2010 - Present Wine

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2023

The Wine Advocate 92 Points by Luis Gutierrez | The affordable white 2023 Blanco 2º Año was produced with 70% Viura, 25% Tempranillo Blanco and equal parts of Garnacha Blanca and Malvasía. It fermented with selected yeasts, and only one-third of the volume matured in untoasted French oak barrels for five months, while the majority was kept in concrete. It's balsamic and has a medicinal touch, hints of bay leaf, fennel and yellow fruit and flowers. It has a moderate 13% alcohol and nice balance, keeping the freshness, poise and primary character.



Vinous 91 Points by Joaquin Hidalgo | The 2023 Blanco 2º Año hails from Rioja Alta. A blend of Viura and Tempranillo Blanco, it aged in barrels and concrete. Golden in hue, it opens with a creamy profile, subtle oxidative notes and a touch of dried pear. On the palate, it’s broad and grippy, with a nutty, saline finish. The 2023 is a potent white.

Winemaker Description 

From a historic, family-owned, boutique winery smack dab in the hotbed of La Rioja, Haro.  Now operated by the Baños family (since 2004), wines are created from a mix of terroirs in Rioja Alta and Alavesa where high-alt. bush vines thrive.
Aged partly in French oak barrels and concrete tank on the lees, this is a well-balanced, textured blanco – citrus and mineral, juicy and bright. 

Winemaker Description

Specially selected and carefully aged, this premier Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Vineyard Merlot captures the intense energy of arid vineyards resulting in velvety blackberry and vanilla flavors.

Winemaker Description

This vibrant and lifted Merlot exudes rich plum flavours with undertones of both red and dark fruit and a soft touch of oak. As the wine develops in the glass, layers of chocolate, nutmeg and cinnamon spice come to the fore. The soft mouth-feel and tannin integration allow for all the beautiful flavours of this wine to shine through.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2021 

Wine Advocate 94 Points | The 2021 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett is deep and flinty but bright and clear on the refined and elegant nose with beautiful crushed slate aromas. On the palate, this is a rich, round and generous, incredibly lush and supple but crystalline and even pure Sonnenuhr with a highly stimulating, mouth-watering finish. This 2021 shows the great terroir of the cru, in particular in cool vintages due to its exposition that collects the sun's rays in the morning. 

Wine Enthusiast 92 Points | This shows very little sweetness, but is harmonious and well integrated despite the firm acidity that fuels it. Stone- and orchard-fruit notes are flecked by chrysanthemum and cardamom to create the full-spectrum. The finish is long and persistent.

Winemaker Description 

Cassis and lime zest aromas with tart, salty and slate notes.

Try with yellow curry or spring rolls.

Winemaker Description 

Light, crisp and refreshing. Honeyed peach, apples and honeydew melon notes. Off dry, with lots of stone fruit on the palate. Light in body and medium, crisp acidity.

Perfect with Asian food.

Winemaker Description 

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2022 

Stuart Pigott writes 91 Points | Some will consider this unfiltered, light-bodied gruner veltliner a natural, but whichever way you see it this has stacks of crisp apple fruit and white pepper character. I love the interplay of lemony freshness with a touch of leesy creaminess at the joyfully bright finish. Just 11.5% alcohol. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

Anne Krebiehl MW of Vinhous writes 90 Points | The 2022 Grüner Veltliner Zwickl Unfiltriert is named after the_ Zwickl_ concept of cloudy, unfiltered beer. Winemaker Nikolaus Saahs Jr. emphasizes that the term refers only to not filtering the wine and is a style that has been made since 2014. Vinified in stainless steel, the grapes are grown in Mautern and Stein, i.e. on both banks of the Danube. Intense leesy freshness and yeastiness rise from the glass. The palate is mild, smooth and rounded, with a white pepper notion and an almost perfumed, floral quality to the yeastiness on the mid-palate. There is lovely freshness on the finish. (Bone-dry)  Drinking 2023-2030.

Winemaker Description

Medium to medium-dark ruby-red. Very cool, stately aromas of red cherry, cola, and fresh tobacco leaf. On the palate, medium-full bodied. Flavors of red fruits and blood orange take front and center stage, persisting through the long, smooth finish. Not a wine of bombast but instead, one of elegance, purity, and quiet confidence. Wonderful now, this can be enjoyed through at least 2028.

Expert Ratings

94 Points Wine Spectator | Few Zinfandels show this much nuance and detail, yet there's an elegant power to this red, with cherry and raspberry flavors that mingle with orange peel and fresh sage. Ends with refined tannins.

93 Points Jeb Dunnuck | The 2020 Zinfandel Papera Ranch is ripe with fresh berries, raspberry preserve, and baking spice. Its gushy fruit up front gives way to a note of raspberry seed and refreshing lift on the finish. Drink 2023-2032.

Expert Review - Vintage 2019 

Wine Spectator 91 Points | A generous red in an elegant, medium- to full-bodied frame, with notes of mesquite smoke and bay leaf on the nose that form a savory baseline, underscoring the palate's ripe black currant, green olive, coffee and milled pepper. Well-knit, with supple tannins firming the finish. Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella. Drink now through 2030.

Winemaker Description

On the nose, the typical notes of raisined fruit and cherry flavors are dominant. Mild hints of vanilla and spice are present as well. Elegant and warm with a velvety mouthfeel. Incredibly long, persistent finish that lingers on the palate. Winemaker Description. 

Winemaker Description

Celler Bàrbara Forés is a woman owned and operated winery located in the Terra Alta region of Catalonia, Spain. It was founded on the principles of agroecology and is known for its commitment to producing high-quality wines while respecting the environment. Uniting the efforts of three women, the winery's philosophy is rooted in sustainable viticulture and the unique terroir of the Terra Alta The wine is made with Morenillo from a single estate that has partly sandy soil but mostly a loamy texture. When the grapes have been manually harvested, they ferment in contact with the skins. Maceration lasts 21 days. After pressing, fermentation continues in stainless steel tanks, at a controlled temperature.

The wine is then aged for 9 months in clay amphoras.With the name Bàrbara Forés, the marriage of Carmen Ferrer and Manuel Sanmartín wanted to pay tribute to their great-grandmother Bárbara Forés, who was born in Gandesa on February 7, 1828. Bárbara Forés, the daughter of a wine merchant (Rafael Forés) and an agricultural owner (Maria Figueras), was a person of great character and had a decisive influence on her son Rafael.

Rafael Ferrer Forés, a pharmacist and illustrious winegrower, constructed the cellar of the manor house where he began bottling wine at the end of the 19th century. Bárbara Forés, therefore, represents respect and tradition in the production of wines, passed down from generation to generation for more than a hundred years in their house.

Winemaker Description

A deep garnet red in color, it has an ethereal bouquet of dried fruit. On the palate, it is full-bodied, warm, mouth-filling and dry. A substantial wine of rare elegance that lends itself well to ageing.

Excellent with richly flavored main courses based on red meat, such as braised meats and game, and perfect with mature cheeses. It can also be enjoyed on its own at the end of a fine dinner.

Undisputedly symbolic of the Speri company, the Amarone Sant’Urbano is a superb example of a fine, classic wine. It is an extraordinary wine with great complexity and a vigorous structure, which has always been top for its elegance and quality.

Expert Review - Vintage 2019

Winemaker Description

The color is bright, deep morello cherry-red. The nose reveals aromas of blackberries, raspberries and ripe strawberries with just a touch of tobacco and spices such as clove and cinnamon. It is a medium-bodied wine with elegant structure, balanced acidity and very ripe, elegant tannins. The finish is moderately-long, dominated by red fruits and followed by sweet vanilla and black pepper. 

Winemaker Description

Château de Maltroye’s Chassagne Montrachet Rouge Boudriotte 2021 is a delightful red wine spilling forth with a bouquet of red and dark berries (blackberry, cherry, raspberry), complemented by subtle earthy and floral hints like violet, and a touch of spice from oak aging. Elegant and medium-bodied, its tannings are finely integrated, with a lingering finish. Seductive and delicious.

Winemaker Description

Black cherry, cacao, and pomegranate with a smooth, lingering finish. Medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins.

Handcrafted from high-quality vineyards in California’s coastal regions — from Monterey and San Benito in the central coast, to Suisun Valley in the north. The diversity in soil and climate from these AVAs contribute to this wine’s remarkable balance and depth of character. Grapes are harvested at optimal ripeness and then destemmed in order to express bright fruit flavors and maintain freshness.

The Pinot Project Pinot Noir offers notes of dark cherry, blackberry, and cacao with a smooth, lingering finish. Medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins.

Powerful and driven, State Ranch captivates the nose with a perfume of mixed wild berries, black cherry and aromatic herbs. At once juicy and concentrated, layers of black plum, black currant, and clove flavors unfold on the tongue. Polished tannins melt into the palate, beautifully framing the wine from the entry to the long, silky finish. Winemaker Description. 

Winemaker Description

Lucente is the result of a careful selection of the estate’s vineyards that are particularly suited for the production of a fruity and very pleasant wine. Like Luce, it is made from Sangiovese and Merlot, which prevails in the blend.

Lucente 2020 shows a brilliant ruby red color. The nose is rich in black fruits such as blueberries and blackberries, accompanied by a light balsamic and pan brioché note. The palate is soft supported by a nice freshness, with enveloping tannins and a long fruity aftertaste.

Expert Review

James Suckling 97 Points | Very pretty orange peel with currants and blue berries. Flowers, too. Medium to full body with firm and velvety tannins that are polished and impressive. Fresh fruit at the end. Serious structure and brightness. Drink after 2026. (2020). 

Stephan Brook writes:The 2020 growing season saw alternating spells of rainfall and heat, but fortunately there was no struggle with disease and the harvest was early and healthy. The nose is dense and powerful, exhibiting lush black fruits and chocolate, and it became more perfumed with aeration. The attack is zesty and vigorous, spicy and assertive, but there's no excessive extraction and the tannins are polished. Despite a hint of tar and liquorice, the black fruits dominate. Well balanced, with both grip and texture, and a very long finish, this will age well.  Drinking 2025 to 2040.  - Decanter 95

Michaela Morris writes:  Aromas of garden herbs and tobacco are subtle for the time being. Dark fleshy cherry suffuses the palate, and its creamy texture and vanilla finale are countered by tangy acidity. It's already approachable overall, although the tannins could do with a bit more time to integrate. Lamberto Frescobaldi describes the 2020 vintage as straightforward and balanced without significant heat spikes. And indeed, Luce captures the suave, almost carefree character of the vintage.  Drinking 2026 - 2037.  - Decanter 94

Monica Larner writes:  A blend of equal parts of Sangiovese and Merlot (in a heavy glass bottle), the Tenuta Luce 2020 Luce della Vite is sweet, chewy and oak-driven with a very toasted quality that includes cinnamon, fennel seed, roasted eggplant and dried pomegranate. There is a sweet note as well with exotic rose apple. The wine offers lots of volume and fruit fiber in this hot vintage and it makes a big impact on the palate. Likewise, the tannins hit hard. This is an in-your-face wine with a release of 100,000 bottles.  Drinking 2024 to 2035.  - Robert Parker Wine Advocate 92

Winemaker Description 

Ruby-garnet color. Very vibrant, well-balanced aromas with hints of Mediterranean scrubland and eucalyptus, and nuances of black berry fruit and pipe tobacco. The palate shows full, tangy, mineral flavor, velvety though, rounded and beautifully structured.

Perfect with stewed horsemeat in sauce; highly recommended with pasta (sagne ‘ncannulate), meatballs with sauce, chick pea soup, roasted or stewed red meats (lamb and goat).

Winemaker Description 

Arneis produces a lightly styled white wine with beautiful straw yellow colour. Citrus edged orchard fruits, pear and apricot are attractive on the palate with slightly bitter floral note that can resemble almonds. L'azienda Brovia is a traditional Piemontese family wine growing estate in Castiglione Falletto, in the heart of Barolo country. The wine is appreciated for its refined elegance.

The sole white wine of the estate is produced in the Roero district from an 0.80 hectare plot in Vezza d’Alba. The soil is essentially sandy in composition and sits at 340 meters altitude on south-facing slopes. The vineyard was planted in 1980. Harvest (manual) normally occurs in mid-September.

The grapes are briefly macerated and the fermentation occurs at controlled temperatures (around 15 degrees Celsius) for two to three weeks. The wine rests in stainless steel until the early spring months of the following year and is usually released to the market, after several months of bottle aging, in late summer/early fall.

Approximately 4500 bottles are produced annually, 3,000 of which are shipped to the USA. 

Memo Pairing Notes

This Arneis is incredibly versatile. Its freshness and body make it a perfect match for:

• Raw and Cooked Seafood: Oysters, raw tuna, grilled octopus, and white fish.

• Vegetable Dishes: Vegetable-based pasta, light risottos, or asparagus.

• Cured Meats & Cheese: Light ham or salami, and fresh, milky cheeses like Burrata or soft goat cheese.

Expert Ratings

Winemaker Description 

C Blanc du Castel is a white wine made purely of Chardonnay grapes (100%).
Using French oak barrels, the wine is fermented and then set to mature in its residual sugars for about a year, Bourgogne style.

‘C’ Blanc du Castel is known for its rich and buttery bouquet and refreshing acidity; it bears a full round flavor, with a touch of citrus, tropical fruit and roasted almonds.

This is a well-balanced wine with a fine long finish. It reaches its peak about 4 years after its harvest, and the recommended serving temperature is 12-14 degrees Celsius.

Winemaker Description

A perfect combination of softness and concentration, matched by a masterful maturity, The 2015 Cristal Brut delivers intense and delicious aromas with a superb energy and a magical vibration.

This is a timeless champagne with a chalky temperament, sustained by its soils, freed from the sunny character of the vintage.The nose begins with hints of yellow fruit, toasted almonds and wheat from the Chardonnay, combined with the juicy red fruit of the Pinot Noir. 

Then comes the great surge of energy from the wine's structure, a vibratory intensity that transforms into a gentle caress, a silky texture interwoven with fine flavors of candied citrus and iodized spices.The vintage's chalky character thus bursts forth in a bracing, vertical effervescence, with an insistent, precise and finely honed freshness.

The finish is underpinned by subtle oaky, sappy and saline notes, which creates the ultimate sensation of delicacy and concentration.Cristal 2015 remains a wine of supreme balance and measure, resonating from the chalky nature of its soils rather than the sunny character of its vintage.

A perfect Cristal, intensely of the 2015 vintage, with enormous ageing potential.

Expert Reviews 

James Suckling 97 Points | The warm and dry vintage this has tremendous freshness and elegance. The complex nose of citrus blossom, mint, lemon and lime zest opens up slowly as this aerates in the glass. The wine’s ample structure is still quite firm, which is a vintage characteristic, the mousse very fine but also very lively for an eight-year-old champagne. Cristal fans will love this as it is, but a year or two more in the bottle will do a lot for the very long mineral finish of this youthful masterpiece. A cuvee of 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay, picked from all 45 Cristal vineyard plots. Tasted at the Cristal vertical tasting at the champagne house on July 6th, 2023.

96 Points Wine Spectator | This mouthwatering Champagne has an ethereal quality, with a frame of chiseled acidity and focused precision to the pointillisme-like, vibrant mousse. Yet this shows depth and generous expression, with the finely spun notes of patisserie apple and blackberry fruit opening beautifully on the palate and through the minerally finish, with notes of grated ginger, blood orange granita, salted Marcona almond and anise.

96 Points Jeb Dunnuck | I had the opportunity to taste the 2015 Champagne Cristal twice, both at the house in Reims as well as at my home office. On both occasions, the wine offered a terrific balance of decadence and notable freshness for this vintage, which was highly expressive on opening. The release reveals layered custardy notes of lemon balm, incense, apricot, and hazelnut. Medium to full-bodied, the mousse is fluffy and rounded out beautifully through the palate. Round and approachable, it has a well-managed richness along with underlying savory sapidity and saline to keep this going over the coming three or more decades, with a chalky tannin structure to support it.

95 Points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate | If the 2014 vintage was especially open and demonstrative, the 2015 Cristal is going to require more patience. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, crisp stone fruits, white flowers, crushed mint and subtle hints of buttery pastry, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a deep, concentrated and rather introverted core of fruit framed by chalky extract and animated by a pretty pinpoint mousse. This is a serious, vinous Champagne that has considerable substance to age and may well evolve along the lines of the lovely 1985.

95 Points Decanter | An open and inviting nose references cream, oatmeal and Amalfi lemon with the slightest edge of smoke. The palate immediately strikes with a mouthwatering lemon ripeness and a juicy, mouthfilling generosity reminiscent of yellow plum. It stays true to the trademark sleekness of Cristal and speaks of the concentration of 2015. Fine mousse accentuates the fullness and roundness of the wine while the long finish hints at chalky depth which, for now, is dominated by ripe stone fruit and more of that textured, rich notion of oatmeal. Definitely a Cristal to enjoy soon.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2020

Wine Enthusiast 95 Points - Editors' Choice | This classic-style, elegant wine is well structured for further aging and so expressive of the Napa Cabernet tradition. Aromas of blackberries, black olives and bay leaves lead to black cherries, dark chocolate and tobacco flavors that are deep and persistent without being heavy. Drink from 2028–2038.

James Suckling 95 Points | Aromas of blackcurrant, hazelnut and chocolate, with hints of mint and sage that follow through to a medium to full body, with wonderful soft and fine tannins that give a velvety texture and persistent finish. So balanced and refined. Subtle. Didn’t include wine from vineyards in Atlas Peak this year. An excellent 2020. Drinkable, but will improve so well in the cellar.

Decanter 94 Points | The 2020 Lyndenhurst Produced by Spottswoodee. NV CS 13.6% // Civic Ruby colour with loads of savoury cedar spices, cinnamon and tobacco brown baking spices and red-toned fruits. Supple on entry with plump red berry fruit, tangy blood orange acidity under a bed of tobacco leaves, fragrant wild herbs, milk chocolate shavings and a kiss of anise. There is telltale crushed stone minerality, and the wine finishes long and lean with plenty of energy and drive. The tannins are burly with good grip. And the wine is generally light on its feet.

Wine Spectator 91 Points | Solidly built for the vintage, with a core of blackberry and black currant preserves that flex brambly energy and grip, along with licorice root, chaparral and apple wood notes filling in on the finish. Drink now through 2030. 2,205 cases made.

Winemaker Notes

Winemaker Description 

The grapes that produced this liquid Jewel were hand harvested from our finest plots of our highest quality vineyards in the Judean Hills. The nose displays lifted and rich fruit, is well integrated, and perfectly balanced with both French and Hungarian oak barrels. This liquid Jewel was aged for 24 months in 300L oak barrels, creating a liquid perfume of rich, elegant and caressing complexity.

Winemaker Description

Roter Multschak from Meinklang is an exciting red wine. Made from two Austrian indigenous grape varieties, it surprises you with its fun character. On the palate is fruity, tiny bit fizzy with cherry and pomegranate flavours.

The low amount of tannins allows you to drink it chilled.