“50 Icons, 100 Vintages, One Extraordinary Tasting” Helsinki became the stage for one of the most ambitious wine events ever hosted by Tastingbook. Fifty of the world’s greatest estates, each represented by two remarkable vintages, were poured side by side and tasted blind. Sixteen wine professionals from nine countries—from India to Australia to the U.S.—came together for two days of discovery, debate, and pure vinous excitement.

Tastingbook tasted Screaming Eagle 1997-2019 / Last Friday's tasting was a rare journey through Screaming Eagle’s legacy—Cabernet icons from 1997 to 2019, alongside the estate’s rarities: Blanc and Second Flight. The lineup highlights Napa’s defining vintages: the power of 1997 and 2013, the elegance of 2010 and 2019, and the charm of 2004 and 2014. The Blanc 2018 and 2019 reveal crystalline precision, while Second Flight 2019 shows approachability without compromise.

Together, these wines capture two decades of Napa Valley—its great vintages, its subtle shifts in style, and the consistent brilliance that makes Screaming Eagle a true modern icon.

The 100-Best Champagne 2024 Finalists reviewed!

Amazing Jacques Selosse Champagne tasting!!

Bordeaux 2024 Vintage / Pauillac / 2024 Lynch Bages: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc. Tasted twice with the same impression. Freshness, red berries, violets. Delightfully fruity with finesse and elegance, fine complexity, mid-palate, structure, and aftertaste. Beautiful wine. 94p. Tasted in April 2025. 2028 to 2042.

Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1917 / 20 points : Absolutely sensational. Complex, expansive, and full-bodied. With optimal sweetness and fantastically integrated acidity. Côte brûlée, Birnel, molasses, and dried plums. Fig compote. Sensational.

Bond Estate 2022 + Harlan 2021 + Dominus 2021 + Inglenook 2021

When you are fortunate enough to taste nineteen Rousseau Chambertins at one meal, you can be sure you will have some perspective. The range of vintages was 2018 back to 1990 with almost all the most heralded vintages (no 1991), and the one that stood out above the rest was the 2005 Rousseau Chambertin. Make no mistake about it, there were many standouts, but the 2005 hit the highest note. It was deep but more hi-toned than some of its younger brethren, in a bright red way. It has a raspberry, cranberry and citrus mélange. While rich and saucy, it wasn’t like the other saucy vintages as it had more tension and style. This was a wine to restore one’s faith in the often glacial 2005 vintage. It had enough spice to satisfy the entire House of Atreides (99, Paris).

Penfolds Grange La Chapelle 2021: A striking wine of poise and quiet power, the 2021 Grange La Chapelle immediately announces itself with a lifted, perfumed bouquet of dark cherries, wild violets, blackcurrant leaf and a fine thread of graphite. With air, subtle notes of cedar, crushed herbs, and warm earth emerge, giving the nose both depth and intrigue.

On the palate, this is beautifully sculpted – sleek and refined rather than overtly forceful. Juicy black fruits and red plum glide across the tongue, wrapped in silky yet firm tannins that promise graceful evolution. There’s a cool-climate precision to the vintage, with bright acidity carrying flavors of cassis, cocoa nibs, and a touch of savory spice into a long, mineral-etched finish.

Seamless tannins and well-balanced acidity reflect a blend that honors both the powerful side of La Chapelle and the elegance of Grange. This is not the most opulent wine, but one of the most finely detailed in recent memory – elegant, layered, and already harmonious, though its structure suggests it will unfurl magnificently over the next two decades. A wine of rare balance and inner radiance.

Grange La Chapelle represents the first-ever time Penfolds’ flagship wine has been blended with another estate’s product—an unprecedented move born from friendship and shared vision between winemakers Peter Gago (Penfolds) and Caroline Frey (La Chapelle). Ultra-limited release: Only a handful of bottles globally—plus a select few through Penfolds direct-to-consumer channels. Nick Ryan of The Australian awarded this vintage 99 points, calling it “unquestionably destined for greatness” and likening it to legendary past Grange releases

Founded in 1956 by his father, Paolo Marchi took over Isole e Olena in 1976. He transformed the estate to one of the leading wine producers in Italy. The observation of his vineyards, the promotion of Sangiovese as the estate's leading variety, lower yields, denser plantation and Massale selection for the Sangiovese were his key to success. As the DOC rules of the time did not allow to produce a Chianti Classico with 100% Sangiovese he invented Ceparello, a Super-Tuscan but pure Sangiovese, unheard at that time. 2022 was the last vintage of Paolo Marchi, he sold the estate to the French EPI group, also owner of -amongst others- Champagne Piper Heidsieck and the Tenuta Biondi-Santi. In 2023 Emanuele Reolon took over the management of the estate, a gifted vintner with the aim to continue the extraordinary work which as done by Paolo Marchi.

Brunello di Montalcino vintage 2020 Part II / Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli 2020

CANALICCHIO DI SOPRA. Vineyard Filari Lunghi, soils predominantly of Galestro, an imposing wine,intense and juicy. Pomegranate on the nose, hints of chinotto, touches of

eucalyptus and wild iris. The drink has a citrus and balsamic appeal, with red

fruits and balsamic notes. Great length. 98+

The 1999 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Montrachet Grand Cru presents a rich and ripe profile, with honeyed notes, burnt sugar, caramel, and yellow fruits on the nose. Upon aeration, the acidity becomes more pronounced, adding vibrancy to the wine. On the palate, it exhibits excellent concentration with flavors of yellow fruits, complemented by nuances of gunflint and clove spice. The finish is rich and complex, showcasing the wine's depth and structure.