Search results for: 'model a one plot'

Harvested from a sustainable, 31-year-old, .82-hectare plateau vineyard planted on clay-silt soil and with a western exposure. The wine is matured for 11 months on fine lees in neutral oak. Bottled with light bentonite fining and unfiltered.

95 Points! Cool, herbal and flinty, this reminds me of high-end Chablis on the nose. Striking blood-orange freshness on the well-structured, sleek palate. Great length and purity to the compact finish. Minimal sulphites added. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

A unique opportunity to own a vertical tasting pack of Alfred Tesseron's Jewel of the Napa Valley, Pym-Rae. Includes one (750ml) bottle each of the 98 Point 2016, 97 Point 2018 and 99 Point 2018

Wooden 3 pack box included

From 18 acres of vines growing in a celebrated vineyard named the Fat Sheep.* This is in the adjacent commune of Saint Fiacre, which is the smallest of the 23 communes in the Sèvre et Maine AC and one with some of the best grape- growing land. The rocky gneiss soil here is thin, between 6-14 inches deep, in a seam of amphibolite, a greenish metamorphic rock. The vines were planted between 1930 and 1986, and average more than 50 years old. The meager soil and old vines on this small hill give naturally low yields, averaging 45 hl/ha. After spontaneous fermentation, the wine rests on its lees in underground tanks for twelve to fourteen months. Ripe, round, concentrated and intensely mineral, this wine can age beautifully, developing aromas with bottle age that are a cross between Riesling and Pinot Blanc.

94 Points! Always one of the most singular wines in a vintage, the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vin De La Solitude comes from the la Solitude lieu-dit on 50% galets roulés and 50% sandy safre soils. Based on 25% Grenache, 22% Syrah, 20% each Mourvèdre and Counoise, 7% Cinsault, 2% Clairette Rose, and 4% other permitted varieties, it was vinified with whole clusters in truncated tanks and aged 15 months entirely in neutral barrels. It offers meaty black cherries, black olives, roasted garrigue, and Provençal spice, reminding me of a street market in the south of France with its meaty, complex, incredibly Provençal style. Medium to full-bodied, it has building tannins and outstanding length. With 233 cases produced, give it a year or two and drink over the following 10-12 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! A supple and perfumy version, with an expressive mix of red plum, rooibos tea and sandalwood smoke. Salty, sanguine tones move in, and everything is grounded by wet paving stone and graphite. The tannins are glossy, with just a hint of graininess on the bitter-edged finish. Finessed and delicious. Counoise, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsaut, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Roussanne and Roussanne. - Wine Spectator

On the nose: Intense aromas of cooked agave, vanilla and caramel, enhanced by the slow cooking process, and floral and fruity notes of cantaloupe and peaches.

On the palate: Rich flavors of cooked agave, vanilla, fresh fruit and spices such as cinnamon.

Bernard Clement was one of the founders of the Menetou-Salon appellation in 1959. His daughter, Laurence de la Farge, and her husband, Geraud, continued a legacy in winemaking, and in 2003, the family established Domaine de l’Ermitage. Today, their children, Antoine and Sophie, continue to run the estate.

Kimmeridgian limestone vineyards covering 6.5 hectares. Bunching, systematic and repeated tillage under and between rows, trimming, harvest in green, and partial leafing. Harvest done by hand. Slight maceration before cold fermentation. Winemaking under temperature control. Ageing in stainless steel vats on fine lees, and final assembly of all the harvest.

100% Vermentinu grown on sandstone with south/southeast exposition. 100% destemmed. Direct pneumatic pressing with 48h-72h skin contact. Temperature controlled fermentation with native yeast in stainless steel tank. 8-9 months on the lees. No fining, cold settling and light filtration before bottling.

One of our classic summertime go-tos, composed of Loureiro, Arinto, Trajadura and aged just in stainless steel. It's bottled with a touch of carbon dioxide trapped inside to give it a little 'spritz', 10% alcohol and an absolute joy to drink. Too easy!

97 Points! This is so complex, with lifting citrus and herb undertones to the blue and red berry fruit. Thyme, sage and lavender, with mocha and clove, too. Full-bodied, full of depth and intensity, with firm yet seamless tannins. Evolves to espresso. Balanced, powerful and very long. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! A special single-vineyard wine with origins in one of the more remote, wild and beautiful corners of Montalcino, this is one of the true treats of the appellation. The Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Pianrosso opens to a medium-rich appearance and vibrant color saturation. Sangiovese can lose its color quickly, but it remains beautifully intact here. Sweet cherry, redcurrant, spice, blue flower, balsam herb and orange peel are neatly woven together to create this balanced wine. Fruit is sourced from across a 11.7-hectare vineyard with schistous galestro soils. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

99 Points!  The 2016 Chateau D’Yquem is pure magic and dessert wines don’t get much better. Offering a pale gold color as well as a blockbuster bouquet of honeyed tangerines, tart apricots, liquid rocks, white flowers, and honeysuckle, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, an opulent texture, vibrant acidity, and again, an incredible sense of minerality, despite having no shortage of sweetness or richness. The 2016 is a classic blend of 75% Sémillon and 25% Sauvignon that hit 14.2% alcohol with 135 grams of residual sugar. It’s already complex and approachable yet will keep for 3-4 decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

99 Points! A very classic Yquem. Breathtakingly wide spectrum of floral honey, exotic fruit (passion fruit, mango and pineapple), caramel and marzipan aromas. But none of this is a jot too much. In fact, the wine is extremely precise and finely nuanced. Wonderful freshness and textural complexity, in spite of the considerable concentration and extravagance. Very suave and sensual finish that goes on and on. - James Suckling

98 Points! Containing 135 grams per liter of residual sugar, the pale lemon-gold colored 2016 d'Yquem leaps from the glass with honeyed apricots, pineapple, green mango, crushed rocks, candied ginger, coriander seed and citrus peel with hints of orange blossom. The palate is very tightly wound, vibrant and refreshing with layer upon layer of minerals and spices, finishing with epic poise and persistence. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Some impressive sourcing for this incredible 'value' Chardonnay, with fruit coming from Eden Rift and Gimelli Vineyards, two VERY respected sites in the, you guessed it, Cienega Valley. Both vineyards produce a multitude of $50+ dollar wines so to see this one at this price? Amazing!

99 Points!  A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 Larcis Ducasse is deep garnet-purple colored. The nose is still a touch locked down after the recent bottling, slowly unfurling to offer up notes of crushed black cherries, juicy black plums, and wild blueberries, with an emerging undercurrent of dark chocolate, licorice, tar, and sassafras, plus an earthy touch of damp soil and moss-coated tree bark. The full-bodied palate has jaw-dropping seamlessness with wonderfully fine-grained tannins and beautiful freshness lifting the densely laden black and blue fruit to a very long, achingly perfumed finish. This stunning wine was tasted on three different occasions with consistent results. Although this is tantalizingly delicious right now, thanks largely to those plush, densely pixilated tannins, if you're looking for that next-level experience that comes with tertiary development, try not to touch it for 7-10 years, then enjoy it over the following 40 years+. -  Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

99 Points!  The Grand Vin comes from a tiny 11.15-hectare vineyard that has been in the Gratiot family since 1893. Located on the south-facing Côte Pavie, between Château Pavie and Château Bellefont-Belcier and consisting of clay on top of limestone soils, the vineyard has recently been going through a replanted phase using a selection massale and a higher density planting. The grapes are hand-sorted, vinification occurs all in concrete and spans four weeks, with the élevage in 50% new French oak. A normal blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2020 Château Larcis Ducasse reminds me of the 2005 and is up with the top handful of wines on the Right Bank. It has a brilliant perfume of red and black fruits, white truffle, leafy tobacco, and Asian spices. This carries to a full-bodied, concentrated, powerful Larcis-Ducasse with ultra-fine yet building tannins, perfect balance, a stacked mid-palate, and one heck of a great finish. It's going to flirt with perfection in 7-8 years (I'm probably underrating it a point) and have 30 years of overall longevity. Tasted numerous times with consistent results. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com

Latin for ‘one hundred herbs’, this type of bitter alpine liqueur was traditionally made by monks and consumed in the alps of France and Italy. French Chartreuse is another example. Botanicals are individually infused for 20-50 days, rested, blended with alpine water and beet sugar, and rested again.

96 Points! One of the great dry white wines of the Loire. This dry chenin blanc is rich and concentrated, but also graceful and delicate. Full-bodied but so elegant and precise, with a wet stone minerality that builds in a spectacular manner in the very long, refined finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! The 2023 Vouvray Sec Le Mont is precise, upright and flinty. It's less immediately charming than the styles we've seen in recent warmer vintages, but it was only tasted three weeks after bottling—this is one to revisit. There's just the right amount of juicy, peachy flesh within this light-bodied yet concentrated wine. It has the potential to charm but does so without showing off. Flinty and tightly sewn together, it has curves in the right places, but you're just going to have to wait for it to take shape. - Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous Media

97 Points! The fantastic violet nose leaps out of the glass before you home in on notes of gingerbread and dried thyme. There’s astonishing licorice and red-fruit intensity on the very compact, vibrant palate. As it flows, the earthy dimension expands, very fine tannins building to a breathtaking crescendo. From vines planted in the 1960s, ’50s and ’30s in an east-facing site. Drinkable now but best from 2027. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! The 2022 Blaufränkisch Ried Schwemmer is from deeper, calcareous, loamy soils on top of limestone, from vines planted in the 1930s, 1950s and 1970s. Tiny violet petal scents, small but fragrant, set the tone here, putting an aromatic accent on darker fruit. The palate comes in with poise, putting it freshness even before presenting its dark, juicy blueberry fruit and density with a disarming, self-evident matter-of-factness. This is fruit, rock, purity and poise, with exquisite freshness, structure and clarity. - Anne Krehbiel, MW, Vinous Media

From vines planted in 1988 totaling .75 hectare, the parcel is situated at the one of the highest points and at the limit of the Saint-Aubin appellation on border of the Grand Cru of Chevalier-Montrachet. The soil is very calcareous, the distorted and deformed stones create an outcropping in the shape of dog teeth (hence, the name). After aging in barrels for 12 months (20% of new oak barrels), the wine is placed in vats for 3 months and is bottled at the estate.

The 2023 Jérome Fornerot Saint-Aubin 1er Cru "Murgers des Dents de Chien" is a white Burgundy wine with tasting notes that include Asian pears, apple blossoms, and toasted macadamias on the nose, followed by a full-bodied palate with notes of Jonagold apples, salted lemon, and a refreshing acidity, balanced by limestone minerality and a persistent finish. It's known for its precision, minerality, and rich, yet refreshing character. 

97 Points! Awesome, richly textured, powerful still with its ripe yet now-savoury red fruits on display, the sweetness edged out by truffles and spice. A great wine that remains full of life. One of the best Pauillacs in the vintage. - Jane Anson, Decanter Magazine, 2018

95 Points! This bottle of 1983 Pichon-Lalande (I really can't be bothered to type out its full name) is the best of many encountered over the years. This offers gorgeous melted red fruit, woodbines, smoke and cigar humidor scents that could only come from Pauillac. Hints of black truffle and morels follow after about an hour in the glass. The palate displays lovely balance, poised and fresh, perhaps more vigor than I ever expected, with just a hint of dried blood on the finish. Impeccable provenance played a role here, but it is still a 1983 that should not be underestimated. -  Neal Martin, Vinous, 2023

92 Points! The NV Brut Réserve is the foundational wine at Bérêche, and the latest release is based on the 2022 vintage, incorporating a 40% perpetual reserve component, uniting the freshness of the northern slopes and the maturity of the hot, dry vintage. Fruit for this wine comes from vineyard sites across the Montagne de Reims and the Vallée de Marne, and the Champagne was disgorged in October 2024 with six grams per liter dosage. Bursting from the glass with aromas of nectarine, orange zest and brioche, it's medium- to full-bodied and ample, with considerable density, underpinned by racy acidity and concluding with a chalky finish. The Brut Réserve has seen the most refinements in recent years as it no longer incorporates tailles and now features Chardonnay from Trépail; technically, this means that the pH is lower and the acidity is higher. It’s one of the most reliable entry-level NV bottlings on the market. - Kristaps Karklins, robertparker.com