Jay Kline

8.9

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2023 Boushey Vineyard pours a straw color with medium viscosity. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of melon, lemon, white flowers and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium with a waxy texture and mineral laden. Drink now. — 13 hours ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2021 Temperance Hill pours a deep ruby color with a transparent core; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with beautiful notes of Bing cherry, raspberries, strawberry, red flowers, black pepper, underbrush, minerals and a combination of cool and warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose, the finish is long. Two years on, this vintage is showing so well. The aromatics have taken center stage and everything is coming together. Such a beautiful wine. Drink now through 2041. — 4 days ago

Jay Kline

9.2

First pour of this and I was like, “uh-oh”. It was clearly full of flaws (Brettanomyces, VA and maaaaybe some slight TCA) but would they be too much to appreciate the wine? Only time would tell so into the decanter it went. After a lot of air, it became clear this was Brett and VA. The wine pours a deep ruby/purple with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing (still) with notes of blackberries, umeboshi, animale, purple flowers, black pepper, red Flintstone vitamin, horse blanket, wood varnish, and sous bois. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. An elegant, complicated bottle. This is my second time with the 1997 vintage and due to the flaws, a different adventure than previous. That being said, this decidedly grumpy, Burgundian expression of Clape’s Cornas paired really well with the dry-aged steaks. Drink now, with a lot of patience, through 2037? — 8 days ago

Jay Kline

8.8

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2024 pours a bright fuchsia, almost ruby color with a transparent core; medium viscosity with no staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of confected cherry, candied apple, red flowers, lemon and wet rocks. On the palate, the wine is dry with low tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium. Quaffable stuff on a sunny day. Drink now. — 13 hours ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2022 pours a deep purple/ruby color with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and tart black plum, blackberry, pipe tobacco, cocoa, rocky earth and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. While quite young, this is a very beautifully made Malbec. Drink now through 2042+. — 4 days ago

Jay Kline

9.2

My first time trying Dalmau; arguably the most modern expression from Marqués Murrieta. The fruit for Dalmau comes from 70+ year old vines planted in the Canajas vineyard.

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2019 pours a deep ruby/purple with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with significant staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe, black cherry, plum, tobacco, cedar, and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. A polished wine that’s still very much and infant. Drink now with patience and through 2044. Bottle No. 14135/15526 — 7 days ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2017 Rio Sordo pours a deep garnet color with a transparent core; medium+ viscosity with no staining of the tears and loads of chunky sediment towards the bottom. On the nose, the wine is developing with solar notes of Morello cherry, pomegranate, tar, roses, dried green herbs, old wood and dry gravelly earth. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. These 2017 Riserva’s are already showing really well…sneaky good. Drink now with some patience and through 2047+. Bottle No. 00952/10000 — 8 days ago

Jay Kline

9.6

Splash decanted immediately before service; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2018 pours a deep ruby/purple color with an opaque core; medium+ viscosity with significant staining of the tears and some sediment. On the nose, the wine is developing with gorgeous notes of blackberry, fig, black pepper, bacon fat, lavender, aromatic wood resin, warm spices and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. This is already an absolute banger and hides its 15% alcohol as well as any wine I have ever encountered. I almost gasped when I saw the ABV on the label because I couldn’t believe it. This is beautifully balanced, and I feel privileged to try this wine in its relative youth. Drink now with a splash decant and through 2052+. Bottle No. 15902. — 3 days ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The NV Grand Vallée Extra Brut pours a straw color with a faint bronze tinge and persistent mousse. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of fresh raspberries, strawberry, peach, lemon and limestone minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with high acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and packed with minerals. Quite lovely. Drink now. Disgorged Spring of 2023. — 6 days ago

Jay Kline

9.4

The Grande Cuvée 172ème is based on the 2016 vintage (58%) with reserve wines going back to 1998. Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a couple hours. The wine pours a straw color with a persistent mousse. The nose, which was a little reticent at first, came alive after about 30min of air. At that point, it became redolent of ripe and dried tropical fruit, lemon curd, white flowers, freshly baked brioche, marzipan, and torrone. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and texture is positively divine. Every time I have Krug, I fell like the splurge is worth it. This was an outstanding pairing with the spider crab arroz cremoso. Drink now (perhaps even with a short decent!) and through 2046. — 8 days ago