Search results for: 'charl+of+wines'

From the importer: An assemblage of the estate’s finest parcels, the single Côte-Rôtie cuvée produced at the Gérard domaine is sourced principally from the Mollard lieu-dit (65%) with the balance a mix of Font-Jean, Viallière, and La Landonne. At vinification, a significant portion is left whole clusters. This is a finer expression of the appellation than many of its counterparts along the slope, with a purity of fruit and finesse to the tannins. Although its profile is marked by a regal elegance that makes this wine seductively drinkable in its youth, older examples offer strong testimony that the Côte-Rôtie from Domaine Gérard has the capacity to provide a pure and tenacious expression of this noble terroir for decades in the bottle.

98 Points! A gorgeous cuvée from three cool-climate sites (50% Gail, 40% Nelson, and 10% Coastview), the tiny production 2023 Syrah Sandstone Terrace shows the terroir of what winemaker Sam Smith says is the prevailing soil type in the Santa Cruz Mountains and the inviting nuances of each place, some extremely cool-climate and others surrounded by redwoods. White pepper, garrigue, smoked meat, and iron are all there, expertly layered around a light-bodied frame of persistent freshness and complexity. The grapes were native-fermented 85% whole-cluster before spending 10 months in barrel, 95% of it neutral. The wine is elegant, composed, fruity, and gamey, as luxuriously inviting as blue velvet. Drink now through 2030. - Virginie Boone, JebDunnuck.com

95+ Points! This 2019 Langi Shiraz is so aromatic: brooding and dark, spicy and mid-weight, layered with Middle Eastern spices, black and purple fruits, clove, mint, licorice and bone broth. The wine is awesome. It's really balanced and complete. Its the product of a warm season, but it wears it so well. The tannins have an über attractive gravelly aspect that I really like ... chewy but fine. So good! 14.8% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com

100 Points! Another singular, as well as absolutely perfect, wine from this remarkable family team, the 2022 Syrah Life And Death is 100% Syrah from Bien Nacido and Stolpman vineyards, aged 21 months in 61% new oak. It has a deep ruby/purple hue as well as a classic Bien Nacido nose of blackberries, pepper, iodine, and iron notes, with perfectly integrated background spicy oak. Deep, pure, elegant, and beautifully balanced on the palate, it has full-bodied richness, integrated acidity, and a seamless profile. This is stunning stuff that will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and can be enjoyed over the following two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! Bing cherries, wild strawberries, and even some blue-like fruits emerge from the 2021 Syrah Thompson Vineyard, a medium to full-bodied Syrah revealing classic pepper, violet, and gamey, meaty aromatics, ripe, polished tannins, and a gorgeously textured, dense mid-palate. This perfumed, exotic, complex Syrah will evolve for 10-12 years at a minimum. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2021 Syrah Thompson Vineyard is a bright, savory wine. Black pepper, lavender, mint, spice and graphite meld into a core of blue-toned fruit. This vibrant, sculpted Syrah captures all the energy of the cool year without any excesses. This is the first year with some stem inclusion, about 17%. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

100 Points! The 2022 Lamella Shiraz has a little secret held within, and it's one not noted on the label. Within this cuvée, is just two barrels of fruit from the Stonegarden Vineyard, the original Lamella Vineyard, before the current Huttonvale Farm. Stonegarden was planted in the Eden Valley in the middle 1800s and is a historic site. The wine rises with Chinotto and blood orange, black tea and pressed flowers. It is, in its quiet way, kaleidoscopic and mottled ... it does not stay still, it gently moves across the palate like sunlight over the course of a day. The long finish speaks of raspberry pip and sandalwood, pomegranate, Boscobel rose and even the softest suggestion of scraped vanilla pod. If you have the benefit of time, I would recommend tasting this on both day one and day two. As I see it, day two has all of the complexity of day one, with the added seamlessness and silk that only time can bring. This is the most alluring Lamella I can recall ever tasting on release, despite many previous releases' flirtation with perfection. 100% whole bunch. 14.9% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax. - Erin Larkiin, robertparker.com

98 Points! The tiny production 2019 Cornas Cuvée Jana is another gorgeous wine. More up-front and opulent than either the 2018 or 2016, it has a mass of blueberry and black cherry-like fruits as well as smoked game, bouquet garni, ground pepper, and iron. It hits the palate with a lush, opulent attack and has a terrific mid-palate, before the tannins build and clamp down on the finish, showing more loamy earth and mineral notes. It certainly displays the richer, ripe style of the vintage and has moderate acidity, yet the purity of fruit is spot on, it's beautifully balanced, and it’s going to keep for 25+ years in cold cellars. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! Showing greater nuance and complexity on the nose, the 2019 Cornas Jana—named for Michel's daughter and sourced from Les Côtes and Chaillot—is a big step up from Michel's basic Cornas. Hints of violets, mint and crushed stone accent deep cassis and blueberry fruit, while the full-bodied palate is concentrated, rich and tannic, with a long, long, finish. Although not unenjoyable now, it's a Cornas for the cellar, with at least a decade of improvement possible. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

99 Points! Given its consistently outstanding quality, it’s easy to forget that the average age of Porseleinberg's 14 hectares of vineyards is only seven years' old. Showing what Callie Louw calls a "little more crunch" in 2021, this is a Syrah with time on its side. Wild herb aromas of sage, oregano and rosemary introduce you to a palate that's dense yet refined, with lots of whole bunch spice and structure, negligible oak influence, detailed, layered tannins, some underlying grip and layers of dark berry fruit. One of the world's great reds from a very special site. - Tim Atkin, MW

97 Points! The 2021 Porseleinberg is whole bunch fermented and aged for 12 months in foudres. I gave my glass plenty of aeration. Chatting with winemaker Callie Louw, this wine can be closed, this being the first time I had tasted it at the remote Swartland estate. It has a compelling bouquet with fabulous delineation, a mélange of, say, one-third red and two-thirds black fruit, hints of iron filings and reflecting its soils, slate-like scents. Obstinately backward, after 10 minutes, it positively blossoms in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, with filigree tannins framing the mineral-rich black fruit. Plenty of extract is interwoven, but perhaps unlike the vintages of old, Louw's winemaking sense means that it's not immediately tangible. A discrete build in the mouth reveals hidden layers as it sashays towards its crunchy finish and then delivers a dash of cracked black pepper on the aftertaste. Outstanding…but what else do we expect? - Neal Martin, Vinous

97 Points! What an intense nose of charcuterie, grilled herbs, iron, black berry fruit and cracked pepper. Flavor explosion on the palate, too, with a full body, yet so much freshness with an underlying iron and peppercorn character. Firm, yet fine tannins. Even better from 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! Tasting this very powerful and concentrated Cornas is like listening to a piece of organ music when the bass kicks in. Very meaty. A wealth of blackberry aromas unfurls as it aerates in the glass. More than enough fruit and flesh to wrap around the imposing core of beautifully crafted tannins. The deep bass notes echo on and on in the compelling finish. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! No Renaissance was produced in this vintage. Reminding me of the 2017, the 2022 Cornas reveals gorgeous red and black fruits, violets, bouquet garni, and gamey, iron-like nuances. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has fine tannins, beautiful overall balance, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a gorgeous finish. This is well worth your time and money, and I'd be thrilled with bottles in the cellar. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following two decades. This is another beautiful lineup from the Clape family. The 2023s are supple and upfront, with terrific depth of fruit. Due to tiny yields, no Renaissance cuvée was produced in 2022, and the Grand Vin is brilliant stuff, with a sunny yet concentrated, structured style that reminds me of the estate's 2017. These are beautiful, classic Cornas that readers will love. In addition, don't miss their Saint-Péray, a fresher, crisp, absolutely delicious white. - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! A tasting of various barrel samples suggests that the 2022 vintage here will be very good, if not necessarily the most powerful year. The fruit is quite dark in character and there's a good sense of purity if not the same freshness as 2021 or 2020, or the grandeur of 2019. Nonetheless, an excellent wine and a fairly typical expression of Clape Cornas. Tannins are ripe and elegant. - Decanter Magazine

98 Points! Tasting this very powerful and concentrated Cornas is like listening to a piece of organ music when the bass kicks in. Very meaty. A wealth of blackberry aromas unfurls as it aerates in the glass. More than enough fruit and flesh to wrap around the imposing core of beautifully crafted tannins. The deep bass notes echo on and on in the compelling finish. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! No Renaissance was produced in this vintage. Reminding me of the 2017, the 2022 Cornas reveals gorgeous red and black fruits, violets, bouquet garni, and gamey, iron-like nuances. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has fine tannins, beautiful overall balance, plenty of mid-palate depth, and a gorgeous finish. This is well worth your time and money, and I'd be thrilled with bottles in the cellar. Hide bottles for 5-7 years and enjoy over the following two decades. This is another beautiful lineup from the Clape family. The 2023s are supple and upfront, with terrific depth of fruit. Due to tiny yields, no Renaissance cuvée was produced in 2022, and the Grand Vin is brilliant stuff, with a sunny yet concentrated, structured style that reminds me of the estate's 2017. These are beautiful, classic Cornas that readers will love. In addition, don't miss their Saint-Péray, a fresher, crisp, absolutely delicious white. - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! A tasting of various barrel samples suggests that the 2022 vintage here will be very good, if not necessarily the most powerful year. The fruit is quite dark in character and there's a good sense of purity if not the same freshness as 2021 or 2020, or the grandeur of 2019. Nonetheless, an excellent wine and a fairly typical expression of Clape Cornas. Tannins are ripe and elegant. - Decanter Magazine 

91 Points! Made from 100% Syrah, the 2023 Crozes-Hermitage is a classic wine in the vintage with its upfront, perfumed, spicy style. Red, blue, and black fruits, peppery herbs, potpourri, and spice notes all shine, and it's medium-bodied, has a pure, layered mouthfeel, soft tannins, and outstanding length. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! Shows a lightly firm plum skin edge, with a briary feel to the pomegranate, black cherry pepper and tobacco notes. A tangy iron edge peeks through on the finish, with the briar note hanging on as well. Nice stuffing for the vintage, though this relies more on acidity than tannins in the end. -- Non-blind Chave vertical (June 2012). - Wine Spectator

95 Points! You know, when you drink the Freedom 1843, I think you want the concentration and intensity dialed up to 11. They're very old vines. Well, good news: It is. This 2019 The Freedom 1843 Shiraz is luscious and plush but not overdone; the intensity has been pushed right out and accelerated but harnessed at the same time. The wine is complete, pleasurable and harmonious. Excellent. Very big, but excellent. - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com

95 Points! The 2017 Syrah Rockpile Vineyard is another huge success in the vintage. From a great site in the Rockpile AVA of Sonoma County, its deep purple color is followed by a great bouquet of blueberries, iron, crushed rocks, ground pepper, and hints of smoked game. Structured and tannic on the palate, it reminds me of a young Cornas and needs 4-5 years of bottle age. It’s seriously impressive, though, and should have 15 years of overall longevity. - Jeb Dunnuck

From the importer: 55+ year-old vines. East of Erôme and Gervans, two of Crozes-Hermitage’s granite terroirs, lies Les Picaudières, perhaps the most singular terroir within the entire appellation. An unexpected fusion of Côte-Rôtie-like elegance with penetrating mineral textures and Hermitage’s rich, upfront earthiness and darker fruit, it is indeed unique, especially to its own appellation of humble terroirs. A small hike is required to reach the vineyard tucked a few kilometers on the backside of Hermitage, back into a forest that surrounds the vineyard on all sides, except the ridgeline.

Gorgeous Cornas! Sloping vineyard of 60+ year-old vines facing south, south east at 250 meters above sea level. Aging in oak barrels. Traditional vinification in concrete tank. Cuvaison 28 to 32 days with pigeage, pressurage with a low pressure vertical press. Aging 24 months including 12 months of old barrels then 12 months of concrete ovoids.

95 Points! Rising aerial freshness, this gently hovers out of the glass, with a petrichor note on the nose. Light-bodied, but no lack of impact or intensity. Deeply textural, with a mass of ripe tannin, it finishes dry and saline. Great freshness and energy. Whole-bunch fermented with natural yeasts, followed by 16 months élevage in old barrels. - Decanter Magazine

Coming from three different parcels near the northern Rhône (as well as some declassified Côte Rôtie), the 2021 Collines Rhodaniennes Les Lezardes shows the fresher, cooler style of the vintage yet still brings lots of character. Red and black fruits, peppery herbs, flowers, and a touch of game all define the nose, and it's medium-bodied, crisp, and balanced on the palate. - Jeb Dunnuck

90% Syrah, 10% Viognier. Vines planted on steep slopes (with a grade of up to 45%) facing south by south-east, from three parcels in Côte Brune (Fourvier, Le Plomb, and Arselié). 70 to 80% of grapes are de-stemmed, fermentation lasts 18 to 22 days. Aged for 18 months in oak demi-muids (600-L) and barrels (220-L), of which 30% are new