Shiba Sommelier’s top 10 icon wines

Suki is no ordinary dog. The two-year-old shiba inu has exquisite taste in wine. So much so, that she’s started her own website, shibasommelier.com, where she scores wines in bones taking their value into account.

With their fox-like features, shiba inus were traditionally the dogs of the Japanese aristocracy and are known for their strong characters.

Born in New York, Suki recently moved to Wisconsin with her wine lover owners, James and Kyoko Crawford, who work in tech but have ambitions to be Masters of Wine and are ploughing their way through their WSET exams.

What started out as a fun hobby has mushroomed and Suki now has an impressive fan base both on her website, Instagram and twitter account, where she has nearly 3,000 followers.

Suki is a savvy marketeer, and sells t-shirts and wine glasses with the Shiba Sommelier logo (a wine glass with pointy ears and a curly tail) on her website.

The Crawfords hope that Suki will help make wine more fun and accessible to her followers, and are keen to remove the snobbery from wine tasting and rating.

In addition to fine wine, Suki is an ardent cheese lover and a fan of dressing up, with hats, scarves and sunglasses holding particular appeal.

This classy pooch has tasted some of the finest wines known to humanity, from all of the Bordeaux first growths to California cult wine Sine Qua Non.

Suki kindly agreed to collaborate with db and share her top 10 fine wines from Bordeaux and beyond, all of which she felt deserved five out of five bones. Woof!

Château Guiraud 2000 Sauternes

Sauternes produces some of the world’s most expensive white wines that are considered to be “nectar of the gods”. Here is a really excellent value Sauternes. Made from Sauvignon and Semilllon, the wine offers a fresh and clean nose of honey, cashews and white and yellow flowers, with apricot and peaches in white wine and honey on the palate. Lovely.

5/5 bones

Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 2000

In 1946, Sir Winston Churchill, famously said: “I could not live without Champagne; in victory I deserve it; in defeat I need it.” Truer words were never spoken. Pol Roger was Churchill’s favorite fizz, so it’s only fitting that the Champagne house named its prestige cuvée after the legendary leader.

This stuff has a stiff upper lip and is delicious. On the nose I found shortbread, yeast, lemon curd, toast, and chalk, all of which are echoed on the palate along with notes of biscuit and lemon curd. The mousse is so light it feels like a cloud.

5/5 bones

Château Mouton Rothschild 1975, Pauillac

I enjoyed this wine on Christmas Eve and wow, it’s like sitting in an elegant gentleman’s study, contemplating life’s mysteries over the embers of a dying fire. Seriously. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it sings with notes of leather, cigar box, pepper and umami.

The velvety palate is considerably more youthful than the nose, with notes of roasted red pepper, red fruit, cassis, mushroom, and caramel notes weaved in as it opens up. And after a glass of this stuff, you will have figured out all of life’s mysteries or learnt to live with them.

5/5 bones

López de Heredia Viña Cubillo Crianza Rioja 2006

This Tempranillo blend has a bit of everything: Quince, dried potpourri, incense, flor-like notes, old church pews, cedar wood, cherries and wild strawberries on the palate with some caramel glaze. Olé!

5/5 bones

Krug 1998

I’m sitting pretty with my favorite Champagne! Oh boy, this is such special stuff. It smells like a boulangerie on a sunny day in Paris, with whiffs of brioche and crusty country bread alongside apples, mushrooms, lemon tarts and chalk.

Boasting a beautiful mousse and bright acidity, the palate offers baked apples with lots of toast, yeast and caramel notes. There’s even a tease of red currants and boysenberries, but just a tease. Delicious.

5/5 bones

Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 2001

As you might know, sometimes I can get kind of fancy. Like Prada-bag fancy. That’s when I break out the seminal Super Tuscan, the “fairytale wine”, the ultimate Bordeaux-style Italian wine, Sassicaia!

A rich and complex blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, the nose is all black and red cherries, blackberries, sage, bay leaf, pancetta, fennel, violet, plums, fresh leather, pine, and wood. The beautiful palate is equally complex, full of dark berries, red cherries, plums, sage, thyme, and pancetta. Fabulous.

5/5 bones

JJ Prum Riesling Auslese 2003

This Mosel Valley wine is like a sunburst of flavor and texture – peaches and nectarines, honey, white and yellow daffodils, slate, shiso leaf! There’s a hint of sweetness on the nose, like a candied lemon slice, and honeysuckle, peaches, and slate on the palate.

You get a little spritz on the tongue from the residual sugar. Sweetness and acidity play with each other on the finish – I feel like they’re flirting in my mouth! This wine is perfect and has incredible balance.

5/5 bones

Château Haut-Brion 1982

This is a portrait of a lady and well worth the wait (and the time spent decanting it). It’s youthful for its years with notes of black pepper, lavender, violet and cedar forest. Two hours after decanting (yes, I managed to save it that long) and it has such a long finish with notes of spice box and cassis. Such a treat!

5/5 bones

Salon Cuvée “S” Le Mesnil 1996

Wow. This is liquid glamour. I’m talking vintage Hollywood glamour: the silhouette of a starlet wrapped in a rich satin gown. This blanc de blancs Champagne is remarkably youthful and has a long life ahead of it. Boasting a fine mousse and a bouquet of brioche, French toast and caramelized almond croissants, with lemon custard, green apple, pear and Lillet blanc on the palate. Just brilliant.

5/5 bones

Sine Qua Non Turn the Whole Thing… Upside Down 2009

And finally… From the looks of it, I might have enjoyed this blockbuster a little too much. Made from Grenache from Santa Barbara County, this wine is so amazing, it turns me upside down. Despite its whopping 15.6% abv, its incredibly balanced, I can’t even stay upright from awe.

On the nose are red cherries, raspberries, bramble fruits, white pepper, mahogany, raw filet mignon, eucalyptus, figs, dates, and violets. Moving to the palate you’ll find sticky macerated cherries, raspberries, pepper, violets, potpourri, figs, and dates. The best part is the fact that the fruit gets juicier as the wine opens. Insanely good.

5/5 bones

For more doggy delights check out our top 10 winery dogs.