Search results for: 'paraje de compot'

100 Points! The 2020 Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarrosse), made mostly by the team of Nicolas Thienpont (the final blend was put together by Joséphine Duffau-Lagarrosse), is another tour de force from this incredible terroir, and undeniably one of the wines of the vintage. Based on 81% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc brought up in 70% new French oak, it offers a sensationally pure bouquet of black raspberries, blueberries, scorched earth, graphite, and a dense, smoky, floral character that emerges with time in the glass. With a voluptuous, layered mouthfeel, gorgeous mid-palate depth, building tannins, and a liqueur of mineral-like character on the finish, it shows the density, purity, precision, and vibrancy of this vintage perfectly and displays that rare mix of richness, intensity, elegance, and length that are the hallmarks of a truly great wine. This is unquestionably in the ranks of the 2009, 2010, and 2016 and will evolve for 40 years or more. - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points! Intense but delicate, really an exciting wine to taste where you feel the energy build through the palate. Unmistakable limestone influence with the floral aromatics, a jumble of peony, roses and violets, opening up to brambled raspberry and loganberry fruits, with fennel, oyster shell and slate. Huge ageing potential. Cabernet Sauvignon rather than Cabernet Franc in this blend, just one of the many ways in which it stands out from its peers even on the limestone plateau of St Emilion, its delicacy suggesting it is one of the most Burgundian of Bordeaux wines. This vintage was overseen during the growing season and vinification by the team under Nicolas Thienpont, but given its final blend and ageing by new co-owner Josephine Duffau-Lagarosse, along with Prisca Courtin-Clarins. - Jane Anson

94 Points! The red from this estate is also more than notable. Based on Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep ruby/plum color of the 2020 Limoux is followed by classic Bordeaux-like aromatics of ripe darker cherries, smoked tobacco, damp earth, and cedar pencil, with some background chocolaty oak nicely integrated. Reminding me of a Pomerol from a ripe vintage, it holds onto rock-solid purity of fruit, has a seamless mouthfeel, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. This head-turning red from the south of France is one of those beauties that will shock you in a blind tasting. It should keep for at least a decade. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! Lots of blackberries, dark chocolate, stone, and hazelnut. Lots of purple fruits. Full-bodied with polished tannins and a smoky, meaty and fruity finish. Very solid. Merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, syrah and malbec. Drink after 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

94-95 Points! A tangy and bright white with sliced lemon and light mango, as well as crushed stone and vivid energy. Medium body with a solid core of fruit and a long, flavorful finish. Purity and energy. 100% sauvignon blanc. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! Chalk, chamomile tincture and dried lemon peel have immense lift on the nose of this wine. They also pervade the bright, balm-like but concentrated palate with their aromatic intensity. This wine is fluid and layered, showing signs of evolution that is set to continue for many years. Gentle sweetness balances the bracing freshness and makes this a real experience. The finish is off dry but very balanced and long. Drink until 2040. - Wine Enthusiast

98 Points, Dunnuck's #11 Wine of the Year! The 2020 Château Clinet checks in as a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, brought up in 80% new French oak. It's a rich, yet gorgeous wine with a wonderful sense of freshness in its ripe blue and black fruits as well as tobacco, chocolate, and damp earth. Full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and elegant on the palate, it has perfect tannins, a layered, elegant mouthfeel, and one hell of an impressive finish. One of the finest Pomerols in the vintage, it will benefit from just 3-5 years of bottle age and keep for two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com

98 Points! What a beautiful young wine, showing so much finesse and tension, with ultra-fine tannins and subtle and long flavors and character. It’s medium-bodied with extremely silky tannins that grow on the palate to a seamless finish. Harmonious. Another fine Pomerol for the cellar. Drink after 2027. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.com

94 Points! A heady nose opens with lucid layers of spices and herbs, olive brine, violets, fresh ground peppercorn, currants and blackberries. There's polished dark chocolate oak influence. The palate is chiseled, silky and slinky but with curves and shape, sculpted by fine, savory, pepper-flecked tannins. This is a complete and detailed wine now but has the potential to cellar several more years. - Wine Enthusiast 

93 Points! This wine offers a rich and seductive nose of blackberries complemented by notes of cigar box, milk chocolate and subtle hints of pepper. Well defined with satiny tannins, it has a linear and precise structure that leads to a subtle, dark fruit-driven finish. -JamesSuckling.com 

92 Points! Notes of chocolate-covered espresso bean, rosemary and sage mingle with huckleberry, blueberry and cassis flavors in this intense red, showing plenty of freshness and finesse. Accents of cumin and tobacco linger on the long finish, where the tannins remain firm but plush. Drink now through 2034. - Wine Spectator 

92 Points! The 2021 Shiraz Cliff Edge is rocky and purple on the nose with crushed granite, blackberry, white pepper and raspberry compote. Not hugely complex, but it is hugely satisfying. This is a concentrated, cool-climate Shiraz. It's a great (super) value. - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com

94 Points! Readers should jump on the 2022 Gigondas, a ripe, concentrated, medium to full-bodied Gigondas that does everything right. A blend of equal parts Grenache and Syrah, it has ripe red and black fruits, some peppery herb, licorice, and garrigue nuances, ripe tannins, and terrific balance. It's a classic, incredibly satisfying 2022 that should have an easy 10-12+ years of prime drinking. The tannin quality is really top-notch. - jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! Cenizas is made with the American clone UCD1, which seems to have found a home from home on the edge of Lago Colbún. Lees aged for eight months, it's a pale, refined, remarkably transparent expression of Sauvignon Blanc on volcanic soils, with kiwi fruit and citrus flavours, mouth-watering acidity and a tapering, slightly salty finish. -  Tim Atkin, MW

94 Points! This sauvignon blanc isn’t simple or punchy. It’s sharp, with lovely acidity and excellent volume on the palate. Lots of seashells, chalk, limes and some stone fruit. Pure and creamy, with excellent texture and a limey finish. It’s very gastronomic, a wine to have with oysters. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! Mostly Chardonnay, the 2020 Limoux Blanc is a terrific white that has real class in its aromatics as well as texture. Light gold-hued, with a great nose of poached pears, honeyed citrus, crushed stone, toasted hazelnuts, and white flowers, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness that carries terrific mid-palate depth, bright, racy, yet brilliantly integrated acidity, and a crisp, clean, lengthy finish that brings an undeniable sense of salinity. A seriously good white, it deserves 2-3 years of bottle age (it needs a decant if drinking any time soon) and will evolve for over a decade. Bravo. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! This has very pretty energy and focus with sliced melon, pears, stone and fresh ginger. Dried flowers. Citrus, too. Medium-bodied with a solid density of fruit with white peaches and honey. Tangy and flavorful. Drink or hold. - James Suckling.com

94 Points! Concentrated. Medium-ruby color, with ripe plum, cigar tobacco and smoke aromas. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a long finish. Still closed, almost clumsy. Give it time.--1990 Bordeaux retrospective, 2000. - Wine Spectator

93-94 Points! Tasted just before bottling, so a sample of the final blend, the 2023 PSI is juicy, ripe and approachable. It is a little showier and headier, despite having similar alcohol to the bottled 2022 (perhaps a tad higher, but not quite reaching 14%), and it feels a little riper, with peachy notes and some decayed flowers. It has abundant tannins and feels like it's in need of some more time in bottle. This is usually the case for PSI: the tannins need time. They are resolved quite quickly, but it does need a bit of time. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! A vibrant rosé Champagne, with firm, well-honed acidity deftly wrapped in a smooth texture and rich notes of marzipan, dried white cherry, blood orange peel and salted Marcona almond. Reveals hints of ground ginger, lemon thyme and wet chalk, with a long, lasting finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2030. - Wine Spectator

Located in the Sonoma Mountain AVA of California, the dry farmed Ellison vineyard planted in 1969 on a small 1.5 acre plot on volcanic soils is one of the oldest plantings of Sauvignon Blanc in California. Farmed using organic methods. Hand harvested and fermented in neutral barrels using native yeasts. The wine remained on its lees throughout fermentation and elevage.AGING12 months in neutral oak

94 Points! The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Signature includes 5% Malbec. It presents notes of ash and bell pepper, complemented by fine wood nuances. The intense palate reveals hints of mint and cassis. This well crafted wine offers medium richness and reactive tannins, finishing juicy and long with expressive fruit. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous Media

93 Points! Blackcurrants, blue fruit, crushed stone, black olives and fresh herbs. Medium-bodied with creamy fine tannins and a bright and vivid finish. Polished. Really delicious now but will improve. Real cab with balance. - JamesSuckling.com

94+ Points! The red 2018 Viña Cubillo Tinto Crianza is pretty and attractive, fresh and aromatic, floral, the result of a challenging year with lots of rain and high humidity. This is usually the last vineyard to be harvested, and the grapes were picked late, the 26th of October. It's a blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacho and 5% each Graciano and Mazuelo that matured in a combination of oak vats and well-seasoned American oak barrels for six years. It's elegant and clean, young and undeveloped, with very fine tannins and a sleek, polished mouthfeel. It has 13.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.0 and 6.5 grams of acidity. This could be the finest Cubillo in recent times, and it's a bargain. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! Darker in its ruby color, the 2019 Laurasie is a pure Cabernet Sauvignon from almost 20-year-old vines on the stony Jurassic plateau of Fosse-Sèche, where yields are not bigger than 20 hectoliters per hectare. This is fleshy and concentrated yet pure, fresh and elegant on the deep, terroir-driven and beautifully floral (violets) as well as graphitic nose that is absolutely distinctive in its delicate, pure and balanced style. Black and blue berries, dark cherries, green paprika, pencil lead and herbal, wet gravelly notes lead to a medium to full-bodied, highly elegant, refined and perfectly balanced palate that exhibits perfectly ripe, round and juicy fruit with a firm but ripe, very fine and elegant tannin/acidity complex. The finish of this concentrated red is tight, intense and spicy, showing black berry and chocolate as well as graphite and coal with dark cherry notes. Irresistible and, in 2019, possibly the finest wine from Fosse-Sèche. The wine was aged for 12 months in concrete eggs. Tasted in January 2021. - Stephan Reinhardt, robertparker.com

96 Points! Aromas of black berries, black olives, black truffles, autumn leaves and earth. Grilled orange peel. Very complex. Medium-bodied with very fine tannins and a complex and complete finish. Nicely persistent and focused. 26 months in American oak. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! The 2016 Gran Reserva is a meticulously crafted blend of 82% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 8% Mazuelo sourced from the esteemed Ygay Estate in Rioja Alta. It aged for up to 26 months in American oak barrels. This wine epitomizes the essence of Rioja reds when vineyard management and winemaking precision align with a distinct stylistic vision. Presenting an opaque garnet hue, it entices with a bouquet of complex aromas: plum marmalade, herbal undertones, maraschino cherry, dried fruits, licorice and subtle hints of balsamic and menthol. On the palate, it offers a dry and robust profile with a velvety, juicy texture. The finish is long, balanced and harmonious. The 2016 vintage exemplifies a wine crafted for aging, just beginning to reveal the nuances and intricacies of a bouquet that will evolve with time. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous Media

95 Points – Georgina Hindle, Decanter
“Sultry nose with ripe red fruit and soft jasmine and fragrance – dried flowers, pot pourri. Juicy and filling with a lovely light hand in terms of tannins. Mouthwatering and lifted, nothing feels heavy and you're left with a smile on your face.”

95 Points – Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
“Closed on the nose, elegant with fine but plentiful tannins that layer up fast in the palate. Violet and peony floral notes, clear savoury edge of blue fruits. This is precise, well structured, with huge potential for ageing but also for pleasure.”

93–95 Points – Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
“Cigar wrappers, flowers, cedar, mint leaves, currants, blackberries and licorice scents blend together to create the nose. Elegant, soft, and polished, the layers of fruit with their refined character and lift make this a standout wine.”

93 Points! The nose is super smooth, offering the quintessential brioche aroma alongside notes of cold, fresh, sweet butter. With more air, hazelnut and gentle toast emerge. The palate broadens with increased butteriness and is saltier than expected, while lively bubbles embrace all of that 2012 generosity. All the joy and beauty of the wine reside on the nutty umami finish, underlined by exquisite freshness and length. - Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous

94 Points! Attractive toffee and caramel notes on the nose with pear tart, apple crumble, praline, chalk and nougat. Rich, creamy and delicious with soft and rounded bubbles. Well integrated. Caressing and delicious finish. Chardonnay from Chouilly. Dosage 3g/L. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

97+ Points! Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 La Mondotte strolls nonchalantly out of the glass with expressive scents of plum preserves, blueberry compote and chocolate-covered cherries, followed by suggestions of candied violets, licorice, hoisin and black truffles with a waft of ground cloves. It's medium to full-bodied with seriously impressive tension and wonderfully ripe, velvety tannins supporting the generous black fruit preserves layers, finishing with amazing length and loads of panache. It will require a good 4-5 years to unlock some of its finer nuances, then drink this powerhouse over the next 25+ years. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

98 Points! Blackberry, plum, mushroom and wood undertones. It’s full-bodied with firm, ripe tannins. Savory and fleshy texture on the palate. Well balanced. Flavorful finish with length. Such polish and composure for a young wine. So classy! Try after 2026. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.com