Search results for: 'romagna cuvee'

92 Points! The 2019 Sangiovese Romagna Superiore Thea opens slowly in the glass with an understated mix of sage and dusty dried roses, giving way to nuances of strawberry and mint. This is silky and elegant in feel with mineral-tinged tart wild berries carried by zesty acids, as pretty inner violet tones form toward the close. A coating of fine tannins lingers through the lightly structured finale, but they are sweet and round as vivid raspberry and blood orange notes slowly fade. The Thea is a single-vineyard Sangiovese refined in tonneaux for nine months, 40% new. The 2019 is very attractive, but give it another year or two of cellaring for the best results. (Drink between 2024-2028) - Eric Guido, Vinous

92 Points! A blend of Wenzlau, La Rinconada and Bentrock aged in a mixture of barrique and puncheon, the 2021 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills Cuvée is fresh, tangy and flinty on the nose. The palate is svelte and succulent, lined with taut acidity supported by a gentle creaminess. The finish is balanced between lift and depth, slowly unfolding with additional layers of richness and salinity with aeration. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

91 Points! The 2021 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills Cuvée is bright and beautifully focused. Citrus, white flowers, slate and white pepper are all beautifully delineated throughout. The clean, saline finish is a thing of beauty. The Cuvée is a blend from La Rinconanda, Wenzlau and Bentrock. I very much admire the energy here. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

93 Points! The 2023 Chardonnay Cuvée Tan Fruit opens with saline and flint aromas that give way to quince, beeswax and chamomile. The light-bodied palate opens to more expansive, peachy flavors and honeyed accents. It has a luxurious, silky texture, vibrant acidity and a long, energetic finish. It will benefit from time in a decanter. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

91 Points! The 2019 La Cuvee sparkling wine was produced with a blend of 55% Xarel.lo, 35% Macabeo and 10% Parellada from 12 growers that work a total of 461 hectares of biodynamic vineyards certified by Demeter. Fifteen percent of the wine spent one year in 300-liter oak barrels and then refermented and aged with the lees in bottle for 40 months and is sold with five grams of residual sugar. 2019 reminded them of 2013 and 2009, possibly the last classical vintage in the zone in recent times. It has a more developed nose from the longer élevage and is ripe and with more autolysis of the lees and with a little more noticeable sugar in the finish. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

The finets version of this iconic cuvee we've ever tasted...

92 Points! The excellent 2019 Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Fleuron, sourced from eight lieux-dits in Cramant, Chouilly and Cuis, was disgorged in October 2023 with five grams per liter dosage. Soaring from the glass with aromas of green apple, lemon zest, elderflower and toasted bread, it is full-bodied, textural and intense, supported by bright acids and chalky extract that provide a sensation of freshness. In short, it reflects identity of the northern Côte des Blancs with a signature touch of Gimonnet, of course. - Kristaps Karklins, robertparker.com

92 Points! The last of Hansel's whites, the 2023 Chardonnay Cuvee Alyce offers more clarity in the range and is lifted with notes of preserved lemon, apricot, honeycomb, and wet stones. It's full-bodied, with a weightless, silky texture and elegant notes of hazelnut coaxing through the palate. It's a very strong offering that should improve over the next few years. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

99 Points! The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon J. Daniel Cuvee is just about pure perfection and another example of Napa Valley magic. All Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in 80% new French oak, it offers an incredible bouquet of pure cassis and blackberry fruits as well as textbook Pauillac-like notes of graphite, tobacco, toasted spices, and chalky minerality. Rich, full-bodied, and powerful, it’s one of those wines that somehow marries incredible intensity and richness with no sensation of weight or heaviness, perfect balance, and a layered, multi-dimensional style that’s hard to describe. It shows more tannins and chocolaty oak with air and needs to be forgotten for 4-6 years, and it will be a 40+-year wine. It’s heavenly juice. - Jeb Dunnuck

98+ Points! Altogether much more serious than Lail's Blueprint bottling (and priced accordingly), the 2019 J. Daniel Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon comes primarily from the Vine Hill Ranch, Dutch Canyon (Heimark) and Steltzner Vineyards. Marked by deep, seductive scents of cassis and rich loam, accented by hints of cedar and dried sage, it's full-bodied, concentrated and rich, finishing long, velvety, seamless and elegant. Pretty special stuff. - Joe Czerwinski robertparker.com

98 Points! The tiny production 2019 Cornas Cuvée Jana is another gorgeous wine. More up-front and opulent than either the 2018 or 2016, it has a mass of blueberry and black cherry-like fruits as well as smoked game, bouquet garni, ground pepper, and iron. It hits the palate with a lush, opulent attack and has a terrific mid-palate, before the tannins build and clamp down on the finish, showing more loamy earth and mineral notes. It certainly displays the richer, ripe style of the vintage and has moderate acidity, yet the purity of fruit is spot on, it's beautifully balanced, and it’s going to keep for 25+ years in cold cellars. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! Showing greater nuance and complexity on the nose, the 2019 Cornas Jana—named for Michel's daughter and sourced from Les Côtes and Chaillot—is a big step up from Michel's basic Cornas. Hints of violets, mint and crushed stone accent deep cassis and blueberry fruit, while the full-bodied palate is concentrated, rich and tannic, with a long, long, finish. Although not unenjoyable now, it's a Cornas for the cellar, with at least a decade of improvement possible. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

100 Points! Lail's 2021 J. Daniel Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon blends lots from several high-end vineyards, including Heimark (Calistoga), Vine Hill Ranch (Oakville) and Steltzner (Stags Leap), plus Lail's own Mole Hill on Howell Mountain. It's an exciting wine, starting from the pulse-quickening aromas of raspberries and black cherries tinged with dark chocolate. In the mouth, this full-bodied beauty is richly concentrated, with a sensuous texture somewhere between silky and velvety, while the softly dusty finish shows terrific length and a spine-tingling hint of licorice. To reduce this wine to deceptively simple yet hard-to-pin-down words, it's complex, harmonious and elegant, yet it's enough of its place that it could only come from Napa Valley. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

98+ Points Jeb Dunnuck's Wine of the Year! One of the finest wines in the vintage, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon J. Daniel Cuvee is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Dutch Henry Canyon area in Calistoga, Vine Hill Ranch in Oakville, and Stelzner in Stags Leap (which was added in 2018). It spent 20 months in 75% new French oak. Still tight and inward, it has sensational purity in its currant, mulberry, truffly earth, graphite, and leather aromatics. These carry to a full-bodied, rich, incredibly concentrated 2021 that has the vintage’s fresher, focused style, ripe tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. It's going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and evolve for a quarter of a century. - Jeb Dunnuck

92 Points! Based on 75% Grenache and the rest a mix of varieties, the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape was vinified with 40% stems and brought up in foudre and cuve as well as a small percentage in demi-muids. Ripe, round, and sexy on the palate, with medium body, it offers ripe kirsch and black cherries intermixed with spice and peppery garrigue nuances. It's balanced with soft tannins and shows the forward style of the vintage. It will drink beautifully over the coming 10-12 years.  - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! A graceful Champagne, with a satiny mousse, revealing ripe apricot, mirabelle plum, preserved lemon, white blossoms and a streak of salty minerality enriched by hints of toasted hazelnut and pastry cream, all framed by well-knit, chiseled acidity on the long finish. Disgorged March 2023. - Wine Spectator

On the palate: This unique Estate blend of 38% Pinot Gris, 35% Sauvignon Blanc and 27% Riesling incorporates notes of fresh passion fruit, crisp lime and wet concrete, putting the three varieties in harmony. The palate is lively fresh and fun, with passion fruit, citrus and more tropical tones. 

On the nose: Opens with aromas of anjou pear, white nectarines, and honeysuckle. A bouquet of spring flowers. 

92 Points! This textured red showcases sweet cherries, dried herbs, meat and baking spices. Medium-bodied, it’s round and densely fruited with fine tannins and a flavorful finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! Aromas of wild herbs and undergrowth with plenty of fresh red fruit, too. This has a sleek, firm feel with ample, juicy and fresh tannins that deliver a succulent, fine-grained feel. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! Plenty of chocolate plus some caramel and anchovy aromas. Rich and structured with ample richness wrapped around the rather fine tannins. Easy to enjoy thanks to the very good balance through the lingering finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com