Made from 100% Syrah aged two years in barrel the 2016 Côte Rôtie Les Grandes Places is a sensational effort from one of the great terroirs in the Côte Brune side of the appellation. Loaded with black and blue... Read More

Blackberry, black-cherry, bark and ink aromas follow through to a full body with tight, integrated tannins and a solid core of fruit at the same time. A little hard and tight now. From organically grown grapes. Needs time to open.... Read More

The 2018 Petit Sirah Palisades Vineyard is sumptuous racy and explosive. Inky and voluptuous to the core with soft curves and tremendous fruit intensity the 2018 has it all. Crème de cassis blueberry jam spice lavender menthol... Read More

The 2017 Tokaji Mézes Mály 6-Puttonyos which comes from vines on loess soils has a beautiful nose. Very pure but not intense it offers scents of honeysuckle clementine lemon sherbet and a touch of black currant leaf... Read More

From 65-year-old vines and vinified in fuders until mid-April this year the 2019 Dhroner Hofberg Riesling Trocken is concentrated and flinty on the detailed complex highly aromatic yet refined and slatey nose. Crystalline and... Read More

The floral perfumed and expressive 2019 Cardia Pombeiras was produced with Mencía from 40-year-old vines on slate soils 0.16 hectares. It fermented with some 30% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in used French... Read More

The grapes for the 2019 Cardia Seoane Baja come from the middle of the slope of this vineyard in Doade in the Amandi subzone of Ribeira Sacra. It is a blend of 80% Mencía and 20% Garnacha Tintorera and matured in French barriques... Read More

The 2019 Cazoga Cepas Centenarias comes from a steep slope planted in 1910 on shallow granite soils. The vines deliver very low yields (less than 2000 kilos per hectare) and it fermented with 25% full clusters and indigenous yeasts... Read More

Another of Adrien Renoir’s changes at the family domaine since his arrival is to begin to bottle a few single vineyard cuvées. His les Epinettes from a vineyard in Verzy made its debut in the 2015 vintage. These are old pinot... Read More

Exotic aromas of melon tangy fruit and some smoky notes. Attractive on the palate with hints of flowers and a rich finish.

From the opposite side of the Kellerberg with a deep mix of weathered gneiss and loamy soils the 2019 Ried Hollerin Dürnstein Riesling Smaragd is clear bright intense and spicy on the rich and coolish elegant and deep nose. Based... Read More

A quite deeply pitched and notably ripe nose displays aromas of poached plum and a touch of roasted fruit. The lavishly rich and opulent medium-bodied flavors that exude a subtle minerality on the bitter pit fruit-inflected finish... Read More

The 2013 Chardonnay Duquesa D'A from Alto Cachapoal was aged for two years in one-third new barrels. Amber in the glass. The ripe nose offers peach hazelnut and quince and hints of herbs lime and mint. The palate is broad... Read More

A brooding and reticent nose features liqueur-like aromas of poached plum cassis and cool earth. The delicious intense and overtly stony middle weight plus flavors flashed focused power on the firm compact and tightly wound finale.... Read More

An expansive bouquet evokes ripe black/blue fruits potpourri and olive paste and a mineral flourish lends vivacity. Shows impressive depth and energy on the palate offering sharply focused blueberry cherry preserve spicecake and... Read More

The Feuersbrunn 2019 Ried Spiegel 1ÖTW Wagram Grüner Veltliner is from an eight-hectare vineyard where Bernhard Ott makes a strict selection to classify only 56 hectoliters (equal to 100 Eimer or buckets) to be worth a 1er cru.... Read More

Savory peppery perfumed and packed full of the character the 2015 Rosso della Centa a 100% varietal Merlot will keep you coming back to the glass over and over again. Wild strawberries blackberries cloves tobacco and an enriching... Read More

This is elegant and enticing with baking spice salted butter and hazelnut notes up front but with some air flavors of honeysuckle roasted pineapple and singed lemon peel emerge giving this an edge. A flash of cardamom flows through... Read More

The 2019 Fleurie Les Ponciés unfurls in the glass with a delicate bouquet of red berries petals and orange rind. Medium-bodied pretty and fine-boned it's an elegant perfumed wine from this prime site.

The 2019 Pouilly-Loché Climat ";La Colonge"; which comes from clay and silty soils aged entirely in used oak has an enticing bouquet with hints of pop corn and marzipan filtering through the orchard fruit. The palate is very... Read More

This is also aromatically restrained with its array of tangerine

Lorenzon has exceeded himself with the 2020 Mercurey 1er Cru Champs Martin Rouge a medium to full-bodied taut and layered wine evocative of smoky blueberries plums and exotic spices. Youthfully reserved without being in the least... Read More

The 2020 Montagny 1er Cru Le Mont Laurent is very good mingling aromas of crisp orchard fruit freshly baked bread clear honey dried white flowers and nutmeg in an inviting bouquet followed by a medium to full-bodied layered and... Read More

Wonderful cooked apples honey and light vanilla on the nose here. On the palate this full-bodied and brightly acidic white suggests limes hints of yogurt and sliced apples. Nutmeg and sliced herbs too. Quite tight now so better... Read More

Moderately saturated red-ruby. The graceful nose combines red cherry tobacco marzipan menthol and minerals. Boasts lovely energy and mineral lift to the flavors of sweet red cherry black plum and spices. Showcases lovely acid-sugar-tannin... Read More

28 Jul 2020 – A pretty pumped-up Carmignano with lots of ripe fruit and new wood yet there’s underlying seriousness to the full body and intensity with a long flavorful finish. Needs a year

The 2014 Barbaresco Riserva Rose delle Casasse is a powerful ample wine. A blast of dark amarena cherry plum mocha licorice and spice infuse the 2014 with tons of depth and volume. The 2014 is not especially refined in fact it... Read More

The 2017 Barbaresco Rabajà is sure to put a smile on readers’ faces. Ample and generous, the 2017 captures the radiant side of the year, which gives the wine so much appeal and also softens some of the firmness that... Read More

The 2019 Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is slightly more reserved aromatically offering an impressive array of spiced orchard fruits intermixed with white flowers crushed stone brioche and honeysuckle-like nuances. Medium-bodied... Read More

Tasted almost exactly a year after my previous encounter this 1947 Château d'Yquem replicated the performance back then. It revealed that burnished amber color then the glorious intense and rich bouquet with dried honey quince... Read More

This broad-ranging nose is very ripe though not roasted or jammy with its cassis black cherry raspberry spice and earth scents. The highly seductive velvet-texture flavors possess better depth on the rustic powerful and serious... Read More

From the Nazoires and Mombies lieux-dits. Pretty and vibrant pink to crimson with an excellent bouquet heady red fruit yet stricter than the previous wines with more precision. Sweet raspberry and strawberry fruit nonetheless.... Read More

There's a hint of petrol on the nose, reminiscent of Riesling, and high-toned florality too. While it's generous on the tongue, being full-bodied but not fat, it’s also more mineral, dry and austere compared to most... Read More

More Burgundian than Bordeaux-like Gerard Perse’s 2005 white Monbousquet exhibits rich medium to full-bodied flavors of smoky oak mango white peaches honeysuckle and nectarine. While delicious its aging potential is suspect... Read More

Chionetti's 2016 Barolo Bussia Vigna Pianpolvere is laced with dark macerated cherry kirsch mint orange peel spice and licorice. Rich and ample on the palate the 2016 offers fine depth and enough freshness to drink well for... Read More

Deep purple this is cooler and fresher than Les Millandes with dark raspberry plus some blacker fruit good acidity slightly firm tannins but there always are with this wine chez Sérafin. Tightly knit but not lacking in fruit.... Read More

60% new wood 40% one year old. Rich dense fresh purple nose has a punchy fresh fruit too shows the oak more than most and there is a faint smoky bandaid tone behind with a few tannins at the edge. But clean and pure. On the palate.... Read More

Lovely mid purple the nose is intense clean and pure. Brilliant rich fruit from the very start with its usual coating of oak but this is complete powerful and fine with the weight of a wine where the clay is a little more in evidence... Read More

Notably lighter in colour than Fonteny with a grace and elegance despite the 100% new oak and forthright style. The oak comes through on the vanilla front more than through its tannins. Just a little bit meaty too with good acidity... Read More

The Sérafin vines are in their own little Clos in Les Corbeaux. Rather lighter in colour and again with a slightly meaty nose. A little more delicacy of fruit on the palate even some elegance and floral notes along with a little... Read More

100% new wood. Rich purple just a little bit meaty. There is a wealth of fruit from the start on the palate very clean fills the front of the mouth then continues through to managed wood tannins at the back. Good long clean finish.... Read More

This biodynamic estate was started in 2008 by Anne-Claude Leflaive and continued by her husband Christian Jacques. But its history is the soil they recognized as perfect for excellent Chenin Blanc. This wine captures intense fruit... Read More

Another step up the Côtes du Rhône quality ladder the 2018 Cotes du Rhone La Reserve is a Grenache-Mourvèdre blend sourced from sandy soils within the property's clos. Full-bodied silky and richly concentrated it delivers... Read More

As always the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Deus-Ex Machina (60/40 Grenache and Mourvèdre) is a more powerful mineral-laced wine offering a fabulous nose of cassis blackcurrants ground pepper Provençal... Read More

Shimmering salmon skin. Displays vibrant mineral-accented red berry and blood orange scents along with a sexy floral overtone that gains strength with air. Juicy and sharply focused on the palate offering intense red currant strawberry... Read More

Vibrant mineral-accented blackberry blueberry and violet aromas pick up a spicy topnote with air. Concentrated red and dark berry olive and floral pastille flavors display sharp focus and energetic drive thanks to a spine of smoky... Read More

One of the original estates in Montalcino, Col d’Orcia is a traditional estate at the forefront of sustainable wine production in Tuscany. Situated at the southern extremity of the Montalcino DOCG at about 300 meters altitude,... Read More

The 2018 Merlot Black Vineyard from Colète is terrific. Bright and energetic the 2018 is incredibly appealing. Readers will find an especially savory structured Merlot that is full of cool climate character. Bright acids lend... Read More

Daniel Landi was born to a long family of grape growers in Mentrida, in the Sierra de Gregos mountains to the west of Madrid. He started to make wine in conjunction with his cousin at Bodegas Jiminez-Landi but he left in 2012... Read More

A blend of 85% Carignan and Malbec Carménère Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault from Maule this wine spent 6 months in barrels and 14 in casks. Offers open expressive aromas of plum cherry and strawberry with a touch of balsam.... Read More

Always one of the wines of the appellation the 2016 Saint Joseph Sainte Epine from Delas comes from a terrific terroir just north of Tournon. This is a sunny yet cooler windy region of pure granite soils and the wine spent 16... Read More

The vineyard was purchased in 2003. Old vines here and enough earth to retain the water. The nose displays a light dusting of new oak on top of the same register of pretty red fruit with a touch of tannin to finish though still... Read More

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Tache d'Encre flows across the palate with serious depth. Blackberry jam black currants menthol and sweet spices all flesh out in this opulent full-bodied Cabernet. The 2009 is dark rich and totally... Read More

Detert's 2019 Cabernet Franc is bright floral and full of energy. Sweet red berry fruit rose petal cinnamon and mocha all race out of the glass. Veins of vibrant acids and supporting tannin give the 2019 notable drive. The... Read More

The 2018 Anjou Ronceray assembles all the plots of the Domaine on the Quarts-de-Chaume rump. Its name refers to the abbey of the same name owner of the Chaume vineyards since the 11th century reports Ivan Massonat who stresses... Read More

Located on the eastern side Les Rouères is one of the three plots listed in the original decree creating the Quarts-de-Chaume Grand Cru appellation says Ivan Massonnat. The shallow and warm soils rest on pudding sandstone (sand... Read More

Coming from several southeast-facing plots located high up the village on a plateau of aeolian sands and deep black schists the 2018 Savennières Les Gaudrets opens with a clear bright and lifted delicately fruity bouquet intermingled... Read More

Opaque violet. Smoky spice-accented aromas of cherry black raspberry and singed plum with hints of licorice... Read More

Here too there is a whiff of green apple to the pretty cool and elegant if restrained nose of lemon zest white flower and mineral reduction. There is almost painful intensity to the overtly mineral-suffused big-bodied flavors... Read More

Smoky aromas include those of poached pear and freshly sliced apple with background hints of citrus rind. The sleek intense and finer if not dense medium-bodied flavors exude evident minerality on the clean focused and sappy finale.... Read More

Aromas of fresh black/blue fruits pungent flowers olive and allspice on the incisive nose. Weighty yet lively black currant bitter cherry and violet pastille flavors show fine delineation and take on a smoky mineral nuance on... Read More

The 2017 Gigondas Le Plateau is another unusual blend for a Gigondas and is all Mourvèdre that was not destemmed and was aged in three older demi-muids. It has thrilling blue fruits crushed violets exotic flowers and peppery... Read More

Always a unique wine to taste from Gigondas given that it’s all Syrah the 2019 Gigondas Les Routes is easily the deepest hued release in the lineup and it offers a Crozes Hermitage like bouquet of gamey blue and black fruits... Read More

Touches of menthol and the exotic are present on the white orchard fruit-scented nose. There is good verve and an attractive texture to the round caressing and delicious medium weight flavors that exude a refreshing salinity on... Read More

Here the fresh and overtly floral-suffused nose offers fruit that is derived more from the red side of the spectrum where additional breadth is present in the form of humus and earth. The finer but not denser flavors possess a... Read More

Discreet though perceptible wood sets off markedly spicy aromas of plum black currant and once again plenty of earth character. There is more volume and intensity to the larger-scaled flavors that possess very good richness thanks... Read More

Here too moderate wood influence is present on the mentholated and more elegant aromas of red and dark raspberry spice and violet. The medium-bodied flavors are not as dense but they are notably finer before concluding in a dusty... Read More

Discreet but perceptible wood sets off the cool and ripe aromas of white orchard fruit, lemon-lime and petrol. There is fine volume and intensity to the plump, round and delicious middle weight flavors that culminate in a youthfully... Read More

Slightly more evident wood frames mildly exotic aromas that include those of white and yellow peach passion fruit and hints of spice and lavender. There is slightly more volume to the rich and sappy flavors that conclude in a... Read More

Somber and ripe aromas are comprised by notes of plum, violet and plenty of pungent earth character. There is fine richness and volume to the velvet-textured medium weight flavors that possess good depth on the robust and powerful... Read More

Intense purple raw energy to the nose Dark raspberry fresh blackberry very intense cherry too a harmonious whole with great weight and class. Very lovely with understated intensity and great persistence. But it doesn’t kick... Read More

Just to the west of town, this Domaine has since 1998 been under the stewardship of brother and sister team of Marie and Francois Giraud, whose lineage in winemaking on their father’s side stretches back six centuries. Their... Read More

All whole bunch and 30% new wood. Medium depth of purple. The stem aspect makes this more floral and less sturdy than it normally would be a delicious bouquet in fact. I assume from the style that this is upper Rugiens (it is).... Read More