Red Wines

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The 2018 Vino de Finca is a blend of Monastrell with 25% Garnacha from a cooler, more continental vintage. The Monastrell is from 20- to 30-year-old vines, and the 8-year-old Garnacha is from limestone-rich soils. It fermented in the underground stone pools with 25% to 30% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in 5,000-liter foudres and 500-liter barrels for 12 months. As all the Garnacha plots are now in production, there has been a higher percentage of it in the blend since 2017. The selection of plots used for this wine results in something more serious, more austere and with more depth than the entry-level Casa Castillo. He doesn’t use Syrah in this blend because he thinks without Syrah it has a more Mediterranean profile, with aromatic herbs, thyme, rosemary and lavender and the slightly more rustic notes of the Monastrell. 53,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2019.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

Pretty ripe fruit with berry, walnut and chocolate character on the nose and palate. Medium to full body, round tannins and a savory finish. Drinkable now, but better in 2022.James Suckling | 92 JS

Good complexity on the nose, chocolate, cherries, plums and blackcurrants. Succulent straight away, it makes you suck your cheeks in, the tannins are abundant and fill the mouth but with a soft, juicy chewiness that’s really pleasant. I really like this density, it feels full without being too much - all in balance. A really enjoyable wine, good to have with food and will age well continuing to integrate and soften, but I like its fruit-forward confidence right now. A bit of milk chocolate sweetness, some chalkiness and then a herbal element too - everything you need in a good claret! with typicity and approachability. Top value too. Drinking Window 2023 - 2033.Decanter | 93 DECThe 2018 Laffitte-Carcasset is gorgeous, just as it was from barrel. This mid-weight Saint-Estèphe impresses with its nuance and delineation. Bright red fruit, iron, menthol, anise, cedar and rose petal lend uncommon complexity, while fine grained tannins give the wine proportion and drive. This polished, under the radar gem is a real delight. Laffitte-Carcasset is an especially delicate wine for the appellation.Antonio Galloni | 92 AGThe estate on the plateau of Saint-Estèphe is well situated to produce this rich, full-bodied wine. Broad tannins give the dry core essential for aging. They are balanced by black-currant fruits from the 50% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. It will age well; drink from 2025.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEBlackcurrants, brambleberries, walnut husks, dried leaves and dark spices on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannins. Fresh and structured. Crushed stone comes through in the aftertaste. Better from 2024.James Suckling | 91 JS

The 2018 Vespolina is a wine of pure and total pleasure. Ripe red cherry and plum fruit literally burst out of the glass. Sweet tobacco, mint, dried herbs and cedar show the strong savory character that is such a Vespolina signature. The 2018 is endowed with a sense of exuberance that is hard to fully explain. All I can say is that this is the sort of wine that is opened at the dinner table and finished immediately. I loved it.Antonio Galloni | 92 AG

Deep ruby-purple, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena offers tones of cassis and blueberries, with slowly emerging accents of dark chocolate, aniseed, vanilla and bouquet garni. Full-bodied, it has lush fruits, a plush, rounded frame and bursts of fresh acidity highlighting its spicy accents on the long finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is racy and expressive in the glass. Super-ripe red raspberry, spice, vanillin and a hint of chocolate add a pretty touch of flamboyance to this open-knit, silky Cabernet Sauvignon. Supple and inviting, with no hard edges, the 2018 will drink well right out of the gate. Best of all the 2018 is a fabulous value.Antonio Galloni | 92 AGNicely packed with plum, currant and blackberry purée flavors laced with black licorice and framed by a perfectly integrated alder note. Flash of sweet bay in the background, too. Drink now through 2026. 1,575 cases made. Wine Spectator | 92 WSWith a sumptuously inviting nose of nutmeg, clove and dark chocolate, this rich wine is blended with 14% Malbec and 2% Merlot. Dusty texture gives in to a core of soft, supple tannins that melt on the palate, finishing with length and breadth.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEA very rich, opulent nose with aromas of sandalwood, nougat and grilled plum. It’s full-bodied with a firm tannin structure. Stewed fruit flavors lead to a warm, toffee and chocolate-infused finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 91 JSThe base appellation 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley checks in as 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec, and the rest Petit Verdot. Solid mulberry and blackberry fruits as well as ample earthy tobacco and leather notes emerge from the glass, and it’s medium-bodied, with a rounded, elegant texture and ripe, polished tannins. I don’t think it’s going to make old bones, but it should deliver the goods for at least 8-10 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 90 JD

This bold and well-concentrated wine from an outstanding single vineyard layers ripe plum and rich black cherry on a broad, fine-grained texture. Accents of turned earth, woodsmoke and cinnamon add lift to the mix.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE

Dunn’s 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon shows terrific purity and focus in its aromas of cassis and pencil shavings and on the medium to full-bodied palate, where it’s streamlined and smooth. There’s intensity and concentration, but they sort of slide past almost unnoticed, lubricated by fine-grained tannins and lingering notes of cassis and graphite on the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThe 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is a gorgeous wine, especially for Dunn fans who want a wine to drink that won’t take forever to come around. Dark and savory, with terrific depth, the 2018 is full of character. Black cherry, lavender, chocolate, sage, mint and cloves all open in the glass. The 2018 has just enough grip to have a good amount of classic structure, but not to the point of being forbidding. The Napa Cabernet is about 55% Howell Mountain and 45% Coombsville fruit. The 2018 is beautifully done and an absolute delight.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGWell-endowed, with waves of lightly warmed plum sauce, blackberry preserves and melted black licorice framed by a roasted apple wood note. Flashes of sassafras and sweet bay leaf add alluring range through the muscular finish. Best from 2023 through 2035. 1,814 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Moving to the three Cornas releases, the 2018 Cornas is brilliant and certainly in the same ballpark as the 2016 and 2017. Lots of red and blue fruits, smoked earth, graphite, iron, violets, and gamey notes define this full-bodied Cornas. With ample tannins, fabulous balance, and a big finish, it’s going to need 4-5 years of bottle age at a minimum yet should drink fabulously well over the following 15 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDDeep ruby. Displays expressive cherry and dark berry scents, along with suggestions of cracked pepper, cola and botanical herbs. A floral note emerges with air carries onto the palate, which offers pliant black and blue fruit flavors that turn spicier through the back half. Finishes long, spicy and smooth, with well-knit tannins lending gentle grip.Vinous Media | 93 VMMichel’s 2018 Cornas is surprisingly drinkable, although it will surely age well for at least another decade. Scents of crushed stone and subtle cedar shadings accent red plums and cherries on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is streamlined and focused, smooth and dusty on the long finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP

Another dense purple colour, no worries there! A powerful bouquet of dark but just ripe fruit. Lovely mid red, raspberry—strawberry, reasonable density but not a stonker. Good length. Actually quite a detailed Clos de la Roche with some of the characteristic blueberry fruit to finish. Tasted Dec 2019.Jasper Morris | 93-96 JMThis has a similar fruit profile to the Bonnes Mares but with more prominent earth elements along with a hint of the sauvage. The mouthfeel of the big-bodied flavors is quite simply gorgeous with excellent underlying tension, lovely delineation and subtle minerality, all wrapped in a youthfully austere finish that is shaped by firm but fine tannins. This is excellent though note well that it’s going to need plenty of time to unwind.Burghound | 92-94 BH

Super balance to this intense red with exquisite spice to the mixed berries on the nose, following through to a full body with fine, well-integrated tannins, succulent fruit and a long, elegant and flavorful finish. All in place and lovely to drink now, but best from 2023.James Suckling | 94 JS

In 2012, Sandra Bravo settled in the high altitudes of Rioja Alavesa, where she found small parcels of old-vine garnacha that reminded her of vineyards she had worked with in Priorat. This 2018 is the first release of her Garnachas de Altura, from a collection of small parcels in Rivas de Tereso, a village of 21 people in the northern reaches of Rioja, above San Vicente de la Sonsierra. The vines average 70 years of age and grow at elevations of 2,300 feet in a mix of clay and limestone soils; Bravo has purchased some of the parcels, and farms them all, converting them to organics. She allows the wine to ferment spontaneously in old casks, then ages it in clay pots. You can taste the influence of the altitude and the limestone in the bright, zesty coolness of the fruit, in the light intensity of the strawberry flavors and crushed-black- peppercorn crunch. It’s a lithe Rioja delivering the beauty of the hills, a wine to enjoy fresh and young.Wine and Spirits | 94 W&SThere is a new 2018 La Dula Garnachas de Altura produced with grapes from high-altitude vineyards in the village of Rivas de Tereso, small plots of old vines at 650 meters in altitude. It fermented with indigenous yeasts in 300-liter amphorae at low temperature, which means a very slow fermentation. The wine has a bright ruby color that is quite attractive and a perfumed and floral nose. It’s medium-bodied and textured with very fine chalky tannins, and it has good freshness and very good balance, purity of flavors and length. It matured in foudre for eight months, but the oak is perfectly integrated and not noticeable. This is plain delicious. 3,650 bottles were filled in August 2019.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThere’s an apple and pear mix here that has fresh allure on the nose and delivers a zippy and attractively fresh palate that has good weight, flesh and a gently creamy, apple sorbet-like finish. Drink now.James Suckling | 93 JS

The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino offers a full and generous personality with layers of dark fruit, cola, rosemary and balsam herb. This is a medium to full-bodied Sangiovese with lots of ripe fruit, soft tannins and rich texture. Like many of the Brunellos from this vintage, this wine offers an accessible side that makes it easy to drink without waiting too much longer. Production is 40,000 bottles.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPA darkly floral bouquet of musky red currants and hints of savory spice wafts up from the 2018 Brunello di Montalcino. It’s silky and pliant, with herbal-tinged red and black fruits that flow across a core of saline-minerality. The 2018 finishes long and staining to the senses, with a web of fine tannins offset by hints of citrus-tinged blackberry. There’s an underlying power here seldom seen in the 2018 vintage, but patience will be required.Vinous Media | 93 VMThe 2018 Brunello Di Montalcino is modest and elegantly styled, with raspberry liqueur, fresh herbs, and rose hip. Medium-bodied and driven by orange citrus pith, strawberry, cloves, and dusty tannins, it is a finessed and cooling example from the vintage. Drink 2024-2036.Jeb Dunnuck | 92+ JDPorcini mushrooms, cherry stones, iodine and some beetroot here. Savory and chewy, with a medium body and firm tannins. A little tight and austere at the finish. Should soften. Try in 2023.James Suckling | 92 JS