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Cristaldi Scores

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Vintage

Wine

Color

Rating

Vintage

Wine

Color

Rating

2018

Anthony Road Wine Company

Blanc de Noir

Sourced from the Martini Family Vineyard and aged on the lees for four years before disgorgement, this 2018 vintage sparkler hails from one of the most challenging vintages of the past decade. It opens with lovely baked orchard fruit, nuanced by delicate French pastry and toasted nut aromatics. The palate is rich and creamy, with a frothy mousse that finishes on a layered undercurrent of salty-saline and oyster shell minerality. Bright, and perfectly balanced.

2018

Blackmon Wines

County Line Red Blend

The County Line Red Blend from Blackmon, sourced from the Texas Hill Country AVA, is a wine with a multifaceted nose, offering aromas of black currants and black tea. Well-balanced, its tannins are well-integrated and not over-extracted, allowing the fruit to shine. Framed by juicy, crunchy acidity, it features lovely undertones of underbrush and conifer, leading to a long, satisfying finish. The winemaker is Anthony Offhill.

2018

Campogiovanni

Brunello di Montalcino

This Brunello is about as savory as they come. Stewed plums, tobacco leaf, baking spices, and earth tones mingle on the nose and in the mouth. Yes, it’s brawny, but there are streaks of elegance woven throughout as well. It needs a hearty, slow-cooked roast to show its true potential. – J.R.

2018

Champagne Goulin-Roulet

Blanc de Noirs Origine Brut Premier Cru

100% Pinot Meunier. Crafted by father-daughter team Christophe Goulin and Marine from their perch in Sacy, a Premier Cru south of Reims. Alluring, exuberant, with racy elegance, poise, and a chalky mineral mid-palate. Black cherry fruit leads to a frothy mousse layered with vivid wildflowers, licorice, almonds, and white truffle.

2018

Damiani Wine Cellars

Blanc De Blanc

The 2018 Blanc de Blanc is 100% Chardonnay, sourced from select sites along the east side of Seneca Lake. Each lot was vinified separately in stainless steel and aged sur lie for four months before going en tirage for five years, then disgorged in 2024. The wine offers a vinous brightness that leaps from the glass, building into a frothy, textured palate. Chalky minerality provides structure, while nuanced layers of toasty brioche and roasted almonds—gifts of the extended lees aging—bring depth and complexity.

2018

Kalasi Cellars

Kanchi Red Wine

This Bordeaux blend features Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 685, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Carménère, aged for an impressive 48 months in neutral French oak. Named “Kanchi,” after a village in South India renowned for its wedding saris, the name evokes a sense of rich history and elegance—qualities reflected in the wine itself. The wine is both elegant and intense, offering high-toned red berry fruit and warm spices. Full-bodied, it boasts plump, velvety tannins with layers of mocha, brown spices like cardamom and coriander, and intriguing notes of grapefruit zest and orange peel. The finish is long and deeply satisfying, marking this wine as a standout.

2018

Meierstone Vineyards

Reserve Malbec

The Meierstone Vineyards Reserve Malbec, sourced from Newsom Vineyards in the Texas High Plains, is a wonderfully easy-drinking and mild-mannered wine.Crunchy red-toned fruit character, with salty-sweet savory spice notes, lead to a medium-bodied palate. The wine is framed by fine-grained, gentle tannins that are well integrated, with hints of allspice, clove, and dried lilacs. The finish lingers with those same delicate floral and spice notes.

2018

Omega Road Winery

Cabernet Sauvignon

Sourced from the Ziganti Vineyard and aged in neutral oak, this is a savory, plum-driven expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose offers dried herbs alongside juicy red and black currants, while the palate delivers lifted notes of red plum and loganberry. A toasty, well-integrated finish rounds out this vibrant and approachable wine. -JR

2018

Retzlaff Vineyards

Merlot

Structured and savory, this Merlot opens with aromas of black olive, dark plum, and a deep, brooding complexity. The broad, full-bodied palate begins with rich plum fruit and reveals impressive tannic grip. The finish is long, earthy. -JR

2018

Rhinory

Keras Collection Syrah

This is a bright, energetic, and youthful Syrah—even at seven years of age when tasted. Made by Richard Kershaw at a winery in Elgin. High-toned notes of white pepper and red fruit lead, with nuances of espresso bean. Medium-bodied on the palate, with sinewy tannins, juicy red berry fruit, pressed wildflowers, and loamy earth notes, all carried by a sea spray minerality—a hallmark of the ocean breezes that cool the region at night. Fermented in stainless steel and aged in neutral oak for 18 months.

2018

Sparkling Pointe

Boisseau Blanc de Blancs

Beautifully crisp and rich, with baked orchard fruit and a frothy, airy mousse that remains bright and focused. A long, lingering saline-acid tension brings nutty undertones to the forefront, melding into a Sherry-like aromatic richness with perfectly balanced energy on the extended finish. Absolutely fantastic—and a must-have with oysters and mignonette. 100% Chardonnay, sourced exclusively from Boisseau Vineyard, a 2.2-acre site located just a few miles east of the winery and tasting house. The base wine spent four months in demi-muid French oak barrels before bottling, adding subtle texture and nuance. Aged five years sur lie and disgorged on 12.6.23, this wine reveals refined complexity and depth. Dosage: 6 g/L.

2018

Whitecliff

Cabernet Franc

This Pineau de Charentes–style wine is made from Cabernet Franc, originally fermented as a rosé before being fortified with grape brandy and aged in neutral American oak for seven years. The result is reminiscent of a Tawny Port, with bright hazelnut and red cherry notes, lifted by a vivid spine of acidity. Lush and complex, it also shows layers of bruised and baked apples, apricots, and honeycomb. Delcious—and rather exceiting.

Vintage

Wine

Type

Color

Rating

$

2018

Producer

Name

Sourced from the Martini Family Vineyard and aged on the lees for four years before disgorgement, this 2018 vintage sparkler hails from one of the most challenging vintages of the past decade. It opens with lovely baked orchard fruit, nuanced by delicate French pastry and toasted nut aromatics. The palate is rich and creamy, with a frothy mousse that finishes on a layered undercurrent of salty-saline and oyster shell minerality. Bright, and perfectly balanced.

2018

Producer

Name

The County Line Red Blend from Blackmon, sourced from the Texas Hill Country AVA, is a wine with a multifaceted nose, offering aromas of black currants and black tea. Well-balanced, its tannins are well-integrated and not over-extracted, allowing the fruit to shine. Framed by juicy, crunchy acidity, it features lovely undertones of underbrush and conifer, leading to a long, satisfying finish. The winemaker is Anthony Offhill.

2018

Producer

Name

This Brunello is about as savory as they come. Stewed plums, tobacco leaf, baking spices, and earth tones mingle on the nose and in the mouth. Yes, it’s brawny, but there are streaks of elegance woven throughout as well. It needs a hearty, slow-cooked roast to show its true potential. – J.R.

2018

Producer

Name

100% Pinot Meunier. Crafted by father-daughter team Christophe Goulin and Marine from their perch in Sacy, a Premier Cru south of Reims. Alluring, exuberant, with racy elegance, poise, and a chalky mineral mid-palate. Black cherry fruit leads to a frothy mousse layered with vivid wildflowers, licorice, almonds, and white truffle.

2018

Producer

Name

The 2018 Blanc de Blanc is 100% Chardonnay, sourced from select sites along the east side of Seneca Lake. Each lot was vinified separately in stainless steel and aged sur lie for four months before going en tirage for five years, then disgorged in 2024. The wine offers a vinous brightness that leaps from the glass, building into a frothy, textured palate. Chalky minerality provides structure, while nuanced layers of toasty brioche and roasted almonds—gifts of the extended lees aging—bring depth and complexity.

2018

Producer

Name

This Bordeaux blend features Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 685, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Carménère, aged for an impressive 48 months in neutral French oak. Named “Kanchi,” after a village in South India renowned for its wedding saris, the name evokes a sense of rich history and elegance—qualities reflected in the wine itself. The wine is both elegant and intense, offering high-toned red berry fruit and warm spices. Full-bodied, it boasts plump, velvety tannins with layers of mocha, brown spices like cardamom and coriander, and intriguing notes of grapefruit zest and orange peel. The finish is long and deeply satisfying, marking this wine as a standout.

2018

Producer

Name

The Meierstone Vineyards Reserve Malbec, sourced from Newsom Vineyards in the Texas High Plains, is a wonderfully easy-drinking and mild-mannered wine.Crunchy red-toned fruit character, with salty-sweet savory spice notes, lead to a medium-bodied palate. The wine is framed by fine-grained, gentle tannins that are well integrated, with hints of allspice, clove, and dried lilacs. The finish lingers with those same delicate floral and spice notes.

2018

Producer

Name

Sourced from the Ziganti Vineyard and aged in neutral oak, this is a savory, plum-driven expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose offers dried herbs alongside juicy red and black currants, while the palate delivers lifted notes of red plum and loganberry. A toasty, well-integrated finish rounds out this vibrant and approachable wine. -JR

2018

Producer

Name

Structured and savory, this Merlot opens with aromas of black olive, dark plum, and a deep, brooding complexity. The broad, full-bodied palate begins with rich plum fruit and reveals impressive tannic grip. The finish is long, earthy. -JR

2018

Producer

Name

This is a bright, energetic, and youthful Syrah—even at seven years of age when tasted. Made by Richard Kershaw at a winery in Elgin. High-toned notes of white pepper and red fruit lead, with nuances of espresso bean. Medium-bodied on the palate, with sinewy tannins, juicy red berry fruit, pressed wildflowers, and loamy earth notes, all carried by a sea spray minerality—a hallmark of the ocean breezes that cool the region at night. Fermented in stainless steel and aged in neutral oak for 18 months.

2018

Producer

Name

Beautifully crisp and rich, with baked orchard fruit and a frothy, airy mousse that remains bright and focused. A long, lingering saline-acid tension brings nutty undertones to the forefront, melding into a Sherry-like aromatic richness with perfectly balanced energy on the extended finish. Absolutely fantastic—and a must-have with oysters and mignonette. 100% Chardonnay, sourced exclusively from Boisseau Vineyard, a 2.2-acre site located just a few miles east of the winery and tasting house. The base wine spent four months in demi-muid French oak barrels before bottling, adding subtle texture and nuance. Aged five years sur lie and disgorged on 12.6.23, this wine reveals refined complexity and depth. Dosage: 6 g/L.

2018

Producer

Name

This Pineau de Charentes–style wine is made from Cabernet Franc, originally fermented as a rosé before being fortified with grape brandy and aged in neutral American oak for seven years. The result is reminiscent of a Tawny Port, with bright hazelnut and red cherry notes, lifted by a vivid spine of acidity. Lush and complex, it also shows layers of bruised and baked apples, apricots, and honeycomb. Delcious—and rather exceiting.

Vintage

Wine

Type

Rating

$

2018

2018 Anthony Road Wine Company Blanc de Noir

Sparkling Wine

$

2018

2018 Blackmon Wines County Line Red Blend

Still

$$$

2018

2018 Campogiovanni Brunello di Montalcino

Still Wine

$$

2018

2018 Champagne Goulin-Roulet Blanc de Noirs Origine Brut Premier Cru

Sparkling Wine

$$$

2018

2018 Damiani Wine Cellars Blanc De Blanc

Sparkling Wine

$$

2018

2018 Kalasi Cellars Kanchi Red Wine

Still

N/A

2018

2018 Meierstone Vineyards Reserve Malbec

Still

$$

2018

2018 Omega Road Winery Cabernet Sauvignon

Still Wine

$

2018

2018 Retzlaff Vineyards Merlot

Still Wine

$

2018

2018 Rhinory Keras Collection Syrah

Still

N/A

2018

2018 Sparkling Pointe Boisseau Blanc de Blancs

Sparkling Wine

$$

2018

2018 Whitecliff Cabernet Franc

Fortified Wine

N/A

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