Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut NV – Champagne AOC, France 🇫🇷

Overview
One of Champagne’s enduring benchmarks, Special Cuvée combines approximately 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, and 15% Meunier, with a significant portion of reserve wines contributing depth and consistency. Rich, layered, and unmistakably Bollinger, it delivers remarkable complexity at a price point that remains accessible compared to many prestige bottlings.

Aromas & Flavors
Golden apple, ripe pear, citrus zest, baked brioche, roasted nuts, and subtle spice unfold in layers. Notes of fresh bread dough and orchard fruit intertwine with hints of honey and toast.

Mouthfeel
Vibrant and energetic with a creamy mousse and impressive depth. A delicate kiss of yeast adds texture and contrast, while the wine’s concentration and freshness remain beautifully balanced through the finish.

Food Pairings
Lobster, seared scallops, roast chicken, truffle dishes, aged Comté, oysters, or simply enjoyed as a celebratory aperitif.

Verdict
A richly textured and multi-layered Champagne that continues to justify its reputation as one of the region’s benchmarks. Complex, expressive, and consistently rewarding, it offers a level of sophistication that punches well above its category.

Did You Know?
Unlike many large Champagne houses, Bollinger ferments a portion of its wines in old oak barrels and maintains an extensive reserve wine program, helping create the signature richness and depth that define Special Cuvée.

🍷 Personal Pick
Few non-vintage Champagnes deliver this combination of richness, complexity, and value. The layered fruit, subtle autolytic character, and vibrant texture make Special Cuvée one of my favorite benchmark Champagnes and a bottle I never hesitate to revisit. — 23 days ago

Jamie Lauder

9.0

2021 vintage.
Sangiovese 60 % and Cabernet Sauvignon 40 % from Pitigliano estate in Maremma, Tuscany with a southwest exposure.
Owned by Tommasi family since 1997.
Rompicolla is ‘breakneck’ but means tremendously steep and slippery slope…a risky adventure.
Soils are deep in volcanic tuff.
Stainless steel ferment and matured 1 year in 65 HL Slavonian oak casks.
Red cherries, raspberries, savoury spice, and floral.
Medium bodied but fresh and clean on the finish.
This wine loves food ….and I appreciate that. — 5 months ago

Freddy R. Troya

9.5

Château Léoville Poyferré 2014
Saint-Julien, Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷

Overview
A distinguished Deuxième Cru Classé (Second Growth) from Saint-Julien, Château Léoville Poyferré has been elevated under the stewardship of the Cuvelier family and Michel Rolland’s consultancy. The 2014 vintage is a classic Bordeaux blend comprised of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. This cooler year yielded wines with notable polish, freshness, and age-worthy structure.  

Aromas & Flavors
Expressive and refined, the bouquet opens with blackcurrant, cassis, and plum, framed by cedar, graphite, violets, and aromatic spice. The palate is layered with ripe red and dark fruits, along with hints of tobacco, pepper, and soft oak—a harmonious reflection of balanced ripeness and terroir depth.  

Mouthfeel
Medium to full-bodied, with smooth yet structured tannins and vivid acidity. The finish is long and mineral-tinged, echoing Saint-Julien’s limestone terroir while expressing both strength and grace.

Winemaking Notes
Vinified traditionally and aged in French oak barrels (predominantly new), the 2014 benefits from meticulous attention to extraction and maturation, resulting in elegant concentration and finesse.  

Food Pairing
Wonderful with roast lamb, herb-crusted beef, or rich mushroom dishes. Decanting for an hour enhances its layered complexity.

Verdict
A classic expression of Left Bank finesse and depth, Château Léoville Poyferré 2014 strikes an artful balance between fruit, structure, and refinement. Enjoy now with decanter or cellar it to explore its evolution over the next decade.Cheers! — 10 months ago

Severn G

9.2

2000 | Red Blend
(60% Nebbiolo / 20% Croatina/ 10% Vespolina / 10% Uva Rara)
Tenuta Monolo (Umberto Gilodi); Riserva Piedmont; Bramaterra, Italy
(91-93; Drink 2020-2028)

Far better than prior bottles of 2000 a year or so ago, I'm now convinced those earlier bottles were flawed in some fashion. — 2 years ago

Conrad Green

9.3

Slightly darker in color. Yeast and intense nose. Clarity and crisp mid palate. Intense and focused. Very good. — 3 years ago

with Gregg

Ray Vanderhoff

9.2

100% Slovenian Kerner. Light golden color. Aromas and flavors of lemon, white flowers, green apple and sea spray. Mineral/flinty note on the finish. Creamy texture and medium bodied. Bristling acidity. Crisp and refreshing and quite the easy drinker. Everything (varietal, 60’s themed name and label) is interesting about this wine. Thanks so much, Petey! Revisited in December 2023. Still refreshing and crisp! — 3 years ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.3

Another excellent vintage of “Second Label Sassacaia.” Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%) and Merlot (40%). Aromas of black fruit, baking spices and cedar wood. Flavors of black cherries and currants, woody herbs, black licorice and those sweet baking spices. Long finish highlighted by beautiful freshness. Well softened tannins, bright acidity and a silky texture. Simply elegant and at its peak. Part of a June 2026 KZ Tasting. — a month ago

Mark S.

9.0

Golden yellow. Floral aroma. Gentle. brioche chalk. Fruity with apple and its compote. Meunière 60 Chardonnay 30 Pinot 10 Fruitiness M+ Sweetness M Acidity M+ Bitterness M Body M Finish M
Fresh Laherte Frères Untraditional Brut Champagne Blend @3300/G, G5, 260203 — 5 months ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.5

From magnum.
Deg. 05-2018
Base (60%) 2013, 40% reserve wines from 2012, 2011 and 2010.
70CH, 30PN.
This was fabulous and perfectly a point. — 6 months ago

"Odedi"

9.0

Light golden in color, with an elegant nose.

Light to medium in body with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity.

Showing lemons, citrus, limes, green apples, light earth, herbs, spices and minerals.

Long finish with limes.

This is a very young white blend from Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Nicely balanced with nice complexity. Elegant and fruity.

Needs a couple of years in the bottle to mature, and will continue to age nicely in the next 7 years.

Easy drinking and good by itself or with food.

A blend of 60% Clairette, 20% Grenache Blanc, 10% Bourboulenc and 10% Roussane. Aged for 8 months in stainless steel vats. A small production of only 4,000 bottles.

14% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$80. — 9 months ago

Vasanth Balakrishnan

8.9

Beautiful #andersonvalley #sparkling wine that punches a good deal higher than its price class. Apple, lemon, touch of toast towards the finish - the $60 bottle price at a casually upscale restaurant in Frisco / Plano represents great QPR. — a year ago

Jeffrey Woo

9.3

Dark ruby hue. Notes of blackberry, blueberry, earthy, pepper, and strawberry. Medium-high tannins and acidity. Full-bodied with grippy tannins. Solid finish. 60 Merlot and 40 Cabernet Franc. — 3 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Estate dates back to Crusades & Scottish navigator, George Smith, owner in the 18th century. Blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot aged in 20% new oak, deep Ruby with aromas of dark berry, herbs and earthy spice. On the palate flavors of plum, cherry & currant with notes of pepper, tobacco & cacao notes. Soft rich full tannins, long finish ending with fruit, earthy and mineral character, needs a little more time. — 3 years ago

Rick Phillips

9.8

One of the Greatest Latour s of all time. Could easily go another 60 years. Opened to earthy musky dark fruit but as the evening progressed the flavor became so bold with cherry plum blackberry leather and tobacco. One of my favorites! — a month ago

with Letha

Mike Lev

9.2

Very plush, red berry, red cherry, rose petal & dried orange rind. Medium + body medium + tannins, and soft; spicy finish, some pencil shaving & graphite. Highly perfumed long finish. I couldn’t wait. Amazing QPR at 60 bucks.  — 5 months ago

Mike Obley

9.6

Christmas Eve. With pork in a fennel cream sauce. Magnificent wine drinking at peak. — 6 months ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

9.3

A killer Cornas. Needs a lot more time. — 7 months ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.5

Pretty deep ruby , thin ruby rim . This is quite closed at first , but very focused mineral and grafite , oyster shell notes with dark blackcurrant and blackberry notes , spicy touches too . On the palate this is really focused and reserved , lots of mineral tinged black fruits , tobacco , oyster shell . Quite rich yet very good balance, fresh acidity . Ripe but gritty tannins , saline and really long finish . Accessible now , but really destined for the long term. Wait another 5-10 years , will drink well a further 20 . At Vinous Icons, Pier 60 NY, Feb 2025 — a year ago

JKT

9.2

At Oginos post Thanksgiving. Thumbs up! 35/65 Chardonnay/Pinot Noir and it shows, creamy almost velvety texture tingling with fine bubbles. 5.5g dosage. 40/60 2012/2013 harvest, disgorged 1-2016. All on back label! — 3 years ago

KRISTIE

9.6

Inspired by the “Apotheca”, a mysterious place where some of the earliest wine was blended and stored, Apothic wines offers a truly unique wine experience.

A red blend emerges from the flames, creating a most unexpected and masterful encounter.

Paying tribute to a time-honored craft, this wine has been aged for 60 days in whiskey barrels, creating bold notes of red and dark fruit with layers of maple and spice. — 3 years ago