Review: 2019 Baldacci Family Vineyards Stags Leap Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon
This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested from the Baldacci family’s Stags Leap AVA vineyards in October 2019, and spent 24 months in 75% French new oak, and it certainly shows. It starts off in fine form with ripe strawberry, blackberry, and dark chocolate on the nose, but the oak influence makes its presence felt, eventually…
Review: Morris Australian Single Malt Whiskey – Signature and Muscat Barrels
Australia is on the rise as a whiskey producer, and the latest brand to enter the fray is Morris, which was officially launched in the U.S. last September — becoming only the third Aussie whiskey brand to be sold in the country. The goal of Morris: “to capture the provenance, climate, and terroir of Australia.”…
Review: 2021 Charles Krug Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley
We last saw this wine in its 2019 incarnation. Today Krug’s sauvignon blanc is still showcasing notes of peach and a light lemon curd undertone, though its grassy elements seem elusive now. A fresh pineapple note adds a tropical kick, and while there’s the vaguest hint of ammonia late in the game, Krug has wedged…
Review: Celaya Tequila, Complete Lineup
Celaya Tequila is the brainchild of brothers and former NFL Pro Bowlers Matt and Ryan Kalil who tell of their great great grandfather Jose Celaya who, the story goes, was famous in the 1800s for the tequila he distilled in Sonora, Mexico. Since the old recipe no longer exists and the Kalil siblings are not…
Review: 2019 Cameron Hughes 811 Zinfandel Lodi
Cameron Hughes’ 811 Zinfandel is a perennial best-seller for the brand, and given its combination of exuberance and price it’s easy to see why. All told, it’s a rather straightforward bottling of Lodi zin, this bold wine drenched in chocolate sauce, black raspberry, and a layer of dense baking spice. Things get rather prune-heavy as…
Review: The Beverly High Rye
A shiny new whiskey recently hit the glitzy streets of Rodeo Drive. Available initially in the greater Los Angeles area, The Beverly High Rye will also be launching in New York (and nationally via Reservebar). Here are the deets for this new bar cart bling: Founded by Andrew Borenzweig, a Los Angeles entrepreneur and whiskey…
Review: 2020 Zanon Colli Trevigiani IGT
Made with 100% glera grapes from the Prosecco region of northern Italy, this sparkling wine is technically a Prosecco, but whereas most Proseccos get their bubbles by undergoing secondary fermentation in a steel vat before being bottled (the Charmat method), this wine never undergoes secondary fermentation at all. Instead, it is bottled while primary fermentation…
Review: Stellum Black Hunter’s Moon and The Lone Cyprus
Shortly before the holidays Stellum Spirits introduced another pair of Black label “specialty blends” growing their billboard of limited edition offerings at your local liquor store by roughly another square foot. I’ve got to hand it to the Barrell team, they play the brand saturation game just as well as their bigger competitors, maybe better,…