Results for: "Pinotage"

Juicy and vibrant with plenty of red fruit and red floral essences, the 2022 The First Lady Pinotage is bright and attractive in the glass. Medium-bodied and with lively acidity, it offers firm tannins with a clean, succulent finish that is ready for food. The wine rested for a year in various types of oak, 8% new, (AM)

One of the best Ashbourne releases yet, this fully justifies Anthony Hamilton Russell's claim that this often under-valued grape can produce world-class wines. Sourced from a six--year old 2.2-hectare vineyard on heavy clays, it's alluringly perfumed and intense, with potpourri and rose petal aromas, caressing tannins, pomegranate and wild strawberry flavours and a racy, balanced finish.

Direct and approachable, offering aromas of dark fruit with savory and earthy complexity. Medium-bodied, firm and fresh, with a silky texture and a juicy mid-palate. (AS)

After 18 years of buying spirits for K&L, this special parcel may be my crowning achievement. Just a few years ago, it would have been nearly unfathomable that we could gain access to stocks of this quality at such low prices. We have, of course, bottled similar whiskies before. Years back, we secured a 1991 version from Hunter Laing, and only last year we offered a Faultline barrel from 1998 that sold out almost immediately. Now, we bring you another "Single Vintage Blended Malt" a full decade that barrel's senior for exactly the same price. It is an absolute coup and, if I’m honest, may get me in a little trouble, but that surely will not stop me. My style has always been to ask forgiveness rather than permission. The true challenge with stocks like this is how you label them. We cannot, under any circumstances, place the distillery name on the label, even though it is beyond doubt where the whisky comes from. The once-accepted trade name Burnside belongs to our dear friends at Cadenhead, and out of respect (and good sense, given their well-known litigious nature) we would never infringe on it. So the question becomes, what do we call this whisky? Our friends at Duncan Taylor sold us that wonderful barrel for our Faultline label that they dubbed “The Huntley,” a reference to their hometown. That option was off the table for us. After some consideration, we settled on a playful nod to our friends in Campbeltown: “The Sideburns.” We are not the first to use the name, but ours is plural, because who on earth needs just one Side-burn? Needless to say, this is one of the most outrageous deals I have ever had the honor of brokering for our shop. It represents the pinnacle of my ongoing effort to push back against one of the most damaging trends in our industry: the erosion of value for the end consumer. If you destroy the primary market for great whisky by pushing prices beyond reason, you eventually destroy the market itself. Too many producers have forgotten the first rule of selling anything: give customers what they want at a price they can afford. Start with the customer’s experience and build the system backward from there, rather than forcing corporate projections and marketing jargon down their throats. What do customers want? Great old malt whisky. But in today’s marketplace, finding a bottle over 25 years old that delivers real value in the glass is nearly impossible. Certainly there are other ways brands create value for their customers through lifestyle, image, luxury packaging, or grand storytelling. But if the true measure is taste—and for me it always is—you will struggle to point to a single product that offers what this whisky does at anywhere near this price. This parcel is, without exaggeration, one of the finest opportunities ever presented to lovers of Scotch worldwide. I hope this is only the beginning. If we can continue to secure parcels like this through new channels, then perhaps we can begin to chip away at the barriers keeping customers from enjoying extraordinary old whisky rather than just looking at them. For now, I am confident in saying this is easily the greatest Scotch deal K&L has offered in its 40-plus year history.

Finding a properly aged Montepulciano d'Abruzzo of this pedigree is a rare thrill. While visiting one of the region’s most historic, traditional estates—a family famous for holding their top wines back for a decade or more before release—I was offered a tiny allocation of this magnificent 2011 from their personal library. The 2011 vintage was warm and generous, yielding a wine of immense concentration that has now softened into absolute elegance after years of perfect cellaring. The nose is incredibly complex, offering layers of baked blackberry, dried plum, cured tobacco, leather, and a signature hint of dark cocoa. On the palate, the once-massive tannins have melted into a velvety, seamless texture, carrying savory notes of balsamic and earth through a remarkably long, persistent finish. It is a profound, soul-stirring expression of mature Abruzzo that is fully ready to drink tonight, offering an unforgettable experience of aged Italian wine without the typical premium.

"This is a very special library release. The 2016 vintage is one of the greatest of our lifetime. A forward-thinking family estate, known for their impeccably balanced and polished Barolos, agreed to release a small parcel of their classic 2016 from their cellars for us. Now with years of perfect cellaring, this wine is entering its prime. The tannins have resolved into silk, revealing complex notes of dried cherry, tar, leather, and cocoa. It is a harmonious, complete, and utterly classic Barolo that is ready to drink tonight. A rare chance to enjoy a perfectly aged wine without having to wait."

The wild success of the Sideburns 35 Year has rattled the cage of more than one large company in Scotland. If you haven’t seen my review of that product, I highly recommend taking a look: https://shop.klwines.com/products/details/1918829 . The short version is this: we may be on the precipice of a new golden age of Scotch, and K&L is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the market asymmetry. While our marketing of the previous batch was met with side eyes and raised eyebrows from the original owners of the stocks and trademarks, other suppliers with similar inventories saw it as a signal. This was an opportunity. It would seem our prayers have been answered. Another incredible value in old malt has landed in our lap, and this time the deal is even more impressive. There are, of course, differences in the stock. This distillate comes entirely from November 1989 and was matured in refill hogsheads, rather than the first-fill sherry hogsheads of Batch #1. The proof is slightly lower, but still a robust 47-48% for a whisky of such advanced age. Remember, Scotch typically loses up to 1% ABV per year and enters the cask around 63%. So yes, older, slightly lower in proof, and without the fashionable sherry influence, yet 25% cheaper. If you ask me, old malt like this absolutely thrives in refill hogsheads. While I often insist on first or second fill for younger whisky, at this age the nuance of second or third fill can be profoundly beneficial. In any case, if it’s not already clear, this malt is drawn almost entirely from one of Speyside’s most beloved distillers. Search “Burnside,” the Cadenhead/Springbank-owned blended malt, if you want clues to the source. We’re being intentionally careful about naming names, but suffice it to say this parcel comes from the cellars of one of the industry’s most powerful blending houses. Whether it was once destined as a top note for premium blends or simply forgotten stock, it now stands as perhaps the greatest value I’ve ever offered. Twice in six months. It really does feel like the start of something bigger.

Year after year, Signatory brings us some of the best casks anywhere in the industry, and over the past two years they have recommitted to putting absolutely insane deals on the table for us. This year it’s a selection of classic Islays alongside this impeccable Ben Nevis. There was a period just a few years ago when similar casks were trading for twice this price, but here we have an absolutely perfect refill sherry butt, still very active, that simply transcends the market. There’s almost nothing anywhere in the world that’s better on the market today in this style, dollar for dollar. Here we go! This is ridiculously dark for a second fill sherry cask, a gorgeous mahogany (1.6). The nose is a huge mélange of waxy, earthy funk, pulverized rock, and sweet roasted nuts. It’s clearly holding so much at bay in its cask strength form, and air opens it into a basket of walnut brittle, loose leaf tobacco, dried cranberry, carnauba wax, old bike parts, semi dark chocolate, and dashi broth. Not at all for the faint of heart. We love an idiosyncratic Ben Nevis, but for the uninitiated we may need to take baby steps. On the palate it’s rich and oily, offering huge savory underbrush and salty nuts balanced by sweet raisin fruit and an underlying oily texture. It’s simply quintessentially, unapologetically original Ben Nevis. With water it softens and sweetens somewhat, though in this rare case I truly prefer it with air and time rather than the softening effect of water. The only complaint might come from those hoping for a Nevis in skimpier clothes, but the sherry is so well integrated and never overwhelms the density of the spirit that even the most staunch anti oak brigadier general might admit the superiority of this style. If you have only $80 to spend on malt this quarter and don’t need something peaty, this is the obvious slam dunk you’ve been looking for. I’m buying three.

I love this- what a great combination of the elegance of Billecart-Salmon vintage champagne inside the bottle, and celebratory fun on the label! This celebrates not only the 200th anniversary of this house, but also 250 years of the USA. I love how the frame of baguette toast and dark cherry Pinot Noir power coalesce on the generous nose of this wine. It has great richness in the mouth without being heavy and features lovely white flowers as well as super salinity. This is a great 2018 from Billecart!

Bid on this 5-bottle lot of 1992 Taylor Vintage Port (100RP, 98VN, 97JG, 96WS). Wine Advocate: "Taylor's 1992 Vintage Port is unquestionably the greatest young port I have ever tasted. It represents the essence of what vintage port can achieve. The color is an opaque black/purple, and the nose offers up fabulously intense aromas of minerals, cassis, blackberries, licorice, and spices, as well as extraordinary purity and penetration... In the mouth, the wine is out of this world, displaying layer upon layer of concentrated black fruits backed by well-integrated tannin and structure. This is a massive, magnificently rich, full-bodied port that will be far more flattering in its youth than were such Taylors as the 1983, 1977, or 1970. It possesses awesome fruit, marvelous intensity, and lavish opulence, all brilliantly well-delineated by the wine's formidable structure... (RP)" (02/1995)

The collection of Armagnacs we have amassed includes more than 80 vintages of Bas-Armagnac and Armagnac, bottled at various times over the last 30 years, but very few compare to this outrageous vintage. Buying the same stocks today would easily cost over $2,000 a bottle and likely would not be as good as this, which was bottled way back in 1995. This was already matured to the maximum possible level after 70 years, and any more time in oak might have pushed it over the edge. Certain other vintages we sell are technically older than this but were distilled later. Armagnac is true magic. No other spirit offers such incredible aging potential while remaining relatively accessible to the average buyer. Let us see what 70 years in barrel can do. The nose starts dense and full of OBE, the Old Bottle Effect. It's slightly oily, slightly metallic, but not off-putting. With air, it opens to reveal an incredible array of exotic woods and spices: cedar, sandalwood, balsam, dried mint, dried rose petals, sarsaparilla, blackberry compote, coffee beans, and graphite. On the palate, expect big roasted baking spices, dark fruit, earthy warehouse floor, rich oak, and medium tannins that are not hard or harsh at all. The finish is medium and begs to be followed by another sip. An incredible value that we simply will not be able to match in the future.

Bid on this 3-bottle tasting lot; including 1-bottle of 2008 Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne (95RP, 94W&S, 94WE, 93ST, 93VN, 93WS), 1-bottle of 2008 Louis Roederer Brut Rosé Champagne (94JS, 94WE, 93VN, 92ST, 92WS, 91RP), and 1-bottle of 2008 Moët & Chandon "Grand Vintage" Brut Rosé Champagne (94VN, 93JS, 93WE, 93WS, 92JG, 92RP). Of the 2008 Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne, Wine Advocate writes: "The 2008 Blanc de Blancs offers a very subtle and substantial, multi-layered bouquet of wet chalk, hazelnuts, stewed apples, lemons, toast, jasmine. Full-bodied and vibrant, this is a highly elegant, very mineral, pure, fresh, firm, tense and persistent Champagne of great complexity. It is still very young but has a great aging potential. (SR)" (11/2014)

A ripe, forward and flattering style, with boysenberry and blackberry pâte de fruit notes melding with black licorice through the succulent, open finish. (JM)

The 2018 Billecart-Salmon 250th Anniversary Cuvée was released to mark two milestones at once: the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States and the 200th anniversary of the House of Billecart-Salmon. The U.S. has long been one of Billecart’s most important export markets, so this bottling was created as a commemorative release for that relationship, and the fact that 2018 was an exceptional vintage made the project even more fitting. In maganum! The wine is made from 100% Grand Cru and Premier Cru fruit, with a blend of 65% Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims and 35% Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs. Just 3% of the cuvée was vinified in oak, with the balance aged in stainless steel, then the wine spent 63 months sur latte before being finished as an Extra Brut with 4.9 g/L dosage.

Craigellachie remains one of the most interesting and complex distillers in the Highlands. One of just 20 or so distillers still using worm tubs, its characterful spirit has many sides to it. This is the home of the heart of the John Dewar’s brand and one of the most interesting plants in all of Speyside. What makes it unique are the fat, onion-shaped stills, the surprisingly steep lyne arm and the steel worm tubs. The resulting spirit tends to be oily and rich and can offer character ranging from industrial engine oil to the ultra-fruity. With that, we often see heavier wood or oak treatments, but it’s refreshing to see the spirit on full display here, with a feeling of great maturity alongside that freshness. Let’s try it! The color is pale gold (0.3). The nose is full of stone fruit and crushed rocks, white cherries, manzano bananas, crisp, fresh malt and baking spice. The beautiful fullness of flavor continues on the palate, but doesn’t wade into the aggressively greasy or weird, with a fruity front palate retaining the nearly tropical fruit and the big, juicy core building through the center. Adding water here is really interesting and adds weight and complexity, but only a couple of drops are needed. Now some of the oilier notes come forward, but the apricot-y tone takes over from the tropical banana stuff. It’s simply a lovely, spirit-driven whisky without obstruction. Considering where many other bottlers put their older Craigellachie, it’s quite a good value as well. A perfect one for someone really into exploring this special spirit, but pretty enough to attract any malt lover’s attention.

Fallet-Dart’s 2018 Vintage Brut comes in a three-liter Jeroboam, equivalent to four standard 750ml bottles. Unlike non-vintage Champagne, vintage Champagne is based on grapes from a single declared harvest year, making this large-format release a clear expression of the 2018 season.

Chinaco remains one of the truly foundational names in premium tequila, and this tiny 2026 release celebrates the brand’s 50th anniversary in extraordinary fashion. Bottled in the original conic vintage glass with the vintage label, this limited edition is just 300 bottles total and represents a genuine collaboration across generations. The heart of the blend is predominantly 2002 Extra Añejo, aged three years, created from reserve Añejo originally coveted by Guillermo’s father and grandfather. That rare old stock is blended with a one-year Añejo made from their finest agave, bringing the average age to 30 months and offering a remarkable link between Chinaco’s past and present. It is extremely rare to see tequila with this kind of historical continuity, let alone from one of the producers that helped define the modern category. For collectors and serious agave drinkers, this is exactly the kind of bottle that disappears once and never returns.

Fresh flowers, such as fresh violets and lilacs, with some melons and red apples on the nose. Medium to full body with bitter lemon and lime with walnut and brazil-nut undertones. Tangy, too. Delicate finish. A blend of sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, ribolla and malvasia. Drink or hold.

Vintage Port doesn't seem like the right wine in the middle of the summer but I had an Amarone producer for dinner the other night in Tuscany and he had never drunk a wine from his birth year. He was lucky enough to have been born in 1977 - a great Port year! I found a bottle of 1977 Fonseca in my cellar - probably my last. It was absolutely gorgeous. I gave this fortified wine a perfect score in its youth and I think it has finally evolved into its perfection as a mature vintage Port. Here is the tasting note. 1977 Fonseca Vintage Port: This is in total balance now with such harmony. What amazing aromas of berry and flowers. Full and sweet, the tannins are complete dissolved. The fruit is perfect. This goes on for minutes. Drink now. But it will go forever.

Bid on this 3-bottle lot of 2011 Dow's Vintage Port (99WS, (96-98RP), 97VN, 97W&S, 96JS, 96WE). Wine Spectator: "Powerful, refined and luscious, with a surplus of dark plum, kirsch and cassis flavors that are unctuous and long. Shows plenty of grip, presenting a long, full finish, filled with Asian spice and raspberry tart accents. Rich and chocolaty. One for the ages. *Wine of the Year 2014, Collectibles* (KM)" (02/2014)

Made from 60% Pinot Noir and the rest Chardonnay and pouring a vibrant silver/yellow color, the 2018 Champagne Brut Vintage (like all these wines) was aged in stainless steel without any oak. In the glass, it opens to springy and dewy floral aromas of honeydew melon, fresh flowers, citrus blossoms, and pastry dough. Medium-bodied and inviting, it’s approachable now and takes on a more mineral character on the palate without ever feeling austere. All its components move seamlessly through the palate, with a refined mousse and a kiss of sunny feel on the finish nodding to the warmth of the vintage, but it’s clean and refined all the way through. This is going to improve with age, but it’s quite enjoyable now. Drink over the coming 15 or so years. It was made exclusively from Premier Cru and Grand Cru villages, was aged for 6 years on the lees, and saw 7-8 grams per liter dosage.

Capurro is known for their single vintage, single variety Piscos and their extreme commitment to quality. While the minimum resting period for Peruvian Pisco is 3 months, Capurro rests theirs until they feel it has achieved its maximum expressive potential - in this case 39 long months! The Quebranta is a Pisco varietal that has parentage in the California Mission Grape. The aromatics are more savory than fruity. They have an earthy, almost dusty tone to them. The flair really comes in the weight and texture of the Quebranta. It's heavier than the other varieties and emulsifies the best for egg based cocktails. If you're making tons of Pisco Sours this will make your life a little easier. The added weight of the Pisco also lets you cut back the sugar in the cocktail just a little.

I drank quite a bit of the 1970 Graham’s over the course of the 1990s, but had not crossed paths with a bottle in several years until this most recent example. The wine is superb in 1970, as it displays a bouquet of voluptuous complexity, offering up scents of black cherry, plum, cedar, fresh mint, chocolate, a bit of tobacco leaf, and lovely, estery floral topnotes. On the palate the wine is focused and opulent, with fine framing acidity adding a note of precision to the attack, and with excellent freshness and balance on the softly tannic, long and creamy finish. This is a classic example of Graham’s in its more extroverted and fruit-driven style, and it should continue to drink well for the next 40 or more years.

Bouzy, a grand cru village on Champagne’s Montagne de Reims, is closely associated with Pinot Noir. Paul Clouet’s 2012 Blanc de Noirs places that village at the center of a white Champagne made from dark-skinned grapes. As a vintage Champagne, it represents a single year’s harvest rather than a blend of harvest years.

Vaghi Armagnac is an independent bottler dedicated to preserving the individuality and quiet grandeur of Armagnac. Rather than distilling itself, Vaghi curates exceptional casks from traditional, often family-run producers, releasing them with minimal intervention to preserve their natural character. The focus is on single-cask, vintage-dated Armagnacs, frequently bottled at natural strength and presented with clear, transparent labeling. Shaped by traditional distillation and long maturation in oak, these spirits evolve from vibrant eaux-de-vie into layered, harmonious expressions marked by fruit, spice, and depth rather than weight. Spanning nearly a century of distillation, this library offers a rare perspective on Armagnac through individual vintages—each bottle a singular, unrepeatable record of time, place, and tradition.

Potentially one of the most compelling wines of the vintage, this inky black/purple-colored 2000 exhibits notes of scorched earth, melted asphalt, blackberry liqueur, and a pungent, penetrating intensity that reverberates in the mouth as well as the head. Full-bodied, massive, and concentrated, with a 45-second finish, this thrilling effort should drink well between 2010-2035. (RP)

Fonseca has scored in both the 1991 and 1992 vintages. The 1992 is a majestic young port that should ultimately rival, perhaps even surpass this house's most recent great efforts (1985, 1977, 1970, 1963). This colossal vintage port reveals a nearly opaque black/purple color, and an explosive nose of jammy black fruits, licorice, chocolate, and spices. Extremely full-bodied and unctuously-textured, this multi-layered, enormously-endowed port reveals a finish that lasts for over a minute. It is a magnificent port that will age well for 30-40 years.

The small but mighty bottler, now based deep on the Kintyre Peninsula, is doing some very exciting work. They have bottled exceptional casks at excellent prices and are part of an ambitious new project at the old RAF base near Campbeltown. The Campbeltown Bond is one of the most forward-thinking warehouse concepts in Scotland, an autonomous system allowing bottlers to access and assess casks in minutes rather than weeks in a traditional dunnage. This lovely bottling from the historic Speyside distillery of Benriach continues to highlight the versatility and unusual distillates available at the special plant near Elgin. Distilled on December 22nd, 2008 and bottled on August 29th of 2024 at 48.3% ABV, this 14-year-old single cask was released in a limited outturn of just 378 bottles, offering a focused snapshot of the distillery’s character. Thick yet precise, it leans into a clean, lightly smoky profile with subtle leather and confectionary sweetness, recalling open jars of liquorice and nut toffee. The palate balances that gentle savoriness with soft chocolate and a warming, rounded finish. A composed and quietly complex dram that shows Benriach’s ability to marry purity with depth.

While Capurro Pisco is always single vintage and typically single varietal, the Acholado is a blend of the other 3 grape varieties. The balance here is tremendous and if you're looking for your first great Pisco experience, this is it. There is a great balance between stone fruits and an earthy flavor that offers a faint hint of grass. The texture and finish here are excellent and it will emulsify easily in your Pisco Sour - the key to any good egg based cocktail. Not just for mixing, this also offers a great drinking experience when served neat or with a dose of citrus.

Burdekin Vintage Cane Rum is a wildly original Australian take on fresh cane rum, made from freshly pressed local sugarcane fermented with the distillery’s unique yeast blend, distilled in their hybrid pot/column still, and aged up to two years in carefully selected Pedro Ximénez sherry barrels. That combination of grassy, aromatic cane juice spirit and rich PX cask influence gives this bottling a personality unlike almost anything else in the rum world. It brings together fresh-cut cane, tropical fruit funk, toffee, mixed spice, vanilla oak, brown sugar, fig, and a long, warming finish with the darker fruit and textural richness of sherry cask maturation. The awards are stacked: 2024 Champion Rum and Gold at the Royal Queensland Spirits Awards, 2023 Double Gold and Best in Category from the American Distilling Institute, 2024 Gold at San Francisco IWSC, 2025 Gold with a 92.17 score at the Royal Melbourne Spirit Awards, and 2026 Gold at the Ultimate Awards Miami Rum Congress. This is bold, distinctive, and deeply flavorful cane rum for adventurous drinkers.

Very dry in style, with a grippy alder spine carrying bitter plum, black currant and juniper notes. Shows some wild herb and violet notes as well, gaining intensity and grip through the finish. Tightly focused and very distinctive. (JM, Web-2018)

Bid on this 4-bottle lot of 1977 Dow's "Silver Jubilee" Vintage Port (97JS, 93RP, 92WS). James Suckling: "This is really glorious and refined, offering a polished and creamy texture. Complex aromas and flavors with cream, dried fruit and nuts. Medium body. Very beautiful. A refined and glorious 1977 now. Real deal." (01/2017)

Bid on this bottle of 1977 Taylor Vintage Port (98VN, 97WS, 96RP, 95WE, 93JG). Vinous: "The 1977 Taylor's Vintage Port is initially tight and conservative on the nose: strawberry, baked cherry, tobacco and wild hedgerow notes emerging but remaining tight-lipped. This needs a good decant! The palate is endowed with depth and concentration, very well balanced with an attractive crispness. Perhaps you could argue that it is a 'linear' and more 'correct' Taylor's compared to the 1970 and lacks some charm. But there is immense complexity here so it is more a case of a Port demanding a very long maturation in bottle. (NM)" (06/2018)

Bid on this 3-bottle tasting lot; including 2-bottles of 2007 Fonseca Vintage Port (96WE, 95RP, 94W&S, 94WS) and 1-bottle of 2011 Croft Vintage Port (97WS, 95JS, (92-95RP), 95WE, 93W&S). Of the 2011 Croft Vintage Port, Wine Spectator writes: "Effusively juicy, rich and concentrated, showing plenty of snap to the crisp and well-spiced flavors of wild berry, dark currant and plum tart. Orange-infused chocolate notes linger on the exotic, mocha-filled finish. *Top 100 Wines of 2013, Collectible* (KM)" (10/2013)

The 1975 vintage is not a legendary one for Nacional, but the wine is still full of charm and the complexity of full maturity. The complex and ethereal nose offers up scents of cherries, cigar smoke, heather, coffee, sous bois, clove-like spices and a touch of ginger honey in the upper register. On the palate the wine is fullish, complex and intensely flavored, with lovely filigree, moderate depth, melting tannins and lovely length and grip on the finish. This is a touch low in acidity by the very high standards of Nacional, but this is a very, very pleasant drink. Drink between 2012-2035.

The 2000 Fonseca continues to exude finesse and focus on the nose, with pure blackberry, juniper berries, licorice and a touch of sloes, perhaps as Adrian Bridge remarked, just beginning to close after ten years in bottle. The palate is underpinned by very fine tannins, a sensual, svelte texture with wonderful acidity. The harmony and symmetry is alluring, the finish precise and demonstrating the persistency to suggest a long future ahead. (NM)

For devotees of Springbank, vintage releases occupy a category of their own, and this extraordinary 1994 bottling captures everything that has made the distillery one of Scotland’s most revered producers. Established in Campbeltown in 1828, Springbank remains fiercely traditional, carrying out the entire production process on site and preserving labor-intensive methods long abandoned elsewhere. Its lightly peated spirit and unusual two-and-a-half-times distillation create the oily texture, maritime depth, and eccentric complexity that define the house style. This rare vintage marries whisky matured in 80% bourbon, 10% sherry, and 10% red wine casks, bottled at 45.1% ABV with just 1,180 bottles released. The nose opens with dried pineapple, mango, ripe melon, honey, sandalwood, and that unmistakable earthy, old-school Springbank character. The palate brings caramelized lemon, custard cream, tropical fruit, polished wood, and toffee popcorn before turning savory and herbal on the finish, with coconut, fresh basil, gorse, and lingering Campbeltown earthiness. A deeply individual malt and a genuine piece of Springbank history.

Taylor's 1992 Vintage Port is unquestionably the greatest young port I have ever tasted. It represents the essence of what vintage port can achieve. The color is an opaque black/purple, and the nose offers up fabulously intense aromas of minerals, cassis, blackberries, licorice, and spices, as well as extraordinary purity and penetration. Yet this is still an unformed and infantile wine. If Chateau Latour made a late-harvest Cabernet Sauvignon, I suspect it might smell like this. In the mouth, the wine is out of this world, displaying layer upon layer of concentrated black fruits backed by well-integrated tannin and structure. This is a massive, magnificently rich, full-bodied port that will be far more flattering in its youth than were such Taylors as the 1983, 1977, or 1970. It possesses awesome fruit, marvelous intensity, and lavish opulence, all brilliantly well-delineated by the wine's formidable structure. This monumental 30-50 year port is a must purchase for port aficionados.! Also noteworthy is the fact that the 1992 Taylor commemorates the 300th anniversary of this firm, as evidenced by the special bottle Taylor used for this port. (RP)

This new bottler has some exciting new technology poised to change the Scotch industry. The Campbeltown Bond is one of the most forward-thinking warehouse concepts in Scotland, an autonomous system allowing bottlers to access and assess casks in minutes rather than weeks in a traditional dunnage. This extraordinary bottling from the Isle of Arran represents a rare glimpse into the early years of one of Scotland’s youngest distilleries, long before meaningful stocks of mature whisky were available. Distilled on May 22nd, 1996 and bottled on April 22nd of 2024 at a natural cask strength of 48.7% ABV, this 27-year-old single cask (#365) yielded just 208 bottles, making it an exceptionally scarce example of fully mature island whisky. The style is both rugged and refined, opening with a deep, slightly tarry richness that quickly softens into creamy fudge and sweet confectionary notes. The palate leans into nutty toffee and toasted grains, with a gentle warmth that speaks to its age without overwhelming the spirit. The finish is long and composed, fading through caramelized sugar and dark berry fruit. A rare opportunity to experience truly mature Arran, a category that remains vanishingly small.

Taylor's 1992 Vintage Port is unquestionably the greatest young port I have ever tasted. It represents the essence of what vintage port can achieve. The color is an opaque black/purple, and the nose offers up fabulously intense aromas of minerals, cassis, blackberries, licorice, and spices, as well as extraordinary purity and penetration. Yet this is still an unformed and infantile wine. If Chateau Latour made a late-harvest Cabernet Sauvignon, I suspect it might smell like this. In the mouth, the wine is out of this world, displaying layer upon layer of concentrated black fruits backed by well-integrated tannin and structure. This is a massive, magnificently rich, full-bodied port that will be far more flattering in its youth than were such Taylors as the 1983, 1977, or 1970. It possesses awesome fruit, marvelous intensity, and lavish opulence, all brilliantly well-delineated by the wine's formidable structure. This monumental 30-50 year port is a must purchase for port aficionados! (RP)

92 points Wine Spectator: "Shows aromas of very ripe fruit and sweet tobacco, with hints of earth and spices. Full-bodied and medium sweet, with round, velvety tannins and a long, fruity finish. Likeable for its soft texture. Best after 2016. Tasted twice, with consistent notes." (05/09)

Bid on this 3-bottle lot of 1994 Dow's Vintage Port (99DC, 97WS, 96RP). Decanter: "This was my pick of the vintage when it was first declared in 1996, and nearly 30 years later I feel fully justified in recommending it again. Retaining its deep colour, opening up to reveal ripe, exotic aromas of gum cistus, eucalypt and mint, so very expressive of the Douro. Ripe, quite powerful and still tight-knit with lovely rich, minty fruit, broad yet firm, tannins rising to a fresh, gripping, opulent finish (especially for Dow in its customary drier style). Now glorious to drink – it should last a lifetime. (RM)" (10/2023)

Bid on this bottle of 2026 Rare Perfection 10 Year Old "Vintage 2016" Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Part of the Preservation Distillery portfolio in Bardstown, Rare Perfection is centered on sourced American whiskey bottled with relatively specific age and vintage information. This Kentucky straight bourbon carries both a 10-year age statement and a 2016 vintage designation, an unusual level of detail for the category.

Amazingly, the importer still has tiny stocks of such legendary ports as the 1970, 1963, and 1962 Nacionals. In most vintages the production of Quinta do Noval Nacional is no more than 250-275 cases. The 1970,1963,1962 and 1994 are candidates to achieve perfect scores. Remarkably, the 1962 Nacional exhibited an even more opaque color than the 1970, as well as exquisite richness and concentration. Massive (but not in the Taylor style), this phenomenally concentrated, complex, still youthful vintage port is a tour de force in winemaking, and one of the greatest, can you believe this, young vintage ports I have ever tasted. This wine needs another 5-10 years to reach full maturity as neither the color nor aromatics reveal much development. It could easily have one-hundred years of longevity. (RP)

Interesting counterpoint between dense fruitiness and lifted herbal nuance. Unctuous concentration with juicy blackberry, bramble and black cherry. There is, however, a refreshing undercurrent of bergamot and wet stone adding gliding freshness. Earl Grey and dried rose petals play in the background for added elegance and depth. Beautifully presented, mineral tannins. (IS)

Thomas Hardy’s Ale was first brewed in 1968 by Dorset brewer Eldridge Pope to commemorate the 40th anniversary of novelist Thomas Hardy’s death. This 2024 English barleywine continues the label’s longstanding tradition of vintage-dated releases, presented in a compact 25 cl bottle.

In a word, superb. It's full-bodied, moderately sweet and incredibly tannic, but there's amazing finesse and refinement to the texture, not to mention fabulous, concentrated aromas of raspberries, violets and other flowers. Perhaps the greatest Taylor ever, it's better than either the '92 or the '70, though it's very like the '70 in structure. Best after 2010.

Ripe, fruity, and redolent of spiced plums at Christmas time. The 2000 vintage port was bottled in 2002, darkly hued and loaded with spiced fruit aromatics. The palate is warming and welcoming. Spiced berry tart flavours, gingerbread, rum raisin and Mexican chocolate all meld together wonderfully. Twenty-three years on this wine shows plenty of gusto to keep a bottle locked away somewhere to revisit in another decade or more. (CP)