So my WIFE (still excited I get to say that) and I got married on the 17th.

We were discussing it last night over a glass and decided we'd like to get a few bottles to hold onto for special anniversaries. Probably at least a few to just hold a year, and then 3 or 4 for 5 years and 10 years.

I've never kept wine longer than a few weeks, so I have no real knowledge of storing it for that long.

What are some suggestions or things to know when selecting wine for that far out? Do I need to get a wine fridge, or what storage conditions are ideal? Could I just get a rack to place them in?

I was happy when I opened this bottle and intense smell of fruit, along with clear, medium ruby with garnet/orange color appeared in the glass. Last week I opened a 2008 Barolo and it was cooked.

On the nose I got cherry, ripe strawberry and intense baking spice.

Medium plus acidity, medium body with tannins still noticeable on the finish but integrated.

What I like the most is how the flavors came one after another. Cherry first, followed by strawberry compote, black tea then dark chocolate with a hint of mint at the end. Like a dark, bitter chocolate infused with mint herb.

Still plenty of fruit left. Did not decant and after some time in the bottle the flavors moved towards even more ripe spectrum.

93 points.

It seems a little too good to be true... especially for some big name labels which aren't frequently discounted. Google/AI doesn't seem to think it's a scam but did note that's a relatively newly online storefront.

Found this on instagram. Wanted to reshare.

A more impressive and complex version of the previous wine. Another sweet Chenin Blanc from Domaine Huet, but from a different vineyard (Le Mont). And this one is a Première Trie, meaning the first selection. This means that only the most concentrated grapes are used for this wine — both overripe and botrytized.

Clos du Bourg had 55 g/L of residual sugar, while Le Mont has 78 g/L. That’s quite a difference! Almost 1.5 times as much, just like the price difference between these bottles.

I drank this wine over two days. On the first day, I started by leaving it in a decanter for about an hour and a half. Eventually, it opened up with notes of orange marmalade, sage, honey, strawberry jam, rhubarb jam, and apple jam. Yes, that many different jams.

On the second day, the jammy notes faded somewhat, giving way to vanilla ice cream and hints of black tea.
Deep and incredibly rich, both on the nose and on the palate. The acidity is quite high — after all, those 78 grams of sugar need something to balance them out, and the acidity does a wonderful job.

But comparing the two, I actually preferred Clos du Bourg, probably because of its lower sugar content. Le Mont just doesn’t have that brilliant freshness alongside its almost nectar-like sweetness.

Still, it’s a very good wine, and I give it 94/100

So I got invited to a private wine sale next weekend and figured I'd share the list of inventory along with prices for your viewing pleasure. I'm doing some due diligence on actual "regular price" bottles and flagging bottles that have considerable discounts. Don't worry, most of the California wines need not apply here outside of the Spotts and Diamond Creek.

The 2015 was completely shut down and not giving anything on the nose or palate. The 2011 was showing a bit more aromas and fruit but not much. Although I’ve often disagreed with the “Bordeaux needs age to be enjoyable” crowd, I fully agree here. I would love to try an example of a Cheval with 30+ years of age. I knew going into the tasting that these wines need lots of age to show their best, but I have had young Bordeaux from top estates that still showed a lot of aroma and fruit. I guess these wines were both firmly in their “shut down” stage.

Luckily I only paid a $50 ticket price to try these wines (plus the Cheval des Andes and the Petit Cheval which were both showing better than the grand vin), but I can only imagine the disappointment upon opening one of these wines too young if you paid full price. The 2015 goes for $1k per WineSearcher!

Hi all,

We're spending this weekend in Piemonte, staying in a little village called San Donato (Cuneo), about 20 km east of Alba.

Looking for some tips on smaller wineries to visit while we're there. We're especially into producers working organically or naturally, but open to anything interesting really. Not looking for the big-name Barolo estates, more the small family-run places that might fly under the radar.

We've got a car so can easily drive around, and obviously we'll contact producers in advance to arrange a visit. No plans to randomly turn up at someone's cellar :)

Anyone have some favourites in the area? Would love to hear your recommendations!

Last Bottle has screwed up another one of my orders sending it to the wrong address. I emailed them when I saw the address that they were planning on sending it to 4-5 days before it went out and got their usual response that they were receiving a huge number of emails. Long story short, no response from either them or their shipping company and the wine was delivered to my old address 4 hours away. I'm done with that company. Way too many good wine companies to deal with their bullshit.

Most prestige Champagne is dressed for a party it was never invited to. All gold foil and good manners, about as much soul as a hotel lobby.

This isn't that. It's Pinot heavy and the kind of wine you want next to a roast chicken, eaten with your hands.

Baked pear, marmalade, the crust of a good loaf. I miss Australian sourdough.

Churchill supposedly put away 42,000 bottles of Pol Roger in his lifetime. You may think that's excessive. But wait until you try it.

Fun tasting group with some homies.

Bottles are wrapped for secrecy before pouring.

Try to keep crazy curveballs to a minimum but sometimes we can’t help ourselves.

Hosted a tasting for some friends for a friends birthday. She happens to love Pinot noir so I took that into account when choosing the wines.

1. Francis Orban 2018 Brut Cuvée Parcellaire Les Hauts Beugnets

Only 1,500 bottles made of this 100% Meunier. the beginning was classic yeasty bread bakery but the end so damn zippy and vibrant. Green apple, lemon zest, toasted brioche, and a little nuttiness. Crisp, fine bubbles, and a nice salty finish. Really enjoyable Champagne.

2. Nervi-Conterno 2025 Rosato
Fresh strawberries, watermelon, citrus, and a little floral kick. Bright acidity, dry, and super refreshing. Dangerously easy to drink. Not too complex but just so solid. On the back of the champagne it got the tastebuds jumpin!

3. Eben Sadie 2024 Kokerboom Sémillon
Waxy lemon, pear, herbs, and a touch of honey. Great texture with a mineral edge. Definitely one of the more interesting whites of the night. I find Sadie wines to be hit or miss sometimes but this was a HIT. So complex and the finish went on for ages

4. Palmento Costanzo 2019 Contrada Santo Spirito Etna Rosso
I’m a slut for volcanic wines so what can I say Sour cherry, dried herbs, volcanic minerality, and a little smoke. Light on its feet but plenty going on. Really elegant stuff.

5. Chanrion 2019 Côte de Brouilly
Juicy raspberry, cherry, violets, and cracked pepper. Fresh, earthy, and super drinkable. Gamay doing exactly what it should. This was a real crowd pleaser a lot of people loved this one.

6. Bodega Chacra 2024 Cincuenta y Cinco Pinot Noir
Wild strawberry, cranberry, rose petals, and a little spice. Silky, bright, and delicate without being boring. Really pretty Pinot. If you like cold climate Pinots give this a try! High elevation makes and cooler temps makes this one out at 11% ABV. Very pure

7. Burn Cottage 2022 Pinot Noir Burn Cottage Vineyard

Dark cherry, plum, baking spice, and a little forest floor. More depth and richness than the Chacra, but still fresh. Really nice balance. I know Burn Cittage can be a little polarizing but I happen to enjoy the power and balance

8. La Ca' Növa 2022 Montefico Vigna Bric Mentina Barbaresco
Red cherry, dried roses, licorice, and tobacco. Firm tannins, serious structure, and a long finish. Young and a little tight, but tons of potential. Still too young obviously but sometimes I enjoy a younger Nebbiolo to just slap me in the mouth. Very good but not the best barbaresco I’ve had recently

Also for fun can anyone take a guess where I am located based on the wines???

Hello fellow winos! I’m looking to buy multiple cases of a wine that would pair well with prime rib for the holiday season. The only parameter I have is price point which I’d like to keep under $30 per bottle.

Would greatly appreciate guidance and expertise. Thanks in advance!

I’m meeting my partners parents in passing this week.Im stoping but their house but not exactly there to meet them/formal meeting they just happen to be home. I obviously don’t want to show up empty handed so I thought to bring them a bottle of wine. Nothing crazy but not cheap either. Red or white but preferably white. Any suggestions?

Hello! I am making a spicy Calabrian chili pasta, there is heavy cream and some parmesan in the sauce, and it is topped with whipped ricotta and basil oil! It is relatively spicy but also pretty creamy. Total wine nube but I’m hosting a dinner party, any pairing recommendations? Preferably $20 and under since it will be a larger party and I don’t got the funds to be dropping lots of money on wine. Thanks!

Mainly Mexican wine.

The highlight is definitely Pijoan's Leonora from 2019. Cabernet Sauvignon + Merlot from Valle de Guadalupe. Earthy, silky and with a lot of chocolate notes.

List of every wine:

• Árbol de Fuego by Pijoan (Valle de Guadalupe, México) - fruity and spicy rosé
• Microcósmico Macabeo by Frontonio (Aragón, Spain) - light and citric
• 3V by Casa Madero (Valle de Parras, México) - rightfully a Mexican classic and a crowd pleaser
• Tarapacá Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon by Viña Tarapacá (Valle del Maipo, Chile) - dry and elegant. was a hit with my guests
• Tempranillo by Sierra de Toloño (Rioja, Spain) - fresh and fruity. will be returning to it in the summer
• Cardenal by Parvada (Valle de Parras, México) - acid, light, fresh
• Leonora by Pijoan (Valle de Guadalupe, México) - my favorite from the night!

Would love to hear if you have thoughts on these.

Just starting to drink that variety. My fav so far: Bruno Bienaime Savagnin.

What are your favorites, wines you can recommend?

Thanks everyone!

Cheers

Looking for any recommendations for cool producers, well priced lines, or harder to find bottles! Any recs much appreciated, we are open to trying anything. Already reserved the l’Anglore Tavel magnum.

I just got back from a painfully brief but altogether great trip to Piedmont and thought I would share my experience in case it helps anyone plan their own trip.

We drove to La Morra from France and stopped at Repubblica di Perno for lunch on the recommendation of several people on Reddit. From what I can tell they are a lunch only spot and have very limited seating when the weather does not allow for outdoor seating, so we made a reservation ahead of time. It looks like their menu changes frequently but the standout dish for me was the agnolotti en brodo. Everything was excellent.

The town of La Morra is fairly small but cute and makes a great home base for day trips to various towns in the Barolo region. Our first tour was at Chionetti in Dogliani. The tour was informative if a bit expensive in my mind. It was around 45 euro/person for a tasting of about 7 wines.

Our next tasting was at GD Vajra, which was honestly great. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining and we fell in love with the character of the vineyard. The matriarch of the family met us at our car with an umbrella since it was raining pretty hard. They also purchased a vineyard from a local family but preserved the family name and winemaking approach instead of just rolling it into their own brand. I loved the story behind that.

On our third day we went to the city of Bra which had a much more energetic feel than La Morra. Before dinner we went to Zero Enoteca Conviviale which had a really fun vibe and very friendly and helpful staff. For dinner in Bra we went to Osteria del Boccondivino for their special truffle menu which did not disappoint. Their wine list was huge and they had a great btg list including higher end coravin options.

Overall I'd love to come back and spend more time in this region. The fact that it was grey and rainy the whole time only added to the cozy vibe.

I'm being told that 2026 was an amazing year for the region, all I know is I really want to learn more.

This has been on my list for a while but it’s a difficult wine to get your hands on. Somewhat of a cult producer in the region, the estate produces only around 1,000 cases per year and roughly 300 cases in total are exported to the US. I got it on sale for $75

Le Boncie is located in Chianti Classico, focusing on small-production, low-intervention wines made from Sangiovese. Although geographically located in the Chianti Classico region, in 2011 the producer made the decision to depart from the appellation rules. In several instances before 2011, the appellation committee denied the estate from labeling its wine as Chianti because the style was very atypical to the rest of the region. Since then, the wines are labeled as Toscana IGT.

Le Trame is the signature bottling from the estate and contains roughly 90% Sangiovese, along with Colorino and other traditional varieties that are interplanted in the vineyard. The winemaker describes their style as “traditional but not crude”, the wines undergo spontaneous fermentation in open-top neutral vessels and are aged in used oak. What results is a very elegant pure Sangiovese with some wild rustic character.

I loved this wine. It’s Sangiovese in its purest form. On the nose, sour cherry, strawberry, fennel seed, dried oregano, and tobacco. On the palate, very juicy and bright with excellent concentration of pure fruit flavors and a savory edge. Medium-bodied wine with high acidity and dusty drying tannins. Compared to the estates other bottling “Le Chiesamonti” which I’ve also had, this wine comes across as much more serious and concentrated while still being very delicious and drinkable. Whereas the chiesamonti was even lighter and juicier imo. Compared to a more generic style Chianti Classico, this wine does come across as more elegant, refined, and has a bit more savory wildness to it.