Talk-A-Vino

For how long is it appropriate to celebrate the New Year?
Scrap that.
For how long is it appropriate to write a post about New Year’s celebratory wines? A week? Two? Four?

Okay, so as I’m writing this on the last day of the month, this is not a celebratory New Year’s post, but rather an account of wines we had an opportunity to experience.
As a tiny excuse to my tardiness, I want to mention that we celebrated the arrival of the New Year 2026 three times. So here are my notes from those celebrations.

Celebration #1- January 1st, New Year’s Day

To celebrate the New Year in style, I decided to do a Champagne-off between Pol Roger and Bollinger Champagnes. I have a lot of respect but very little experience with both, so I decided to compare them side by side.

This was definitely an interesting experiment. Upon opening, Bollinger had a somewhat restricted nose, but nice palate with a hint of toasted bread, apples, and lemons. Pol Roger had a beautiful, inviting nose with freshly baked bread, minerality, and green apples. However, it was mostly flat on the palate, so after the first few sips, we decided to drink Bollinger first.

30-40 minutes later, I poured another glass of Pol Roger, and oh, the palate changed dramatically. Now there was everything you want in champagne – toasted notes of the freshly baked bread, apples, lemons, crisp acidity – all elegantly woven together. So while both Champagnes were excellent, my preference lies with Pol Roger.

NV Pol Roger Champagne Reserve Brut (12.5% ABV)
Beautiful, inviting nose, with toasted bread and apples.
Palate initially mostly closed, just acidity. After 30-40 minutes, the palate is alive with toasted bread, apples, lemon, minerality, crisp acidity.
8+

NV Bollinger Champagne Special Cuvée Brut (12% ABV)
Beautiful nose, apples, brioche
Restrained on the palate, lemon, crisp acidity, lots of energy, very elegant.
8, excellent Champagne

I also tasted this sparkling wine, even though it was mostly used in a delicious holiday cocktail:
2021 Casasetaro Pietrafumante Caprettone Spumante Methodo Classico Italy (12.5% ABV, 100% Caprettone (new for me!) grape)
Crisp, refreshing, with steely, minerally acidity. This makes you crave oysters in a heartbeat.
8, excellent

2019 Saxum James Berry Vineyard Paso Robles Willow Creek District (15.9% ABV, 55% Grenache, 29% Mataro, 13% Syrah, 3% Carignan)
Of course, 7 years is not an age when you want to open Saxum wine. Black fruit on the nose with some baking spices. Dark and brooding on the palate, black fruit, cocoa, a hint of the forest floor. A bit more mellow after being open for 3 days, more pleasant to drink.
8, delicious

2017 ArPePe Nebbiolo Rosso di Valtellina DOC (13% ABV, 18 months total in big barrels and in bottle)
After a short breathing time, this wine showed brilliantly. Fresh cherries on the nose, restrained.
Cherries and violets on the palate, sandalwood, medium to full body, elegant, round, delicious. Glad we opened it.
8+, delicious

Second celebration:
On Saturday, we got together with friends to continue celebrating the New Year. This time, the wine lineup was a bit different, focusing more on the aged wines and the wines that might be past prime.

We started with a couple of Champagnes:
NV Veuve Fourny & Fils Champagne Brut Rosé Premiere Cru (12% ABV, disgorged 07/15)
Dark golden color
Apples, Almond extract, bread, tertiary aromas
Toasted bread on the palate, apples, brioche, cut through acidity even on day 6 after opening.
8+, while actual bubbles subsided, it was a very tasty wine. Really enjoyable even as a flat wine.

2017 Champagne Christophe Mignon Adn de Foudre Pinot Noir Brut Nature (12% ABV, disgorged 11/01/2024)
Bright Golden color
Apples and fresh bread
Apples, fresh bread, a touch of hazelnuts, cut through acidity. Very refreshing and very enjoyable.
8+, excellent, even on day 6

Next, this white wine was probably the most impressive out of all the wines we tasted that night:
2013 Domaine William Fevre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros (12.5% ABV)
Bright golden
A touch of gunflint, Granny Smith apples, lemon
Fresh, bright, apples, velvety smooth texture, great mid-palate presence, good structure, a distant hint of butter, impeccable balance.
9-/9, outstanding.

Then there were reds.
1999 Frog’s Leap Merlot Napa Valley (12.5% ABV)
1999 Simi Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (13.5% ABV)
Both wines were varietally correct upon opening, but it did felt that they were near the peak. No over yet, but having maybe only about 5 years of life left, before they will be officially declared past prime.
8- for each one.

2019 Revelry Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley (13.9% ABV, 22 months in French oak)
Dark garnet
Cassis, blackberries, eucalyptus
Cassis, mint, blackberries, sweet basil, round, smooth, medium to full body, perfect balance, medium-long finish.
8+/9-, a beautiful wine.

1993 Renwood Grandpère Zinfandel Shenandoah Valley (15% ABV, Bottle #19727 of 1904 cases produced)
Dark garnet
Black fruit, good intensity
Tart blackberries, coffee, a touch of toasted hazelnuts, good acidity, still present tannins with a pleasant grip on the tongue, delicious.
9-, I wish more wines would have this energy and deliver this much pleasure

Celebration Number 3
The week after, we celebrated the New Year. Again. With friends, of course.

First, a couple of Champagnes.
NV Monmarthe Champagne Privilege Brut Premiere Cru (12.5% ABV, 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay, aged for 36 months in the cellar)
Outstanding. Inviting nose, fresh apples with a touch of brioche.
Round, generous on the palate, roll-of-your-tongue delicious, fresh and elegant.
8+, excellent

NV Lété-Vautran Chammpagne Zéro Brut (12.5% ABV, 40% Pinot Meunier, 40% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir)
Crisp and fresh on the nose
Palate is crisp to the point of austerity. Elegant, full of energy, very lean.
8+, another wine that is begging to be paired with food

2022 Cayuse Vineyards Camaspelo Walla Walla Valley (13.8% ABV, Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant Bordeaux blend) – I know I was not supposed to touch this bottle, but I couldn’t resist the urge. This wine was clearly opened before its time. Probably 15-20 years would make it a bit more approachable from the get-go.
The wine was decanted, and yet the mineral, volcanic profile was the most prominent, same as with most any of the Cayuse wines in any case. After 2-3 days, the volcanic notes subsided, and the wine appeared more drinkable and enjoyable.
8, definitely needs time

2009 Tallulah Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (14% ABV) – this was my last bottle. The wine was supposed to be special when I bought it, but it never reached that point. Well, until now, but with some reservations – even after decanting this wine, I had to wait for another 3-4 days for the wine to shine in varietally-correct way. But it did. It actually developed a cassis/mint/eucalyptus profile with a dash of dark chocolate.
8+ after extensive decanting.

There you have it, my friends – New Year 2026 wine escapade.
How was your January?