Refreshing Whites

wines

This has aromas of ripe apricots, buttercream, baked apples and pastries. Medium-to full-bodied with a creamy, round and almost oily texture. Lovely balance of ripe fruit and toasted-pastry notes with bright acidity. Delicious finish. Fantastic value, as always. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSThe 2020 Chardonnay El Enemigo from Gualtallary, Uco Valley was aged in oak with flor for twelve months with 15% coming from other years. Yellowish green in the glass. The nose presents notes of hazel and chestnuts accompanied by green apple and expressive whiffs of chamomile and pineapple. In the mouth, it’s taut with heightened freshness and a compact character from the flor exposing the skeletal acidity.Vinous Media | 94 VMShows Viognier-like floral notes of gardenia and honeysuckle, with an elegant yet rich body of peach and pineapple. Reveals hints of thyme and mineral on the lengthy finish. Drink now through 2026. 1,600 cases made, 1,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 2020 Chardonnay Katherine’s Vineyard is bright and wonderfully saline, with plenty of mineral and savory accents. Citrus peel, mint, white pepper, chalk and dried flowers open nicely with a bit of time. There’s terrific energy and plenty of cut. Most of this fruit is sourced from the own-rooted vines first planted in 1971.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGThe 2020 Chardonnay Katherine’s Vineyard is terrific and shockingly good given the quantities produced. Burgundian-like aromas of stone fruits, chalky minerality, honeyed flowers, and brioche all define the nose, and it’s medium-bodied, with a supple, rounded texture, integrated acidity, and a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 90 JDDried lime peel, seared lemon pith, white flower and a hint of grass show on the nose of this bottling. There’s an earthy, crushed rock element to the palate, where dried apple and herb flavors also arise. Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

This focused and pure wine opens with aromas of fresh and ripe Fuji apples, yellow flowers and distinct chalky notes. The palate is bright with vibrant acidity layered by roasted lemons and cream. Well balanced and intriguing, it’s a wine to drink now through 2030.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThis is a delicious, full-bodied chardonnay with hazelnut cream, praline, apple pie, fresh mangoes and salted caramel on the nose. Lemons and gun flint too. Full of energy. Tangy acidity. Exciting. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 93 JSShowing nice body and fruit weight, the Cordero San Giorgio 2020 Oltrepò Pavese Chardonnay Rivone opens to generous peach, orchard fruit and sweet pear. The wine’s aromas are soft and nicely layered with some nuttiness and spice. The wine’s natural acidity would match a classic chicken roast.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

The 2020 The Agnes has a clean, precise, crushed stone nose with dewy green apple, fresh pear and grassy meadow aromas. The palate is well balanced, taut and fresh, featuring a fine bead of acidity and a spicy undertow that defines the finish. Reserved but cerebral. I would like to see where this goes with bottle age.Vinous Media | 93 VM

Quite a shy, flinty nose that develops attractive orange-blossom character with some aeration. But this has plenty of depth and a serious tannin structure that gives it quite some weight. Long, chalky finish that is just a touch on the austere side. From 2.7 hectares. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 91 JS

The 2020 Viré-Clessé Quintainé Cuvée E.J. Thevenet was matured in epoxy-lined vats to regulate the temperate and oxygen ingress. The alcoholic fermentation finished around the beginning of summer. What a beautiful nose: dried honey, dandelion and a touch of lanolin coming through with time. This is very pure. The palate is slightly viscous on the entry, with admirable weight, a little waxiness and touches of ginger and curry leaf towards the complex finish. Recommended.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The 2020 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is more powerful, unwinding in the glass with aromas of pear, ripe citrus fruit, peach, buttery pastry and baking spices. Full-bodied, satiny and multidimensional, it’s a broad, muscular wine with racy acids and a long, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2020 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru is more backward on the nose compared to the Bienvenue at the moment despite rigorous coaxing. The palate has impressive weight and density, perhaps less finesse than the more approachable Bienvenue at the moment but with more aging potential. It feels long on the saline finish, but it’s surly at this early stage.Vinous Media | 96 VMMid lemon yellow. The bouquet also takes time to emerge, then shows a little more power than the Bienvenues. The oak is a fraction more present but still superbly integrated. The taffeta texture could not possibly have more tensile strength, with an exemplary purity of fruit. To have so much power (not in an alcoholic sense) and yet so much grape. Little light fresh apple notes to finish. Tasted: May 2022.Jasper Morris | 96-98 JMA sleek, lemon-infused version, with a linear profile and racy structure delineating the lemon, peach, green apple, mineral and spice flavors. Remains lean and steely, with a long, spicy finish. Best from 2026 through 2037. 500 cases made, 100 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSA wonderfully floral-suffused nose reflects additional notes of petrol, citrus, white orchard and a hint of oak toast. The bigger and richer flavors also possess a gorgeous mouthfeel that is almost delicate yet racy with excellent delineation on the youthfully austere and beautifully balanced finish that just goes on and on. This is potentially a magnificent Bâtard and it’s going to be interesting to compare this with the Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet in a decade’s or so time. In sum, I would offer the same advice - if you can find it, buy it.Burghound | 95-97 BH

As is often the case when young, this displays prominent mineral reduction scents that add breadth to the wonderfully spicy nose of acacia blossom, carnation, exotic tea and just grated lemon zest. The super-sleek and citrus-tinged big-bodied flavors brim with both minerality and dry extract while delivering stunningly good length on the bone-dry, moderately austere and strikingly long finish. Though not completely impenetrable today, it’s close and this is definitely a ’buy and forget you own it’ for at least 10 years and 12 to 15 would be better. Brilliant.Burghound | 97 BH

The aromas are restrained but compelling, influenced perhaps by the herb gardens that grow alongside the vineyard. There is chamomile and verbena together with just a hint of the apricot and mango of ripe California Chardonnay. The palate is equally restrained, refreshingly steely, with a sinewy backbone of acidity supporting ripe yellow tree fruit. Malolactic fermentation was blocked but a plushness exists to the texture from battonage and there is a definite sensation of spongy compression on the mid palate, generous and delicious. The finish is pure-fruited and long. This is a lovely, refreshing wine to drink right now, light on its feet but sinewy as a dancer.Decanter | 94 DECA beautiful chardonnay with cooked apple, dried mango and mineral character with a pumice undertone. It’s full-bodied with solid tension and a curated finish. Extremely polished and focused. Tensioned. No malo. Made from organic grapes. Drink now.James Suckling | 94 JSFresh and expressive, featuring Honeycrisp apple, yuzu and lemon blossom flavors that show hints of marzipan and nutmeg, this white offers wonderful restraint and focus. The long, juicy finish reveals a hint of fresh-grated ginger. Drink now through 2030. 1,609 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2020 Chardonnay Carbone is terrific. Coming from older vines (planted in 1988), it has a pretty, perfumed nose of lemon curd, ripe melon, and white flowers, as well as a subtle tropical edge. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, with a solid spine of acidity and a great finish. It shines for its purity and elegance while still bringing good depth of fruit and concentration.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDThe 2020 Chardonnay Carbone is sourced from old vines in the Berry Lane vineyard in Coombsville, right next to the Carbone winery. The blocked malo style yields a Chardonnay built on brightness and energy, with lovely citrus, floral and savory accents. This is such a gorgeous wine.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Here there is less citrus and more floral influence on the white pepper and mineral reduction-inflected nose. The sleek, intense and attractively textured medium-weight flavors possess a bracing salinity on the agreeably dry, chiseled and well-focused finale that is just a bit firmer. Lovely.Burghound | 91 BHThe 2020 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru has a flinty, focused, energetic nose that feels more harmonious than the preceding Côte de Léchet. The palate is taut, fresh and saline in the mouth, showing great depth and concentration toward the finish. This will be worth looking out for.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

This is distinctly floral, with peach, lime blossom, citronella and mineral aromas and flavors. Sleek and elegant, offering intensity through the lingering aftertaste of lemon and orchard fruits. Shows terrific length and harmony. Best from 2026 through 2036. 30 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 97 WSA suggestion of the exotic is present on the aromas of citrus confit, white peach, passion fruit and pretty floral nuances. While the larger-scaled flavors possess a bit more size and weight, they’re actually slightly finer, though not denser, than those of the BBM while delivering outstanding length on the bone-dry, youthfully austere and decidedly built-to-age finale that exhibits first-rate length. This is a Ramonet Bâtard of relative finesse though to be sure, it does not lack for punch or potential longevity. I quite like this as it’s stylish and even classy, which isn’t an adjective always applied to Bâtard.Burghound | 96 BH