Wines

94+ Points! All Merlot from a tiny parcel on the upper plateau, the 2020 Château Moulin Du Cadet has a fresher, elegant, yet nicely concentrated and medium-bodied profile as well as a gorgeous perfume of red and black raspberries, tobacco, peppery herbs, and truffle. Perfectly balanced, with fine yet building tannins and terrific purity, it needs just 2-4 years of bottle age and will evolve for 15+. - Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com

94 Points! Notes of cassis and plum skins with licorice, cocoa and mocha. Hints of walnut, too. Medium- to full-bodied with tight yet polished tannins that last for minutes. Delicious and juicy velvet-coated dark fruit with tension and length. Toned and lingering finish with lots of energy to it. Try after 2026. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.com

Learn More

94–96 Points – Jeb Dunnuck
“A blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc from vines just across from Ausone, the 2025 Château Moulin Saint-Georges is another pure, focused, elegant wine in the Vauthier lineup, offering cassis and black raspberry fruit alongside lots of graphite, crushed stone, and violet-driven nuances with beautifully integrated oak.”

94–95 Points – Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
“Plums, black cherries, purple flowers, cocoa, and licorice form the fragrant aromatic profile. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, with lift and energy showing on the sweet, fresh, juicy palate. Bright red berries in the finish come along with accents of citrus, cocoa, and black raspberries, with a touch of salt on the backend.”

94 Points – Georgina Hindle, Decanter
“Really fruit forward on the nose with so much red and blue berry aromas. Supple and succulent, juicy and lively with really fine tannins. Finessed, balanced, and compelling.”

93-95 Points -  Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Palate "Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2025 Moulin Saint-Georges prances out of the glass with gregarious notes of black raspberries and wild blueberries, giving way to hints of anise, garrigue, and dusty soil. The medium-bodied palate is silky, intense, and defined by an exhilaratingly crisp backbone, finishing long and minerally. The blend is 85% Merlot and

 

Learn More

94+ Points! This property is owned and managed by the Vauthier family of Château Ausone. The 2015 Moulin Saint-Georges is blended of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, 85% new. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it reveals a gorgeous plum preserves, licorice and blackberry pie-laced nose with touches of cedar chest, cigar box, black olives and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated and very firmly textured with grainy tannins, it has a lively backbone supporting the generous black fruit, finishing with lingering savory notes. Give it a good 5 years or more in bottle and drink it over the next 20+ years.- Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Learn More

94 Points! Hailing from a warm vintage that was one of the best in what would otherwise have been a fairly ordinary decade, the 1985 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon is starting to take on a deep golden appearance, commencing to amber. It offers a gorgeous, suave texture and a very complex nose that's a touch oxidative but that adds a layer of additional intrigue: it's all nuts, raisins, walnuts, olives, warm pastry, cinnamon, cooked orange peel. It's round and sweet (95g/L) but not unctuous with richness on the mid-palate while retaining enough acidity to refresh the mouth on the long finish. A wine that is very comfortable in its own skin, providing a very relaxing experience.

Moulin Touchais produces sweet Chenin Blanc in the Coteaux du Layon appellation. The wines are most often late harvested, although in some vintages - such as 1997 - a high level of botrytis builds on the fruit. What makes the winery special is its late-release policy: the wines must spend a minimum of 10 years in the underground cellars beneath the village of Doué la Fontaine before release. - Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous Media, 2021

 

Learn More

94 Points! A heady nose opens with lucid layers of spices and herbs, olive brine, violets, fresh ground peppercorn, currants and blackberries. There's polished dark chocolate oak influence. The palate is chiseled, silky and slinky but with curves and shape, sculpted by fine, savory, pepper-flecked tannins. This is a complete and detailed wine now but has the potential to cellar several more years. - Wine Enthusiast 

93 Points! This wine offers a rich and seductive nose of blackberries complemented by notes of cigar box, milk chocolate and subtle hints of pepper. Well defined with satiny tannins, it has a linear and precise structure that leads to a subtle, dark fruit-driven finish. -JamesSuckling.com 

92 Points! Notes of chocolate-covered espresso bean, rosemary and sage mingle with huckleberry, blueberry and cassis flavors in this intense red, showing plenty of freshness and finesse. Accents of cumin and tobacco linger on the long finish, where the tannins remain firm but plush. Drink now through 2034. - Wine Spectator 

92 Points! The 2021 Shiraz Cliff Edge is rocky and purple on the nose with crushed granite, blackberry, white pepper and raspberry compote. Not hugely complex, but it is hugely satisfying. This is a concentrated, cool-climate Shiraz. It's a great (super) value. - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com

Learn More

98 Points! This shows blackcurrants, blackberries, violets, lavender, pencil shavings and hints of metal shavings. Medium- to full-bodied with a firm and juicy character of extremely polished and integrated tannins that caress your palate. Compact and poised with tension and focus. A blend of 89% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot and 1% cabernet franc. 13.1% alcohol. Drink after 2029. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! Concentrated and characterful, layered and super-finely presented. Round and full, juicy and textured, more powdery than tense and grippy with almost blackcurrant skin texture, while juicy red and black cherry juice goes through the centre, added to by dried mint, wet stones, clove and liquorice. Serious, with power but poise, all the elements on show – perhaps not quite settled, but individually showing the complexity of this great wine in the making. - Decanter Magazine

95 Points! As to the Grand Vin 2021 Château Mouton Rothschild, this beauty is in the running for one of the wines of the vintage, and it brings more depth, richness, and texture than just about anything else in the Médoc. A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in new barrels, it sports a dense purple/plum hue as well as powerful aromatics of spicy black fruits, leafy tobacco, graphite, and freshly sharpened pencils. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has a building, layered mouthfeel and impressive concentration and intensity in its aromas and flavors, velvety tannins, and gorgeous finish. You'd be hard pressed to know this came from a challenging vintage. It's going to take at least 5-7 years to hit the early stages of its prime drinking window and will evolve gracefully over the following 20-25 years. Bravo. For tech geeks out there, this hit 13.1% alcohol, has an IPT of 59, and a pH of 3.73. - Jeb Dunnuck

 

Learn More

94 Points! The grapes for the 2021 Reserva (sold as Crianza in Spain), mostly Tempranillo with some Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano, were picked late in a cooler year when they finished the harvest the 20th of October, with plenty of times for the grapes to develop full aromas and flavors and complete ripeness. It fermented destemmed and lightly crushed in oak vats with indigenous yeasts, separating qualities, villages and soils, and matured in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels, 20% of them new, for 24 months, with racking every eight to nine months. It's a textbook example of their style in a very good year, with power, concentration and clout, elegance and freshness. It was a very harmonious year; the cycle was long and the tannins ripened to perfection. It's terrific... - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! The winery’s flagship, the wine that introduced Muga to the world, the 2021 Muga Reserva is Tempranillo-dominant, with Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano filling in the gaps. A larger-production wine, it offers tremendous quality, fermented in wooden vats using indigenous yeasts, the grapes separated by quality, soil type, and village origin. This one in particular is from a beautiful vintage and practically beams in full-bodied concentration, with supple, silky tannins and light touches of oak spice, cedar, balsamic, and white pepper. A new release, it should continue to thrive another 15-20 years. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

Learn More

94 Points! The 2004 Muga Reserva Seleccion Especial is deep crimson-colored. Dense and packed, it offers up aromas of cedar, spice box, mineral, pencil lead, and assorted black fruits. It nicely conceals enough structure for 6-8 years of evolution. This lengthy effort should drink well through 2030. - Jay Miller, robertparker.com

Learn More

95 Points! From a slightly more challenging year for the region, the 2020 Muga Selección Especial checks in as 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, and the rest Graciano and Mazuelo that's aged six months in new French barrique, followed by two full years in older French and American (70/30) oak barriques. Rocking levels of cassis and black raspberry-like fruit as well as graphite, spicy wood, violets, and lead pencil notes all shine on the nose, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a round, layered mouthfeel, and silky tannins. It's already hard to resist. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

94 Points! Their most gastronomical red is the 2020 Selección Especial, a blend of the four traditional varieties from Rioja—Tempranillo, Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano—fermented in oak vats. Half of the destemmed grapes were put through an optical sorting machine. The wine matured in French oak barrels, 40% of them new, for 26 months and was racked every eight to nine months. 2020 was a warm year, and the wine comes in at 14.5% alcohol, with a pH of 3.56 and 5.75 grams of acidity. Manu Muga likes 2020 very much and says it's a year that suffers because it's in between 2019 and 2021. This is also a textbook example of this wine, a little more developed and tertiary, with generous spice and toast and a palate with more grip. The tannins are not as precise and elegant as those from 2021 (yeah, it suffers in the comparison), but it's a very worthy wine. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93 Points! The 2020 Selección Especial Muga is Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. This aged for 26 months in 40% new French oak. Concentrated, with aromas of sour cherry, plum, fine oak, cedar and herbal notes, it's dry in the mouth with plush tannins and well-defined fruit. The tackiness adds structure and promises good aging potential.-  Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous

 

Learn More

94 Points! The Roundstone 2023 Swartland Red Blend reflects a forward-looking approach to climate resilience and site authenticity. The blend (52% Syrah, 25% Grenache and 23% Cinsault) leans on varieties well proven in the Swartland’s warm, dry conditions. The vineyards are farmed with a strong regenerative focus: tight spacing with no tractor work, permanent mulch under vine with hay bales, self-seeding cover crops and no-till soil management. The 20-hectare block includes 16 hectares of vines interwoven with four hectares of preserved fynbos corridors to support biodiversity and prevent erosion. Despite a challenging, cloudy vintage, the wine shows generous ripeness with plummy fruit and blackberry at the core. The palate is velvety yet composed, with a structural firmness on the finish that reflects the grip of the ancient Swartland soils. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

Learn More

94 Points! The Mullineux 2024 Swartland Old Vines White is reductively fresh yet texturally layered, showing citrus oil, stone fruit and saline minerality across a tense mid-palate. Chenin Blanc leads the blend, supported by Clairette Blanche, Grenache Blanc, Viognier and Semillon Gris. Drawn from 72-year-old Swartland vineyards on granite soils, the wine is aged on the lees in large-format foudres without bâtonnage to preserve its natural texture. This is a terrific wine at an irresistible price. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

Learn More

94 Points! The 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve could easily be called a Pauillac from Australia. Dense ruby/purple, a classic Cabernet nose of cedar wood, smoke, cassis, mineral, lead pencil, and new oak soars from the glass. In the mouth, it is full-bodied, with fabulous concentration and multi-layered texture, high levels of glycerin, and a seamless, concentrated, long finish with well-integrated tannin, acidity, and alcohol. This is no wimpish wine at 14.6% alcohol, but sadly, there are only 290 cases of this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon made from 25-30 year old vines. Anticipated maturity: now-2020. - Robert Parker, June 2001 Learn More

94 Points! The 2001 Eclipse (65% Grenache and 35% Shiraz from 56-65 year old vines) is still closed aromatically, but with coaxing reveals potentially fabulous quality. An opaque purple color is followed by aromas of charcoal, smoke, blackberries, and sweet cherries. This full-bodied, rich, beautifully delineated effort is extraordinarily pure as well as incredibly persistent on the palate (close to one minute). Aged in a combination of new and old large American oak hogsheads for 18 months and bottled unfiltered, it appears to have tremendous up-side potential, although I suspect many readers will not be able to defer their gratification ... and why should they? Drink it over the next decade. - Robert Parker, August 2003 Learn More

94 Points! Full of character and savory depth, offering iodine, tangerine peel and ripe berry aromas. The medium- to full-bodied palate is bright and fleshy, framed by velvety but focused tannins. Long, layered and spicy at the end. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

Learn More

94 Points! This unique blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec, 2% St. Macaire, 1% Merlot, 1% Gros Verdot, 1% Carmenere, and 1% Cabernet Franc is culled together from three Estate vineyards in the Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder and Oakville AVAs. A riveting, full-bodied red teeming with ripe and satiny textures, opulent red, black, and blue-toned fruits, with graceful, velvety tannins and a host of complex aromas and flavours that begin with black cherry, spiced plum, toasted fennel, maple and toffee, and end with cassis, graphite, mulberry, and espresso beans. A real pleasure palace. - Decanter Magazine

93 Points! Powerful but polished, this full-bodied wine boasts generous dark fruit flavors, attractive oak spices and a good, moderately tannic texture. Nicely concentrated black cherry, dried plum, cedar and star anise nuances. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

Learn More

94 Points! This velvety and harmonious red offers a deep, musky aroma, with macerated cherry, sweet strawberry, leather, tobacco and orange peel flavors. Beautifully balanced and expressive, lingering with a long aftertaste of fruit, spice and mineral. - Wine Spectator

Learn More

94+ Points! Moving over to Castiglione Falletto, the 2009 Barolo Villero delivers more oak spice and thicker overall density. I loved the aromas of pressed flower and rose, followed by crushed mineral and cola that lift so effortlessly from the glass. This is an ethereal and elegant expression that will undergo a long evolution in the bottle. This and the Barolo Brunate are my favorite Oddero wines in 2009. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2028. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

Learn More

94 Points! The 2022 Zinfandel Bedrock Vineyard is rich, ample and super-expressive, yet it also has plenty of energy – something that has, at times, been elusive in this site. Black fruit, spice, leather, mocha and licorice are all amplified. Picking a bit earlier helped considerably here. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

134-year-old vines, 8x8 Head Pruned, picked 9/5/2022, pH 3.99, TA 5.1 g/L, 125 cases bottled in November 2023.

Learn More

94 Points! Coming from the French Camp Vineyard in Paso Robles, the 2021 Petite Sirah French Camp Vineyard sports a deep purple hue as well as rocking aromatics of ripe blackberries, blueberries, violets, and smoked herbs. It's full-bodied, ripe, polished, and downright sexy on the palate, with silky tannins and no hard edges. This is one heck of a pleasure-bent Petite Sirah that readers will love. Drink bottles over the coming 4-6 years or so.

These Optik releases are made by Joey Tensley and come primarily from the Santa Maria Valley. As I write in some of the reviews, these wines are a joy to drink. - Jeb Dunnuck

Learn More

95 Points! Displays beautiful aromas of ripe fruit, with currant, plum and blackberry. Complex and full-bodied, with soft, polished tannins and a long, long finish. This shows a deft hand in the winemaking. - Wine Spectator

95 Points! Still very young. Shows complex aromas of ripe fruit, blackberries, plums and currants. Polished, with soft tannins, a full body and a very long finish. - James Suckling, 2013

94 Points! The 2005 Ornellaia opens with striking, compelling aromatics that draw the taster in. Still deep, rich and intense throughout, the 2005 has held up beautifully. Sweet herbs, tobacco, spices, sage and plums add shades of dimension to a core of super-ripe, exotic fruit that is one of the vestiges of a late-ripening vintage in which the fruit was allowed to hang until the very end. The 2005 remains an infant. It should drink well for another 15+ years. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 2015

Learn More