Another long Tb tasting day/ Sine Qua Non – Grenache Distenta IV 2022

A powerful yet hauntingly refined Grenache, the 2022 Distenta IV from Sine Qua Non combines intensity with remarkable precision. Aromas of ripe raspberry, wild strawberry, red cherry, and pomegranate are layered with rose petal, exotic spice, and subtle herbal notes. The palate is rich and expansive, yet lifted by vibrant acidity and framed by silky, fine-grained tannins. The finish is long, complex, and resonant, with both energy and depth.

DRC tasting with some real rarities like 1945 La Tâche: This is a legendary vintage for DRC, Burgundy and the world, and this bottle delivered more freshness than its previous two counterparts. There were lots of red cranberry fruits and citrus smack to its nose. I wondered whether it was possibly reconditioned at some point, as it had that edge to it. There was a subtle, smoky edge to it and great minerality, but it had a hint of ‘simpler’ to it despite the freshness. It got creamier and fleshier in the glass, becoming lip-smacking. It opened up quite nicely in the glass (96). 

Tb monthly 50 Wines tasting/ Burgundy: Domaine Ponsot – Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru 2019. A strikingly expressive Chapelle-Chambertin, the 2019 from Domaine Ponsot shows both depth and finesse in equal measure. Aromas of dark cherry, black raspberry, and plum are layered with rose petal, exotic spice, and subtle earthy notes. The palate is expansive and seamless, with ripe fruit concentration, silky yet persistent tannins, and vibrant acidity that brings lift and balance. The finish is long, resonant, and gently mineral.

Drinking Window: 2028–2055+

Score: 97 points

BWW2025 tasting Day III

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+

Just what the Doctor ordered – inside the top vineyard - The Doctor vineyard only covers around 3.22 hectares and has an average slope of around 70 per cent and, in accordance with the German Wine Act of 1971, is exceptionally allowed to bear a vineyard designation, even though it does not meet the minimum size requirement of five hectares. The soil, which is heavily influenced by blue and grey slate, lies at an average of 160 meters above sea level and directly above the small town of Bernkastel-Kues. The vineyard faces south-southwest. In the past, there have been several attempts to expand it. The last attempt to integrate the ‘Graben’ and “Badstube” sites into the Doctor was made in 1973. However, the following 15-year legal battle led to the restoration of the status quo ante, as ‘the adjacent sites do not have the quality of the Doctor’.

Tb's Monthly Riesling tasting: Weingut Robert Weil – Kiedrich Gräfenberg Riesling Trocken GG 2023

A classic, finely sculpted Gräfenberg, powerful yet poised, combining depth, precision, and unmistakable Rheingau elegance. The nose is beautifully layered, revealing white peach, ripe pear, and yellow apple, lifted by notes of lemon zest, lime blossom, and chamomile. Beneath the fruit lies a distinct mineral core of crushed slate, wet stone, and subtle smoky notes, reflecting the steep, historic Gräfenberg slope.

On the palate, the wine is taut, linear, and impressively concentrated, offering flavors of stone fruit, citrus oil, and grapefruit pith carried by a firm spine of saline minerality. The texture is dense yet refined, with a fine phenolic grip that adds structure without weight. Vibrant, perfectly integrated acidity drives the wine forward, giving it energy, lift, and exceptional length.

As it opens, nuances of white pepper, fresh herbs, and flint emerge, adding complexity and depth. The finish is long, precise, and mineral-driven, echoing with citrus freshness, stone fruit purity, and a lingering stony salinity.

A superb Kiedrich Gräfenberg GG , serious, elegant, and terroir-expressive, built to evolve beautifully over 25–35 years. 97 points

BWW2025 Day 4: Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 – 99 Points

The 2020 vintage in Napa Valley was one of the most complex in recent memory, marked by heat events and regionally variable conditions. Yet Oakville’s prime benchland and hillside parcels performed exceptionally well, and estates with meticulous fruit selection produced wines of dazzling purity and precision. Screaming Eagle, with its tiny production and obsessive sorting standards, crafted a 2020 that is both profound and remarkably fresh, capturing the elegance and finesse for which the estate is known. The wine reflects low yields, impeccable ripeness, and a cooler late-season window that preserved aromatic lift and tension.

The Screaming Eagle 2020 opens with a breathtakingly pure and seductive bouquet. Notes of blackcurrant, blueberry, and dark cherry mingle with violets, graphite, and hints of crushed rose petals. There is striking clarity in the aromatics, lifted by subtle accents of cedar, black tea, and cool volcanic earth. Layers of cocoa husk, dried herbs, and warm spice emerge with aeration, adding quiet depth without disturbing the wine’s pristine profile.

On the palate, the wine is seamless, vibrant, and extraordinarily refined. A core of perfectly ripe black fruit is framed by silk-textured tannins that glide effortlessly across the palate. The wine shows remarkable balance, combining richness with levity. Flavors of cassis, plum skin, and mulberry expand into notes of licorice, sage, and dark chocolate. A bright, mineral thread gives definition and lift, carrying the wine with precision.

The finish is long, composed, and hauntingly elegant, echoing black fruit, floral perfume, and fine earth. This is a stunning Screaming Eagle that marries intensity with purity, showing the beauty of careful selection in a challenging year. It will age gracefully for twenty to thirty years, gaining savory nuance, aromatic complexity, and further seamless integration.

BWW2025 Day III Red Wines: Harlan Estate 2021/

A wine of precision, grandeur, and quiet power. The 2021 Harlan Estate opens with an exquisitely layered bouquet — blackcurrant, wild blueberry, graphite, violets, and warm crushed stone, all delivered with a cool, elegant restraint that speaks to the vintage. With air, hints of cedar, cocoa nib, tobacco leaf, and a subtle minty lift weave themselves into the aromatic tapestry.

On the palate, the wine is silky yet commanding, perfectly balanced between richness and tension. The fruit is pure and vibrant, framed by ultra-fine tannins that feel both weightless and architectural. Notes of black cherry, cassis, blueberry compote, and ripe plum glide through the mid-palate, supported by undertones of smoked herbs, pencil shavings, dark chocolate, and sweet earth.

The structure is remarkable: precision acidity, seamless integration, and a sense of inner energy that propels the wine forward. The finish is exceptionally long, echoing with dark fruit, crushed rock minerality, and a lingering violet perfume. 98 points

Penfolds Collection 2025 with perfect Grange: The expectations for the 2021 Grange, were simply that this had to be a great Grange. Anything short of that might even be deemed a failure and this is indeed an extraordinary Grange. Quite simply, a wow wine. As always, a variety of regions contributed – the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley. As is usual, though not inevitable, there is a dollop of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, 6% for 2021, and the wine spent a year and a half maturing in new American hogsheads. No wonder Peter Gago’s response was a face-splitting smile and to confirm he was “very, very pleased”. 

Maroon/black in hue, one simply gets lost in the nose, just endlessly sniffing the most glorious cassis notes, along with black fruits, blueberries, coffee beans, aniseed, mulberries, delicatessen meats, tobacco leaves, plums and graphite. The wine is seamless, intense and immaculate with knife-edge balance. It simply dances with joy. There oak is there, undeniably, but it is so well handled that you almost have to think twice. So complex already, and yet so harmonious and decadent. Silky tannins, bright acidity, the intensity never wavers for an instant and there is incredible length – Rutherglen muscat length. This is as close to a perfect Grange as I can imagine. Fifty years, if you think you can last that long (or want very grateful grandkids). A Lord-take-me-now wine, if ever there was one. 100.

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).

BWW2025 - Day Two with Screaming Eagle, Masseto, Lafite, Cheval Blanc, Grange etc.