Search results for: 'paraje de class'

95 Points! Reminding me of a classy Hermitage, the deep purple-hued 2020 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine Des Grands Chemins offers up a brilliant perfume of redcurrants, blackberries, saddle leather, lavender, and bouquet garni. This carries to a medium to full-bodied, richly textured, balanced Crozes that has velvety tannins, some classic northern Rhône gamey, peppery nuances, and a great finish. It needs a decant if drinking any time soon, but the tannins are supple and ripe, and this beauty will have a broad drink window. I wouldn't be surprised to see it still going strong at age 20. Bravo. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! They adjusted the picking dates, and the 2022 Camino de Auritz sees a jump in freshness and elegance, finishing with a full 1% less alcohol than the 2021 (this has 13.5%). It's Garnacha from two old plots of 0.22 and 0.1 hectares on limestone soils at 450-plus meters above sea level, where they found some plants of Garnacha Gris. It fermented with 50% full clusters and indigenous yeasts (including malolactic) and matured in used French oak barrels for 11 months. This is a big jump in quality from the previous year. Unfortunately, there are only 874 bottles of this wine. It was bottled in August 2024. The wine is harmonious and approachable but should also age nicely in bottle. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

96 Points! Even more outstanding than the 2020, the incredibly priced 2021 Reserva is young in boisterous blue fruit, with a generous, full-bodied palate of richness and upfront power. The tannins add length and breadth to the wine, which is tasting great and could go another 10-15 years. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

96 Points! Elegant yet perfectly structured, this is the most floral of the Murrieta Reservas I’ve tasted in recent years. With 8% Graciano and 4% Mazuelo, the nose is perfumed with pretty rose petal and delicate red berry fruit, as well as wild herbal aromas. Blueberry fruit typical of Tempranillo directs the palate, rounded out with a little fleshy Garnacha, and framed by subtle American oak. It offers immediate appeal but will age gracefully for many years to come. - Decanter Magazine

95 Points! Their flagship wine comes from one of the finest vintages in recent times. The 2021 Marqués de Murrieta was previously called the Reserva and still qualifies as such, but it's not included in the name now. It was produced with 86% Tempranillo, 8% Graciano, 4% Mazuelo and 2% Garnacha Tinta from their 300 hectares of vines in their Ygay estate on limestone and clay soils with alluvial influence. The grapes were picked between the 27th of September and the 15th of October, and each plot and variety was vinified separately in stainless steel, matured in American oak barrels for 26 months, then blended and kept in concrete for a few months until bottling, which was a longer élevage this year. It's very spicy, peppery, with a combination of berry fruit and some incipient tertiary aromas, hints of forest floor and truffle. It's very Rioja, with clout, elegance and freshness and the elegant tannins that are the signature of 2021. It comes in at 14.3% alcohol with a pH of 3.6, denoting ripeness and balance. It's delicious, fresh and available. Bravo! - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! Bright, with crushed-stone and floral character on the nose. Medium body with a firm core, expanding through the palate. Vivid and bright. Lots of good energy. Crushed-stone and lightly chalky character at the end. Needs two or three years to come around. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.com

92 Points! The 2019 Potensac is fabulous. Bright and focused, the 2019 impresses with its energy, balance and total class. Crushed flowers, mint, cinnamon, crushed rocks and blood orange all open in the glass. The 2019 is class personified I love the purity here. The 2019 is a standout, and should be a terrific value, too. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

#BordeauxBlowout

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS IS A PRE-ARRIVAL WINE - YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED SHIPPING FEES UNTIL THE WINE(S) ARRIVE

97 Points! Exquisite aromas of lavender, cigar ash and Spanish cedar with dried citrus follow through to a medium body and a solid palate with powerful, ultrafine and linear tannins. The muscle and long finish are so beautiful. Give it two or three years but already a solid wine. Drink after 2028. - James Suckling

95 Points! The 2019 Forts de Latour is a tannic, backward wine, as it has always been. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, graphite, sage and mocha open with a bit of coaxing. Even so, the 2019 is incredibly tight at this stage. Despite its imminent release, I would not dream of touching a bottle any time soon. Rain just before harvest in this warm vintage helped keep things in check and resulted in fairly generous yields of 45 hectoliters per hectare. At the same time, the mid-palate is a bit compact, while the tannins are imposing. (Drink between 2029-2049) - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

95 Points! Composed of 65.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.9% Merlot, and 2.3% Petit Verdot, the 2019 Les Forts de Latour is deep garnet-purple in color. It opens with classic scents of cedar, cassis, and plum preserves, followed by suggestions of bay leaves, lavender, and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is tight-knit, bright, and refreshing, with fine-grained tannins and a mineral-laced finish. - Lisa Perotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

96 Points! The 2019 Château Croix De Labrie is gorgeous and jumps out in the vintage. Almost all Merlot brought up in new barrels, it offers a beautiful bouquet of red and black currants, spicy oak, dried herbs, and flowers, with a beautiful loamy earth and chalky minerality emerging with time in the glass. With remarkable purity and finesse, it's full-bodied, has a great mid-palate, silky tannins, and a great finish. It could be drunk today with a decant but will ideally be given 4-5 years of bottle age. I suspect it will have 20-25 years of overall longevity. - Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com

98 Points! Fabulous aromas of blackberries, blueberries, pine needles and spices, such as nutmeg and allspice. White pepper, too. Full-bodied and very tight with a solid core of fruit and ultra-fine yet powerful tannins. It’s got so much energy and drive. Vibrant at every level. Precise and not overpowering, yet so structured. 97% merlot and 3% cabernet sauvignon. Made from biodynamically grown grapes. This needs time to soften. Try after 2026. - James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS IS A PRE-ARRIVAL WINE - YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED SHIPPING FEES UNTIL THE WINE(S) ARRIVE

95 Points! Aromas of blackberries, blackcurrants, pencil shavings and tobacco. Medium- to full-bodied, this is creamy and crunchy with open, velvety tannins and a juicy finish. 71% merlot, 23% cabernet sauvignon, 5% petit verdot and 1% cabernet franc. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! 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, Vinous Media

93 Points! One of the smart purchases this year is the 2022 La Dame de Montrose, a second wine that would embarrass numerous classified growths. Based on 71% Merlot, the Dame sees a more reductive élevage than the grand vin, which is perfectly adapted to this variety. Opening to reveal aromas of sweet cassis, cherries and berries mingled with hints of violets, spices and orange zest, it's full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, with a powerful but controlled profile. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

98–99 Points – James Suckling
“A tight and powerful wine with a precise and structured texture. Restrained, steely and racy. Goes on for minutes. So much intensity. A bright and shining white. Stunning balance.”

97–99 Points – Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“The 2025 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc gets my vote for the white wine of the vintage. Rich and powerful in the glass, but also beautifully vibrant, the 2025 dazzles from start to finish. Lemon confit, pear, slate, mint, white flowers and tangerine peel are some of the many aromas and flavors that develop over time. The 2025 is quite simply stunning. Don’t miss it!”

97 Points – Decanter
“The cooler microclimate at this estate favours hot and dry weather, and this proved no exception in 2025. Always showing the exciting combination of freshness and white stone fruit fleshiness expressed in a suave palate texture with nuance and refinement, evoking Meursault-like depth and opulence. A great success.”

95–97 Points – Lisa Perrotti-Brown
“The 2025 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc soars from the glass with vibrant notes of grapefruit essence, Granny Smith apples, and passion fruit, leading to a fragrant undercurrent of honeysuckle, lime blossoms, and sea spray. The medium-bodied palate is intense with citrus and tropical fruit layers with a refreshing line and chalky texture, finishing with great length and energy.”

92 Points! A balanced, lively and precise white with aromas of fresh lemons, linden and exotic spices such as turmeric. It’s medium-bodied, with a bright core of aromatic herbs and spices bringing vitality on the palate. Vivid and focused, with a well-driven, persistent finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! The 2023 Côtes Du Rhône Coudoulet De Beaucastel Blanc is terrific, with a soft, supple, forward style in its pure white peach, quince, and honeyed flower aromas and flavors. It's medium-bodied and has the vintage's purity as well as outstanding length. - Jeb Dunnuck

92 Points! A balanced, lively and precise white with aromas of fresh lemons, linden and exotic spices such as turmeric. It’s medium-bodied, with a bright core of aromatic herbs and spices bringing vitality on the palate. Vivid and focused, with a well-driven, persistent finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! The 2023 Côtes Du Rhône Coudoulet De Beaucastel Blanc is terrific, with a soft, supple, forward style in its pure white peach, quince, and honeyed flower aromas and flavors. It's medium-bodied and has the vintage's purity as well as outstanding length. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! This is surprisingly full-bodied and round, reflecting the warmth and sunny exposure of the vineyard around the chateau. Tangy and vivid with currants, fresh flowers and plenty of energy and length. Delicate yet ripe. 77% cabernet sauvignon, 19.5% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 0.5% petit verdot. Needs two or three years to come together completely. Drink after 2027. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The second wine of this great château, the 2021 Le Petit Mouton De Mouton Rothschild offers up a mini-Mouton-like nose of pure cassis, graphite, and spicy oak and hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a deep, layered mid-palate, plenty of fruit and richness, and almost velvety tannins. Based on 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, aged in 50% new barrels, this textured, focused, impressively concentrated 2021 will benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age (which is rare for a second wine) and cruise for 10-15+ years in cold cellars. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points Decanter
"Wonderful fragrance with ripe black fruit and wild purple flowers. Fresh, lively, and mouthwatering, with freshly picked strawberry fruit, chalky minerality, mint, anise, slate, and flint. Velvety and creamy in texture, yet remarkably fresh and energetic."

92-94 Points Jeb Dunnuck
"Black raspberry, cassis, graphite, sappy flowers, and chalky minerality emerge from the glass. Beautifully balanced and elegantly textured, with polished tannins and impressive finesse. Another brilliant wine from the Bécot family that readers should snatch up."

92-94 Points Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
"Flowers, licorice, dark cherries, and a hint of truffle create the perfume. Medium-bodied and loaded with sweet, creamy black cherries, plums, and chocolate. Produced from some of the oldest vines in the appellation, dating back to 1870."

92-94 Points Antonio Galloni, Vinous
"The 2025 Joanin-Bécot is fabulous. Dark and sumptuous, with gorgeous fruit purity and remarkable textural presence. Inky dark fruit, spice, leather, dried flowers, and lavender unfold into a resonant, expansive finish. A stellar Joanin-Bécot."

91-93 Points Wine Advocate
"Another sleeper of the vintage. Aromas of iris, lilac, dark berries, and flowers lead into a juicy, enveloping palate with vibrant energy and an ethereal floral finish."

91-93 Points Lisa Perrotti-Brown
"Juicy blueberries and black raspberries are accented by anise, mint tea, and crushed rocks. Medium-bodied with chalky tannins, refreshing acidity, and exuberant fruit."

91 Points Jane Anson
"Vivid violet, red cherry, saffron, anis, lemongrass, and slate. A wine with tremendous definition that clearly reflects its high-altitude terroir and ongoing vineyard renaissance."

90-92 Points Neal Martin, Vinous
"Blackcurrant pastille and raspberry aromas with impressive precision. Medium-bodied and linear, with fine sapidity, cracked black pepper notes, and an expressive Cabernet Franc component."

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS IS A PRE-ARRIVAL WINE - YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED SHIPPING FEES UNTIL THE WINE(S) ARRIVE

96 Points! Rich but very refined and layered, showing spot-on ripeness, the basis for finesse and complexity. Nuanced paprika, minerals, cocoa powder and cigar box with currants and berries. Intense and perfumed, showing fine, dusty tannins and a tight-grained, lengthy finish. Give it three years to soften more, and it will shine. Drink from 2028. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! The 2022 Durfort-Vivens is a wild, exotic wine that very much shows the natural opulence of the year. Super-ripe dark red/purplish fruit, pomegranate and sweet spice are front and center. There’s a bit more Merlot in this year’s blend, and that seems to come through in the wine’s overall fruit intensity. The final blend is project to be 70% new oak and 30% amphora, but the sample I tasted was only taken from oak components, as the wine had only been racked into amphora shortly prior to this tasting. Drinking window : 2030-2052 - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

95 Points! The 2022 Eneo is superb. Rich and expansive on the palate, the 2022 offers up an exotic mélange of black cherry, plum, leather, licorice, incense and espresso. There’s gorgeous mid-palate depth and plenty of textural richness, but in the more restrained style that informs these wines today. The long, silky finish is pure class. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

95+ Points! A blend of 70% Cabernet Franc and 30% Merlot, the 2020 Les Perrieres is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a fair bit of swirling to unlock earthy/broody scents of tar, black truffles, smoked meats, and crushed rocks, leading to a core of black cherries and stewed plums, plus a waft of chalk dust. The full-bodied palate is wonderfully bright and energetic, featuring vibrant black fruits with great tension and very fine-grained tannins, finishing long and minerally. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

96 Points! In comparison to the Grand Village, the 2020 Les Perrières De Lafleur comes from more limestone soils, and the blend is more Cabernet Franc-dominated, checking in as 71% Bouchet (Cabernet Franc) and the rest Merlot. It has an absolutely head-turning bouquet of red and blue fruits, fresh tobacco, truffle, and spring flowers, and it shows this incredible sense of chalky minerality on the palate. Focused and medium to full-bodied, with both power and richness, it shows a much more finessed and elegant profile compared to the bigger, more opulent Grand Village. Give bottles just 3-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS IS A PRE-ARRIVAL WINE - YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED SHIPPING FEES UNTIL THE WINE(S) ARRIVE

95 Points! A subtle graphite character makes this a very attractive and typical Bordeaux red. Aromas of dark plums with a touch of iron, as well as forest-floor, mineral and white-pepper notes. Medium to full body with fine, chiseled tannins and a perfumed finish. Tensioned and long. Quite transparent on the palate. Merlot from deep, thick clay. 80% in foudre. From organically grown grapes. - JamesSuckling.com

92-94 Points! This medium to full-bodied 2022 Marsau is an attractive wine produced from 100% Merlot. It has a delightfully pure bouquet of peony, violet, iris, menthol and cassis, followed by a crunchy and juicy yet fresh texture and then by a mineral-driven finish of remarkable purity, expressing elegant notes of licorice and pencil lead. Anne-Laurence and Mathieu Chadronnier have produced a red wine that punches above its weight. Bravo! - Yohan Castaing, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

94 Points! Lovely dark fruity fragrance with perfumed floral aromas on the nose, smells expressive and open. Smooth and supple, a lovely combination of tension, mouthwatering acidity and fruitiness here, such sleek texture with definition and soft juiciness. The tannins have grip and purpose with a softly fleshy and mineral sensation - liquorice, wet stone and graphite - giving a wide and interesting expansion on the palate. Feels cool and controlled, serious and focussed, with balance, still with concentration and power and grip. Feels very classy on the palate. - Georgina Hindle, Decanter.com

94–95 Points – James Suckling
“A beautifully structured and polished La Chapelle with layers of dark fruit, graphite, and crushed stones. Medium- to full-bodied with fine tannins, excellent balance, and a long, focused finish. A superb second wine.”

92–95 Points – Jeb Dunnuck
“A beautiful, layered second wine from this team, the 2025 La Chapelle De La Mission Haut-Brion checks in as 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28.3% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, and a splash of Petit Verdot. Ripe black cherries, graphite, red plums, smoke, and tobacco are just some of the nuances on the nose, and it's full-bodied on the palate, with a pure, layered mouthfeel, fine and polished tannins, and a great finish.”

92–94 Points – Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent
“Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2025 La Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion prances out with gregarious notes of fresh black cherries, juicy raspberries, and cassis, plus hints of lavender oil and pencil shavings with a waft of tree bark. The medium-bodied palate delivers fine-grained tannins and great tension to match the bright black and red berry flavors, finishing minerally. The blend is 28.3% Merlot, 52.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1.1% Petit Verdot, and 18% Cabernet Franc. The alcohol is 14.1%.”

93–95 Points – Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
“Flowers, tobacco leaves, black cherries, cassis, smoke, and crushed rocks create the aromatic profile. The wine is fresh, vibrant, and energetic with a beautiful sense of purity to the fruit. The finish combines minerality, freshness, and length, making this one of the strongest vintages of La Chapelle in recent years.”

91 Points! A bit of bottle maturation has steered this rich, yet lively Sauternes to a very appealing harmony. Plenty of candied-citrus and some cooked-pineapple character, well balanced by the crisp acidity, making this an ideal wine for blue cheese. Drink or hold. Second wine of Château Suduiraut. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! The 1981 Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva has a vibrant nose reminiscent of coeval Burgundy, with scents of citrus peel, orange rind, singed leather and a Tuscan delicatessen. The palate has a penetrating orange peel and tart cherry entry with potent earthy notes at its core. It is supremely well-balanced with an energetic finish underpinned by crisp dry tannins. This wonderful Rioja is drinking perfectly now and will age effortlessly. - Neal martin, robertparker.com

95 Points! Rich, mouth-filling and highly structured, this has a touch of exotic aromas (mangosteen!), but isn’t a jot too ripe or weighty. In fact, it has wonderful silkiness, in spite of the considerable mineral power at the imposing finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com