Serious wine. Straight talk. # 1 Best-Selling Author, Napa Valley Decoded! ⬇️ 3.7 m+ YouTube views Wine Judge Featured in Wine Enthusiast & Forbes.
Dallas, TX
Joined October 2018
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I Spent a Week in Italy Drinking Italian Wine With Dinner
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The least acclaimed vintage on the table was the best wine in the room.
We stayed at Palas Cerequio in La Morra, owned by Michele Chiarlo, and spent yesterday working through a complete tasting of their wines. The highlight was a vertical of Cerequio, the very vineyard the property sits on, with the 2007 poured beside the 2015 and the 2021.
All three were terrific. The 2007 showed best, even though it carries the least acclaim of the group.
Vintage reputation is a fine starting point. It just doesn't tell you how a specific wine from a great site is drinking today.
Tasting these wines steps from the vines that produced them changes how you think about place.
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Don't Buy Another $30 Wine Until You See This
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Vine Hill Ranch: What Every Wine Collector Should Know!
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Dallas finally dipped into the 80s, so naturally I'm back on Italian reds.
Tonight: 2016 Villa di Capezzana Carmignano DOCG with bucatini in tomato meatball sauce.
Carmignano is one of the few Tuscan appellations where Cabernet is part of the law. Sangiovese leads, and the Cabernet adds structure without flattening that Tuscan acidity. Ten years from vintage, it still cuts through a rich tomato sauce.
Patience is a tasting note.
Fontodi sits just outside Panzano in Chianti Classico, in a natural bowl the locals call the Conca d'Oro, the golden shell. The Flaccianello della Pieve once came from a single south-facing vineyard owned by the church (a pieve, hence the name). Today it's assembled from the estate's best Sangiovese parcels.
The 2010 is a personal favorite. Straight from the bottle it was tight and guarded. After an hour in the decanter it opened up with blackcurrant and plum, then crushed violet, licorice, mint, smoke and tar. Bright acidity kept all that concentration in balance.
100% Sangiovese, and worth every minute.
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Value Burgundy Isn't Dead: 8 Value Bottles Revealed! ($25-$80)
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John Jackson - AttorneySomm DipWSET retweeted
To be perfectly honest, I can never quite get enough of this magnificent red wine!
This château quit the most prestigious classification in Saint-Émilion, but quality has never been higher.
Château Angelus recently hosted a master class in Dallas, where CEO Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal walked us through six of their incredible wines.
The de Boüard family has steered this estate for eight generations, drawing its name from the nearby church bells that ring the Angelus prayer.
While Angelus earned the top Premier Grand Cru Classé A status in 2012, they famously walked away from the classification system in 2022. A substantial dose of Cabernet Franc gives these bottles a notable, vibrant energy and lift.
What stood out from the lineup:
•2014 Angelus: Genuinely delightful and drinking beautifully right now. It has a mix of dark fruit anchored by an intriguing red fruit note that kept bringing me back for another sip.
•2020 Angelus: The absolute star of the tasting. It is already incredibly approachable and expressive. You get intense concentration balanced by pure elegance, and it is built to last for decades.
•2015 & 2019 Carillon d'Angelus: Tasting these two vintages of the second wine side by side was fascinating because the blend composition shifts so dramatically between them.
•2023 Tempo d'Angelus: A newer, vibrant addition sourced from Castillon plots that is specifically made to be popped and enjoyed immediately.
•2023 Blanc du Milieu: My first time experiencing their white wine. This Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc blend from a prized plot hits you with bright citrus and stone fruit, offering a creamy yet mineral finish.
This château quit the most prestigious classification in Saint-Émilion, but quality has never been higher.
Château Angelus recently hosted a master class in Dallas, where CEO Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal walked us through six of their incredible wines.
The de Boüard family has steered this estate for eight generations, drawing its name from the nearby church bells that ring the Angelus prayer.
While Angelus earned the top Premier Grand Cru Classé A status in 2012, they famously walked away from the classification system in 2022. A substantial dose of Cabernet Franc gives these bottles a notable, vibrant energy and lift.
What stood out from the lineup:
•2014 Angelus: Genuinely delightful and drinking beautifully right now. It has a mix of dark fruit anchored by an intriguing red fruit note that kept bringing me back for another sip.
•2020 Angelus: The absolute star of the tasting. It is already incredibly approachable and expressive. You get intense concentration balanced by pure elegance, and it is built to last for decades.
•2015 & 2019 Carillon d'Angelus: Tasting these two vintages of the second wine side by side was fascinating because the blend composition shifts so dramatically between them.
•2023 Tempo d'Angelus: A newer, vibrant addition sourced from Castillon plots that is specifically made to be popped and enjoyed immediately.
•2023 Blanc du Milieu: My first time experiencing their white wine. This Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc blend from a prized plot hits you with bright citrus and stone fruit, offering a creamy yet mineral finish.
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Stop Overpaying: These $60 Wines Beat Bottles Twice the Price! (2026)
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First Friday pour - Krug Grande Cuvée, 164th edition.
A blend of 127 wines from 11 vintages, the oldest of which is 1990. Base vintage is 2008.
