, loam, mushroom, intense acidity, and a sense that this wine is ready but also still holding back. Drink until 2032. Bravo!!! (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2016 Tassi Brunello di Montalcino Franci, Bettina Cuvee, Brunello di Montalcino – Score: 94 (QPR: GREAT)
I recently tasted this wine again, and it has calmed quite a bit, since the last tasting.
The nose of this wine is still ripe, it is a Brunello, but it is beautifully balanced, with ripe black and red fruit, lovely floral notes of violet, rose, sweet licorice, mineral, intense loam, smoke, and tar. A dense aroma for sure, but it is also richly aromatic with the mineral, loam, and smoke, balancing things out.
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe but well-balanced with lovely acidity, concentrated, bold, jammy, with dense but elegant tannin, layers of elegant blackberry, ripe raspberry, sweet cherry, wrapped in sweet cedar, and mouth-draping tannin.
The finish is long, bright, and ripe, with mineral, saline, mushroom, dense earth, loam, coffee, and sweet tobacco wrapped in a leather coat. With time, the sweet notes calm down drastically, now the nose is filled with rich minerality, earth, mushroom, sweet spices, lovely red fruit, and more violets. The mouth shows searing acid, ripe and well-balanced fruit, lovely tannin, and loads of elegance, it comes in layers of elegance and fruit, with dark red cherry, plum, candied raspberry, all well-balanced by rich rich saline, mineral, and more acidity, lovely! Bravo! Drink from 2026 until 2033. (tasted March 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2018 Tassi Aqua Bona, Bettina Cuvee, Montalcino – Score: 93+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is lovely, bright, tart, and very expressive, with notes of bramble, dirt, loam, graphite, bright red sour cherry, dark red berry, rosehip, rose petals, rich and very expressive toasted cedar, sandalwood, mushroom, and more minerality. Lovely!! The nose is so expressive from the opening and only gets better with time, impressive! The umami-centric nose is incredible with soy sauce, mushroom, and cedar notes that really take your breath away.
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is lovely, dirty, earthy, smoky, and precise, with good fruit focus, nice dark cherry, raspberry, tart plum, scraping minerality, loam, dirt, rose petals, and lovely mushroom. With time it opens to a rich toasted cedar expression and it overtakes the mouth with beautiful fruit, intense mushrooms, forest floor, plush body, and intense dirt and minerality. Lovely! With even more time the lovely cedar calms down and the ripe fruit, intense acidity, mushroom, and smoke linger long on this full-bodied wine.
The finish is long, tart, bright, and layered, with rich minerality, intense graphite, lovely soy sauce, umami notes, loam, lovely truffle, and mushroom, loam, and dirt linger long. BRAVO! Drink from 2025 until 2033. (tasted February 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2018 Famiglia Cotarella (Falesco) Marciliano, Rosso Umbria – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
This Cabernet starts ripe, but you can see it has potential, and it needs time to come around. The nose of this wine, as it opens, is ripe with mushroom, blue and black fruit, smoke, loam, earth, lovely minerality, iron shaving, tar, licorice, and rich smoke. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, layered, and concentrated, with lovely acidity, blackberry, boysenberry, dark cherry, candied blackcurrant and raspberry, mushroom, loam, rich dirt, loads of mineral, graphite, elegant mouth-draping tannin, and intense smoke. The finish is long, dirty, ripe, refreshing, acidic, balanced, and just lovely, the minerality, earth, and smoke balance the fruit until it calms, with leather, and smoking tobacco, just lovely! Drink from 2028 until 2034. (tasted April 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.3%)

2017 Tassi Brunello di Montalcino, Bettina Cuvee, Brunello di Montalcino – Score: 93 (QPR: EVEN)
I rarely talk about color but this wine is brick red. The nose of this wine is a flower pot, with screaming and intense violets, rosehip, dirt, loam, tar, mint, and underbrush, with little to no red fruit on the nose, crazy! With time, the nose evolves to show lovely French oak, rich loam, dark red cherry, licorice, roasted herb, mint, garrigue, and sweet spice, lovely!
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is lovely, with more rose, violet, and green notes, dirt, loam, and smoke, the mouth is precise and velvety, with tart plum. The real fun is the tart red berry profile, and dark sour cherry, backed by intense acidity, mineral notes, and smoke. The texture, mouthfeel, and puckering tannin structure keep getting more and more complex with time, it is still not 2016, but it has the potential to still be quite lovely, however, this needs loads of time. With even more time, the floral notes move to the background, and the puckering acidity and tannin take over, the plushness of the mouthfeel emerges and this wine is lovely!
The finish is long, tart, green, and smokey, with more flowers, nice mouth-draping tannin, licorice, and lovely acidity. Drink from 2024 until 2032. (tasted February 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)

2019 Castellare di Castellina Chianti Classico Riserva, Chianti Classico Riserva – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine’s nose is epic, dirty, earthy, and smoky, with roasted meat, bacon, tar, red fruit, roasted herb, and lovely licorice. The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is rich, layered, not overly extracted, elegant, refreshing, and so well balanced, with rich acidity, salinity, mineral, rich cranberry, dark raspberry, cherry, candied currant, loam, smoke, sweet cedar, sweet tobacco, and minerality that lifts the entire sense of the wine. The finish is long, dirty, earthy, and mineral-laden, a true joy, with garrigue, tar, more bacon, dark coffee, tar, and acidified red fruit that lingers long. Bravo!!! Drink until 2030. (tasted July 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2020 Castellare di Castellina Chianti Classico Riserva, Chianti Classico Riserva – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
This wine’s nose is impressive, dirty, earthy, and smoky, with roasted meat, tar, red fruit, roasted herb, and lovely menthol/garrigue. The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is rich, layered, not overly extracted, elegant, refreshing, and so well balanced, with rich acidity, salinity, mineral, intense sour cherry, dark raspberry, tart juicy currant, loam, smoke, sweet cedar, sweet tobacco, and minerality that lifts the entire sense of the wine. The finish is long, dirty, earthy, and mineral-laden, a true joy, with garrigue, tar, dark coffee, and tart sour cherry lingering long. Bravo!!! Drink until 2031. (tasted February 2024) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2020 Castellare di Castellina Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
The 2020 vintage in Chianti Classico was not great and I was not expecting this nice wine, Bravo! The nose of this wine is pure dirt, smoke, and earth, with tar, rock, asphalt, roasted meat, some red fruit, and lovely smoke. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is a bit soft, but the lovely acidity helps a lot, as does the mouth-draping tannin, with mushroom, dark currants, raspberry, dark sour cherry, smoke, green notes, and lovely sweet cedar. The finish is long, green, herbal, and smokey, with more sour cherries, loam, graphite, rock, and sweet tobacco. Lovely! Drink until 2029. (tasted January 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2018 Famiglia Cotarella (Falesco) Montiano, Lazio – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This merlot also starts ripe, with lovely herbal notes, and roasted blue and black fruit, with smoke, sweet cedar, tobacco, lovely mushroom, rosehip/violet, roasted animal, loam, dirt, and intense bramble, lovely! The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe but well-balanced, with lovely acidity, loam, mushroom, blackberry, plum, ripe raspberry, roasted animal, sweet spices, dirt, and lovely mouth-draping tannin. The finish is long dark and brooding, but balanced, with mushroom galore, concentrated, and elegant, deep graphite, smoking tobacco, crushed/roasted herb, cloves, cinnamon, minerality, lovely! The wine really will need time, the window is insane on this wine, let this wine come to you, please! Drink from 2030 until 2036. (tasted April 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.3%)

2019 Rocca di Frassinello Le Sughere di Frassinello, Maremma Toscana – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 50% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, & 25% Merlot. The nose of this wine is ripe, but balanced, with red fruit, herbs, tobacco, loam, tar, and smoke. The mouth of this medium plus-bodied wine is nice, with lovely acidity, searing mouth-draping tannin, nice texture and mouthfeel, green notes, roasted herbs, garrigue, plum, dark cherry, saline, raspberry, black tea, and cloves. The finish is long, nice, and ripe, with green notes, tobacco, sweet baking spices, cloves, nutmeg, and roasted herbs. Drink until 2028. (tasted January 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2021 Feudi di San Gregorio Rubrato Aglianico, Irpinia – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
The last couple of Aglianico that I have had from Italy have been flower pots, but this one is the perfect blend of floral notes, ripe fruit, smoke, black and red fruit, with balsamic and soy sauce notes, all wrapped in dense but bright fruit, tar, anise, and minerality. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is really fun, showing tar, loam, dirt, and earth, really dense but richly refreshing with bracing acidity, lovely minerality, charcoal, and saline, followed by black plum, dark cherry, clean lines, rich ribbons of charcoal, wrapped in a cacoon of drying tannin, and then accentuated by more ripe but balanced fruit and minerality, really fun, Bravo! The finish is long, dense, bright, and refreshing, yet serious and elegant, the salinity, minerality, loam, and fruit, all coalesce together beautifully. This is quite a punch this wine packs and one that should keep for a few more years as well! Drink by 2028. (tasted December 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2020 Chateau Lilian Ladouys, Saint-Estephe – Score: 92+ (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon & 45% Merlot. The nose of this wine is balanced, red, juicy, and bright, with good minerality, nice floral notes, violet, hints of mushroom, and loam. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice, and balanced, with great acidity, showing dark cherry, raspberry, some black fruit, maybe black cherry/plum, tobacco, smoke, loads of roasted herb, good tension, nice tannin, more mushroom, minerality, and loam. The finish is long, and brings it all together, with great acidity, minerality, graphite, hints of forest floor, and a nice fruit focus. Nice almost Bravo! Drink from 2025 until 2031. (tasted January 2024) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2018 Valle Reale ‘San Calisto’, Montepulciano D’Abruzzo, Montepulciano D’Abruzzo – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is lovely, dirt, earth, smoke, roasted meat, tar, loam, black and red fruit, burnt ash, and rich smoking tobacco. Bravo!
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, but well balanced, with great acidity, smoke, lovely barnyard, truffle, roasted herb, with gripping and elegant tannin, savory notes, blackberry, ripe raspberry, strawberry, dark sour cherry, loam, and tar, lovely!
The finish of this wine is long, ripe, balanced, funky, earthy, and smoky, with mineral, leather, more barnyard, mushroom, and sweet tobacco. Lovely! Drink by 2030. (tasted January 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Pescaja Solei’ Arneis, Terre Alfieri – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The 3rd kosher vintage now comes in mevushal and non-mevushal formats. This was the tasting for the non-mevushal. PSA – This wine needs to be CHILLED – LIKE Champagne chilled, PLEASE! The nose of this wine shows entirely differently than with the mevushal, what hits you first is the incredible brightness, minerality, smoke, dense flint, and sheer precision. The perfume of minerality takes my breath away, with nicely ripe peach, almond, intense flint, violet, and sweet ripe pear. The mouth is medium-bodied wine is incredible, with intense acidity, rich and unctuous mouthfeel, pear, nectarine, peach, nutmeg, and lemon/lime. The finish is long, tart, ripe, spicy, and driven by its mineral core, with lovely fruit, and rich spices. The wine is refreshing, elegant, complex, and tart all at the same time. BRAVO! Drink until 2025. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2020 Pescaja Soliter Barbera d’Asti, Barbera d’Asti – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is fun, relaxing, tart, bright, and refreshing, and all the things we love about Italian wines!
The nose of this wine is bright and refreshing, showing lovely tart cherry, raspberry, loam, smoke, rich mushroom, hints of blue and black fruit, tar, and roasted herb.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is ripe, but well-balanced with great acidity, lovely tart fruit, concentrated but light and refreshing, raspberry, blueberry, sweet cedar, nice mouth-draping tannin, and forest floor.
The finish is long, tart, blue, and red, with lovely coffee, sweet milk chocolate, and more cedar. Drink until 2026. (tasted March 2022 & January 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2021 Castellare di Castellina Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This is what I want in a wine, the nose is herbal, smoky, dirty, balanced, and showing great fruit, with bright cherry, raspberry, and plum. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is ripe, tart, balanced, and a bit hollow but that fills it with time, with lovely herbs, dark cherry, smoke, raspberry, tart plum, loam, dirty, and mineral-driven, with great mouth-draping tannin. The finish is long, tart, refreshing, and enjoyable, with loads of mineral, loam, coffee, and sweet spices. Bravo! Drink until 2028 (tasted December 2023) (in Miami, FL) (ABV = 14.5%)

2020 Pescaja Soliter Barbera d’Asti, Barbera d’Asti – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is fun, relaxing, tart, bright, refreshing, and all the things we love about Italian wines!
The nose of this wine is bright and refreshing, showing lovely tart cherry, raspberry, loam, smoke, rich mushroom, hints of blue and black fruit, tar, and roasted herb.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is ripe, but well-balanced with great acidity, lovely tart fruit, concentrated but light and refreshing, raspberry, blueberry, sweet cedar, nice mouth-draping tannin, and forest floor.
The finish is long, tart, blue, and red, with lovely coffee, sweet milk chocolate, and more cedar. Drink until 2026. (tasted March 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2018 Cantina Sanpaolo Irpinia Aglianico – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
I fear that there is some bottle variation in this wine. The wines I tasted locally in the USA were really nice while other times not so much. So, just an FYI, this note was from one of the good ones, with a note here stating some were less than inspiring.
The nose of this wine is incredible, wow, this is pure Jasmine, floral beauty, with red fruit, intense ethereal approach, with soy sauce, umami, wow!
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is layered, and intense, with dense tannin, rich floral notes, sour cherry, ripe raspberry, layers, and chocolate, backed by intense acidity, tart red fruit, mouth-draping mouthfeel, anise, and smoke, WOW!!
The finish is long, and tart, with red and green fruit, red, rich saline, juicy red fruit, and candied lifesaver. Wow!! Drink until 2027. (tasted April 2021 and March 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2019 Feudi del Pisciotto Merlot, Terre Siciliane – Score: 91+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine starts hot, but that calms to show nice minerality, dirt, red fruit, good floral notes, rosehip, and obvious oak/smoke. With time, the nose opens and the oak calms to show more elegance and restraint.
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is slow to come together, at the start it shows less balance than I would like with nice saline, smoke, dense oak, sweet dill, blackberry, raspberry, sweet currant, plum, roasted herb, and more herb and oak. With time, the mouth finally integrates, the acidity pops, the oak calms, and the red and black fruit comes out with a more elegant approach, the mouthfeel is plusher, and the overall feeling is refreshing.
The finish is long, green, herbal, smoky, and fruit-driven, with too much oak, to start, but with time the oak calms, and the minerality is lovely throughout. Drink until 2027. If you want to enjoy it now decant for five hours. (tasted January 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)

2022 Feudi di San Gregorio Greco di Tufo, Campania – Score: 91+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is nice with notes of peach, apricot, salinity, wet grass, and yellow apple. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is crisp, alive, and refreshing, with lemony-orange notes, Orangina tempered with lime, and peach, almost gripping acidity, electric, and almost tense with straw, hay, and slate. The finish is long, acidic, balanced, and refreshing, with good salinity, slate, and Orangina/Lime lingering long. Nice! Drink now. (tasted December 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12.5%)

2021 Hans Wirsching Silvaner, Iphofer – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine leaps out at you with intense citrus, white flowers, rich minerality, lovely bosch pear, peach, and smoke. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is bracing with acidity, lovely minerality, peach, pear, orange, orange peel, and orange blossom, with an almost plush and oily mouthfeel, unique. The finish is long, and flint-driven, with intense minerality, smoke, and acidity that lingers forever. Nice! (tasted December 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12%)

2020 Pescaja Solei’ Arneis, Terre Alfieri – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
OK, so this is the 2nd vintage for this wine and it continues to impress with this new vintage, but differently. The 2019 vintage was ripe and fuller in the mouth, this is ripe and tart, but more focused and steely than the 2019 vintage.
The nose of this wine shows nicely with ripe gooseberry, salted almonds, cat pee, floral notes, violet, sweet ripe pear, and intense flint.
The mouth of this medium-bodied white wine is lovely, with layers upon layers of incredible fruit, ripe pear, peach, apricot, lovely honeysuckle, followed by honey, honeyed and spiced citrus, freshly-cut grass, roasted almond, and intense acidity.
The finish is long, tart, and intense, with more ripe fruit, grass, straw, hay, slate, flint, and rich saline, all wrapped in sweet and tart fruit. Just so much fun! Nice Drink until 2023. (tasted March 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2019 Feudi del Pisciotto Nero D’Avola, Terre Siciliane – Score: 90+ (QPR: GREAT)
This is the first Nero D’Avola that I know of that has been made kosher. Very cool. The nose of this wine starts ripe and rife with oak, with some time that calms to show a nose of ripe black and blue fruit, floral notes of violet and rose, intense smoke, mineral, graphite, smoked Arbol chili, bay leaf, sweet cedar, tar, and grilled meat. In many ways, this feels like a Syrah mixed with a Cabernet, very unique. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is bold, intense, layered, and complex, yet too ripe for me. Still, it is a unique wine showing blackberry, dark cherry, dark plum, boysenberry, roasted mint, menthol, floral notes, intense sweet cedar, ripe and concentrated fruit that gives way to extraction, sweet mouth-draping tannin, lovely acidity, almost refreshing, but still a bit too ripe. Nice! The finish is long, dense, and ripe, with more green notes, hot chili, smoked meat, roasted herb, loam, dust, ripe black/red fruit, and smoked chocolate lingers long. Interesting. Drink until 2026. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)

2021 Masseria Frattasi Falanghina Taburno, Falanghina del Sannio DOC – Score: 90+ (QPR: GOOD)
This wine is maddening, it shows nicely to start and it falls apart, I have had this wine twice and it has fallen apart both times when trying this with even simple foods. The nose of this wine is lovely, with notes of apple, quince, mango, saline, sea spray, orange blossom, and lovely minerality. At the start, the mouth of this medium-bodied wine is lovely, with bracing acidity, rich salinity, green notes, green apple, peach, melon, lime, and orange, refreshing and enticing, with minerality, slate, smoke, and more blossom. Sadly, with food, the wine feels less acidic and while it is nice enough, I cannot love it like I do when tasting it alone. The finish is long, spicy, and mineral-driven, with slate, rock, saline, and intense acidity, that drives the lime, and citrus on a long lingering path. Bravo! Drink now! (tasted July 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina, Campania – Score: 90+ (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is bright but shy with white flowers, lemon blossom, lime, peach, and minerality. With time that improves and makes it an exciting wine. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine has good acidity and shows a body influenced by oak without an oak presence, almost oily, with peach, saline, lime, lemon, and straw. The finish is long, salty, with a richer body than what shows in the mouth, refreshing and mouth-filling, with waxy notes and orange pith. Drink until 2025.. (tasted December 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2019 Feudi del Pisciotto Cabernet Sauvignon, Terre Siciliane – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
I wanted to love this one as much as I loved the Merlot it is close but it is still too ripe for me. Still, this is a professional wine and one that many will appreciate. The nose of this wine starts ripe and while it slows down a bit the wine stays ripe behind throughout, with blackberry, anise, candied raspberry, boysenberry, sweet vanilla, roasted herb, and smoke. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, dense, concentrated, and smoky, with blackberry, candied raspberry, cranberry, pomegranate, sweet profile, nice acidity, some refreshing mint, menthol, anise, and sweet roasted herb. The finish is long, ripe, smoky, herbal, and concentrated, with mouth-draping tannin, sweet herbs, vanilla, leather, milk chocolate, and graphite. If I had not known better I would have said Napa Cab, but instead, it is Sicilian! Drink from 2024 until 2028. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Pescaja Soliter Barbera d’Asti, Barbera d’Asti (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is ripe but balanced with great fruit, roasted herbs, sweet spices, plum notes, and a bit candied but solid. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, a bit cooked, but solid with great acidity, lots of good fruit, blackberry, candied spice plum, strawberry, and sweet oak with more herbs and nice loam. The finish is long, ripe, and candied with cooked notes, sweet oak, sweet herbs, and roasted coffee. Drink by 2026. (tasted December 2023) (in Maimi, FL) (ABV = 14.5%)

2021 Pescaja Solei’ Arneis, Terre Alfieri (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GOOD)
There are two versions of this wine, one is Mevushal and one is not. This is the Mevushal version.
The 3rd kosher vintage now comes in mevushal and non-mevushal formats. This was the tasting for the mevushal. The nose of this wine shows nicely with ripe orange, lemon, lemon blossom, nectarine, flint, violet, and sweet ripe pear. The mouth is medium-bodied wine is nice, with enough acidity, nice mouthfeel, pear, orange, nectarine, and lemon/lime. The finish is long, green, sweet, and ripe, sadly the Mevushal is missing some acidity. Drink now (tasted December 2022 & January 2023) (in Miami, Florida & San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2020 Casale Del ‘700 Falanghina, Campania IGT – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
The wine starts nicely but the bubbles seem to blow off with time, I think it is trapped SO2.
The nose of this wine is fun and bright with notes of peach, apricot, Meyer lemon blossom, lemon, lemongrass, and slate.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine shows nice weight, intense acidity, great fruit focus, nice fruit concentration, with great mineral, lovely stone fruit, peach, apricot, lemon, lime, lime zest, and tart yellow plum, with great saline.
The finish is long, green, and tart, with ripe fruit, well-balanced, refreshing, with more saline, lovely stone fruit, rock, and slate. Bravo! Drink by 2023. (tasted March 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Vallepicciola Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose starts ripe and strange, with time it opens to cherry, smoke, loam, and raspberry. The mouth of this medium-bodied is nice, and balanced, with great acidity, smoke, tart, nice. It is too simple for me, but it has no flaws. The finish is long, tart, green, dirty, and smoky. Drink by 2026. (tasted July 2023) (in New York, New York) (ABV = 13%)

2020 Sorrento Cabernet Sauvignon, Colline Pescaresi, IGT (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
This is a simple wine, what is often called a lovely quaff, it has little to grab my attention, but it also is a nice mevushal wine that is red, which is rare.
The nose of this wine shows tart and green notes, with black and red fruit, this is not green and tinny, which drives me crazy, this is a well-balanced wine with good green notes, herbs, mint, and rosemary.
The mouth on this medium-bodied wine has lovely acidity, a nice enough mouthfeel, with a good enough focus, showing raspberry, blackberry, tart plum, nice soft tannin, good grip, and nice herbs, nice!
The finish is long, green, balanced, with great acidity, more and more that grabs at me, acidity is the answer to all great wines, throw in the tobacco, mint, rosemary, and good clean fruit, and this simple but fun and refreshing mevushal wine does do its job. Drink by 2023. (tasted March 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12.5%)

2021 Pescaja Tuké Terre Alfieri Nebbiolo, Terre Alfieri (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose is nice enough, star anise, rich cherry, horseradish, white pepper, rich loam, and dense red fruit. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is richly layered, dense, dark cherry, plum, candied currants, rich blueberry, intense acidity, deep and dense tannin mouthfeel, earth, loam, and smoke. I find it really ripe for me, but most will find the acidity and fruit balanced. The finish is long, dense, and dark, with soy sauce, more blue fruit, wet earth, leather, and smoke galore good work for a Mevu! Drink until 2026. (tasted December 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2020 Pescaja Tuké Terre Alfieri Nebbiolo, Terre Alfieri – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is my issue with star anise, rich cherry, horseradish, white pepper, jalapeno, and dense red fruit.
The mouth on this full-bodied wine is richly layered, dense, dark cherry, plum, with candied currants, intense acidity, with a deep and dense tannin mouthfeel, earth, loam, and smoke, a bit too ripe for me.
The finish is long, dense, and dark, with soy sauce, mushroom, wet earth, black and red fruit, leather, coffee, and smoke galore. Drink until 2028. (tasted December 2023) (in Miami, FL) (ABV = 14.5%)

2021 Masseria Frattasi Falanghina Donnalaura, Falanghina del Sannio DOC – Score: 89+ (QPR: POOR)
The nose of this wine is pure oak, it is a true oak bomb and it removes some of the freshness from the wine, with some salinity, peach, apricot, apple, and melon. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is too oak-focused, IMHO, it also seems to create a slight hollow, it is more of a sensation of an actual lack of acidity, still the oak’s focus is all you feel with sweet peach, apricot, and melon, and orange. If I was tasting blind I would have said oaked Viognier. The finish is oak, more oak, vanilla, sweet spices, herbs, and oak. The fruit is almost nuked with the acidity showing well at the end. Drink by 2025. (tasted July 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)

2022 Pescaja Klaris Chardonnay, Piemonte (M) – Score: 89 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is pure apple juice, with hints of lemon, candied Asian Pear, and sweet yellow flowers. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, candied, and a bit pushed, not what I normally expect from Pescaja, with some nice salinity, and a bit too uni-dimensional to make this work, though it is OK, with sweet fruit, sweet oak, and sweet tannin. The finish is long, a bit tannic, ripe, candied, and though there is good acidity a bit off-kilter. Drink until 2025. (tasted December 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Vallepicciola Pievasciata Pinot Nero Rosso, Toscana – Score: 87 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is classically Pinot Noir, with green notes, cherry, loam, dirt, and smoke. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is simple, a bit too simple, green, herbal, and smoky, with good enough acidity, more dirt, loam, graphite, and mineral, dark red cherry, dirty strawberry, and more wet soil. The finish is long, dry, green, and herbal, with loam, dirt, and minerality. In the end, the wine is a bit too simple, the tannin is there but it is in drink now mode! Drink now! (tasted January 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2018 Valle Reale Vigneto Sant’Eusanio, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – Score: 86 (QPR: EVEN)
At the opening this wine is not enjoyable, it smells of milk chocolate, oxidation, intense sweet oak, green notes, anise, violet, floral notes, and sweet spices. With time, the nose calms down and shows dark fruit, minerality, smoke, and tar.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is dominated by milk chocolate, sweet oak notes, a clear lack of acidity, sweet dill, floral notes, and a clawing sense of candied raspberry, strawberry, and not much else. With time, the acidity finally appears, and the milk chocolate fades but in its place, nothing emerges other than dark cherry, plum, and hints of black fruit. No complexity, just heat, and dark fruit.
The finish is long, with more chocolate, and not much else. Drink by 2026. (tasted January 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2020 Casale del ‘700 Aglianico, Aglianico – Score: 79 (QPR: N.A.)
The wine is unbalanced and out of whack and not a wine I would enjoy. The nose of this wine is deeply floral, with red candied fruit, showing ripeness, and a lack of control. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is all over the place, it starts with a shot of plum liqueur, followed by a shot of acidity, and then green notes, herbs, and a lack of focus, concept, or idea of what the wine wants to do. Truly all over the place and unbalanced. The finish is long and acidic, but also ripe, with hints of RS. Overall just not for me. (tasted May 2022) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14.5%)