Search results for: 'mostly a one plot'

100 Points! The 2021 Masseto is a stunner. It also shows how much the estate has evolved in recent years. I was reminded of that recently when I drank the 2001, considered by many observers, including this one, to be one of the greatest wines ever made here. The 2021 represents a move towards a more refined style. There’s less of the bombastic intensity and extraction that were once the norm here. I remember young vintages that were impossible to taste young. The 2021, on the other hand, is an absolute delight. Crushed flowers, spice, blood orange and bright, red-toned fruit all grace the palate. Floral aromatics and saline underpinnings are at times reminiscent of the Cabernet Franc found in the 2019 and 2020, but the 2021 is back to the classic 100% Merlot. Readers will find a Masseto built on linear energy more than volume. The 2021 is quite simply the most exquisite, refined young Masseto I have ever tasted. Aging was 24 months in 100% new French oak. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

100 Points! Along with the Château Lafite, the 2016 Château Mouton Rothschild is the wine of the vintage from the Médoc and is a truly profound, magical, blockbuster wine in every sense. It’s based on 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, raised in new French oak. Boasting a saturated purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of thick black fruits, lead pencil shavings, new saddle leather, and burning embers, with just a hint of its oak upbringing, this beauty hits the palate with a mammoth amount of fruit and texture yet stays fresh, pure, and light on its feet, with a thrilling sense of minerality as well as building tannins on the finish. It’s one of the most profound young wines I’ve ever tasted, and while it will probably keep for three-quarters of a decade, it offers pleasure even today. Bravo! - Jeb Dunnuck

100 Points! Tasted with Lisa and Philip Togni in their winery atop Spring Mountain in February of 2024. An absolutely riveting Cabernet showing a deep ruby-purple colour. Gorgeously fragrant at the cork's pull with terrific violets and loads of black currants and dark dried herbs. Medium to full-bodied with chiselled, precise tannins that build and build on the palate. At this early stage, the wine is full of ripe blackberry and black currant fruits that harbour impressive clarity of flavours, growing even more expressive with beautiful sagebrush nuances. Philipp Togni remarked that this vintage reminds him of St. Julien. Indeed, it is incredibly aromatic, elegant, and structured, and it is also a complete and seamless wine. 82% Cabernet Sauvignon is joined by 15% Merlot, 2% Cabernet France, and 1% Petit Verdot. - Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter Magazine

99 Points! The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is an outrageously beautiful wine and also one of the wines of the year. A soaring, exotic bouquet makes a strong opening statement. Pliant and creamy, with mind-blowing textural finesse, the 2021 dazzles from start to finish. Hard candy, mint, lavender, Kirsch and spice linger on the close. The 2021 possesses mind-blowing purity and exceptional finesse. (Drink between 2031-2051). - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

97 Points! The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with 15% Merlot and traces of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it bursts from the glass with bold notions of blackcurrant jelly, juicy black plums, and wild blueberries followed by hints of crushed rocks, cardamom, licorice, and tar plus a fragrant touch of violets. The medium-bodied palate is tightly wound with black fruit and mineral layers, framed by firm, ripe, grainy tannins and wonderful tension, finishing long with loads of ferrous and earthy sparks. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

100 Points! One of the legendary Dominus, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is unquestionably in the same league as the 2018, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2010, and 1991, and to my mind, wine simply doesn't get any better. Sporting a dense purple hue as well as an incredible perfume of blackcurrants, crushed stone, cedar pencil, smoke tobacco, and baking spices, it s rich, full-bodied, and voluptuously textured, with ripe yet building tannins. It reminds me slightly of the 2010 (maybe the 2013), and I suspect it will have a similar evolution. Hide bottles for 7-8 years, and it will evolve gracefully for 30+ years. Hats off to the team of Christian Moueix and director Tod Mostero. - Jeb Dunnuck

100 Points! The 2021 Dominus, 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, is opaque purple-black in color. It needs a lot of coaxing to lure out scents of freshly crushed blackcurrants, blackberry preserves, stewed plums, and boysenberries giving way to subtle nuances of violets, licorice, and tar plus a touch of cedar in the background. The full-bodied palate is taut with densely laden, muscular black fruits framed by a firm grainy texture and well-played tension, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. A stunning vinous record of time and place, this is a 50-year+ Napa Cabernet to be experienced across generations. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, TWI

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

100 Points! One of the greats in the vintage, the 2022 Château Montrose is deep ruby/purple-hued and has a massive perfume of sweet crème de cassis, sappy tobacco, and freshly sharpened pencils. With incredible purity and precision in its aromatics, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, powerful, yet still somehow elegant mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. Based on a classic blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, it spent 18 months in 60% new French oak. As I wrote during En Primeur, it has the essence of a Montrose-like character. While it’s not a massively backward or austere example of the château, it nevertheless deserves 10-12 years of bottle age and should have at least half a century of longevity. It is, without a doubt, in the same league as the 1989, 1990, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2018, and 2020. - Jeb Dunnuck

100 Points! From barrel, I wrote that 2022 Montrose was so compelling that assigning it a bracketed score seemed a mere formality, and so it has proven. Unwinding in the glass with a deep and brooding bouquet of cassis, wild blueberries, violets, pencil shavings and burning embers, it's full-bodied, deep and dense, somehow marrying all the tannic authority that has long been such a signature of Montrose with a suavity and purity that represents the quintessence of contemporary Bordeaux. The broad, palate-staining finish lasts for more than a minute. This is a profound young wine that readers aren't going to want to miss. - William Kelley, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

100 Points! The 2022 Montrose is insanely beautiful. That much is obvious. When it might be ready to drink is another question. In recent years, Montrose has acquired notable finesse in its tannins, so that is not an issue. But the 2022 is packed with tremendous density and concentration that will need time to soften. Blackberry, graphite, licorice, lavender and chocolate stain the palate in a stunning, riveting wine of the very highest level. I can only hope to be around when the 2022 starts to drink well! Montrose is without question one of the wines of the vintage. Unforgettable. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

100 Points! Deep garnet-purple colored, it charges out with powerful notes of crème de cassis, preserved plums, and garrigue, giving way to nuances of candied violets, Sichuan pepper, and mossy tree bark, plus a touch of iron ore. The full-bodied palate is densely laden with black fruit preserves layers, supported by super-firm, super-ripe tannins and bags of freshness, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. Epic. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW

99 Points! Great depth in the nose, taking you into its core of blackcurrants, pencil shavings, graphite, tar, inkpot and cassis. Full-bodied and very tight, this flexes its polished muscles, showing form and tension. Compacted. From organically grown grapes. 66% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot, 8% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! The 2022 Montrose was picked 2 to 22 September comprising all four grape varieties and all the Cabernet Franc, with 13% pressed wine, matured in 60% new oak. There is 14.5% alcohol this year, which is less than 2018. It has an extremely pure nose with black cherries and blueberry. Quite floral in style with hints of blood orange percolating through with time. The palate is very precise with exceptional mineralité and tension. Very focused, superb concentration, with what is becoming Montrose's trademark sense of symmetry and sustained aftertaste, this could be the finest Saint-Estèphe in 2022. – Neal Martin, Vinous Media

100 Points! The 2018 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion is a rock star of a wine and is based on a unique blend of 37% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 29% Merlot that was brought up in 80% new French oak. Offering a deep ruby/purple color as well as a thrilling bouquet of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, chocolate, violets, damp earth, and truffle, it hits the palate with a full-bodied yet almost understated, building style that carries ripe, supple tannins, gorgeous amounts of smoky black fruits, and an endearing, layered, multi-dimensional texture that keeps you coming back to the glass. A dead ringer for a great vintage of Haut-Brion, it is far from unapproachable today yet needs 7-8 years of bottle age for the fireworks to develop and will have 50-years or more of longevity! Hats off to Guillaume Pouthier for a magical, seamless, singular beauty! - Jeb Dunnuck