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Inventory updated: Sat, Jan 10, 2026 10:30 AM cst
Over 95pts Under $95
Today at Flickinger Wines we are pleased to offer an array of excellent scoring 95pt wines that are all below $95. Treasures abound, happy hunting!!
The following are the wines remaining from the offer sent on Monday, January 5, 2026. Please enter your desired quantities and click the 'Add' button.
| Producer |
Vint. |
Wine |
Price |
Qty |
Order |
| | Bordeaux Red |
| Ch. Branaire-Ducru |
2018 |
St. Julien  |
$59 |
1 |
|
| |
JS 97 (1/2021): Very attractive aromas of currants, tile and sandalwood with black and red currants. It’s full-bodied with a tight, dense center-palate that remains closed in and tight. Yet there is underlying seriousness and length to this. Perhaps the greatest Branaire-Ducru ever made. Try after 2026.
VM 96 (3/2021): The 2018 Branaire-Ducru is every bit as captivating as it was en primeur. Ripe, silky tannins give the 2018 a striking air of sensuality that only grows as the wine sits in the glass. Succulent red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal, mint, spice and gravel inflections all open more over time. Even with all of its natural radiance, Branaire remains a model of grace. It is unquestionably one of the under the radar wines of the year. Antonio Galloni.
JD 94 (3/2021): A beautiful Saint-Julien, the 2018 Château Branaire-Ducru reveals a deep purple color as well as ample, earthy cassis and blackberry fruits intermixed with sous bois, earth, lead pencil, and cedar. With that classic Saint-Julien pure fruit, sumptuous aromas and flavors, sweet yet present tannins, and a solid spine of acidity, it's going to need 5-7 years to hit maturity yet should keep for 20-25 years or more. I don't think it's going to match the blockbuster 2009 (it's more in the pretty, elegant style of the 2016), but it's a gorgeous, elegant wine you will love to have in the cellar.
WS 94 (3/2021): Pure and driven, with expressive cassis and plum puree aromas and flavors carried by a graphite edge and backed with applewood, licorice root and tobacco notes. Lovely energy throughout. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2037. 18,000 cases made.
WA 93 (3/2021): The 2018 Branaire-Ducru has a medium to deep garnet-purple color and an upfront, expressive nose of baked black plums, boysenberries and Morello cherries with an undercurrent of dried mint, spice box and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate packs a very pleasant fruit wallop, featuring juicy black fruits and a firm, grainy frame, finishing long with lovely purity. |
|
|
2019 |
St. Julien |
$53.95 |
8 |
|
| |
WA 95 (4/2022): The 2019 Branaire-Ducru unwinds in the glass with aromas of raspberries, blackcurrants, sweet soil tones and hints of cigar wrapper, rose petals and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's youthfully tightly wound, with terrific concentration, tangy acids, powdery tannins and a long, saline finish. While this is a little reserved out of the gates, its energy and classical proportions will richly reward bottle age.
JD 94-96 (6/2020): Beautiful blue fruits, tobacco, damp earth, and floral notes all emerge from the 2019 Château Branaire-Ducru. It's medium to full-bodied, flawlessly balanced, has silky tannins, and shows the quality of the vintage perfectly. A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, it will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and cruise for two decades or more. It reminds me of the 2009.
VM 94 (2/2022): The 2019 Branaire-Ducru is one that I was eager to re-taste in bottle. Deep in color, it has a very well-defined nose of tightly packed dark berries, the tobacco element less obvious than before, and slightly more floral, with light sous-bois notes developing with aeration. The 60% new oak is neatly integrated. The palate shows real vivacity and tension on the entry and delivers crunchy black fruit, touches of blue fruit and a little iodine. Sappy from start to finish, this has a real saline tang that urges you back for another sip. There is definitely is more substance compared to previous vintages, and I wager that this represents the best Branaire-Ducru in recent years. |
|
|
2022 |
St. Julien |
$59 |
6 |
|
| |
JD 95-97 (5/2023): An absolute gem of a Saint-Julien, the 2022 Château Branaire-Ducru clocks in as 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Pure cassis, black raspberries, spicy wood, and dried flower notes all define the aromatics, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a silky, elegant, beautifully balanced mouthfeel, and terrific tannins. In addition, it has a sense of freshness and purity that keeps you coming back to the glass. It's clearly the finest wine I've tasted from this château, which going forward merits serious attention.
VM 94-96 (5/2023): The 2022 Branaire-Ducru is a powerhouse, almost unnaturally so for this Saint-Julien, which is usually a more understated wine. A blast of dark plum fruit makes a pretty strong first impression. Licorice, cloves, spice, menthol and chocolate fill out the layers. Readers should expect a concentrated, virile Saint-Julien with compelling aromatic presence. In this warm, low-yielding vintage, Branaire is quite the brooding powerhouse. It will be interesting to see if more finesse develops in time. Impressive. Tasted two times. Antonio Galloni.
WA 95-97 (5/2023): A brilliant wine that's the finest young vintage I've tasted at this Saint-Julien estate, the 2022 Branaire-Ducru wafts from the glass with aromas of violets, blackberries, sweet cassis, licorice and pencil shavings, followed by a medium to full-bodied, layered and multidimensional palate that's succulent, sapid and perfumed, framed by supple tannins and concluding with a long, mouthwatering finish. It's a blend of 60.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.5% Merlot, 5.5% Cabernet Franc and 2.5% Petit Verdot that checks in at a healthy pH of 3.65. Why is it so good this year? In addition to the quality of the vintage, the new gravity-flow winery means fruit can be handled more gently, and picked more precisely, sub-block by sub-block, as the team now have fully 63 vats at their disposal, almost double their capacity through 2020. Given the Maroteaux family's sensible approach to pricing, this is likely to number among the must-purchase wines of the 2022 vintage, and it comes warmly recommended. |
|
| Ch. Canon La Gaffeliere |
2019 |
St. Emilion Ex-Negociant |
$79 |
5 |
|
| |
JD 97 (4/2022): The 2019 Château Canon-La-Gaffelière is another brilliantly perfumed wine in the vintage that shines for its complexity, finesse, and nuances. Giving up awesome notes of red and black currants, tobacco, exotic flowers, cedarwood, and loamy earth, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, beautifully polished, integrated tannins, no hard edges, and a great, great finish. This is serious juice that warrants at least 4-5 years of bottle age and will evolve for 30 to 40 years. (Drink between 2026-2067).
WA 96 (4/2022): The 2019 Canon la Gaffelière has turned out brilliantly, bursting from the glass with a dramatic bouquet of wild berries, blood orange, exotic spices, rose petals, violets and burning embers. Full-bodied, ample and layered, it's supple and perfumed, with a deep core of lively fruit, melting tannins and a long, saline finish. This contains the highest proportion of Cabernet Franc of any of Stephan Von Neipperg's wines, which no doubt helps to account for its singular personality.
VM 93 (2/2023): The 2019 Canon-la-Gaffelière is quite punchy and bold on the nose. Blackberry and raspberry fruit, cedar and mint emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded tannins, quite plush yet cohesive, fanning out towards the velvety finish with a brush of white pepper on the aftertaste. One of the more approachable Saint-Émilion wines in this vintage. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. (Drink between 2024-2040). Neal Martin. |
|
| Ch. d' Issan |
2016 |
Margaux |
$76.99 |
1 |
|
| |
JD 94+ (2/2019): I loved the 2016 Château d'Issan and this is a certainly a wine to seek out. Made from a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon and 36% Merlot from yields of 55 hectoliters per hectare, aged 18 months in 50% new oak, it has a beautiful perfume of blue fruits (cassis, blueberries, etc.) as well as hints of graphite, subtle oak, and charcoal. Medium to full-bodied, with integrated acidity, a terrific mid-palate, and perfect balance, it needs 4-5 years of bottle age and is going to cruise in good cellars for 20-25 years or more. It’s a beautiful, elegant, seamless wine that’s very much in the style of the vintage.
VM 94 (1/2019): The 2016 d’Issan, matured in 50% new oak and bottled at the end of May, was impressive out of barrel, and thankfully, it is the same in bottle. The very well defined bouquet features blackberry, tobacco, pressed violets and a subtle estuarine tang, almost a marshland scent of salty air. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannin, good focused and just the right amount of salinity. My feeling is that this Margaux will close up for a while, so cellar it for several years if you can. Neal Martin. |
|
| Ch. Gazin |
2019 |
Pomerol |
$85 |
3 |
|
| |
VM 95-97 (6/2020): The 2019 Gazin is tightly wound at first and needs coaxing from the glass. Broody dark berry fruit, truffle and smoke eventually emerge, flanked by a discrete marine influence. The palate is very promising with saturated tannins that belie the structure of this Pomerol. The freshness is very impressive, lighting up the senses. The finish is imbued with wonderful tension and traces of iron on the aftertaste. Quintessentially Gazin, this is a superb wine. Neal Martin.
JD 94-96 (6/2020): The 2019 Château Gazin checks in as 89% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Cabernet Franc. I'm not sure it's going to match the 2018, but it's certainly not far off and has a wonderful mix of freshness, richness, and complexity that's the hallmark of this great vintage. Lots of ripe red and black fruits, tobacco, mocha, and spring flower notes all emerge from the glass, and it's beautifully balanced, building nicely with time in the glass, and just has everything in the right places. This gorgeous Pomerol in the making will be accessible in its youth and drink brilliantly for 15-20 years.
JS 95-96 (6/2020): A tight, focused red with blackberry and blueberry character, as well as chocolate. It’s full and compact with soft, silky tannins and a flavorful finish. Harmonious. |
|
| Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste |
2020 |
Pauillac |
$73 |
6 |
|
| |
VM 95-97 (5/2021): The 2020 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has a very refined, almost understated bouquet at first, but it opens in glorious fashion to offer precise blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, crushed stone and wild mint, gaining intensity at its own pace. The palate is beautifully balanced with fine-grained tannins, a keen thread of acidity, layers of intense black fruit and quite a spicy, vibrant and certainly persistent finish. This is a brilliant GPL from the Borie family. Neal Martin.
WA 91-93 (5/2021): Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2020 Grand-Puy-Lacoste offers notes of freshly crushed black and red currants, fresh blackberries and mulberries, plus hints of pencil lead, damp soil and black olives. The medium-bodied palate is delicately styled and refreshing, delivering soft, skillfully managed tannins and just enough freshness to frame the juicy black fruits, finishing savory.
JD 92-95 (5/2021): The 2020 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a more fleshy, textured Pauillac that still plays in the concentrated, focused, structured style of the vintage. Ripe black cherries, currants, toasty oak, chocolate, and tobacco leaf notes give way to a medium to full-bodied, richly textured 2020 that has velvety tannins, good mid-palate depth, and a great finish. Do your best to hide bottles for 4-5 years and enjoy over the following 20-25 years or so.
JS 96-97 (4/2021): This full-bodied red builds on the palate in a fantastic way with tight, compact tannins that grow and grow on the finish. Plenty of blackcurrant and graphite character and a flavorful finish. Same level as the excellent 2016. |
|
| Ch. Lagrange |
2020 |
St. Julien |
$49 |
6 |
|
| |
JD 95+ (3/2023): Coming from depressingly low yields of just 26 hectoliters per hectare (the lowest since 1991), the 2020 Château Lagrange checks in as 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot that was raised in 60% new French oak. It's a gorgeous, complete Saint-Julien offering remarkable purity in its cassis, violets, chocolate, and leafy tobacco-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, with terrific balance, a pure, focused mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and beautifully integrated oak, it's going to benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and cruise over the following 2+ decades in cold cellar.
VM 94 (2/2023): The 2020 Lagrange is fabulous, just as it was from barrel. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, mocha, licorice, cedar and new leather are all amplified in this gorgeous, striking Saint-Julien. Soft and racy, with no hard edges and exceptional balance, Lagrange is a winner. Antonio Galloni.
JS 94 (12/2022): Attractive nose of blackberries, blackcurrants, walnuts, ink and kaffir leaves. It’s medium- to full-bodied, firm and structured, with chewy and tight tannins. Dark and intense, with a long and persistent finish. Turns to graphite and cedar. Needs time to open and soften. Try from 2026.
WS 92 (3/2023): Very sleek, with a racy iron edge driving through in lockstep with cassis and cherry coulis flavors. Reveals a subtle black tea accent on the finish, with the minerality eventually holding center stage. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2036. 11,200 cases made, 1,100 cases imported.
WA 94-96 (5/2021): Deep purple-black in color, the 2020 Lagrange leaps from the glass with vibrant notes of redcurrant jelly, ripe blackcurrants and minted blackberries, followed by nuances of dark chocolate, star anise and mossy tree bark. The medium-bodied palate is both super intense and super elegant, featuring exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness to frame the bright, crunchy black and red fruits, finishing long and mineral laced. |
|
| Ch. Larcis-Ducasse |
2019 |
St. Emilion |
$79 |
3 |
|
| |
WA 95 (4/2022): The 2019 Larcis Ducasse has turned out beautifully, wafting from the glass with aromas of cherries, wild berries, burning embers, spices and licorice. Full-bodied, sumptuous and enveloping, with a fleshy core of fruit, ripe tannins and succulent acids, it's a giving, generous wine that's softer and rounder than Pavie Macquin, its stablemate. This beautiful vineyard, managed by Nicolas Thienpont, is located on the limestone slopes of Saint-Émilion, sandwiched between Pavie and Bellefont-Belcier.
VM 95 (2/2023): The 2019 Larcis-Ducasse is classically-styled on the nose with tobacco and cedar infusing the black fruit, a little austere at first, yet there is a sense of stature. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, slightly candied in style but there is commendable structure behind this Saint-Émilion with a dash of black pepper on the finish. Exquisite. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. (Drink between 2025-2045.)
JD 94 (4/2022): Moving to the Grand Vin, the 2019 Château Larcis Ducasse sports a deep ruby/plum color as well as a reserved bouquet of ripe black cherries, leafy tobacco, graphite, and damp earth. Medium to full-bodied and nicely concentrated, with clean, ripe tannins, it's holding things relatively close to its vest and is going to benefit from 5-7 years of bottle age. I don't see it matching the greats from this estate, but it's a beautiful wine. The blend is 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, and there are just under 3,000 cases produced. (Drink starting 2027.) |
|
| Ch. Malescot St. Exupery |
2019 |
Margaux |
$59 |
2 |
|
| |
VM 95-97 (6/2020): The 2019 Malescot St. Exupery is richer and more flamboyant on the nose compared to its Margaux peers with ravishing red berry fruit, vanilla, iodine and touches of cassis, becoming increasingly floral with aeration. The palate has a cashmere texture on the entry matched by well judged acidity. Wonderful cohesion here, harmonious and focused with veins of black pepper and allspice towards the finish that feels reassuringly long. Deee-licious! Neal Martin.
JS 96-97 (6/2020): Wow. This is so perfumed and mesmerizing with currant, floral and blackberry character. It’s full-bodied, yet so refined and polished with wonderfully fine-grained and crafted tannins. The finish goes on and on. |
|
| Domaine de Chevalier |
2019 |
Pessac Leognan |
$74 |
1 |
|
| |
WA 94-96+ (6/2020): Composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Domaine de Chevalier was harvested from the 23rd of September to the 13th of October. The alcohol weighed in at a modest 13%. It is aging in French oak barrels, 35% new, for around 18 months. Deep garnet-purple in color, it shoots from the glass with vibrant, intense scents of warm blueberries, blackberry preserves and fresh blackcurrants plus hints of spice box, violets, crushed rocks and pencil lead with a hint of menthol. The medium-bodied palate gives an appearance of weight from its sheer energy, offering bags of fresh, crunchy berry layers and a solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins, finishing long and pure.
VM 95-97 (6/2020): The 2019 Domaine de Chevalier has the potential to be one of the wines of the vintage. Regal and soaring in the glass, with tremendous intensity, the 2019 is pure magic. An exotic melange of ripe red plum, gravel, spice, cured meats and incense develops with time in the glass. Effortless and wonderfully nuanced, the 2019 is a fabulous wine in the making. Don't miss it. Antonio Galloni.
JD 96-98+ (6/2020): Reminding me of the 2016, the 2019 Domaine De Chevalier checks in as 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot that was brought up in 35% new French oak. Its vivid purple color is followed by a classy bouquet of crème de cassis, damp earth, tobacco leaf, and spring flowers. With medium to full-bodied richness, stunning purity of fruit, silky tannins, and a good spice of acidity, this beautiful, classic, quintessential Chevalier will need 5-7 years of bottle age yet keep for 4-5 decades in cold cellars. Tasted twice.
JS 96-97 (6/2020): The chocolate, walnut, dark-fruit and stone character is attractive. It’s full-bodied and very tight and linear with chewy yet polished tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Lots of intensity and complexity here, as always. |
|
| La Dame de Montrose |
2022 |
St. Estephe 2023 en Primeur Release |
$46 |
15 |
|
| |
JD 93-95 (5/2023): The second wine of Château Montrose, the 2022 La Dame De Montrose, tastes like a Grand Vin. More Merlot-dominated (71% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc), the terrific purity in its cassis and blue fruits give way to complex floral, forest floor, and violet aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, balanced, and elegant, I'd be happy to drink a bottle any time over the coming 15 years.
VM 92-94 (5/2023): The 2022 La Dame de Montrose is deep, pliant and rich. All of the intensity of this warm, very dry vintage comes through in the wine’s sheer size and ripe, dark profile. Black cherry, plum, chocolate, licorice, spice and espresso are all amplified in this decidedly intense, concentrated La Dame. Qualitatively, there is little question this could have easily been a Grand Vin in a preceding generation. The 2022 is a stunning La Dame. Antonio Galloni.
WA 92-94 (5/2023): A second wine that would embarrass numerous classified growths, the 2022 La Dame de Montrose unfurls in the glass with aromas of blackberries, violets, rose petals, charcoal and loamy soil, followed by a medium to full-bodied, layered and fleshy palate of striking concentration, energy and dimension. Seamless and complete, it's a blend of 71% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. |
|
| | Bordeaux White |
| Ch. Coutet |
2003 |
Barsac Bin-Soiled Label; Lightly Scuffed Label |
$45 |
1 |
|
| |
WS 95 (3/2006): Honey, apple tart and lemon rind. Full-bodied, medium-sweet and very spicy with intense flavors of mace, apple and honey. Long finish. Thick and powerful. Best after 2010. 4,165 cases made.
VM 92 (8/2006): Bright yellow-gold. Sexy aromas of orange liqueur and spices. Sweet, round and pure, with a lush texture verging on unctuous. And yet this is wonderfully aromatic and light on its feet. Very ripe and very complex in the mouth, with harmonious acids framing the flavors of orange oil, peach and spicy oak. Finishes very long, ripe and seamless, with lingering notes of oaky vanilla and spice. This has been a knockout since the outset.
WA 89 (6/2013): Ex-chateau bottle tasted blind in Sauternes. This bottle of Coutet ’03 was showing slight reduction on the geranium-scented nose, although it seems to sort that out and offer lanolin and melted wax aromas with time. The palate is viscous and quite spicy on the entry - dried honey, marjoram, white pepper and quince, whilst the finish offers an attractive oxidative note. Coutet’s limestone soils mean it thrives on acidity and race, but in 2003 I think the heat of the summer just knocked this great Barsac sideways. Drink now-2018. Tasted April 2013. |
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| Ch. Guiraud |
2003 |
Sauternes Very Lightly Scuffed Label |
$59 |
1 |
|
| |
WS 95 (3/2006): This is very sweet and rich on the nose, with toffee, honey and spices. Full-bodied, with thick honey, spice, dried apricot and syrup flavors. Lasts for minutes on the palate. Big botrytis bomb. Love it. Best after 2010. 8,000 cases made.
VM 92 (8/2006): Full yellow-gold. Musky aromas of exotic apricot liqueur, baking spices, toffee and smoke. Supersweet and unctuous, but with its glyceral texture cut by bright acids. The exotic apricot flavor is nicely complemented by coconut, vanilla and caramel. Finishes very long and juicy. Offers a very successful combination of thickness and firm acid edge. |
|
| Ch. La Tour Blanche |
2009 |
Sauternes (375 ML) ex-Negociant |
$34.95 |
60 |
|
| |
JS 96 (5/2013): Impressive density of fruity here with caramel, dried lemons, apricots and honey. Full yet reserved and beautiful. Wonderful length. One of the Sauternes of the vintage. Better in 2016.
WA 93 (2/2013): The 2009 La Tour Blanche has a gorgeous, botrytis-rich bouquet with lemon thyme, honey and spice, with just a touch of alcoholic warmth denying it the clarity it deserves. The palate is crisp and taut on the entry with notes of apricot and white peach emerging with a few swirls of the glass. It offers a pleasing viscosity and volume in the mouth, although compared to its barrel showing, it appears to have tightened up more than I expected, possibly a sign that it is a wine in for the long haul. Drink 2017-2035.
WS 92 (3/2012): Ripe and broad, with lush buttered pecan and almond notes followed by rich apricot, orange and date flavors that glide through the finish, where a glazed pear note sits in reserve. This should cruise nicely through mid-term cellaring. Best from 2013 through 2024. 6,665 cases made. |
|
| Ch. Rieussec |
2011 |
Sauternes ex-Negociant |
$54.99 |
60 |
|
| |
WS 96 (7/2015): Intense, with ginger, yellow apple chutney, dried pineapple and papaya flavors coursing through a finish that brims with singed almond and lemon chiffon flavors. This retains a touch of youthful rawness, featuring a bitter orange note that's yet to be absorbed. No need to rush or worry here. Best from 2018 through 2040. 6,000 cases made.
JS 96-97 (2/2014): This shows incredible freshness and power, with dried pineapples, mangoes and papayas. Full body, medium-sweet with electrifying acidity. Vibrates your palate.
WA 95 (2/2015): Tasted blind at the Sauternes 2011 horizontal tasting. The Château Rieussec 2011 transcends its somewhat “middling” performance from barrel and delivers a knockout wine in bottle. For sure, it demonstrates a lot of vanilla from the new oak on the nose, complemented by almond, French patisserie and touches of white peach. The elevage is more expressive than the terroir at the moment, although there is clearly a lot of fruit underneath. The palate is very well balanced, with thickly textured honeyed fruits that lacquer the inside of the mouth and stay there. This is extremely well balanced but very young and primal, yet the crescendo of flavors is very impressive. Tasted blind, I hazarded a guess that this might be Yquem ’11. Enough said.
VM 95 (7/2014): Brilliant golden yellow. Knockout nose combines peach, citrus fruits, white flowers, saffron, honey and stone complicated by very pure lemony botrytis. Extremely deep and concentrated but youthfully closed, showing a powerful floral character to the peach, passion fruit and marzipan flavors. Finishes very long and perfumed; a laser beam of acidity gives this Sauternes exceptional clarity and cut. Ian d'Agata. |
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|
2016 |
Sauternes ex-Negociant |
$55.99 |
60 |
|
| |
JD 97 (2/2019): A step up over the Carmes de Rieussec, the beautiful 2016 Château Rieussec has remarkable purity and freshness while still packing beautiful depth of fruit. Honeyed peach, apricot, flower oil, and even a hint of wet stone all emerge from this full-bodied, thick, opulent effort. I love it. It has a rounded, sexy style ideal for drinking any time over the coming 15-20 years. The 2016 is a final blend of 83% Semillon, 12% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Muscadelle.
JS 97 (1/2019): So much botrytis on the nose with spice, dried mushrooms and nutmeg. Dried lemons and mangoes. Full-bodied and medium sweet with density and, at the same time, lightness. I like that it is full of botrytis on the palate at the beginning and then turns fruity and very pretty at the end with citrus and fruit. Balanced, creamy and rich. Try after 2024, but already gorgeous.
WA 96+ (3/2019): Pale lemon colored, the 2016 Rieussec comes sashaying out of the glass with a beautiful floral and citrus perfume of orange blossom, pink grapefruit, yuzu, lime leaves, lemongrass and fallen leaves with hints of nutmeg and candied ginger. Having shed a lot of the puppy fat from when I last tasted this from barrel, the palate reveals loads of elegant, tightly wound layers and seamless freshness, finishing long and fragrant.
VM 93 (1/2019): The 2016 Rieussec has an elegant bouquet of pure honeysuckle, orange pith, peach and light minerally aromas. The palate is well balanced with fine precision and pleasant fatness, featuring white peach and almond-infused, honeyed fruit. A touch of vanilla emerges toward the finish. This was a barrel sample due to be bottled in January 2019, though it was virtually the finished wine. Neal Martin.
WS 93 (12/2019): Quite fresh, with acacia and honeysuckle notes out front, followed by a stream of mirabelle plum, yellow apple, pineapple and white peach flavors. Offers an unctuous feel on the finish while staying on the brighter side. Among the top efforts in the vintage. Best from 2022 through 2035. 500 cases made. |
|
| Ch. Suduiraut |
2013 |
Sauternes (375 ML) ex-Negociant |
$32.95 |
60 |
|
| |
JS 97 (2/2016): This is phenomenal with superb depth and texture. Full-bodied and very sweet, yet the bright acidity balances the wine out. Creamy mouthfeel with phenolic undertones. Great finish. This wine has a great future. Better in 2021, but already great.
WS 94 (3/2016): This is on the exotic side of the ledger, with mouthfilling ginger, mango, quince and papaya flavors that course through, backed by a singed marshmallow note on the long, unctuous finish. Approachable, but no hurry. Drink now through 2033. 5,000 cases made.
WA 93-95 (4/2014): The 2013 Suduiraut has one of the more flamboyant bouquets of the vintage, one that is actually reminiscent of de Fargues. There are copious Satsuma and dried honey scents, hints of beeswax and almond that keep your snout in the glass. The palate is very well-balanced with a viscous entry, just a touch of marmalade and quince coming through, and then blossoming toward the weighty finish that shows just a touch more oak at the moment. This is an excellent Suduiraut.
VM 92 (3/2019): The 2013 Suduiraut, picked from 3 to 30 October, is destined to be overshadowed by the succeeding two vintages. The aromatics feel very “contained” with beeswax, dried honey and light spicy aromas, although it is missing the intensity of a top vintage. The palate is very well balanced with crisp acidity, very focused and poised, perhaps a more approachable Suduiraut since it does not possess the concentration of a more benevolent growing season. But it retains admirable freshness and there is a lovely spiciness, a dab of ginger on the aftertaste. 13.6% alcohol, 145gm/L residual sugar. Tasted at the Suduiraut vertical at the château. Neal Martin. |
|
| | Rhone Red |
| Dom. Coursodon |
2023 |
St. Joseph Rouge l’Olivaie Ex-Domaine |
$49.99 |
60 |
|
| |
JD 93-95 (5/2025): All Syrah, the 2023 Saint Joseph L'Olivaie brings another level of concentration, offering cassis, graphite, crushed stone, and classy oak on the nose. It has terrific purity, medium to full-bodied richness, ripe tannins, and a great finish. The overall balance and purity here are exceptional.
VM 90-92 (1/2025): Cedar, black cherry, wood smoke and pencil shaving introduce the 2023 Saint-Joseph L'Olivaie, a medium-bodied, deeply hued Northern Rhône Syrah. Touching the palate with elevated flavor concentration, the 2023 handles the oak well. I look forward to tasting the bottled version. Nicolas Greinacher. |
|
|
2023 |
St. Joseph Rouge Paradis St. Pierre Ex-Domaine |
$68.99 |
47 |
|
| |
JD 94-96 (5/2025): Lastly, the 2023 Saint Joseph Paradis Saint Pierre comes from old vines and offers a ruby/plum hue as well as a more mineral-laced, cooler style in its darker, blue fruits, violets, black pepper, and bouquet garni-like aromas and flavors. Concentrated, medium to full-bodied, ripe, and brilliantly textured, it's going to need short-term cellaring. This cuvée was partially destemmed and will spend 15 months in barrel.
VM 91-93 (1/2025): The 2023 Saint-Joseph Le Paradis Saint-Pierre emerges with elevated aromatic complexity, mingling orange rind, crushed flowers, red and black plum, iodine and graphite. Fleshy essences add another layer to the fray. Touching the palate with abundant flavor concentration, the 2023 is totally tasty, packing spot-on balance and remarkable intensity.Nicolas Greinacher. |
|
|
2023 |
St. Joseph Rouge Sensonne Ex-Domaine |
$57.99 |
42 |
|
| |
JD 93-95 (5/2025): The 2023 Saint Joseph La Sensonne is another gorgeous wine in the making. Offering lots of cassis, spice, dried flowers, and beautifully integrated oak, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, balanced mouthfeel, velvety tannins, and a great finish. All Syrah aging in 100% new oak, I love its overall balance, purity, and length.
VM 90-92 (1/2025): The 2023 Saint-Joseph La Sensonne is heavily marked by the oak-derived components at this early stage, unwinding intense hints of cedar, clove and even charred wood, mingling with black plum and spicy traits. Medium- to full-bodied and extroverted, the 2023 shouldn’t be touched prior to 2026. This is a bold, blockbuster-styled Saint-Joseph. Nicolas Greinacher. |
|
| Dom. de la Vieille Julienne |
2019 |
Chateauneuf du Pape Les Trois Sources |
$63.99 |
23 |
|
| |
| JD 96+ (11/2021): More cassis, morello cherry, Asian spice, and a beautiful sense of minerality and loamy earth emerge from the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Trois Sources, a full-bodied, concentrated blend of 60% Grenache, 15% each of Cinsault and Syrah, and the balance Mourvèdre. Coming all from the estate’s sandy soils in the northern part of the appellation, this incredibly concentrated, textured wine has perfect balance, building tannins, and a great finish. Give this beauty another 4-5 years in the cellar and drink it over the following two decades or more. |
|
| Dom. du Tunnel |
2021 |
Cornas Vin Noir ex-Domaine |
$71.99 |
18 |
|
| |
| JD 93-95 (12/2022): The 2021 Cornas Vin Noir is even better and clearly a candidate for the wine of the appellation. Ripe blackberries, smoked herbs, cured meats, iron, and spice all flow to a medium to full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, balanced Cornas offering ripe, velvety tannins, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a great finish. Bravo. |
|
| Dom. Duclaux |
2020 |
Cote Rotie Maison Rouge ex-Domaine |
$72.99 |
57 |
|
| |
WA 92-95 (1/2022): The 2020 Cote Rotie Maison Rouge comes from 1.5 hectares in the gneiss-laden northern portion of the lieu-dit, and includes no Viognier. Purple raspberries and black olives cavort on the nose, framed by subtle notes of baking spices. It's medium to full-bodied, expansive, rich and silky, with a long, elegant finish. It should be drinkable on release, yet cellar well for at least a decade.
JD 91-93 (2/2022): The 2020 Côte Rôtie Maison Rouge is terrific, offering ample black raspberry and darker berry fruits as well as spring flowers and peppery spice nuances. These all carry over to the palate, where the wine is medium-bodied and has a supple, seamless texture, impressive tannins, and a great finish. It's unquestionably an outstanding wine, and I'd be happy to drink a bottle any time over the coming 10-15 years. |
|
|
2022 |
Cote Rotie Maison Rouge Ex-Domaine |
$74.99 |
48 |
|
| |
JD 96 (5/2025): Coming from a more granitic site in the southern part of the appellation, the deeper ruby/plum-hued 2022 Côte Rôtie Maison-Rouge offers up a stunningly pure, layered, medium to full-bodied style intermixed with ample red, blue, and black fruits, along with classic floral, gamey, and mint herb aromatics. Made from 100% Syrah and aged 20 months in 40% new French oak, it shows fine yet building tannins and a great finish. Drink bottles over the coming 10-15 years. Drink 2025-2040.
VM 91 (1/2025): Graphite, shy vanilla, cedar, black cherry and meaty subtleties introduce the 2022 Côte-Rôtie Maison-Rouge. Checking in at 13% alcohol, it easily outperforms the La Germine of the same vintage, offering more flavor concentration, length and refinement. The classic 2022 draws to a close with a juicy finish balanced by fresh acidity. (Drink between 2026-2032). Nicholas Greincaher. |
|
| | Rhone White |
| Dom. du Tunnel |
2023 |
Saint Peray Cuvee Prestige ex-Domaine |
$44.99 |
14 |
|
| |
JD 95 (5/2025): Based on 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne, the 2023 Saint-Péray Cuvée Prestige reveals a light gold hue and brilliant aromatics of stone fruits, ripe melon, honeysuckle, and subtle spicy, toasty nuances. Medium-bodied and pure on the palate, it has a layered, elegant profile with terrific freshness and the classic salinity of the appellation on the finish. This was fermented with native yeasts and aged in third- and fourth-fill barrels. Drink 2025-2030.
WA 93+ (3/2025): A blend of 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne, the 2023 Saint-Péray Cuvée Prestige is another real success at this address. Despite its elegantly introverted character, it offers aromas of almonds, white flowers, spices and pear. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, incisive and enrobing with good depth at the core and a long, mineral finish, it's a classic and a very well crafted Saint-Péray with a broad drinking window.
VM 93 (1/2025): The 2023 Saint-Péray Cuvée Prestige is complex, with honeysuckle, chamomile, jasmine, white peach and lemon flesh notes. Medium-bodied and sleek, it features a chalky finish with solid tension. This will be best enjoyed after another year in bottle. It's not quite at the level of the standout 2022s, but this is still quite enjoyable. (Drink between 2026-2030.) Nicholas Greinacher. |
|
| Etienne Guigal |
2016 |
Condrieu La Doriane |
$89 |
1 |
|
| |
JD 96 (1/2018): The flagship 2016 Condrieu La Doriane also shows the freshness and more classical style of the vintage. Citrus blossom, crushed rocks, honeysuckle, and orange blossom give way to a medium to full-bodied, incredibly elegant Condrieu that gains depth and richness with time in the glass. It will be better this time next year and keep for 7-8 years.
JLL ****[*] (11/2017): Bright, rather full yellow. Has a large, broad, impressive bouquet that brims with grilling, oak, tropical fruits. Wham bang! The palate carries a generous, stylish wave of richness laced with mineral coolness that really ignites its quality. It finishes with flair, really races along to the close, oaking on the aftertaste. This is sensaround Condrieu, one that really covers the ground, and deserves turbot, lobster, veal and other joli ingredients. From spring 2018. Decanting advised.
WA 94 (12/2017): Bottled in June 2017, the 2016 Condrieu la Doriane is entirely barrel-fermented in new oak. This vintage seems more restrained and less rich than some others, but it remains marked by smoky, grilled apricot aromas and flavors. It’s nicely balanced and not overly opulent, retaining a sense of elegance on the long, spicy finish. |
|
| | Southern France |
| Clos Cibonne |
2017 |
Cotes de Provence Cuvee Hommage a Marius Slightly Raised Cork |
$65 |
2 |
|
| |
| VM 95 (1/2021): Diaphanous peach skin color. A hugely complex, expansive bouquet evokes ripe, spice-accented red berries, citrus fruits, dried flowers and botanical herbs, with a saline mineral overtone. Stains the palate with vibrant, sharply focused redcurrant, strawberry, blood orange, nectarine candied lavender and honey flavors that show a hint of saltiness and superb depth to go with the wine's energy. Refuses to let up on the penetrating, seamless and mineral-driven finish, which strongly echoes the floral and pit fruit notes. - Josh Raynolds (Drink between 2023-2034). |
|
| | Alsace |
| Zind Humbrecht |
2010 |
Gewurztraminer Clos Windsbuhl |
$59 |
2 |
|
| |
WA 95 (8/2014): A decidedly sweet Zind-Humbrecht 2010 Gewurztraminer Clos Windsbuhl smells pungently of caramelized parsnip and celery root, whose intriguingly earthy flavors are complimented on an expansive palate and in a succulently long, rivetingly interactive finish by juicy orange and lemon along with alkaline, chalky, saline and ginger notes. Here is another 2010-vintage instance of Gewurztraminer not only possessed of Riesling-like vivacity and minerality but also of varietal character sublimated to that of site. Incidentally, in a desperate and largely successful attempt to keep boar from once again eating into the profits of this clos, Humbrecht put an extra charge on the electric fence that surrounds it, and smeared honey on the lowest wire so that the wild pigs would make tender nose or tongue contact! Plan to follow this through at least 2035. Humbrecht cautions that it would be a shame to be seduced by its current performance into drinking your stocks down anytime over the next decade.
VM 92+ (11/2012): Bright medium yellow. Fruit salad and spices on the nose, with hints of more exotic fruits. Very sweet and spicy, with a distinct dried fruit quality in the mouth. Shows a slightly bitter-edged phenolic quality on the back end, but this may be mostly a function of some unabsorbed CO2 that will eventually be absorbed. This youthfully hard wine needs patience. Ian D'Agata. |
|
|
2002 |
Pinot Gris Heimbourg VT (375 ML) Scuffed Label |
$65 |
1 |
|
| |
WA 95 (3/2023): The 2002 Pinot Gris Vendange Tardive Heimbourg displays a radiant golden-orange color and a beautifully clear, precise and fresh but concentrated stone fruit aroma that indicates great concentration and healthy ripeness. The wine is dense and viscous on the palate, very elegant, intense and complex, even playful and enormously long on the balanced and aromatic as well as saline and grippy-mineral, highly stimulating finish. The sweetness is uplifted here by structural elements so that richness is really stimulating here. This is a VT on a very high level given the rather unspectacular, west-facing Turckheim terroir with calcareous marls and the average age of the vines of 17 years. Olivier couldn't have made it any better, I'd say. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in January 2023.
VM 93 (11/2003): Sauternes-like aromas of apricot, orange marmalade, honey, toffee, caramel and vanilla. Candied fruits offer an exhilarating sweetness. Almost SGN-like in the way the wine's viscosity is cut by racy acidity. Very thick and very long on the aftertaste. Stephen Tanzer. |
|
| | Loire |
| Bernard Baudry |
2018 |
Chinon La Croix Boissee |
$45 |
25 |
|
| |
| VM 96 (10/2021): The ripeness of the 2018 vintage gives an almost Syrah/Viognier character to the Chinon La Croix Boissee, which offers sweet black fruit and a creamy apricot note. Sumptuous yet never ever opulent, it's almost as if the wine's just done a yoga class. Plentiful tannins give the inside of your cheeks a chalky rub, while there's surprising freshness considering the ripeness, leading to a lengthy finish. This is a baby that will turn out to be a great adult. Rebecca Gibb. |
|
|
2019 |
Chinon Le Clos Guillot |
$39 |
5 |
|
| |
| VM 95-97 (10/2021): Just outside the village, Clos Guillot sits on a slope on clay over limestone. The 2019 Chinon is a serious barrel sample that melts in your mouth with its silken texture. No crushing, very little remontage and a year in used barrels all lend a very gentle touch. The tannins build gradually, coating the mouth with the finest of chalky textures. Excellent acidity keeps things fresh through the finish. Rebecca Gibb. |
|
| Dom. Huet |
2014 |
Vouvray Clos du Bourg Sec |
$79 |
9 |
|
| |
| WA 94+ (11/2015): The 2014 Vouvray Clos du Bourg Sec is brighter colored than the Haut-Lieu and shows a white-golden color. The nose indicates a very delicate, fresh and mineral wine of great finesse and beautifully clear white fruit flavors, which changes somewhere between young Chablis and Riesling from a limestone terroir. This is just gorgeous (or will be one day) and provided with some smoky flavors of Speck or air-dried hamm (jamón serrano), along with lemon juice, chalk, carambola and some floral flavors. Like the 2014 Haut-Lieu Sec, the Clos du Bourg is also quite round and gentle on the first palate; it shows a great finesse, refined fruit elegance and enervating raciness that reminds me of the finest dry (German or Southern Palatinate) Rieslings, although the power and length seems even stronger towards the finish. I have rarely tasted a young Chenin that combines power, finesse, elegance and persistency in such a perfectly balanced way. This is surely a wine to buy, drink and store. The only error possible here is to buy too little of it. |
|
|
2014 |
Vouvray Le Mont Sec |
$59 |
2 |
|
| |
| WA 96 (11/2015): Huet's 2014 Vouvray Le Mont Sec is the other wine that wine lovers should buy and store, especially those with a heart for crystalline and extremely mineral wines. If Clos du Bourg is like something between Chablis and Riesling, Le Mont is comparable with Sancerre from Silex soils, but again also dry Riesling from the bedrock parts of Lower Austria (along the Danube river). Its aroma on the nose intertwines white and green fruits like apples and lemons with coolish flint stone, spicy and floral aromas in a subtly intense, very intriguing and complex way. There is a great purity and linearity on the complex and elegant, intense and persistent palate, but also some ripe fruit flavors that remind not just of crystalline Riesling but also aromatic wines from grape varieties such as Muscat or Sauvignon Blanc. This is a powerful and intense but much more finesse-full, purely mineral and highly elegant wine with a beautiful touch of sweetness (say roundness) and lovely citrus flavors. This is the most elegant and delicate Chenin of Huet's dry trio and its aromatic length, energy, salinity and spell-binding finesse is truly unrivaled. This is simply great Chenin Blanc and Huet's hallmark wine of the vintage. Chapeau! |
|
| Vincent Pinard |
2019 |
Sancerre Grand Chemarin |
$65 |
2 |
|
| |
| VM 95 (8/2021): The 2019 Sancerre Le Grand Chemarin is a tender and wonderfully elegant style that shows excellent concentration. It remains understated, with fine grip on the finish. The wine has a mouth-coating texture, no doubt due to the limestone soils but also the Pinards’ careful handling. This caresses the mouth with its restrained pear and ripe, apple fruit. It's wonderfully welcoming at the beginning, but the finish is structured. Wherever the wine is in your mouth, it always exudes a sense of balance. (Drink between 2023-2035). Rebecca Gibb. |
|
| | Spain |
| Pinea |
2021 |
Ribera del Duero 17 ex-Domaine |
$64 |
59 |
|
| |
| JD 96 (7/2025): A youthful, memorable exploration of 100% Tempranillo made in a refined and modern style, the 2021 Tempranillo 17 by Pinea opens in a wealth of silky tannins and rounded red berry fruit. Fantastic acidity complements its power, complexity, and length to result in something remarkably sophisticated, with well-etched characteristics of oak spice, vanilla, cacao nib, and balsamic. The fruit is all blackberries. There’s no doubt a good amount of concentration in the wine, yet it feels weightless on the palate. Extremely impressive, it should age with ease another 15-20 years. |
|
| Raul Perez |
2021 |
Ultreia de Valtuille Bierzo Lightly Bin-Soiled Label |
$63 |
1 |
|
| |
| WA 97 (10/2023): The 2021 Ultreia Valtuille was produced with the clay part of their Villegas plot, as the sandy part was used for the new Ultreia Villegas bottling but introduced the lower part of the vineyard with more soil and more clay. They produced more or less the same amount as in previous years, some 18 barriques; but in 2021, they introduced foudres for part of the wine, and in this first year, the foudre was newer (they used it to ferment a white before). They also started renewing their barrels, so the wines show a little more oak than usual. It has moderate alcohol and mellow acidity, and it seems like the longer cycle and the slow ripening burned some acidity. |
|
|
2021 |
Ultreia el Rapolao Bierzo Lightly Bin-Soiled Label |
$63 |
1 |
|
| |
| WA 96 (10/2023): The 2021 Ultreia Rapolao aged exclusively in a 1,000-liter oak foudre that was used before for a white wine and seems to have marked the wine with abundant toasty notes and a spicy twist, with notes of toasted sesame seeds even if the wine only spent 10 months in wood. It has medium-ripeness, moderate alcohol (13%) and a medium-bodied palate with a tender mouthfeel and oak-related flavors in the finish. Is it going to digest the oak nicely? 1,200 bottles produced. |
|
| | Germany |
| Hofgut Falkenstein |
2020 |
Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Spatlese Feinherb Onkel Peter #4 |
$39 |
1 |
|
| |
WA 95 (8/2020): From a parcel with old, ungrafted vines, the 2019 Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese feinherb #4 Onkel Peter opens with a clear, delicate and floral bouquet of finely weathered slate and perfectly ripe, healthy white seed fruits. Intense and refined on the palate, this is a generous, juicy, sweet but also complex and sustainable Spätlese with a firm structure and a long, refined and salty finish. This is not a Spätlese to drink young but one to cellar for at least 5-10 years. The aging potential should be enormous here. Drink between 2025-2050.
VM 93 (5/2022): The 2020 Riesling Niedermenniger Herrenberg Spätlese feinherb A.P. #4 issues from old, ungrafted vines in the parcel with the nickname Onkel Peter (which now appears in tiny print on the label), located in the Zuckerberg sector of the Herrenberg Einzellage. An enticing floral and green herbal mélange greets the nose, along with notes of white peach and grapefruit that subsequently serve for succulence, tang and brightness on a buoyant and polished palate. Peony and carnation deliver further, billowing inner-mouth appeal. Hints of green wood and peach kernel piquancy stimulate while being moderated by cooling green herbal infusion and animatingly juicy grapefruit on an impressively lingering finish. Look for this to preserve its complexity over time while projecting an even greater sense of completeness and more distinct composite personality. Drink between 2021-2034. David Schildknecht. |
|
| Thomas Haag |
2016 |
Schloss Lieser Doctor Riesling Auslese |
$75 |
6 |
|
| |
WA 96 (4/2018): Filled in 375-milliliter bottles, the 2016 Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling Auslese is remarkably deep, cool, fresh and mineral on the nose, with flinty grapefruit and mocha/coffee bean flavors (probably coming from the ripe pips of the very small berries). Lush, round and intense but very elegant and with a serious, persistent structure and raspberry flavors, this is a pure and piquant, beautifully grippy and stimulatingly salty Auslese with excellent aging potential. Great tension and complexity here. From 80-year-old vines, this was picked in early November, a few days before the GG. Tasted March 2018.
VM 94 (1/2018): A heady nose of decadent lily, musky peony, pineapple, pink grapefruit, cassis and overripe Persian melon sets the stage for a subtly creamy, expansive, rich yet delicate palate impression, with pineapple and grapefruit serving for welcome tang and brightness to complement the wine’s textural creaminess, effusive inner-mouth perfume and luscious but overripe fruit tendencies. The combination of richness and exuberance here is really striking, and the superbly sustained finish is both ringingly clear and infectiously juicy, virtues one doesn’t encounter often in an Auslese and that I least expected in one from the Doctor. Haag says that the fruit here was botrytis-free and that is indeed how it tastes. What an auspicious first-ever Schloss Lieser Doctor Auslese! (And this wine was not auctioned but instead sold to private customers and the trade through the estate’s regular price list.) (Drink between 2017-2045). David SChildknecht. |
|
|
2016 |
Schloss Lieser Niederberg Helden Riesling Auslese |
$60 |
6 |
|
| |
WA 96 (4/2018): The 2016 Niederberg Helden Riesling Auslese displays clear, fresh and exotic fruit with a highly delicate slate spiciness. Lush and highly elegant, with mouth-filling but highly refined and elegant fruit and very fine crystallinity, this is a terribly fine and filigreed as well as sensual and persistent Helden Auslese. Perfectly balanced, with a mouthwatering and charming finish. Tasted March 2018.
VM 91 (1/2018): Very ripe but fresh peach and muskmelon are mingled with pink grapefruit and lightly shrouded in musky, dusty scents. The glycerol-rich, subtly creamy palate is lusciously fruity with the grapefruit serving to enhance an exotic sense of ripeness but also to supply a modicum of welcome citric juiciness and zest. Hints of brown spice add to the allure of an impressively persistent finish, albeit not one exhibiting the clarity, brightness or mineral dimension displayed by the best wines in this latest Schloss Lieser collection. While Haag reports having harvested very little nobly rotten fruit, this wine certainly strikes me as significantly influenced by botrytis, with both virtues and drawbacks. (Drink between 2017-2035). David Schildknecht. |
|
| Weingut Emrich-Schonleber |
2021 |
Monzinger Fruhlingsplatzchen Riesling Grosses Gewachs |
$69 |
12 |
|
| |
WA 97 (12/2022): Werner Schönleber served the 2021 Frühlingsplätzchen GG after the Halenberg, which has never been the case here in 20 years, but knowing Werner's passion for the purity and freshness of this terroir, this makes completely sense. I remember I liked the 2019 Frühlingsplätzchen better than the Halenberg when it was young, and also from the 2021 vintage I adore the purity, brightness and flinty finesse of the Frühlingsplätzchen which is definitely the brighter, uplifted and purer Riesling. The finish is enormously salty and savory and reveals lemon fruit bitters on the aftertaste. This is life from stone, and it has a damn serious, very long and saline finish. Natural cork. 12% stated alcohol. Tasted at the domaine in August 2022.
JS 95 (7/2022): Complex nose of pink and yellow grapefruit, peach and spring flowers. A super-elegant, dry Nahe riesling that marries plenty of juicy fruit with excellent concentration and vibrant minerality that leaps out at you. A slew of wild-berry and rose-hip character adds to the excitement at the dangerously crisp, wet-stone finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2024. |
|
| Weingut Georg Gustav Huff |
2020 |
Hipping Riesling Alte Reben |
$39.99 |
1 |
|
| |
| JS 96 (11/2021): So much star fruit, pink grapefruit and white peach on the nose, knocking you back slightly in the first moment. As bright as a rocket leaving the launch-pad in the direction of Mars, this dry riesling from the red soils of one of Nierstein’s top sites is super-straight and focused, the breathtaking, fresh finish intensely citrus and mineral. Drink or hold. |
|
| Weingut Max Ferd. Richter |
2019 |
Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett |
$35 |
15 |
|
| |
| WA 96 (10/2020): From 80-year-old vines predominantly from the original Sonnenuhr plot below the sundial, the 2019 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett opens with still reductive, sulfuric yet also beautifully floral, bright and elegant fruit aromas that indicate remarkable delicacy. Round and finessed on the elegant and refined palate, this is a very intense, sweet and persistently salty-mineral WSU with great finesse and length. Persistently salty. Tasted at the domain in September 2020. |
|
| | Italy |
| Altesino |
2019 |
Brunello di Montalcino |
$49.95 |
13 |
|
| |
WA 95 (12/2023): The Altesino 2019 Brunello di Montalcino boasts a rich and savory side that this wine wears very well. There is a beautiful level of dark fruit that folds into the wine's velvety texture. Blackberry and plum envelop the palate, adding elegant full-bodied volume and fine tannins along the way. The wine is aged in traditional Slavonian casks, and production reaches 110,000 bottles annually (which is very ambitious considering this level of quality).
JD 95 (2/2024): Pouring a rich ruby color, the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino offers an attractive nose of cherry candies, sweet herbs, polished leather, and orange oils. It moves seamlessly to the palate with equally harmonious structure and a great, long finish. Medium to full-bodied, it lasts for ages. This is one of those wines that’s going to have a very wide drinking window and is exceptional already. Drink 2026-2046. Audrey Frick.
VM 94 (12/2023): A dark ruby color in the glass, the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino opens with a beguiling blend of dusty earth, crushed rocks, savory herbs and dried roses. This is racy and sleek, with vividly ripe wild berry fruits elevated by orange and sage, all guided by vibrant acidity. Grippy tannins take control through the finish, yet the mouth is left watering for more as a bitter licorice tinge and dark chocolate adds a crunchy sensation. Eric Guido. |
|
| Andrea Oberto |
2011 |
Barolo Brunate |
$65 |
2 |
|
| |
JS 96 (4/2015): Wonderful length to this red with plum, hazelnut and light chocolate character. Full body, velvety tannins and a fresh and clean finish. Lingering finish. Hard to decide if 2011 is better than 2010. Better in 2019.
VM 90 (3/2015): The 2011 Barolo Brunate is unusually forward and open in this vintage. Translucent and soft, the 2011 is laced with attractive scents of dark plum, cherry, spice and wild flowers. This is a pretty Barolo, for Brunate the 2011 lacks a bit of punch and the depth that is typical of wines from this hallowed site. Sadly, this is the last vintage of the Brunate here, as Oberto lost the lease. |
|
| Brovia |
2018 |
Barolo Rocche di Castiglione |
$89 |
1 |
|
| |
WA 95 (8/2022): Alex Sanchez makes memorable wines. His Brovia 2018 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione hits close to home, as this vineyard in Castiglione Falletto is especially elegant and well managed. The wine shows pinpoint precision with small berry nuances, wildflower and crushed stone. The mineral signature adds beautiful focus.
VM 89 (2/2022): Brovia's 2018 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione opens with pretty aromatics that are such a signature of this site. Crushed flowers, mint, tobacco, cedar and sweet red cherry lend quite a bit of perfume. On the palate, the Rocche is a bit light, but it offers good balance and a fine sense of proportion within the context of the year. It's hard to get past the short, abrupt finish. The charm and seduction of Rocche are missing. (Drink between 2024-2038). Antonio Galloni. |
|
| Castellare di Castellina |
2019 |
I Sodi di San Niccolo Toscana IGT |
$77.99 |
2 |
|
| |
| VM 95 (8/2023): The 2019 I Sodi di San Niccolò is another fabulous wine from Castellare. At this stage, the 2019 is an infant. The purity of the fruit is compelling. Despite its considerable intensity, the 2019 appears to have less forbidding tannins than in many years, which should allow it to drink well with minimal cellaring. Blood orange, sweet spice, leather and cedar linger on the stylish finish. Antonio Galloni. |
|
| Castello Dei Rampolla |
2019 |
Sammarco |
$65.99 |
16 |
|
| |
WA 96 (9/2023): A blend of (organic and biodynamic) Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese, the 2019 Sammarco is more austere and even robust compared to the punchier style prized throughout this portfolio. This is a firmly grounded wine, with a bigger baseline of aromas, spanning black fruit, baked plum, spice, tobacco and crushed limestone. You feel the natural concentration of the 2019 vintage and beautifully managed tannins in this wine. This is a release of 25,837 bottles and 292 magnums.
VM 94 (8/2023): The 2019 Sammarco is a very pretty, elegant wine with gorgeous aromatic intensity from the Cabernet Sauvignon that makes up the majority of the blend this year. Sweet pipe tobacco, cedar, mint, dried cherry, incense and crushed leaves lend notable aromatic presence to this young, nascent Sammarco. Time in the glass brings out striking inner perfume and sweetness. In 2019, Sammarco is more finesse than power. Antonio Galloni. |
|
| Elvio Cogno |
2017 |
Barolo Cascina Nuova |
$61.99 |
3 |
|
| |
JS 95 (3/2021): Attractive dried strawberry with cherry and tar on the nose. Full-bodied with powerful tannins that are dusty and intense. Very flavorful and long. Solid as a rock. Needs at least three or four years to soften and come together.
WA 93 (6/2021): This wine is a sure bet from Elvio Cogno and such a steal. The 2017 Barolo Cascina Nuova delivers ample intensity and power. In this regard, it keeps faithfully in line with the expectations of a hot vintage that rendered more concentrated and sweeter fruit. However, the expert winemaking team at this estate has been able to manage any excesses or hints of over-ripeness. These are solid results with 20,000 bottles available.
JD 93 (5/2021): The 2017 Barolo Cascina Nuova is perfumed with ripe cherry, licorice, tar, and dried roses. The palate is ripe and refreshing, with a fairly classic build noted by red plum, tobacco leaf, and turned earth. This wine is beautiful and inviting out of the gates or drink 2022-2036.
WS 93 (11/2021): This is focused and almost creamy in texture, boasting cherry, strawberry, almond, tar and earth flavors. Multifaceted and just when you think it's accessible, the dense, dusty tannins emerge. Fresh and long. Best from 2025 through 2045. 1,700 cases made, 500 cases imported. |
|
| Fattoria di Felsina |
2016 |
Fontalloro |
$69 |
2 |
|
| |
WA 98+ (5/2019): The 2016 Fontalloro is the best vintage of this landmark wine that I have tasted thus far. This is a very elegant vintage, with more volume in the mouth and precise notes of tar, licorice, camphor ash, resin and Indian spice. In a race between the highly competitive 2015 and 2016 vintages, I give a slight advantage to this wine. The warmer 2015 vintage shows more richness and exuberant fruit. However, this wine from 2016 offers a more focused and chiseled delivery. I am hopeful that this wine will continue to evolve and sharpen as it ages in the bottle. This is a beautiful wine to put aside in your cellar for ten years or more.
VM 96 (8/2019): The 2016 Fontalloro is bold, hearty and deeply flavored, with all of the Sangiovese wildness that is so typical of Fontalloro. Ripe dark cherry, grilled herbs, smoke, leather, game and incense are some of the many aromas and flavors that open up in a potent, virile Fontalloro loaded with personality and character. In so many ways, 2016 is THE archetype of what Fontalloro is - a Sangiovese that is a bit wild and unruly but also full of charm. Antonio Galloni. |
|
| Fattoria le Pupille |
2018 |
Saffredi Proprietary Blend |
$85 |
2 |
|
| |
VM 96+ (1/2021): The 2018 Saffredi is a regal, elegant, supremely polished wine. It may very well be the most refined Saffredi I have ever tasted. Silky in its first impression, with striking aromatic presence and exceptional balance, the 2018 is a total knock-out. Sweet red cherry, plum, mocha, licorice and cinnamon accents develop over time, but it is the wine’s overall balance and poise that are so impressive today. The 2018 is an absolutely gorgeous Saffredi. It spent 20 months in French oak barrels, about 65% new. Don’t miss it. Antonio Galloni.
JD 97 (7/2020): A fantastic nose to this with currant, sage, rosemary and rose-petal character. Sweet tobacco and spicy chocolate, too. Very complex. The palate shows lovely depth of fruit with blackberries, blackcurrants and fine tannins. It’s racy and refined with a direct, focused palate. Just a baby. A blend of cabernet sauvignon 60%, merlot 32% and petite verdot 8%. This needs at least two or three years to soften. Try in 2023.
WA 96 (11/2020): The Fattoria le Pupille 2018 Saffredi borrows quite a bit from all of the grapes that make up the blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot). These balanced results open to a round bouquet of dark fruit, black cherry and plum. As the wine warms in the glass, it shows spice, cured tobacco and campfire embers. This is a full-bodied expression, but not excessively so. It puts forth immediate elegance with carefully measured tannins and a fitting postscript of fresh acidity. This newest vintage of Saffredi should be hitting the market now, but if you buy it, you should plan on cellaring it. |
|
| Le Ragnaie |
2019 |
Brunello di Montalcino |
$63.95 |
8 |
|
| |
JD 95 (2/2024): A beautiful cologne lifts from the glass of the 2019 Brunello Di Montalcino, which pours a red/orange-tinged color. Aromas of wild cherries, truffles, bittersweet chocolate, and dried orange peel are followed by a medium to full-bodied red with fine, coiled tannins, a linear feel, and refreshing lift all the way through the finish. I love the tertiary notes that come through, and this wine will only improve and gain in complexity over time. Drink 2025-2040. Audrey Frick.
WA 95 (12/2023): The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino shows delicate aromas of blue flower, redcurrant, cranberry and potting soils. It has all the basic components of a classic Sangiovese. Fruit is sourced from across the estate vineyard holdings ranging from 200 to 600 meters above sea level, or the ceiling of the appellation. Baking spice is delivered to the palate with silky, almost glossy tannins. The mouthfeel is extremely fine. This is a very Burgundian Brunello, with 38,500 bottles made.
VM 93 (12/2023): The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino opens slowly in the glass, dusty and floral, with depths of dark red fruit and exotic spice. This is silky smooth with medium-bodied textures and vibrant acidity that propels its tart wild berry fruits and mineral tones as rosy inner florals race across the palate. It tapers off with admirable length and concentration. Crunchy tannins frame the experience without slowing its momentum. The 2019 is a gorgeous blend of vintage and house style. Don't miss it. (Drink between 2025-2035). Eric Guido. |
|
| M. Marengo |
2017 |
Barolo Brunate |
$79 |
2 |
|
| |
JS 95 (6/2021): A red with lovely ripe strawberry, spice and some flowers and leather. Dried orange peel, too. Full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins that are slightly mouth-puckering. It’s structured and rather powerful. Needs time to soften. Give it three or four years to soften. Try after 2024.
VM 94 (2/2021): The 2017 Barolo Brunate shows why this is such a highly-regarded site. Powerful and deep, the 2017 has enough fruit and pedigree to keep the formidable tannins in check. Blue/purplish fruit, spice, leather, licorice and menthol gain volume as the 2017 opens in the glass. This brooding Barolo needs time in bottle, but it is pretty compelling, even in the early going. Antonio Galloni.
WA 94 (6/2021): With fruit from La Morra, the 2017 Barolo Brunate presents a taut and tight bouquet of candied cherry, violets, orange peel and iron ore. The aromas are fluid and agile, yet they are also quite polished and focused. Indeed, this Brunate offers the greatest degree of complexity and sheer depth in this portfolio from the Marengo family of La Morra. Again, we see those extra tight tannins that are such a common feature of Barolo wines from the hot and dry 2017 vintage. This was a release of 4,800 bottles. |
|
| Poderi Colla |
2016 |
Barolo Dardi Le Rose Bussia |
$60 |
2 |
|
| |
| VM 95 (10/2020): The 2016 Barolo Bussia Dardi Le Rose is a wine of total finesse. Crushed flowers, sweet red berry fruit, mint and spice give the 2016 captivating inner perfume to match its translucent, mid-weight personality. Pliant, exquisitely layered and so incredibly inviting, the 2016 is going to be tempting early. It is a fabulous wine in every way. Antonio Galloni. |
|
| Sottimano |
2021 |
Barbaresco Basarin ex-Domaine |
$71.89 |
60 |
|
| |
JD 95 (5/2025): A jeweled ruby color, the 2021 Barbaresco Basarin reveals more depth on the nose, with elegant aromas of cedar, preserved cranberries, licorice, pretty hints of BBQ spices, and pressed flowers. While it remains medium-framed, it fills and expands on the palate, with broad-shouldered, ripe tannins, even acidity, and notes of dark stones on the finish. It’s deceptive upfront, with a generous ripeness of fruit initially masking its more noble underlying structure. Drink this over the next 15 years. Audrey Frick.
WA 95 (1/2025): Andrea Sottimano says 2021 was one of the best vintages he has seen. There was a lot of snow during the winter that created abundant water reserves lasting throughout the summer. It was a late-ripening vintage, with cool nights, and Andrea harvested until his birthday on October 24th. The 2021 Barbaresco Basarin is expressive and complex with very precise aromas of cassis, navel orange, pulverized stone and licorice root. The tannins are chalky, and the wine offers a pretty sense of lingering sweetness. Winemaking is traditional, with up to three months of submerged cap and aging in botti. Fruit comes from a three-hectare site in Neive with old vines on white soils. Production is 9,000 bottles.
VM 94 (10/2024): The 2021 Barbaresco Basarin is fabulous. Rich, ample and seductive, the Basarin marries the charm that is so typical of this sector with the breadth and structure of Barbaresco. These two qualities are evident in tasting this after the 2023 Langhe Nebbiolo. Transparent and vibrant, the 2021 has so much to offer. Crushed rose petals, mint, orange peel, spice, tobacco and incense build into the long, sustained finish. This is even better than it was last year. Antonio Galloni |
|
|
2021 |
Barbaresco Basarin ex-Domaine |
$71.95 |
8 |
|
| |
JD 95 (5/2025): A jeweled ruby color, the 2021 Barbaresco Basarin reveals more depth on the nose, with elegant aromas of cedar, preserved cranberries, licorice, pretty hints of BBQ spices, and pressed flowers. While it remains medium-framed, it fills and expands on the palate, with broad-shouldered, ripe tannins, even acidity, and notes of dark stones on the finish. It’s deceptive upfront, with a generous ripeness of fruit initially masking its more noble underlying structure. Drink this over the next 15 years. Audrey Frick.
WA 95 (1/2025): Andrea Sottimano says 2021 was one of the best vintages he has seen. There was a lot of snow during the winter that created abundant water reserves lasting throughout the summer. It was a late-ripening vintage, with cool nights, and Andrea harvested until his birthday on October 24th. The 2021 Barbaresco Basarin is expressive and complex with very precise aromas of cassis, navel orange, pulverized stone and licorice root. The tannins are chalky, and the wine offers a pretty sense of lingering sweetness. Winemaking is traditional, with up to three months of submerged cap and aging in botti. Fruit comes from a three-hectare site in Neive with old vines on white soils. Production is 9,000 bottles.
VM 94 (10/2024): The 2021 Barbaresco Basarin is fabulous. Rich, ample and seductive, the Basarin marries the charm that is so typical of this sector with the breadth and structure of Barbaresco. These two qualities are evident in tasting this after the 2023 Langhe Nebbiolo. Transparent and vibrant, the 2021 has so much to offer. Crushed rose petals, mint, orange peel, spice, tobacco and incense build into the long, sustained finish. This is even better than it was last year. Antonio Galloni |
|
|
2020 |
Barbaresco Cotta ex-Domaine |
$74.95 |
54 |
|
| |
VM 96 (10/2023): The 2020 Barbaresco Cottá is another fabulous wine in this range from Sottimano. Dark and super-classic in bearing, the 2020 has tremendous stature along with a darker and more somber personality than usual. The balance here is just mind-blowing. Scorched earth, leather, tobacco and incense infuse the finish with tons of nuance to complement its muscular personality. Antonio Galloni.
JD 96 (5/2023): Moving to the 2020 Barbaresco Cotta, fantastic mineral-tinged aromas of crushed stones, pencil shavings, and blackberry are followed by a medium-bodied red with a ripe yet linear feel and crunchy red fruits of red plum, orange rind, and clove. I liked this for its more tension-packed and energetic feel and stony texture. Drink 2025-2040. Audrey Frick.
WA 94+ (8/2023): A wine from Sottimano that also draws its fruit from the village of Neive (and Barbaresco, because these 2.8 hectares of vines are on the border), the 2020 Barbaresco Cottá shows an austere character with pronounced rust or iodine aromas that are neatly layered into dark fruit and dried cherry. The wine sports a generous, medium-weight texture that offers a good amount of textural firmness to the palate. Give this pretty wine a little more time to flesh out. 9,000 bottles were produced. |
|
|
2021 |
Barbaresco Cotta ex-Domaine |
$67.95 |
60 |
|
| |
JD 97 (5/2025): The 2021 Barbaresco Cotta also sports a bright red color in the glass. It has a pure and seductive nose leading with aromas of wild raspberries, anise, sweet tea, and floral perfume. The palate is inviting and more approachable out of the gate, with ripe tannins, a floating, medium-bodied frame, and pretty notes of apricot lingering on the finish. It’s hard to resist now, but it should have plenty of longevity over the coming 15-20 or more years. Audrey Frick.
VM 96 (10/2024): The 2021 Barbaresco Cottá is quite the powerhouse. As usual, it is marked by a huge mid-palate of fruit, but more classic winemaking these days keeps that in check while also adding the notable structural dimension to balance things out. Black cherry, licorice, incense, graphite, tobacco and scorched earth all build in a virile, potent Barbaresco to treasure for the next two decades. This has come together beautifully since I tasted it last year. Antonio Galloni. |
|
|
2019 |
Barbaresco Curra ex-Domaine |
$82.99 |
26 |
|
| |
WA 96 (8/2023): Released one year later than the other Barbarescos in this portfolio, the Sottimano 2019 Barbaresco Currá brings the intensity up a notch and not just in terms of dark fruit and cassis. The wine's mineral profile is more pronounced and, in careful moderation, so is the oak toast and spice delivery. There are more distinct elements here, all played forward with great intensity, that ultimately reach a place of excellent balance and endurance. Sadly, only 2,000 bottles emerged from this 1.6-hectare vineyard site in Neive.
VM 94 (10/2022): The 2019 Barbaresco Currà is another stellar wine in this range from Sottimano. Deep and authoritative, the 2019 possesses tremendous depth and textural intensity. Incisive Currà tannins are present, but they are pretty much buried by the sheer richness of the fruit. Antonio Galloni. |
|
|
2020 |
Barbaresco Curra ex-Domaine |
$89.99 |
60 |
|
| |
VM 96 (10/2023): The 2020 Barbaresco Currà is an infant, but it is stellar. Wild, savory and intensely perfumed, the 2020 is super-expressive of place. The Currà is the deepest of the 2020s, also the most backward. I would not be in any rush to open bottles. Black fruit, leather, tobacco and cloves add to an impression of brooding intensity. Antonio Galloni.
WA 94 (6/2025): This wine is released one year later than the other Barbarescos in this portfolio. The Sottimano 2020 Barbaresco Currá reveals an open-knit character with immediate tones of tart cherry, dried raspberry and lavender sachet. There is an inherent sweetness to those fruit and floral aromas, and the wine remains contained in terms of mouthfeel thanks to its mid-weight texture. Fruit comes from a 1.5-hectare parcel in Nieve with 40- and 50-year-old vines. Given the warmth of the vintage, I recommend a near- or medium-term drinking window for this 3,000-bottle release. |
|
|
2021 |
Barbaresco Fausoni ex-Domaine |
$74.99 |
1 |
|
| |
JD 96+ (5/2025): The 2021 Barbaresco Fausoni is a bright red color and leads with a detailed and elegant bouquet of dried roses, pomegranate, toasted incense, and dusty earth. It’s bright and medium-bodied, with focused acidity, finely coiled and nervous tannins, and a clean, savory finish. It feels a bit wound up, but who are patient should be rewarded over the coming 15 years. Audrey Frick.
VM 96+ (10/2024): The 2021 Barbaresco Fausoni is bright, nervy and finely cut. Crushed rocks, white pepper, incense, red fruit, pink grapefruit and orange peel all scream out of the glass. Nervy and sinewy, with tons of top-end brightness, the Fausoni is a rock star. But it's also a wine for readers who appreciated the more linear, classically austere style of Barbaresco. Antonio Galloni. |
|
|
2019 |
Barbaresco Pajore ex-Domaine |
$67.99 |
3 |
|
| |
WA 95 (8/2022): Here's a beautifully elegant and fine expression of Nebbiolo from Treiso. The Sottimano 2019 Barbaresco Pajoré shows an earthy personality with crushed stone and potting soil that frame a pretty core of red and purple fruits. I love the depth and complexity of this wine and the slightly more structured tannins that give this wine power and importance.
JD 94 (5/2021): Of the 2018s, the 2018 Barbaresco Pajore has the darkest profile, with dried cherry, tobacco, mint, and cedar. Savory with blood orange, red plum skin, and turned earth, more firm tannins build, with more modest acidity. Drink 2024-2035.
VM 93+ (10/2022): The 2019 Barbaresco Pajorè is dense and quite closed in on itself. Then again, that is Pajorè. There's terrific depth and density here, but not quite the power of some recent releases. That's not a bad thing, as the more restrained style allows the nuance to come through. This is an especially refined edition of the Pajorè. Today, the Pajorè is quite compact and a bit of a bruiser, but there's terrific fruit intensity that just needs time to blossom. Antonio Galloni. |
|
|
2020 |
Barbaresco Pajore |
$65.89 |
3 |
|
| |
VM 97 (10/2023): The 2020 Barbaresco Pajorè is deep, sensual and mysterious, as wines from this great site tend to be. Black cherry, lavender, new leather and balsamic overtones infuse the Pajorè with tremendous complexity and textural resonance. The 2020 is still an infant, but its potential is evident. Antonio Galloni.
JD 96 (5/2023): Pouring a rich garnet, the 2020 Barbaresco Pajore is fleshy and ripe, with a pleasant touch of rustic aromas of saddle leather, black cherry, and balsamic herbs. This medium to full-bodied red is ripe with meaty tannins, rounded black raspberry fruit, potting soil, and mouthwatering salinity on the finish. It is a ripe yet very attractive wine to hold another 6-12 months and drink 2024-2040. Audrey Frick.
WA 94 (8/2023): The Sottimano 2020 Barbaresco Pajoré (with 6,000 bottles made) is a tight and elegant wine with mid-weight structure. The bouquet is very expressive with dried cherry, blackcurrant, iron ore and blue flower. Sottimano succeeds in crafting very linear and precise wines, and that is certainly the message delivered by this wine from the Pajoré Vineyard in the village of Treiso. It ends on a dry, chalky note. |
|
|
2020 |
Barbaresco Pajore ex-Domaine |
$65.89 |
9 |
|
| |
VM 97 (10/2023): The 2020 Barbaresco Pajorè is deep, sensual and mysterious, as wines from this great site tend to be. Black cherry, lavender, new leather and balsamic overtones infuse the Pajorè with tremendous complexity and textural resonance. The 2020 is still an infant, but its potential is evident. Antonio Galloni.
JD 96 (5/2023): Pouring a rich garnet, the 2020 Barbaresco Pajore is fleshy and ripe, with a pleasant touch of rustic aromas of saddle leather, black cherry, and balsamic herbs. This medium to full-bodied red is ripe with meaty tannins, rounded black raspberry fruit, potting soil, and mouthwatering salinity on the finish. It is a ripe yet very attractive wine to hold another 6-12 months and drink 2024-2040. Audrey Frick.
WA 94 (8/2023): The Sottimano 2020 Barbaresco Pajoré (with 6,000 bottles made) is a tight and elegant wine with mid-weight structure. The bouquet is very expressive with dried cherry, blackcurrant, iron ore and blue flower. Sottimano succeeds in crafting very linear and precise wines, and that is certainly the message delivered by this wine from the Pajoré Vineyard in the village of Treiso. It ends on a dry, chalky note. |
|
| | Port |
| Dow |
1994 |
Port Lightly Torn Label |
$95 |
1 |
|
| |
WA 96 (10/2016): The 1994 Vintage Port is set for re-release. It has about 92 grams per liter of residual sugar. It's a beauty, with all that Dow power and structure that I've loved over the years--even after some hours of decanting. Intensely concentrated in flavor, without being jammy, this lingers on the gripping finish after starting with a touch of mint. Serious and brooding, it is not yet as complex and as developed as it could be--but this is Port and that will come in time. Be patient. In the meanwhile, if you must crack this now, give it a few hours in a decanter, to state the obvious. This is a terrific Dow's VP that is still growing and improving. It is still about its potential in some ways and it may well exceed expectations. It will certainly acquire even more complexity with more cellaring. Personally, I would try to give it at least another decade in the cellar.
WS 97 (12/1999): A blackstrap, powerful Port. Black, with intense aromas of raspberries, raisins, flowers and stems. Full-bodied and medium sweet, with a long, rich finish. Tannins pull at your palate. A wine for the future.--Dow vertical. Best after 2008. 13,000 cases made.
MB [***[*]] (10/1998): The Symingtons, at their tasting in March 1996, informed us that they started picking at Quinta do Bomfim on 16 September, which is pretty early, and that the wine had the 'violets aroma of a great yaer'. It was certainly impressive, with a sort of waxy fruit, not at all spirity despite its youthfulness. More recently, still opaque; complete, opulent; laden with fruit and flesh, very dry finish. Very good future. Drink 2006-2030. |
|
| | USA Red |
| Andrew Will |
2014 |
Sorella Champoux Vyd. |
$69 |
2 |
|
| |
JD 97 (4/2018): The deep inky colored 2014 Sorella checks in as a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot and Malbec. Cassis, smoked earth, graphite, and chocolate all emerge from this full-bodied, concentrated, gorgeously rich and layered beauty that has sweet tannin, beautiful purity, and a great finish. This is a sensational wine. I was able to taste both the 2014s and 2015s from Vashon Island-based Andrew Will, which is run by Chris Camarda. As always, Chris releases two appellation blends (Esploso and Sorella) and a bevy of single vineyard blends from some of the top sites in Washington State (Champoux, Ciel du Cheval, Mays’ Discovery, and Two Blondes. Readers looking for classic, age-worthy Bordeaux blends from the United States can’t go wrong here and these wines continue to fly too far under the radar. Give these a try! (Drink between 2018-2038).
WA 94+ (6/2017): More fresh and lively than the Ciel du Cheval, the 2014 Champoux Vineyard has sensational purity in its lifted bouquet of cassis, black raspberries, violets and spring flowers. There's a touch of graphite that develops with time in the glass; it has fine, polished tannin and an elegant, silky texture. It doesn't have the heft of the Ciel du Cheval but shines for its purity and elegance.
VM 91 (11/2016): Bright ruby-red. High-toned, slightly porty aromas of blackberry, blueberry and licorice. At once silky and penetrating, with the superripe dark berry and violet flavors saturating the palate without leaving any impression of heaviness. This highly concentrated, long wine displays palate-saturating tannins that are serious but not dry, reaching the front teeth. (Drink between 2019-2025). Stephen Tanzer. |
|
| Becklyn Cellars |
2013 |
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon |
$84.15 |
1 |
|
| |
| WA 94+ (12/2015): No doubt a major sleeper of the vintage, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon has a dense, opaque ruby/purple color, beautiful crème de cassis notes, blackberry fruit in the background, judicious use of oak, a full-bodied mouthfeel with no hard edges, sweet tannin and a long, layered mouthfeel. This is a beauty to drink over the next 15-20 years. |
|
| Behrens & Hitchcock |
2003 |
Kenefick Ranch Cuvee Torn Label |
$40 |
1 |
|
| |
WA 93-95 (2/2005): The 2003 Kenefick Ranch Cuvee (a 400-case lot of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot and Petit Verdot) exhibits an inky/ruby/purple color along with a gorgeous perfume of smoke, blueberry liqueur, creme de cassis, white chocolate, and espresso roast. Dense, opulent, and full-bodied, with a terrific texture as well as palate penetration, and a 40-45 second finish, it is capable of lasting a decade or more.
VM 91+ (6/2005): Medium ruby. Cool, pure aromas of cassis, licorice and violet. Juicy, dry and lively, with excellent flavor intensity and enticing floral lift. I would have guessed this had some cabernet franc. Quite tightly wound after the bottling, and currently showing its tannic side. But this will almost certainly merit a higher rating with four or five years of additional bottle aging. In this vintage, Les Behrens used a mechanical punchdown tank for the Kenefick Ranch cabernet sauvignon-an approach that was used for more wines in 2004. |
|
| Bien Nacido Estate |
2014 |
The Captain Reserve Pinot Noir |
$75 |
1 |
|
| |
VM 97 (9/2017): The 2014 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard The Captain is one of the very finest wines I have tasted from Trey Fletcher and Bien Nacido Estate. Silky, floral and nuanced, the Captain is all finesse. The purity of the red-toned fruit is simply remarkable. As striking as the 2014 is today, it best drinking lies in the future. (Drink between 2018-2029). Antonio Galloni.
WA 94 (4/2018): The 2014 Pinot Noir The Captain wafts from the glass with complex aromas of wood smoke, wild berries and savory forest floor. On the palate, it's medium-bodied, cool and racy, with a crunchy core of fruit, fine-grained structuring tannins and lots of sappy energy, concluding with a penetrating finish. Like the 2015 rendition, this will need some time to really open up, but it's a beautiful wine from Bien Nacido's highest-altitute, most windswept plantings.
JD 93 (8/2017): A new cuvée (for me anyways), the 2014 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido The Captain was the standard winemaking and saw 30% whole clusters, native ferments and 18 months in 40% new French oak. It sports a deeper ruby color as well as terrific red and black fruits, leady herbs, underbrush and leather. It's another concentrated, rich and nicely structured effort that has plenty of ripe tannin, solid mid-palate depth and a good finish. Like the other wines here, it's going to keep for a decade, and I suspect will be one of the longer-lived wines in the vintage. There’s just 98 cases. These terrific wines are made by Trey Fletcher, and while the majority come from the namesake vineyard outside of Santa Maria, they make a sensational Pinot Noir from the Solomon Hills Vineyard as well. |
|
| Booker Vineyard |
2017 |
Ripper Grenache |
$79 |
1 |
|
| |
| JD 96 (10/2019): Bottled in February of this year, the 100% Grenache 2017 Ripper has a beautiful perfume of black raspberries, white flowers, licorice, and subtle background oak. Rich and medium to full-bodied, it has wonderful purity, fine tannins, and a great finish. |
|
|
2017 |
Vertigo Proprietary Blend Lightly Bin-Soiled Label |
$74.99 |
1 |
|
| |
JD 99 (10/2019): I loved the 2017 Vertigo from barrel, and it didn’t disappoint from bottle. A blend of 63% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre, and the rest Grenache and Petite Sirah, brought up in 65% new French oak, this full-bodied, massively endowed 2017 has complex notes of blue fruits, blood orange, violets, and exotic spices. As with all Eric’s 2017s, it’s rich and concentrated yet has remarkable purity and elegance at the same time. It’s one of the finest GSM blends out there and will shine for at least 8-10 years. (Drink between 2019-2029).
VM 96 (2/2020): Brilliant purple. Blackberry, blueberry, cola, exotic spices, vanilla and pungent flowers on the deeply perfumed, mineral-accented nose. Compellingly sweet, lush and broad in the mouth, showing hefty dark berry preserve, candied violet and fruitcake flavors that pick up mocha, vanilla and star anise nuances on the back half. Finishes extremely long and smooth, with velvety tannins, lingering florality and outstanding clarity. 60% new French oak. (Drink between 2024-2034).
WA 93 (2/2020): The 2017 Vertigo is a blend of 65% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre and 5% Grenache aged in 65% new French oak. Deep ruby-purple in color, the nose opens with tar, chargrill and loamy earth scents, slowly offering up game meats, black currants, dried violets and dried black cherries with a chocolatey undercurrent. Full-bodied, rich and slowly blossoming in the mouth, it has a firm, grainy frame and just enough freshness, finishing long and still youthfully coiled. |
|
| Caymus |
2015 |
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon |
$85 |
1 |
|
| |
JD 95 (1/2020): The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon from Caymus is a stunner that offers ample balance and class paired with serious hedonistic fireworks. Revealing a saturated purple color and blockbuster notes of blackcurrants, cassis, chocolate, cedary spice, and hints of espresso, it’s velvety textured, full-bodied, concentrated, and flawlessly balanced. It opens up with time in the glass and is straight-up loaded with fruit and texture, yet it has the balance, depth, and pedigree to evolve for two decades or more if you’re so inclined. (Drink between 2020-2040).
WA 94+ (10/2017): Deep purple-black in color, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon springs from the glass with lifted crème de cassis, violets and chocolate box notes plus hints of lilacs, raspberry leaves, anise and cardamom. The perfumed black fruit preserves and chocolate-laced notes completely pack the full-bodied palate, with soft, velvety tannins and just enough freshness, finishing very long and very spicy. Definitely one for hedonists seeking immediate gratification. |
|
| Donelan |
2014 |
Cushing’s Block Barbed Oak Vyd. Pinot Noir |
$69 |
1 |
|
| |
JD 95 (7/2017): Coming from a single block in the Barbed Oak Vineyard located in Bennet Valley, the 2014 Pinot Noir Cushing’s Block is a ripe, sweetly fruited and downright sexy beauty that offers classic Pinot fruit as well as complex forest floor, rose petals and spring flowers aromas and flavors. This medium-bodied, plush, incredibly elegant 2014 has a silky texture, fine tannin and a great finish. While it’s drinking beautifully today it will easily keep for a decade. It’s much more seamless and approachable than either of the 2013s.
WA 94+ (2/2017): Coming from the Calera clone planted to gravelly soil, this vintage of Cushing’s Block was produced with 30% whole cluster and aged in French barrels for 16 months, 25% new. Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2014 Pinot Noir Cushing’s Block gives pronounced earthy notes of forest floor, damp earth and fungi over scents of warm cranberries, pomegranate, red currants and violets. Medium to full-bodied with plenty of opulent red fruits accented by earthy/herbal notes, it has a solid frame of grainy tannins and lively acid, finishing with great length.
VM 93 (3/2017): An addition to the range, 2014 Pinot Noir Cushing's Block emerges from Barbed Oak Vineyard in Bennett County. Dark red cherry, plum, blood orange and exotic spice give the wine its alluring personality. Deep, pliant and expressive, the 2014 is a real beauty. This is an impressive debut. Antonio Galloni. |
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|
2013 |
Kobler Family Vyd. Syrah |
$60 |
1 |
|
| |
| JD 95 (7/2017): Coming from the Green Valley region of the Russian River Valley (this is a cooler terroir), the 2013 Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard is always cofermented with a big chunk of Viognier (10% in 2013) and is aged mostly in neutral oak. It offers an ethereal, elegant and seamless style as well as classic notes of black raspberries, white pepper, rose petals and white cherries (no doubt from the Viognier). Nuanced and deep, with a great finish, it’s never the largest scaled wine in the lineup, but it shines for it complexity and incredible elegance. Drink it anytime over the coming decade. |
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|
2013 |
Walker Vine Hill Syrah |
$59 |
2 |
|
| |
| JD 97+ (7/2017): One of the larger scaled examples of this cuvee I’ve tried, the 2013 Syrah Walker Vine Hill saw only partial destemming and 20 months in 25% new French oak. Reminding me a great vintage of Hermitage Les Bessards from Delas, it boasts phenomenal notes of crème de cassis, graphite, roasted herbs, melted licorice and burning embers. Rich, voluptuous, seriously ripe and decadent, yet with density, tannin and structure, it needs 3-4 years of cellaring (it needs an hour decant or more if drinking today) and will have two decades of overall longevity. This is what great California Syrah tastes like! |
|
| Force Majeure |
2010 |
Collaboration Series V Proprietary Blend |
$70 |
1 |
|
| |
| WA 96 (6/2013): The most full-throttle of the lineup, the 2010 Collaboration Series V is comprised of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, from Ciel du Cheval blocks planted in 1975 and 1982, that was aged in 100% new French oak. Made by Chris Gorman, it offers up a decadent array of creme de cassis, smoked herbs, chocolate, roasted meats and freshly sharpened pencil-like qualities on the nose. Full-bodied, seamless and even elegant on the palate, yet with layers of fruit and texture, it has clean, integrated acidity, superb polish to its tannin and big minerality that emerges on the finish. Certainly impressive now, it still needs another 3-4 years of bottle age and will shine for 15 years or more. Drink 2015-2028+ |
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|
2010 |
Collaboration Series VI Proprietary Blend |
$40 |
2 |
|
| |
WA 94+ (6/2013): A brilliant Southern Rhone-like blend of 56% Mourvedre, 38% Syrah and 6% Grenache that was fermented all in concrete and aged in neutral French oak puncheons, the 2010 Collaboration Series VI was made by James Mantone of Syncline Wines. Spectacular, with vividly defined aromas of blackberry, pepper, flowers, underbrush and licorice, it flows onto the palate with lively acidity, polished tannin and an elegant, seamless texture that has no hard edges and an overall classy, refined feel. Already approachable and complex, it will benefit from short-term cellaring and drink nicely for 10-12 years. Drink now-2025.
WS 92 (10/2013): Firm tannins underlie blackberry, currant and roasted meat flavors on a medium-weight frame, coming together on the plush finish. Mourvèdre, Syrah and Grenache. Drink now through 2018. 220 cases made.
VM 91+ (12/2013): (56% mourvedre, 38% syrah and 6% grenache; made by James Mantone of Syncline; fermented in square concrete bins and 500-liter puncheons): Good bright, medium ruby-red. High-toned aromas of red berries, red pepper and licorice, plus a whiff of tree bark. At once sweet and bright, with the red fruit flavors accented by spices and pepper. Lovely energetic, intense mourvedre here. A very successful blend with sound natural acidity. Most of the Force Majeure Vineyard's mourvedre fruit was stolen in 2010, with the thieves leaving only the outside rows intact. |
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|
2011 |
Force Majeure Vyd. Collaboration Series Cabernet Sauvignon |
$60 |
1 |
|
| |
| WA 93-95+ (6/2013): Coming all from the new, incredibly steep estate vineyard located high up near the top of Red Mountain, the 2011 Collaboration Series Cabernet Sauvignon is distinct in the lineup for its deep black currant, tobacco, underbrush, violets and mineral-loaded profile. More rounded and supple on the palate than some of the Ciel du Cheval bottlings, it has a rich, weighty mouthfeel, knockout purity of fruit and enough silky tannin to allow it to evolve gracefully for at least a decade. This is only the fourth leaf for the vineyard and hats off to the Force Majeure crew for having the vision to push the envelope on where grape vines can be planted and for the perseverance to work those steep hillsides. Drink now-2021. |
|
| Grand Reve |
2007 |
Collaboration I Proprietary Blend |
$55 |
2 |
|
| |
JD 94+ (6/2011): A Bordeaux blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc, 13% Petit Verdot, and 11% Merlot, the 2007 Grand Reve Vintners Collaboration Series I is made by Ben Smith of Cadence Winery and is aged for 23 months in 70% new French oak and the rest in 1-year-old barrels. The wine boasts full-scaled, complex aromatics of sweet crème de cassis, spice box, sage, tobacco, and hints of mint on the nose. This is followed by a full bodied, beautifully put together wine that has a rounded, soft texture, perfectly ripe fruit, good acidity, and a blockbuster finish that’s loaded with fine grained, polished tannin. Given the fruit and texture, this is superb now, however, it should continue to evolve positively for 3-5 years, and have a solid 15-20 year drink window.
VM 91 (11/2011): Good full red. Strawberry, raspberry, mocha and red licorice on the slightly medicinal nose. Juicy and vibrant, with harmonious acidity giving energy and definition to the cabernet-dominated flavors of red berries, spices, mocha and fresh herbs. Plenty of flavor depth here without any heaviness. Finishes with suave tannins and excellent length. Stephen Tanzer. |
|
| Hartford Court |
2015 |
Hailey’s Block Pinot Noir |
$65 |
1 |
|
| |
JD 95+ (6/2018): From the cooler Green Valley region of the Russian River, the 2015 Pinot Noir Hailey’s Block was completely destemmed and spent 16 months in 27% new French oak. Hailey's Block is a block within the Arrendell Vineyard, named after Don and Jennifer Hartford's daughter. It’s another beautifully Burgundian wine from this estate that offers crisp black cherry, crushed rock, charcoal, and wood smoke aromas and flavors. It’s fresh, focused, and youthful, with fine tannin and high yet integrated acidity. Give it a year or three and it will keep for a decade or more.
WA 94 (12/2017): Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Hartford Court Pinot Noir Hailey's Block gives up Bing cherry, ripe raspberries and pomegranate notes with touches of baking spices, tree bark and wild thyme. Medium-bodied, very finely crafted and refreshing in the mouth, it has lovely silken-textured tannins framing the vibrant fruit, finishing long.
VM 92 (4/2018): The 2015 Pinot Noir Hailey's Block is tightly wound and reticent next to the other wines in the range, but it nevertheless offers striking purity in its raspberry, blood orange and pomegranate flavors. I would prefer to cellar the 2015 for at least a year or two, as it is not ready to offer maximum pleasure just yet. (Drink between 2020-2025). Antonio Galloni. |
|
| Jonata Winery |
2016 |
Fenix Merlot Bin-Soiled Label |
$89 |
1 |
|
| |
JD 97+ (10/2018): Incorporating a big chunk of Cabernet Sauvignon (30%), the Merlot-dominated 2016 Fenix offers a saturated purple color as well as a powerful, full-bodied, decadent style in its blackcurrants, black cherries, chocolate, lead pencil, and leafy herb aromas and flavors. With a stacked mid-palate, thrilling purity, and an expansive, layered, heavenly profile, it's one of the finest Merlots coming out of California. It will flirt with perfection at maturity. (Drink between 2020-2040).
VM 95 (9/2018): Jonata's Merlot-based 2016 Fenix is bright, focused and taut, all qualities that lend energy to a core of raspberry jam, chocolate, spice and floral notes. Somewhat shy today, the 2016 needs a few years in bottle to blossom. I especially like the wine's energy and restrained yet powerful style. (Drink between 2021-2031). Antonio Galloni.
WA 93+ (9/2019): A blend of 58% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot aged in 70% new French oak, the 2016 Fenix has a deep ruby color and nose of warm red and black cherry, chocolate, dried green herbs, cedar, graphite, blackberry pie, plum and dried flowers—dense but classic. Medium to full-bodied, it floods the mouth with luscious dark fruits, firmly framed by grainy tannins and great freshness, finishing long and chocolaty. Delicious! |
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| Kosta Browne |
2009 |
Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (375 ML) |
$20 |
1 |
|
| |
WS 95 (6/2011): Ripe and deeply flavored, concentrated and well-structured, this full-bodied red offers a complex mix of black cherry, wild berry and raspberry fruit that’s pure and persistent, ending with a pebbly note and firm tannins. Drink now through 2018.
VM 91 (6/2011): Bright ruby. An aromatic nose combines raspberry, candied licorice, pepper, violet, herbs and spicy oak. Sweet, chewy, fine-grained and juicy, with good sappy energy intensifying the red berry and cherry flavors. The persistent, gently tannic finish offers very good palate coverage and an echo of licorice. |
|
| Linne Calodo |
2017 |
In My Dreams |
$55 |
2 |
|
| |
| VM 96 (12/2020): Deep, brilliant ruby. Powerful, smoke-accented red and dark berry and spice-cake aromas are complemented by suave floral and incense accents that expand as the wine opens up. Appealingly sweet and broad on the palate, offering sappy black raspberry, cherry liqueur, star anise and lavender pastille flavors supported by a spine of juicy acidity. Smoothly plays richness off energy and finishes spicy and extremely long, with lingering florality and smooth tannins that add shape and subtle grip. (Drink between 2024-2034). Josh Raynolds. |
|
| My Favorite Neighbor |
2018 |
Cabernet Sauvignon |
$45 |
4 |
|
| |
JD 96+ (9/2020): The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (this was reviewed as the “My Favorite Neighbor” in last year’s report) is similarly deep purple/ruby-hued and has slightly more red fruits with lots of black raspberry, cassis, toasted spice, unsmoked tobacco, and incense aromas and flavors. It almost has a Margaux-like perfume and is medium to full-bodied, seamless, and wonderfully balanced on the palate. Some chalky minerality comes through with time in the glass, and it has plenty of tannins and a great finish. It’s not an over-the-top blockbuster and impresses just as much for its elegance as its richness.
VM 94 (12/2020): Dark, bright-rimmed purple. Deeply perfumed aromas of ripe black/blue fruits, sandalwood and potpourri take on a smoky mineral nuance and a spicy top-note with air. Palate-staining blackberry, cassis, cherry-vanilla, spice-cake and mocha flavors are joined by suggestions of candied rose and cola on the back half. Finishes on an alluringly sweet dark berry preserve note, with well-knit, gently gripping tannins and sharp definition. (Drink between 2024-2034). Josh Raynolds. |
|
| Pax |
2018 |
Sonoma Hillsides Sonoma County Syrah |
$45 |
6 |
|
| |
VM 96 (1/2020): The 2018 Syrah Sonoma-Hillsides is gorgeous. Inky dark fruit, spice, licorice and dried herbs all flesh out with a bit of coaxing. At this stage, the 2018 is remarkably primary, but there is tremendous intensity and richness waiting to emerge more fully. Although the 2018 doesn't quite have the aromatic breadth and layers of the 2016, it is a superb, vivid wine that Pax fans will want to own. The Sonoma-Hillsides is a blend of fruit from Castelli-Knight Ranch, Griffins Lair and Nellessen. The grapes are crushed by foot, using 100% whole clusters, and undergo carbonic maceration, an approach that works so well with this fruit. Aging is done in concrete. (Drink between 2020-2028). Antonio Galloni.
JD 92 (12/2020): A step up over the 2017, the 2018 Sonoma has a classy, Saint Joseph-like vibe in its ripe blue fruits, lavender, violets, ground pepper, and earthy, gamey aromas and flavors. Playing in the medium-bodied end of the spectrum, it has a beautiful floral character, bright acidity, and a clean finish. This beautiful, elegant wine should drink nicely for 4-5 years. It was not destemmed and spent a short 10 months in tank prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered. (Drink between 2020-2025). |
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| Peacock Family |
2012 |
Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon |
$55 |
2 |
|
| |
| WA 95 (10/2014): Winemaker Craig Becker is behind this 420-case cuvée of this sensational 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain. The family owns 5.6 acres on Spring Mountain and planted it with Clone 7. The vines in 2012 were 21 years of age. At 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15.3% natural alcohol and a pH of 3.89, as those numbers suggest, this is a big, fleshy, succulent style of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon with lots of cremede cassis, espresso bean, chocolate, licorice and forest floor notes. Quite full-bodied, opulent, very savory and expansive on the palate, the wine exhibits outstanding purity and density. Drink it over the next 10-15 years. |
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| Quilceda Creek |
2021 |
Columbia Valley CVR Proprietary Blend |
$69 |
3 |
|
| |
JD 96 (7/2024): Possibly the finest rendition of this cuvée to date, the 2021 CVR Columbia Valley Red Wine is exceptional, and while a second wine, it's up with the top-tier wines in the vintage. Ripe cassis, spicy oak, dried tobacco, and flowery incense notes all define the aromatics, and this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a plush, layered, elegant mouthfeel, and a gorgeous finish. It's one of those do-not-miss wines. Drink bottles over the coming 15 years.
VM 94 (1/2024): The 2021 Red Wine CVR Columbia Valley is wonderfully spicy and bright, lighting up the senses with a burst of sweet spice and cherries, complemented by violet pastille and hints of lavender. This is seamlessly silky with a measured inner sweetness. It casts crisp wild berry fruit across the palate as a coating of dusty tannins forms, adding a more tactile feel. It finishes long, with a staining of cocoa and blueberry preserves, leaving the palate nicely refreshed. This seductive and sun-kissed rendition of CVR aims to please. (Drink between 2025-2031). Eric Guido.
WA 94 (3/2024): A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 CVR Columbia Valley Red Wine showcases a bright profile of just-ripe, juicy red fruit that bursts with freshness, revealing layers of complexity. Flavors of dark cherry, plum reduction and a dusty blackberry essence rush over the palate of this medium to full-bodied wine with a ripe attack, succulent, melting tannins and a well-balanced structure. Concluding with a long, lingering and food-friendly finish, this impressive blend is perhaps the best CVR to date. The wine aged 20 months in 100% French oak. |
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| Rhys |
2012 |
Alpine Vyd. Pinot Noir Very Lightly Bin-Soiled Label |
$75 |
1 |
|
| |
VM 94+ (7/2014): The 2012 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is one of the more reticent, backward wines in the range today. Firm tannins provide the underlying framework for an impeccable, pure Pinot long on crystalline energy and intensity. The flavors really pulsate here, while expressive floral and savory overtones add an attractive upper register. This is a rare 2012 that is going to need at least a few years in bottle to show at its best. The Alpine was done with 50% whole clusters. Antonio Galloni.
WA 93+ (4/2015): Coming from a site close to where the Horseshoe Vineyard Pinot Noir comes from, the 2012 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is more structured in 2012, with beautiful balance and focus in its whole cluster-influenced bouquet of Asian spices, smoked earth, black cherry and big mineral-like characteristics. Firm, tight, edgy and backwards, with good acidity and a medium to full-bodied, structured palate, this smoking Pinot Noir needs short-term cellaring, but will be long-lived.
BH 92 (1/2015): A subtle application of wood blends into the ripe plum and dark raspberry suffused nose where again there are pretty floral and spice notes. There is fine verve and a more elegant mouth feel to the delicious and relatively round medium weight flavors that possess fine depth and really lovely balance on the lingering finish. I really like the delivery as it's lacy but serious and like the straight pinot noir this should drink well young yet age effortlessly thanks to the impeccably good balance. Drink 2020+. Outstanding!
WS 87 (7/2015): Firm, with a dusty, gravelly, earthy character and dried berry and herb notes at the core. Medium-weight, balanced toward the dry and earthy side, ending with dried licorice accents. Best from 2016 through 2024. |
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|
2012 |
Alpine Vyd. Pinot Noir (375 ML) |
$39 |
1 |
|
| |
VM 94+ (7/2014): The 2012 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is one of the more reticent, backward wines in the range today. Firm tannins provide the underlying framework for an impeccable, pure Pinot long on crystalline energy and intensity. The flavors really pulsate here, while expressive floral and savory overtones add an attractive upper register. This is a rare 2012 that is going to need at least a few years in bottle to show at its best. The Alpine was done with 50% whole clusters. Antonio Galloni.
WA 93+ (4/2015): Coming from a site close to where the Horseshoe Vineyard Pinot Noir comes from, the 2012 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is more structured in 2012, with beautiful balance and focus in its whole cluster-influenced bouquet of Asian spices, smoked earth, black cherry and big mineral-like characteristics. Firm, tight, edgy and backwards, with good acidity and a medium to full-bodied, structured palate, this smoking Pinot Noir needs short-term cellaring, but will be long-lived.
BH 92 (1/2015): A subtle application of wood blends into the ripe plum and dark raspberry suffused nose where again there are pretty floral and spice notes. There is fine verve and a more elegant mouth feel to the delicious and relatively round medium weight flavors that possess fine depth and really lovely balance on the lingering finish. I really like the delivery as it's lacy but serious and like the straight pinot noir this should drink well young yet age effortlessly thanks to the impeccably good balance. Drink 2020+. Outstanding!
WS 87 (7/2015): Firm, with a dusty, gravelly, earthy character and dried berry and herb notes at the core. Medium-weight, balanced toward the dry and earthy side, ending with dried licorice accents. Best from 2016 through 2024. |
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|
2010 |
Family Farm Vyd. Pinot Noir |
$55 |
2 |
|
| |
VM 96 (8/2012): A drop-dead gorgeous wine, the 2010 Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard boasts stunning richness, depth and power. Juicy dark berries, wild flowers, licorice, tar, smoke and game emerge from the glass. The balance of aromatics, fruit and structure is simply fabulous. Fans of the Rhys wines will flip over the Family Farm in 2010. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2022. Antonio Galloni.
BH 89 (1/2013): (San Mateo County, 12.7%.) There is substantial wood showing and the dark berry fruit and violet aromas are almost overwhelmed. The wood is also present on the delicious, round and solidly well-concentrated medium-bodied flavors that possess good punch and a seductive mouth feel, all wrapped in a persistent finish where the wood rounds off and slightly sweetens it. There is very good material here and thus it's entirely possible that the wood will be successfully integrated in time but at the moment it is too much for my preference. Drink 2017+.
WS 88 (8/2013): Offers a distinctive loamy earth and crushed rock base, with dried berry, herb and savory notes. Well-proportioned and sure to improve, ending with a juicy texture. Best from 2014 through 2022. |
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|
2010 |
Family Farm Vyd. Pinot Noir Lightly Bin-Soiled Label |
$55 |
1 |
|
| |
VM 96 (8/2012): A drop-dead gorgeous wine, the 2010 Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard boasts stunning richness, depth and power. Juicy dark berries, wild flowers, licorice, tar, smoke and game emerge from the glass. The balance of aromatics, fruit and structure is simply fabulous. Fans of the Rhys wines will flip over the Family Farm in 2010. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2022. Antonio Galloni.
BH 89 (1/2013): (San Mateo County, 12.7%.) There is substantial wood showing and the dark berry fruit and violet aromas are almost overwhelmed. The wood is also present on the delicious, round and solidly well-concentrated medium-bodied flavors that possess good punch and a seductive mouth feel, all wrapped in a persistent finish where the wood rounds off and slightly sweetens it. There is very good material here and thus it's entirely possible that the wood will be successfully integrated in time but at the moment it is too much for my preference. Drink 2017+.
WS 88 (8/2013): Offers a distinctive loamy earth and crushed rock base, with dried berry, herb and savory notes. Well-proportioned and sure to improve, ending with a juicy texture. Best from 2014 through 2022. |
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|
2012 |
Horseshoe Vyd. Pinot Noir (375 ML) |
$79 |
1 |
|
| |
WA 94+ (4/2015): A ripe, layered effort that took plenty of air time to come together (I followed all of these wines over two days), the 2012 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard offers gorgeous cherry and raspberry-like notes to go with ample spice-box, dried flowers and smoky characteristics on the nose. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and elegant, it has solid mid-palate density, bright acidity and a big finish. This seemed slightly soft right on opening, but when I came back to the bottle a few hours later, it has come together brilliantly. This beauty should be at it's best from 2017-2027+.
VM 94 (7/2014): Racy and explosive to the core, the 2012 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard hits the palate with a compelling melange of dark red and black stone fruits, cloves, new leather and menthol. Here the style is all about voluptuousness and texture, two qualities the 2012 has in spades. The Horseshoe was fermented with 20% whole clusters, but they are barely evident given the wine's pure intensity and volume. This full-bodied, exceptionally balanced Pinot from Rhys is striking from start to finish. Antonio Galloni.
BH 91 (1/2015): Once again there is an all but invisible touch of wood setting off the cool, elegant and complex nose that is composed of dark cherry, raspberry, floral, tea and spice nuances. There is a lovely sense of energy to the well-delineated and beautifully refined flavors that possess a dusty mouth feel before terminating in a balanced and delicious finish that is subtly persistent. Here too there is a subtle hint of warmth but it is sufficiently slight that is does not affect the overall sense of harmony. Drink 2020+. Outstanding! |
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|
2013 |
Horseshoe Vyd. Pinot Noir |
$89 |
1 |
|
| |
VM 96 (7/2015): An absolute triumph from Rhys, the 2013 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard is all about translucence and a total sense of weightlessness. The flavors are lifted and precise throughout in an utterly captivating Pinot that captures the essence of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Hints of rose petal, dark red cherry, anise and licorice grace the haunting, exquisite finish. The Horseshoe is arguably the most refined of these 2013 Pinots from Rhys.
WA 95+ (10/2015): This steep, south facing parcel always yields a mineral-style of wine and the 2013 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard lives up to expectations. Currants, rose petals, forest floor and crushed rocks all emerge from this medium to full-bodied, sexy, yet unsurprisingly tight, structured and firm 2013. It's another 2013 that needs 2-3 years of cellaring and will have 15 years or more of overall longevity.
BH 93 (4/2016): There are extremely subtle whispers of tar, tobacco and earth lurking in the background of the very deeply pitched aromas of black currant, plum, violets and soy. Like the Horseshoe Hillside this is a robust and muscular effort that possesses seriously good mid-palate concentration as the dry extract imparts a velvety texture as well as balancing off the firm but not hard tannins that shape the chewy, intense and strikingly persistent finish. As good as this is, and it is indeed very, very good, it doesn't quite have the 'wow' factor of its counterpart. Still, this beauty is well-worth having in your cellar provided that you have the intent to cellar it for the longer-term. Drink 2023+. Outstanding! |
|
| Shafer Vineyards |
2021 |
One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon |
$95 |
8 |
|
| |
JD 96 (12/2023): More Cabernet-dominated, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five checks in as 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot, 2% Merlot, and a splash of Malbec. It has incredible purity in its cassis, graphite, lead pencil, and camphor on the nose and a concentrated, medium to full-bodied, layered style on the palate that stays tighter and more compact than the TD-9. (Drink between 2026-2044).
VM 94 (12/2024): The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five is fabulous. Ample and resonant, the 2021 is captivating right out of the gate. Dark cherry, plum, gravel, incense, licorice and dark spice all meld together. The One Point Five is potent and a bit brooding, but it is done in the more restrained style that is the norm here these days. (Drink between 2025-2036). Antonio Galloni.
WA 93 (12/2023): An excellent wine, still arguably a decent value in the context of Napa Valley Cab, Shafer's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five features attractive aromas of ripe cherries, cedar and vanilla, plus hints of mocha and loam. Full-bodied, ripe and velvety, it offers more concentration, tannins and length than the winery's TD-9. The question consumers will have to answer is whether it is worth the step up in price. |
|
| Sojourn Cellars |
2019 |
Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir |
$79 |
2 |
|
| |
JD 95+ (7/2021): I continue to just love the wines from this site, and Sojourn’s 2019 Pinot Noir Gap's Crown Vineyard is a beauty. Lots of plums, darker raspberries, leather, sous bois, and burnt herb notes emerge from the glass, and it hits the palate with medium to full body, a long, elegant, balanced texture, ripe tannins, and a great, great finish. A seriously good Pinot Noir, it should be better with another year in bottle and keep through 2029 or beyond. (Drink between 2021-2029).
WA 92 (6/2021): The 2019 Pinot Noir Gap's Crown Vineyard has a medium ruby-purple color and scents of boysenberries and cranberries with touches of watermelon and red flowers. The palate is medium-bodied, silky and deeply fruited with a layered, spicy finish. |
|
| Three Sticks |
2021 |
One Sky Vyd. Pinot Noir |
$85 |
6 |
|
| |
| VM 95 (1/2024): The 2021 Pinot Noir One Sky Vineyard emerges from Bill Price's estate vineyard on Sonoma Mountain. Translucent and finely cut, the One Sky is so refined. Crushed flowers, bright red-toned fruit, chalk, mint and white pepper all give the 2021 notable brilliance. Vibrant saline notes shape the exquisite finish. (Drink between 2025-2033). Antonio Galloni. |
|
| Turley Wine Cellars |
2003 |
Hayne Vyd. Petite Sirah |
$75 |
2 |
|
| |
| WA 93-95 (2/2005): The 2003 Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard displays the telltale squid ink-like color with some purple hues, and a stupendous nose of pure, black fruits intermixed with minerals, licorice, and incense. Full-bodied, with massively extracted flavors but incredibly well-balanced and vibrant, this wine needs 5-10 years of bottle-age and should age effortlessly for a quarter of a century. |
|
|
2003 |
Hayne Vyd. Petite Sirah Scuffed Label |
$75 |
2 |
|
| |
| WA 93-95 (2/2005): The 2003 Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard displays the telltale squid ink-like color with some purple hues, and a stupendous nose of pure, black fruits intermixed with minerals, licorice, and incense. Full-bodied, with massively extracted flavors but incredibly well-balanced and vibrant, this wine needs 5-10 years of bottle-age and should age effortlessly for a quarter of a century. |
|
|
2011 |
Hayne Vyd. Zinfandel |
$65 |
1 |
|
| |
| WA 93-95 (12/2012): Turley’s 2011 Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard, the product of a very late harvest, is another drop-dead gorgeous wine. Dark red fruit, cinnamon and mocha are some of the layers of aroma and flavor that blossom to fill out the wine’s big, broad-shouldered frame. Vibrant, rich and intense, the Hayne is one of the clear standouts in this lineup of 2011s. It is a dazzling wine in every way. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2021. |
|
| | USA White |
| Accendo Cellars |
2016 |
Sauvignon Blanc |
$50 |
3 |
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| |
| WA 94+ (12/2017): Composed of Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Musque and a splash of Semillon, the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc has pink grapefruit, green mango, ripe pears and baking bread notions with touches of beeswax and crushed stones. Medium-bodied, very finely crafted and refreshing in the mouth, it has a lovely silky texture and fantastic intensity of tropical flavors with a long steely finish. |
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| Alpha Omega |
2018 |
Reserve Chardonnay |
$55 |
1 |
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| |
JD 95 (1/2021): The 2018 Chardonnay Reserve showed nicely, with a Chassagne-Montrachet-like nose of white flowers, crushed stone, and caramelized stone and citrus fruits. Medium to full-bodied, it has a wonderful sense of purity and freshness, with more richness and length building with time in the glass. This fabulous, seamless Chardonnay from Jean will evolve for at least 5-7 years. (Drink between 2021-2028).
WA 94+ (11/2020): The 2018 Chardonnay Reserve bursts from the glass with tantalizing scents of fresh pineapple, apple pie and peach cobbler with hints of honeycomb, praline, creme caramel and orange blossom. The palate is full-on full-bodied and seductive, coating the mouth with decadent tropical fruits and baking spice flavors with a gorgeous satiny texture and great freshness, finishing with epic length. |
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| Araujo Estate |
2014 |
Eisele Vyd. Sauvignon Blanc |
$79 |
1 |
|
| |
| JS 98 (6/2016): A new more precise and lively style for the white here compared to the past. This is extremely aromatic with sliced apple, peach, pear and mineral aromas. Full to medium body, bright acidity. Very energetic. Creamy texture. A saltiness comes through. Some phenolic tension too. This is aged a year on less in oak barrels and only 15% new. About 600 cases, half the original. |
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| Perchance |
2022 |
Beckstoffer Carneros Lake Chardonnay Ex-Domaine |
$95 |
44 |
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| |
JD 95-97 (2/2024): The 2022 Chardonnay Beckstoffer Carneros Lake Vineyard is stunning stuff, and this is one I can't wait to taste from bottle. Reminding me of a great Chardonnay from Aubert with its ripe pineapple, lemon oil, candlewax, and honeyed flower notes, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless mouthfeel, and that rare mix of richness and freshness. This will spend 15 months in barrels, and there are roughly 150 cases.
WA 93 (10/2024): Composed of Clone 96 planted in 1995 and barrel fermented in 100% new French oak, half of the 2022 Chardonnay Beckstoffer Carneros Lake Vineyard underwent malolactic fermentation. It boasts a subtle honeyed element, plus ripe melon and pear notes. Full-bodied, plump and generous, with a long, richly textural finish, it's a beauty to enjoy over the next several years. |
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| Rhys |
2010 |
Alpine Vyd. Chardonnay |
$95 |
3 |
|
| |
VM 95 (5/2012): Pale yellow, with a green hue. More mineral-driven than the Horseshoe bottling, displaying scents of candied citrus fruits, pear, anise, honeysuckle and sea salt. Pure and incisive on the palate, with strikingly pure lime, lemon and pear flavors complicated by floral and mineral qualities. Lingers with Outstanding intensity, leaving notes of iodine, licorice and lime zest behind.
WA 94 (8/2012): The 2010 Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard is a much deeper, vertical wine that fills out all layers of dimension and flavor. Crushed rocks, white flowers and lemon are some of the notes that flow from this powerful, intense Chardonnay. The Alpine is all about tension and energy. I loved it. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. |
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| Shafer Vineyards |
2018 |
Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay |
$50 |
13 |
|
| |
JD 95 (1/2021): Tasted out of bottle, the 2018 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch is beautifully done, with a vibrant yet rich style carrying notes of buttered lemon, orange blossom, white flowers, and toasted bread. With bright acidity, terrific overall balance, and a great finish, this is classic Napa Valley Chardonnay to enjoy over the coming 5-7 years. I wouldn't be surprised to see it keep even longer as well. (Drink between 2021-2030).
VM 93 (1/2021): The 2018 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch is gorgeous. Tangerine oil, white flowers and light tropical accents grace the Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay. Creamy and yet delicate, with lovely balance. The 2018 has so much to offer. Drink this understated, classy Chardonnay over the next handful of years. (Drink between 2021-2025). Antonio Galloni.
WA 91 (11/2020): The 2018 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch bursts from the glass with oak-laced apple pie, peach preserves and ripe pineapple scents plus hints of allspice, candied ginger and praline. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a gorgeous satiny texture and loads of stone fruit and tropical fruit layers, finishing on a lingering spicy note. |
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|
2019 |
Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay |
$50 |
8 |
|
| |
JD 95 (2/2023): Always one of my favorite Chardonnays from Napa, the 2019 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch is no exception and offers a richer, concentrated, yet brilliantly balanced profile that carries classic caramelized citrus, orange, and stone fruits as well as spicy oak and brioche in the background. It’s a serious, concentrated, textured Chardonnay that does everything right. I wish there were more Chardonnay being produced in this style today.
VM 93 (1/2022): The 2019 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch is bright, fragrant and light on its feet. Lemon peel, tropical fruit, jasmine and mint lend striking aromatic nuance to a Chardonnay that balances the energy that is typical of this wine today with attractive, exotic accents that add wonderful nuance. (Drink between 2022-2026). Antonio Galloni.
WA 91 (11/2021): The 2019 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch gallops out with bold scents of ripe yellow apple, spiced pears and beeswax, plus hints of nutmeg, orange blossoms and cedar. Full-bodied with a lively line cutting through the dense stone fruit and spicy flavors, it finishes on a toasty oak note. |
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|
2022 |
Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay |
$55 |
8 |
|
| |
JD 95 (12/2023): I love the 2022 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch. It's a richer, broad, yet still fresh and lively Chardonnay with ripe citrus and pineapple fruits, medium to full body, a layered mouthfeel, and terrific toast, brioche, honeysuckle, and lemon oil aromatics. It will keep for 4-6 years, if not longer, but I love it today. (Drink between 2023-2028).
WA 94 (12/2023): A modern-day classic, Shafer's 2022 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch continues the tradition, delivering pristine pineapple notes alongside hints of citrus curd, pencil shavings and mocha. Full-bodied, round and generous, this no-malolactic-fermentation Chardonnay harmoniously tapers down into a clean, crisp finish. The only quibble with this vintage is that it may show a touch of alcoholic warmth.
VM 91 (12/2023): The 2022 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch is bright, focused and aromatic, as is the style these days. Light tropical notes add an exotic flair as lemon peel, lime, white flowers and crushed rocks linger. The 2022 spent nine months in 40% new oak and the rest in tank and a bit of neutral oak. (Drink between 2023-2029). Antonio Galloni. |
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| Vineyard 7 & 8 |
2019 |
Estate Chardonnay |
$75 |
2 |
|
| |
| VM 95+ (1/2022): The 2019 Chardonnay Estate is a potent, structured wine that will need a few years to come together. Its depth, complexity and overall presence are admirable. Bright acids perk up a core of tangerine peel, mint, apricot and honey. The 2019 is beautifully done. Given how these wines age, I would be in no rush to open a bottle. (Drink between 2024-2034). Antonio Galloni. |
|
| | Argentina |
| Cheval des Andes |
2020 |
Mendoza Red Wine |
$78.93 |
60 |
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| |
WA 98 (8/2023): The 2020 Cheval des Andes was harvested from the last of February for the first time ever. They now harvest using cold trucks (for the first time), and they also started earlier in the morning, which he reckons was very good for the precision of the wine. The final blend was 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot, which makes a comeback as it was not used since 2016. This is slightly riper than 2019, with a little more alcohol (14.5%) and with very good structural tannins but saving the freshness, and it has the spicy side from the Petit Verdot (Gabillet talks about white pepper). The wine has the ultra sleek and polished texture and the elegance and the balance that is the signature here; the wine is very clean and precise. I see very good regularity across the three vintages I tasted next to each other—this 2020 and the 2018 and 2019. Overall, this is a triumph over the adverse conditions of the vintage.
JS 97 (7/2023): Ripe, baked dark cherries with spices and some violets. Hints of graphite, cocoa powder, incense and black pepper. Dried rose petals. A slightly fuller Cheval des Andes with tense, silky tannins and a lingering, generous finish. Ripe, but still has lots of restraint and precision. 49% malbec, 49% cabernet sauvignon with a 2% petit verdot. 24% of the malbec comes from Altamira and all the rest of the fruit come from Las Compuertas. Drink or hold.
VM 96 (9/2023): The 2020 Cheval des Andes is a blend of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot from Paraje Altamira in the Uco Valley and Las Compuertas in Luján de Cuyo. Aged in French oak barrels, it’s purple in the glass with a garnet sheen. The nose reveals a well-judged approach to the warmth of 2020, featuring ripe plum, redcurrant, mint and hints of white pepper over a bed of bay leaf and cedar. It’s dry and velvety on the palate, with rich, polished tannins that deliver a juicy, balanced mouthfeel. The balsamic notes and rich palate reflect the year’s character, while the finish is dynamic and long-lasting. Joaquin Hidalgo |
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| | Other White |
| Kracher |
1999 |
TBA #6 Nouvelle Vague Grande Cuvee (375 ML) Bin-Soiled Label; Signs of Seepage |
$65 |
1 |
|
| |
WA 96 (6/2002): The aromatically demure 1999 #6 Grande Cuvee Nouvelle Vague Trockenbeerenauslese has the texture of 10-W-40 motor oil, yet has exquisite balance. Tangy peaches, apricots, butter, and tropical fruits can be found in this prodigious wine's personality. Projected maturity: 2005-2030+.
WS 90 (9/2002): A well-integrated sweetie, combining rich, caramel and citrus flavors and a vibrant structure. Although intense, it shows more grace than power. Drink now through 2008. 1,400 cases made. |
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|
1999 |
TBA #6 Nouvelle Vague Grande Cuvee (375 ML) Lightly Bin-Soiled Label |
$65 |
1 |
|
| |
WA 96 (6/2002): The aromatically demure 1999 #6 Grande Cuvee Nouvelle Vague Trockenbeerenauslese has the texture of 10-W-40 motor oil, yet has exquisite balance. Tangy peaches, apricots, butter, and tropical fruits can be found in this prodigious wine's personality. Projected maturity: 2005-2030+.
WS 90 (9/2002): A well-integrated sweetie, combining rich, caramel and citrus flavors and a vibrant structure. Although intense, it shows more grace than power. Drink now through 2008. 1,400 cases made. |
|
| | Bordeaux Red |
| Ch. Montlandrie |
2019 |
Cotes de Castillon |
$56.99 |
|
Sold Out
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| |
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| Ch. Pape-Clement |
2020 |
Pessac Leognan |
$85 |
|
Sold Out
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| |
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| Ch. Pavie Macquin |
2019 |
St. Emilion |
$79 |
|
Sold Out
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| |
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| Ch. Pontet Canet |
2020 |
Pauillac |
$89 |
|
Sold Out
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| |
|
| | Rhone Red |
| Dom. Santa Duc |
2018 |
Gigondas Les Hautes Garrigues |
$55 |
|
Sold Out
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| |
|
| | Southern France |
| Clos Cibonne |
2017 |
Cotes de Provence Cuvee Hommage a Marius |
$75 |
|
Sold Out
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| |
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| | Loire |
| Dom. Huet |
2014 |
Vouvray Le Mont Demi Sec |
$45 |
|
Sold Out
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| |
|
| | Spain |
| Mas Doix |
2003 |
Costers de Vinyes Velles |
$85 |
|
Sold Out
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| |
|
| | Italy |
| Sottimano |
2013 |
Barbaresco Pajore |
$69 |
|
Sold Out
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| |
VM 95 (10/2016): The 2013 Barbaresco Pajore brings together power and finesse in a way I am not sure I have seen in this wine before. Translucent, finely sculpted and precise, the Pajore exudes class. Today, the Pajore is incredibly primary, with little of its signature flavors developed. Instead, it is the wine's structure, depth and overall feel that place it among the finest wines of the vintage. Antonio Galloni.
WS 93 (9/2016): Rich and densely structured, with cherry and plum flavors and accents of tar, tobacco and tea. The tannins are gruff in this muscular style, yet also bright and fresh, revealing an earthy, tobacco-tinged finish. Best from 2018 through 2032. 400 cases made. |
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|
2013 |
Barbaresco Pajore Bin-Soiled Label |
$69 |
|
Sold Out
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VM 95 (10/2016): The 2013 Barbaresco Pajore brings together power and finesse in a way I am not sure I have seen in this wine before. Translucent, finely sculpted and precise, the Pajore exudes class. Today, the Pajore is incredibly primary, with little of its signature flavors developed. Instead, it is the wine's structure, depth and overall feel that place it among the finest wines of the vintage. Antonio Galloni.
WS 93 (9/2016): Rich and densely structured, with cherry and plum flavors and accents of tar, tobacco and tea. The tannins are gruff in this muscular style, yet also bright and fresh, revealing an earthy, tobacco-tinged finish. Best from 2018 through 2032. 400 cases made. |
|
| | USA Red |
| My Favorite Neighbor |
2019 |
Cabernet Sauvignon |
$50 |
|
Sold Out
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| |
|
| | USA White |
| Peter Michael Winery |
2020 |
Belle Cote Chardonnay |
$89 |
|
Sold Out
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| |
|
| | Australia |
| Clarendon Hills |
2005 |
Hickinbotham Vyd. Syrah |
$69 |
|
Sold Out
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| |
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| | Other White |
| Kracher |
2000 |
Zwischen Den Seen TBA #5 Scheurebe (375 ML) |
$55 |
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Sold Out
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