Wines

96+ Points! Castello Romitorio’s 2021 Brunello di Montalcino channels much of the estate’s fruit over seven plots, as no Riserva was produced, resulting in a wine of notable depth and cohesion. Whispered and delicate at first, the bouquet unfolds with white pepper, blue flowers and grilled herb before moving toward darker tones of sweet blackberry. The palate is open-knit yet powerful, showing juicy ripeness, layered complexity and a structured mid-palate that remains streamlined in classic Sangiovese fashion. Fermented in cement with maceration times tailored to the thickness of the skins from each plot, typically ranging from 18 to 24 days and extending up to 30 days when needed, the wine was aged for 24 months in oak, with 90% in large barrels and 10% in second- and third-passage tonneaux. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

95 Points! This is plush and features cherry, plum, wild herb, iron and spice flavors. Its tannins are well-integrated with the fleshy texture and resonant flavors, which gather steam by the lingering finish. Shows terrific balance and length overall. - Wine Spectator

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95 Points! This opens with aromas of dried apricots and salted lemons, lifted by a floral note of chamomile. The palate is medium to full-bodied with tension, subtle salinity and pleasant fleshiness. A blend of fruit from the Adrianna and Domingo vineyards, this is a deeply comforting chardonnay combining a generous texture with incisiveness. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The 2023 Chardonnay Catena Alta Historic Rows was sourced from Villa Bastías and Gualtallary in Tupungato. Aged for up to 14 months in new and used French oak barrels, this bright yellow wine offers notes of pear and mint, complemented by subtle oak nuances. Dry, creamy and broad, the oak plays a significant role on the palate. However, it remains refreshing, with a long-lasting hazelnut finish. This is a classic continental-style wine. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous

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94-96 Points! Broader and more flamboyant than the Chapelle-Chambertin, the 2020 Echézeaux du Dessus Grand Cru bursts with aromas of plums, wild berries, exotic spices, orange rind, peonies and smoked meats. Full-bodied, ample and perfumed, it's layered and concentrated, with a fleshy, multidimensional core of fruit, lively acids and a long, expansive finish. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

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94-96 Points! Tremblay's 2021 Echézeaux du Dessus Grand Cru is a hauntingly floral, ethereal wine, wafting from the glass with scents of sweet plums and berries mingled with exotic spices, orange zest and vine smoke. Full-bodied, broad and enveloping, it's deep and seamless, with a cool core of fruit, melting tannins and a long, floral finish. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

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95 Points! Blood orange zest, cherries, hibiscus and violets on the nose. Medium-bodied with firm, fine, crunchy tannins. Savory finish that’s salty at the end. No sulfur. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

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95-97 Points! Not yet bottled, the 2018 Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict is still resting in 20% new French oak. Coming from a great site on the southern side of the Sta. Rita Hills, it offers a rocking bouquet of lemon curd, chamomile, toasted bread, spice, and a touch of crushed stone-like flinty minerality. Beautifully textured, medium to full-bodied, and elegant on the palate, it's another brilliant wine from this estate. - Jeb Dunnuck Learn More

95 Points! This is a cooler-climate Syrah done with the light touch of a Pinot Noir master. The nose is extremely peppery, reminiscent of a tour through a Tellicherry peppercorn factory, yet with tart cranberry, rust and soil elements as well. The palate is immensely grippy with more white pepper as well as charcoal and brisk red-fruit flavors. It will also cellar very well. - Wine Enthusiast

94 Points! The 2018 Syrah Schock Family Vineyard is Gavin Chanin's first Syrah, and it is fabulous. Deep and rich, but not at all heavy, the 2018 has so much to offer. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2018 is an embryonic wine at this stage. What comes across is the wine's exceptional balance and harmony. Time will be needed for Syrah aromatics to emerge. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

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

96 Points! The second wine of this brilliant château, the 2022 Chapelle D'Ausone checks in as 65% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon that was raised 20 months in barrels. Classic Cabernet Franc notes of black raspberries, currants, spring flowers, candied violets, and sappy mint herbs all shine here, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with a pure, layered, seamless mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. While it's not the best vintage for the second wines, you wouldn't know it by tasting this. - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! This is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps with expressive scents of red currant preserves, fresh blackberries, and violets, plus nuances of cedar chest and cinnamon stick. The medium to full-bodied palate is coated with rich black and red berry layers, supported by velvety tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and spicy. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW

93 Points! The Chapelle d'Ausone is a powerful but also embryonic wine. Here, too, the wine's balance is impeccable. Super-ripe red cherry fruit, blood orange, spice, menthol and rose petal all meld together. Chapelle is a powerhouse second wine, if that term can even be used. The blend is 60% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

 

 

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95 Points! It's full-bodied, fairly concentrated, and generous. There’s wonderful freshness, a particularly strong mineral expression. Finishes on a touch of toasty oak. A great vintage of Les Granits. A very granitic expression from an east-facing plot in lieu-dit St-Joseph, near Mauves.- Decanter Magazine

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95 Points! Gorgeous black and blue fruits, spring flowers, graphite, and smoky tobacco notes all shine in the 2022 Cabernet Franc, a remarkably pure, silky, medium to full-bodied blend of 76% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7% Merlot. While it shows the perfumed, accessible style of the vintage, it brings rock-solid depth and concentration, ripe tannins, and a great finish. Drink over the coming decade. - Jeb Dunnuck

 

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99 Points!  The 2016 Chateau D’Yquem is pure magic and dessert wines don’t get much better. Offering a pale gold color as well as a blockbuster bouquet of honeyed tangerines, tart apricots, liquid rocks, white flowers, and honeysuckle, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, an opulent texture, vibrant acidity, and again, an incredible sense of minerality, despite having no shortage of sweetness or richness. The 2016 is a classic blend of 75% Sémillon and 25% Sauvignon that hit 14.2% alcohol with 135 grams of residual sugar. It’s already complex and approachable yet will keep for 3-4 decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

99 Points! A very classic Yquem. Breathtakingly wide spectrum of floral honey, exotic fruit (passion fruit, mango and pineapple), caramel and marzipan aromas. But none of this is a jot too much. In fact, the wine is extremely precise and finely nuanced. Wonderful freshness and textural complexity, in spite of the considerable concentration and extravagance. Very suave and sensual finish that goes on and on. - James Suckling

98 Points! Containing 135 grams per liter of residual sugar, the pale lemon-gold colored 2016 d'Yquem leaps from the glass with honeyed apricots, pineapple, green mango, crushed rocks, candied ginger, coriander seed and citrus peel with hints of orange blossom. The palate is very tightly wound, vibrant and refreshing with layer upon layer of minerals and spices, finishing with epic poise and persistence. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

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95 Points! The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape is some serious Provençal goodness, with just about overflowing aromas and flavors of sweet raspberries, blackberries, peppery garrigue, and Provençal spices. It has the sunny, expressive, complex style of the vintage, medium to full-bodied richness, ripe tannins, and a great finish. As with most 2022s, it has plenty of upfront charm yet solid underlying tannins as well. It reminds me slightly of the 2009 and will have two decades of longevity. - Jeb Dunnuck

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95 Points! The 2021 Zerzilles is its usual powerful self, lying in wait like a lioness to pounce on her prey for her hungry lion cubs. It has a sudden spurt of power and energy striking through the palate. While light in body, it has innate power, masses of concentration and an electric charge of crackling acidity. This is a pup of a wine that's going to need time. - Rebecca Gibb, Vinous Media

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96 Points! I continue to love the 2008 Château Latour, unquestionably in the top handful of wines in the vintage. A rich, powerful blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, this ruby/purple-hued beauty boasts a classic Latour nose of blackcurrants, spice box, saddle leather, tobacco leaf, and cedar pencil. Deep, medium to full-bodied, and perfectly balanced, give it another 2-3 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy bottles over the following 2-3 decades. - Jeb Dunnuck, 2019

95 Points! A little subdued, as with the Lafite right now, but this is built to last and is layered and structured. Liquorice, cassis and blueberry notes take the lead, with a punch of tannic power and a crushed mint leaf finish. A classic Latour, starting to be ready to drink but sure to age for decades from here. A seductive smoke note appears with time in the glass. Harvest September 29 to October 14. 40% of overall production. - Jane Anson, Decanter Magazine 2021

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

97-98 Points! Really impressive depth, concentration and perfume this year, with fine tannins. Lots of violets, red flowers, black cherries and currants. Full-bodied and seriously structured, with impeccable freshness and a very long finish. Dense and powerful for the vintage, with tension, vibrations, good concentration and a tannin framework. 93% cabernet sauvignon, 5% merlot, 1% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. - Zekun Shuai, James Suckling

94-96 Points! Representing 46% of the total crop (a little higher than recent yearsdue to higher yields in the best Cabernet blocks), the 2024 Château Margaux contains slightly less Merlot (5%). It has a sophisticated bouquet in the context of the growing season, with black fruit, pressed violet and hints of pencil box that almost lend a Pauillac-like allure. Very fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and modest depth. This is clearly a leaner Château Margaux compared to, say, the 2020 or 2022, but it is razor-sharp with superb tension and mineralite. Unapologetically classic in style with modest length, this noble First Growth will benefit from four to five years in bottle. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

94-96 Points! Based on 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, the 2024 Château Margaux is similarly deep purple-hued, with a more inward, closed, yet impressive style. Crème de cassis, graphite, spring flowers, and subtle spicy nuances all define the aromatics. It's medium-bodied with a concentrated, ripe, layered mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and nicely integrated background oak. It's going to need time, but this is unquestionably a beautiful, elegant Margaux. The 2024 is 12.8% alcohol with a pH of 3.62. - Jeb Dunnuck

93-95 Points! The 2024 Château Margaux has turned out beautifully, unfurling in the glass with notes of cassis, violets, cigar box and iris. Medium to full-bodied, deep and vibrant, with excellent density and concentration for the vintage, it's lively and layered, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. This is a serious, youthfully tightly wound blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc that attained 12.8% alcohol. - William Kelley, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

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Brilliant red. Ripe red berries and potpourri on the lively, mineral-accented nose, with suave floral and allspice qualities adding complexity. Juicy raspberry and bitter cherry flavors show excellent precision and vivacity, with a hint of white pepper contributing cut. Asian spice nuances come up on the clean, tightly focused finish, which is given shape by silky, even tannins.

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97 Points! The 2012 Cheval Blanc boasts stunning power and a verticl, imposing scene of structure that is quite rare in this vintage. Dark and almost brooding in style, the Cheval is a rare 2012 that absolutely demands cellaring. Smoke, tobacco, incense and dark spices open up with time, but the 2012 is a reticent, tannic wine that is only showing the barest hints of its ultimate potential. This is a magnificent showing and one of the clear highlights of the year. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

96+ Points! A step up over the 2011, the 2012 Chateau Cheval Blanc offers a similar medium to full-bodied, elegant style yet has slightly more freshness and purity. Smoked black fruits, cassis, tobacco leaf, and sappy flower notes all emerge from this thrillingly textured, balanced, focused 2012. It opens up with time in the glass, has ripe, sweet tannins, and it’s another one of those wines that offers pleasure today yet will cruise for decades. The final blend is the usual 54% Merlot and 46% Cabernet Franc. Readers should be happy to have bottles in their cellars. - Jeb Dunnuck

95+ Points! Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2012 Château Cheval Blanc reveals lovely cassis, warm black cherries and redcurrant jelly notions with underlying hints of cedar chest, garrigue, Indian spices and damp soil. Medium to full-bodied, it possesses wonderful energy and freshness on the palate with a beautifully poised ethereal nature and long mineral-tinged finish. This elegantly crafted beauty should enter its drinking window in a couple of years and cellar gracefully for another 20+ years. - Lisa Perotti-Brown, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

94 Points! A Cheval Blanc with an impressive center palate of blueberries, chocolate, almonds and spices. Full body, a solid core of fruit and a long, long finish. Goes on for minutes. Beautiful wine. Seamless tannins. Needs a few years of bottle age. Better in 2017. - James Suckling

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98 Points! The aromas of currants and flowers with hints of stones and sandalwood are enticing. Medium- to full-bodied, with an impressive structure of polished yet intense and focused tannins that run the length of the wine. Both the acidity and tannins play off each other, giving a punchy character. A classic Cheval. Only 13.3% alcohol. 52% cabernet franc, 43% merlot and 5% cabernet sauvignon. For a decade or so, this wine never had so much cabernet franc. Needs four or five years to soften. Drink after 2029. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! The 2021 Cheval Blanc has turned out beautifully in bottle, and director Pierre-Olivier Clouet even considers it to be superior to the 2020, a preference that I share. Wafting from the glass with aromas of mulberries and cherries mingled with incense, iris and rose petals, framed by a deft touch of new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a velvety attack that segues into a rich, concentrated mid-palate framed by sweet, powdery tannins and concluding with a long, penetrating, rose-inflected finish. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

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98 Points! The 2020 Cheval des Andes was harvested from the last of February for the first time ever. It was Gabillet's second vintage at Cheval des Andes, and that year, he had to start without waiting for Pierre Olivier Clouet and Pierre Lurton from Cheval Blanc; when they arrived, they had finished picking the Malbec, which surprisingly was fresher in Las Compuertas (because of the higher percentage of clay?) than in Altamira (where the vines suffered more stress), saving the freshness. They now harvest using cold trucks (for the first time), and they also started earlier in the morning (six in the morning, impossible earlier in Mendoza...), which he reckons was very good for the precision of the wine. They used 40% 225-liter barrels, 40% 400-liter oak barrels and 20% 2,500-liter foudres, half of them new and with an élevage of 15 months on average, depending on the lots and varieties from 12 to 18 months. The final blend was 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot, which makes a comeback as it was not used since 2016. The key was to finish the fermentation of the Petit Verdot without skins, and that way, they have been able to use it in the blends of 2021, 2022 and 2023 in small but increasing percentages. This is slightly riper than 2019, with a little more alcohol (14.5%) and with very good structural tannins but saving the freshness, and it has the spicy side from the Petit Verdot (Gabillet talks about white pepper). The wine has the ultra sleek and polished texture and the elegance and the balance that is the signature here; the wine is very clean and precise. I see very good regularity across the three vintages I tasted next to each other—this 2020 and the 2018 and 2019. Overall, this is a triumph over the adverse conditions of the vintage. They produced their usual 100,000 bottles (since 2018), as they are renewing their vineyards and want to keep the volume stable. They produce this volume from the 36 productive hectares they have in Las Compuertas and Altamira. There are some more changes: in 2020, they went for a lighter bottle, weighing 100 grams less than the one they used in 2018 and 2019, but close to 300 grams less than the bottle from before. It's also a slimmer bottle, always thinking about the environment. They are very focused on agroecology, accelerating the regenerative viticulture and using cover crops; they have planted 1,900 trees in the last three years, creating small clusters of biodiversity for birds. They have transplanted some centenary olive trees and keep their sheep and lamas on the property. Very green-minded. - Luis Gutiérrez, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 

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