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Moving to the grand vin, the 2016 Proprietary Red is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon with the balance Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. Tasting like a mix of the 2013 and 2014 with its incredible elegance and power, it reveals a deep purple hue as well as extraordinary notes of crème de cassis, crushed violets, lead pencil, and unsmoked tobacco. Ethereally textured, seamless, and full-bodied, it builds incrementally on the palate and is a monster of a wine that somehow stays light, graceful and elegant. It should hit maturity after a decade of cellaring and be a 40- to 50-year wine.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThis is a barrel sample blended of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, to be bottled the first week of February 2019. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Proprietary Red opens with fragrant notions of candied violets, chocolate box and baking spices with a core of blackcurrant cordial, preserved plums and blackberry compote with touches of garrigue and menthol. Full-bodied, rich and packed with black fruits sparked by tons of cinnamon and cloves accents, it has a firm, velvety-textured frame and great freshness, finishing with epic persistence.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97-100 RPThe 2016 Sloan is dazzling. Soft and unctuous with no hard edges, the 2016 Sloan is just as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel. Sweet red plum, blood orange, spice, menthol and licorice are all melded together in a gorgeous, racy Cabernet Sauvignon that hits all the right notes. Unlike most top 2016s, Sloan can be enjoyed with minimal cellaring, although its true potential will only be unlocked with at least a few years in bottle. Spice, star anise, pomegranate and sweet red cherry overtones add an exotic flair.Vinous Media | 97 VMEnormously deep nose with an entire spectrum of black and blue fruit, plus notes of second-flush Darjeeling and mint. Widescreen Napa cabernet with a pronounced licorice note that’s not in the nose. Beautifully integrated, powdery tannins that almost perfectly support the lavish body. Long, plush and graceful finish. You could drink it on release, but this has great aging potential.James Suckling | 97-98 JS

This is the debut vintage of this wine from the esteemed Bordeaux owner, Alfred Tesseron, who bought the property in the Napa mountains in 2016. Aromas of plums, wet earth, fresh herbs and tobacco. Some green olives. Turns to blueberries and blackberries. Full-bodied, yet reserved and layered with chocolate, walnuts and plums. Firm yet polished tannins give a framed sense to the wine. Savory. Racy and beautifully structured, it’s extremely drinkable already. Real wine.James Suckling | 98 JSA blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Pym-Rae displays a deep garnet-purple color and reveals wonderfully fragrant notes of candied violets, wilted roses, damp soil and black tea over a core of red and black currants, black cherries and warm blackberries plus touches of cigar box and camphor. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is evocatively singular, offering that rock-solid structure of mountain fruit, yet these are wonderfully ripe, silt-like tannins that beautifully support the elegant red and black fruit layers, finishing very long and very perfumed.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RP(Tesseron Estate Pym-Rae) The 2016 Pym-Rae continues to show well, with a rich, meaty, powerful style as well as loads of chocolaty black fruits, tobacco, black olive tapenade, and leather-like aromas and flavors. It’s beautiful on the palate, with massive concentration and depth as well as terrific balance. This gorgeous, deep, opulent beauty is going to benefit from another 4-6 years of bottle age and live for 3-4 decades. (Drink between 2025-2067)Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JD

Aromas of sweet berries, fresh herbs, currant bush and licorice. Terracotta. Full body, layered and soft, velvety and focused tannins. Breathtaking texture. The focus ad polished is phenomenal. Harmonious. Enticing. Fascinating and thoughtful. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is fabulous. Bright, powerful and pulsing with energy, the 2016 possesses stunning textural depth allied to a real sense of drive. Black cherry, tobacco, menthol, sage and licorice give this Cabernet from southern Oakville much of its distinctive personality. In this tasting, the 2016 Ulysses simply towers with pedigree and character. I loved it. Although the track record is short, the 2016 is the finest wine Christian Moueix and Tod Mostero have made at Ulysses.Vinous Media | 98+ VMVery deep purple-black in color, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon leaps from the glass with exuberant notes of cassis, black cherries and blackberries with touches of bay leaves, lavender, rose hip tea and pencil shavings plus a waft of spice box developing with time. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a well-sustained mid-palate of youthful black fruit, a rock-solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and fantastic freshness lifting the perfumed fruit to a long, lively finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPThis is well-built but stays restrained in style, featuring alluring cassis and blackberry flavors, lined with black tea, minerally iron and warm tobacco accents. A late flash of warm paving stone adds depth and range through the finish. Should put on weight in the cellar. Best from 2021 through 2036. 1,300 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThe 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon offers more cool blue fruits, violets, and damp rock-like minerality. Similarly styled on the palate, with medium to full body and a classic structure, it reminds me of a great St. Julien. Still relatively closed and backward, yet with tons of potential, hide bottles for 4-6 years and it should evolve nicely for upwards of two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 93+ JDWith small additions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this robust red is herbaceous and earthy in compost and forest floor. Earl Grey tea and red currant continue the savory thread of flavor amidst soft, silky tannins and well-integrated oak.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE

The 2016 Único was perfumed and elegant, showcasing a very good vintage in the region. Winemaker Gonzalo Iturriaga started in 2015—a powerful year—and he remembers 2016 as a very balanced year, with higher yields and finer-boned wines. The winter was mild, and there was a cooler than average spring and a warm summer. September was dry, which provided healthy grapes and balanced ripening. The harvest started the 22nd of September and finished the 11th of October. The bottled wine is 96% Tinto Fino and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon with 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.82 and 4.8 grams of acidity. It has the old Vega perfume, intoxicating, complex and nuanced, full of personality and a very energetic palate, vibrant and fresh, not lacking power but with lots of elegance. The wine is released 10 years after the harvest, combining time in new and used American and French oak barrels and 20,000-liter oak vats, and it obviously spends plenty of time in bottle. This is a monumental vintage of Único. A total of 92,292 bottles, 3,695 magnums and some larger formats were produced. It was bottled in May 2022.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPA beautifully poised Vega that is already approachable. Everything is in harmony, showing an almost ethereal quality in contrast to the denser 2015 vintage. There’s a hint of minerality paired with the blackberries and dark cherries. The tannins are firm yet softened. Medium to full body and a finish that lingers for a minute. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JS

This is a great Yquem, delivering thrilling purity and intensity. The nose offers intense aromas of fresh and dried apricot and peach pastry, as well as freshly baked creme brulee, candied and fresh orange and kumquat. Some marmalade, too. Smooth, glossy texture with flavors of grilled orange, dried apricot and an exceptionally long finish with a powerful, driving push to the end. A flicker of toasty-oak influence arrives late, but this wine has completely consumed the oak. The 2017 Yquem is a very powerful wine from a very rich and exceptional vintage. The acidity has a big hand in balancing the richness. Pithy finish. The phenolics deliver some great depth. Rain at the beginning of September prompted an extensive infection of noble rot. The harvest lasted from September 26 to October 13. Great quality and one of the best since the legendary 2001. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 99 JSThere was no frost at d’Yquem in 2017, and botrytis was very regular and even this vintage. The nose opens with very pure notes of freshly sliced oranges, yuzu and lemon barley water with hints of white pepper, fresh ginger and lime cordial. The incredibly rich, unctuous sweetness (148 grams per liter of residual sugar) is beautifully marbled with bright, vivacious citrus fruit and spice flavors, while lifted by well-knit freshness, and it finishes with epic length and great depth.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97-99 RPThe 2017 Yquem is destined to be one of my favourite recent vintages. It has brilliant delineation on the nose with acacia honey, saffron, white flowers and a subtle crushed stone element. So much energy is palpable. The palate is supremely well balanced, surfeit with energy, spicy and feisty and yet paradoxically beautifully controlled and pixelated towards the extended finish. It’s not unlike the brilliant 2014 in style. Tasted at the château. Vinous Media | 97 VMVery flattering and unctuous in feel, with coconut, creamed papaya, toasted hazelnut and warmed peach and tangerine cream flavors gliding along in unison, all framed by warm brioche and piecrust notes on the finish. Remarkably rich, yet poised and pure. Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Best from 2025 through 2045. 4,166 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSStill very youthful with light golden colours, showing flashes of green in the glass. Intensely aromatic with tropical fruit notes, pineapple, roasted apricot, honey and lime zest. Full-bodied and rich on the palate with plenty of botrytis notes showing through. Although unctuous and weighty, this Yquem retains plenty of acidity which freshens the palate and balances the concentrated fruit. Sandrine Garbay noted that 2019 reminded her of 2017, with the 2019 showing a little more opulence. Served with a dish of roasted pollock and smoked mussels, this was a wonderful combination, showing the sweetness and purity of Yquem. Residual Sugar: 148g/L. (Drink between 2024-2050)Decanter | 95 DEC

The 2017 Dom Pérignon is just as stunning as it was last year, if not more so. What a wine! Lemon confit, marzipan, white flowers and chalk soar out of the glass. The 2017 is like a slightly more refined version of the 2002, another year in which the Chardonnays were quite opulent. In 2017, Chardonnay accounts for 61% of the blend, very high for Dom Pérignon. Over the last year, the 2017 has gained mid-palate creaminess and has just come together beautifully. Sadly, production is tiny, so much so that the 2017 is expected to be in the market for just a few months before the maison transitions to the 2018.Vinous Media | 98 VMDense and layered with dried apples and pears as well as candied lemons, grilled lemons and lemon meringue. It’s full-bodied, rich, tangy and flavorful. March 2026 release. Tiny production. Smallest ever for Dom Pérignon. A blend of 61% chardonnay and 39% pinot noir. Dosage 4.5 g/L. Drink now.James Suckling | 96 JSOf the two releases—the 2017 and the 2018—the 2017 Dom Pérignon is the deeper and more structurally endowed wine, unfurling from the glass with a complex bouquet of orange peel, dried apricot and burnt buttered toast, mingling with nuances of dried flowers, toasted hazelnut and cacao bean, all strongly singed with the house’s signature smoky reduction. On the palate, it is full-bodied and concentrated, with a rich core of fruit. Its darker, open-knit profile is animated by a pillowy mousse, vibrant acidity and attractively bitter, structuring phenolics that assert themselves on a long, resonant finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPA vivid Champagne, offering a finely detailed mousse, with a toasty overtone to the flavors of crushed white raspberry and white cherry fruit, grapefruit pith, toast point and oyster shell, all defined by chiseled, lemony acidity. A fine example from a challenging vintage. Drink now through 2037.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

This is well-packed, offering the vivid plum, boysenberry, cassis and açaí berry fruit profile of the vintage, along with a dark edge of tar, baker’s chocolate and salted licorice that courses underneath. The long finish lets the fruit play out, keeping singed alder and chai spice hints in the background. Smolderingly seductive. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Cão, Sousão and Tinta Roriz. Best from 2035 through 2060. 3,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThe 2017 Vintage Port is a field blend, mostly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão and Sousão, aged for 18 months in old wood vats. It comes in with 99 grams of residual sugar. This was bottled in May 2019, about a month before tasting, but I made sure at least some of it had a lot of air. Aromatic, wonderfully fragrant and laced with eucalyptus, this then shows typical Noval focus and power. A couple of hours in a glass simply increased the power. More intense than the very fine 2016, it grips the palate and shows rather significant astringency. As wonderfully aromatic as this is, there the 2016 might have the edge.Too closed and muscular once past the aromatics, this rather dry Port needs some time. It is harder to read than the 2016 was, but this should overtake it in time. Have some patience with this one.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2017 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port was picked from August 21 to September 28 under perfect conditions. It has a tightly wound bouquet that requires a lot of aeration. Eventually it reveals fabulous, detailed aromas of cassis, bilberry jam, crushed stone and pressed violets, later hints of orange blossom and quince. The palate is pure class. Saturated tannins, wonderful structure but the headline is the intensity of fruit. I cannot remember a Noval with this penetration, almost overwhelming the senses as layers of effervescent black plum and cassis fruit segue into a spicy finish that fans out like there is no tomorrow. Is this the best Quinta do Noval ever?Vinous Media | 97 VMThe straight 2017 Vintage Port is stunning stuff. It packs serious power and richness while staying beautifully polished and, dare I say, elegant. Notes of crème de cassis and liquid blackberries define the attack, but it offers an incredibly layered, nuanced, complex style in its notes of herbes de Provence, violets, spicy wood, licorice, and Asian spice aromas and flavors. While it’s no doubt a full-bodied Port, it stands out just as much for its incredible polish, balance, and purity. This a brilliant effort is more approachable than the Nacional bottling yet is nevertheless going to evolve for 50-60 years or more on its flawless balance.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDBig grip in this wine with dark blackberries, blueberries and floral notes. Fine tannins. Ripe but sweet and pretty. Shows a lovely finish. Try after 2027.James Suckling | 97 JSNoval spills over into two valleys from Pinhão to Roncão which contribute two very different terroirs to the blend, though both predominantly south-facing. It displays heady Douro aromas of open, ripe, plummy fruit with a touch of dust and eucalypt, wild and aromatic. The palate is dense, smooth and seductive on the palate with firm, schistous tannins rising on to a fresh, linear finish. Beautifully defined and integrated. Just 3,500 cases declared. Drinking Window 2035 - 2060.Decanter | 96 DECThis is a solid wine with dark tannins and a definitely dry character that will allow it to age well. Its power and its density are impressive, with rich black currant flavors backing up the tannins. Drink from 2030.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEJet black, this shows the arid vintage in its desert-rose scents and in the umami savor of tiny dried black currants. There’s black-cherry density inside the concentrated tannins, which need a decade to begin to relax.Wine & Spirits | 93 W&S

This is a dense and lively La Mission white with lemon, lime and cream character and a light mineral and salty undertone. White pepper and salt at the finish.James Suckling | 97-98 JSThe La Mission Haut-Brion 2018 Blanc is a blend of 57.4% Sauvignon Blanc and 42.6% Sémillon. It sashays out of the glass with gregarious notes of white peaches, fresh pears and pineapple with nuances of lime blossoms, crushed rocks and sea spray, plus a waft of beeswax. The racy, medium to full-bodied palate is charged with energy, delivering vibrant citrus and tropical fruit layers with a satiny texture and fantastic length. Completely exceeding my barrel tasting expectations, this promises to be an earlier drinking style, albeit multilayered, dripping with class and, yes, it’s downright sexy. Give it just a few more months in bottle and then it should offer decadent drinking for the next 15+ years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPSeriously dark and winey, showing a deep core of black currant preserve, warmed fig paste and plum reduction flavors inlaid with racy graphite, mouthwatering tobacco and enticing singed alder, bay leaf and freshly plowed humus. Delivers density, grip and definition on the long finish. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2040. 2,880 cases made, 262 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WSA richer, more textured wine than the Haut-Brion Blanc, no doubt due to its larger Sémillon content, the 2018 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc reveals a medium gold hue as well as beautiful pineapple, honeyed lime, star fruit, and floral aromas and flavors. Nicely concentrated on the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied and offers beautiful acidity, plenty of depth and richness, and a great finish. A slightly softer wine, it doesn’t have the precision of its counter mate yet brings more texture and opulence. It’s another brilliant white that will benefit from short-term cellaring and evolve for 15+ years or so.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThe white 2018 La Mission Haut-Brion explodes with notes of guava, pineapple, and ripe peaches, plus touches of honeyed toast and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is taut and layered, with lovely zesty sparks and a long, spicy finish.The Wine Independent | 95 TWIA serious wine that is just beginning to show its white flower and honeysuckle notes. A vintage that shows its warmth in a slightly lower acidity, but it is still an impressive textured white. 3.27pHDecanter | 94 DECThere is a light herbal touch to this wine that comes from the Sauvignon Blanc. However, it also has concentration and weight, offering a texture that brings freshness to balance the ripe fruits. The wine will age well. Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2018 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc has really come together nicely since I last tasted it. Bright and finely cut, with terrific creaminess, the 2018 is already very easy to taste, and, I imagine, drink. Lime, lemon peel, mint, white pepper and jasmine give the 2018 striking effusiveness.Vinous Media | 93 VM

One of the finest vintages I’ve ever tasted from this address, the 2018 Château Lynch-Bages has everything you look for in a great wine: incredible aromatics, richness without weight, perfect balance, and a purity of fruit that’s just about off the charts. Dense purple, it reveals a glorious perfume of blackcurrants and blackberry fruits, a deep, unctuous mouthfeel, building tannins, and a complex array of cedar pencil, tobacco, wood smoke, and chocolate. A true blockbuster in every sense, with masses of fruit and tannins as well as moderate acidity, it will probably merit a triple-digit score in a decade and is a 50+-year wine from this team.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDVibrant, with a violet and cassis lead-in that then expands to include steeped black cherry and plum fruit as well as extra savory, iron and licorice root notes. Nice latent grip too, with a mouthwatering tug of earth at the very end. The fruit is so vibrant, it’s a tease now, but there’s structure here for the long haul, so be patient. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2040.Wine Spectator | 97 WSAromas of blackberries, cloves, licorice, dried leaves, graphite and black olives. It’s full-bodied with firm, tight tannins. Structured and tannic with beautiful austerity and a long, mineral and layered finish. The tannins grow on the palate. Try from 2026.James Suckling | 97 JSComposed of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Lynch-Bages was aged in 75% new barriques. Deep garnet-purple in color, it soars out of the glass with a magnificently expressive nose of blueberry compote, black cherry preserves and blackcurrant pastilles, plus suggestions of dark chocolate, licorice, tar and violets with a waft of hoisin. The medium to full-bodied palate is just as impactful as the nose, coating the mouth with juicy black berry and spicy layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long with a refreshing earthiness coming through at the end.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPAn utterly fabulous wine, the 2018 Lynch-Bages captures all of the richness and generosity that make the year so appealing, and yet doesn’t stray too far from its classic feel. Rose petal, lavender, spice, sweet red berry fruit and mint are all beautifully lifted in the glass. Racy and silky to the core, the 2018 is a real head-turner from the very first taste. All the elements fall into place effortlessly. Readers will have a very hard time keeping their hands off this jewel of a wine.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGDeep, rich black fruits on the nose followed by a powerful punch of spice alongside a ferocious tannic structure that will benefit from the extra polishing of bottle ageing. Combines tannic heft with cassis, bitter chocolate shavings, sage, cardamom and smoke. This is impressive, with a solidly confident, classic Pauillac character and a great example of the confidence of Lynch-Bages right now. A yield of 38hl/ha. Drinking Window 2028 - 2048.Decanter | 96 DECThe Lynch-Bages style is unmistakeable in this wine’s richness and the density of its structure and tannins. In addition it conveys a great sense of style, restrained power and opulence. Drink this wine from 2027.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE

The 2018 Pym-Rae can be thought of as a hypothetical mix of the 2016 and 2017, with more sexiness and opulence than the 2017 and a touch more elegance and precision than the 2016. Wonderful cassis, violets, tobacco, lead pencil, and chocolate notes define this beauty, and it’s full-bodied, with a gorgeous sense of elegance and purity, perfect tannins, and an incredible finish. This stunningly majestic, flawlessly balanced Mountain Cabernet already offers pleasure yet will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age, and it should be a 50-year wine. Bravo!Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThe 2018 Pym-Rae reveals a deep garnet-purple color and a slightly reticent, slowly emerging nose of freshly crushed blackcurrants, ripe blackberries and wild blueberries with suggestions of garrigue, red currant jelly, mossy tree bark and truffles plus wafts of bouquet garni and Sichuan pepper. The palate is full-bodied and fantastically concentrated with tightly wound layers of black and red berry notions, framed by very firm yet beautifully ripe tannins and amazing tension, finishing with epic length and loads of mineral sparks.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThis is extremely aromatic with blackberries, black pepper and spice. Dried flowers, too. Full-bodied with very tight, fine tannins and a racy, refined finish. Raspberries and currants at the end. Very fine and polished. The center fruit is so pure. Aged in 60% new wood barrels and 40% concrete. Drink in 2023 and onwards.James Suckling | 97 JS

One of the top handful of wines in the vintage, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée De Mon Aïeul is all Grenache, from the different terroirs (one sand, one clay, and one limestone) that was 50% destemmed and aged all in older demi-muids. Reminding me of the 2007 with its incredible perfume of ripe black raspberries, strawberries, flowery incense, peppery and Provençal garrigue, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a round, expansive texture, gorgeous tannins, and a blockbuster of a finish. A wine of incredibly purity, precision, and elegance, yet also with power and opulence, this sensational effort is in need of 3-4 years of bottle age and will keep for two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDTypically a standout even amongst the best of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, this monumental bottling is sourced from 75- to 90-year-old Grenache planted in a diversity of pebbly, sandy and clay soils. Fermented partially in whole clusters, it offers black-cherry and raspberry flavors that are herculean in ripeness yet silken and deft, lifted by streaks of salt, crushed stone and smoke. A stunner in youth, the wine will likely improve through 2035 and hold further.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEAll Grenache, all whole cluster, the 2019 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de Mon Aieul combines hints of menthol and steaminess with big blackberry and raspberry fruit. Full-bodied, creamy and lush, it finishes long and velvety, a tour de force of Grenache.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThis has the heady edge of the vintage, with gutsy blackberry, plum and fig compote notes forming the bulk of the wine, while singed juniper, warm stone and tar notes score the finish. Delivers a nice licorice snap at the very end for a finishing kick. Best from 2023 through 2035. 300 cases made, 160 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2019 opens with the most gorgeous, complex fragrance of sage, menthol and clove, slightly creamy black berries, damp earth and spice. In the mouth it’s really intense, textured and precise; a core of ripe black berries and some red fruit touches, framed by wood, tobacco and fine, supple tannins. There’s a ferrous, saline vein coursing through the centre, and it reaches a lingering finish showcasing sapid dark berries, balsamic herbs and gentle spice, evolving into fresh and dried cherry as it strides away into the sunset. Generous yet beautifully poised, this is among the finest vintages of Tenuta San Leonardo so far.Decanter Magazine | 98 DECThe cool profile of this wine is clear from the fresh and spicy aromas of red currants and blackcurrants, leafy lightness, bell peppers and leather, with hints of smoke. The complexity of the nose is supported by an elegant palate (don’t look for power here), with a structure of filigreed tannins, crisp, integrated acidity, a medium body and a long, super savory aftertaste reminiscent of dark cherries. Drinkable now, but better from 2034.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2019 San Leonardo is impossible to ignore, embodying everything I love about this distinctly northern Italian Bordeaux blend. Masses of white pepper, sage, incense, sandy earth and fresh tobacco give way to dusty red currants. This is a model of elegance yet salty and savory to the core, with mineral-laden red and black fruits that flow across silky textures. The 2019 finishes classically dry with a crunchy tannic bite yet maintains an impossible freshness as savory herbal tones slowly fade. This is stunning, recalling the absolute top vintages I’ve ever tasted from San Leonardo.Vinous Media | 96 VMThough carrying an elegant sense of poise, this supple, medium- to full-bodied red isn’t all laced up. Instead, its fragrant tobacco and espresso accents to the ripe black and red currant fruit flavors are flashes that impart well-tailored charm. Long and refreshing, with fine-grained tannins emerging on the creamy finish of spice and mineral notes. Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère and Merlot. Drink now through 2040. 5,450 cases made, 1,300 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Attractive nose of ripe mangoes, pineapple and grilled lemons with some toasty, nutty notes and hints of smoky minerality. Cardamom and pie crust, too. It’s full-bodied, nervy and juicy, with bright acidity and savory nuances. It’s layered and long and it builds up on the palate, with vibrant, spicy notes of candied ginger, dried lemons and bitter citrus peel. Truly the Montrachet of Italy. Drink or hold. James Suckling | 98 JSThis is Marchesi Antinori’s top white wine, and it comes from the region of Umbria. The Castello della Sala 2022 Cervaro della Sala is based on Chardonnay and has a small part of the local grape Grechetto in the blend. The nose opens to a reductive note of flint or matchstick, but it lifts quickly to reveal soft orchard fruit, white peach and minty apple. There are delicately applied toasted notes with a hint of pecan or macadamia nut. To finish, you also get salty mineral notes that underline the extremely vertical or lifted personality of the bouquet. Renzo Cotarella tells me that tweaks to winemaking in recent years have attempted "to slim down the wine and not make it any bigger." This was a hot vintage, but Cervaro della Sala remains true to its leaner and meaner blueprint. However, given its accessible personality, we could expect a shorter drinking window for the 2022s.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RP

The 2022 Cheval des Andes is a significant upgrade to Mendoza’s historic regional blends, combining grapes from Las Compuertas (Luján de Cuyo) and Paraje Altamira (Uco Valley). The 2022 vintage allowed for a slower ripening of Cabernet Sauvignon, which take prominence in this blend alongside 30% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot...A bouquet of bright fruit—raspberry, blueberry and delicate cassis—and complementary bay leaf and mint tones give way to a touch of ash and mild bell pepper. Boasting serious concentration, fine tannins and a slight creaminess, the 2022 has a structure that is firm but never tight, maintaining weight without losing balance. The finish is long, energetic and full of flavor. This is an exceptionally beautiful wine. Drink: 2026-2042.Vinous Media | 99 VMEarthy, savoury nose full of wet soil, peppercorns and blackcurrants alongside violets, chocolate, cherries and raspberries. Well crafted, such a svelte and streamlined expression with real charm and finesse. There’s power for sure but it’s funnelled into one line from start to finish. I love the brightness and opulence here yet there’s super charm and precision too. Great energy, succulence and vibrancy with natural acidity creating a salivating effect that makes you want to come back for another glass. Expertly made with an accumulation of details that make it so enjoyable. The joint project of Château Cheval Blanc and Terrazas de los Andes. Winemaker Gérald Gabillet.Decanter Magazine | 98 DECAromas of dark currants, spices, cloves and a touch of elderberries. The palate is elegant and medium- to full-bodied with polished, precise tannins, firm fruit, a juicy backbone and a solid and flavorful finish. 65% cabernet sauvignon and 35% malbec from Lujan and Altamira. Drink from 2027.James Suckling | 98 JSSoon to be released through La Place de Bordeaux, the 2022 Cheval des Andes opens with an exotic, spice-driven bouquet, supplemented by lifted herbal notes and a vibrantly red-fruited and perfumed backdrop. The palate is similarly energetic, melding an elegantly rich, polished texture with a slender, tensile energy. It concludes with a long, persistent and high-toned finish that gradually unfurls a sturdy structure of supremely refined tannins. This is an excellent counterpoint to the comparatively darker and more open-knit 2021, showcasing a brighter, more tenacious profile while sacrificing none of the grace, nuance and textural attention to detail that has come to define Cheval des Andes. It’s a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPSupremely structured and rather muscular in style, this offers a loam and iron base, juxtaposed against subtle floral and dried thyme notes that mix with a dense, compact core of cherry and Santa Rosa plum. For all this muscle, there’s finesse on the finish, with mace and floral red currant details lingering around well-formed tannins. Built to cellar. Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot. Best from 2036 through 2040. 8,333 cases made, 1,600 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSA partnership between Château Cheval Blanc and Terrazas De Los Andes, the 2022 Cheval Des Andes blends 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Malbec, and 5% Petit Verdot. Iron and gunpowder aromatics dominate, with a supple tension to the tannins and well-integrated oak. This will drink well over the next 12-15 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JD

Plenty of red currant, cedar, iron and terra cotta aromas follow through to a medium to full body with graphite, sandalwood, red currants and fresh Mediterranean herbs such as thyme and rosemary. The tannins are chewy but polished in texture. This is a Sassicaia that needs three or four years of bottle age to come together and soften. A structured wine for the cellar. Try after 2029.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2022 Sassicaia is simply brilliant in this vintage, showing a remarkable level of poise and freshness. It opens with a captivating bouquet of ripe blackberries, plum, florals and subtle herbs, underscored by a touch of spice, tobacco and minerals. On the palate, it is medium to full-bodied and well-structured, with velvety tannins and a lively acidity that provides perfect balance. Rich flavors of red/dark fruits, tobacco and spices unfold beautifully, leading to a long, persistent finish that is both refined and elegant. A stunning example of Sassicaia’s pedigree and resilience to thrive year after year.International Wine Report | 98 IWRThe Tenuta San Guido 2022 Bolgheri Sassicaia reveals a beautiful fruit profile with fresh blackberry, tart cherry and Mediterranean tones of blue rosemary blooms and lavender sachet. I tasted this wine several times over the course of a few months, and it has already shown a happy evolution coming into slow focus like the faint colors that emerge from a Polaroid photograph. Indeed, the bouquet appeared more closed just a short while ago. The wine’s strongest suit is its elegantly streamlined mouthfeel and its contained 13.5% alcohol content. These qualities add to the silky cleanness of the mouthfeel and the accessible freshness of this vintage. I am confident that this bottle will improve with time. It requires patience.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97+ RPThe wine is tightly coiled and concentrated. It feels almost cinched at the waist, with a fascinating tension between the weight of raspberry, blackberry and strawberry coulis fruit and the wine’s verticality, as if it’s trying to burst out. Lovely mid-palate sapidity is allied to fresh acidity and fine but dense tannins, making for a dark horse of a Sassicaia that isn’t giving much away today but will greatly reward those who can cellar it for 12 years and more. ‘What is sure is that 2022 will need a lot of time, but will also have a long life,’ said Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta. A hot vintage, 2022 caused the team to work in the newly completed refrigerated warehouses in San Guido, even moving the sorting table inside. Shorter macerations and 23 rather than the more typical 24 or 25 months of ageing in wood helped to maximise the freshness.Decanter Magazine | 97 DECOpening with aromas of menthol, dark spice, blue flower and dark-skinned berry, the 2022 Sassicaia is impressive and defied my expectations. Hailing from what was a notoriously hot, dry year, the estate’s location, including its hillside vineyards, vicinity to the woods plus much-needed rain in August preserved freshness and aromas as did harvesting somewhat earlier than usual, shorter skin maceration and slightly less time in oak. Showing elegant restraint, it’s balanced and tense, delivering flavors of ripe blackberry, wild cherry, licorice and mint. It’s still quite tight and youthfully austere, with a backbone of firm, refined tannins and fresh acidity. Give it time to fully unwind. Drink 2030–2042. Abv: 13.5% Kerin O’Keefe | 97 KOThe 2022 Sassicaia is a very pretty, expressive wine. There’s a bit more Cabernet Sauvignon (and less Franc) in this year’s blend, and that really comes through in the wine’s flavor profile and slightly bruising tannins. Dark cherry, plum, leather, licorice, graphite and incense give the 2022 striking aromatic presence to match its rather brooding personality. There’s a bit of tension in the tannins that needs time to resolve. Yields were down about 20% because of intensely cold weather in spring, variable conditions during flowering and set, and then searing heat and drought throughout the summer.Vinous Media | 94+ VM

30 Jul, 2019 – This is only in magnums and jeroboams and is stunning, with the sensibility of a red Burgundy, yet fresh and bright, due to the Chardonnay. Wild aromas of brioche, white pepper and rosemary. Maybe even some lavender. Full-bodied, yet always agile and vivid in the mouth. Stunning finish. Minerally and vivid. Only few bottles made. A blend of 1995, 1993, and 1990. Drink now. | 99 JSThis is a blend of wines from 1995, 1993 and 1990. That has given it a golden glow of toastiness, maturity and wisdom. Even now, there is some freshness and plenty of acidity to give the wine a lift. It is a great Champagne, produced in tiny quantities and only in magnum. Drink now. ROGER VOSS | 99 WEOne of my favorite renditions of this cuvée is the striking NV Brut Grand Siècle #17, a blend of the 1995, 1993 and 1990 vintages. Tasted from magnum, the wine offers up a complex bouquet of candied peel, pear and peach complemented by suggestions of wheat toast, iodine and beeswax. Full-bodied, textural and concentrated, the wine is deep and serious, built around racy acids and structuring dry extract—it exemplifies this cuvée’s elegant, seamless style. Readers lucky enough to find a bottle are in for a treat. | 96 RPThe NV Brut Grand Siècle Les Réserves Cuvée No. 17 (Magnum) is in a beautiful place where it offers a good deal of flavor complexity and yet remains light on its feet. An exotic mélange of orange confit, petrol, dried flowers, baked apple tart and hazelnut give the No. 17 striking aromatic nuance. Bright floral and citrus notes, along with a hint of reduction, add freshness. It’s a terrific choice for readers who enjoy Champagne with a good deal of mature nuances. The No. 17 is a blend of vintages 1995 (60%), 1993 (20%) and 1990 (20%). Disgorged May 27, 2019. | 95 VM