Search results for: 'layon cellars'

94 Points! Hailing from a warm vintage that was one of the best in what would otherwise have been a fairly ordinary decade, the 1985 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon is starting to take on a deep golden appearance, commencing to amber. It offers a gorgeous, suave texture and a very complex nose that's a touch oxidative but that adds a layer of additional intrigue: it's all nuts, raisins, walnuts, olives, warm pastry, cinnamon, cooked orange peel. It's round and sweet (95g/L) but not unctuous with richness on the mid-palate while retaining enough acidity to refresh the mouth on the long finish. A wine that is very comfortable in its own skin, providing a very relaxing experience.

Moulin Touchais produces sweet Chenin Blanc in the Coteaux du Layon appellation. The wines are most often late harvested, although in some vintages - such as 1997 - a high level of botrytis builds on the fruit. What makes the winery special is its late-release policy: the wines must spend a minimum of 10 years in the underground cellars beneath the village of Doué la Fontaine before release. - Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous Media, 2021

99 Points! The 2021 EE Red Wine is ripe and powerful, with smoky red and black fruits as well as lots of background oak, graphite, espresso, and dark chocolate-like aromas and flavors that develop beautifully with time in the glass. Deep, rich, full-bodied, and concentrated on the palate, it has plenty of background oak, the building tannins of the vintage, and a great finish. A gorgeous wine, it will benefit from 3-4 years in the cellar and evolve for 25-30 years in cold cellars. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Cabernet Franc brought up in new barrels. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! The star of the show is the 2022 Ontogeny, a broad, layered, richly textured 2022 that has gorgeous cassis and blue fruits as well as integrated oak, some classic Cabernet graphite, iron, and smoked tobacco. It’s rich, full-bodied, and wonderfully complex, with ripe tannins and a great, great finish. I love it today yet it should cruise over the coming 10-15 years in cold cellars. - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! Employing 15% whole-cluster fermentation, the 2022 Pinot Noir Clow Ridge Vineyard is an exquisite study in elegance and subtle flavor, with floral red fruit and a balanced approach to acidity, sourced from an organically farmed, high-density vineyard on the northwestern edge of the appellation; this is only the second vintage for Drew from this site. Structured to age, it will do well in the cellar for 7-10 years, tasting of earthy dried herb, forest, and mushroom, savory in flavor profile and texture. This is a "wow" wine." - Virginie Boone, JebDunnuck.com

95 Points! Packed with vibrant red fruit flavors on a brilliant texture with great acidity, the wine also shows a touch of richness and plumpness that leads to a lingering finish. Medium-bodied. The raspberry, tart cherry, rhubarb, mint and mineral notes are captivating. Aged in 20% new oak. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Another impressive wine at a remarkable price point, the 2023 OVR Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grown at the family’s McDowell property in Mendocino County. It’s dry, refined, and tastes of classic Cabernet, offering green olive, currant, and a hint of soy around fine, well-integrated tannins, with tension and vibrancy able to punctuate through its full-bodied core and oak and subtle power. Drink now through 2033. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

96 Points! The 2019 Champoux Vineyard checks in as a mix of 54% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Petite Verdot, aged 23 months in 30% new French oak. Its deep purple hue is followed by a gorgeous bouquet of pure cassis and dark cherry fruits as well as spring flowers, spicy oak, and chocolaty herbs. Rich, fleshy, opulent, and full-bodied on the palate, with its Merlot component front and center, it's going to deliver loads of pleasure over the coming 15 years or more. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! Bloody black and blue fruits, iron, leafy herbs, toasted spices, and dried tobacco all shine in the 2019 Heliotrope, a rocking blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Mourvèdre, and a little Cabernet Franc. It's beautifully balanced, has a ripe, lush mouthfeel, beautiful, velvety tannins, and a great finish. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2022 Syrah Valenti Ranch is a super-classic Mendocino Ridge wine. It offers a beguiling mix of dark Syrah fruit along with a host of savory/earthy undertones, all framed by beams of tannin that lend energy. Complex and pedigreed to the core, the 2022 is an absolute delight. In a word: gorgeous. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

Another fabulous vintage of this perennial value star from Sparkman. Mutiple times on the Wine Spectator's Top 100 list for a reason....tasty stuff!

96 Points! The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon was blended with 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec, 1% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot and matured for 18 months in 55% new French oak. Deep ruby-purple, it has alluring scents of Morello cherries and blueberries accented by wafts of laurel leaves, allspice and cocoa. Medium-bodied and firm yet velvety, it's ripe yet more restrained than previous vintages, offering classy oak spice and surprising drinkability. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

93 Points! A succulent, juicy young red with plum, dark berry and some tile and bark undertones. It’s full-bodied with layers of pure fruit and fine tannins. Lightly chewy at the end of the palate with a savory and fruity finish. Better after 2024.  - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! Alluring, with melted red licorice draped over a core of lush cassis and plum compote notes. An apple wood edge is nicely inlaid on the finish. Drink now through 2028. - Wine Spectator

100 Points! A full-bodied, structured red with blackcurrant, violet, dark-chocolate and burnt-orange aromas. Walnut husk, too. Such precision and elegance. Firm, smooth tannins and a long finish. Really complex at the end. A stunning wine from Stags Leap District. Drink from 2023. - JamesSuckling.com

98+ Points! From the estate property around the new winery in Stags Leap, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Moonracer (there are normally small amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc in the blend) offers a glorious Napa Cabernet nose of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, dried flowers, and chocolate that develops beautifully with time in the glass. It doesn't lose a beat on the palate either and is full-bodied, with a layered, focused texture, building structure, and a great, great finish. It's a serious, age-worthy wine that needs 4-5 years of bottle age yet will evolve like a First Growth from Bordeaux. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! The 2019 Pinot Noir Wendling Vineyard is totally beguiling. High-toned aromatic, mid-weight structure, silky nuanced and super-expressive a wine of tremendous allure and deceptive beauty. Not totally immediate as most wines are in this range, but rather a Pinot that demands the full attention of the taster. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

93 Points! The 2021 Chardonnay Tina-Louise Shea Vineyard lifts from the glass with a savory blend of freshly sliced green apples, split pine and contrasting hints of mint. Round, pliant textures and succulent ripe orchard fruits wash across the palate as confectionary spice comes forward toward the close. This tapers off potent and long yet remarkably fresh, leaving touches of young kiwi to fade. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

93 Points! Lovely nose of golden apples, baked pears, sweet spices, blanched almonds, warm herbs and some lemons. Medium-bodied with bright acidity. Fresh lemon character at the center and a caressing, silky texture enveloping the palate. Well-balanced, lively and precise. - JamesSuckling.com