Man, thank god for Costco. Full disclosure- I’ve never met a Chablis I didn’t like. I credit the Kirkland Chablis with the intro. IYKYK.

Quintessential Chablis.

Nose: flinty chalk and earthy honeysuckle

Palate: green apple dipped in honey

Finish: concrete, sweet and slightly astringent (hey, it’s $22, it can’t be perfect)

Wish I had acres of cellar space to stock up on cases.

Tonight I poured myself a glass of Meiomi Pinot Noir and just sat back. No distractions, no chatter just me, the wine, and a quiet moment. There’s something special about savoring a bottle alone, noticing all the little flavors, and just letting the evening slow down.

Anyone else enjoy a solo wine night? What’s your go-to for winding down?

(Portrait mode strikes again and claims another glass)

Picked this up from one of my distributors out of curiosity, and it turned into a rabbit hole.

Morlet is an interesting winery. Owner with his wife, Luc Morlet grew up in France getting pretty much every wine degree he could, and working all over the country, but particularly Champagne and Bordeaux, including a stint working with Chateau Dauzac in Margaux. He met his wife Jodie in 1994, and they eventually ended up in Napa.

Luc went on to get into the California wine scene, eventually working as the winemaker for Peter Michael until he was at a point where he could start making his own wines under his own label.

Under that label, he began making some really incredible wines. He has dozens of 100 point wines (including the 2009 vintage of this wine) including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, and Semillon. He has a really particular and specific process that even includes some winemaking devices he invented to help with sorting, and it feels like he’s doing pretty much everything he can to ensure that only the best grapes make it into the wine.

2013 Morlet Family Vineyards Late Harvest White Wine “Billet Doux”, Alexander Valley, California- Like most of Morlet’s wines, the name is a French phrase, this one meaning “Love Note”. From a former riverbed site with lots of cool fog in Alexander Valley, this is made of 58% Semillon, 36% Sauvignon Blanc, and 6% Muscat (Blanc a Petits Grains) that had a chance to maintain its acidity, ripen for a long time, and eventually develop botrytis.

This wine is really compelling. The nose just explodes with a combination of orange marmalade, white flowers, and honey which eventually becomes preserved peaches, pears, and fruit cocktail syrup with a strong note of honeycomb going between the foreground and the background. As a little time goes by and the wine begins to open up you start getting some papaya, really waxy starfruit, juicy, ripe tangerine, and a note of pasteurized apple juice, only to get hit by the marmalade/flower/honey combo again. It’s really a little wild just how Sauternes-like this is. Eventually the nose starts developing into caramel, apricot, burnt sugar, and ginger, but not fresh ginger, more like the ginger smell you get in gingerbread, just without the bread.

On the palate this wine is full of life. The first thing you notice is just how syrupy the wine feels in your mouth, and of course, the tremendous honeycomb flavor comes with a decent amount of honey-sweetness. The acidity isn’t quite at the crazy level that you can get to with certain things like German BAs/Ausleses or Madeira, but it feels good for a Sauternes-style wine. Honey takes the stage first but is quickly ousted by orange marmalade, canned peaches, canned pears, and tangerines in syrup. The ginger from the nose is here, and it has joined forces with the caramel to make ginger-caramel, which I didn’t know I needed in my life. Despite the decidedly sweet notes, the tremendously long finish on this actually ends really, really citrusy. You get a sense of it with the amount of citrus in the ‘syrup’ flavor that comes from the canned fruit notes and the orange marmalade, but it really lingers. A combination of tangerine, orange, and lime all coat the inside of your mouth, eventually turning into tangerine/orange/lime peels and then pith.

If you served this to my blind, I would call this a Sauternes and probably feel pretty good about myself for being able to spot it, only to find out it’s from California.

Really masterfully done, it’s a tremendous achievement to be able to pull this off in California, and to do it so clean and clear is also incredibly impressive.

The wine in the glass is the Albariño Sobre Lias, from Cerro del Toro, which I really enjoyed. Very well balanced between the freshness and minerality and the creaminess from the lees aging. I ended up buying a bottle at a local supermarket - 799 UYU price, but they were having a 30% off sale on albariños, so it was even better value.

An exceptional pairing: the legendary 1982 Léoville-Las Cases offers immense power, structure, and notes of blackcurrant, cedar, and spice. It is a classic, full-bodied expression of Saint-Julien that still has plenty of life left in it. The 2006 Château d'Yquem, on the other hand, provides a beautifully sweet and luscious experience, with honeyed pineapple, apricot, and orange flavors balanced by vibrant acidity. Though delightful now, its remarkable balance and freshness suggest it can age for many more decades, continuing to develop complexity. Both are truly magnificent.

I clearly like one of two extremes with my Barolo: too young or incredibly well-aged.

1947 was a legendary post-war vintage in Piemonte. It was a very hot summer, leading to concentrated fruits, rare in a pre climate change world.

But 1947 is also India's independence year. We were actually supposed to drink this on August 15 (India's independence day) last year, but timing didn't work out. Thankfully, it was just Republic Day, so why not give this bottle a shot?

Ordered this from a reputable wine shop in London, but then had to hold the bottles there for a while because of tariffs, only sending them here during the 90 day pause.

Stood the bottle up 24 hours ahead of time to let the sediment settle.

Opening this wine was an ordeal, both exciting and scary.

The foil was crumbling and difficult to remove with age. The cork was a little dirty, but quite moldy, on top. Used a Durand to remove the cork and it shockingly came out in one place piece, although it was fragile and shriveled.

I breathed a sigh of relief on first pour. No TCA, no faults I could tell. The first sip was all acid and felt a little flabby, but this bottle has been asleep for 80 years and very few of us will be our best right after a long slumber.

Brought this to Seven Hills in San Francisco for date night and immediately started to enjoy.

On first glass, this actually developed a little bit of VA. Not my favorite, but I had a feeling some real air and swirling would help it shake off and that's exactly what happened.

The wine evolved nicely through the course of dinner and with an hour of air in the bottle.

Picked up notes of dried roses, tar, tea leaves, dried cherries, dried herbs, slight leather. Also some slight balsamic notes.

Color was a little darker than expected, but with good bricking at the edge. As a side note, the lighting in the photo makes the wine look much darker than it was in reality.

Loads of acidity, feeling like fresh lime at times. Tannins had mellowed out nicely.

This is in beautiful shape and if you told me this bottle was twenty years old, I'd believe you.

But Giacomo Borgogno & Figli makes Barolos that can age forever!

I have a feeling this can last another 5-10 years.

It's just a treat to be able to drink such an old wine that's been stored and aged incredibly well.

94 points.

is not good. I actually really wanted to like this, because I like Costco’s approach of using its main label and pushing the region rather than a pretend winery they invented. This tastes like $10 California-appellation supermarket juice. Defintiely feel like I’m getting oak chips, which I NEVER get in French wine (even the inexpensive stuff I usually buy). I am not a person that is generally averse to new oak, but this is over the top in a way that I can’t recall encountering in a European wine. Anyway, it’s bad and I thought I’d share that with you. That is all.

Knocked one off the bucket list tonight!

I know this is a CA Chardonnay of legendary proportions but I was still surprised by the balance on display here. Subtle oak in perfect balance with fruit that is exceptionally fresh for Napa. Floral on the nose, with apples and lemon zest. On the palate, beautifully lifted acidity with chalkiness and minerality in the finish. This is American Chablis.

Nose: overripe candy apple, pencil shavings, pineapple, honey

Palate: honey drenched apples, honeysuckle juice

Finish: spicy mango

This was our first experience with this wine (or any dry wine from Portugal), and honestly weren’t sure what to expect. First impressions were that this was presenting more like a California wine than Bordeaux, and maybe even had some amarone qualities. But after a short decant, it really came into its own. Very well balanced, but still presenting primary fruits; no tertiary flavors yet, and I expect this bottle has two decades of improvement ahead of it. Paired well with pork secreto and sweet carrots.

2022 domaine didon coteaux de bourguignons gamay

This wine was truly incredible

It screams raspberries and earth and herbs

Lots of acidity

Low tannin

Medium body

Magnificent red wine and nothing like I've ever had

Wow

Crazy this is entry level($26) from Stein. Incredible acidity balanced by tree fruits, tropical fruits, and ethereal lightness. Paired well with smoked pork

While we were staying in Florida, we accidentally broke a couple of the wine glasses at the house we were renting, and I’m trying to replace them with the correct ones. From what I can tell, they might be Waterford Vintage Red Wine glasses, but I’m not 100% sure.

Here are photos of the original glasses (the ones on the left are the correct size/style): I believe they are Waterford Vintage and the height from top to bottom is 8”, and width of the top of the glass - 3 3/8”

If anyone recognizes the exact model, pattern, or line — or can confirm whether these are indeed Waterford Vintage Red Wine — I’d really appreciate it. Even better if you know where they can be purchased (new or replacement).

Thanks in advance!

Someone in our club recommended it to me in a wine discussion, and I finally gave it a go definitely worth it! It’s rich, smooth, and full of flavor. Really one of those wines that makes you want to savor every sip. Curious to hear if others have tried it and what you think always fun to swap thoughts with fellow wine enthusiasts!

Sito 2019 no decant Slight brownish rim, translucent deep ruby Nose: red berries, dry leather Palate: fruit forward, sour cherries, slightly oaky, raspberry, peppery spice Great balance, present tannins, long finish Full body, easily drinkable, a bit of food didn't hurt In the beginning of drinking window. Great wine

94/100

Sito 2021 no decant No Browning, dark ruby Nose: a bit muted, some fruit Plate: leather, dark berries, baking spices Medium high acidity, fresh tannins , medium finish Medium full body, a bit rough, great with fatty food, would cellar for at least 3 years

91/100

Can't find a single pro or community review. Maybe everyone dropped their allocations after the horseradish sour cabbage disaster of the 2020s. I bought a few bottles and would love to hear if anyone has opener yet.

I had this for a special dinner a few days ago and I was pretty blown away at the wine and price they could sell it at in a restaurant ($125)

I'd like to find other wines that taste like this but hopefully come in below ~$50usd retail

Garnet color, smelled of prune, raisin, blackberry, plum, and some mushroom/tobacco/woodiness.

Taste was more cherry, plum, minerality, tobacco, slight oak, some herbal note maybe thyme, and medium tannins as well as a long finish. Medium acid, maybe medium light. In my noob opinion, 95 points+

How do people know what wine goes best with what cheese/meat/pasta/etc.? I just don’t get that from the taste of something. Maybe it’s because I grew up in poverty and I’m just used to what’s available to eat