Collector Wines

wines

The 2012 Richebourg Grand Cru, which comes from a 0.28-hectare parcel planted in 1950, this year contains 20% whole bunches and the domaine were graced with five barrels. It has a very refined and distinctly aristocratic bouquet adorned with beautifully defined black and red fruits, perhaps leaning towards the former with aeration. Touches of seaweed and tilled earth emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins. It does not have the charm of the RSV at the moment, but there is beguiling structure and symmetry with a long mineral laden finish. Superb.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPThe 2011 Richebourg from Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat is another absolutely stellar example of the vintage, and this wine too has really benefited to my palate from the diminution of its new wood percentage. The reserved and very classy nose wafts from the glass in a blend of red plums, cherries, gamebirds, a touch of nutskin, a beautiful base of soil, citrus zest and cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and again, very pure, with a superb core, ripe, suave tannins, very fine acidity and excellent focus and grip on the soil-driven, very long and perfectly balanced finish. A young Richebourg fully worthy of the exalted reputation of this cru. (Drink between 2025 - 2075)John Gilman | 96 JGHere the equally broad ranging nose is actually similar to that of the Romanée St. Vivant but it’s both cooler and even more restrained with a bit more floral influence as well. The intensely mineral-driven broad-shouldered flavors are an exercise in refinement with tremendous depth of material that pushes the very firm tannic spine to the background on the palate staining, explosive and stunningly precise finish. This is perhaps on the lighter side in the context of the appellation but the laser-like focus and persistence is easily of grand cru caliber.Burghound | 94 BH(totally destemmed): Bright medium red. Pure but subdued aromas of strawberry and crushed stone lifted by an exotic floral note; like a number of these 2011s, this shows some very ripe notes. Sappy, dense and saline, showing surprising energy for its level of ripeness. Finishes very long, with noble tannins and more spine than the RSV. Charles van Canneyt, who prefers the estate’s 2012s to the 2011s, noted that he has been changing his style by vinifying with a portion of whole clusters, which he thinks contributes more life and verve. He started doing some vendange entier in 2011 but moved more seriously in that direction in 2012.Vinous Media | 93 VM

I have always been a very big fan of the Romanée-St.-Vivant from Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat, but now that the new wood here has been reduced to fifty percent, the expression of the underlying, magical terroir of this great grand cru has really jumped to the fore. I wish other owners of RSV could take their cue from this domaine, as it seems to me if there was ever a terroir in Vosne-Romanée that begged for smaller percentages of new wood, it is RSV. The 2011 version from Domaine Hudelot-Noëllat is stunning, offering up a beautiful nose of sappy raspberries and cherries, Vosne spice tones, a touch of woodsmoke, great minerality, cedar and a pungent topnote of roses. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, strikingly pure and rock solid at the core, with a lovely sappiness and transparency, ripe tannins and a very long, tangy and still quite primary finish. This will be a great, great wine in the fullness of time. (Drink between 2024 - 2075)John Gilman | 96 JGThe 2011 Romanée Saint-Vivant Grand Cru was just about to enter its drinking plateau. Gentle and leafy on the nose, there is a sense of rusticity here that complements the broody red berry fruit, almost Richebourg-like after five to ten minutes in the glass. The palate is finely balanced with tart red cherry fruit infused with sous-bois. I like the bitter edge that comes through on the finish, an approachable grand cru that is probably not going to be the longest lasting of the domaine’s wines but will give much pleasure over the next 12-15 years. Tasted November 2016.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPMedium red. Very ripe, slightly exotic aromas of raspberry, mocha and underbrush. Highly concentrated and deep; opulent and lightly saline but a bit sullen today. Most impressive right now on the very long, slowly mounting finish, which really camps out on the palate. Vinified with 20% whole clusters but I never would have guessed it from this sample.Vinous Media | 92+ VMAn appealingly fresh nose combines various spice elements that include a prominent herbal tea character along with hoisin, red currant, plum and violet scents. There is a fleshy yet precise character to the brilliantly detailed and lilting flavors that are akin to pure silk on the palate, all wrapped in a gorgeously persistent finish. This is certainly very pretty yet it hasn’t developed the depth that I originally imagined that it would and I have lowered my score accordingly. To be fair, this has not yet peaked yet it’s not so far away from its apex that I have difficulty seeing quite that much improvement in such a short period of time. I would further note that there is noticeable gas on the finish so I would suggest giving this a thorough aeration first. Tasted twice in the last year with consistent notes.Burghound | 91 BH

A dark, virile wine, the 2011 Barolo Cerretta shows just how far Conterno has come with this site. The flavors are dark, bold and incisive throughout, with plenty of dark red cherry, plum, leather, smoke, tar, licorice and scorched earth overtones. Powerful and intense, with a real sense of vertical structure, Cerretta is going to need time to settle down. There is none of the early appeal of the vintage here, so readers will have to be patient. This is going to be a fascinating wine to follow as it ages over the coming decades.Vinous Media | 95+ VMSmells of ripe bilberry, blackberry and black currant, with an undertone of violet. Rich and round, this is balanced by lively acidity and refined tannins. Young, but already showing harmony and a long aftertaste of sweet fruit. Fine potential. Best from 2018 through 2035. 140 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSNew leather, blue flower, raspberry and Mediterranean herb aromas emerge on this full-bodied, concentrated wine. The structured palate doles out creamy raspberry, juicy black cherry marinated in spirits, cinnamon and pipe tobacco alongside velvety tannins. A licorice note wraps up the warm, lingering finish. It’s delicious and already surprisingly accessible. Kerin O’Keefe | 94 KONew leather, blue flower, raspberry and Mediterranean herb aromas emerge on this full-bodied, concentrated wine. The structured palate doles out creamy raspberry, juicy black cherry marinated in spirits, cinnamon and pipe tobacco alongside velvety tannins. A licorice note wraps up the warm, lingering finish. It’s delicious and already surprisingly accessible.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

This beautiful Amoureuses still has a fresh lightish purple. The aromatics stand up very well to the accompanying black truffle and mushroom risotto. Indeed, the wine was so open for business that it was tempting to gulp it down. No pyrazines on show, instead the essence of grace with a significantly sensual feel. Even from this relatively ascetic producer. Tasted: January 2019.Jasper Morris | 95 JMDespite the 2011 Amoureuses chez Mugnier being ready for a racking and just a touch reduced, it is pretty easy to see that this will be a marvelous wine. Underneath the dollop of reduction is a beautiful blend of red and black cherries, blood orange, beautiful minerality, woodsmoke and gamebirds. On the palate the wine is deep, fullish, pure and very soil-driven, with superb intensity of flavor, a sappy core, tangy acids and excellent focus and grip on the very long, suavely-tannic and stunning finish. An utterly classic bottle of Amoureuses in the making. (Drink between 2020 - 2050)John Gilman | 93-94 JGTasted blind at the Burgundy 2011 horizontal tasting in Beaune. After a misfiring bottle in Holland, it is pleasing to find what I feel is a more representative example. Here, the Chambolle-Musigny les Amoureuses ‘11 has a precise and delineated bouquet with touches of seaweed infusing the red and black fruit. It is more reserved than other Amoureuses but no less compelling. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, outstanding tension and a very focused, mineral-laden finish that is quite conservative and almost austere. But still, it should repay 3-4 years in bottle and then continue to deliver long after.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe 2011 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru has a finely tuned, quite detailed bouquet with rose petals and violets infusing the blueberry and crushed strawberry aromas. It has the charm and sensuality one seeks from this auspicious vineyard. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, fine grain tannin. This feels sleek and sensual in the mouth, although it does not possess the depth and structure of a top-drawer example from this propitious vineyard. Drinking beautifully now, I would consume this within the next decade. Tasted at Flint Wines Burgundy 2011 tasting.Vinous Media | 92 VMA curious and highly atypical nose displays somewhat dull and listless plum, spice and floral aromas. By contrast there is a better sense of energy and strikingly good detail to the penetratingly mineral-driven medium-bodied flavors that display an incredibly refined and ultra-pure mouth feel on the deeply complex and persistent finish. This is a bit of a head scratcher as it was notably better from cask. In any event my score offers the benefit of the doubt that it will harmonize in time but suffice it to say that it did not show very well on the day of my visit.Burghound | 91 BH

The 2011 Barolo Riserva Novantesimo is a proud and exuberant wine that does enormous justice to the vintage and to the mighty Nebbiolo grape. This is remembered as a warm growing season, and this wine is richly layered, generous and beautifully intense as a result. Dark cherry aromas are folded within spice, cured tobacco and leather. The best part is that subtle crunch or snap you get on the palate, thanks to the fresh acidity that is neatly integrated within.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPPressed rose, iris, new leather, exotic spice, menthol and a whiff of wild berry come to the forefront on this gorgeous wine. The full-bodied, polished palate has a weightless elegance, delivering raspberry compote, crushed cherry, licorice, aromatic herb and a floral note alongside taut, velvety tannins. It’s already beautiful but hold for even more complexity. Drink 2021–2031. Kerin O’Keefe | 97 KOPressed rose, iris, new leather, exotic spice, menthol and a whiff of wild berry come to the forefront on this gorgeous wine. The full-bodied polished palate has a weightless elegance, delivering raspberry compote, crushed cherry, licorice, aromatic herb and a floral note alongside taut velvety tannins. It’s already beautiful but hold for even more complexity. Drink 2021–2031.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEIn 2011, Scavino bottled a small amount of the 2011 Barolo Riserva Novantesimo, a blend of fruit fruit from a handful of top-notch sites to celebrate the winery’s 90th anniversary. A hauntingly beautiful wine, the 2011 graces the palate with notable nuance and detail. Freshly cut flowers, mint and sweet red berries are all laced together in an exquisite Barolo endowed with real class and pedigree. The Novantesimo is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage. That is little wonder. Look at the vineyard sites: Fiasco (Castiglione Falletto), Monvigliero (Verduno), Cannubi and Vignane (Barolo), San Bernardo (Serralunga), Bricco Ambrogio (Roddi) and Rocche dell’Annunziata (La Morra). This is a fabulous effort.Vinous Media | 96+ VMFresh and inviting, this beckons with complex aromas of cherry, sweet spices, leather and tar. The silky texture and refined tannins complement the cherry liqueur, tobacco and licorice flavors as this glides to a lingering aftertaste. Best from 2020 through 2035. 486 cases made, 150 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

A style that is a complete outlier. Easy to spot for those who have tasted it. Like entering a Moroccan souk to the smell of incense, sweet dates, clove and tamarind. Sweet and supple, with pixelated tannins and a waft of gentle freshness. Not the best vintage? Drink now. Alkina Grenache Assembly tasting.James Suckling | 96 JSBright ruby-red. An exotic bouquet presents black raspberry, incense, Asian spices and blood orange. On the palate, sweet red and dark berry flavors become more tangy and spicy with air. Shows an impressive blend of depth and vivacity and finishes with outstanding focus and thrust and gentle tannic grip. Evidently this wine didn’t get the memo that 2011 couldn’t produce outstanding wines.Vinous Media | 94 VMFrom a bottle purchased in the Rhône, the 2011 Châteauneuf Du Pape Reserve is a pretty, perfumed Rayas that shows the more moderately concentrated, open, and complex style of the vintage. Translucent ruby-hued, with a great nose of sweet kirsch liqueur, white pepper, dried flowers, and Provençal herbs, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a layered, silky, seductive mouthfeel, soft tannins, and outstanding length. Almost reminding me of the 2008, it’s a much lighter style of Rayas that checks in well behind the truly great vintages here, but it still brings that “je ne sais quoi” Rayas character that’s impossible to find outside of this hollowed terroir. Enjoy bottles any time over the coming decade or so.Jeb Dunnuck | 91 JD

A firm, fresh Comtes with a tight and composed palate. It’s full-bodied with a racy mid-palate. Long and persistent. Very structured with phenolics and acidity. Minerally. Floral, too. Refreshing and energetic. September 2021 release. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSAfter the tightly coiled, hyper-concentrated 2008, Taittinger’s 2011 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne represents a more immediate, charming rendition of this cuvée. Bursting from the glass with aromas of orchard and stone fruit mingled with notions of pastry cream, blanched almonds and mandarin, it’s medium to full-bodied, pillowy and fleshy, with a soft and enveloping profile, lively acids and a pretty pinpoint mousse. Readers might think of the 2011 as a somewhat less reductive and less intense stylistic sibling of the 2006, and as it takes on more toasty complexity with bottle age, it will make for immensely seductive drinking.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RP100% Chardonnay sourced from five grand cru villages: Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger. Superb bouquet revealing scents of mirabelle plums, orchard fruits, brioche, pastry, and liquorice, complicated by classy autolytic notes. On the palate, this remarkable 2011 has a tauter and more fine-boned texture than usual, which is enhanced by bubbles of striking finesse and delicacy. This is indeed a very refined, chamber-music-like Comtes de Champagne that ends ethereally with airy harmonics and chalky notes infused with candied lemon. Dosage: 9g/L. Disgorged: April 2021. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040.Decanter | 94 DECA minerally version, with smoke and saline notes deftly meshed with flavors of glazed apple, lemon-infused pastry cream and marzipan. This is fine and softly creamy in texture, with lemony acidity providing good definition through to the lightly toasty finish. Elegant. Drink now through 2030. 2,800 cases imported. Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2011 Syrah is an outstanding wine that evokes the elegance of the Rhone Valley with that of the Rhone Ranger in California. But it also shows a true Tuscan heart with warm climate tones of ripe blackberry and spice. The wine’s appearance is inky black and its long list of aromas include cured meat, barbecue spice, grilled herb, black mineral and blackberry pie. There’s even a balsamic note of cola or rosemary oil that pops at the end. You can count on a long drinking window with this gorgeous Syrah. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2035.Stefano Frascolla and Tua Rita have almost single-handedly put Suvereto on Italy’s winemaking map. His latest releases are nothing short of spectacular.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2011 Syrah is striking in its beauty. Despite the warm, precocious vintage, the 2011 screams with varietal character as expressed in Maremma. A wine of pure volume and breadth, the 2011 is going to be a lot of fun to follow. As of this tasting, the 2011 has just been bottled, so it is quite likely the wine will show even better in another 6-12 months.Antonio Galloni | 94+ AGFascinating aromas of violets, blue slate and crushed raspberries. Full body, polished and silky tannins and a fruity, lightly wooded aftertaste. Needs time to come together, but already delicious. Better in 2015.James Suckling | 93 JS

The 2011 Barolo Ravera is once again the most vibrant and nuanced of the Vietti Barolos. Freshly cut flowers, crushed rocks, mint and bright red stone fruits are all shaped by a very classic sense of mineral-inflected drive that is such a Ravera signature. The 2011 is a more than worthy follow up to the epic 2010. It’s great to see this high-altitude district in Novello finally getting its due.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGThe 2011 Barolo Ravera opens to a pretty garnet color and dark ruby luminosity. The wine delivers tight concentration and a fine texture that adheres closely to the palate. Blackberry, cassis, spice, leather and tobacco emerge from the glass. Barolo Ravera also offers an earthy tone of white truffle or porcino mushroom. Soft oak density and thick fruit extract give the wine beautiful, full-bodied appeal. Give it ten more years of cellar aging to lose the baby fat.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPCherry and plum flavors permeate this rich, powerful red. Accented by menthol and leather, this is balanced and fresh, with a lingering aftertaste of mineral and tobacco. Best from 2019 through 2032.Wine Spectator | 93 WSA soft and velvety red with plum, hazelnut and chocolate character. Full body, round tannins and a fresh finish. Very attractive young wine. Better in 2017.James Suckling | 93 JSEngaging scents of wild berry, rose petal, aromatic herb and spice lead the nose. The full-bodied palate slowly reveals red cherry, anise, black pepper, clove and tobacco framed in assertive tannins and bright acidity. Give this time to fully open and develop. Drink 2019–2031.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE