“This has to be experienced to be believed.”

Best of Year Issue

“Compared to the winery’s ’99 Reserve, with which it was co-released, this bubbly is slightly sweeter, softer and smoother. It’s a fancy wine, drinkable now with crab cakes or smoked salmon or on its own, of course. Chardonnay-based, the wine possesses a light elegance and very great finesse. But it should age well over the next ten years.”

Best of Year Issue

“For starters, this is a very fine wine, architecturally clean, bone dry and strong in acids. It’s too young to fully enjoy now, though, all raw elbows and yeast. If you don’t mind that edgy sharpness, try it as an aperitif, but it will benefit from five years or longer in the cellar.”

Special Issue: Buying Guide

“Perfumed, fresh. Silky, fresh fruit, lovely and smooth. Very, very nice. Restrained and elegant, balanced and fine. Up to 10 years.”

“Medium gold dried peel and marmalade on the nose, butter chunky marmalade on the palate, palate full and rich with lovely dried and raising peels and fruits”

Cellar Selection

“Only the second Cabernet release from this famous (as Schramsberg) bubbly house. This is a dense, dry, tannic mountain Cabernet, rich and long in blackberry fruit. It’s drinkable and probably at its best now due to soft acids.”

This first growth Tokaji from the wonderful 1993 vintage is a favourite of Beverly Blanning MW. “The incredible rich, sweet palate combines smooth, cool, mushroomy flavours and zesty, orange marmalade fruit,” she says. “It is full, with deliciously refreshing acidity and endless length.”

“Less coffee here, with more caramel, tobacco and walnut notes. It tastes like higher alcohol too, lending weight and power, yet the sweetness and acidity are well-balanced. Fine, long, orange marmalade and mineral salt aftertaste.”

“Distinctive wine. On the palate, it’s fresh and focused, with marmalade and mineral flavors. Medium-bodied and more rustic in style than its peers, yet with personality and intensity.”

Coffee bean, caramel and orange peel aromas and flavors mark this concentrated, powerful dessert wine. Rich and balanced by vivid structure, it’s full-bodied and ends with a tactile impression and an aftertaste of orange.Drink now through 2018.

“Distinctive aromas of prunes and herbs, with the prune flavor continuing, along with apricot, orange marmalade and honey accents. Bracing acidity keeps it from being cloying, lending persistence and freshness on the finish. Drink now through 2025. 25 cases made.”

“Fairly closed, spices and fruits of forest. A lovely, well-structured wine with some complexity and excellent length.”

Complex and maturing, this smells like burnished antique furniture, picking up notes of orange, spice and apricot. Its sweetness is offset by tangy acidity, keeping it all lively and driving the flavors to a lengthy conclusion. Drink now through 2012.

“Rich and creamy up front, exhibiting caramel, coconut, spice and orange flavors, then a wave of fresh acidity ushers in the refreshing finish. The aftertaste combines citrus and caramel.”

“Amazing. This tastes off-dry, so searing is the acidity of this blazing Tokaji. Combines intense caramel, orange peel, spice and mineral flavors with a gossamer structure and flavors that go on and on. Drink now through 2015.”

"Lean, tangy nose of apricot and lime. The palate has a good attack and is lean and pungent, It has a crystalline, racy character, displaying tension and vigour. The fruit is a bit subdued now, but there seems to be plenty of it. Good length with a nutty finish."

“...spicy and cool, this raspberry-scented wine is packed with energy. The fruit feels succulent and juicy, even as the tannins last with powerful braised-meat flavors and bright purple radish–like bitterness. This is fresh, vibrant and delicious"

This is firing on all cylinders, featuring blackberry, dark plum, chocolate and spice flavors allied to a solid structure. Long, if still a bit compact and square on the finish. Drink now through 2024.