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This 'teaspooned' whisky is for all intents and purposes mostly the beloved 1989 Balvenie with that tiny amount of Glenlivet added in order to declassify the cask

From the bottler: 

Distillers can be very protective of their hard-won malts, especially those who carry the most prestigious of names. From time to time, they must relinquish the hold on their casks, when one is sold to an independent bottler, for instance. Before spirit changes hands, the distiller - green-eyed and flush with passion - will take a single teaspoon of another distillery’s single malt, and add it to the spirit in the cask. Just a dash it takes, but that whisky can no longer bear the name its distillery of birth.

The distillery of origin is a darling of Dufftown, where nine stout stills produce a spirit rich in fruit and notably honeyed. Her sister, nestled close by in the Moray countryside, is where the ‘teaspoon’ of malt originated. Though nameless, together they are a powerful and stunning pair.

Independent bottlings of spirit distilled at the Balvenie distillery are rarely found on the market, and though the distillery is notable for having experimented with different cask types, this ex-bourbon cask allows the distillery character to sing finely and clearly, while accentuating the sweet vanilla and stone fruit character.

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Starward Two-Fold is crafted by blending single malt and wheat whiskies, each distilled and matured separately. The maturation process utilizes Australian red wine barrels, often filled fresh when still wet with wine, imparting unique fruity characteristics to the whisky.

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97+ Points! Moving to the tiny production 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Quartz, which is mostly Grenache with around 25% or so of Syrah, it has a rich, full-bodied, dense, and almost backward style to go with powerful black fruits, ground pepper, and violet aromas and flavors. I love its purity of fruit, and it builds nicely with time in the glass, showing more mid-palate depth as well as ripe tannins. It’s a stunning bottle of wine, but patience will be required. Hide bottles for 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

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Two Stacks was created by three longtime friends at the forefront of reinvigorating and reimagining the historically calcified Irish beverage industry. Taking their name from the twin smokestacks of historic Old Dundalk Distillery—stacks so tall they used to act as landmarks guiding ships to port—Two Stacks aims to guide modern consumers to the welcoming waters of Ireland’s best whiskies with an emphasis on transparency and integrity in sourcing. Reinvesting in the blending process as artisanal rather than industrial, every step of their production is done traditionally: by hand, by taste, and by smell. Learn More

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95+ Points! Made with mostly Sangiovese plus tiny parts Canaiolo and Colorino, the 2021 Montevertine reveals a very tight textural approach with pinpoint aromas of blue currant, iris root and red rose. The wine takes a moment or two to open, but it does succeed in showing its full bouquet in little time. Montevertine remains elegantly tight and streamlined in terms of mouthfeel. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

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Sangiovese 60%, Cabernet sauvignon 25%, Merlot 15%. After racking, all three grapes are fermented in steel tanks for two weeks. Ageing takes place over 8-9 months in tonneaux of second and third passage. 

A blend of mostly Sangiovese with smaller components of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the Barone Ricasoli 2022 Antico Feudo is an immediately accessible and charming Tuscan red. This bottle offers great versatility (at a great price point) to match ragù and pasta or even a simple burger and fries. It offers plenty of bright fruit over a generous mid-weight texture and the easy freshness required to cut through those dishes. This is a definite Best Buy. - Monica larner, robertparker.com

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94 Points! Lead-pencil aromas with currants and plums, too. Full body, silky tannins and a focused and very refined finish. It's the tannins that drive things. An excellent second wine of Lafite. Needs two or three years to soften. Start drinking in 2021. - JamesSuckling.com 

92 Points! The second wine of Lafite Rothschild is the 2015 Carruades De Lafite and is a beautiful wine in its own right. Based on 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc brought up mostly in used barrels, it has classy notes of cassis and lead pencil shavings as well as a medium to full-bodied, elegant, beautifully balanced style on the palate. It’s not a massive wine by any stretch, yet it exudes class and elegance, and is already a joy to drink. - Jeb Dunnuck

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Bordiga creates their Amari according to ancient recipes, with infusions of precious spices, herbs, and flowers that come mostly from the surrounding Occitan Alps, and which are still collected by hand, dried, and naturally preserved by the mountain dwellers living there. The climate, influenced by the mountains and by proximity to the ocean, creates herbs that are particularly rich in essential oils and aromas.Named after Caffe Di Lei, a famous bar in historic Cuneo. The infusions, lasting between 20 and 50 days, are all done as individual botanicals and rested for at least 60 days before the final blending. Herbs in the Dilei Amaro include two types of gentian, achillea erba-rotta, juniper, and white genepy. Absurdly pleasant and well balanced, this amaro is particularly easy to appreciate. Light notes of honey, citrus, bitter orange, and tea, with a long light bitter finish. Learn More

95+ Points! Made with mostly Sangiovese plus tiny parts Canaiolo and Colorino, the 2021 Montevertine reveals a very tight textural approach with pinpoint aromas of blue currant, iris root and red rose. The wine takes a moment or two to open, but it does succeed in showing its full bouquet in little time. Montevertine remains elegantly tight and streamlined in terms of mouthfeel. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

95+ Points! The 2021 Montevertine is shaping up to be majestic. It presents a mind-boggling display of explosive aromatics, vibrant fruit and driving structure. The purity of the flavors is stunning. I tasted the 2021 from a single cask of the blended wine following the first racking. This is the first vintage that includes a new parcel in Radda located at the far end of town. Rich, dense and very potent. The 2021 is embryonic but also incredibly promising. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

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98 Points! This is one of the most structured L’Ifs I have had with currants and cherries, and chalk and salt undertones. Full and muscular. Long, long finish. The tannins and fruit go on and on. Give it three or four years to soften. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! Coming mostly from vines near Troplong Mondot and based on 79% Merlot and 21% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 L'If is a smoking good Saint-Emilion that sports a deep ruby/purple hue, notes of ripe black fruits, chocolate, graphite, earth, and tobacco, full-bodied richness, and sweet, integrated tannins. The balance here is spot on, and while this opens up with air, it shows the structured, classic, incredibly impressive style of the vintage perfectly. Give bottles just 4-6 years if you can (it offers pleasure even today) and enjoy over the following two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

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98 Points! Incredible aromas of pine tree, mineral, cigar box and tobacco leaf but then it turns to currants and black truffle. Forest fruit and forest floor. Soya. Full body, round and decadent with a combination of ripe fruit and earth, spice and long finish. The uniqueness of Pavot is streaming here. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! The 2014 Proprietary Red Les Pavots (3,570 cases) is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot aged in mostly Taransaud barrels with a small helping of Darnajou thrown in. This wine is fabulous in the vintage, although certainly less profoundly concentrated and extracted, as well as structured, compared to the 2013, which was off-the-charts fabulous. This is a brilliant wine, charming, with front-end loaded plum, blackcurrant and black raspberry fruit interwoven with graphite, tar and truffle notes. The wine has sumptuous texture, sweet, velvety tannin, and a long, full-bodied finish. It should drink well for at least two decades. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com

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• Small batch straight bourbon whiskey distilled at the MB Roland Distillery in Pembroke, Kentucky
• Blended by Hidden Barn Master Blender Jackie Zykan
• Produced from a mash bill of 60% corn, 35% rye, and 5% malted barley
• Sweet mash fermented 3–4 days
• Double pot distilled
• Aged a minimum of 6 years in Kelvin Cooperage American oak casks; non-age statement
• Dense and viscous, leading with grilled pineapple and light brown sugar; an oh-so-subtle note of smoke carries through to the moderately dry and bold rye-spice finish with a surprising hint of rosemary and clove
• Gold medalist at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition
• Non-chill filtered; bottled at a cask strength of 55.8% ABV (ABV may vary batch to batch)

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96 Points! Very cool, silky and precise in spite of the awesome old-vine depth. In fact, it has a personality that’s gentle and polite. The fine-grained texture on the medium-bodied palate makes you feel like you’re licking the granite soil of the site. I love the delicate spicy aromas and touch of red roses. There’s a dramatic mineral freshness in the emphatically dry finish. Fermented with a good proportion of whole-cluster then matured two-thirds in concrete tank and one-third in used Burgundian barrels. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

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92 Points! A fantastic balance of very zesty acidity and juicy fruit. I love the interplay of citrusy freshness and apples on the light-bodied palate. Elegant finish. From organically grown grapes with Fair'n Green certification. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

Mostly from Oberhäuser Felsenberg and Kieselberg. Stony, weathered volcanic soils of porphyry and melaphyr, with slate and quartzite.

Fermentation & Élevage: A mixture of stainless steel vats and neutral 10+-year-old 1200L German stückfass from Hösch

The idea here is to make a village wine, basically, though it’s sold and marketed as a Gutswein or Estate bottled basic wine. The Estate wine combines the two major soils that dominate the holdings for the estate, giving the drinker a look into what Dönnhoff is all about. The basic wine is a calling card and thus Cornelius wants to make statement.

The geology of the middle Nahe is notably shaped by its eons-old clay slate formations and rich volcanic soils. The concentration of porphyry and melaphyre stone in and around the old Oberhausen vineyards – Kieselberg and Felsenberg, help provide the perfect berry base for Gutsriesling.

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From the winery:

Vineyard: The 2022 vintage is composed of 3 different vineyards from the southern end of Sonoma Valley and Carneros.  Los Chamizal is located at the foot of the Moon Mountain AVA, farmed organically and planted to clones 777, Mt. Eden and Wadenswil. Circle Bar Ranch is farmed organically, located at the southwestern corner of Carneros, and planted to clone 538 also known as Colmar clone. Leveroni Vineyard is fish friendly farmed, situated just a few miles south of the Sonoma square and planted to clone 828.

Vintage: A warm winter with below-average rainfall and a cool start to spring kept the vines dormant late into March.  Spring remained cool and brought moderate amounts of rain all the way to Memorial Day, keeping shoot growth fairly slow until early June. Mild summer weather contributed to slow fruit development until warmer August temperatures prevailed, pushing grapes to maturity quickly.  Harvest began on August 9th with favorable, temperate weather throughout the picking season.

Cellar: Vineyards were harvested between August 26th and September 9th. The grapes were fermented in stainless steel open top tanks with anywhere from 0 to 100% whole cluster inclusion, depending on the lot. The wine was aged for 6 months in 100% neutral and bottled on April 24th, 2023.

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