Search results for: 'model a one plot'

97 Points! A recurrent question with amply aged Italian classic reds like Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino is whether or not the extra ageing stipulations in place for the Riserva categories are truly necessary; it can often seem as if younger versions have the edge on older, 'grander' wines, since they show brighter fruit structures. This 2019 Riserva illustrates the benefits of extra age. It's pale, now, with some gentle bricking at the meniscus; the aromas are refined and harmonious, packed not just with red fruits but with autumnal warmth and oak-copse charm, as if the wine was evoking the landscape in which it came into being. On the tongue, it's still quite grandly structured and clearly has further development ahead; look behind those succulent if ample tannins, though, and you'll find beautifully articulated fruit supported by deft redcurrant acidity. Grand Barolo from this outstanding vintage. - Decanter World Wine Awards

93 Points! In the bottle with the red wax capsule, the Fratelli Serio & Battista Borgogno 2019 Barolo Riserva Cannubi shows a hint of tertiary definition with faded fruit, autumnal leaf and black tea. The wine is finely knit in terms of mouthfeel, and you get a slightly textured effect with granular tannins. Fruit is selected from one part, the Vigna Battista, of the three parcels farmed in Cannubi, with southern exposures on sand, silt and clay. That limestone sand is what adds the special finesse to Cannubi fruit, typically, although climate change has complicated things. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

94 Points! Bursts with juicy raspberry, mulberry and bitter cherry coulis flavors that stretch out lengthily, plus savory, red tea and rose petal notes that add energy and range. Shows a snap of red licorice and a singed apple wood frame on the finish while keeping its energy up. - Wine Spectator

93+ Points! The appellation wine and calling card of the house, the 2023 Chardonnay Wester Reach is fresh on the nose, with notes of light flint, lime zest, bright flowers, white pepper, and green apples. It has a compact feel but with electric energy and a fantastic oily citrus texture on the finish. It’s a blend from five vineyards and was aged for 12 months in 20% new oak barrels. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

93-95 Points! One of the highlights of the range this year is the 2020 Corton Grand Cru Les Perrières, a vibrant, mineral wine evocative of wild berries, forest floor, rich spices and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and vibrant, with beautifully refined tannins and a long, penetrating finish, it's well worth seeking out. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

93 Points! A beautiful shade of reddish violet in the glass, this appellation blend is clean and brisk on the nose with raspberry, pomegranate and currant aromas. It's tightly focused on the sip, where hibiscus and raspberry flavors are wrapped in chalky tannins. A lemon-rind bite adds to the palate, which is still quite young but already easy to quaff. - Wine Enthusiast

96 Points!  A successful wine that has lived up to En Primeur promise. The emphasis remains on texture and depth, velvety tannins, perfumed violets, rose and raspberry leaf aromatics, slate, crushed rocks, serious at first then softening to show raspberry puree and smoked blackcurrant fruits. Cocoa dusting on the finish and clear spice, a little austere right now. The terroirs of the newly-purchased Château Pontac Lynch are in this Issan vintage, meaning the blend uses five grape varieties for first time. Not easy to add these distinctive varieties while maintaining the elegant, finessed style of this estate, but it works. 50% new oak, 38hl/h yield. - Jane Anson

96 Points!  The 2020 Château D'Issan is a stunningly good Margaux, and this is another estate that seems to producer brilliant wines every vintage. Pulling from 51.04 hectares of vines and a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec, it's a selection of just 45% of the total production and spent 18 months in 50% new and 50% once-used French oak. Beautiful, spiced-laced red and black fruits, chocolate, smoked tobacco, and incense notes define the aromatics. These carry to a medium to full-bodied restrained, elegant 2020 with terrific mid-palate density, ripe, velvety tannins, and terrific overall balance. This is one of those beautiful, classic wines that grows on you with time in the glass, and hats off to Emmanuel Cruse for yet another incredible wine. It's going to evolve for another 25-30 years if well-stored. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com

93-95 Points! The 2022 Pommard Grands Epenots 1er Cru bides its time in the glass, opening discretely with blackberry, redcurrants, briar and forest floor. Quintessentially Pommard, graceful and focused. The oak here is neatly assimilated. The medium-bodied palate has finely sculpted tannins, poised and very refreshing. There's good substance on the finish with insistent grip. This will need 5-6 years in bottle, but this represents a very classy, refined take on the vintage, a very sophisticated Pommard.

Winemaker David Rebourgeon lives virtually next door to Thibaud Clerget, and they have almost opposite personalities; Rebourgeon is more quietly spoken and perhaps introverted. Yet what they both have in common is excellent wines. That’s definitely the case in 2022, where I think Rebourgeon oversaw a couple of marvelous cuvées, amongst the best reds in the Côte de Beaune. “Everything was harvested by hand with a good ambiance,” he tells me after failing to remember exactly when he started picking. “I do both pigeage and remontage but did a little less pigeage this year. The alcohol levels are between 13% and 13.5%. The yields were not too high: We had half a crop in 2021 and one and half of a crop in 2022. The Premier Crus are all matured in 20% to 25% new oak. I am very happy with the 2022s. It was a generous vintage with fine balance and depth.” Readers should check out his tremendous Volnay Santenots and Les Caillerets – amongst the best you will find, plus a seriously good Pommard Grands Epenots. These classically styled wines don’t sing and shout, but their virtues stealthily creep up on you! - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

94 Points! The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Saintes Vierges is another beautiful wine. Ripe cherries, blueberries, rose petals, spice, and hints of spring flowers all emerge on the nose, and it shines on the palate for its beautiful elegance and purity. Medium to full-bodied, with ripe, polished tannins and notable freshness, it's going to evolve for 15 years with no issues. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! A brilliant effort for the vintage, this muscular, dense purple-colored, powerful, rich 2008 offers notes of graphite, truffles, black cherries and blackberries along with moderately high tannins, full-bodied richness, impressive purity and a multidimensional mouthfeel. Give it 2-3 years of cellaring and enjoy it over the next two decades. It should prove to be one of the longer lived wines of the vintage. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com

93 Points! The 2022 Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains) is gorgeous. Bright, vibrant and bristling with energy, the 2022 is an absolute delight. Dark red cherry, orange peel, spice and dried herbs lend notable aromatic presence. Pretty floral overtones appear on the finish, adding expansive breath. Stems range from 33% to 67% depending on each of the various lots that go into the blend. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

93+ Points! The appellation wine and calling card of the house, the 2023 Chardonnay Wester Reach is fresh on the nose, with notes of light flint, lime zest, bright flowers, white pepper, and green apples. It has a compact feel but with electric energy and a fantastic oily citrus texture on the finish. It’s a blend from five vineyards and was aged for 12 months in 20% new oak barrels. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

93 Points! Slightly more prominent wood frames aromas of ripe apple, fennel, wet stone and a plethora of citrus elements. The rich, concentrated and impressively scaled big-bodied flavors coat the palate with sappy dry extract that also buffers the firm acid spine shaping the bitter lemon zest and beautifully long if youthfully austere finish. This is muscular but not rustic vintage for En Buland, which always ages well, and the 2021 version should be no exception. - Allen Meadows, Burghound #92

93 Points! I was really looking forward to the 2017 Las Enebradas, because the first vintage, 2016, was the revelation of my last review of the zone of Gredos. I was quite surprised because the profile is very different: the wine has a lot more color and up to 2% more alcohol. Nacho Jiménez, one of the partners, explained that the profile of the 2016 vintage was exceptional and hard to replicate, as yields were higher and it rained just before they picked the grapes, so the wine is a lot lighter. 2017 was very different, a lot warmer and with lower yields, and the grapes delivered a concentrated juice with a lot more color, tannin and alcohol. It has a more Mediterranean profile, more in line with the rest of the wines. This fermented with 50% full clusters and temperature control and matured in one 500-liter oak barrel. Despite the higher ripeness and the headier character, the wines from Navatalgordo have a different texture and fine thread, the finesse of a cooler place and sandy soils at higher altitude (even if the vines are south-facing here), and you see it when tasting this next to the wines from Cebreros. It's more elegant and fresher. 570 bottles were filled in August 2019. - Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com

90-93 Points! from a .31 ha holding of 60+ year old vines. Moderate wood can be found on the ripe aromas of mostly plum and black currant with background hints of earth and the sauvage. There is again very good volume and solid concentration to the tautly muscular larger-scaled flavors that also coat the palate with dry extract on the youthfully austere, compact and firm finale. - Allen Meadows, Burghound #89

92-94 Points! The 2021 Chablis Le Bas de Chapelot comes across quite closed on the nose, though Edouard Vocoret mentioned how this cuvée has closed down at the time of my visit. The palate is complex with touches of apricot and white peach, plenty of minerals and flint, focused with a long tail on the finish. This is apparently mercurial during its barrel maturation but this bodes well. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

94 Points! The 2020 Chardonnay Seven Springs Vineyard was picked on September 22, after the smoke from the wildfires in Willamette Valley cleared. It was fermented and matured for around 11 months in 50% new oak. It has intense aromas of peach, honey, allspice and toast, flavors that are echoed on the expansive palate. It has a creamy, gently grippy texture and a matchstick-laced finish. It's a great effort in a very challenging vintage. Drink it over the next few years. Just 73 cases were made. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

93 Points! I tasted the grey label version of the 2020 Chardonnay Seven Springs, which opens with flinty reduction, along with savory herbs of chive, green apple, and lemon verbena. The palate is fresh with chalky texture, lemon curd, white flowers, baking spice, and a hint vanilla bean on the back end. Drink 2022-2032.- Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

93 Points! The 2022 Silver Label now shows the name on the label (and also "Etiqueta Plateada" in Spanish). It's their first wine in their new era, which started in 2002, a wine that aims to promote the quality and potential of Monastrell. It matured in new and second-use French oak barrels for one year, but they were looking for lower toast and less impact of the wood in the wine than earlier vintages when it was 100% new oak. It has a paler color and a subtler and more floral nose, keeping the poise and showing surprisingly fresh for the conditions of the year. It's ripe, reflecting the warm and dry weather, with 15% alcohol but very good freshness, coming through as balanced and harmonious, clean and pure. This is a bargain and a success for the year, a champion in drinkability. Bravo! - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! I loved the 2022 Château Suduiraut Vieilles Vignes, a gorgeously complex, mineral-laced white that has classic pear and stone fruits, medium to full body, a pure, balanced, incredibly elegant mouthfeel, good concentration, and a great finish. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! Attractive fruit with gooseberries, green mangoes, star fruit and a touch of cream and guavas. Ample and textural with fine phenolics and salinity delivering the perception of freshness and harmony. Drink from 2026. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Coming from old vines between 45 and 60 years old that are likely to have resisted the heat of the vintage better, this has both complexity and depth of flavour, with juicy white pear, saffron and mandarin zest. Still a richer expression than in fresher years like 2021, but plenty to enjoy, with oyster shell salinity on the finish. 30% in new barrels, 70% from barrels of one vintage. - Jane Anson

93 Points! From barrel, the 2022 Barbera D’Alba Carra sports a youthful dark purple color and is fruity with ripe plum and pressed lavender as well as some iron richness and gamey notes. Medium to full-bodied, it’s snappy with fresh acidity, but it has a more rounded feel. With some notes of ripe wild herbs that last through the elegant finish, this is a classic and ripe vintage, but it retains very nice freshness. Drink it over the next several years. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

94 Points! The Cascina Penna-Currado 2022 Barbera d'Alba Carrà is executed as a "Superiore," although it is not labeled as such. Proprietors Elena Penna and Luca Currado say they only envisage having one Barbera in their new portfolio in addition to cru selections of Nebbiolo. They have a 25-year lease on the site that provides fruit for this pretty wine, and a careful selection is made to prioritize the best clusters. Healthy fruit is produced here thanks to luminosity and cool hillside breezes. A brief maceration is executed, and the wine matures in Slavonian oak casks. Tart plum and blackberry is folded into tangy licorice over medium-plus richness. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

Luca and Elena have always been particularly invested in Barbera d’Alba as they were among the first to invest in it seriously. They believe strongly in the potential of this grape in communicating what the Langhe has to offer to a wide audience. The Carrà site is in the San Sebastiano area of Municipality of Monforte, with a particularly great natural biodiversity. Grapes come from predominantly from two parcels; one planted in 1965 and another in 2000. The wine is vinified partially whole cluster and aged in botti making it rich and concentrated but not too ripe.

92 Points! This is absolutely ready to drink now, showing some lovely perfume that runs through the extremely well balanced palate. It's one of the few that was hard to spit out because the juice grabs you right from the first attack, but it's not in any way a blockbuster. Enjoy this with simple food, don't crowd the flavours, as this is delicacy personified. A great second wine for lovers of gentle elegance, this tiptoes along nicely. - Decanter Magazine, 2017

94–96 Points – Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
“Flowers and plums fill the perfume. On the palate, the wine is vibrant, juicy, fresh, long, and packed with ripe, sweet black cherries, chocolate, oceanic influences, mint, and licorice. The finish has great energy, with flesh and length. Clearly, this is one of the best vintages of Barde Haut ever produced.”

94–96 Points – Lisa Perrotti-Brown
“The nose of the 2025 Barde Haut is a field of flowers—violets, roses, and lavender—leading to a core of black raspberries and black cherries, plus a hint of forest floor. The medium-bodied palate is wonderfully graceful with very fine-grained tannins and fantastic tension framing the perfumed black and blue fruit layers, finishing long and minerally.”

93–95 Points – Jeb Dunnuck
“Deep purple-hued, the 2025 Château Barde-Haut has beautiful notes of ripe black fruits, sappy flowers, tobacco, and chocolate on the nose. Rich and medium to full-bodied, with a deep, layered mouthfeel and a great finish. This is a seriously impressive Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé that's well worth your time and money.”

93–95 Points – Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“The 2025 Barde-Haut is powerful and resonant. Macerated dark cherry, spice, new leather, cedar and menthol confer tons of intensity. Broad and ample, with notable textural intensity.”