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Gotha Spiriti Nobili is a vermouth and spirits maker based in Bologna, Italy, founded by Ergin Allko. He draws inspiration from his origins in Albania and his adopted home in Italy, using local herbs and botanicals, plus a signature touch of Adriatic seawater, to create products with distinct character. DOK ’61 was developed as a nod to history and craftsmanship, made with Sicilian wines (mainly Zibibbo and a bit of Frappato) and infused with botanicals like chinotto peel, dandelion root, wormwood, star anise, and a hint of plum distillate for roundness.

Tasting Note:
Fresh and delicately spicy, this vermouth opens with bitter orange and chinotto aromas edged by allspice and warm herbal roots. On the palate it is layered with sweet-tart plum, bright citrus peel, bitter herbal undertones, and a subtle saline minerality. The finish is long, balancing sweetness and bitterness with aromatic complexity and a touch of warmth.

From the inporter: Mainente’s Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave vines are planted on steep terraces overlooking the town, and with 60-80 years of vine age, the flavors they coax from the patchwork terroir of clay, black volcanic fossils, and pure, white limestone conjure up a “steelier” Bourgogne Blanc, but with the flavors of white melon, orange zest, and bitter almond, so prized in the whites of the misty Po Valley. Work in the cellar is clean, but no-frills, with the Mainente brothers preferring concrete over inox (when possible) but experimenting with larger casks for certain cuvées. For our opening order, they agreed to let us pick our favorite Soave vineyard from their holdings, and create a bottling exclusively for the US, which we chose to declassify to “Bianco Veronese IGT” to highlight the larger Verona region over the Byzantine Soave and her 33 recognized crus.

92 Points! I've always liked this wine, sitting pretty as a double-fermented expression with a lighter framework of tannins melded to the density serviced by the double fermentation approach devised here: fresh wine re-fermented with 30% whole, semi-dried grapes. Notes of cherry amaro, porcini, lilac and riffs on the larger format wood, conferring an earthy breadth to the wine without detracting from freshness. Highly versatile and delicious. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! Remarkable balance in this wine refermented to dryness with 30% whole semi-dried grapes of the same varieties in the original blend (Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara), and aged in a combination of Slavonian and French oak barrels. Refined yet robust structure with intense fruit (cherry, plum, bramble) layered with dry herbs and spices. Floral overtones (dried wildflowers and roses) a fragrant lift to the deep fruit core. - Decanter Magazine

92 Points! So vivid, bright and light-bodied, offering fragrant aromas and brilliant citrus flavors at quite low alcohol. Fresh and almost steely, strong in acidity, mouthwatering and detailed. Minerals, flint, chalk, lemons and lime zest on the palate. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

From the winery:

Ribolla Gialla 42%, Tocai Friulano 35%, Chardonnay 23%, Pinot Bianco 6%. Our flagship white wine blend is sourced from small vineyards around Napa and Sonoma. The four grape varietals, Tocai Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Chardonnay, and Pinot Bianco, are harvested separately and fermented independently in French oak and stainless steel tanks until blending six weeks before bottling. The Tocai, Ribolla, and Pinot Bianco build the aroma and flavor profile of the wine, while the Chardonnay adds to the wine’s structure. Annia is subtle, elegant, and fresh and fulfills the promise set forth years ago to bottle memorable white wines unique among the wines of California.

92 Points! A proprietary red blend of Petite Sirah, Grenache, Syrah, and Zinfandel aged eight months in 31% new oak. Orin Swift has opened a new, lovely tasting lounge in the town of St. Helena, CA and is worth a visit for those coming to the Napa Valley. Dave Phinney, the founder of Orin Swift, calls all the picks and continues working and honing these wines in the cellar. Rich black cherry, toffee, and caramel spices lead to a full-bodied wine with red berry fruit and chocolatey, robust, chewy tannins. The long fruit driven finish offers ample brown spices and toasty cedarwood. - Decanter Magazine

91 Points! Potent and dense, with brooding flavors of blackberry and cherry accented by bitter chocolate, cracked pepper and savory meat tones as this builds tannins on the finish. Grenache, Syrah and Petit Sirah. Best after 2025. - Wine Spectator

95 Points! This offers a gorgeous kaleidoscope of fruit -- kumquat, yellow plum, starfruit and quince -- atop a bed of silky-fine mineral notes and subtly bitter tannins. Honeyed, full and rich, with a refined texture and a very long finish edged in piecrust and toast, showing acid verve and impressive structure. Drink now through 2030. 130 cases made, 50 cases imported. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! I loved the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vin De La Solitude Blanc, an exotic, floral white based on 30% Clairette, 20% each Roussanne and Grenache Blanc, and the rest Clairette Rose, Picpoul, and Bourboulenc. Ripe melon, honeyed orange, toasted bread, and minty herbs all emerge from this complex, nuanced, medium-bodied beauty, and it has good depth and richness, a great sense of freshness, and outstanding length. - Jeb Dunnuck

100 Points! The 2015 Canon was a benchmark wine that seemed to revitalize this historic estate. I was crossing my fingers that it would not disappoint in bottle and I am glad to say that it delivers the goods. It has a very intense bouquet (just as it showed out of barrel) with laser-like precision offering wild strawberry, raspberry preserve, wet limestone and hints of truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, clean and fresh with pure black and red fruit whose every atom appears infused with minerals. The mouth is tingling long after the wine has exited and your brain is thinking … when is the next sip coming? It is frankly heads and shoulders above almost every Saint Émilion this vintage, to reaffirm, a benchmark for this historic estate that will give pleasure to many over the coming years. Astonishing. - Neal Martin, robertparker.com

100 Points! From the very beginning, the 2015 Canon has made an eloquent case for itself as one of the wines of the vintage. Multiple tastings from bottle only confirm what several early tastings hinted at: the 2015 Canon is simply extraordinary in every way. Sumptuous and exotic, with no hard edges and exceptional balance, the 2015 grabs hold of all the senses and never lets up. A rush of red fruit intermingled with floral notes, spice and smoke notes effortlessly runs up the wine's vertical structure as the 2015 thrills with every twist and turn. The 2015 Canon is a rare wine that is both hedonistic and intellectual - well, maybe it is a bit more hedonistic-leaning. It doesn't matter. Don't miss it. This 2015 is masterpiece from General Manager Nicolas Auderbert and his team at Canon. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

100 Points, James Suckling's #1 Wine of the Year 2018! Seductive. The nose draws you in deep: It’s like staring into a well of pristine dark cherries, dark plums, blackberries and mulberries. All the oak is perfectly subsumed. The palate’s flawless with immense depth and power and it’s so balanced as to appear to float. Immaculate fresh dark-berry and plum flavors. Silky and deep, ribbon-like finish. Perfect. - JamesSuckling.com

93+ Points! Scents of pine resin and hints of mint accent black cherry and cassis notes on the nose of Ink Grade's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. It's a sturdy, wiry effort, with the ample tannins and coiled intensity that often mark mountain wines, followed by a lingering, gently astringent finish. Like the other reds from Ink Grade, it spent time in a combination of oak tanks and barrels, yet the wood is scarcely noticeable. Give it a few years to unwind. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

95 Points! Very beautiful aromas of blackcurrants, violets, and lavender with hints of sandalwood. Medium to full body. Chewy mountain tannins, but they are so well integrated and polished that they melt into the wine. Hints of dried cocoa powder at the end with some cedar. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! So much black fruit, black walnuts, blueberries, wet earth, black truffles and some graphite. Medium to full body with lots of tension and focus. It runs very long with a salty undertone and some bitter, burnt lemon. Yet ever so subtle and refined. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! The 2020 Château Tour Saint Christophe showed spectacularly well, and based off past vintages, this shouldn't surprise anyone. Based on 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc raised in 40% new barrels (the balance is in second- and third-fill oak), it offers a full-bodied, incredibly pure, balanced style revealing subtle oak, terrific darker, almost blue fruits, lots of chocolate, leafy herb and mineral nuances, and gorgeous tannins. It's worth pointing out that this will be the last vintage made by the talented Jérôme Aguirre. This terrific Saint-Emilion will evolve for two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! The 2021 Pommard 1er Cru Les Fremiers is lovely, wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet berries, licorice, loamy soil and spices. Medium to full-bodied, supple and seamless, it's rich and concentrated, with lively acids and a cool, classic profile. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

93 Points! The 2021 Pommard Les Fremiers from Domaine Louis Boillot is another very elegant young wine, with loads of pure red fruit and excellent fidelity to its underlying soil. The nose wafts from the glass in a mix of cherries, pomegranate, quince, peonies, woodsmoke, dark soil tones, pigeon, just a hint of fresh herb tones and a gentle framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and soil-driven, with a fine core of red fruit, chewy, well-integrated tannins, tangy acids and a long, focused and beautifully balanced finish. - John Gilman, View From The Cellar

98 Points! The 2019 Pinot Noir is an outstanding and memorable wine, a tremendously light, bright, and complex reflection of the great site from a great vintage. Lovely aromatics of orange peel, cranberry, and Bing cherry wrap around a supple mid-palate of earthy rose and violet, the tannins unobtrusive and the acidity balanced. Lengthy, the wine takes on different nuances along the mid-palate, showing more forest and black tea, adding a quiet density that stretches to a formidable finish. This wine wows now but should drink well for another 20-25 years. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

93+ Points! The 2019 Pinot Noir Estate was fermented with 35% whole clusters and aged in 50% new French oak. It has a lively, fragrant, focused nose with potpourri, blood orange, bay laurel and evergreen aromas. The palate is slim and high-toned, supported with structured acidity that softens with aeration. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

96 Points! Also yet to be released is the 2019 Barolo Riserva Cerretta Vigna Bricco, which is deep and expressive of this structured vintage and textbook Serralunga power. It’s sanguine and deep with notes of leather, ripe cherries, dark stony earth, sage, and floral perfume. Fabulous all around, it fills the palate with rich, well-defined tannins, gravelly angular texture, refreshing acidity, and savory notes of tea leaf and truffle on the finish. It’s a contemplative wine built to last the long haul over the next several decades. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

95 Points! The Elio Altare 2019 Barolo Riserva Cerretta shows some tertiary definition with aromas of sambuca, licorice, tar and campfire ash. But it also has a sweet side from the oak, with dusty cinnamon and dried fruit. It is full-bodied with velvety tannins, closing with a hint of sweet cherry liqueur. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

94 Points! The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Medalla (from Los Arboles, Tunuyán, Uco Valley) was aged for 10 months in new and used barrels. Dark garnet in the glass. The nose presents notes of blackcurrant and quince with gentle hints of bell pepper and a touch of blackberry jam over an elegant bed of wood. It’s creamy in the mouth with a broad flow and velvety tannins that add a little shape. The volume and relaxed, ripe flavor build as it goes on into the juicy, fruity finish, resulting in a substantial, nuanced wine that will grow in the bottle. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous Media

93 Points! This has aromas of ripe blackcurrants, blueberries, dark cherries, chocolate, toasted spices and bay leaves. It’s full-bodied with velvety tannins. Round and fleshy with a creamy and ripe core of dark fruit. Delicious mint-chocolate notes to close. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! Ripe black fruit (there's some red fruit as well), tobacco leaf, damp earth, exotic flowers, and some chocolaty notes all emerge from the 2019 Clos De L'Oratoire, another beautiful wine from the Neipperg family and team. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and seamless on the palate, I love its mid-palate, it has gorgeous tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. This is clearly a great vintage for this cuvée. Hide bottles for 4-5 years, and it's going to have 2-3 decades of longevity, and probably a gradual decline after that as well. It's beautiful. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! Powerful and explosive in the glass, the 2019 Clos de l’Oratoire possesses tremendous depth and density from start to finish. Black cherry, chocolate, licorice, spice, menthol and lavender are all amplified in this potent, structured Saint-Émilion. Give it a few years to soften. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

97 Points! The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Morgan's Way comes from old volcanic and clay soils (there's some obsidian as well), and it reminded me of great vintage of Le Pin from Pomerol with its exotic, sexy, full-bodied, incredibly gorgeous profile. Offering ripe red and black fruits, spicy oak, vanilla, lead pencil, and tobacco-like aromas and flavors, it's impossible to resist today, but this has 20 years of life ahead of it as well. It's a classic, brilliantly done 2019. -  Jeb Dunnuck

97+ Points! From the 2019 vintage, Kayli Morgan will transition to being called Morgan's Way, although the vineyard sourcing remains the same. The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Morgan's Way delivers waves of ripe cherry, Madagascar vanilla and cigar box aromas, while the full-bodied palate is velvety and taut at the same time, that tension providing great liveliness and length on the mouthwatering finish. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

The 2022 opens in the glass with ripe raspberry, black cherry, cassis and cedar. Scheduled to age in large foudres for two years, ripe tannins offer the wine a good structure and framework. Finishing on a savory note, the 2022 looks quite promising at this early stage. - Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous

The classic red of the domaine accounts for approximately 85% of the annual production of the estate.  It is composed of 65% Grenache Noir, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre and a balance of other traditional varieties. The grapes are not destemmed, the cuvaison lasts for three weeks and the élevage encompasses an additional 18 months in traditional foudre wood vats before the wine is bottled unfiltered. The fruit is perfectly in balance with the textural elements, showing typical dark fruit notes with discernible energy and liveliness. Its slighty sauvage character and firm structural backbone is leavened by its exceptional breed.

100 Points! A full-bodied, structured red with blackcurrant, violet, dark-chocolate and burnt-orange aromas. Walnut husk, too. Such precision and elegance. Firm, smooth tannins and a long finish. Really complex at the end. A stunning wine from Stags Leap District. Drink from 2023. - JamesSuckling.com

98+ Points! From the estate property around the new winery in Stags Leap, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Moonracer (there are normally small amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc in the blend) offers a glorious Napa Cabernet nose of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, dried flowers, and chocolate that develops beautifully with time in the glass. It doesn't lose a beat on the palate either and is full-bodied, with a layered, focused texture, building structure, and a great, great finish. It's a serious, age-worthy wine that needs 4-5 years of bottle age yet will evolve like a First Growth from Bordeaux. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! Blackberries, dried hibiscus and earth. Medium- to full-bodied on the palate, showing a narrative of exceptional delineated fruit integrated with fine-grained, compact tannins that shift from precise to ethereal. Very impressive. A blend of 70% merlot with 30% bouchet (cabernet franc). Already compelling but will evolve eternally. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! The 2023 Pensées de Lafleur has turned out beautifully, wafting from the glass with notes of sweet dark berries mingled with violets, blood orange and hints of truffle. Full-bodied, supple and fleshy, it's deep and complete, with a seamless core of fruit framed by sweet tannins and succulent acids. As I've written before, this cuvée, derived from vines growing in the part of Lafleur's vineyard through which a water course once flowed and where the soils are richer in clay and better hydrated, still lives in the shadow of its grander sibling, but it's a must-purchase for me every year. - William Kelley, robertparker.com