Rhone Blend Wines

wines

The house red 2020 Tinto showed superbly. It’s a blend of Tempranillo from the Obarenes Mountains (Sajazarra and Fonzaleche) with 20% Garnacha from Cárdenas on clay and some 5% white that has 14.2% alcohol but feels perfectly balanced and integrated. It has a serious, harmonious nose with complexity and depth but also youth. It has a soft and juicy texture with focused and clean flavors, finishing with an almost salty twist. Super tasty and easy to drink! Great value too. It matured in a mixture of 1,000- and 3,000-liter oak foudres and 225- and 500-liter barrels. 22,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2022.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93+ RP

The Ornellaia 2020 Bolgheri Rosso Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia (a proprietary blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) is a generous and darkly toned red blend that has the extra fruit fiber, sweetness and generous plumpness of a warm vintage. The fullness of the fruit is on full display, but in a very relaxed and natural manner. The wine never feels like too much. The tannins are yielding and velvety, and this purebred Tuscan red wraps thickly over the palate. It’s poised for near- and medium-term drinking.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPProduced from 44% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2020 Le Serra Nuove Dell’Ornellaia is expressive with floral notes as well as dried lavender, sage, and black cherry. The oak (30% of which was new) is present but not out of balance and will benefit from another 6-12 months in bottle to integrate. The palate is full bodied, with fine tannins and refreshing acidity. It is long on the palate and cleans up with a soft texture, and there is ripe fruit through the mid-palate. This wine offers tremendous value packed in dollar-for-dollar. Drink 2024-2034.Jeb Dunnuck | 93+ JDThis muscular red is saturated with cherry, plum, vanilla and earth flavors. As solid and sinewy as the tannic structure is, the fruit matches it step by step on the long finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2025 through 2043. 3,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

A soft and caressing red with a full body and plush, finely woven tannins. Plenty of dark cherry, mulberry, chocolate and some bark. Citrus zest and dried flowers, too. Lightly chewy at the end. 95% sangiovese and 5% merlot. Try in 2025.James Suckling | 93 JSAt 90% Sangiovese and 10% Merlot, this is a sculpted, perfumed second-vintage red with cranberry as well as cherry fruit and well-integrated oak. What makes this a winner, especially with food, is that the crystalline, racy fruit far outshadows the oak. It’s not old-school, but you’d still have to call it a traditional Tuscan wine.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WENew to the Place de Bordeaux this year, the second wine to the flagship Oreno. This is darkly scented with a floral-touched nose, blackcurrants, violet potpourri and liquorice. So juicy and seductive on the palate, this has a depth which is beguiling, layering the dark fruit, herbal and salty flavours on the tongue - a sweet, sticky almost liquorice blackcurrant added to by a black pepper and minty aftertaste giving some minerality to the palate. Nicely structured and round. This is ample and fresh - easy to drink with lots to like. Ageing for 12-14 months in tonneaux and barriques.Decanter | 91 DECA firm red, featuring cherry and blackberry flavors, with mineral and tobacco accents. Shows depth and balance, with a solid layer of tannins lining the finish. Sangiovese and Merlot. Drink now through 2025. 12,500 cases made, 4,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Dark and almost smoky in the glass, the 2020 Valpolicella Superiore Classico Ripasso smolders up with a mix of musky red currants and savory herbs lifted by a hint of menthol. Silky smooth and with a pleasant inner sweetness, this soothes with ripe red fruits and saline-infused acidity. Licorice and lavender nuances are left to linger as this finishes only lightly structured and with finesseVinous Media | 92 VMA fragrant red with notes of dried raspberries, strawberries, earth and dried flowers. Medium body with silky tannins and fresh acidity. Crunchy, with plenty of redcurrants in the finish. Not quite complex, but tasty, laid-back and easy to drink. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 91 JS