Sitewide Sale - Reds

Expert Review

Vinous 95 Points | The 2017 Clos-de-la-Roche Grand Cru has an expressive bouquet that is a dead ringer for a Dujac, conveying plenty of energy and earthy black fruit laced with undergrowth and sea cave scents. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and quite a firm backbone. Fresh from the start to the refreshing, elegant, saline finish that gets the saliva flowing. Excellent."

James Suckling 97 points - This has a complex nose of cranberries, dried pineapple, soy, bark, cardamom, mocha, iodine and wet leather. Full-bodied, with firm and very fine tannins. It really builds in intensity, expanding into a broad array of fresh and dried fruit and espresso bean, before converging again on a long and driven finish. Fantastic already.

Jeb Dunnuck 96 points - Attractive smoky perfume lifts from the 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli, with sunny red plum, anise, lavender, and cedar. It is full-bodied, with a refined tannin structure, and a bit more wood influence that will integrate nicely in time. Offering notes of black cherry, licorice, crushed stones, and warming spice, it displays a broader nature compared to the rest of the range, which is to be expected from this iconic site with a somewhat warmer, south-facing exposition.

The Wine Advocate 94+ points - The word "Vigna" has been added to the official name of this wine to underline work in the appellation meant to focus on single-vineyard designates. The Altesino 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Montosoli comes from a unique growing site with some of the best exposures from hillside vineyards. This wine shows a slightly dark hue with added concentration and depth. I am delighted by the bouquet that reveals dark cherry, blue flower, crushed stone and grilled herb. There is sweet toast and spice at the back. This is one of the more complete and age-worthy wines from the 2018 vintage.end quote.

Wine Spectator 94 points - A dense, tannic red, with plum, cherry, menthol, iron and spice flavors driven by lively acidity. A bit more burly than many 2018s, yet this remains vibrant, superlong and complex.

Vinous Media - 94 points - The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli is dark and brooding with a lavender-tinged mix of crushed rocks, dusty cherry, curry leaf and hints of balsamic spice. It's delicate with a balanced inner sweetness and smooth contours, showing vividly ripe wild blackberry, and even hints of blueberry fruit. It leaves a staining of primary concentration, like liquid violets, yet finishes only lightly structured and wonderfully perfumed. The magic of Montosoli shines through, but don't expect the 2018 to make old bones. Production was down by 20% due to a more-severe selection of grapes in 2018.

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Expert Reviews

Wine Enthusiast 96 Points Barrel Sample |  This is a seductive, rounded and smooth wine, with fine fruit that cushions the solid tannins. It has spicy tones and ample acidity as well as delicious, concentrated fruitiness. This is going to be a beautiful wine. -

Wine Advocate 98 points | The 2016 La Mission Haut Brion is a blend of 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 19 September and 14 October, one of the longest ever. We had to be patient and wait for each plot, Jean-Philippe Delmas told me. It took longer than usual. As is customary, I allowed my sample, and likewise all the wines poured at this tasting, around 40-45 minutes to open since they always transform in the glass. It has a clean and precise, quite understated bouquet with fine mineralité, cold stone aromas infusing the black fruit. This has incredible precision, perhaps even more pixelated than the gaff over the road Haut-Brion. The palate is medium-bodied with supple and lithe tannin. I appreciate the line of acidity here, the smoothness and harmony that takes your breath away. Every atom is infused with life-affirming freshness. It is a wine bridled with incredible focus and delineation. I thought that the 2015 La Mission Haut-Brion flirted with perfection. The 2016 has that extra edge, a je ne sais quoi that leaves you reaching for the thesaurus looking for superlatives. -Neal Martin.

James Suckling | The texture to this is very beautiful with chewy yet very polished tannins. Full-bodied, tight and mouth-filling. Starts very slow.Vinous 94 points The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion is a total knockout. Vertical and powerful, but not at all austere, it exudes class. Fine-grained tannins support the fruit, but they are barely felt, as the wine's balance is so extraordinary. Lifted floral notes and a host of red fruits give the 2016 energy and verve. I can't wait to see how it ages. 

Winemaker Description

This wine’s aroma has it all: plums, incense, tobacco leaf, violets, and exotic spices. Zero racking and extended lees contact has given the 2011 FUTO a satisfying balance of creamy richness and superb freshness. Generous and inviting flavors of black-skinned fruits, cappuccino, citrus and cloves work in harmony with the sweet tannin and well integrated oak. While texturally approachable now, the inner density and complexity of this wine will continue to unfold with cellar age.

Expert Reviews

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 97 Points: The 2011 Proprietary Red Estate is a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot and 6% Merlot. It offers sweet blackcurrant and blueberry fruit intermixed with hints of toast and white flowers, beautiful body and a savory personality. A top success for the vintage, it should drink well for 10-12 years.

Expert Review

Wine Spectator 91 Points: Shows plum and chocolate character, with hints of cedar and light toasty oak. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a long finish. Very chewy. Slightly hollow, but impressive. Merlot. Best after 2010. 430 cases made.

Fontodi is located in the heart of Chianti Classico precisely in the valley which lies south of the town of Panzano and is called the "Conca d’Oro" (the golden shell) because of its amphitheatre shape.

A genuine and characteristc "Terroir," famous for centuries for its tradition of quality wine cultivation, thanks to a unique combination of high altitude, calcar clayschist soil, lots of light, and a fantastic micro-climate. Winemaker Description.

Expert Reviews

Burghound Allen Meadows 95 Points | A subtle touch of wood serves as a suitably discreet backdrop for the exceptionally floral-infused and perfumed nose that offers up additional notes of spice, red currant and pekoe tea. The round, refined and lilting if impressively intense flavors are blessed with excellent punch and power while exhibiting a lovely salinity on the built-to-age finish. This refined effort is very classy, indeed the word Zen comes up mind.

Neal Martin of Vinous 95 Points | The 2016 La Grande Rue Grand Cru has a very pure, almost pastille-like bouquet with copious red cherry fruit mixed with crushed strawberry and a little cassis. La Grande Rue? [Post script: Bingo!] The palate is very pretty with fine-grain tannin. This is surfeit with freshness and vitality, although it does not quite have the depth and structure of other Grand Crus from the appellation. It does fan out towards the finish. The persistence, and the saline aftertaste are very appealing. Excellent. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting.

Jasper Morris 94-97 Points | A little more density to the colour. Impressive intensity of floral notes, even some slightly darker fruit notes for a change. Fine density to this, as discreet as you want up front, but nonetheless more detail than the earlier wines, very silky texture across the middle, not an extra burst of intensity but still a thread of velvet which endures for much longer. Red fruits, not quite the blood orange I have noted in some vintages, and certainly the exquisite elegance that Nicole is searching for. Very classy, is it quite intense enough? The little traces of acidity are entirely woven in, a faint sign of whole bunch in the final texture. Fruit comes back behind. You could miss the point of this or adore it. Tasted: October 2017

Expert Reviews

Burghound 92 Points | A much earthier, riper and more deeply pitched nose speaks of black cherry, cassis and humus nuances. There is strikingly good volume and mid-palate concentration to the dense, serious and powerful flavors that conclude in an austere, balanced, very compact and sneaky long finish. This is a big Clos de Vougeot that isn't particularly refined, but it is undeniably impressive.

Decanter 93 Points | In a warm, dry year like 2019, the results are delightful, with bright red fruits and a silky, subtle texture. Lighter than the offerings from Vosne but also very worthy.

Winemaker Description

Black fruits, leathers, licorice, aromas of roasting and oriental spices. Notes of eucalyptus. Very powerful aromatic intensity. A lot of richness and structure on the palate. Very strong expression of the terroir which expresses itself by the elegance and the power of its tannins.

Expert Reviews 

Wine Spectator 97 Points | This is intense, as dense ganache, espresso, roasted juniper and alder notes form an impressive frame around an equally ornate core of steeped fig, blackberry and black currant fruit flavors, all while maintaining terrific cut and drive despite the heft. A mouthwatering iron accent at the very end seals the deal. Best from 2020 through 2040.

Wine Advocate 97 Points | This was another excellent showing for the 2013 Hermitage Ex Voto and this elegant, medium to full-bodied release offers straight-up textbook notes of crème de cassis, vanilla bean, crushed rocks, graphite and spice. It lacks the mid-palate density of the 2009 and 2010, but is impeccably balanced, elegant, and offers considerable charm. Range:94-97

James Suckling 94 Points | A big, bold dark plum, chocolate and roasted coffee nose with dark stones and a swathe of fragrant baking spices. The palate has a succulent and powerful feel. Dark ripe cherry fruits and toasty oak are well matched. Drink now.

Vinous 94 Points | (aged in new oak for 40 months) Glass-staining ruby. Deep-pitched cassis, cherry liqueur, incense and candied violet scents, along with hints of olive paste and Moroccan spices. Sweet, broad and energetic on the palate, offering alluringly sweet black and blue fruit, floral pastille and spicecake flavors underscored by an intense mineral quality. Unfolds very slowly with air and finishes impressively long, featuring youthful tannins and outstanding energy.  Drinking 2023 - 2033. -- Josh Raynolds.

Winemaker Description

Red fruits, blackberry and floral aromas of vio- let. The wine is silky, velvety and voluptuous, with intense aromatics. An oustanding wine to enjoy with exceptional meals, especially game birds.

Expert Reviews

Wine Spectator 96 Points | This has a brooding feel, with layers of warm tobacco leaf, roasted alder and juniper, and sweet tapenade leading the way, backed by a dense core of macerated plum, black currant and raspberry fruit. The long, smoldering finish shows terrific latent grip. Best from 2018 through 2030. From France.-J.M.

Wine Advocate 97 Points | The 2012 Côte Rôtie La Mouline reminds me of the 2011 with its upfront, incredibly perfumed nose of spring flowers, cured meats, roasted herbs, olives and sweet cassis fruit. Full-bodied, beautifully textured, mouth-filling and already impossible to resist, it expands on the palate and I guarantee this beauty will put a smile on your face anytime over the coming two decades. Drinking 2016 - 2036  — Jeb Dunnuck
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Possessing slightly more purity (but maybe not the complexity) than the 2011, the 2012 Cote Rotie la Mouline offers a heavenly perfume of cured meats, pecking duck, violets and cassis. This flows to a full-bodied, seamless, absolutely hedonistic Cote Rotie that has good acidity, ripe, polished tannin and a great finish. Of the three single parcel Cote Roties, it’s the most approachable, but will still drink beautifully for three decades or more.  Range: 96-98

Decanter 95 Points | Immediately more mature and developed than the 2017 and 2016 which were tasted alongside - more developed than I was expecting at nine years old. The acidity however is well balanced, the tannins a little dry and leathery. Porcini mushroom and a touch of graphite on the finish.  Drinking Window 2021 - 2033 — Tasted by Matt Walls(at England, 29 Nov 2021) Part of Decanter at Home masterclass: Tasting the La Las with Philippe Guigal

James Suckling 95 Points |  Super peppery, very, very concentrated and immaculately fragrant Côte-Rôtie here. There's plenty of oak in the mix, too. It shows entrancing brown-spice aromas across red plums and darker black fruits. The palate's layered, smooth and supple, pitching concentrated flavors against precise, dense and very powerful tannin. Finishes on a smooth edge as its softens slightly, leaving a trail of spiced-custard and dark-plum flavors. Exceptional wine. Drink 2020-2030.

Vinous 94 Points | Lurid ruby. Heady, intensely perfumed aromas of red fruit preserves, incense, smoky minerals and lavender, accompanied by an Asian spice flourish that builds as the wine opens up. Stains the palate with sweet, seamless raspberry liqueur, spicecake and floral pastille flavors that are lifted and given spine by core of juicy acidity. Puts on weight and spreads out slowly on the strikingly long and precise finish, which features resonating mineral and floral notes.  Drinking 2021 - 2030. -- Josh Raynolds

Expert Reviews

Wine Spectator 98 Points | A stunning, modern-styled version, with scintillating raspberry purée, plum confiture and blackberry reduction flavors gliding over velvety but copious tannins. Alluring warm ganache and fruitcake accents gild the finish, which sails on and on. Best from 2020 through 2045. 67 cases imported. — JM

Wine Advocate 95 Points | A bigger, richer wine than the La Mouline, the 2013 Côte Rôtie La Turque offers full-bodied, layered and almost decadent notes of blackcurrants, chocolate, cassis and toasted spice. This beauty has building tannic grip, a layered, concentrated mid-palate and serious length—all pointing to a long, healthy life. Forget bottles for 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades.  Drinking 2025 -2040

Decanter 95 Points | Tasted after the spicy, ethereal La Mouline 2013, this is more earthbound - deeper, darker and fruitier, with more bass notes, as you might expect from a wine sourced from 25 year old vines on schist soils with limestone and clay (versus the gneiss of La Mouline). It too spent 42 months in new oak barrels. This has a pretty, cedar-flecked red berry fruit nose, tightly swaddled in oak. Full-bodied and mouth-coating, it shows great purity and salinity on the palate - it is fresh, piercing and powerful, but balanced and light on its feet, with deep veins of oak spice running through it. Drinkable and fresh.  Drinking Window 2018 - 2035 — Tasted by Matt Walls (at E.Guigal portfolio tasting, London, 12 Jun 2017)

Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points | A step up over the La Mouline, the 2013 Côte Rôtie La Turque is concentrated, full-bodied, and structured, with lots of minerality, chocolate, and pepper nuances in its darker berry fruits, cassis and bacon fat aromas and flavors. With a great mid-palate, building tannin, and the more tight, austere style of the vintage, give bottles another 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades.  Drinking 2022 - 2042

Expert Reviews

Wine Spectator 98 Points | A thunderhead of dark ganache and espresso notes slowly rolls through, while fig paste, melted licorice, warm plum and blackberry compote flavors follow. A massive beam of graphite drives the finish to a crescendo, with the fruit echoing. (JM)   (5/2017)

Wine Advocate 95 Points | La Landonne is never destemmed and is always the last of the single-vineyard wines to be picked. Philippe Guigal calls it “the most Pauillac of the Cote Roties,” and the 2013 Cote Rotie La Landonne bears that out. It’s slightly austere and firmly tannic, with attractive floral aromas and layers of dark fruit that will require time to fully emerge. (JC) 95+   (12/2017)

James Suckling 97 Points | The most brooding nose of the trio of La La's with dark coal smoky aromas and dark stones, graphite and cocoa powder. Fruits are in the very dark plum and blackberry spectrum but flavors are held in a more savory mode with assertive, powerful clean-cut tannins that hold endless length. Truly a masterpiece. Best from 2022 and for two decades or more.   (9/2017)

Winemaker Description

Deep ruby red with dark tints. Small red fruit, blackberry, morello cherry Intensely aromatic, powerful and elegant. Supple attack with a balanced supple structure, concentration and elegant tannins. Fully expressive of the terroir. With all the virility of the Cote Brune, La Turque also has all the subtlety and femininity of the Cote Blonde.

Expert Reviews

Wine Spectator 98 Points | A stunning, modern-styled version, with scintillating raspberry puree, plum confiture and blackberry reduction flavors gliding over velvety but copious tannins. Alluring warm ganache and fruitcake accents gild the finish, which sails on and on. Best from 2020 through 2045.

Wine Advocate 98 Points | A stunning, modern-styled version, with scintillating raspberry purée, plum confiture and blackberry reduction flavors gliding over velvety but copious tannins. Alluring warm ganache and fruitcake accents gild the finish, which sails on and on. Best from 2020 through 2045.

Decanter 95 Points | Tasted after the spicy, ethereal La Mouline 2013, this is more earthbound - deeper, darker and fruitier, with more bass notes, as you might expect from a wine sourced from 25 year old vines on schist soils with limestone and clay (versus the gneiss of La Mouline). It too spent 42 months in new oak barrels. This has a pretty, cedar-flecked red berry fruit nose, tightly swaddled in oak. Full-bodied and mouth-coating, it shows great purity and salinity on the palate - it is fresh, piercing and powerful, but balanced and light on its feet, with deep veins of oak spice running through it. Drinkable and fresh.  Drinking Window 2018 - 2035 — Tasted by Matt Walls(at E.Guigal portfolio tasting, London, 12 Jun 2017)

Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points | A step up over the La Mouline, the 2013 Côte Rôtie La Turque is concentrated, full-bodied, and structured, with lots of minerality, chocolate, and pepper nuances in its darker berry fruits, cassis and bacon fat aromas and flavors. With a great mid-palate, building tannin, and the more tight, austere style of the vintage, give bottles another 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades.  Drinking 2022 - 2042

James Suckling 96 Points | An air of deep-set complexity. Plenty of baking spices and toastiness with blackberry, pepper, wet stones and concrete. Extremely complex and fragrant. The palate delivers a supple, plush and luxuriant texture with masses of sweet spices and succulent blackberry fruit. Dark chocolate finish that's elegant and concentrated. Drink now and for two decades at least.

Vinous 95 Points | (made with 50 percent whole clusters) Inky ruby. Bright, intensely perfumed aromas of red and blue fruits, Indian spices and potpourri are energized by a smoky mineral quality. Juicy, focused and pure, displaying deeply concentrated but lively boysenberry and cherry liqueur flavors, along with hints of candied flowers and five-spice powder. Echoes the floral and spicy notes on the strikingly long, penetrating finish, which features harmonious tannins and a hint of bitter chocolate.  Drinking 2023 - 2032  -- Josh Raynolds.

Winemaker Description

La Landonne displays red/black color with deep dark tints with aromas of black fruits, licorice and roasted notes and oriental spices. Powerful and intense aromas. Powerful attack with important tannic structure. Rich and concentrated. Fully expressive of the terroir. Great ageing potential, structured and concentrated with a rare intensity of flavor and color.

Côte-Rôtie La Landonne completes this famous trilogy. An immense and pure wine with intense flavours and deep colour, this is the perfect wine for ageing.

The treasures are born in the very heart of the most legendary of the illustrious plots of the Maison Guigal. These precious bottles are as coveted as they are rare and have benefited from extreme care at every stage of the process, from the vine to the cellars. They are the sole incarnation of the inspiration and inheritance of centuries of viticulture in an exceptional terroir.

Expert Review

Wine Spectator 98 Points | This delivers wave after wave of sensational raspberry pâte de fruit, plum reduction and boysenberry coulis flavors, backed by mouthwatering anise and blackberry cobbler hints. A massive bolt of iron and charcoal is deeply embedded in the fruit and lurks through the long, authoritative finish, keeping all the elements riveted together. Best from 2018 through 2030. 600 cases made. — JM.

Wine Advocate 99 Points | A step up over the other two single vineyard releases, the 2011 Cote Rotie la Landonne is an incredible wine that knocks it out of the park in the vintage. Its inky purple/ruby color is followed by to-die-for notes of cassis, black olives, truffles, graphite and crushed rock. Full-bodied, massively concentrated, thick and unctuous, it has the vintage’s flamboyant fruit profile, yet backs it up with a stacked mid-palate, serious amounts of tannin and a finish that just won’t quite. It’s relatively approachable now due to its glycerin and fat, yet needs a decade of cellaring and will knock your socks off over the following two decades or more. 

Vinous 95 Points | (raised in new oak for 42 months): Glass-staining ruby. Powerful, expansive aromas of black and blue fruit liqueur, smoky Indian spices, sandalwood and olive, and an exotic floral nuance that gains strength with air. Deeply concentrated but surprisingly lively, offering palate-staining dark fruit and violet pastille flavors and a strong, building spicy quality. Velvety tannins add grip to a strikingly long, sappy and penetrating finish, which clings with noteworthy tenacity. Drinking 2020 - 2030. -- Josh Raynolds

Winemaker Description

70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot. Average age of the vines is 44 years. Replanting of these vines takes place in lots. 222 acres producing 22,000-30,000 cases.

Expert Reviews

Wine Spectator 97 Points | Rather tight, with an alluring whiff of cocoa that lures you in before disappearing into the core of steeped plum, roasted fig and blackberry coulis notes. Sandalwood, black tea and loam elements fill in on the long and expansive finish. This seems to be lying in wait for what could be a very long time in the cellar before unfurling fully. Best from 2018 through 2045. 15,833 cases made.

Wine Enthusiast 100 points | Almost black in color, this stunning wine is gorgeous, rich and dense. It s grand and powerful, with a strong sense of its own importance. The beautiful tannins and the fragrant black currant fruits are palpable. It s a great wine, with huge potential.

Wine Advocate 98 Points | The 2010 Lafite Rothschild, a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot (a 3% difference from the barrel sample shown two years ago), achieved relatively high alcohol of 13.32%, according to administrator Charles Chevalier. The wine is very impressive, not as fleshy, flamboyant and massive as the 2009, but nevertheless, a big, rich, full-throttle Lafite-Rothschild meant to age a half century or more. Deep purple, with notes of white chocolate, mocha, cedar and charcoal as well as hints of vanillin and creme de cassis, the wine is full-bodied yet has that ethereal lightness that makes it a Lafite. Rich, with good acidity, precision and freshness, this is a slightly zestier version of the 2009 as well as more restrained and structured than that particular vintage. It will need at least 10-12 years of cellaring and keep for 50+ years.

Winemaker Description

The 2018 Blank has a beautifully layered dark nose of black cherry, aromatic black tea, blackberry bramble, rose oil, black licorice, and violet candies. The silky entry opens to flavors of black fruit, culinary bay, and bakers’ chocolate seamlessly underpinned by velvety tannins and lovely texture through to the finish. This wine will age effortlessly for at least 20+ years. 

Expert Reviews

Jeb Dunnuck 95 points | I was able to taste two wines from Grace Family both made by the incredibly talented Helen Keplinger who has been at this estate since 2014. The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Blank offers a beautifully pure elegant style in its darker currant and blueberry fruits as well as notes of iron minty herbs tobacco and lead pencil. Soft supple medium to full-bodied and as seamless as they come drink this singular beauty any time over the coming 20 years. I love its mid-palate as well as its tannins.

James Suckling 98 points | So much graphite and dark fruit here with some iron and spice. Lead pencil, roses and light mint, too. Full-bodied and wonderfully seamless with dusty tannins and a lightly balsamic finish. Drinkable now, but better after 2025. 

Wine Spectator 93 | A nice burst of mulberry and loganberry fruit leads the way, with licorice, black tea and violet notes playing supporting roles. Sleek and refined through the finish, with sneaky depth. Drink now through 2033

Expert Reviews

98+ Points Robert Parker | The Biondi-Santi 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is initially a reticent wine and one that does not immediately subscribe to the overstated abundance and exuberance of the vintage. Give it time. I wrote this review after several tastings over several days so I could ensure a more accurate account of the wine's elegant reveal. Contemplative and exceedingly nuanced in personality, with wild berry, underbrush, ferrous earth and candied orange peel, this has everything to look forward to in terms of its future evolution in the bottle. It displays a pretty ruby color that borders on garnet and polished copper. A silky, mid-weight palate is accented by beautifully managed and silky tannins (this aspect of the mouthfeel is extraordinary), bright freshness and long-lasting fruit momentum. The alcohol is a bit more powerful in this release (at 14.5%), but the effect is supple and smooth nonetheless. I tasted bottle number 256.

James Suckling 97 Points | Complex yet pure, subtle and refined nose that gently evolves, with mossy red cherries, dried roses, chalk, tar and dried orange peel. There is a lift of clove and eucalyptus that makes it so distinctive. A powerful, medium-to full-bodied Brunello, but seamless and bright, with a fine, transparent mid-palate and restrained, mineral austerity. Understated complexity that will need time to bloom. Hold until 2026.

Vinous 97 Points | The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva pulls you close to the glass with a deep and seductive display of black raspberry preserves complemented by sweet sage, dried roses and pipe tobacco. With further coaxing, it gains in volume and lift, taking on hints of mint and camphor. This greets the palate with undeniable elegance, casting velvety waves of violet-tinged wild berries and sweet spices across a motivating core of juicy acidity, as a subtle coating of round tannins forms toward the close. While structured and incredibly long, energy remains high, as nuances of cherry pits offset by sour citrus and hints of cedar fade. It’s amazing to experience such energy and purity from a young Biondi Santi Riserva. As pretty as the Annata released last year was, I worried that the extended aging for the Riserva might rob the wine of some of its fruit; instead it is the complete opposite, as this contains the depth and complexity of the best wines of the vintage. I can’t wait to see how the 2015 matures over the next several decades. -- Eric Guido 

Wine Enthusiast 97 Points | New leather, pressed rose and mature berry aromas slowly appear in the glass along with whiffs of underbrush and pipe tobacco. On the structured, elegant palate, firm but ultrarefined tannins provide the backbone for juicy Morello cherry, crushed raspberry, licorice and cake spice. While it promises decades of evolution, it's already rewarding and almost at the start of its long drinking window. Drink 2025–2045. Kerin O’Keefe 

Wine Spectator 96 Points | Round and fruity, with an accent of white pepper against cherry, raspberry and floral flavors. Elegant and verging on racy, with a firm, well-integrated structure and excellent length on the minerally finish. Best from 2025 through 2048. — B.S.

Winemaker Description

The first bottlings of our MunJebel rosso classico were blends of 2 vintages which I have always liked as it gives a good idea of a larger area instead of a vintage wine. When I stopped blending vintages as of the 2012 vintage to search for more precision, I kind of missed the evolved “old-school” style of the first wines I produced and so I decided in 2016 to produce a similar style wine again, applying the “perpetual” method of great solera wines.

The first edition will be a blend of 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019. We will be bottling 25% of this first edition in 2021 and adding the selected wine of the 2020 vintage to fill up the tank again. Perpetuum is born! Winemaker Description.

Winemaker Description

The 2019 vintage Solaia is deep ruby red in color. The nose offers complex notes of red fruit, apricots and red oranges with hints of rose petals. Distinct aromas of coffee beans, chocolate, licorice and white pepper complete the rich bouquet of this red wine. On the palate, the wine is enveloping and harmonious with excellent balance and structure. Vibrant tannins lead into an exceptionally long finish. 

Blend: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Franc

Expert Reviews

Decanter 95 Points | This has a ripe plummy fruit, with lots of depth from the notes of spice and smoke, and a firm core, yet absolutely no rough edges at all, just a polished elegance that lingers interminably on the palate. The de Montille family is from Volnay and this holding is among the central, historic parcels of the domaine. There are two parcels: the upper part, which is partly destemmed, and the lower section with more limestone gravel in the soil, where the oldest vines are found. This latter fruit is always fermented as 100% whole-cluster. Drinking Window: 2025-2036

Tim Atkin 95 Points |  Domaine de Montille is the largest owner of Rugiens-Bas with 1 hectare 02 ares, and these vines are approximately 55 years old. Two-thirds whole clusters were used here, and the resulting wine explodes with aromas of mulberries, twigs, anise and dried wildflowers. It's incredibly intense and even feels full in body thanks to its excellent vinosity. 2025-38.

Vinous 93 Points | The 2020 Volnay Les Taillepieds 1er Cru comes from two parcels is 90% whole cluster. Brambly red berry fruit is mingling with black pepper, clove and touches of undergrowth. The palate is medium-bodied with quite succulent tannins, more rondeur here than the other Volnays, plush and quite luxuriant wiht a sensual and very pure finish. Superb. Drink: 2025-2048. 

Winemaker Description

The Eguren family strove to produce a world class wine from the miniscule Finca La Nieta, a vineyard with shallower, poorer soils, and a superior microclimate than the neighboring El Puntido vineyard. The product is Viñedos de Páganos’ flagship wine, La Nieta. The Eguren family wanted to use this vineyard to display the subtlety and elegance that Tempranillo can represent, and they have achieved this with La Nieta. 

Expert Reviews

Wine Advocate 97 Points | The perfumed and floral 2019 La Nieta, which comes from one of the four vineyards around the winery in the helmet of Páganos (Laguardia), is structured and powerful, from a warmer (and sunnier) year, with 14.2% alcohol and a pH of 3.6 and 5.9 grams of acidity. It also shows freshness and elegance, and with time in the glass, one could foresee the finesse that should come out as the wine absorbs the 16 months in new oak barrels with time in bottle, as this was bottled one year before I tasted it. It improved with time in the glass, and it should do the same with years in bottle. This is usually my favorite from the Eguren portfolio, but this time Marcos Eguren's Sierra Cantabria 2019 El Bosque stole the show. 5,000 bottles were filled in July 2021.

Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points | Jumping up in price, the single vineyard 2019 La Nieta comes from 100% Tempranillo aged 18 months in new French oak barriques. Both black and blue fruits as well as cedary oak, violets, graphite, and chalky minerality all emerge from this beauty, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a tight, concentrated, promising mouthfeel, nicely integrated tannins, and a great finish. A serious, balanced, incredibly impressive Rioja, it deserves 3-4 years of bottle age and will have two decades or more of overall longevity. Best After 2025James Suckling 93 points Opens up to a fragrant nose of brambleberries, crushed raspberries, lavender, pine cone and star anise. Medium-to full-bodied with fine, powdery tannins. Textured and mineral. Some peppercorn and walnut on the finish. 

Expert Reviews 

Decanter 92 Points |  The oldest part of this vineyard was planted in 1935 but the average age is 34 years. It's located at 400 metres – Ravera is one of the highest MGAs within the communes of Barolo and Novello, which it straddles. This 2019 is intensely perfumed, with dried fruits soaked in blood orange, strawberry jam and a suggestion of grace. The attack confirms this lightly extracted style, with ripe tannins, still sticky at the moment, and long, refreshing acidity leading to a good finish.

Vinous 100 points | The 2019 Barolo Ravera is the most intensely mineral and saline of the Barolos. Crushed rocks, white pepper, flowers, orange zest, red berry fruit and bright acids all run through this finely sculpted, chiseled Barolo. Readers who enjoy Barolos of energy and tension will adore the Ravera. I have always had a soft spot for this Barolo. The 2019 is another magnificent dimension of Vietti's dark horse, a wine that over the last 10-12 years has routinely challenged for the crown here, and often won!

Winemaker Description

Intense ruby red color. Generous nose with aromas of ripe red berry fruit with spicy overtones. Intense on the palate, quite rich though very elegant and well-balanced. The tannins are present, but very well integrated in the fruit structure of the wine. Long aftertaste with good freshness. A wine with extraordinary finesse and balance. Pair with red meats, roasts, and wild game.

Expert Reviews

Vinous 98 Points | The 2019 Barolo Cerequio is a worthy follow up to the stellar 2018. Aromatic and deeply pitched, the 2019 races across the palate with remarkable depth and intensity. Crushed red berry fruit, rose petal, mint and cinnamon all open in the glass, but it is the wine's silkiness and suppleness that impresses most. A kick of acids and tannins puts an exclamation point on the finish. This is a gorgeous Cerequio that takes all the finesse this site offers, and then turns up the volume. What a wine.

Robert Parker 97+ Points | Vietti was able to buy a 9,000-square meter piece of Cerequio from Michele Chiarlo, arguably the king of this celebrated cru. And because this is a new addition to the portfolio, the Vietti team is still learning the ropes. For example, there is a fresh minty tone that pops up from the bouquet of the 2019 Barolo Cerequio. "That minty note was a mystery to us," Luca Currado tells me. "But then we understood that its part of Cerequio." This wine shows a firm grip on the palate that does extend out to include some textural softness, but it ultimately remains quite structured. Among the grand cru sites of La Morra, Luca Currado tells me that "Cerequio is the brother and Brunate is the sister." His wife Elena Penna adds, "We've never had two sites so close to one another show such a great difference between them.

Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points | Coming from La Morra, a more fruit-forward tone can be found in the licorice spice and depth of the 2019 Barolo Cerequio, which offers slightly darker fruit, ripe berries, and peppercorn. This was the second vintage produced and is more approachable now for the vintage. It is a joyful wine though it still has ripe structure.

Expert Reviews

Wine Advocate 92 Points | The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Suscol Springs is blended of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, exuberant notes of fresh blackberries, boysenberry preserves and blackcurrant pastilles rocket from the glass, followed by hints of sautéed herbs, forest floor and black olives. The medium to full-bodied palate is intense and energetic, featuring finely grained tannins and a refreshing backbone, finishing long and lifted.

James Suckling 93 Points | Ripe blackberries, cassis, chocolate, mocha and sweet spices on the nose with some tobacco leaf. Full-bodied with fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Polished and well-balanced. Drink from 2023. 

Expert Reviews

98 Points Jasper Morris | Fine bright purple. A beautifully harmonious bouquet and absolutely no sign of the whole bunches here, unlike Cazetiers. Perfectly structured, I put this well ahead of its neighbour, Cazetiers, in 2020. I cannot see how this could be better, very fine long finish, but it is the harmony that speaks the most.

Burghound 92 Points | An exceptionally spicy and floral-inflected nose adds breadth in the form of both red and dark pinot fruit. The racy, detailed and mineral-driven middle weight plus flavors possess fine mid-palate density while the beautifully detailed and persistent if youthfully austere finish is supported by very firm but fine tannins. Patience strongly advised.

Decanter 95 Points | An exceptionally spicy and floral-inflected nose adds breadth in the form of both red and dark pinot fruit. The racy, detailed and mineral-driven middle weight plus flavors possess fine mid-palate density while the beautifully detailed and persistent if youthfully austere finish is supported by very firm but fine tannins. Patience strongly advised.

Expert Reviews

Burghound 93 Points | A slightly riper nose features notes of poached plum, black raspberry, violet, lavender and a hint of Asian-style tea. The palate soaking broad-shouldered flavors possess outstanding density, which is a good thing considering that the supporting tannins are very dense on the massively persistent finish. This austere and compact effort is going to need a very long snooze in a cool cellar before it even begins to reach its apogee. *Don't Miss!*

Decanter 97 Points | Bruno Clair has a large plot in Bonnes-Mares (1.63ha), with most of it on the Morey-St-Denis side of the vineyard, and largely on the white marl soils called terres blanches. These give a very expressive wine, with a lovely, high-toned raspberry and rose petal nose shot through with notes of mineral and smoke. The wine is done with 30% whole clusters in the ferment and is aged over two winters in cask (30% new) to deliver a wine of purity and elegance. (Charles Curtis)

Vinous 95 points | The 2020 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru is surprisingly backward on the nose with tightly-wound blackberry, redcurrant and cranberry fruit with sea spray and light pine cone aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy redcurrant and strawberry fruit. This is a solid Bonnes-Mares, correct, not flashy but serious and as such, it deserves several years in bottle. It has the substance and complexity to reward those with patience. (NM)

Wine Spectator 95 Points | This throws off an overt and alluring mint aroma, while sweet bay leaf, violet, damson plum, red tea and steeped griotte notes all glide through together, carried by remarkably fine-grained tannins. Ends with a gentle echo of mint on the finish, while a subtle minerality chimes through as well. A stylish and suave wine, with plenty of charm now, but also pristine balance for cellaring. Best from 2022 through 2038.

Wine Advocate 96 Points | The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard barely hints at eucalyptus on the nose, with much more emphasis given to black cherries and cassis. This is full-bodied and rich, nicely balancing richness and texture against linear shape and focus and picking up hints of blueberries and spice on the long, mouthwatering finish. With 112 barrels having been bottled, there's a fair bit of this wine to go around, if one can afford it.