Search results for: 'marin a toro'

94 Points! 2021 was a very good vintage for Dominio del Bendito, and the 2021 Las Sabias shows the freshness of the year with the ripe, concentrated, powerful house style. You don't really feel the 16.5% alcohol in this wine, and it comes through as full-bodied but balanced, with ripe fruit and tannins and integrated oak after spending 16 months in French oak barrels. It is finer-boned than other years. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

Handed down from father to son, the age-old recipe calls for an infusion of high mountain herbs. In the 1800’s, Torella was referred to as “potable Centerba” to distinguish from Centerba 72. Torella 72 maintains the same characteristic of Centerba 72 with a lower alcohol strength and slight sweetness created from the addition of the fine acacia honey. For those who want to enjoy the flavors of Abruzzo at a lower alcohol strength with slight sweetness, Torella is the perfect choice.

TASTING NOTES
• Sweet entry of soft, mountainous herbs
• Vibrant pine note with slight vanilla
• Subtle honeyed oregano and wild mint
• Smooth finish dusted with cinnamon

94 Points! The 2022 Tio Uco Vino de Comarca, crafted with 90% Tinta de Toro and 10% Garnacha sourced from Paramo de la Guarena, is bottled as Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon and was aged in 2500-liter foudres. It exhibits a purple hue. Its reductive nose, reminiscent of cherries, also features plums and light vanilla. Light and fairly lean, the taut and chalky palate leads to a compact, refreshing, juicy and lasting finish. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous Media

96 Points, Wine Spectator's #1 Wine of the Year 2024! A remarkable effort that channels the finesse of the vintage with rich, muscular edges, offering a base of graphite and cassis notes that gather around elegant layers of dried rosemary and white pepper. The richly textured core of raspberry and plum flavors show precision and just enough acidity to keep things sailing onto the finish around well-integrated tannins and touches of cocoa. Best from 2026 through 2040. - Wine Spectator

93 Points, Tim Atkin's Wine Value of the Year! Wild and floral, with notes of rose petal, tarragon, and spring meadow herbs, this 100% Monastrell from Jumilla’s Valle Estrecho shows bright grip and chalky tannins. Aged seven months in old concrete tanks from the 1960s, it’s textured, vibrant, and deeply rooted in the fruit character of Monastrell and the stony, calcareous soils. It finishes with a bright lemon peel twist. - Tim Atkin

95 Points! Wild bramble fuit, deep spices and wild berries on the nose, with cleansing bright red fruit. This is a solid, medium-bodied Sonoma County wine with fresh, minerally acidity that dances across the palate. Nicely integrated fine tannins frame abundant fruit. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! A bright medium ruby color, the nose of the 2023 Pinot Noir Lyra is lifted and fresh, with focused, bright spice notes of ripe cranberries, cinnamon, fresh roses, and bright herbs. Medium-bodied, this carries seamlessly to the palate, with vibrant, fresh energy, fine tannins, and salty fresh accents. A phenomenal value. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

This is sourced from a handful of select sites throughout Santa Barbara County. 2021 was a pretty normal year down there with a couple early July heat spikes into the upper 70s low 80s. The marine influence and the wind buoy and temper the bright fruit flavors in the resulting wines. Harvest September 9th-25th. 25% new French oak aging.  

93 Points! The Corpinnat sparkling white 2023 Lucidity is their youngest sparkling wine, produced with Xarel.lo and Macabeu from four different plots—there was less Macabeo in 2023—on limestone of marine origin. It fermented by plot in stainless steel and 300-liter French oak barrels, where the wine was kept with the lees for 11 months, until it was put in bottle to referment. It's a Mediterranean sparkler with energy, structure and freshness, though it has ripeness. It's aromatic, with notes of herbs and even some traces of red fruit, and the palate is a lot sharper and very tasty, with a slate-like, tasty and bone-dry finish and small bubbles that give it texture. It was put in bottle in July 2024 and disgorged in January 2026, after 18 months with the lees. It comes in at 12% alcohol, with a pH of 3.02 and 6.1 grams of acidity. It's very impressive for an entry-level wine. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

Stellar new release from 'Cava country' in Spain. Xarel-Lo & Macabeu from deep marine-limestone bedrock beneath limestone-clay topsoil. Whole-bunch pressed at low pressure, racked lightly preserving the fine solids. Fermented in stainless steel & 300L french oak barrels. Aged in barrel & tank sur lie for 11 months prior to tirage. Aged in bottle on the lees for 18 months, prior to disgorgement. Zero dosage, zero sulfur added, topped with the same wine.

96 Points! The 2023 Chablis 1er Cru La Forest is nothing short of superb in bottle and ranks among the year's most authoritative wines. A pure, marine-inflected opening—iodine, lemon peel and oyster liquor mingled with beeswax and dried apricot—precedes a concentrated yet tensile palate of taut muscularity. Bright acidity and abundant chalky extract lend the wine a bracing, kinetic edge, culminating in an intensely saline, persistent finish. Dauvissat here once again affirms its status as one of the site's greatest interpreters. - Kristaps Karklins, robertparker.com

97+ Points! An example of purity and stony tension, Vincent Dauvissat’s 2022 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses is the crowning achievement of an extraordinary portfolio. With an understated Chablisien character, it opens in the glass to reveal a marine bouquet of oyster shell and iodine mingling with lemon zest and white flowers. Refined and laden with incisive acids, an abundance of chalky structuring extract and with a persistent, searingly saline finish, it is more ethereal and elegant than Les Clos yet possesses all the prerequisites to age as gracefully. - Kristaps Karklins, robertparker.com

Sourced from Spanish Springs and Norgrove Gardens, 12.9% alc. 9 months aging in 34% neutral 500L barrels, 17% stainless steal tank, 49% neutral 228L barrel.

From the winery: Our Central Coast Chardonnay is sourced from notable vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills of Santa Barbara County and the SLO Coast of San Luis Obispo County. Of particular note are the Spanish Springs and Norgrove Gardens Vineyards, both just over two miles from the ocean. These sites provide vibrancy and marine freshness that benefit from the textural boost of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay to create a balanced, delicious wine.

97 Points! A cuvée I would never bet against, Vincent Dauvissat’s 2022 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos is generously structured and leaps from the glass with a bouquet of kaleidoscopic complexity, featuring notes of white peach, beeswax and lemon oil blending with marine flavors. Multidimensional and concentrated, it is supported by racy acidity and concludes with a long, chalky finish. At present, it is more fruit-forward and muscular than Les Preuses but not at the expense of the tension and chalky extract one expects from it. Which will ultimately prevail is open to interpretation, so at this early stage, I'll refrain from premature coronation. - Kristaps Karklins, robertparker.com

91 Points! A medium red color, the 2023 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley offers an elegant perfume and spiced profile with aromas of red cherries, roses, forest herbs, and mossy earth. It’s a very pretty and elegant red with a refined texture and an even, floating feel through the finish. It’s a very attractive wine to enjoy now or over the next 4-6 years. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

From the winery: Our 2023 Russian River Pinot Noir is a beautifully complex expression of this renowned region, blending fruit from four distinct vineyards to create a wine of depth, elegance, and balance. Bommersbach Vineyard (29%) lends rich cherry cola notes, while Bode Vineyard (38%) provides a silky, seamless texture. The cooler Rogaway Vineyard (14%) in the Sebastopol Hills and Monroe Vineyard (19%) south of Sebastopol contribute vibrant floral and spice notes, with Monroe’s sandy Goldridge soils intensifying the wine’s structure and acidity. Aged in 24% new oak with 15% whole cluster fermentation, this 225-case production Pinot Noir (13.9% ABV) is a harmonious blend of power and finesse, showcasing the best of Russian River Valley terroir.

93 Points! This is the first vintage of the 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Mulino from Pertimali, a lower-elevation cru that’s noted for the high level of marine fossils found in its soils. Here I find a classic display of dried roses, black cherry, dusty earth and freshly-tanned leather. It envelopes the palate in fleshy textures offset by a mix of tart wild berries, zesty acids and savory spice, as building tension puckers the cheeks, seeding them with fine-grained tannins. This comes across as structured yet remarkably balanced, and it’s a beautiful expression of the vintage. Lose your bottles in the cellar for two to three years, and then reap the rewards. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

From the winery: The fruit for this Gamay was harvested from several vineyards surrounding our winery in the Arroyo Seco AVA. This AVA is recognized as having the longest growing season in California. Strong daily winds that bring cool fog from the Monterey Bay allow the grapes to spend more time on the vine building flavor, complexity and acidity. Extremely rocky well-drained alluvial soils are the base for creating wines processing freshness & minerality. The combination of sand, granite, and shale loam soils with the ever present marine influence provide the perfect conditions for growing Gamay. 100% whole cluster using ambient yeast and native malolactic aged in 100% nuetral french oak puncheons, bottled unfined and unfiltered, 12.1% ABV.

92 Points! The Klein Constantia 2023 Constantia Sauvignon Blanc is extremely linear and sharp with a mineral quality the persists throughout. Winemaker Matthew Day says it took him a long while to understand what the soils mean to this wine. He works with ancient decomposed granite and reddish sandstone from Table Mountain and along the riverbeds. With 42 blocks to choose fruit from, the blending possibilities are enormous. He can pinpoint the best blocks each year. He starts blending after the wine has seen six months in tank, but he wants to extend that to nine months. A salty marine theme is dominant, but the wine also offers white fruits and light floral nuances. A tiny part of declassified wine from oak may work its way into this blend, but you would never know. If you enjoy Sauvignon Blanc, as I do, I enthusiastically direct your attention here. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

The Castello di Castellengo’s Coste Della Sesia ‘Rosso della Motta’ has a shocking price, in the best possible way. It’s very inexpensive, but it’s also very serious. What it’s best at is how much joy it unfurls compared to so many other Alto Piemontese reds that have forgotten wine is also to be enjoyed; to be fruity and merry. It’s made entirely from Nebbiolo grapes harvested from 70 to 80-year-old vines planted between 300-350 meters on the rolling hills of marine sand and clay. To keep the fruit profile upfront during its two-week natural fermentation in steel, Magda keeps the temperatures maxed out at 22° C. It’s then aged on lees for 24 to 30 months in concrete without racking before a light filtration at bottling. With only 40 mg/L of total sulfur, added only at bottling, its years of refinement under all the natural bacteria, yeast and microorganisms that survived and even grew in fermentation make this a truly authentic wine, at a great price.