Wines

90 Points, Wine Spectator's #29 Wine of the Year 2025! A fragrant, floral rosé, with a burst of watermelon and strawberry lemonade notes. Maintains vibrant energy from start to finish, with a saline mineral foundation offsetting the creamy fruit. Balanced and delicious, showing a waft of smoke on the well-meshed finish. Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Rolle. - Wine Spectator

93 Points! This entry-level blaufrankisch has a stunning depth of black-cherry fruit plus a breathtaking vitality on the medium-bodied palate. Fantastic precision in the long, fresh and mineral finish. From young vines (up to 25 years) in St. Margarethen plus amounts from Donnerskirchen and Mullendorf. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

Like so many things in Burgundy, the impact in the glass is big, but the production isn’t as only a little over 200 cases of this ample Bourgogne were made. We’d normally roll out some critical acclaim about now but there was nothing on this wine and nearly nothing on the producer. We’ve also explained that while is no end to critical assessments of rare and very expensive Grand and Premier Cru bottlings, the ‘little’ wines like Bourgogne don’t get much love in this decidedly hierarchal region if they get any attention at all. Fine with us. Keeping things like this under the radar helps keep prices down. A tasty new find that’s much better and more character-filled than one can typically find at this kind of price.

Located on the exceptional Récy hillside in Savigny, the old Gamay vines are planted on the south side on a noble terroir made up of metamorphic rocks such as blue stones. ​The Heart of Men refers to its women and men who have walked this hillside for decades. In the vineyard as in the cellar, Le Cœur des Hommes is developed with respect for life and balance.​ Wine vinified without inputs in stainless steel vats and demi-muids. A small dose of sulfur is used during bottling

97 Points! Blueberries, blackberries, elderberries, mushrooms and earthy notes. Spices as well. It’s full-bodied with an unctuous texture. Balanced and savory with a fine, chewy tannin structure. Flavorful finish with length. One of the best ever from here. Try after 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

From the importer: 55+ year-old vines. East of Erôme and Gervans, two of Crozes-Hermitage’s granite terroirs, lies Les Picaudières, perhaps the most singular terroir within the entire appellation. An unexpected fusion of Côte-Rôtie-like elegance with penetrating mineral textures and Hermitage’s rich, upfront earthiness and darker fruit, it is indeed unique, especially to its own appellation of humble terroirs. A small hike is required to reach the vineyard tucked a few kilometers on the backside of Hermitage, back into a forest that surrounds the vineyard on all sides, except the ridgeline.

96+ Points! Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Samantha's was aged for 22 months in French oak barrels, 68% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it slips slowly out of the glass with captivating scents of black raspberries, Morello cherries, black currant pastilles and rose oil, followed by suggestions of cedar chest, pencil lead and black olives. The full-bodied palate is charged with amazing energy, featuring vivacious red and black berry layers and a firm backbone of grainy tannins, lifted by refreshing acidity and bags of crunchy fruit on the long finish.  - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

97 Points! I have heard gruner veltliner dismissed for supposedly not being elegant, but this is an extremely elegant example! Very complex nose of snow peas, green beans, wild herbs and green pepper. On the medium-bodied palate, this remarkable gruner veltliner has a discreet succulence, but what makes it amazing is the way it glides so gracefully over the palate, then splash lands in a deep pool of wet stone minerality. Underplayed power and concentration! Drinkable now, but best from 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

The Rudy Zinfandel ‘North Coast’ 2018, definitely shows its Napa roots with plenty of firm, bluer fruits and a nice streak of pepper, all mediated with time in the bottle.  All in all, it’s a very fine representation of Zinfandel, the varietal, with a lot of character and an easier demeanor probably thanks to that bottle age.  Super-classy, textbook old-vine Napa Zin (of which there’s almost none left with the race to plant more Cabernet), we liked the wine before we even heard the price.

95 Points! The cool climate of the vineyard really shines bright in the light-bodied, nuanced 2023 Chardonnay Escolle Vineyard, which offers lengthy, crisp, and subtle characteristics of gravel, green apple, and a hint of citrus and spice. Structured to age another 10 years, it captures the power and intensity of the appellation from a perspective of equal finesse. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

From the winery: The fruit for this Gamay was harvested from several vineyards surrounding our winery in the Arroyo Seco AVA. This AVA is recognized as having the longest growing season in California. Strong daily winds that bring cool fog from the Monterey Bay allow the grapes to spend more time on the vine building flavor, complexity and acidity. Extremely rocky well-drained alluvial soils are the base for creating wines processing freshness & minerality. The combination of sand, granite, and shale loam soils with the ever present marine influence provide the perfect conditions for growing Gamay. 100% whole cluster using ambient yeast and native malolactic aged in 100% nuetral french oak puncheons, bottled unfined and unfiltered, 12.1% ABV.

93 Points, Wine Spectator's #2 Wine Value of 2025! Marking the first vintage for former winemaker Michael Coode, the 2022 is supple and elegantly structured. Coode fermented the juice in tanks, with twice-daily pump-overs, and then aged the wine for 14 months in a combination of new and used French oak. - Wine Spectator

93 Points, Wine Spectator's #25 Wine of the Year for 2024! Supple and sleek, with elegantly layered red currant, toasty mocha and tarragon flavors that glide on a long finish. Drink now through 2031. - Wine Spectator

Importer notes: The exceptional Brut Sparkling wine is bottle fermented by the traditional method and shows a fine balance of Riesling aromas combined with the refreshing bubbles of a German Sparkling wine.

From the importer: High quality, perfectly balanced Riesling with fruity aromas. At only 9.0 % alc., it's an elegant choice for social gatherings but also pairs very well with light dishes such as pasta and salads.

90 Points! Rocking stuff, the 2024 Côtes du Rhône offers peppery red and black fruits, spice, and beautiful minerality. It's medium-bodied, fresh, focused, and balanced, with the pure, focused, graceful style of the vintage. - Jeb Dunnuck

90 Points! Dark, inky and nicely unadorned, with violet and fresh blackberry flavors showing real purity and freshness. Ripe and weighty, offering velvety tannins that guide the chalky, smooth finish, flecked with fleur de sel, garrigue and licorice root. Solid and vibrant. - Wine Spectator

97 Points! Robust, floral and intense. 100% old-vine grenache, expressing aromas of wild berries, sweet cherries, orange peel, dried flowers, grilled herbs and loads of spices. It’s full-bodied with fine, firm tannins. Juicy at the center with so much energy. It’s vibrant and focused with good drive in the finish. Bright and agile. From organically grown grapes with Ecocert certification. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! There's a lot to love in this ethereal red, with stunning purity and allure. The perfumed nose is marked by black fruit, pepper, smoked bacon and tobacco, with smoky oolong tea in the backdrop. Concentrated yet doesn't feel weighed down, with fine, chalky tannins landing the finish, which stretches out in effortless harmony and reveals earthy tugs of tar and juniper. Its beautiful suppleness makes this approachable now, but this will also go the distance in the cellar. Drink now through 2040. - Wine Spectator

98 Points! A bigger, richer wine based mostly on Grenache from a single parcel around the estate on the lower plain of Gigondas, the 2023 Gigondas La Louisiane shows darker blackberries and kirsch intermixed with ground pepper, sappy garrigue, and some meaty, spicy nuances that give this an ultra-classic Gigondas style. It's medium to full-bodied on the palate and has a pure, focused mouthfeel, ultra-fine yet building tannins, and integrated acidity. It's a brilliant effort that will stand toe to toe with anything in the vintage and should drink well over the coming 15+ years. - Jeb Dunnuck

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98 Points! Based on 80% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre and aged 12 months in foudres, the 2023 Gigondas Les Souteyrades is possibly the most exotic of the lineup from Saint-Damien. Kirsch liqueur, blackberries, exotic flowers, and sappy, garrigue-like nuances all define the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied, has a pure, layered, seamless mouthfeel, an incredible mix of richness and elegance, and a gorgeous finish. It's another absolutely riveting Gigondas from this estate that readers should snatch up! - Jeb Dunnuck

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