Review: 2021 Paul Hobbs Pinot Noir George Menini Estate
The George Menini Estate can be found on the edge of the Russian River Valley, and Paul Hobbs has taken up shop here to turn out high-end chardonnays and pinot noirs. Today we look at the inaugural pinot release from the vineyard, harvested in 2021. Anyone looking for elegant, approachable, and versatile pinot noir won’t…
Review: Cognac Park VS Carte Blanche
Cognac Park isn’t a household name in the U.S., but its Carte Blanche release makes a strong case that maybe it should be. While it’s just a VS release, composed of 50% Fins bois and 50% Petite Champagne eaux de vie, it drinks a lot like a more refined, rounded Cognac — at least a…
Review: Version Francaise Single Malt Whiskies – Armorik 2014, Ninkasi 2017, and Artesia 2018
Our friends at La Maison & Velier recently dropped a new line of small-production, single vintage, single cask Armagnacs, all being sold under its new Version Francaise line. At the time, we mentioned that French whisky was also coming out under the Version Francaise label, and that is precisely where we’re headed today. While some…
Review: Laphroaig Cairdeas White Port & Madeira Casks 2023
Laphroaig’s latest annual edition, dubbed Càirdeas, is described by the distillery as bringing together “the best of much loved Càirdeas releases over recent years.” For 2023, the distillery went in two different directions: 3/4 of the whisky is matured in second-fill Madeira casks (which were the focus with the 2016 Cairdeas release), while 1/4 is…
Review: 3 Ribera del Duero Wines from Familia Fernandez Rivera, 2023 Releases
The Familia Fernández Rivera can be found in Spain’s Ribera del Duero, where the weather is hot and the tempranillo grapes grow ripe, developing an unmistakable intensity of flavor. The family harvested its first vintage in 1975. Today it farms 200 hectares of tempranillo, all sustainably, bottling the resulting wines under four different brands. Today…
Review: Papa’s Pilar Rye Finished Rum
Ten years after its launch, the Papa’s Pilar rum brand continues to explode with the addition of a fourth permanent expression to the lineup. It’s probably the oddest rum in the lineup, finishing the brand’s Dark Rum (a solera blend of rums from Barbados, Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela, and Florida) with once-used straight rye whiskey barrels…
Review: 2022 Eleven Eleven Sauvignon Blanc Beckstoffer Melrose Vineyard
Eleven Eleven Winery creates wines from all over Napa and Sonoma, California. This 100% sauvignon blanc hails from a prime single vineyard parcel in Rutherford, Napa. Crisp and heavy with citrus, this is a wine is a decidedly bold crowd-pleaser. It features lots of acidity that leans on lime leaf while gently evoking some of…
Review: GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 12
The latest cask strength sherry bomb from GlenDronach has arrived, a whisky again using Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks to create an unabashed exploration of the power of sherry. As usual, this carries no age statement yet has a clear maturity to it that certainly gives it ample gravitas. As with virtually all of…
