March Wines
Château La Conseillante
Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 2018
The 2018 La Conseillante is a regal and utterly exquisite Pomerol from the very first taste. Technical Director Marielle Cazaux and her team turned out a jewel of a wine. Silky tannins and lifted, precise aromatics make a strong first impression. Inky dark fruit, pain grillé, lavender, spice, menthol and a kiss of new French oak all flesh out over time. More than anything else, what comes through is the new emphasis at La Conseillante on freshness and verve. The 2018 is a Pomerol of tremendous precision. It is, in a word: dynamite! (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, March 2021)
— 5 years ago
Ahlgren
Bates Ranch Cabernet Franc 1995
Winemaker's comments: 76% Cabernet Franc, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, Bates' Ranch. Bright, fruity, berry bouquet. Balanced, soft tannins, good finish. Unfined and unfiltered. 159 cases produced. Bottled March 1997. — 5 years ago
G.D. Vajra
Barbera d'Alba 2016
March 12, 2020. Another winner from GD Vajra! Bought this to prepare my palate for my planned visit to Barolo next month. My palate is more than ready even though the trip fell victim to coronavirus. Now, sending best wishes to all of Italy. I will visit as soon as possible! This wine is a lovely expression of cherry and earth. — 6 years ago
Screaming Eagle
Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
The 2015 Screaming Eagle is fabulous. Rich and ample on the palate, with soaring aromatics from the Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2015 is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Ripe red plum, pomegranate, mint, kirsch, lavender and sweet spice notes are beautifully delineated in the glass. In this tasting, the Cabernet-based Screaming Eagle is quite a bit more open and accessible than the Merlot-based The Flight. Even so, it will be years before the 2015 Screaming Eagle is ready to drink. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, March 2018) — 8 years ago
Mora & Memo
Tino Vermentino di Sardegna 2016
Bright straw-green. Strongly herbal and minty notes to the pomaceous orchard fruit on the nose. Then bright, dense and saline, displaying an impressive spectrum of unripe stone fruit to tropical fruit flavors, complicated by a note of anise. Finishes big, round and long. A very fleshy style of Vermentino (it spends roughly two months on the lees) that packs a lot of power. The wine’s name, “Tino,” is a diminutive of Vermentino, though it’s so big and round you couldn’t be blamed for thinking they should have called it “Tone,” as in “Vermentone.” The vines are planted on mainly schistous clay soils with a little limestone. (Ian D'Agata, Vinous, March 2018) — 8 years ago
March Wines
Redwing Vineyard Old Vine Riesling 2018
Second time having this wine. This wine is kicking off a long weekend in Nashville with me and the wife. Very good. Not giving the detailed notes I usually provide, because I just wanted to enjoy without analyzing. So I will standby my rating before. Glad I have a few more of these. — 4 years ago
Château Beauséjour
Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse Saint-Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2018
The 2018 Beauséjour Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse is a huge wine that is going to need a number of years to come into its own. A wine of unreal concentration and pure power, the 2018 takes over all the senses with its commanding presence. Black cherry, chocolate, licorice, gravel, cured meat and cloves all scream out of the glass. This wild, untamed Saint-Émilion needs cellaring. I imagine it will still be a spectacular wine many decades from now. As was the case from barrel, the typically imposing tannins are nearly buried by the sheer concentration of the fruit. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, March 2021)
— 5 years ago
Marchesi Antinori
Tenuta Guado al Tasso Il Bruciato Bolgheri Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2017
The 2017 Bolgheri Il Bruciato is pliant, supple and luscious, but what stands out most is how much freshness Antinori was able to keep in this wine. Dark red cherry, plum, spice, new leather and floral notes all meld together in this sumptuous, racy red. This is such a pretty and expressive wine. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, March 2020)
— 6 years ago
Ulysse Collin
Les Roises Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Champagne Chardonnay 2013
Consistently brilliant bottle. Lot 13, disg March 2018. — 6 years ago
Monteverro
Terra di Monteverro Toscana Red Blend 2014
July 7, 2021. Dinner w/KK 😁 Jack D, and J2. Celebrating KK return to CoMO, albeit just a visit. She brought pizza, I pulled out this wine. Perfect w/pizza and a lovely super Tuscan from Maremma. 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. Slightly different than the 2012 vintage I drank and rated in March. This is just as yummy, though less aged so more fruit (dark cherry) and less earth and leather. Still wonderful. Drank both bottles I had. Need more! — 4 years ago
Agricola Punica
Barrua Isola dei Nuraghi Carignane 2016
Crushed wild berries, violets, incense and sweet spices lift up from the 2016 Barrua. It is silky in texture with a polished display of red and black fruits, well balanced by tactile mineral notes that form toward the close. Hints of fine tannin linger throughout the pretty, purple-tinged finale. The 2016 could use another year or two to flesh out a bit, but I expect that it will always be a more lifted and leaner expression of Barrua. This is a blend of 70% Carignan, 10% Syrah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc. (Eric Guido, Vinous, March 2021)
— 5 years ago
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste
Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2018
The 2018 Grand Puy Lacoste has a quintessential Pauillac nose of intense black fruit infused with graphite scents, pencil shavings and a very discreet marine influence. It is beautifully defined, less opulent than the 2018 Lynch Bages tasted alongside, yet maybe more complex. The palate is medium-bodied and taut, offering sappy black fruit, gritty tannins and a lot of crushed stone. The focused, graphite-driven finish could only come from this appellation. Superb. A wine to correct those bemoaning that Bordeaux no longer makes "proper Claret." (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2021)
— 5 years ago
Château La Gaffelière
Saint-Émilion Red Bordeaux Blend 2015
March 21, 2020. Dinner w/ J2 and Jack D. Jack D brought this wine. 70% Merlot, 30% Cab Franc. Black cherry, slate. Lovely. — 6 years ago
Tenuta Argentiera
Villa Donoratico Bolgheri Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2016
[Tasted on March 31, 2019 at Home]
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Brimming with plum, dark cherry and blackberry fruit, with cedar, spice, graphite and licorice. Rich and tannic, with nice balance. — 7 years ago
Château Angélus
St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend 2014
The 2014 Angélus is now really beginning to blossom. It has an outstanding bouquet with plush but delineated black cherry and cassis fruit, crushed violet and just a hint of pencil lead. There is wonderful focus here. The palate is medium-bodied with tightly knit black fruit, graphite and spice. There is weight and presence, but it is effortlessly counterbalanced by the freshness and acidity, whilst the finish if extraordinarily long. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2018) — 8 years ago
Severn G
2022 Independence Day Party 🇺🇲 with several members of our Tastevin crew and extended friends.🍷 Proof that our palates are wider than Burgundy. Notes may be light, scores will be honest.
750ml; Disgorged March 2021. — 4 years ago